Endless Days; Sleepless Nights

Before I begin with this week's chapter, I'd like to mention that blogger is having issues with pictures.  I wasn't sure I was going to post this week.  And I'm not the only one with the prohibited sign for several pics.  It appears my cell phone, scenic/people shots were blocked but my camera photos were not. So you'll see my wildlife discoveries from this past week. Blogger is aware of the problem and they are working on the issue.  Now let's get started with this week. 

Heermann's Gull makes a day appearance at a local pond in Pima County

Are you feeling like the title of this blog post? Everyone asks, "How are you doing?"  I don't know.  Everything is an endless haze.  Even the birding is mundane.  Ohhhh, I like the walks with friends or alone, but it feels like I've been there and done that over and over again.  I run the race but it feels robotic and empty.  I am very close to throwing in the towel and grabbing my keys and laptop while taking my work with me along the coast. 

I like this gray and detailed throne of the Greater Pewee.  They are all vocalizing right now which is absolutely beautiful

I still enjoy the birds, but it's not the same as researching a new area full of new challenges.  I have my projects.  And they look good.  I wake up.  Read emails.  Go for a walk and pick up new birds for the year in Pima County. Sometimes I walk.  Sometimes I drive.  I come home.  Check emails.  Work on the house project, putting ceiling tiles up.  Then I go outside and water my garden and feed my birds.  I watch TV for an hour and respond to students.  Then I go to bed and do it all over again. Just like everyone else reading this.  I don't even know what day it is unless I am given a task. 

Bushtits feed along a creek on Mt. Lemmon

Rarities show up.  I chase and snap a pic.  Tucson Audubon had me do a count around Reid Park which was fun.  Finally I felt like I had a real task for the day!

Anna's Hummingbird monitors my count at Reid Park

A zip code next to ours is now a new hotspot in the city for the Covid-19 virus.  I'm wondering if another nursing home was hit.  This virus is taking out these retirement communities!  And as you may or may not know, Arizona is one of the top retirement states in the US.  So while I was doing my count at Reid Park(that's in the area), I was very careful keeping my distance from people.  A police officer monitored the park for social distancing. 

Zebra-tailed Lizard

Some golf courses are vacant which is awesome!  I can now walk to the ponds where there's usually something amazing hiding in the reeds, like the Solitary Sandpiper below. 

A really cool Solitary Sandpiper hides in the reeds on a vacant golf course.

Everyone checks the few and random watering holes around town hoping for something rare to show up.  It's our highlight for the day.

OMG!  Yappy Black-necked Stilts warn me to stay back, even though there's a fence between us and that I'm some distance away from the fence.  Good gods!

Mental health is important, but this caged bird is ready to fly.  While the cases continue to rise in the US, people are beginning to lose their minds and protest.  Not saying I'd do this, but if I had covid, I'd go to the protests wearing a red hat wrapped in an American flag coughing all over everyone. My best advice is to stay away from people everywhere.  Stick to the birds. These are interesting times for sure.  Stay well and hope you are finding things to keep your minds active, like birding:)  Until next time.....

Ramblings from a Solitary Retreat

The rains and snows of Southeastern Arizona have given us some of the most beautiful vistas.  This was taken from Summerhaven on top of Mt. Lemmon on a wintery day

As I heal, I have found comfort in a quiet cup of coffee writing from my office next to my fuzzy warm cats. 

I explore a new canyon with Cheroot and Celeste.  In the background, there is a waterfall that flows downwards into the Sabino Creek

I now have answers as to why I have had pain these past two months.  I'll need another month to know if the medication is working or if I'll need corrective surgery.  My inner gypsy is locked away inside. The birding I do now is reflective and close to home. 

A Red-naped Sapsucker eats at our local park during the winter season

And even within my own little space, there are amazing birds around me. Some of my friends understand what I'm going through, but others still think I can go go go on the trails and treks like I did awhile back.  I can't.  I'm tired of the driving.  All I want to do is listen to bird song or count birds in my backyard. 

A Greater White-fronted Goose stops by a local park for a visit

I think the stress of "holiday" and what's happening in our country started this whole mess. I've shut down the news.  I've shut down the chaos of holiday.  And even resisting these human "norms" is stressful.  No one should have to suffer expectations.  

I watch the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher forage for food

We renewed our membership at the Desert Museum.  I've taken wonderful walks with my friend Celeste and Cheroot in quiet canyons.  There's more.  So much more. As you've heard me say in the last post, 2019 has been a tough year.  Right after March, things got crazy.  People's lives began to fall apart around us.  I tried to be there for people but I failed miserably.  There were too many friends with things happening.  And then in my own family.  Internally, it stressed me out because I'm a fix it person.  But I couldn't this time. It's something they all had to do on their own. And I wasn't able to be there for them.

Then my health issues in October forced me to pull back. Remote canyons and mountain tops were out of the question.  Any place out of cell service was a no no.  Two trips to the ER, many doctor visits, tests and finally an upper GI test revealed a hiatal hernia. I've had this random pain since I was 32, but I never had an answer until now. Knowing what it is will allow me to fix my intake.  No tomatoes.  No citrus!(no fresh oj from the oranges that are coming soon in AZ!).  No soda. 

A Black-throated Sparrow perches on a Barrel Cactus at the Desert Museum

And that's ok.  I eat healthy but in some cases maybe I overdid it with the fresh tomato juice I drank every day.  I couldn't let my current tomatoes go bad so I threw them in the freezer with all my other veggies and fruits.  One day, I'll be able to sip on my perfectly created fresh tomato juice of carrots, apples, celery with a squeeze of lemon or lime.  The other crap I don't mind at all....no fried foods or meat.  That's easy.  But not using spice??!  That's going to be hard:)

A Ladder-backed Woodpecker climbs a tree at my local patch, Reid Park

I'm on vacation now until next year.  It's wonderfully cold.  There is rain.  And as I look around our home, I see things I'd like to work on.  But I have to do my walk first!

This rare wintering Greater Pewee has returned to Reid Park for the next several months

I live in Tucson, perhaps one of the greatest places to live for birding.  As you can see, just a half hour to 40 minutes away (or less!), a birder can visit different habitats and see a crazy amount of birds.  I average about 150-200 bird species a month by just birding around town.  All the birds you see today in this blog are from local visits to parks and our nearby Mt. Lemmon or Cienegas Grasslands. 

A Common Yellowthroat hops around Archer Lake at Columbus Park

And because I'm not driving huge distances or traveling crazy amounts of hours in car or plane, I have this crazy energy to pull out many more bird species than I normally would from my local parks. I blame it on the pent up gypsy who wants to find something rare.  Even if I've seen the bird a million times. I can't shut that part down. 

But these gentle walks are refreshing and revealing. 

Pronghorn graze in the Cienegas Grasslands

I look forward to this new year with visiting friends.  I think they'll love the birds here.  For many of them, they'll all be new and I can't wait to see their faces as they explore the place I call home.  It's so different from their own homes. 

I mean.....look at these views!!!  30 minutes away from my home. 

On a hill overlooking Tucson

Or how about this one?  I'm walking along a trail and this Greater Roadrunner joins me.  I had to step back with my camera.  But then the bird would walk closer to me and screw up my shot.  For a quarter of a mile, the bird walked alongside me like a dog would do with their human friend.  It was so cool.  

A Greater Roadrunner in Tucson

It got me thinking about the birds I always take pictures of.....like......Greater Roadrunners, Vermilion Flycatchers, Greater Pewees, Curve-billed Thrashers, Cactus Wrens, any quail, all sparrows.......

The simple fact is that I love all of my local birding. Now don't think I won't chase new bird species, but I've hit my thousand mark (and then some) ahead of my goals which will allow me to take my time to get to 2000 birds. In fact, I'm just 10 away from another "100" post.  It has taken the pressure off of me to chase and I really like it.  

Finally, I love my Tucson community.  Sometimes I don't take the time to stop and be a Tucsonan. And I've been doing it more.  I live near our artsy and magical Loft Cinema.  A dear former student works there and I was able to visit with her and watch this terrible Star Wars Holiday special.  And it was terrible!

Baby Yoda eyes the competition

But with 400 people in attendance, it was an experience best shared.  We ordered nachos and put them under our seat for later on.  As you can see, I've circled "Baby Yoda" in the pic above.  My other half Micheal looked over and saw Baby Yoda hanging out in the aisle with us.  That was odd.  When I went to get a chip, they were gone!  Apparently Baby Yoda got hungry and found the chips under Micheal's seat.  Where was Mom you ask?  Well she was blitzed while her kids "Turkey Vultured" their way around the theater!  LOL!  

The Catio

Tucson is growing.  In the winter there are SO MANY PEOPLE.  But knowing Tucson is also knowing WHERE to go when there are crowds of people.  Take for example these last two pics.  It was a most perfect day.  In the morning, I had coffee with my "girls" as they sat and sunned out in the catio.  Then we went to renew our membership at the Desert Museum on a day that didn't have many visitors.  Why you ask?  Well thousands went to our annual street fair. We countered the crowds with another popular attraction, the Desert Museum and won!  Micheal and I both had the most special lunch away from the crowds in this nice restaurant.  And a beautiful walk in our incredible Sonoran desert. 

The winter glow of the Desert Museum

I love being home.  I have several more commitments.  Over the next several blogs, we'll be revisiting Bosque Del Apache, Colorado and explore our CBC results in the Atascosa Highlands and Phoenix area. After that, I'm going to be a hermit! And garden in my backyard.  I cannot wait for 2019 to be over.  Happy New Year everyone! Until next time....

Her Maiden Voyage

Black Rosy-Finch

With one semester completely and successfully finished, it was time to get back on the road again.  During our holiday luncheon, all I could think about was the break.  And the birds. 

Good people working together to help enrich the lives of young people. It's never easy keeping a smile but break gives us that much needed downtime to recharge our batteries. 

Now that the holidays are here, CBC(Christmas Bird Count) counts are happening all over the country. I mentioned to you all last weekend that I was supposed to do a count up on Mt. Lemmon for our local CBC.  Unfortunately, my car of 10 years had other ideas and her power steering went out early in the morning.  I promptly cancelled my participation and spent the day buying a new vehicle.  Ah the joys of new car payments!  She's a white SUV that goes by the name of Betty White.  Her code name is Manakin.  

a wintering Greater Pewee in Reid Park continues

Feeling bad about my failed CBC count on Mt. Lemmon, I helped with the Tucson count at my local patch.  Then it was off for some amazing Arizona birds!

The USS Betty White made her maiden voyage up to the northern boundaries of the state just outside of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to search for 2 new Arizona birds, the Black and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches.  It was a 2-for-one journey with friends Gordon Karre and Barb Meding.  

Just part of one of the flocks that zipped up and down.  They reminded us of our wintering lonspurs in the grasslands

For several years, I've always gone with Gordon in his vehicle because my car wasn't big enough to carry all of our equipment.  I should note that I purchased that car before I was a birder.  And I'm not one to sell it off because it didn't fit my needs right away.  She was a good car.  The Bea Arthur was a reliable vehicle that gave me many years of joy. 

A birder has to be careful observing birds.  With this location, I had a little vertigo.  The hillside was quite steep!

I was sad to let her go. Why name the vehicle?  I don't know.  It's what I've always done.  Plus I love/d what Bea Arthur and Betty White stand/stood for in their lives.  Not only are/were they great actresses, but Bea served in the military as a young person. And Betty White continues to be a champion for animals.  Barb thought she had passed and I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  Betty is a national treasure! She is immortal!

The very tricky Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch was a skulker for us and did not like to pose on the ground for the camera so I had to catch it in flight.   Fish or bird?  You tell me. 

Anyhow, it was so much fun.  And I was a proud driver taking my friends up to the top of the Echo Cliffs searching for these beautiful birds.  I felt like an adult!  I laughed when Gordon spilled black coffee over my place mat.  Having been an owner before of a new vehicle, I laugh at those first "oh no's!"  The first ding, the first spill, the first scratch etc.  At what point, do we let that OCD nature go?  With Bea, it was after a pork green chile incident that leaked out into my seat(and stained it forever!) because my friend didn't cap her tupperware container properly.  And then it happened again when a friend was backing out and rubbed against my car giving it a "cute" little dent.  So now, I'm a little more relaxed with everything.  Just no dents, dings or scratches on Betty for awhile please:)

A nice side-by-side comparison of the two species. They are similar and were tricky to pick apart. 

It was an incredible morning out.  Not only was the landscape gorgeous, but so were the birds!  Rosy-Finches in Arizona are a treat!  The challenging part was picking out the one Gray-crowned in the bunch.  They can look similar together. 

There were 2 large flocks that would rotate in and out of the area we were standing.  I think we got to observe both flocks twice with a 5 minute interval between their visits. I'd move once they flew to a new spot to get different angles of the birds.  

They feed from the Russian Thistle on the hillsides.  But to keep these beautiful birds there for birders to observe, people are continually throwing oilseed sunflower seeds to keep them around a little longer.  These birds love cliffs and as you can imagine, they can make it difficult for birders to get a good view.  So we employ our own tactics that keep them around a little longer.  

What a thrill to see these birds up close!  My first time was also with Gordon during our Sandia Crest journey to New Mexico.  In fact, that's where most people go to see all three species.  While we are in the southern most range for Black Rosy-Finches, they are not commonly seen like this for birders.  There's usually a once-a-year sighting by a couple birders.  However, a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch is RARE!  Their range is the largest of all the Rosy-Finches but it doesn't dip quite down into AZ. However, they are suspected to enter the state in areas that are difficult to reach for birders. With that said, there are a few historical records including one from 2013 in a remote area of the state. The area we visited was much more accessible!

After we had that amazing observation, we went for the California Condors of Marble Canyon on the Navajo Bridge. I wanted to see the rare wild born California Condor in the area!  There was a Condor volunteer there monitoring the four birds in the canyon.  With his scope, he pointed it in the direction of the wild born bird and I was super excited!  It made me so happy.  I love condors.  Their location is also quite beautiful. And seeing a wild born one on the cliffs and not from a zoo gives me hope. As long as hunters use lead bullets, these birds will have to be monitored for lead poisoning.  Hunting for food is fine, but it's gross to think of lead in your own food.  Why not use copper bullets if you like to kill things for pleasure?  The Condors eat the lead filled carcasses left behind by the hunters.  There are 3 major threats to Condors.  1. Lead poisoning  2. Golden Eagles/Coyotes 3. Telephone Wires

Then, in a random twist for our trek back home, we took a ride to Winslow, Arizona where we had to take it easy.  

The USS Betty White promises many more treks.  Our next trek will take us into California but until then, I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season.  Until next time!

Sorting Algorithms

I can travel anywhere in the world and fall in love.  But there's something extra special about my state of Arizona.  I love it here.  I really really do. 

Sure.  I've taken a hit in pay for living here.  And sure Arizona ranks at the bottom in teacher pay and education.  The politicians here are made up by mostly savage greedy and uncaring people, but there is a glimmer of hope that things are changing. Our #RedforEd movement worked.  Kyrsten Sinema won and will be our first female democratic senator in Arizona. Katie Hobbs is Arizona's secretary of state. And Kathy Hoffman will watch over our public schools as the new state superintendent of public instruction. We can breathe a sigh of relief.  Maybe now, we will begin progress and get our schools to where they need to be.  Before, special interest people who owned charter schools were in control and they were bleeding monies from the public school sector!  That has been stopped.  For now.  We still have a ways to go!

I didn't move here for those reasons though.  I moved here because I feel a connection to the Sonoran desert, the grasslands, the Mexican people and specifically for the beauty and quirky nature of Tucson.  There is something that makes me feel happy here.  And no matter where I go, I miss my southeastern Arizona world. 

We did my Bisbee birding loop trek this weekend which encompasses the Whitewater Draw, Bisbee and the San Pedro House outside of Sierra Vista.  I was feeling craney and wanted to spend some time with the gathering Sandhill Cranes of the Whitewater Draw.  So Micheal and I took a road trip to the Draw.  

Then Micheal asked, "Are we going to eat in Bisbee?"  Of course!  We tried a new place that I had scouted out last year while on a fabulous student trip.  I'm sorry I didn't take many pics in the town of Bisbee but if you visit us here in Arizona, you really need to check this place out.  It was BUSY!

We spent the late morning/early afternoon with the cranes.  You can watch these birds for hours.  At the right time of day, they put on quite a show.  Many photographers go to the "Draw" to capture the cranes in action.  It's a great place during winter for waterfowl and 10's of thousands of wintering cranes.  More importantly, you can find the near threatened Bendire's Thrashers in this location on Bagsby road into the Whitewater Draw.

I needed this weekend to try and figure it all out.  Watching these birds while doing some relaxing birding helped me organize difficult ideas. 

Since our place has been painted (and now paid for), I'm ready for the next home project.  I've been working out in the garden putting in hummingbird plants and feeders.  Our next big scale project is the AZ outdoor room.  It will be great to open windows and not worry about the cats getting out.  

Juggling the birding adventures and home improvement projects are no easy task.  And yet they have to get done.  I mean, they don't, but I'm not one to sit and wait for something to get done.  The only way to get it done is to do it yourself.  The whole project costs about $3,300 dollars and will be worth every penny.  I'll feel safer, have an extra area for secured storage and an open room for the cats to enjoy being outside but not outside:)

A sleepy Screechy

Sometimes when I get stuck, I just go birding and let my thoughts sort themselves out.  And like these Sandhill Cranes that never crash into each other, travel and home improvement can also line themselves together to achieve the bigger picture. 

Everything eventually sorts itself out.  The chaos of this world can be overwhelming at times. 

I just need to remember to breathe and enjoy the moment. 

This week's photography took place at the Whitewater Draw near Bisbee and the San Pedro House along the San Pedro River near Sierra Vista. 

Greater Pewee

The special bird of the week is this lovely Greater Pewee that has been hanging out at Reid Park near our place. 

Winter has arrived.  There are so many options out there.  Where to go next?

Western Whiptail Lizard

Until next time.....