Malinche

One of the things I wanted to do more than anything else during my return to Tlaxcala was visit the remote areas of Malinche.

I didn't know if it would be possible.  My family asked what I'd like to do and I said, "Malinche."

My sister Elsa had connections and she set up an amazing afternoon with the director overseeing Malinche National Park.  My host mom cooked and cooked all morning for the trek into the remote area of the forest.  It was dark and it. was. amazing.

This is what birding is all about!  With an escort into the forest, we were able to do an amazing first time bird count for ebird in this sector of forest.  We hopped into the truck and began counting birds on a secret dirt trail with food and crew.

At first it was quiet, but then we had hummingbirds every where around large patches of salvia.

I was floored by the discovery of Evening Grosbeaks this far south on the North American continent.  I had never imagined it possible and yet, there they were in the shadows.

And at one point, it seemed to rain birds.  The director was shocked by the amount of vultures and hawks flying over our heads.  I explained that we were witnessing migration and that the birds were settling down for the evening.

Malinche has many specialty birds like the Strickland's Woodpecker, Transvolcanic Jay, and Red Warbler.  In fact, if something rare were to show up in Tlaxcala or Puebla, it would be here.

Red Warblers were everywhere!  And very high up in the dark canopy!

In the darkness, we found amazing birds.  I was able to share my data with the director and get a bird count going for the Huamantla sector.  It was an amazing way to end my trip to Mexico and I am so thankful for the experience. A special thanks to my family for getting it all set up and joining in on the grand adventure that is birding. Plus we enjoyed some delicious muéganos(a type of cookie) on our way back home.

We had an amazing time.  The guys were great and were really good finding birds. Their normal job is putting out fires on the volcano so it was a nice break for them. The young man to the far left was the true birder of the group.  And while he wasn't a birder exactly, he KNEW the birds in the area (and their calls). Here is our report for the Malinche area.

Transitions

Common Raven

Life can get crazy. This past week included getting rid of a swarm of bees on our patio, preparing for Micheal's birthday and running errands for various things.  So when do I get to bird?

Willow Lake in Prescott, AZ

Well like everything else, I have to make the time.  One of the hardest decisions that I've had to make recently was letting go of the Presidency at our HOA.  As of the 31st, a huge weight and stress will be lifted from my shoulders.  More precious positive time again!

Evening Grosbeaks in Sunflower, AZ

As for other transitions? Well I also need to get back into shape again.  I've let myself go.  Yes, I hike and exercise, but it's the food!  I love it so much:)  I'm good the entire day until around 4 PM and then I go crazy.  This summer, I will be trekking around Southern Mexico and I need to get my body prepared for the high humidity hikes.

The treks make me laugh.  One week, I'm freezing my butt off on Lake Michigan.  The next weekend I'm down in Mexico birding along the beach.  This past weekend, we headed up north for a little R&R in Prescott, AZ. Talk about crazy weather extremes!

Western Meadowlark at Willow Lake

I think if it wasn't for birding, the friendships/family or my other half, I'd simply go insane.  Life is crazy.  At the beginning of the year, I thought my time out in the field would be cut to a minimum due to the wedding.  However, I've discovered that I can't let that happen. One day versus a whole year?  I just don't get the crazy need for spending thousands upon thousands of dollars for a one day event. Anyhow, I find the time to explore wherever we go now.

White-breasted Nuthatch

And of course, I enjoy the fun ride that goes with the birds. Today's post takes place at Willow Lake with Micheal and Cynthia near Prescott, Arizona.  Everything was blooming.  Allergies were high and so were the warblers!

Micheal, me and Cynthia

I marvel at it all.  From the chilly woods, to the mountain terrain, and so on and so on.  When one birds, life is an everyday adventure.  Until next week friends..... 

Pops feeds the Mallards, Canada Geese and American Black Ducks  Look lower left in pic to see the ABDU.

As Far As The Condor Flies

We had an adventure planned to the North Rim this past weekend.  It was to find as many nesting birds as we could.  And we did. We discovered so many nesting Williamson's Sapsuckers, Western Bluebirds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Brewer's Blackbirds!

Nesting Brewer's Blackbird

For many of us, it was to exhaust our pent up energy from being trapped inside of our homes. The desert is too hot right now to explore.  And so our hungry eyes and eager ears went to work as we scoured every nook and cranny of the much cooler North Rim.

Western Tanager

For many of us, our journey to the North Rim began with the infamous California Condors at Marble Canyon.  In many ways, I consider them the sentinels of the North Rim.  Travelers have to cross a magnificent bridge into a magical area known as the Vermilion Cliffs. It was here that the Condors circled and soared around us. For many in the group, these birds were lifers.  For me, I watched the birds and the people's first time reactions as they all stood in awe of these massive creatures in flight. 

California Condor

Our journey would lead us into the canyon down gravel and dirt roads. 

We set up our base inside an unknown and remote area.  No bathrooms or hotels.  Just our tents and coolers.  And it was magical. 

The rough camping isn't for everyone, but I thought it was a lot of fun.  I haven't done this kind of thing since college! Plus I got to camp with my birding buddy Gordon. 

Weidemeyer Butterfly

The area is not birded very well and so we did a lot of research on habitat as well as ask ourselves, "Can we find these birds here?"
So we searched for the elusive Dusky Grouse, Three-toed Woodpecker, and Flammulated and Northern Saw-whet Owls.

Two large vehicles of people drove through the dirt roads while sitting outside their windows and in the back of trucks filming everything around them....including the birders:) It was fascinating! They wore handmade outfits and unique hairstyles that I haven't seen in about two decades. Anyway, there were a lot of happy faces in the group waving at us. 

What lies beyond the horizon? On the following day, our incredible group of birders continued surveying the area along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We had plenty of laughs in our exhausted bodies.  The Flammulated and Northern Saw-whet Owls kept me awake!

In my zombie state, I pulled out my recorder to capture the Flammulated owl's soft calls.  It was a lifer for me.  

Having a couple laughs with Magill and Gordon

I watched Stellar's Jays go after nests.  Sometimes they would snatch a fledgling and eat them.  The parents would desperately chase them or try and lead the Jays away from the nest.  In the wild world, anything can happen at any moment. Everything must fight to survive. 

Evening Grosbeak

On this trip into the cool wild west, we made many wonderful discoveries.  It also allowed us to escape the heat and enjoy the majestic Grand Canyon. 

I'd like to thank Eric Hough for organizing this trip through AZFO. It was a real pleasure helping out. For more birds from around our world, check out Wild Bird Wednesday. 

And the adventure continues next week from another part of the world......

Blur

The Wrenegades! (photo courtesy of Sara Pike...she's on the right:)

Recently I went out with Tucson Audubon for their Birdathon, a fundraiser for Audubon.  The challenge?  To find as many birds as we could in a 24 hour time period.  And all I can say is, "Oh. My."

Night birding at Reid Park.  No pimps or murderers.....just sleeping ducks and Great Horned Owls
(Pic courtesy of Sara Pike)

I joined up with the Wrenegades and their captain Jennie MacFarland at 1 AM. As we drove through the busy streets of Tucson during clubbing hours, the team found themselves surrounded by young people in their big trucks and fancy cars.  The race was on!  The only difference? We were searching for birds and they were looking for human females. This was exciting! It was a rare opportunity to night bird with others in the darkness around our city parks.  Normally I wouldn't do this kind of thing alone, but because we were the Wrenegades, nothing would stop us....except maybe a cop.  Luckily that didn't happen.

The Evening Grosbeaks stole the show.  Unfortunately we saw them at dawn

 I love Arizona.  I really do.  But I miss walking during the calm cool nights of Wisconsin summers in the parks.  In my own Tucson neighborhood, there are prostitutes and drug dealers.  So it was exciting to walk the dark city parks looking for birds with the group.  And so we began in Reid Park.  It would be the first of 22 stops that we would make around Southern Arizona.

Me, standing in my shorts freezing my rear off
(Pic courtesy of Matt Griffis)

We needed each other to stay awake during our epic trek.  After Reid, we left for the desert oasis known as Agua Caliente Park.  The crew stood under the starry sky listening for owls, nightjars and more!  Once we heard the Elf Owl, Great Horned Owls, and Western Screech-Owl, we left for Mt. Lemmon!  There we picked up the Whiskered Screech-Owls, Northern Pygmy Owl and Flammulated Owl.

Jennie and Matt crunch their way out of the snow back into the warm car on Mt. Lemmon!
(Pic courtesy of Sara Pike)

As we went from the warm desert basin up into the canyons and mountain tops, we began to slowly freeze.  The roads turned into crunchy ice. And the wind sliced through our jackets and pants.  Of course, I wore shorts.  Yeah......

Corey, the youngest of our group, helps us add birds with her quick eyes!
(Pic courtesy of Sara Pike)

Our night turned into day and I began to feel my body groan from the lack of sleep.  There were moments I completely blanked out in the van.  One birding spot blurred into the next.  My photography was terrible on these outings.  The focus was birding and not photography.  I knew deep down that if a life bird came my way, I wouldn't have much time to document or wait for the bird to pose.  It just so happened that we'd find a lot of the specialty birds either too early in the morning or too far away for the camera to capture a decent image.  So I just snapped photos for ID purposes. We had to move.  There was no time to dilly dally around!

What's out there? A Wilson's Warbler?  Townsend's Warbler, Grace's Warbler? NO!  A Red-faced Warbler!

 Of course, my lifer, the Hermit Warbler, would pop out just as we had to leave!  Hey, this was a competition.  No time to sip tea and wait for the bird to get into focus!

A blurred photo of the Hermit Warbler

After Mt. Lemmon, we headed to Sweetwater in Tucson.  Then we headed south to Paton's House and Patagonia Lake.  After that trek, we went up to the Amado water treatment plant and Madera Canyon.  But wait!  There was still light!  So we had to go to Florida Canyon!  There we would pick up our last birds for the birdathon!

Rocks and people who love birds!
(Pic courtesy of Matt Griffis)

A whirlwind indeed!  Were we crazy?  Perhaps, but it also was an epic journey into the heart of Southern Arizona.  Tim was the master planner who had the data charts and statistics on each of our stops.

Tim, casual with a smile......and he has a plan! And so does that turkey on his right.
(Pic courtesy of Matt Griffis)

His organization allowed us to cover more area while following a specific route and time period.  Each place was timed and everyone was great about staying on schedule. This was an example of target birding at its best!  Jennie did a great job keeping everything together.  She knew her birds as did the entire team! Sara and Matt drove everywhere.  They were the happy pilots. Thanks guys for driving.  I know how tired you both were. Corey joined in on the fun.  She is a young lady who is a current student at my school.  If it hadn't been for her wonderful invitation, I would have missed out on this event. So thank you Corey from the bottom of my heart!  I hope you continue with the trails and birds after you graduate.  Birding will take you to some of the most amazing places on this planet.  After you graduate from high school (and finish your 4th year Spanish class), Central and South America await you.

Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet at Patagonia State Park

And me?  Well I took the photo id's and did the record keeping for all of our bird stops.  I like recording the data because it keeps me focused and centered. And on this day....awake.

Viewing a Northern Goshawk in flight above the ridge at Madera Canyon!
(Pic courtesy of Matt Griffis)

Overall, it was an epic day.  We found 160 birds in 24 hours!  And like the title suggests, the day was one big exciting blur. And so was my photography! The best part was that we had an amazing time working together for a really important organization. What a great group of people!  When I got home, I crashed.  Apparently, according to Pat, I was snoring and threw my poor cat off the bed in a rage.  Sleep deprivation can do that to a person:) The cat survived.

Western Tanager

I'd like to thank Sara Pike and Matt Griffis for their photo contributions to the blog today. I'm so glad you both remembered to snap photos of our epic trek.  There is still time to help out Tucson Audubon. Click on the donate button on the right and help us out.  Here is Sara Pike's webpage from the Wrenegades site. Until next time friends.......