Las Aventuras: Great Blue Heron

Showing posts with label Great Blue Heron. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

San Carlos, Mexico

Over the past weekend, to celebrate the end of the school year, we headed out to San Carlos, Mexico. It's a 5 and 1/2 hour drive south of Tucson.

We arrived exhausted and were greeted by this California Praying Mantis. Carefully I took this critter out to the patio.

During our time in San Carlos, we relaxed a bit and had some drinks along the beach. I did some light birding along the coast focusing on gulls.

The Yellow-footed Gull of the Baja Pennisula is an endemic. Here in San Carlos, this bird was the most common gull present.

The Sonoran Desert ranges all the way into the state of Sinaloa. It's a fascinating region of desert. Here you can find the iconic Saguaro Cactus growing next to areas of Cardon and Organ Pipe Cacti.

As the vegetation changes the further south you go, so does the birding. Here we not only see traditional Sonoran birds with typical ocean birds, but we begin to see Neotropic birds show up like the mangrove subspecies of Yellow Warbler, Mangrove Swallows and Great Kiskadee. It is here that you can find other strange birds(not often seen in the northern Sonoran desert region) like White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks and Little Blue Herons. There are Reddish Egrets and Tricolored Herons. The Sonoran Desert is an amazingly diverse area.

One of my favorite species of birds, the Bronzed Cowbird, was seen in good numbers almost every place we went. In fact, I searched high and low for a Brown-headed Cowbird. No luck.

Let's talk safety. Getting to San Carlos is relatively easy. We headed south down to the Nogales Mariposa port of entry and stopped near the Circle K to purchase some insurance. Then we headed down to get the visa for the vehicle. Don't take your chances. If you get into a wreck and don't have the visa along with that insurance, they could impound your vehicle.....forever! And you only need that visa if you pass Hermosillo. Places, nearest the border, like Rocky Point(or Puerto Peñasco), don't require this visa.

San Carlos is a clean and sleepy little ocean village. It's worth the extra hours of driving. It's cheap to rent a beautiful place. In fact, I came back with money from this trek! That rarely ever happens. As for safety. Always use common sense. Lock up things, etc. Now let's talk Mexico.

Another favorite gull of mine is the Heerman's Gull. Easy to ID and a beautiful bird to observe along the coast! Having traveled Mexico this year(and the last), I must mention a couple things that I've heard from my Mexican friends and US workers down in this country. I've been going to the safe tourist "corridors" of the country that are easy to travel and away from the drug cartel lanes. It's why I hired a guide in Mexico City this past spring due to being close to another state(Morelos, not on the list but a known drug corridor nonetheless). Here is the latest Mexican Travel Advisory .

"Exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory.

Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread.

The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Mexico as U.S. government employees are prohibited from travel to these areas.

U.S. government employees are prohibited from intercity travel after dark in many areas of Mexico. U.S. government employees are also not permitted to drive from the U.S.-Mexico border to or from the interior parts of Mexico with the exception of daytime travel on Highway 15 between Nogales and Hermosillo.

Do not travel to:

Colima state due to crime.
Guerrero state due to crime.
Michoacán state due to crime.
Sinaloa state due to crime.
Tamaulipas state due to crime."

However, we did notice some cartel activity in San Carlos in various spots because they own beach homes. And it makes sense. San Carlos is fairly close to the state of Sinaloa, known by Mexicans and the US, as a not-so-safe state to visit. The cartels run their major operations out of this state and several others listed above.

BUT with that said, San Carlos was safe. MANY Americans and other foreign nationals vacation in San Carlos. In Mexico, always travel by day and with others. It's the same in several areas of the US. So just use common sense. We had a blast. Plus the birds were amazing!

I had several places I wanted to check out while we were there. One included the San Pedro island for the nesting ocean birds and the other was the El Soldado Estuary between San Carlos and Guaymas. Unfortunately, hurricane winds put a kibosh on our pelagic trek out to the island.

However, I was able to do a count around the tidal areas and see lots of great ocean birds like a fast moving Black Storm-Petrel. There weren't any life birds on the table here except maybe a Gull-billed Tern. For me, this was more about connecting the dots in another sector of the Sonoran Desert. Plus, my birding focus has shifted to the state of Sonora now.

And when I wasn't counting birds around the town, we were celebrating the start of summer. I will say that I added Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and White Ibis to my Mexico list bringing my total national Mexican list up to 428 birds seen in the country. In the next post, we'll explore the beautiful El Soldado Estuary.

We had to keep an eye on Tami with that tequila. We all got a little crazy:)

Now it's time for a margarita:) Until next time.....

Monday, August 14, 2017

As The Caspian Tern Flies

As I balanced family outings with birds, I found the Caspian Tern always nearby.

Purple Coneflower

I tried focusing on the birds, but there were schedules to maintain and lots of fun family outings. If we weren't watching the little ones, we'd find them drinking out of the bird bath! Baby J was taking birding to a whole new level!

My sister looked into the flames to glance the future. "The night is dark and full of terrors."

Meanwhile my mother's own dragon, her macaw, sized me up. "To bite or not to bite? That was the question." He let me know that I could rub under the wings but he wouldn't guarantee that he wouldn't bite me. So.....that was a no go.

Azul, our Blue-and-gold Macaw

Between the fun, I'd run to the shoreline and watch birds.

Or we'd take the nephews and nieces out to have some fun at several of our amazing nature centers.
Hopefully, their curiosity grows into something lifelong.

My nephews were fascinated by the fish.

I think I spent most of my time outdoors and as much time as I could along the lake.

Great Blue Heron

On this one perfect day, the wildflowers gave off a scent along the lakefront. Have you ever had that moment of perfection standing alone in nature? You know. The kind that overloads all the senses at once and gives you a natural high? Picture this. Brightly colored wildflowers swaying against the shore as the waves lap against the rock. The fragrant air gently kissing the skin. And when touch, smell, sight and sound all work together, it makes the body tingle with happiness.

Family snaps me out of my reverie. And on that same day we replace an old light fixture with a fun one.

Then it would be back to the lake watching birds again.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Sometimes we had double trouble:) Both bird and human alike!

And there were yummy dinners.

And then it was back to the lakeshore. Or river.

Song Sparrow

After an expired milk mishap, both my younger sister and I cleaned out our parent's fridge. Lots of expired foods had to be thrown out. When carrots start looking like the one below, it tells you something. However, this carrot is still edible. Or rather.....was edible.

On Game of Thrones night, we had homemade Frey Pie. Very tasty!

Our lives contain many different chapters. The birds are timeless fixtures that dot the background of our life story. Whenever I see these birds now, memories surface from the moments I first saw them. And they take me back to that page in time so that I can reread it and savor the moment all over again.

As the Caspian Tern flies, I stand with Chuck Sontag, my Dad, Gordon, and countless others reliving our first moments together observing these birds. My very first moment with this bird was with Micheal at the Salton Sea in California. I was just beginning this grand adventure. After years of birding and thousands of miles later, I am at a different place now in my life. The great seas await me. Unexplored birding territories in the Spanish speaking world require my eyes.

As I end my Wisconsin journeys, I reflect on THIS chapter of my life. I am so happy that I could share so many years with my Grandmother as we birded her backyard together. Just last year, she discovered the Eastern Phoebe. She had seen it for years but never knew the name. Now whenever I see an American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole or Ruby-throated Hummingbird, I will think of her because those were HER favorite birds. She would tell me to continue my journey and write more chapters!

In October, we head back to Colorado for some fun.

And I still have to write 2 more posts from our Costa Rican adventures! I also had some fun with Tucson Audubon as I lead several trips to our grasslands and the infamous Madera Canyon. I'll also be heading back to Mexico at the end of the month to do my final and last good-bye to a ranch that gave me several important lifers. There will always be good-byes and hellos. And that has taught me to cherish each and every moment. Next week, we'll be heading back to Costa Rica and exploring the beautiful Talamanca Highlands with Serge Arias. Until next time.....

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Between Rocks and Statues

On a road trip into rock, canyon and absolute nothingness, we have discovered strange life (or no life at all) in the most barren and remote regions of the Utah and Nevada deserts.

Townsend's Warbler-How does a warbler get here?

The birding hotspots are few and far between in these hostile environments. I normally don't prefer these kinds of treks(the DRIVE!) but the life bird challenge continues and forces me into new regions. There are places you can't avoid for certain birds.

Great Blue Heron along a waterway

In a way, it's good because it forces me to see the beauty of those places. While in Utah, we were also very responsible birders. I remember there was a bit of time involved several months ago as we planned our trek through this conservative state. I'm not a big fan of any organized religion. While everyone was polite and all smiles in Utah, there was a plastic feel to it all. So we used our own plastic to support the small businesses that we felt made a positive impact for ALL. I have not forgotten Proposition 8 and it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. When we bird in various locations, we also try to support the birding establishments or conservation efforts happening in that locale.

Like any trek, we found a lot of amazing things in the many various habitats. There were rocks. Rocks with trees. Rocks with streams. A weird need for grass lawns that don't belong in a desert full of rocks. And so on and so forth.....

There were wonderful slot canyons that we explored just for fun. I loved that they were dark and cooler. The heat in the West has still been a bit much. Temps hit the 90's while we were in Southern Utah.

We visited places like the Hoover Dam(above) and Arches National Monument(below) while surveying these areas for birds.

Over the next several weeks, we'll take a look at several stunning places during our visit. I am thankful we had a friend in Salt Lake City show us some of the incredible birding hotspots around the lake.

Winged Figures of the Republic

The most exciting part of this particular trip was discovering my first wild Bighorn Sheep in southern Nevada. We nearly got into an accident as we approached this often difficult to see mammal. I've been in Arizona for 18 years and have never seen one of these sheep....so it was as Donald Trump says, "HUGE!". When you see a barren rocky landscape and think to yourself, "What lives here?"; you'll now know the answer:)

The Hoover Dam was the Hoover Dam. It was interesting but I could only find a couple coots(the bird kind:) and like a billion tourists. We didn't stay long.

And somehow we found wildlife in these desolate or overcrowded areas. Most people never even noticed the few critters that stayed hidden in the shadows. Part of that had to do with the heat! Everyone was on the move. But the critters knew best:)