A Pink Martini

Black-necked Stilts

Craving something sweet, I went shopping at the outdoor market.

Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge

So much eye candy everywhere.

Brewer's Sparrow

And it was cool and breezy!

The nice temps encouraged me to explore more.

Common ground-dove

It was nice to be able to linger around and look at things.

Giant Mesquite Bugs

In fact, the weather was SO nice that I didn't feel like rushing home right away. 

Lark Sparrow

It was hard to remember why I came to the outdoor market in the first place.

Wilson's Warbler

Keep her moving.

Clay-colored Sparrow

I went down the martini aisle.  I mean.....it looked right.

There's nothing better than a pink martini.  But it's all about getting the balance right and choosing a good vodka.

Swaison's Hawk

Most martinis are dry but this one had to be sweet.

As I walked further down the liquor aisle, I spotted my Triple Sec.  Now for the cranberry juice....

One. Two. Three shakes and voila!

Roseate Spoonbills

Pink Martini made.  So glad I went to the market!

Nothing better than a cool pink drink to celebrate the beginning of fall weather. 

The Roseate Spoonbills are rare for the state of Arizona.  For more on the birds discovered on this day in the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge, click here.  Until next time.....

Winter Has Come

Verdin

It is now a quieter time of birding here in Arizona. This is not to say that there isn't any great birding.  Far from it!  But with most people distracted by the holidays, many public and natural areas have less human traffic thanks in part for their need to shop. 

Great deal on Friskies Pate!

For birders, we just need to keep our eyes on the road for erratic driving.  I already have had someone dent my car from the Black Friday madness.  All I wanted was some pate for my cats!:) We, of course, forgot it was Black Friday and by that time, it was too late for us to escape. 

Lesser Scaup

The cooler temps and storms begin to usher in a new group of wintering ducks, cranes and raptors. 

Canvasback

Birders change their focus from mountain tops to water areas. We begin to head to local watering ponds to search for such rarities as Long-tailed Ducks or Horned Grebes. Maybe even a rare gull?

Cooper's Hawk

Some birds that are naturally difficult to see during the summer become a bit more visible as they feed from seed that has fallen to the ground. 

One of my favorite bird groups, the sparrows, begin to arrive back in great numbers.  This Brewer's Sparrow(below) is so plain and yet I think it's a gorgeous bird. 

Brewer's Sparrow

We also begin to scour the ag fields in places like Avra Valley or the infamous Santa Cruz Flats.  When I first began birding, these places were intimidating to me because their areas were so vast.  Today, it's all second nature. 

A random Osprey at the sod farm of Tweedy and Pretzer roads

As we comb the sod farms, groves of pecan trees, cattle ranches, drainage areas and barren desert expanses, we discover that all of our regular wintering guests such as the Mountain Plovers and Crested Caracaras have come back. 

Northern Harrier

We also note that there are several hundred Lark Buntings feeding from the miles of sorgum along the stretches of dirt roads.  

Crested Caracara

Cotton trucks cover us in layers of dust as we try to get a fix on the nearly invisible Mountain Plovers zig-zagging on the sod farms.  They are perfectly camouflaged as they feed from the lingering green vegetation. 

Mountain Plover

 As we exit the Santa Cruz Flats, we stop at Arizona City Lake.  Over the years, I have tried to figure out this strange community.  It is built around an artificial lake. The homes all looked rather nice at one time, but there appears to be some wear and tear now.  The fountain at the center of the lake no longer sprays regularly and now acts more like a desert island for cormorants, gulls and pelicans.  Yes, this is a great birding hotspot. 

A rare Horned Grebe. Normally rare, but this year it seems like there are more Horned Grebes than the similar looking  winter molts of the Eared species

 It's a fantastic spot for lots of rarities such as this Horned Grebe above.  Every time I see the now defunct fountain, I imagine it's where the residents bury their dead.  

The Arizona City Lake fountain used to look like this.....but not anymore.  Now it just sits like an ancient pyramid where they bury their dead. 

Well.  I do have an active imagination. The truth? It was too costly for them to run all this water all the time. Plus it's a waste of water. If residents individually want the fountain to run, they can pay for it themselves and will sporadically do so.  But I think, burial ground makes it more interesting:)

Yes, winter has finally arrived here in Arizona.  Joggers can jog.  Bikers can bike. Birders can bird. And everyone can smile and not worry about dying from heat exhaustion after 15 minutes of outside exposure:) Birders can sleep in late until 7 AM(when the sun rises) and bird until 5(when the sun sets). With a little more than a month to go before the year ends, Las Aventuras will try to make it to the 500 bird mark.  I'll leave you all with some recent visits to three of the places we visited this past week.  

Count 1. The Avra Valley area

Snow Goose in Blue Molt

Count 2.  The Santa Cruz Flats

A stunning male Vermilion Flycatcher

Count 3.  Arizona City Lake

Until next time........

Withdrawal Symptoms

A Mallard approaches us

Have you ever closed the curtains to your windows so that you could just keep the outside world out?  Lately, I have been unmotivated and tired.  But I made a promise to myself at the beginning of the year that I would work on my US list.  My only goal?  To stay within the top 100 in the national scheme of things.  So far so good.  

I'm tired of the chasing.  I'm tired of the ebird reports and most of all just feeling a bit confined for the moment. The home requires a little TLC and I'm working on several projects right now that will add a little spark to our place.  

Black-capped Chickadee at one of the hotspots I created for Ebird in Colorado Springs.....Quail Lake

So I understand that there are birds out there that need to be seen for the year but their locations are rather uninspiring. What does that mean?  Well, there are cool birds that can be found in trashy locales full of sketchy people or hot desert scrub in the middle of nowhere. I'm much more inclined to sit in my pajamas with a cup of coffee during the weekend and read a good book. 

Bucks hidden in a secret canyon outside of Colorado Springs during hunting season

Granted there are always birds that amaze me....even the common ones.  But after a year of chasing (and this last road trip to Colorado), I'm about ready to hang up my birding vest and cap.  Next year I'll be stepping back from the birding scene and just focusing on new life birds.

American Avocets in Bosque Del Apache, New Mexico last week

For now, I've made the New Year's Resolution "find and re-find as many new and old birds as I can" a reality.  It's not as easy as it sounds.  Family, weather, money, work and home have interfered with my focus at times.  Time is everything. 

People will ask me, "What has been the most challenging part about this birding trek?"  Time and money are a challenge especially when there is a full-time job to consider. I've only hit half the necessary hot spots in the US to stay in the top 100. With more money and "free" time, I could plot and strategize better. Another challenge?  Locating grouse!  They are some of the most difficult birds to locate.  Some of the grouse that have eluded me so far this year have been the Dusky, Spruce and Gunnison sage-grouse!  They are VERY difficult.  It took me two years to discover the secretive nature of this Montezuma Quail below!  Hearing the bird is one thing but to watch it watch me only inches away was quite a learning experience.  The bird was completely camouflaged by the grasses and for me it was one of the hardest things I've had to do as a birder this year!

Montezuma Quail

BUT! The Montezuma Quail live here so I've been able to constantly go back and study their habitat. This has allowed me to get a better idea about how they interact with their environment.  But the other grouse?  Not common here in Southern Arizona and when I'm in their territory, their environment and habits are completely alien to me. Rails also fall into the same category.  There are several in December that I hope to locate.  Sometimes finding mammals are easier than spotting birds!  And let me tell you, if I were a hunter, I would have done very well this last week. Thankfully I use a camera to shoot.  Then I whisper to the deer, "Stay safe."

So as I slow down, for now, I am learning to just enjoy the simple things and pull back from my personal challenge of "finding all the birds".   I have one last big trek for the year scheduled into California.  For the time being, I'm drawing my shades and just relaxing a bit before going back on the road again.  I'm not going to let the competitive birding out there drive me insane:)  Maybe it's too late for that?

Sparrow love-Brewer's Sparrow.  Yeah it's brown and plain but.......what a cool bird!

Currently for the year, I've seen and documented 450 species of birds. I'm not done:) Last year, I observed 452 species.  While out on the road this year, we had a little fun on our treks around Arizona.  The mastermind, Tommy D, loves putting together birding videos while on his Arizonan treks.  In this state, a birder can go from extreme heat to snow within a half hour!  Sometimes we desert rats forget to prepare for the colder terrain while on that chase for a rare bird.  Here is one of my favorites he filmed while looking for a super rare bird in the north country!  Check out Tommy D's Birding Stereotypes.  Arizona truly is an awesome place to bird.  Where will we be next weekend?  Stay tuned for more from Las Aventuras. 

Don't forget to check out Wild Bird Wednesday!

Truck Stop Hookup

Brewer's Sparrow

What are truck stops really?  Or "Rest areas"? For some people, they are annoying breaks on a long trip. For example, Mom or Dad are driving from Texas with 3 kids.  It's been a grueling 8 hour drive and little Joey "has to use the bathroom".  Their destination is only 20 minutes away but Joey has to stop!  So they do.  Thirty minutes later, the annoyed drivers get back on the highway. So maybe we make a quick stop to walk around, grab a bite to eat, or use the bathroom.  Some people use them to get a little shut eye while others search for love.  Gotta wonder about that last part.  But to bird??? 

Greater Earless Lizard

Kathie suggested we stop and to be honest, I was all for it because it was such a beautiful area to take a little walk.  We hadn't birded together for some time plus I was itchin' to use my Pat's new camera. 

We had discovered so many wonderful birds at this place that we ended spending an hour walking around the parking area! 

House Sparrow screaming for attention!

There were 2 or 3 water treatment areas surrounded by great mesquite trees along with bugs galore and lots of warblers, flycatchers, ducks and other birds to boot!

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Our destination would have to wait as we were inundated by all of these birds.  We both don't mind stopping when there is high activity.

The rest stop is full of scenic rocks that make many people stop to say "oooooo":)

Dusky Flycatcher

On this day, the Dusky Flycatcher would finally make for some great pictures.  Although it did prove difficult at first, I was able to get the ID shots.

The new camera is great in that I can close in at 300 mm and pull back to 28 mm and still keep all the detail in the photos.

Now while we didn't pick up any strange characters at this rest stop, we did pic up great observations on so many things.

Kathie and I worked a mesquite for the Wilson's Warbler. The point to this story?  Truck stops or rest stops make for great birding.   Stay tuned for more.....

Wilson's Warbler

Mallard 5

Turkey Vulture 26

Swainson's Hawk 1

Red-tailed Hawk 2

White-winged Dove 1

White-throated Swift 6

Dusky Flycatcher 2

Ash-throated Flycatcher 1

Cassin's Kingbird 4

Barn Swallow 2

Curve-billed Thrasher 2

Yellow Warbler 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler 5

Wilson's Warbler 1

Chipping Sparrow 2

Brewer's Sparrow 1

Black-headed Grosbeak 2

House Finch 4

House Sparrow 30