The Planet Covid 19

Painted Lady

During this first true week of the pandemic in Arizona, I have seen great acts of kindness balanced with great acts of rudeness.  I have seen things written and said that are hateful on both sides. A divided nation.  Angry millennials telling the boomers that they deserve what they get and that essentially this disease is the "boomer remover". Here's the thing. Whether I agree or not with this older generation, I still love many of them. My parents are boomers.  Some of my best friends are boomers.  If anything happened to them, I'd be sad.  If anything happened to anyone close to me, I'd be sad. We are a divided nation with divided generations and a virus that doesn't care who you are. It's a scary time.  I look back at my life and just scratch my head.  So much has happened, but never have I had this experience! Home is my headquarters. Kinda....:)

Anna's Hummingbird

I have drawn deeper into myself this past week calling upon nature to heal.  And so have many other people; sometimes dangerously too close to one another.  Everyone says get out in nature, but people think, at least here, that if they are in nature and in close proximity that they won't be affected. Wrong!  As a birder, I know secret spaces where I can have a whole canyon to myself or a patch of grassland free of humanity.  It's really not as easy as you think.  Now that children have no school, they are off the leashes and some parents are letting them scare off the wildlife!

Common Black Hawk

The Tubac Hawk Watch was called off several days ago because many birders were congregating there to watch the amazing hawk show.  I did well and socially distanced myself from the crowds.  But some birders were jokingly doing high fives with their elbows and then hugged.  It's very human and beautiful.  And we forget.  "Certainly, he or she doesn't have the Covid(Corvid to birders) 19 virus.", we think. And let's face it.  Much of the birding crowd is over 60.  One infected person and BOOM! Gone. Wiped out. I'd hate to see that happen.  The hawk watch was shutdown by the town of Tubac.  Now secretly,in fear of fines or arrest, we walk the trails and look up at the skies in solitude pretending we're not looking for hawks in the sky above Tubac:) Hide the binos!

I've been personally connecting with spaces.  And friends in town.  This past weekend, we hiked 2 miles into the quiet Willow Canyon of the super crazy and busy Mt. Lemmon.  The snow on the road kept vehicles from driving into the canyon and that was a clue for us to explore.  We had snow and a beautiful running stream without human people screaming and shouting around us.  Perfection.  

female Cassin's Finch

Along the riparian corridors, clouds pose as jellyfish in the sky. 

A Common Black Hawk flies above our heads and we smile.  Migration is inspiration.  

The moon is a wonder in the daylight. 

Spring flowers bloom in the thousands.  The Anna's Hummingbird comes to feed in his territory. 

I look across the pond of a local preserve and observe Great Egrets hunting for fish.  Desert Bluebells and California Poppies begin their dazzling shows here. 

A Black-tailed Gnatcatcher dances around several wildflowers and gleans insects from the foliage. 

I go during the off times at a popular wetlands in Tucson and quietly observe everything around me.  The warblers are back!

Birds carry on as a serious pandemic takes hold in many countries. 

Common Gallinule

I scan the reeds and notice that one of the reeds is looking back at me. 

American Bittern

I drive out to a far away place for a rare bird.  I drive through miles and miles of wildflowers blanketing the Sonoran desert. It's the quiet that I need now. I need time to think. We are in the eye of a storm.  The crazy is about to begin and virus takes hold of the West.  Tonight, Pima County had its first Coronavirus death. 

I've seen people pay it forward.  We've witnessed someone giving the last loaf of bread to an elderly man who cried.  Someone at our produce market paid for 50 people to get food to their families. I almost had a tear in my eye until I saw an old granny vaping and blowing the vape in our directions.  Everyone around her was like, "What the hell lady?"  Social distancing was not happening.  

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

And hey! I'm okay with ordering food every night to help support local restaurants.  That might be the worst silver lining ever:)  

Lucy's Warbler

Have hope.  Be safe.  Be smart.  And be kind to each other. Below is a video that made me laugh.  But warning....there is language. Until next time.....

Take Notice

The San Francisco Peaks outside of Flagstaff

Back in Arizona, the sun was out and spring had begun. 

Common Gallinule

Nesting birds were everywhere.  I was gone for one week and in one week so much had changed here!  New birds had arrived!  

a nesting Greater Roadrunner

Hawks begin the migration cycle. Then the Lucy's and Yellow Warblers arrive with the Bell's Vireos.  They are followed by the gulls, terns and sandpipers. While all that is going on, the Black-headed Grosbeaks, Tanagers and Orioles also move forward. Hummingbirds and night birds start to fly into the scene and it can be quite overwhelming! 

Ornate Tree Lizard

Sometimes it's hard to pick and choose where to go because there is so much activity happening around us. The birds are most active in the spring as they call for a potential mate.  It is also during this time that birders will get quality views of the normally secretive birds.  

Lucy's Warbler

The wildflower show begins and is then followed by cacti blooming everywhere!

Parry's Beardtongue or Parry's Penstemon

We watch as juvenile Bald Eagles attempt to copulate or just practice aerial flights with other birds.  Here, we can see the size difference between these two birds as they fly over Mormon Lake up in Flagstaff. I didn't observe any aggression between the Bald Eagle and Red-tailed Hawk.  I got a sense that it was either territorial or that the eagle was practicing its flight moves with the hawk.  Human comparison?  Like two ice skaters in sync with each other during a performance.  

This was quite a show. 

I hear a Great Horned Owl make a call.  I follow his low hoot that echoes in the palms and find two ladies making out.  I said, "Hey, stop making out and look at the owl above you!"  They pulled out their cell phones and snapped shots.  Apparently love is the air for all living things. 

Great Horned Owl

"The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it."  Peter Pan 

I am a birder and always will be.  I cannot give up this journey.  Sometimes I question myself.  When is enough....enough?  And then something happens to remind me that without certain elements in my life, I'd be lost.

While my trip to the Pacific Northwest satiated my lifer search, it once again brought me back to reality.  Each day alive is a gift. I was reminded of that once again when one of my fellow co-workers unexpectedly passed away during surgery.  She was only 62 years old. I have met so many people that only have their work or kids that define them. Retirement is a reawakening for many people. But for some, it's the scariest thing ever. This teacher was always the first one at school helping the kiddos learn their math. Once she told me that if she didn't have her job, she wouldn't be sure what she would do. And that is a reality for many people. 

Curve-billed Thasher in Cholla nest

I get so busy with my own life that I forget to stop and think about those who suffer from loneliness. It's often said we surround ourselves with people who are like-minded.  I think most people are busy, happy and pursuing their passions.  But that isn't always the case.  I drown in my work sometimes and need to take the time to pay better attention to my coworkers around me.  I mean....I do it with the birds! And if I didn't pay attention to the details in my marriage, I'd be in big trouble:)

Hedgehog Cactus in bloom

 A moment in time.  That's all we have.  As spring arrives, I remember to soak it all into this brain of mine. My definition of work?  It's something I enjoy.  It grounds me and gives me a routine but it isn't my life.  That's not to say that I don't love what I do....but it doesn't define my existence.  My marriage, the birds, my friends, my family....and my cats take up a lot of my time. I'm a lucky guy and I never take any of that for granted.

"Hey!, it's time for a haircut!"

Life is an adventure. So is shaving a long haired cat. I know Ms. Harmon would have loved this because she was a cat person just like we are. We talked about cats way more than anyone ever should:)  Until next time....

Spring Is In The Air

Broad-billed Hummingbird

When things start warming up, it's hard to ignore the changes around us. When the Broad-billed Hummingbird starts feeding from the stunning Parry's Penstemon, I stop with others and marvel at the incredible beauty that nature provides this time of year. 

Mountain Laurel pollinated by the Carpenter Bee

It's a reminder that everything renews. 
 

The Great Horned Owls nest and have their owlets every spring at my work site. Every year we look forward to their return as we watch them go from egg to large owl in just a matter of weeks!
 

Fairy Duster

 But it's not just the birds.  A Fairy Duster bursts forth like a firecracker in the night sky. A Tucson garden, thanks to African Daisies, brightens up our lives with a little sunshine.  
 

African Daisies

 All it takes is one rain event. 
 

Desert Globemallow

Insects, wildflowers, migrating birds alike.......

Anna's Hummingbird with Turk's Cap

......remind us that life is constant change.  With or without us.

Common Gallinule(Moorhen)

I never once take any of this for granted. 

A protective nesting Cooper's Hawk

 Each year as I grow older, I still marvel at it all like I once did as a kid. 

These epic landscapes are the paintings that will define our lifetime.  And I hope they remain that way for generations to come. 

Created with my cartoon app. Snapped a shot at Sabino creek with my phone and had a little fun.  It was the most perfect day.  

Until next time.....

Don't forget to check out Wild Bird Wednesday.