Solitude In A World Of Chaos

This female Bobcat joined me in m my hike with her offspring behind. 

So much noise everywhere.  Have you ever tried to find a place where there wasn't any noise?  No construction.  No planes flying overhead.  No children screaming in the background. No TV or radio. NO TRAFFIC!  Just silence? 

A surprise Cassin's Vireo

Over the past couple weeks, I tried finding those spaces.  It was difficult.  But on one particular walk, I had a whole wetlands to myself. Free of human noise. Finally. I touched the bark of the willow and listened to the Marsh Wren rattle off his morse code to another bird in the reeds. A Song Sparrow shouted out his melodious sing song to a curious female. The signs of spring are upon us again. I stop to absorb everything around me.  Not just the birds. 

A Red-tailed Hawk takes flight at sunset

It's the birds I know best, but I had an amazing experience that made me geek out on the trails. 

Cats! As I crossed a path, I discovered a Bobcat doing what cats do best....cleaning herself. What I didn't know was that there were two of them!  Her offspring came out from behind a bush near me!

Like the deer with Celeste several weeks ago, or the Greater Roadrunner, or the Javelina, here I was again joined on the trails by one of Mother Nature's coolest feline species, the Bobcat.  I wasn't frightened.  They were close and moved towards me.  There wasn't any malintent.  One of the bobcats was talking to me like my cats do when I'm home.  It made me laugh. I understand "cat" well.  One time many many years ago, back in the 90's, I stumbled upon a Mountain Lion in the alley while I was taking the trash out in the early morning. Again, I laughed and said in a nervous voice, "Hello kitty." I then proceeded to slowly walk back inside the house never leaving my eyes off that huge cat.  Her body language wasn't threatening, but she was wild and it's better to be safe than sorry:)

I was like a giddy kid in a toy store.  It was the best way to start my Saturday!  Body language is everything in the animal world.  And there is a thing about getting too close to a wild animal.  The cats strolled along the path with me for about 20 minutes before they went off to take a nap.  Amazing!

Black-chinned Sparrow almost completes my sparrow set for the year in Pima County

It's those moments that center me.  They are intoxicating addictions and one of the reasons why I love my mornings!  It's the discovery.  The connections to nature.  And my happy place. 

Dark-eyed Junco

Next, I went to Mt. Lemmon.  The mountain was FULL of tourists. So when that happens, I usually go to the trails along the mountain. Most tourists never see the real beauty of this mountain because they're so focused on buying a cookie at the top of a mountain!  Anyway, a hiker walked past me and said there weren't any birds in the forest and that it was quiet.  Had she not been conversing with her friend, she might have heard their little chips.  They were all there.  I pished further up the trail and woke up the little birds.  Suddenly we were surrounded by kinglets, chickadees, and all three species of our Arizona nuthatches!  And in a first for that location(for me), 2 turkeys popped out of the forest to see what was going on.  My owls were still there.  And all was good.  Just doing my yearly check up.  

Mexican Jay

Mexican Jays surrounded us and casually foraged around the trail.  

This life is not easy.  It certainly seemed easier when I was younger, but as I age, the weight of the world seems to get heavier.  On Friday night, the day before my birding, I set a trap to catch drug dealers on our property. Living in midtown is wonderful, but it also comes with a few negatives. No one messes with my sanctuary.  I alerted my neighbors and called the police ahead of time knowing that it takes them forever to arrive at the scene.  And on that same Friday night, those drug dealers were shoe'd off the property for good:)  Nature walk was back on again for Saturday morning.

Sunset with our local Snow Goose

And then the worst news of all. I found out a former student had taken his life.  I couldn't attend the service, but I found out he was buried in a cemetery where I bird. After work, I went to the freshly dug site and sat on the bench.  There were birds. So many Vermilion Flycatchers around. I try to make sense of it all. That cemetery never had a personal connection for me. Now, I'll never look at it the same way. He better be ready for birds visiting his grave.  There were several empty bird feeders hanging there in a tree.  So now every time I go, I'll be bringing bird seed to place at his site. I've worked with thousands of students over the years.  When something like this happens to one of them, it's like I somehow failed them.  And I know deep down I can't save all of them.  It's just hard remembering their happy faces in class knowing that their adventures ended way too early.   

Working with the public takes its toll on a person. I wouldn't have it any other way except maybe be outside more:)  In my late thirties, I discovered the world of birding.  Almost 10 years later, my understanding of the natural world gets stronger.  In times of stress or loss, I am thankful it's there away from all the chaos.  And in that solitude I am reborn.

Our cat, Aurora, is in decline health wise.  There's nothing we can do except make her comfortable and happy.  She is 15 years old and I believe has a cancer that's slowly taking its time.  She can still jump and she can still eat.  So we give her all the extra love while we still can. 

Until next time.....

A True Spectacle

Plumbeous Vireo

Vireo.  A simple and yet complicated bird.  One that masks itself within other small birds like gnatcatchers, warblers, and kinglets.  It makes the game of birding a tricky one.  But the one thing that gives these birds away are the "spectacles" that they wear around their eyes.

And yet, they aren't the easiest to spot.  Lately my eyes catch slower and random movements.....and within those observations, I discover my vireos. They usually tend to be doing their own thing.  And that's when I find myself understanding the word "observation" better.  The more we observe behaviors; the better we become at counting birds. And I find myself beginning to look for those different movements.

Cassin's Vireo

Many times, it's just one hop, skip or flutter to the branch that makes me say, "Wait a minute, that movement is distinct from________________(fill in the blank with gnatcatcher, a warbler, flycatcher, etc)"

And I wasn't quite sure I'd be able to tell the difference between a Plumbeous or Cassin's Vireo.  The Hutton's Vireo can cause beginners to scratch their heads as they try and figure out if the Hutton's is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet or Hammond's Flycatcher. Of course, this is simple stuff to the expert eye but not for beginners who don't know what to look for!  And if you're looking at the appearances, it can be as confusing as a Sparrow.  However those days are over:)  I'm getting cocky now but when I'm in Guatemala this summer, I'll be starting all over again as a newbie:) Oh I can see the ID headaches already.....:) And I won't even talk about sparrows:) Child's play to some while for others(like me), hours sitting behind a book and screen looking for those"field marks!"

However, after many observation hours, these 3 become very distinct. Sound. Movement.  And of course the body/head shapes.  The Hutton's was my first greatest confusion from the vireo family.  But then I met my Plumbeous last year.  Was it really gray?  Or was it a Cassin's green?  After seeing both, I can now say, these two aren't difficult at all.

They are sweet acting little birds that for me are often found jumping quietly on a branch. A Kinglet will rattle away.  A Warbler "CHIP!".  But a Vireo?  Perhaps a quiet tweet.  But their gentle and slower movements cause me to pause and evaluate.

In Tucson, we have 3 vireos on our lists. Of course, there are many more vireos out there, but these are the 3 to look for here in the Old Pueblo.  If you put your spectacles on, you might actually be looking at a vireo:)  I wear my glasses at night.  Maybe that's why it's taken me so long to find them all:) Well not all....there are more many more of these birds in other parts not found here.  Until next time.....

Hutton's Vireo