A Goose Chase

The antics of the Rosy-faced Lovebirds at Granada Park

So Magill texts me and the Gordon asking, "Hey are you both up for a White-eyed Vireo search?"  We say, "Yes." Will we find a White-eyed Vireo?  Who knows?  Prescott is an area full of secrets.  Rumor has it that there is a cult bird leader who keeps everything secret from the outside world. There's a special hotline for a special few in his group.  That's fine.  We're birders and we'll find them on our own. I love a good challenge. And it's fun to bird with Magill and Gordon.  Together we all find something rare no matter what. 

So Gordon says to me, "Hey do you want to check out Granada Park before we head up?"  I say, "Yeah.  Sounds like fun."  So I drive up to Phoenix from Tucson.  And I remember quickly that there is a person shooting at cars along the interstate. 

"Oh geez." I say to myself. "What is wrong with this world? Why are there so many stupid morons out there?"  I think about my odds as I drive the sparsely populated interstate during the early morning hours alone.  I safely reach Gordon's place and we take off quickly to survey Granada Park.  Holy cow!  There are lots and lots of Rock Pigeons and Rosy-faced Lovebirds flying around!

I swear these little cuties are taking over the Phoenix Metro area.  We get to Magill's place and see more Lovebirds flying over our heads!  

Then, I get excited spotting a Canada Goose.  There are not many of these birds down in Tucson, but in Phoenix, there are quite a few.  Why?  Phoenix people love their water.  And they have lots and lots of watering holes around the metro area creating perfect Canada goose habitat. 

Canada Geese are cool.  We don't see them often in Tucson

We get on the interstate and once again escape the shooter.  Now we're heading to Prescott.  But I have Catholic guilt.  I'm not Catholic anymore, but the brainwashing still works on me:)  Why?  Well, my bud Cynthia lives up in Prescott.  I was planning on going up there two weekends ago to hang out with her and Mr. Roger.  We were going to do some light birding and have some fun around town BUT a certain someone, ME, flaked!  I am not going to lie.  I have been exhausted lately.  It's the weather and the darned humidity.  And it probably has something to do with a wedding, a crazy neighbor, and work:) Plus I still need Sundays to get the laundry done!  

An early arriving Ring-necked Duck

Anyhow, we weren't going to be in Prescott for long, but I still felt guilty.  So Cynthia, I am going to apologize now to you..... I AM SO SORRY!  

This bee demonstrates pollination at work

We get to Granite Lake Basin and start looking for the White-eyed Vireo.  It starts off hotter than blazes.  But we hear lots of birds around a drainage ditch where this bird is supposedly hanging out. So we check out all the migrating warblers.  While doing so, we end up getting excited about the bugs flying around the area.  

Take for example this hummingbird imposter, the White-lined Sphinx Moth.  This is for my friend Ragged Robin who loves moths.  These bugs are often confused with hummingbirds because of the way they fly and look.  Fascinating critters!

White-lined Sphinx Moth

This is the caterpillar form(below) for that moth above.  I was watching a Robber Fly get close to this caterpillar.  When it "touched" the caterpillar, the caterpillar swung down and knocked it off the branch.   Magill says, "Um, hey can you guys help me over here?:)"  Oh that's right, we're birders. 

A Robber Fly gets smacked off the leaf by a Whitelined Sphinx Caterpillar

So we start moving towards the area where birds are chirping and we find this Metalmark below.  Cool!  

Mormon Metalmark

We spot Wilson's and Townsend's Warblers.....and then a rare Chestnut-sided Warbler(below). I told you we'd spot something rare and not on the list:)  Magill commands me to take pics of the bird to post on the listserv:)  I lock on and get an ID-able photo.  It's cool but not as cool as a White-eyed Vireo.  Where is that bird??!!!  We inspect every plant around the area and just keep turning up Dark-eyed Juncos, Chipping and Rufous-crowned Sparrows and of course, more of the expected warblers. 

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Eventually, we give up and go for lunch.  By this time, the area has cooled down with thunder boomers growing above our heads.  We decide to head to Willow and Watson Lakes.  The shorebird activity is wonderful and we count the birds.  We notice another early bird for this area, the Greater White-fronted Goose making our day really....a goose chase:) 

An early arriving Greater White-fronted Goose sans the white front

As for the shooter?  Well it appears they've caught several of them.  But there are still a couple other incidents that need some explaining. Why do people do this kind of stuff?  It's bad having one person do it, but to have "copycats" just makes it worse.  Ahhh humanity. Anyhow, I'll stick to nature. It's a lot safer:)  Until next time.....