Juvenile Boot Camp

Northern Flicker(Red-shafted)

Right now, up in the mountains, around the grasslands, hopping around the cacti and playing in the canyons, many Arizona fledglings are learning how to be birds. AND SURVIVE! Each species is unique when it comes time for raising their young ones. 

Yellow-eyed Junco just developing the yellow eye:)

Yellow-eyed Juncos work together as a team.  The young ones stick together and hunt along the ground for food.  

Olive Warbler

Olive Warblers learn how to fly for the first time as the parents lead them from branch to branch. Sometimes if they stray too far, they remind the little ones to return to their location. 

Red-faced Warbler

Young Red-faced Warblers are curious just like most juveniles of our planet's species (which includes our own).  Parent's keep a close eye on their young ones when a Cooper's Hawk or Steller's Jay gets too close. An alarm call goes out and parents will actively chase the predators away. 

Bushtit

The smaller birds, like this young Bushtit, try to figure out how to eat this ant.  It takes the bug and smacks it many times against the branch.  And then again and again until the bug is dead.  Many of his siblings are doing the same.  The parents know that with time and practice, they'll be pros. 

Some birds, like the Cordilleran Flycatcher, just sit on a branch and wait for Mom or Dad to come feed them. Then the parent's call their young one to fly to their new position where they'll feed them again. Clever flight training technique! 

Cordilleran Flycatcher

A young Bridled Titmouse tries to take down a very large moth that is much bigger than the bird.  It grabs the wing of the moth and the moth pulls the bird with it!  Once again, Mom and Dad save the day and help out!  

An older photo not taken from this photo shoot but one to help tell the story of the Bridled Titmouse

Young birds MUST learn quickly how to survive.  It's a do or die world out there in the land of Nature.  They face so many obstacles and as we observe these young birds, we hope they make it. Sometimes, it's heart breaking to observe a Steller's Jay take down a young Dark-eyed Junco while the parents helplessly scream and attack the Jay. But we understand that the Jay is also part of the world and needs to survive. 

Other times I am mortified by what I see. Here are some stock photos from a couple years ago.  I see babies jumping out of nests and parents and older siblings flocking around the predator to make sure the young ones survive.  Again, I do nothing in this case.  It's part of Nature.  

Pyrrhuloxia on high alert

 But when I see the young ones on the road where they can get run over by a car, I do assist because most headphone wielding joggers or drivers aren't paying attention to their surroundings. I block traffic and allow these young ones passage to the other side of the road where they will be safe.  

Mom is waiting with food once the young are off the road.  Dad and Uncle P are screaming at the snake while the fledglings bounce out of their nest onto the road. 

Anytime, humans are involved, I will break the Prime Directive of Birding and assist when needed.  They already have enough to worry about and don't need the human threat added. Fortunately, the Pyrrhuloxia story ended well.  As for the Coachwip(Red Racer) snake?  Well once the birds were off the road, I backed away carefully.  It's a beautiful snake but I've seen it get nasty with Herpers when they try to hold them.  That's why I don't hold snakes or lizards:)

We had a great time helping Jeff from Madison, WI find his lifers on Mt. Lemmon.  And while he found his lifers, we observed some amazing parent/fledgling activity. Every time I go out into the field, there is ALWAYS something new and different happening. 

Life is good.  Until next time.......

A Global Big Day

On Saturday, Ms. Muriel invited me to go birding with her.  She was on a trek to find several life birds, the Rufous-capped Warbler and Red-headed Woodpecker.  Both were in remote locations.  So I brought along my water pack for an epic journey into some of Southern Arizona's most beautiful places, Hunter and Gardner Canyons. 

Our first trek was a steep one into Hunter Canyon. Muriel was hoping to find her first ever Rufous-capped Warbler.  Now you all know that I've been casually looking for this bird on several treks this year to mostly study the kind of habitat this warbler prefers. 

Western Tanager

The hike was gorgeous but a killer as we crawled our way up the mountain side. With a fully charged water pack, several pound camera, and binos around the neck, it can make a hike difficult. The key these days for rare birds is documentation. And that requires equipment.  So what would we find?

I was confident we'd find the bird but I wasn't going to say it outloud.  That would jinx the find and leave Muriel sans a life bird.  Patience and knowing where to look was key......

Cordilleran Flycatcher

 Along the way, we enjoyed observing many of the more common birds.  Once we reached the stream near the hillside, I knew we were in the right spot. It took time and the recognition of the call to get our eyes on the bird.  One called from within the New Mexican Locust bushes/trees on the hillside.  We followed the call until.....

Rufous-capped Warbler

.....the warbler made an appearance. Muriel was so excited as was I.  With the adrenaline rush, we decided to go for another lifer, a rare migrating Red-headed Woodpecker in Gardner Canyon. 

Western Kingbird

We followed the directions carefully as we entered Gardner Canyon.  Muriel is excellent with such things.  I am not.  But thankfully, several birders put in their notes that a nesting pair of Red-tailed Hawks had several young.  Within moments of parking the vehicle, I could hear them calling.  It's like playing detective.  That's part of the fun....or frustration.  Several guys were camping out and we asked them if they had seen a bunch of weird birder people come through the area and they replied..."Why yes."  

Curious Red-tailed Hawk babies....CUTE!

We followed the stream past the very vocal hawk babies into a campground.  Muriel pointed to a tree and said, "Oh my gosh! There it is!"  A white flash flew before our very eyes.  What a gorgeous bird!

Then we waited to see if the bird would make a closer appearance.  So we sat down on a log. What a beautiful place to camp! Soon another birder, Ms. Janine McCabe, strolled quietly along the dirt road.  She does that.  Secretive and almost appearing out of nowhere.  Is she human?  Yes.  Does she possess magical bird powers?  Yes.  She's one of the fun Arizona birders.

Red-headed Woodpecker

As she stepped onto the scene, the woodpecker flew above our heads and there were many "ooo's and ahhhh's".  This time we both had a lifer and it was exciting!

We celebrate our lifer at Gardner Canyon.  That's a terrible pic of me with a really bad cheesy smile.  My Grandma would not approve.  As for Muriel, well I don't think she takes a bad pic at all.  She's classy even after a day of birding.  Me on the other hand.....I need a hair cut. 

We were on a roll.  So we decided to explore, the Cienagas grasslands nearby.  A storm began to blow into the area. 

Eastern Meadowlark(Lillian's Subspecies)

The winds picked up.  But the birds were active!

So were the Black-tailed Prairie Dogs!

To finish off our day, I knew of a spot where there was a Western Screech-Owl hanging out.  We went to the spot and there he was.  And I do believe it is a "HE".  There is a nesting box nearby and this is the time of year when their young have hatched.  Dad doesn't fit in the box SO he gets the boot.  Anyhow, it was the cherry on top of our banana split.  Or in plain English, a great way to end our big Global Day.  

While we were having fun, we were also helping add data to the global network of bird species! For lots of pretty pics and info, here are our reports. Hunter Canyon. Gardner Canyon. Ciénagas Grasslands. And the San Pedro Riparian Area. I love birding with Muriel. She is one of the kindest people you'll ever meet. Thank you Muriel for the invite! We'll be owling on our next trek with a new face AND a familiar one.  Stay tuned for more!  

Red-tailed Hawk

A Band of Birders

The Green-tailed Towhee

The journey never ends and the birds are always out there just waiting to be found.  Part of the fun about birding is getting the chance to hang out with new and old friends of all ages!  

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Butterfly

And the part I love most is how spontaneous it all can be!  It's like being a kid again.

Cordilleran Flycatcher

Recently I have really gotten back into camping.  My family used to go often on the weekends while we were growing up in Wisconsin. It has been a lot of fun setting up "home" in the middle of the woods with friends.  The secret to a good nights sleep?  An air mattress:) 

Nesting Cordilleran Flycatchers

So on a trip to Greer, we, the band of birders, went looking for some elusive birds.  There we would discover many amazing birds like the American Dipper(finally!), Gray Jays, Pine Grosbeaks and a Long-eared Owl!

Of course, we'd spot many other beautiful things, but there's nothing quite like the company of fun people to enhance the birding experience. 

Northern Pygmy-Owl

Risk taking was something I used to do often when I was younger. Birding can be a lot like gambling.  You win some and you lose some. On Friday, we hit all of our target birds except the Dusky Grouse.  But with the unexpected Long-eared Owl making an appearance, it was a win-win for everyone...making up for the dip on the Grouse.

Then Saturday came.  Oh Saturday!  We drove to the 4 corners area to search for a Black-billed Magpie(below).  Why a gorgeous bird like this would hang around the 4 corners area is beyond me!  There had been reports of several birds in the area. And they were found in a tree-lined wash.  Okay, no problem.  So we drove a looooooong way to get there.....and gambled.

Black-billed Magpie in Colorado Springs, CO

Along the way, we joked and laughed really hoping we'd see this bird and count it on our state list.  The areas we had been passing were quite beautiful but not looking very Magpie friendly.  Eventually we arrived at the Klingon sounding(Star Trek reference/I'm a nerd) settlement known as Teec Nos Pos. Actually it's Navajo for "Cottonwoods in a Circle".  

Our intrepid crew!  Pic courtesy of Tommy D!  From left to right...Me, Magill, Gordon and Tommy

That made sense because the town was built around a wash full of Cottonwoods. This part of the Navajo Reservation reminded me of a ghost town. And not the good kind.  I swear there were zombies hiding behind trees. I don't know where all the people were, but it was dead silent. Thankfully we were a band of birders exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations.  Or at least that's what I told myself:)

So we reached the area where the Magpies had been reported.  The habitat looked right. The coordinates were correct. So we hesitantly left our space shuttle vehicle. I was wearing a red shirt that day. Broken glass bottles sparkled in between the rocks. And there was trash everywhere.  Several trees were spray painted with colorful letters.  Dirty shirts and other clothing items draped tree branches. Perhaps a homeless encampment? Or maybe some sort of wild outdoor party happened here? There was evidence of beer drinking.  But the intrepid crew of the USS Gordon entered the forested area listening for a singular Magpie call. 

Solitary Sandpiper

One of the crew members explored a densely packed wooded area alone and discovered a human male shooting his arm full of drugs. "Yellow Alert!" (one condition level below Red Alert or meaning high caution) At this point, birds became secondary. Soon after, other humans arrived in a beat up car and our band of birders began to discuss the safety factors.  The heart to explore beats strongly in each of us, but sometimes the risk isn't worth it. And it was decided inside this rather sketchy and narrow wash that we would leave and explore around the settlement....at warp speed:)

Long-eared Owl

I could see the disappointment on people's faces.  I felt it as well!  It's hard to dip on a bird you know is in the area.  But safety first!  On this day, something triggered a couple of our alarms and I have found to trust in it for a good reason.  I have been incident free over the years while traveling here and there and I hope to keep it that way. 

American Dipper

However with that said, I enjoyed the experience very much.  I would never have gone to that part of the state alone and I was so glad we were able to explore new territory together.  Sometimes it's not always about getting the target bird....sometimes it's about something more. It won't be an experience I forget anytime soon. We thought we'd head to the 4 corners for a photo op on a human made landmark, but when we discovered that it was going to cost 5 bucks a person, we all said, "NO WAY!"  The bitter taste of dipping on the Magpie was still present.

Prairie Dog

But what's that saying? "Take milk from a cow and make a milkshake".  No no I think it's "Squeeze lemons and make a vodka lemonade:)" In any case, we birded our way back into Greer during a beautiful monsoon storm.  And that long trip back?  It wasn't long at all because we had fun trekking along the lakes on the return trip!  I discovered my mammal lifer!  The Prairie Dog. 

Male Calliope Hummingbird

And like the old childhood/college adventures, we returned to camp and planned our fun for the next day under the night sky while we ate our meal. Common Nighthawks called from the darkness.  The rain began to pitter patter down from the canopy of the trees.  A sign that it was time to retire into our tents.  That night I slept well as the cool breeze blew in under the tent flaps. 

As a side note, the 4 Corners area is safe as is most of Teec Nos Pos.  But many times, as in our case, we were searching in areas not populated or known by many people.  The birds always guide us.  Part of the fun in birding is playing the role of detective.  Unfortunately, there are places like the one we visited that can be sketchy.  Arizona has several of these birding hotspots and its always best to go in a group.  More next time....

From Sheep's Crossing in Greer!  A great place to go fishing and find an American Dipper:)  For more great birds and places to find them, check out Wild Bird Wednesday!

Colorful Characters

Cedar Waxwing

My days are coming to an end in Guatemala.  But before I left on this trip, I tried to get in as much birding as I could around Southern Arizona.  Today I have a collection of special birds from around Pima County near the Proctor Road and higher elevations.

When it becomes too hot to bird in the desert, we rise to higher elevations.

Blue Grosbeak

The characters have all changed again.  The month of June is a slow one concerning birds.  But once the monsoon picks up, the rarities will begin to show up left and right.

Cordilleran Flycatcher

Up on Mt. Lemmon, the Cordilleran Flycatchers were everywhere with their green/yellow colors.

Pygmy Nuthatch

The lifebird, a Red-faced Warbler, made me think of the holiday season as he fed from the various trees up on Summerhaven on Mt. Lemmon. Talk about a gorgeous warbler!  Tricky bugger as well!!!

Red-faced Warbler

A lot of people always ask me why our North American birds are much more drab.   Well, birds have to blend in with their surroundings.  But I'd like to point out with this post that there are birds with color here. I couldn't stop taking pics of this tricky warbler!

Sorry....I went a little Red-faced Warbler nuts!  Lifebirds will do that:)

Cordilleran Flycatcher

The thing is....even colorful birds can blend in with their surroundings:)  My ears reveal their location and I am then able to locate the bird.  My partner in crime, Micheal, can locate the birds by eyesight alone.  That's how we found the Cedar Waxwing!  It was silent in the trees as I walked right by it.

Hooded Oriole

Even the browns of our many Northern American birds are attractive.  Take the Botteri's Sparrow below.  It has a rusty color.

Botteri's Sparrow

The Western Wood Pewee may be drab on the outside, but it's another beautiful bird as it flies from its' perch.

Western Wood Pewee

This little guy will normally have yellow on the underside of the breast covered by it's gray vest.  There is some slight yellow here, but the sun washed the color out.

I really enjoy watching the Pewees at work.  They have such a loud snap snap!  as they chase after the bugs.

Not enough color???  Okay let's get back to business.  I put two shots up of a Western Tanager using two different cameras.  We both trained our cameras on the bird.  I use a slightly different lens for my Canon than what Micheal uses for his Nikkon.  The Nikkon wins here.

Western Tanager(with Canon)

I like both shots, but the detail is better on his shot below.  Before going to Guatemala, I wanted to play around with the cameras to get a better idea on which one to bring.

Western Tanager(with Nikkon)

Once I have good ID shots, I'll start playing around with artsy photography part more.  I used to do that more but the having a solid bird ID photo is important.

As you can see in the pics above and below, the birds use the Saguaro Cactus for many different reasons. This cactus is very important to our habitat.

Northern Cardinal

In fact, with lifebird number 2 today(the Purple Martin), it is very important!  The bird nests in the cavity of this plant.

Purple Martin

The Purple Martin appears black here but I assure you, it's a shiny purple color.  The sun plays tricks on the eyes and camera. Plus the feathers are iridescent giving the bird the appearance of looking like a blackbird.

So why are there so many brown birds in North America?  Maybe I'm not understanding the question:)  We have lots of color out there, but the trick is to keep a look out for these characters.

On my next post, it's not about my photography at all.  It's a little about night birding and thanking the people responsible for my education in the birding world.  It's not an overnight thing and it does take time to learn this incredible hobby. All you need is a love for nature, some epic hiking, and a little patience.  I will be gone the first week of July to Mexico and I again apologize for my absence.  We are heading to Northern Mexico in the state of Sonora to study the birds at a large and private ranch.  This blog is an account of my adventures from around the world and at home.  Many times it's about birds but it's also about everything else. Life is an adventure.  All we have to do is step outside our doors to find it:) I'm out of town but will be back in July.