Table Manners!

Northern Flicker

We climbed through wind and snow to check on my friend's cabin up on Mt. Lemmon. I brought a secret stash of peanuts and pineapple(thanks to Kathie!) bits to call upon some old friends from last year.

Ski Valley

Getting there wasn't easy.  The desert was warm and breezy.  And yet 25 miles away, the frigid town of Summerhaven was covered with snow!  I had been losing ground with my bird count.  While my father was visiting, I had to take a backseat on the birding and it may have cost me the Rusty Blackbird.  But I still needed new bird species for this year.  I knew they were around my friend's cabin.  Just needed to call upon their appetites:)

And within 20 minutes of me calling out to them, the Steller's Jay came quickly.  I placed the bag of goodies on the wooden post and watched them fill up.  It was cold!!!

But the Northern Flicker heard me as well and popped up for a nut.....or two........good thing this Flicker had a bib;)

Steller's Jay

But I thought we were supposed to chew our food first!!! At least that's what my mother taught me:)  However, some birds, like the Jay, will stuff in as many nuts as they can fit into their mouths for later consumption.  Clever!

We had to walk through a blanket of snow to get to the cabin.  The roads had at least 9 inches of the white stuff.  And then there were the drifts! My feet took all day to thaw for this birding expedition!

But it was worth it:)  Later the Acorn and Hairy Woodpeckers would join us around the feeders.

Acorn Woodpecker

The snow was gorgeous, but as you can see below, the cars were all lined up for skiing!  Of course this happens up in Ski Valley.  We drove up to this part to see if we could find a parking place for some hot chili.....but it was FULL!   So we headed back down to the village and ate there.

Meanwhile, back at the cabin, all the birds were clearing off the food quickly.  One Jay turned into two, then three, then four, then five.....and SIX!  I can always rely on my Jays to call the crew in:)  Other birds will also follow these loud birds.  Before one knows it, there is a party going on!

And I welcomed that party as I was able to add 5 more birds onto my Pima county list.  None were lifebirds but they were all great birds to get on the list:)  Currently in the state of Arizona, I have found 185 species of the 314 birds reported!  More are on their way and things are going to heat up in March and April!

Our walk on Grosbeak road!  No Grosbeaks....yet:)

But on this day we froze:)  That's what I love about birding.  Each journey is strange and different. Personally, this was a fun day and I'm glad my friend had to check up on the cabin.

I would spot Steller's Jay, the White-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee, Hairy Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker and Northern Flicker.  Plus I was able to get closeups of these birds at the feeders!

I practically had to put my feet into the furnace to revive their walking powers again.  We were numb from the cold!

It made for a very productive day in the photography and EBIRD department!  I love playing detective and I especially love all the fun that comes with the birds:) And my friend's cabin was fine:)  Until next time.....