Kharma

The Sora.  A rare find.

A little over half a year ago, I thought birding was funny.  Not that it was a joke, but I didn't get it.  Sometimes I would joke that birders were goofy people and sometimes just plain ol' strange.  Well, the tides have turned and it hit me several weeks ago that I had crossed over to the other side.  And I don't know how I feel about it.  It started with my post, The Closeted Birder.

Several of my birding friends reported Cedar Waxwings in the area and I knew I had several days to get my butt over to the springs where they were hanging out.  Agua Caliente park is a large park FULL of palms.  And with palms come the fruit that these birds love.  I walked the entire park searching for them and other birds.  It was a breezy day and I wasn't sure I would find the Great Blue Heron or Cedar Waxwings reported around the waters.

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

I certainly found a lot of other birds out there, but I needed better guidance and thought that the docent in the gift shop would know more.  If you walk inside the building, there is a birding checklist.  It's actually quite nice and helpful for someone like me who has difficulty at times trying to identify birds. The docent was out.

So I went to the art gallery where there was another person selling beautiful artistic quilts from various artists. I asked if she knew anything about birds and she said that "She knew what most people knew about birds." which answered my question.  So I left and found several birders in the area.  They didn't know so I kept my eyes open until I spotted a birder standing near a group of palms.  More on that tomorrow.  But here's what happened.

Yellow Rumped Warbler

The Cedar Waxwings were near a group of palms along with a bunch of American Robins. We shot a lot of great pictures and had a really nice conversation.  I stayed a bit longer and did some more photography until I got some shots with better lighting.  It's very tricky to get good pictures of birds doing something special in midflight.

But what turned out to be a dull start ended with a bang and I wanted to share my excitement! On the way back to my car, I stopped at the center and let the lady know that I found them.  She was talking to another woman and while they were polite, I could see that they didn't care.  And I get that, but what I didn't expect was the mean laugh that followed after I turned my back and left the room.  "He's one of those nutty birder people."  I have to say that I have a thick skin, but that kind of hurt a bit.  When did it happen?

When did I become one of "them"?  The adrenaline rush from finding anything in the wild is pure magic.  It doesn't matter if it's a deer, wildflower, bird, cactus....it's just a wonderful gift.  I let it roll off my shoulders but I'm documenting this to remember that moment so I won't forget.  Maybe I am one of "them" but it sure beats sitting inside a room all day waiting for people to visit when the sun is out and about shining. Kharma.  It was a good lesson for the day.

One other note. "When the people play; birds will stray!"  I have to remember to search for low traffic areas where the majority of people don't congregate.....which would then turn out to be a high traffic area for birds that day.  More tomorrow on my Cedar Waxwing show!

American Robins

Time to fly!

Chestnut Sided Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

 Mother of pearls are some birds hard to film!  Today I went to the Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson to practice using my new scope lense for tomorrow's adventure into Willcox.  Once I figured that out, I did some birding.....

 ......and the challenge was on!  My eyes and ears are good at hearing little things.  It must be from all that teaching I do with kids.  Well it comes in hand with birding as well:)

 This bird was by far the most difficult to film and my hands had to be quick with the shots or I'd miss the opportunity.  It is rainy and overcast today so I thought I'd challenge myself to still look and see if I could find anything.

 There were several birders on the grounds and it was a lot of fun being around them.  We noticed certain areas that were higher in unusual bird sightings than others which included the bridge near the parking lot.  And this is where I discovered this rare to find bird in Tucson. 

 But the two of them would make me work for my money while doing the photoshoot. What these little birds were doing in Tucson is beyond me?  And of course, I start thinking about how this all happens and how interesting it is that birds migrate from state to state.

So there you have it....the Chestnut Side Warbler...non-breeding adult:)