A Little Spring Cleaning

Friend Khanh and Robert come to visit family.  Together we explore the beautiful Sabino Canyon

This time of year brings everyone together in the desert.  We are always in transit.  Well, I was always in transit never quite allowing myself to become stationary for too long.  These past several months have allowed me to enjoy wildlife watching with old and new friends alike. Observing their reactions through their eyes for the first time is exciting. 

Pyrrhuloxia

After everything that had happened last year with family and friends and my own health issues, I have found myself more comfortable being comfortable in my own shoes.  After shedding the last vestiges of negativity at my work, I have found joy again in my job.  I had to step away from it all to see clearly why a simple change was necessary for my sanity. Negative people try and pull you into their own misery and negative space. We don't get to choose who our co-workers are, but we can modify certain practices in our routine to avoid that negative contamination of the mind.

I finally made that change this year. Like buying a new car, my new room makes me happy each day I enter it. It's a magical space that's far away from the drama of others. After 20 years at the same job, it was time for a change in setting. Examine the pic above.  Travel and language are the centers of decor.  Birds decorate the walls.  Fresh flowers bring in the natural element.  Cats give it a whimsy.  The upside down umbrella is a message to all that EVERYONE is welcome in my room(leave the negativity at the door).  And the table is for playing cards after their work is done.  Bird cards are given at the table.  Lunch can also be eaten there.  Not featured is the tea and coffee pot to the side. Lighting is key, dim the lights to cut the bright harsh glare. Soft jazz or classical music plays in the background. A new teacher said it was like an apartment in my room.  It has a fridge and microwave. And a couch. Yes. It's a safe zone for kids to speak their minds.  I have found my center again in teaching.  This time around, I am very protective of who I allow into that bubble. I remember my days in my kindergarten classroom fondly. It was also an amazing classroom full of nooks and crannies. I've never forgotten how comfortable I felt as a student in that classroom. As another spring season arrives, I am thankful to be alive and appreciative for all that renews me. 

Nature is powerful.  Standing by a cold mountain stream in the canyon renews my faith in people. In a world full of toxicity, it is so vital to spend time with friends in these places and get through these terrible times. Like the classroom, nature can heal the mind and body. I love my fellow winter birding friends.  We spend a great day outdoors together.  Then share a meal later. That's what it's all about.  House chores can wait. 

Gambel's Quail

All the signs point towards spring.  A male Rufous-winged Sparrow sings in a tree.  Khanh follows the bird for a beautiful close up. 

Khanh photographs a singing male Rufous-winged Sparrow.  Listen to the bird's song in the video below.

Maybe it's weird.  But it's fun watching people observe our Arizona birds. 

I always have to remind them to look at their surroundings.  It's not every day you get to see the clouds meander in and out of the Catalina mountains. 

The beauty of the Santa Catalina mountain and our gorgeous Sonoran desert.  The large cactus is called a Saguaro.  The one in the middle is over a hundred years old. 

Or watch a beautiful White-throated Swift dive in and out of a canyon catching bugs.  

White-throated Swift

Or search for a Grasshopper Sparrow on an overcast day. 

I see these Snow Geese at a local park and wonder how long they'll stay.  I begin to see spring arrivals.  The temperatures warm up.  Gardens begin to awaken from their slumber.  

Snow Geese

 Birds like the Northern Cardinal begin to call in my neighborhood. 

From left to right.  Pine Siskin, Northern Cardinal, White-crowned Sparrow

 The muffled cries of "NO HOPE!" are heard inside nearby trees emanating from the secretive Inca Doves.

Inca Dove

 In Tucson, their numbers are few.  So when I get a glance of this species, I let my eyes linger a little longer. Everyone else around the state laughs at Tucson birders for getting excited over an Incan Dove.  But I think if they didn't have them at their feeders, they'd understand why we enjoy these birds so much.  They were once common here.  I remember having them at my feeders in the 90's.  They were even my favorite doves back when there were many!

Windows of time are all we really have anymore.  I watch the Sandhill Cranes for the last time during the winter season and think, "Wow.  Another winter has come and gone. Where has the time gone?"  

John photographs a couple thousand Sandhill Cranes

 I take a couple out to Sweetwater Wetlands who have seen Yellow-headed Blackbirds in small groups.  But they had never seen thousands of Yellow-headed Blackbirds flock together over our heads at sunset.  There's magic in this.  

Yellow-headed Blackbird

A yearly burn at the wetlands exposes a Black-crowned Night Heron having a "light" dinner.  Frog legs are on the menu. 

Black-crowned Night Heron

And on my way to work, I see a Turkey Vulture on a pole in my neighborhood.  This is a true sign that spring has arrived. Vultures, hawks and falcons are on the move north.  Turkey Vultures are not common in my neighborhood so I get excited seeing one up close. It's a bird both ugly and beautiful at the same time and a welcome visitor to the yard!

Turkey Vulture

Over the next several weeks, we go into full spring mode in Southeastern Arizona exploring hummingbirds, raising money for charity, investigating the Sedona area, and reporting on our annual Arizona birds and blooms.  As the year warms up, we'll be getting into some hotter locations including a trek to Mexico and Panama.  Until next time.....