Welcome Surprises

A Sonoran Bumblebee stops for a look

Summer has officially left the desert and the end of the 2019 year is coming.  As we get closer to the start of the holidays, I've been enjoying some peaceful outings with friends and family. 

Our friend Bonnie from Wales came to visit. And it was a blast getting to hang out with Sherry too! We took a nice hike in Madera Canyon to find that elusive Elegant Trogon.  

After our hike, we sat at the Santa Rita Lodge feeders and watched a Black-throated Gray Warbler take a sip from the fountain. 

Swainson's Hawk

As we took my Santa Rita bird route, we had a lingering Swainson's Hawk fly over our heads.  This bird was most likely heading south for the winter. 

With the extreme temps gone now, it's SO nice to sit under a rock and absorb the natural world around us.  

A male Vermilion Flycatcher fluoresces in the autumn light. 

This year has been all about reflection. About friends.  About sharing the experience with others. I remember those days when I did all of my birding alone, but now, I can't imagine my world without these friends. 

Bronzed Cowbird

One night after a rough day at work, I went to a local park to count black birds.  Not everyone gets into the black birds, but I like this group a lot.  I sat on a lawn at a local park and watched them feed from the grasses. When I say black birds, I literally mean any bird that is black including cowbirds and blackbirds:)

Yellow-headed Blackbirds

To my surprise I discovered many of our wintering birds are coming back!  

juvenile Gray Hawk

While some of our summering ones still linger. 

I welcome the wintering birds.  I welcome those friendships both new and old.  And I welcome back these wonderful temperatures.  Winter has come.  Next week we celebrate autumn in the Pacific Northwest.  I hope you join me for our adventures with friend and bird guide Khanh Tran.  Until next time friends.....

San Carlos, Mexico

Over the past weekend, to celebrate the end of the school year, we headed out to San Carlos, Mexico.  It's a 5 and 1/2 hour drive south of Tucson. 

We arrived exhausted and were greeted by this California Praying Mantis.  Carefully I took this critter out to the patio.  

During our time in San Carlos, we relaxed a bit and had some drinks along the beach.  I did some light birding along the coast focusing on gulls. 

The Yellow-footed Gull of the Baja Pennisula is an endemic.  Here in San Carlos, this bird was the most common gull present. 

The Sonoran Desert ranges all the way into the state of Sinaloa.  It's a fascinating region of desert. Here you can find the iconic Saguaro Cactus growing next to areas of Cardon and Organ Pipe Cacti.  

As the vegetation changes the further south you go, so does the birding.  Here we not only see traditional Sonoran birds with typical ocean birds, but we begin to see Neotropic birds show up like the mangrove subspecies of Yellow Warbler, Mangrove Swallows and Great Kiskadee.  It is here that you can find other strange birds(not often seen in the northern Sonoran desert region) like White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks and Little Blue Herons.  There are Reddish Egrets and Tricolored Herons. The Sonoran Desert is an amazingly diverse area. 

One of my favorite species of birds, the Bronzed Cowbird, was seen in good numbers almost every place we went.  In fact, I searched high and low for a Brown-headed Cowbird.  No luck. 

Let's talk safety.  Getting to San Carlos is relatively easy.  We headed south down to the Nogales Mariposa port of entry and stopped near the Circle K to purchase some insurance.  Then we headed down to get the visa for the vehicle.  Don't take your chances.  If you get into a wreck and don't have the visa along with that insurance, they could impound your vehicle.....forever!  And you only need that visa if you pass Hermosillo.  Places, nearest the border, like Rocky Point(or Puerto Peñasco), don't require this visa. 

San Carlos is a clean and sleepy little ocean village.  It's worth the extra hours of driving.  It's cheap to rent a beautiful place.  In fact, I came back with money from this trek!  That rarely ever happens.  As for safety.  Always use common sense.  Lock up things, etc.  Now let's talk Mexico. 

Another favorite gull of mine is the Heerman's Gull.  Easy to ID and a beautiful bird to observe along the coast!  Having traveled Mexico this year(and the last), I must mention a couple things that I've heard from my Mexican friends and US workers down in this country.  I've been going to the safe tourist "corridors" of the country that are easy to travel and away from the drug cartel lanes. It's why I hired a guide in Mexico City this past spring due to being close to another state(Morelos, not on the list but a known drug corridor nonetheless).  Here is the latest Mexican Travel Advisory . 

"Exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory.

Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread.

The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Mexico as U.S. government employees are prohibited from travel to these areas.

U.S. government employees are prohibited from intercity travel after dark in many areas of Mexico. U.S. government employees are also not permitted to drive from the U.S.-Mexico border to or from the interior parts of Mexico with the exception of daytime travel on Highway 15 between Nogales and Hermosillo.

Do not travel to:

• Colima state due to crime.
• Guerrero state due to crime.
• Michoacán state due to crime.
• Sinaloa state due to crime.
• Tamaulipas state due to crime."

However, we did notice some cartel activity in San Carlos in various spots because they own beach homes.  And it makes sense.  San Carlos is fairly close to the state of Sinaloa, known by Mexicans and the US, as a not-so-safe state to visit.  The cartels run their major operations out of this state and several others listed above. 

BUT with that said, San Carlos was safe. MANY Americans and other foreign nationals vacation in San Carlos. In Mexico, always travel by day and with others. It's the same in several areas of the US. So just use common sense. We had a blast.  Plus the birds were amazing!

I had several places I wanted to check out while we were there.  One included the San Pedro island for the nesting ocean birds and the other was the El Soldado Estuary between San Carlos and Guaymas.  Unfortunately, hurricane winds put a kibosh on our pelagic trek out to the island. 

However, I was able to do a count around the tidal areas and see lots of great ocean birds like a fast moving Black Storm-Petrel.  There weren't any life birds on the table here except maybe a Gull-billed Tern.  For me, this was more about connecting the dots in another sector of the Sonoran Desert.  Plus, my birding focus has shifted to the state of Sonora now. 

And when I wasn't counting birds around the town, we were celebrating the start of summer. I will say that I added Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and White Ibis to my Mexico list bringing my total national Mexican list up to 428 birds seen in the country.  In the next post, we'll explore the beautiful El Soldado Estuary. 

We had to keep an eye on Tami with that tequila.  We all got a little crazy:)

Now it's time for a margarita:)  Until next time.....

A War of Roses

Rosy-faced Lovebird

Life is FULL of decisions.  We watch movies like Batman VS. Superman, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, North VS. South, etc. just to watch the conflict play out within the ranks.  Within me, there is constantly a similar battle between the artist and birder.  The birder side typically wins out, but on today's post, the artist won. 

Hutton's Vireo

The "Birderverse" had been receiving reports about rare Rosy-faced Lovebirds feeding in a local Tucson Park.  Unfortunately with my work schedule, I couldn't go and find these birds.  I have already seen them a million times, but never in Tucson. And never feeding from a blooming Ocotillo! Colorful images swirled inside my head and it excited the artist. That night I could not sleep. Before I closed my eyes, I had to make a big decision.  As you are about to read, a War of Roses was about to take place. 

After a lot of road trekking, I was tired and just wanted to do some local photography.  Then reports of a rare Rose-throated Becard came into the news room and I had to make a hard decision. Chase this bird or observe the art of a Rosy-faced Lovebird feeding.  Neither were life birds.  And only the Becard would be a state bird.  The artist won.  And the birder inside cringed. 

Rose-throated Becard seen in Chiapas, Mexico last year

I had planned to go the next day on Sunday until I had forgotten that I had made plans for a brunch with our neighbors and scheduled a movie date for later on. 

And while these aren't life and death situations, they do make me think about the entire scheme of things.  Every piece of my day is perfectly coordinated to accomplish those personal goals. This was one of the first times I had to REALLY pick which path to roam! Life does not wait. Nor do the birds!

Bronzed Cowbird

Either way, it was a wonderful day on the road.  I stood in a desert forest chatting with several birders. And I watched the sun rise behind a beautiful Lovebird feeding on Ocotillo blossoms.  What a great way to begin the day!  

Gila Woodpecker

I am thankful for that artist inside of me.  It tempers my insane birder appetite. I wonder what the real Rose Betty White would do? Until next time.....

Here is the other Rose I would love to meet one day.  Ms. Betty White

The Tucson CBC-Winterhaven and the Rillito Wash

Each year, Tucson Audubon has their annual CBC(Christmas Bird Count). And each year, I participate.  However this year something changed.  I became a group leader for the first time.  And so our team had a mission to find common and rare birds in Area 23 or as we like to call it.....Winterhaven.
  

From my photo series called, "Holiday Rush" back in 2011.  The blur represents this crazy time of year and also how fast this CBC went this year!

Winterhaven is a wonderful urban forest full of old trees and landscape. It's also a place Tucsonans visit to get into their holiday spirit!

Some of the largest Aleppo Pines can be found in this neighborhood.  Nesting hawks, owls, and ravens use these trees to nest. 

To make the task less daunting, I was joined by friend Gordon Karre and Jan Wilson.  It was a crazy weekend full of scouting for the "big day". While none of us expected life birds, we did find lots of wonderful birds just a couple miles away from my house. 

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

On Friday, I went with Jan to scout several parks within our area.  Our mission was to cut some time on Sunday and find the reported Bronzed Cowbirds, a roving Cassin's Kingbird, several Great Horned Owls and a family of Harris's Hawks.  Together, with the help from the local neighborhood, we were able to pinpoint known locations of their infamous feathered and VOCAL residents. Some of the people actually replicated their calls!  Not bad at all! I asked them questions about what kinds of things they saw.  One lady described a group of hawks hanging out together in a group.  Then I asked her, "Were they brown?  Did they have yellow legs?" And she invited us to come into her backyard to have a look. Our hunch was correct.  Harris's Hawks.

Harris's Hawk

On Sunday, we were able to find all of them.  It was early to rise for the Great Horned Owl! And it was our first bird for the day as a team!  We also had a Red-breasted Nuthatch in the neighborhood on Friday.  But come Sunday, we weren't able to locate the bird again.  Instead, we found a White-breasted Nuthatch!

A Redhead!  And yet our Tucson CBC circle dipped on two of these birds!  Had I known, we could have poached another group's area to add them to our list!  These were seen on Saturday night!  But  midnight Sunday is when the count officially begins.  

Saturday, Gordon drove down from Phoenix. Here in Tucson it rained all morning! We tried to find the reported Baltimore Oriole and ended up looking at the fantastic waterfowl around the Sweetwater Wetlands and Reid Park.  After a cold and fun day out in the field, we had a nice dinner at a local Thai restaurant. 

Canvasbacks

Then Sunday came.  Being titled "Area Leader" is bit scary.  It's a big responsibility that required me to pull up the map and really focus on areas with the most birds that were inside our area. Time is a major constraint on these counts. We also worked on some hunches.  Some worked out; some didn't.   I know Area 23 well as I drive it everyday to work.  But it's still a bit overwhelming to lead and guide a team.  I didn't want to fail in the eyes of the Master Planner, Mr. Rich Hoyer.  For two years, he took the time and showed me how a birder must scout for birds in both known and unknown locations.  He KNOWS the routes and areas of his CBC circle well. Not all CBC count leaders are like this. Afterwards, we had a wonderful potluck. Rich made a delicious chili. Everyone eagerly listened to those rare bird reports from around town.  And there were quite a few! 

A Red-tailed Hawk watches us

As I sat with these birders, I thought about how amazing they were. I may not know many of them in person, but I read their reports daily.  There were so many stories, secret birding spots and bird behaviors shared during this dinner.  I went home wanting to know more.  Do more! As birders, we learn crazy things from each other.  We are our best teachers.  

Pied-billed Grebe

A personal goal for me on this count was to explore one of the last wild stands of cholla(pronounced ch-oh-ya) in the neighborhood.  Our Cactus Wren population within the city is disappearing.  Their populations are either declining or stable(depending on which end of the city you're on) due to habitat loss from housing developments.  Many homeowners don't want this plant around their property. 

Cactus Wren

I notice that wherever there isn't cholla cactus, Cactus Wrens are either not present or there are very few. I have them nesting at my work site in Oro Valley within a healthy preserved section of Sonoran desert.  There these birds nest every year in several chollas. Curve-billed Thrashers will also use this very important cactus for nesting. 

A Curve-billed Thrasher nests in a most protective Teddy Bear Cholla

Humans, however, hate this "jumping cactus" as it can be quite painful on the skin. It will hook onto anything that passes by and if that happens, you won't forget the sensation. That is how it spreads:) We had good news on our count that day as we found 3 Cactus Wrens!  That was my highlight from our trek around Area 23 for the day. 

My favorite pic from the day!  Gordon is TALL and so are these Cholla Cactus!  What a trooper! No Cactus Wrens were seen in this area.  There was some nesting evidence in a couple.  As Gordon went deeper into the patch, he didn't notice much in the way of old nest material but he did find plenty of Mourning Doves hiding!

Overall we found 43 species for the day which is higher than past CBC reports from our area.  We added 6 new species to the list! Love was in the air as we observed Red-tailed Hawks "in the mood" and a Costa's Hummingbird showing off for his lady friend. He danced high above us with his high pitched whir.  

Female Costa's Hummingbird

We discovered all birds on our lists from Friday and Sunday minus the Brewer's Blackbirds, Townsend's Warbler,  Rufous-winged Sparrows and Hutton's Vireo.  The top birds from our area that were "must finds" for the count were the American Pipits, Bronzed Cowbirds, and Vermilion Flycatchers. All achieved!

Bronzed Cowbird

Our first team bird wasn't the dreaded Rock Pigeon but the Great Horned Owl!  Our last bird for the day was a beautiful Red-naped Sapsucker. 

Eurasian-collared Dove

The most common birds were easily the Lesser Goldfinches(181 birds), House Finches(359 birds), and Mourning Doves(318). Overall we had a wonderful weekend outdoors!

Target birding is back on for the next two weeks and should be interesting.  How interesting? You'll have to stay tuned for more!  As one year of goals finishes up, a new one will begin and it will take me to far away places:) Opportunities, like this CBC, give me a better insight about what's going on locally with our birds.  When we take this sliver of data and add it to what's happening globally, all of us involved begin to see the bigger picture.  To get involved in the US with the Christmas Bird Count, contact your local Audubon and find out when they have their CBC.  They need volunteers who can hike or just sit in their house and count birds at their feeders. It's really a great experience!  More next week....