Secret Worlds of Sanity

Gray Hawk monitors area

Birds can and do speak to one another often.  From the hundreds of bird species that call Arizona home, it's a constant challenge to learn all their various forms of speech. Every time I go out, I attempt to learn their language.  Migration is in FULL swing now and birds are in full song mode. 

Camouflage and possible nesting site.

As the pandemic takes a stronger hold, I explore further into the overlooked/underbirded areas of Arizona. The town of Catalina has a lot of beautiful areas to bird. Arizona is wild and open country.  

This is NOT social distancing!  To be fair, I think we survived this covid scare because it was all around us in January and February. I'm still not taking any chances.  My friend on the right , we believe, had it in January.  But we'll never know since our governor doesn't have enough testing for everyone.  Just go home and die there. Oh wait!  Only go to the hospital if you're dying and it's too late.  Ducey is a terrible governor.  Thankfully Lori survived the event.  She is a survivor.  My neighbor is recovering from covid right now.  She was lucky in that it was just a mild case for her. How did she get it?  Friends from Washington came to visit:(

I continue to counter the crowds by understanding their routine lives. I visit places that most people overlook. There's a lot of back road trails around the Catalina area that have several lovely riparian areas. 

Not distance in the trail between me and my subjects!  Social distancing is a serious matter.  

Sometimes permits are required, but it's well worth the planning. Today, I'll share some tips and observations from my past week's time out with our amazing Arizona birds.

The best birding right now in Arizona is along our riparian areas as birds migrate through these wet and shaded corridors.  If you're a rarity hunter, this is the place to be.  Our first stop is the incredibly beautiful riparian area known as Cienega Creek Natural Preserve outside of Tucson.  You need a permit for this location, but it's easy and free!  Just go online and follow the instructions. I was interested in this corridor for migrating warblers and nesting hawks.

The Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler

This area is incredibly bizarre.  One walks from desert birds immediately into a creek covered by cottonwood trees!  It's night and day.  And so are the birds.  We walked from above the highway surrounded by desert into this very loud birdy area.  It was so bizarre to me because I couldn't hear the birds down inside the canyon.  But once we got there, WOW!  The bird song took over. 

I am always intrigued by this time of year because wintering and summer warblers overlap.  There are the chipping Yellow-rumped Warblers in their gorgeous breeding plumage mixed with our other regular wintering warbler, the Orange-crowned Warbler.  A regular warbler that breeds in the higher elevations of Arizona but pass through these areas on the way up to places like Mt. Lemmon, the Black-throated Gray Warbler, can also be found here in smaller numbers. So often, those are the "chips" you will hear in the riparian corridors.  The challenging part is figuring out which chip is made by these warblers. 

Black-throated Gray Warbler

And while that is going on, the summer breeding warblers, the Yellow and Lucy's Warblers are vocalizing, (and chipping) and looking to settle down for a nest.  Now the trickier part is separating all this "noise" from rarities like a Prothonotary Warbler or American Redstart.  While Celeste was getting an ID on a sparrow along the creek, I was trying to locate what I thought was an American Redstart calling.  No luck.  Cienega Creek can be a challenge for birders as many of the warblers, flycatchers, etc hang out inside the trees. 

And while all these warblers are chipping or singing, there are a million other birds making their various calls. My ears are good.  Often I stand in one spot and just enter in the data.  I don't have to see many of these birds as I have seen them often.  But some, I like to see over and over again..... Yes, I have my favorites:)

I'm not a huge fan of vireos and it has been a vireo week!  We had Cassin's and Plumbeous Vireos which have somewhat similar calls.  We had a Warbling Vireo at the creek.  AND the MOST common vireo is my FAVORITE one, the Bell's Vireo.  Their "watchee wichahhh" call also makes me laugh. It's a small vireo with a loud voice and a huge personality.  Here's your yearly photo of a Bell's Vireo.  I cannot tell you how much I love these little vireos.  

Bell's Vireo

And again, flycatchers are cool but not my favorites EXCEPT maybe the Northern Beardless Tyrannulet.  Again, it's a common bird for southeastern Arizona and one I know very well.  The call is a piercing, repetitive and slightly descending PIU PIU PIU PIU! It's often in the background and ignored by birders. Or birders don't know what bird is making that noise. It's unique. But I've wired my brain to repeat the call subconsciously outloud when I hear the bird.  Then I look.  They also have this three note "di di di" that means they are just chillin' and letting their other half know where they are.  The piercing repeated note is a territorial call. At the creek, we had them foraging for bugs around the lower canopy of the cottonwoods.

The smallest flycatcher with the biggest personality, the Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

And while ALL this is going on, you have to keep your eyes and ears ready for hawks!  Hawk migration might be winding down, except maybe for the Swainson's Hawks, but most of the other hawks are beginning to nest. On this day, we had beautiful views from a pair of Gray Hawks getting ready to nest.  They made their "whiny" scream to let others know that this was THEIR spot.  

A Gray Hawk flies over our heads

And while not a great shot of these Zone-tailed Hawks, it didn't lesson the excitement when we spotted them trying to pair up.  To observe these hawks nesting in this area was worth the trip alone.  

Zone-tailed Hawks "flirt" as they ride the thermals over the creek

During another trek this week, I planned for a sunset walk along Proctor Road into Madera Canyon.  I did about 2 miles along the trail.  People were thick along the creek and all were Covid 19 violators.  They weren't smart at all about anything really.  They were in the streams letting kids run around the banks where I've seen rattlers.  Another woman thought she could illegally trespass into the Santa Rita Lodge bird area because it was her right. The owner was polite and told her to turn around but the woman continued with her vulgar speech and that she had every right to walk on their private property.  The lodge had to call the rangers.  Many people from the city who have no clue about nature are literally overcrowding these natural spaces. And it's because of this, so many places are completely shutting down their entrances into parks and preserves.

Madera Canyon at the right time of day is a delight.  At 4 PM, a lot of the annoying people have to go home and "eat" and do whatever they do at night.  I arrived as the canyon was emptying out.  And I had the whole place to myself. My mission?  I don't know.  Just get out of the house and enjoy being outdoors.  This quarantine can be too much! Thankfully there's plenty of areas where I can go to avoid the crowds. 

Common Raven

As I hiked up into the Whitehouse area of the trail, I sat down with this Common Raven and watched him waddle about the empty parking lot looking for food.  Then in a really interesting observation, I watched him call his partner from the parking lot into the sky.  

In less than a minute, I watched her swirl down from out of nowhere to join him. 

She flew right in front of me.  Ravens are absolutely gorgeous.  Look at the detail of that plumage!  I imagine, if I were a designer, how I'd incorporate such intricate patterns into one dress.  This Common Raven has 7 or 8 different feather patterns!  Incredibly beautiful bird. 

I hear the dry "whit" of the Ash-throated Flycatcher hiding on a limb

After watching the Common Ravens, I hear the unmistakable calls of the Montezuma Quail!  I go into the canyon further and find them.  They toy with me like they always do.  And like always, I'm so stupid that I flush a covey!  The male makes his alien descending "zzzzzzzrrrrr" after they flush as if giving me the middle finger.  Well, that's me giving the bird a human personality. What he really was doing was telling the ladies where he went:)

The canyon was so lovely that I stayed until the evening just to listen for Whiskered Screech-Owls and Elf Owls.  And it didn't disappoint.  I also hung out with the owner from the Santa Rita Lodge for awhile chatting with him about his business in this time of cancellations.  He's hoping the loans will help him out.  I'm hoping he got through that mess.  Apparently it wasn't as easy as the US government made it out to be.  Again, a bunch of liars. Every single one of them. 

Coue's Whitetail Deer

Okay.  Breathe in and breathe out.  I can't fix stupid.  But I can escape and connect with nature if I so choose.  And so can many of you.  Until next time....

Abscondito

One of my "unofficial" duties every year is to survey the bird life at Rancho El Aribabi during the month of July.  It is usually hot, miserable and the best time to find amazing birds!

a male Varied Bunting comes into the pasture for a drink

This year was NO exception.  Located 45 minutes south of the international border in the state of Sonora, Rancho El Aribabi holds many of the Sonoran species that we have in Southern Arizona.  This is also the land of the Jaguar and Ocelot.  While I did my bird surveys, Jim did his tracker work on the cats.  In the process, we found each other data for the ranch.  A recent report was released to the public about the recent death of the Huachuca Jaguar of Southern Arizona near our survey site. Last year, another Jaguar of the Santa Rita mountains IN Arizona, was killed for its fur without much public outcry.  How this recent Mexican kill had more traction than the one is the US is beyond me?!  The Santa Rita Jaguar was recorded by National Geographic and tracked by a UA research group, which included a dog team member. What I write here is just speculation. A poacher must have used the landmarks from the video in the Santa Rita mountains to track the animal while utilizing illegal wildlife cameras with a GPS tracking signal to find this extremely secretive cat. Once a wildlife camera is tripped, a signal is sent to the owner via wireless means. From that point, s/he can check from their computer and see where the animal had recently passed. 

a cicada sheds his form to grow wings and fly

It is beyond my comprehension why such savagery happens.  When a person, who studies cats like the Jaguars, finds one of these rare gems in the wild, it's hard to hold back this exciting information.  For every 10 great people out there, there are always 1 or 2 terrible people who will break the law.  And this is the danger of revealing this information to the public. Not everyone is a good egg.

Finding a Jaguar is a privilege and many times, quite a bit of work on the researcher's part. In my opinion, this information should be kept secret from the public.  I've only seen 2 in my lifetime but I hid their exact locations when recording the data.  The data should ALWAYS be recorded.  I do the same with rare birds.  And I am super protective of any endangered species.  In the beginning, I assumed most people were honorable.  Then I discovered otherwise.  That's when I changed as an observer. 

On my trip to the Amazon years ago, I discovered that I wanted more from my camera.  These poor photos of the Jaguar helped motivate me buy a better camera.  My 6th sense had gone off on this day.  I remember that I was on a canoe.  The small crew was quiet and I noticed two vultures curiously looking at something. As we silently floated around the bend, we found this male Jaguar along the banks for a brief moment.  Our guide was shocked. This time I was ready with my camera for the Jaguar.  Today, on the ranch, several people and organizations track these endangered mammals. Finding a Jaguar is a gift and a curse at the same time. The wildlife official knows s/he will have to release the information at some point. And when that happens, everyone wants to take credit for the person's find. Meanwhile poachers, secretly take this public information and plot a course. 

If you've seen the original Jurassic Park, you'll remember the large guy getting chased by a small dinosaur.  That was me.  This bird kept making a coo-coo call in random spots around my survey point.  It was creepy but made me laugh.  I took the coo coo call as the bird telling me there was a nest nearby.  So I carefully walked out of the area keeping my eye out for the Greater Roadrunner's nest

These are just my words, but you can read the article link above and form your own opinion. These good people are just trying to protect the corridor of these magnificent beasts from human development (and also because they are in love with the chase and possible first time discovery of these rare cats).  I'm a birder first.  I get it.  We seek the impossible.  And if we find something rare, the personal rewards from all the risk taking made the difficult trek absolutely worth it. It's like winning the lottery. You want to share your excitement, but you know that if you do, there will be consequences. 

a sexy male Rufous Hummingbird

One of the notable things we saw on this trek were high numbers of Violet-crowned Hummingbirds.  MANY people from all over the world come to Southern Arizona with hopes of spotting this beauty.  Here at the ranch, they were THE most common hummingbird at the feeders.  The Rufous male hummingbirds were also present indicating that migration has begun.  

dolphins with wings, the Violet-crowned Hummingbirds

For me, seeing a Rufous Hummingbird in July is like watching the first fall migration of Sandhill Cranes in Wisconsin.  It reminds me that seasons do change and life continues in its cycle.  The monsoon storms grew over the mountains while we were there. The firefly show blinked all around us. And even on me! Yet another sign that the "seasons" have changed in our beautiful Sonoran desert. 

Broad-billed Hummingbirds sparkled in the brief moments of morning sunlight. 

the brilliant gem known as the Broad-billed Hummingbird

As a rule, we did most of our surveys in the morning when critters were SUPER active. And it was cooler.  In the afternoon, I hung out with Kathy and Mary Ann on the patio away from the intense sun and muggy conditions.  It was a special weekend as we were experimenting with a catered event provided by Carlos' sons.  They did an amazing job. And made our work easier.  Kathy, who normally did all of our food prep in the past, got so bored that she went for a hike!  

a mummified Pallid Bat

The usual birds were present.  We also discovered a grim scene inside one of the rooms.  Mummified Pallid Bats were found all around the fireplace.  I plugged my nose as Jim picked up these poor mammals.  Apparently, there was no escaping back up the chimney where they came.  

the western subspecies of the Yellow-breasted Chat

Yellow-breasted Chats were chatty.  Thick-billed Kingbirds were cheer-eeping. Sinaloan Wrens were rattling POPS! And the mournful cries of the Gray Hawk could be heard up and down the canyon. 

Thick-billed Kingbirds

I was dying from heat exhaustion. At one point, I almost passed out because I went outside of the safe zone and ran out of water. So I hustled it back to headquarters before anything bad happened. One evening in my tent, it was unbearable. I couldn't sleep at all!  I have enjoyed sleep in my a/c  run home whenever I can. For the first summer in a long while, I have traveled most of it outside of Arizona. Some of the nights were challenging in the various places. After several weeks back from this adventure, I have fond memories of our trip.  If you had asked me during this particular weekend how I felt, I might have said something else:) 

Carne Asada never tasted better

For it was on this survey that some incredible things happened.  For one, we discovered several more species for the ranch.  During a morning coffee, watching the hummingbirds, I noticed a green bunting under the feeder.  A female Painted Bunting!!!  Later Jim and I were trying to relocate a Northern Jacana that I had seen earlier in the wetlands.  I thought this bird would be rare but it turned out the Willow Flycatcher was even rarer! FITZ-BEW!  Jim was shocked.  I thought it was unusual but nothing like the Northern Jacana.  And it didn't end.  Later we found Flame-colored Tanagers along the riparian corridor!  Talk about amazing!  July is the best time to visit Aribabi and it's the reason I go every year to do my counts at the ranch.  

I call a Gray Hawk over to my location by making a mournful whistle

Every year, Jim finds some nasty bug hiding in the couch or somewhere nearby that I'd rather never know about. This trek was no different.  On this little adventure, a Windscorpion, apparently not poisonous, was under the cushion of a couch.  Gross! How is that thing not deadly?  Look at those pinchers for a mouth!

nasty alien bug from a group known as Windscorpions, not poisonous

On Saturday night, we celebrated our last finds together with a nice bottle of wine and an excellent Mexican dinner.   

For every in depth research project, there should be a fun birding expedition after wards.  Everything in my life continues to change.  Every experience away from what I know, changes me.  Nothing is black or white anymore. Over the next several weeks, we'll explore the island of Maui. 28 new bird species were added to the list towards the 1,000 bird marker I've set for this year, but what I saw, or didn't see, changed me in ways that I hope I will be able to write down properly.

Leila Empress

As I did my research for Hawaii, I made notes without any feeling. Reading about something is completely different than experiencing it. Needless to say, the experiences with birds between Trinidad and Maui were night and day and it changed me.

For the El Aribabi Report, click here. Next week we explore the beautiful world of Hawaii.  For now, I'll leave with a Sunday Morning moment I had during my survey along the Cocospera Riparian corridor. I wanted to sleep in this spot.  It was so relaxing. 

The Hardest Decisions

Red-eared Sliders

With the cooler temps arriving and a new fiscal year of bird planning, the month of October brings me to a very personal space. I often find myself alone on the trails deep in thought remembering what it's like to walk in cooler temps.  The sweaty summer temps begin to vanish and are replaced with "chillier" temps.  Over the past several weekends, I have had to make some difficult choices. 

Botta's Pocket Gopher

I ran across this quote, "Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same." After my Grandma passed away this summer, many personal decisions were thrown into question.  My lifelong quest to understand birds, both new and old alike, took a turn.  Normally, I would target areas for new birds and go with other birders.  It has been a lot of fun and I know we'll continue to do so again.  But, I have other friends who are non-birders. My Grandma reminded me that I can't ignore that part of my life. One of my favorite trips last year was a trek out to Monterey, CA where I had the opportunity to bird AND spend time with good friends.  It was the perfect balance between birding and chilling out. 

Gray Hawk

So during that time in Wisconsin, I began to think about all my friends and family everywhere around this world that I haven't seen in a LONG time.  When a birder birds with other birders, they look for birds 24/7.  Okay, maybe we stop for a bite to eat, but it isn't for long.  There are birds to be found!

Red-naped Sapsucker

It's so much fun and it's an addiction.  When a birder finishes one trip, they begin to plan another and often with their birding pals. With these past years of travel, I've been hardcore birding and not taking the time to enjoy the other side of these treks with my college friends, etc. This is where it gets to be a tricky balancing act.  

Lesser Long-nosed Bat

I've gotten so used to birding with my bird pals that I've forgotten how I used to travel before my birding days. Margaritas over birds? Oooooh yes:) Each of us tells one another that it's okay and that we understand.  But deep down, we wish we were there with each other exploring new habitats for birds and other wildlife.  One part of me feels guilty while the other tells me that I cannot deny the part of "just being". Somehow I have to moderate my birding addictions. My non-birding friends remind me that I am human and that it's okay to sit on the beach and enjoy the waves. HOWEVER, the birder inside of me tells me not to waste the opportunity.  So I carefully study my target birds and strategize. 

Willow Flycatcher

Here are several examples that have shaped my decision making this year.  At a happy hour, after a few margaritas with friends, we decided to head to Baja California for break.  There are birds there but it's mostly about enjoying the beach and.....um....drinks:) 

a male Painted Bunting along the DeAnza Trail

My Mexican mother turns 70 years old this year in the ancient Aztec stronghold of Tlaxcala.  This is a very personal trip.  I don't speak much English on these trips because not many people speak English there. And to be honest, I never know how to plan for these visits because it's Mexican. Schedules are meaningless:) And that wouldn't sit well for many of my birding friends. You can't plan anything because everything changes on a daily basis! This is usually a trip I do alone. It's the one true place that I can be me.  In Mexico, I become a free spirited gypsy.  There's nothing like waking up and drinking a little coffee outside with your friends speaking Spanish. Here in the US, my life is a factory every day. So for me, not having an agenda is something quite special. 

a female Painted Bunting

And there's so much more to it all. It takes careful planning to achieve my goals each year. Next year, I am hoping to hit the 1000 lifebird mark. But as I have birded more and more every year, I have discovered that these journeys into unknown spaces must have heart to them.  It can't be solely about the birds.  My life will always revolve around birds but it's the heart of the journey that will tell this story of 10000 birds and anchor me as I head into unknown waters. 

I cannot live my life waiting on tomorrow because I know that tomorrow may not happen.  So living and enjoying life is more important than material wealth.  I have found that if I deny my birding side, I get depressed.  But if I deny everything else, it all feels empty.  Life has to have meaning and purpose.  

American Kestrel

While I wait for the next big trek, I stay close to home to take careful observations of my desert birds. This has been very rewarding. 

A female Anna's Hummingbird feeding from a cloud of insects

So when I'm not birding, I'm often researching new areas. Or we're having fun somewhere in town. 

When this year began, I had lost my footing.  While it was a financially tight year for me, I was still able to budget several birding treks with my friend Gordon to the Pacific Northwest and Costa Rica. I can now say that I've finally paid off some major debt known as the "STUDENT LOAN". As I get closer to the end of this year, I see a new chapter beginning in my life. It'll be one where I am with friends, both birding and non-birding alike, family and my other half as we globe trot into new places.   

Black Vulture

 For now, I have scheduled several important treks to visit people I haven't seen in a LONG time.  Several themes that I'll explore over the next year include questions like, how does a young person become a birder? Are there pyramids buried under three large hills in central Tlaxcala? And in an area that I've studied around those hills, will I find the Transvolcanic Jays? With my Jedi skills almost complete, can I find a Dusky Grouse on Pike's Peak near Colorado Springs with my family?  These are just some of the things I'll be exploring as I plan for next year.  Next week kicks off the new season of Las Aventuras.  Until next time....