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....

Overcast Days

The sun attempts to break the heavy cloud cover caused by Hurricane Rosa

Rain happens for most people all the time.  But for those of us who live in the desert, it's a wondrous event full of heavy water droplets and epic scenery. 

a curious Greater White-fronted Goose

I stood out in my desert last night and let the wind blow through my hair.  It has been awhile since I had goosebumps from a cool night wind against my skin.  

This young kiddo was so happy feeding the ducks and geese.  Little does he realize how special two of those geese are

I watched the people around me breath of sigh of relief.  There was a lot of laughing and fun happening around the park.  These dark gray skies had every Tucsonan taking walks or jogs around our city neighborhoods.  During the hot times of the day, we stay locked up behind our windows away from the deadly rays of the sun.  Then at night, like vampires, we go out when it is less hot.  But autumn has arrived. Gone are the 90's, 100's and 110+ degree temps. 

The resident Snow Goose of Lakeside Park

The plants soak up the much needed rain and almost fluoresce a brilliant green.  It is during this time that rare birds fly through various spots around the state.  Birders search high and low to find some random gems. As Hurricane Rosa broke apart, we all kept our eyes towards the sky. Would we find a Magnificent Frigatebird or random sea bird flying around our desert skies?  These are the days birders love the most.  Finding something rare. 

I went to my go-to-spot during times like these and found a large gull.  At first I thought it had been a California Gull until I got closer and discovered how big this bird was!  I got a little more excited.  I posted the gull on the FB page and people were calling it a Lesser Black-backed Gull. That bird was not on my radar. Chris Benesh joined the fun and we went through all the "maybes" on this gull.  Could we rule out Western Gull?  And all the others in that size range?  The answer in short was yes.  It just took a little patience. 

a rare juvenile Herring Gull makes a stop in Tucson

I am not scared of gull ID at all anymore.  They are really fun birds. Chris had me raise my hands up in the air to get the bird to fly so that we could pinpoint the under wings and see that rump and tail! I learn new things from this man every time we run into each other.  By the end of our observation, he was leaning towards Herring Gull.  I went home and dug through my ID pics and the ones I took of the bird and found the gull was indeed a first winter Herring. 

one of the ponds of Agua Caliente Park

For the past several weeks, I've been on a role just goofing around nearby bird areas finding cool things for my birder peeps.  Now I'm not bragging but ok, I am a little:)  I found these rarities on my own and helped other birders add a tick to their Pima or Santa Cruz County lists.  It's the least I can do for all their amazing sightings. While the Herring Gull wasn't a state bird for me, it was a county tick.  It's been some time since there's been a Herring Gull here in Tucson. 

Two -striped Mermiria

 There are still a few butterflies around the area but now the grasshoppers, katydids, and mermirias have taken over as the most numerous insect:)

It'll be hard to go birding around here now that I've begun cooking like a monster.  I go get my 70 pounds a veggies religiously every Saturday morning.  Afterwards, I get super excited and begin to process the vegetables.  I can. I freeze.  And I bring vegetables to life!  I process all the squash, tomatoes and everything else right away. 

From top to bottom and left to right. Homemade spaghetti sauce, butternut squash soup, a yellow squash medley, and freezing the extra yellow squash left over for a later time.
A lot of time is spent on boiling tomatoes(to easily remove the skins), chopping up vegetables and sauteing onions and mushrooms

 For example, with butternut squash, I steamed it all up during the summer and then pureed it all for the freezer.  This weekend, I pulled out that frozen ziploc bag of goodies and began prepping a soup with it.  I don't follow any recipes, but I've eaten so much food in my life, I can tell which ingredients go where.  So I cooked up a storm.  I canned homemade spaghetti sauce, prepped a potato/veggie casserole and made my butternut squash soup.  It was a hit with my friends. I'm in love with my kitchen again and it feels so good. Creating healthy dishes feels absolutely wonderful! And there is nothing quite like the taste of fresh.  

Next week, I'm back on the road to try and find some lifers in Wisconsin.  But honestly, it's about being with family and friends......and the cool autumn air. Until next time.....

No Day But Today

Vermilion Flycatcher during one of my weekly surveys at Reid Park in Tucson, AZ

"The heart may freeze or it can burn
  The pain will ease if I can learn

  There is no future
  There is no past
  I live each moment as my last 

  There's only us
  There's only this
  Forget regret-or life is yours to miss

  No other road
  No other way
  No day but today!"-Rent

Another routine check at El Río Preserve in Marana, reveals a mile long string of Yellow-headed Blackbirds passing by the moon at sunset

On the trails this week, I did a little bit of tactical, studied and artistic birding.  It was a crazy week full of super early mornings, even by a birder's standards.

a Scaled Quail at Cochise Lake

We came back from Colorado and stopped at the beautiful Cochise Lake in Willcox, AZ.  This was my artistic birding. We had to prioritize our stops. So we skimmed through New Mexico in order to watch the beautiful sunset over Cochise Lake.

a Javelina feeds from the grasses of the golf course at Willcox

It was so peaceful and beautiful.  As the sun went down, several hundred Sandhill Cranes flew above our heads.

Sandhill Cranes at sunset

That is the true art of birding. It was a magical way to end our day.

Greater White-fronted Geese at Willcox

Days would follow and it would be time for studied birding.  Studied birding is my way of doing regular visits to local hotspots and recording important information. This year I have chosen Reid Park and several other hotspots to do my weekly counts to better understand bird patterns.

juvenile male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

On this day, I went to the Santa Rita Lodge and sat with out-of-town birders helping them ID unusual birds.  Sometimes, I just throw myself into the mix.  They don't know who I am and I don't know who they are.  But it's the most natural way of meeting good people.  I spent my morning helping these birders ID female hummingbirds(which can be tricky).

Rufous-winged Sparrow

I also studied several lower elevation birds that weren't supposed to be at the feeders.  Across the map, we are noticing birds moving up in elevation due to global change.  Take for example the Rufous-winged Sparrow ^(a Southern Arizona favorite) and the Lark Sparrow below.  Both of these birds should be found at the lower elevations of the Santa Rita Mountain range.  But here they were.

Lark Sparrow

Then there's tactical birding.  Tactical birding can be interesting.  Or it can be terrible.  A Wood Thrush was reported in a very remote and unlikely place in our state.  I needed this bird for the state AND I also needed better views of this bird.  I've only heard these birds calling from the dark areas of the woods in Maine and in Wisconsin. 

I didn't want to drive nearly 2 hours to this place called Dateland.  But any chance to get better views of a bird that I had only heard in my life was worth the trek.  We gambled and were rewarded with stunning views of this normally secretive thrush.

Wood Thrush

People have asked me how I balance it all out.  It's tricky but I make the time.  Just like people make time to exercise, etc., I make sure I put in the time for my birds. So many birders have said, "You can rest when your dead." And they're right. There's work.  There's home.  There's family and friends.  And there's birding:) 

Until next time.....

Las Aventuras: Arizona Geese and Swans

A gaggle of geese

Today we'll examine part 2 of this blog series on Arizona birds, the Geese and Swans.  We'll discuss the rare and common birds and also who's countable (and not).  This is a fun group of birds because they are large and easy to see. To find them just head over to the many parks, farm fields, lakes and golf courses found around Arizona. And maybe, you'll discover something rare! So let's go on this goose chase and discover another group of birds found in Arizona.  

The Canada Goose.  Love them or hate them, they are quite common from the city of Phoenix on up to the northern part of the state.  They are often found around golf courses and parks in the Phoenix area all year round.  NOW.  If you live in Tucson like I do, they are VERY rare and not common at all.  Many Phoenix birders think it's funny when Tucson birders get excited about Canada Geese:) 

The Cackling Goose is to the very left.  Tricky tricky.....

The Cacklers.  Cackling Geese can be a major headache to ID because they are so similar to some of the smaller Canada Geese subspecies.  And within the Cackling Geese populations, there are ALSO subspecies.  To make things even more difficult, these miniature looking Canada Geese are often found mixed in with their brethren:)  Often ebird reviewers and birders alike need time to carefully look at the field marks before they "okay" their sighting.  These geese are always present every year during our winter months but in very small numbers.  Look for a shorter bill and a smaller bird.  It's even better if you have the Aleutian subspecies that has the white line at the base of the neck!   

Snow Goose

Okay.  Since I'm talking about similar geese species, let's look at both the Ross's and Snow Goose, both which can be found in Arizona during our winter months. 

The Snow Goose is much more common here during the winter.  To differentiate them, look at the "grin" on the bill of the Snow Goose. The Snow Goose is also larger with a bigger bill. Note the size of the bill on the Ross's Goose below. 

A Ross's Goose emerges from the cold mists of sewage water. 

Another fun wintering goose is the Greater White-fronted Goose.  I wouldn't say it's common but it's usually not too hard to find wintering in Arizona during the winter months.  

The Greater White-fronted Goose

If you play the ABA game, birds like the Egyptian Goose, Graylag and Swan Goose don't count. 

Seen in California not ABA countable

 However, from field experience, I can say that the Egyptian Goose is a species to watch and I think it's important to note the occurrence of this bird in the state for our records. If you are a true birder, you mark EVERY detail down on your counts, wild exotics included. In California, there has been evidence that these birds are breeding in the wild. Their populations are also increasing around the state.  This goose is not native to the US but has established several populations around the US. In Arizona, a few are seen each year in various places. 

Brants are usually found wintering along the coast of Southern California and very rarely get blown into Arizona by a big storm

But the sea goose that is rarest and most precious of them all is the Brant.  It will show up every great while at a pond or lake somewhere.  Sometimes, it's just for a day.  

Now for the swans.  There are 3 swans that can be seen in Arizona.  We have Tundra, Trumpeter and Mute Swans.  But here's what you need to know about these three species......

The Tundra Swan can be ID'd by the yellow lore on the bill

Tundra Swans are the most "common" of the three swans.  And by common, I don't mean often:)  But they have been known to winter in various watering holes around the state for the winter.  Some years are better than others.  But if you see a swan in the wild, the default is Tundra(or Mute Swan who has escaped the confines of a golf course). 

Trumpeter Swans at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson

Or even rarer, you might have the Trumpeter Swans.  Again, these birds are considered gems to the Arizonan birding community.  They can be tricky to ID and often throw birders off guard.  These somewhat similar looking swans to the Tundra can be one day wonders or stay for a week or more in the right habitat.  Proper ID is important here.  Tundra Swans have yellow lores and their bills are somewhat different from the Trumpeter Swans.  If you find this rare swan, consider yourself blessed by the bird gods:)

the invasive yet loved by golfers, Mute Swan

And finally, the Mute Swan.  It is not countable in the ABA world.  ABA listers get "ticked" when other birders count this "crap bird" on their Arizona list.  There is no right or wrong here but I will tell you that these birds are often captive and more than likely escapees from golf courses. If you ebird and are solely an ABA lister, you can enter 0 in your count.  Yes, you saw a Mute Swan but it won't count on your overall life or state list.  If you want this invasive swan to count, you'll have to go east and find one:)  And there are plenty.  

This is the complete list of "expected" geese and swans, but if you've lived in Arizona long enough, you know that crazy rarities have shown up.  Who knows?  Maybe an Emperor Goose will appear during a crazy weather event. With the right storm, anything is possible. I am bias, but if you are a birder, Arizona is THE place to live for all things avian.  Granted, I think birding is epic anywhere you go, but there's nothing like settling down after a trip somewhere and saying, "It's good to be back home with my birds."  Each Arizona day can shock and dazzle with a crazy surprise.  My Arizona series will continue on one of my favorite groups of birds......the grouse!  Stay tuned for more!  

Our resident Blue morph Snow Goose in Tucson.  A year long resident and popular with the local birding community.  He is loved.