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.....

The Caravan

Our trek to Organ Pipe was interesting, but it was the work in Mexico that had me more interested.  A lot of birders signed up for a gull workshop with AZFO's Lauren Harter and David Vander Pluym.  And on the last day of the conference, a large caravan of birders crossed the border into Mexico.

Magnificent Frigatebird

We planned on staying the night in Rocky Point or Puerto Peñasco.  Many of the birders wanted to go with the caravan together.  No matter how many times I write this, there are still birders who are afraid to cross the border even though it's completely safe to travel to Rocky Point.  Like everything else, people need to use common sense. 

30+ birders scour the ocean with their scopes

We spent our morning with scopes and gulls.  But we also had our own agenda.  I wanted to do a count around Morúa or the Pinto Estuaries so we broke away from the group after lunch to do our own counts. I've been doing work around those areas for several years now and had never birded the area in October.  We rented a place on the Morúa estuary and really had a nice hike full of excellent birds there.

AZ Fish and Wildlife's Troy Corman and Wrenegade team member Tim H scope the horizon for possible rare birds

It's hard to navigate areas with large groups of people.  Many were there to spot the Yellow-footed Gull which is a bird of interest for many people.  These gulls live around the Sea of Cortez in good numbers.

Yellow-footed Gull

We said our good-byes and then were off to our sector of Rocky Point to get some work done.

At Morúa Estuary, we do a major bird count

The first bunch of birds we crossed paths with were plovers.  Snowy Plovers were everywhere.  They are the cutest of the bunch.   

Snowy Plover

Another common plover along the Pacific waters is the Black-bellied Plover.  Most of the shorebirds are in their winter plumage right now so they all look rather gray together.  Some can be downright tricky!

Black-bellied Plover

Another special bird that people come to see in Rocky Point is the Wilson's Plover.  They have a big bill and are the sassiest of the bunch.  In the pic below, the bird is throwing a little "tude" at an oncoming Snowy Plover. 

Wilson's Plover is the sassiest of the bunch

Even though it is cooler and pleasant, the sun can be quite strong as it bleaches the landscape.  In the pic below, we arrived at the mouth of the estuary where the bird life was at its highest.  I discovered my first Black Skimmers for Mexico here.

The bright light of the dunes and the ocean create a bleaching of color affect

Another great bird to see was the Elegant Tern.  They were the most common tern in this area next to the Forster's Tern. This species is listed as Near Threatened.

Elegant Tern

There were schools of fish everywhere.  And where there were large numbers of fish, there were hundreds of birds diving into the waters. Heermann's Gulls closely followed Brown Pelicans and tried to steal the food from their bills. 

A near threatened Herrmann's Gull sits on the back of this Brown Pelican

On Sunday morning, Gordon wanted to do his survey at Cholla Bay.  So he showed a couple birders how he likes to do his count.  As always, we had a great time and finished our counts with a nice list of bird species there.  The key is to go at low tide if you're a photographer.  At high tide, Cholla Bay is great with a scope.  

Short-billed Dowitchers

Short-billed Dowitchers had to be carefully ID'd by listening to their flight call.  As they flew, we were quickly able to ID them as Short-billed and not Long-billed.

Birding Cholla Bay at low tide is great for photographers wanting to get up close to the birds

As the bay drains of water, shorebirds, like the Red Knot below, go crazy on the crabs. 

A dull winter plumaged Red Knot forages for food

I've seen Red Knots in a lot of places but they are often too far to get clear views. One of my goals for this visit was to observe this species better. And it was great! 

Western Willet

Our special find, and definitely off my radar, was this gorgeous Fox Sparrow, the Sooty-colored subspecies. At the Morúa and Pinto Estuaries, there are specific green spaces or migrant traps that have green lawns and mesquite bosques.  I looked over at the trash bin and saw a bird scratching on the ground.  At first I thought it was a towhee until we put our bins on it!  HOLY COW!  We ended up with a Fox Sparrow on our Mexican life list. I also added a Dark-eyed Junco which was yet another bird I had not expected for Mexico.  Anyhow, the migrant traps around the hotels are great near the estuaries!!  I've had so many surprise warblers and sparrows show up in these green spaces. 

A rare Fox Sparrow

Our adventures continue......

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.....

Laridae

Gulls. They are a most unloved species by humans.  I grew up with them in my hometown of Two Rivers and took them for granted. They are loud, obnoxious, messy and can be downright cunning! Today, I find gulls to be some of the most fascinating birds out there.

Heermann's Gull

It's not easy being a gull. People shoot at them, throw things at them and often use foul language around them at the beach.  Sure they crap on people's things, steal their beach snacks and like to congregate in large groups, but the opposite can also be said about people:) Every day gulls clean up people's messes around public areas. They also face other human threats. Take for example this near threatened Heermann's Gull.  Did the bird lose a foot to a fisherman's net?  Considered to be one of the most beautiful gulls of North America, it's one that faces declining numbers.

Left-California Gull Right-Heermann's Gull

The California Gull with its' nice round head and smaller build with both a black and red dip on the bill makes it an easier gull to ID. It's also the state bird of Utah.

Yellow-footed Gull

The Yellow-footed Gull is the most special gull of all.  Many American birders try their best to find this bird in the US so that they can count it on their ABA list.  Just a few are seen and known to breed in an area known as the Salton Sea.  Unfortunately, the Salton Sea is disappearing and these gulls could be restricted entirely to the Gulf of Mexico if this US habitat vanishes.

Herring Gull

Who has pretty pink legs?  Why this Herring Gull of course! 

Ring-billed Gulls are everywhere and tend to be smaller than most other gulls. They are inland gulls and are quite common in many areas.

Ring-billed Gull

Many times people make the mistake and call gulls "Seagulls".  In the birding world, this is taboo.  Just use the word "Gull" and you'll be okay. Although, there are many gulls that fly over the sea.....Just saying:)

Great black-backed Gull

The Great black-backed has a VERY dark back and is rather large. Just like the name suggests:) Once they were rare off the shores of my hometown.  However, their numbers seemed to have grown around the Great Lakes area over the years during the winter months.

Great black-backed Gull

And then there are Herring Gulls.  This is the gull of my hometown.  This species can get confused with many other species of gulls such as the Thayer's and Iceland Gulls.  So what are the field marks that help distinguish one gull species from the other?

Herring Gull

Well one.  Have patience. Here are some tips......

1.  Size.  If you have other gulls around,which is often, it can help easily ID the various species that will amass on beaches or over your car. 

Bonaparte's Gull

2.  Leg color.  Are they pink, bright pink, yellow, dark yellow, etc etc.

3.  The bill and the gull dip(the color dot on the bill).  Is there a red dip or black dip or both? Is the bill strong?  Or smaller?  When juvenile gulls in their various cycles are thrown into the mix, it can get REAL tricky.  Fast:)

Laughing Gull-note black cap extends further up the head.  Orange legs are also...oranger:)

4.  The primary tail feathers. Do the edges of the end and side feathers on the wings have a dotted white or all white feature? Or no feature at all? 

Can you ID these gulls?  There are 4 species of gulls in this one shot. 

Is there any black?  If the gull is completely gray, you might have a Glaucous Gull!

Franklin's Gull

5. Head shape. Is it round? Odd shaped? The black capped gulls(or the gulls with the "hoods") can be told apart by how far their black hood extends on their head. 

Juvenile Sabine's Gull

6. Eye color, ring around eyes, head color and calls can also be helpful.  In other words, you need patience.  Or find a birder on your walk and ask:)

I found my biology mentor Dr. Sontag on the trails in Manitowoc.  He was the perfect cure for my ID ailment. 

It takes a while to figure it all out, but it's great once you do!  I still have a lot of work to do, but I enjoy gull ID very much. 

Gulls are amazing birds. They are the acrobatics of the air.  The silent stalkers from behind. The inspiration behind a painter's need to fill the skies along the sandy shores of the ocean.

When I look at gulls, I am reminded of my home.  And it makes me happy.  A world without gulls would be a very dull one.