A Wandering Gypsy

On a rainy day, we decided to travel the magical Gila River circuit. We began our route on Highway 77 and circled around the towns of Winkelman, Globe, Florence and then back down to Tucson. 

Tubing down the Gila River

Some people can float down the river and throw their beer cans in the water without a thought.  Me, on the other hand, needed to clean those beer cans up before they were blown into the river. So with Micheal's help, we grabbed most of them off the beach. 

Note Cliff Swallow nests in background.  Who does this??!!!

One of the cans escaped our grasp as the wind blew it into the river! Once the current grabbed it; it was gone! We are now going to start packing garbage bags in our car to get rid of the fish line, beer cans and other piggish human leftovers. It's their reckless behavior that endangers our wildlife and pollutes our few waterways here in Arizona.  And there's not enough people out there to manage these areas properly so much of it goes unsupervised. 

Cliff Swallows nest.  Note the cute juvenile peaking the head out of the nest.

Glad I got that off my chest.  Now for the write!  I know one thing for certain.  Wherever I go, I will find birds.  They might not always be the "target" bird for the day but there always seems to be a surprise waiting around each rock, hanging out on a tree branch, or soaring high above my head.  You can't put a price on these experiences...well beyond gas, eating out, etc.  Along the verdant Gila River near Winkelman, AZ, we stopped at several sites to check up on some nesting Common Black Hawks, Cliff Swallows(above), Hooded Orioles, Yellow-breasted Chats, etc. It was overcast, breezy and cool! I highly recommend driving from Tucson along Highway 77 to Globe. Once in Globe, let your wanderlust take over and just explore.  Go north into the forests. Go west into some gorgeous canyon country.  Or go east and head to the San Carlos Reservoir. 

Casa Grande Ruins

This past week I bought my National Parks Pass since we are going to need it for several stops this year.  We decided to check up on another nesting favorite of ours, the Great Horned Owls. We used our pass at the Casa Grande Ruins and found our old friends hanging out on the beams above the ancient structure. 

Rock Pigeon

At this point, it began drizzling outside!  If you're not familiar with Southern Arizona, June tends to be our driest month of the year.  Many years we receive little to zero precipitation.  However this year, we started the month out with some hot temps, but they have gone away thanks to rain!  Even as I write this post, it's overcast and drizzling in Tucson!  Anyhow the pics are a bit grainy from it being dark outside. 

Great Horned Owl male

On the way back into Tucson, we stopped at the superstar hotspot known as Coachline yet again for another rare visitor.....the American White Pelican. 

a cloudy Coachline Lake

It was fun watching new birders try to figure out this bird from afar. Their puzzled expressions made me smile. They asked me in their declarative questioning voices, "That's not an egret or heron."  "No." "That's not a gull." "No, but the California Gull is behind it."  "So what is it?"  I never give the answer. Too easy to do.  The teacher in me helps them figure it out on their own. It's much more satisfying to watch them process their answers. Here is what they initially saw. And you can see why they were stumped. 

What do you see?  Three bird species in this photo.  Neotropic Cormorants, CA Gull and American White Pelican

Now for you all familiar with pelicans, this is obviously a pelican.  But if you're from the desert and have just begun birding, this "rare" bird would certainly confuse.  So when the lady spoke with her questionable declarative voice, "Certainly it's not a Pelican?" Ding ding ding!!!  Then I watched them get excited.  A lifer for everyone in the party and a great way to end the day.  

American White Pelican

And "thanks" to several curious boys, the birds moved into the waters. 

American Wigeon(drake) rare for this time of year

 For the rest of my week, I just went to a nearby park to bird.  On this day, it WAS hot and I like to go towards the evening when it cools down. Plus there is adequate shade there for me to count birds. 

Zone-tailed Hawk at Saguaro National Park, Rincon Unit

 Another surprise happened at Saguaro National Park.  Because again, it was VERY hot, I went to get my Parks pass and drive/bird their 9 mile loop.  I know it sounds funny, but this is one of the ways we can logistically bird during our very hot summers in the desert.  Saguaro National Park is a great place to find all your desert critters from the comfort of your a/c run car.  At the end of the loop, I highly recommend stopping at the Javelina Picnic area.  Sit in the shaded ramadas and have lunch or walk around a bit.  This is probably the birdiest area.  You'll have all kinds of critters come to your picnic table.  I know some people don't like reptiles, but this is a great place to find all kinds of snakes and lizards.  Just watch where you step.  And like each time I visit this park, I always discover something new.  Last time it was the Gila Monster.  This time it was a beautiful Zone-tailed Hawk(above).  WOW! 

Young Common Ravens hanging out at Reid Park

 So for the books, I added three new bird species this week to the year list.  I found a Blue Grosbeak and Common Black Hawk along the Gila River and the American White Pelican at Coachline lake. This brings my species list up to 321 birds for North America.   In other news, I submitted my writing and photography to Bird Watcher's Digest.  That felt good!  Note to self.  Need to buy another external file.  Next week we will be traveling somewhere completely new:) Until then, have a great week and happy birding! 

Drake Wood Duck is yet another rare duck for Tucson in the summer

Early Holiday Deals

Sometimes the best birding spots are the ones often overlooked.  After a rainy trip up to Greer in August for a couple days, we stumbled on this little gem near Winkelman on the way back home. Sadly, I must report that Santa was not seen in this thick mesquite forest.

Rocky Mountain Toad or Woodhouse's Toad

So if Santa didn't live here, why would someone call this place Christmas?  Apparently on Christmas day in 1902, this mine was staked out and a town would be born. However, it is now a ghost town.  Some old abandoned buildings remain around this area including an old playground.  For three decades, the former post office here was a popular destination for letters postmarked, "Christmas."

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

I suppose it was like Christmas because I finally was able to obtain decent photos of a Canyon Wren!!!  For months, I had sworn to myself that this bird had it out for me.  I'd hear it, see it and try to get it on camera.  It would jump out on a rock and do its " ascending to descending" call right in front of me.  By the time, I'd get my lens fixed, the bird/s were gone!!  We heard the Canyon Wren calling down the verdant path and we quietly made our way over to where this bird was singing. Both Kathie and myself were able to get some of our best views ever on this bird.    So it was the best Christmas ever!  No cookies or milk were needed for this visit!

Canyon Wren

We marveled at this riparian area as it was full of life.  But Kathie mentioned that she wouldn't want to bird here alone.  I agreed.  Apparently Santa had some homeless elves living around the river as there were elfish things left around various places.

It should also be noted that under the dense mesquite forest, his reindeer pooped a lot.  However they looked more like cattle than deer, but I digress.  I couldn't find a red nose in the bunch.  But we did spot a Vermilion Flycatcher!

We continued under rainy skies searching for birds.  There were several paths and we followed them down to the river.  We were cautious because the river began to rise from the monsoon flooding north of our area.

We found a swing over the river. Not sure if this could hold Santa or not, but it looked like a great way to cool off on this hot and muggy day.  I imagined him taking off that shirt jumping into the muddy waters below.  It wasn't pretty.

Kathie had thought she had seen a Common Black Hawk up on our ride to the Greer area as we passed Winkelman.  We confirmed it once we heard and saw a juvenile Common Black Hawk taking flight.  Now that was pretty thrilling!  I'm not one for the crazy holiday season but I will have to say that this was probably the best Christmas ever.  I also learned that Santa was a miner and cattle rancher in another life:)  More coming up......
Today I'm linking with Wild Bird Wednesday.

Juvenile Common Black Hawk