Monday, September 24, 2018

The Silent Land of the Artifact Glass Shards


At first the lake looks quiet.  Then we pull out the scope and discover it's rather active.  No one is in sight for miles.  If we are murdered, no one would ever know. 
Every time.  Every single frickin' time.  We try not to mention it.  Or whisper it.  Or even think it!  But then something happens.  Magill and random adventure mishaps go hand-in-hand.  We always find great birds together. So it's worth the risk:) Right?

We targeted the main body of the San Carlos Lake.  In my mind, this is where I'd expect to see the jaeger.  Deeper water, more fish, with gulls or terns near by and opportunities for the jaeger to grab someone's meal
Magill's tire light went on and we were in the middle of nowhere.  Literally, there was no one there at all.  No birders.  No Apache Indians.  NO ONE.  While trying to chase a state bird, we encountered millions of pieces of shattered glass everywhere we went on the reservation.  That. And plenty of garbage which included lots of metal fragments. 


This was a national campaign during my childhood and it's still true today
While the western world loves polluting our environment with plastics, it seems the native americans on the reservations prefer smashing glass bottles everywhere.  While trying to set up the scope, we navigated unsuccessfully through the glass shards. That's when the light went on. We gave up on the chase and prayed to the bird gods that we would get back safely to a place where we had an internet signal off the dirt roads for road service if we needed it.  

My first sighting of a Parasitic Jaeger off of San Diego.  Fortunately, this one was easy to ID. 
We were chasing a Parasitic Jaeger, a super rare bird to the desert.  I am in love with all things "gull" or "gullish" or "gull-like".  I was looking forward to seeing this bird in Arizona.  Normally, it is seen flying around the ocean.  This year, a storm blew 2 of these birds into Arizona.  And they stayed. I've seen all the Jaeger species of North America, but to be honest with you, I still can't tell the difference between a Pomarine or Parasitic Jaeger in their non-breeding plumage. I have to look at the flight patterns to figure out the species. Once I found a jaeger on the way to Catalina island and called it a Parasitic.  The ebird reviewer responded back to me in a sassy tone, "That's OBVIOUSLY a Pomarine Jaeger."  Um, not so obvious to me.  I consider myself a good birder but when those two species are not in their breeding plumage, they are a dickens to ID.  Several friends who are pelagic guides told me not to be too hard on myself because they are difficult to ID even for the ocean birder pros. But to see a jaeger in Arizona?  That would be a dream. 

We drove over this old dam and I prayed to the bird gods that it didn't fall apart. 
My bird knowledge was put on hold as we focused on our survival skills. Thankfully, we were stocked with water.  While it wasn't super hot, it was still hot, with a slight breeze. But hot. Both of us got into our serious modes.  Me, the teacher, trying to come up with a Plan B or Plan C just in case Plan A didn't get us back to Globe. I struggled to figure it out while Magill read mileage info to me.  It was like an hour glass with the sands trickling down ever so slowly.  We had both made mental notes of tire places and internet zones while on the reservation. There were a few spotty sections around the San Carlos Lake that we could hike to if needed.  


A Monarch
Praise be to the bird gods!  We made it back to Globe in one piece and weren't stranded for long.  After our issue was resolved, we headed back to the tricky-to-navigate roads.  I had theories about where the bird might be seen.  Every dirt road looked the same, full of broken glass and twisted metal.  We drove both sides of the lake and then....committed ourselves to one spot.  The bird was there, I could feel it.  

HOW DO WE GET THERE???  All the roads looked the same and some were full of ruts.  Oh and GPS markers were off.
We stood on that last final road exhausted from the trek.  Both of us said to each other, "Why in the hell do we do this to ourselves?  Why do we chase birds?" Then the Parasitic Jaeger flew our way and it was a high five moment.  That's why.


Our first Arizona Parasitic Jaeger, looking VERY healthy
We watched it soar high as it flew around the lake. Gulls, jaegers and skuas are amazing birds.  As Magill picked the glass out of her shoe, I observed lots of dragonflies having sex. 


It did some high aerial moves and it was a fascinating show
Every good birder knows that going onto the Indian Reservation requires a lot of patience and time.  Especially when there is a good bird to be seen for the state.  We stopped at the Circle K in Globe for the permit.  Magill got both of our permits for the day at 10 bucks a pop.  Then we went to Subway for a quick bite.  I hate Subway, but they are serving wraps now.  So I guess I like Subway now:)


TWO rare Tricolored Herons show up in Pima county
After a challenging, yet fun day, on Saturday, we did some enjoyable birding in the town of Patagonia on Sunday.  We found lots of rare birds on our own and met up with friends I haven't seen in awhile.  Really really good people who I admire a lot. We had a nice lunch at the Gathering Grounds and then, I was going to do butterfly photography.  It became overcast and the butterflies disappeared.  However, the birds were everywhere and we found ourselves observing lots of crazy birds migrating through Paton's Hummingbird Center.   

This juvenile male Western Tanager is fascinated by my camera clicks
I'll be honest.  I like birding safe and fun areas.  But as we climb up this ladder on this crazy state bird list, the challenges are difficult.  Magill and I have LOTS of stories.  We've had a tire blowout on Mt. Ord, a bathroom incident that involved a guy shooting up in a dirty wash, and almost running out of gas in the San Rafael Grasslands. And there's been a few others that included tumbles, nearly throwing up, an emergency call back to shore because a guy hit himself on the rail and went unconscious, getting questioned by a suspicious woman(while researching the disappearance of the Monk Parakeets of Casa Grande, a little golf cart ride with women who already had a few drinks, and misdirection(mostly by me-I'm a bad navigator:) Both of us come from Wisconsin where the birding is gentle and kind.  Arizona can be an adventure and most often, some of the rarest birds are found in rough terrain.  With both Magill and Gordon along for the adventures, we find some of the craziest things in this state. 


Stunning views, lots of broken glass, and epic bird=great memories
We both achieved our personal goals. And to answer our own questions, I think the reason as to why we do these few state chases is for the adventure and storytelling.  Before the Parasitic Jaeger arrived, I had never birded San Carlos Lake.  Now I have.  And that's what it's all about!  Discovery.  Until next time.....

15 comments:

  1. Interesting post in many ways. I have never heard of an Arizona Parasitic Jaeger, so that added someting extra. Thanks for sharing Diane

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    1. It's just a Parasitic Jaeger but maybe one day they'll evolve into an Arizona subspecies with global warming:) Our state is beginning to feel like the tropics nowadays!

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  2. No entiendo muy bien la metáfora de los vidrios rotos.. Se ve un fantástico lugar.. Todo lo relacionado con los nativos americanos me parece apasionante.. Hace años escribí una serie de poemas bajo el nombre "Confidencias desde el otro lado del río " Lobo solitario"" Una historia de amor a través del tiempo entre un lobo y la luna.. El lobo "un indio" la luna "una mujer" ambos separados por el río "la vida" pero unidos bajo un único destino.. :-))) Happy week my friend

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    1. Me encanta la poesia! Pues lo escribo por que había mucho vidrio por todas las calles. Tiran botellas y basura por todos lados. Es una cosa triste. Los indigenas ya no protegen su tierra:(

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  3. "While trying to chase this state bird, we encountered millions of pieces of shattered glass everywhere we went on the reservation. That. And plenty of garbage which included lots of metal fragments. it seems the native americans on the reservations prefer smashing glass bottles everywhere."
    ===

    Interesting. Today it's hip (kool, in vogue, chic, etc) to praise anything & everything about Native Americans and the Myth of the Ecological Indian, for which there is even a book by that title. Growing up around and in Reservations in Southern California, with the exception of a few ideologically driven prideful individuals, the majority had little interest in eco-greenness. It's a long story, but most today continue to forget that Native indigenous peoples are equal to all other human beings on Earth. In all the good and bad ways.

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    1. I gotta tell you. Praise is not the word that comes to mind when we bird these reservations. I'm thankful we can bird them but I get so pissed off everytime I go to them. I just wish EVERYONE would care about their land. The glass was terrible on this res. Super sad.

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  4. For the adventure and the sheer joy of life makes a pretty good reason to do your crazy adventures!

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    1. And that's exactly it. Had we not found the bird, I might have been a tad more grouchy about the adventure part:) But this one paid off:)

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  5. You do have some adventures Chris which make interesting if scary reading! The reserve with glass sounds terrifying but so glad you found the species you were looking for. Wonderful photos as always. Take care on your next adventure!

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  6. What an adventure! I am afraid I would have given up very early. Not much patience here.

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    1. I agree. That's why it's good to bird with someone who has a little bit of patience because if not, I'd be on the same page as you:)

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  7. What an adventure that was, Chris! I was very saddened to hear how carelss the native indians are about the environment. Is it, perhaps, that they resent having reservations that aren't of their choice?

    Your Parasitic Jaeger is known as an Arctic Skua to us and, whilst not common, it's not particularly rare. A great bird to see, however!

    Best wishes to you and Micheal - - - Richard

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    1. Hello! I did not know that about the name. Very good to know once I get over your area. They are common along the coast, but in Arizona....they're like unicorns!

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  8. Ah, Chris. I miss those birding adventures, but not the flat tires! I'm glad it all turned out just fine, and I'm glad you got your bird!

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