Storm Systems

It has been one gray sky after another in Southern Arizona for the past 2 weeks.  And I love it.

The cool to cold air has been refreshing.  The walks are wonderful.

Birding has slowed down a bit which means I can just enjoy finding new year birds around Southern Arizona.

Our local, and rare-for-Tucson, wintering American Bittern has been VERY accommodating for pictures.  This has been the best view I've ever had of this species.

I've become enamored with "Stumpy" over the past visits at Sweetwater

I've been back at Sweetwater Wetlands and realized that I've missed the place.  Winter birders are back in great numbers and I feel safer parking my new vehicle in the parking lot.

A sneaky Plumbeous Vireo

My umbrella is always with me now.  So if it rains, I'm prepared.  There's nothing wrong about birding in the rain.  Sometimes it's the most beautiful thing in the world.

a curious Horned Lark

I ventured out to the grasslands on another trek and just enjoyed counting sparrows along the road. 

I broke my rule a little.  After we did our count in Pima county, I figured why not head to my favorite little town of Patagonia for a bit.

thirsty American Robins

While the skies were still gray in Patagonia, it didn't rain at all.  The birds were super active and we had a quite a show.  I almost fell asleep on the bench.

a rare White-throated Sparrow at Paton's Hummingbird House

Here's why I almost fell asleep.  I actually had tried getting up to Mt. Lemmon for a bird count but the rain and snow drove me out!  It was a white out on top.  The weather was actually good until I got to the top and then all hell broke loose!

Mt. Lemmon has crazy weather!

So plan B was to go to the grasslands.  At this point, I knew Micheal was up.  And the best way to motivate him was to tell him that I'd take him out to lunch.  Then we birded the grasslands and he wasn't having any of it.

Micheal doesn't like sparrows.  BOO!

So I conceded and took him to Patagonia where we could sit on the bench and watch birds.

a sexy red Fox Sparrow at Paton's!

More rain and snow are in the forecast and I'm in love.  Bring it on!

And here's one more shot of the American Bittern. Such a crazy looking bird. 

Finally, I'm excited to share with you all that the Great Horned Owls love our new nest that we've created for them!  Photographer, Jill Watkins, took these amazing shots of the owls as they prepare to nest. 

It's a relief and it's exciting.  A definite sign that spring is just around the corner.  Until next time....

A Future To Believe In Part 2

I remember looking up into the broken sunlight of the leafy ceiling. Birds flew from one branch to another. Just shadows really. In the grasses, he pointed to a hidden deer skull. Everyone in my 2nd grade class was in awe. 

Botteri's Sparrow-lifer for Bernie

He continued to lead us into the woods pointing out a beautiful Cedar Waxwing and American Robin.  Bernie reminded us to walk quietly.  We did our best. For most of the time. I mean...we were still kids after all:)

The darker Grasshopper Sparrow of the West

Later in life, I joined yet another nature walk with Bernie.  I was now in 7th grade.  We were looking for owls.  Their hidden locations were revealed as we watched them silently sleep on their perches. For many of us, it was our first wild owl we had ever seen!

One of the many deer I saw this summer at the Woodland Dunes

By now, I knew these woods well.  We played along a creek that once ran freely into the Dunes. I hid in the forests with my friends and built secret fortresses.  We also snuck out of our homes before the parents noticed that we hadn't done the chores. No one could find us if they tried.  It was our secret hiding place.

Eventually they cut down our secret forest and covered the creek with dirt and ugly factories. Angered adults and kids watched helplessly as the chainsaws shredded the trees to the ground. Today, those same factories that destroyed our natural playland sit empty because the work has since gone elsewhere. They had also tried to cut down the Woodland Dunes many years ago, but a few stood firm and protected this sacred area. Bernie lead the grassroot efforts to keep it free from "progress".  Many locals didn't get it. land=work=$$.  Oh if they could have seen their futures.  Today, nothing is left of the city I once knew.  The city continues to shrink and locals struggle to find work.  It is a shadow of what it used to be.  But the one thing that still attracts people from all over?  Our beautiful coastline and forests. And I gotta say.  The birding in Manitowoc County is pretty awesome.

Horned Lark

Later on in life, I returned back to the Dunes as a birder and an adult. Now I could truly understand the scope of what Bernie had set out to do. He was still there banding owls and educating us, the public. But it wouldn't be for long. Now, he was training others to do what he had done for decades.  It only took me a couple decades to catch up with Bernie and understand why the Woodland Dunes had been so important.  A few people knew early on, like Bernie, that the Woodland Dunes was an important wildlife area that needed to be protected for migrating birds, nesting songbirds, etc.  I have very few regrets in life, but there are times as a kid when I wish I would have spent more time and attention to the people and the important work they were doing. 

He was still the kind person I remembered as a kid. I watched him handle the owls with ease as he taught others the proper way to band them. 

After listening to his stories about banding birds, I realized that there is still so much I don't know. He even banded the trickier ones like Chimney Swifts! 

Bernie's Hermit Warbler

And now it was my turn to help this wonderful man out.  It was an honor and privilege to aide him in the discovery of our birds here in Southern Arizona.  We found Bernie's last warbler for the US and North America. Afterwards, we headed to the grasslands where we were able to watch a herd of pronghorns casually stroll through the verdant hills.

He gave me his "needs" list and I smiled.  While I love birding in the mountains, my favorite habitat to bird is in the grasslands.  And he needed quite a few of the grassland birds!  We had beautiful views of his lifer Botteri's and Cassin's Sparrows.  He discovered Cassin's and Thick-billed Kingbirds. And of course, the Hermit Warbler. 5 lifebirds!

Time is precious.  And although I only had a day to bird with Bernie and his son Jeff, I was so happy to do so.  It's the least I could do for a man who has done so much for us.  Thank you Bernie for your life long work.  Thank you for keeping areas like the Woodland Dunes safe from development. I don't recognize much of my city anymore, but I do remember my childhood playgrounds because they were protected and made safe by people like you.  When I enter the Dunes or Point Beach State Forest, I am neither child nor adult. I exist in a timeless space where it all comes together as one. I am surrounded by happy thoughts of my past.  I am reminded of my present. And I see future generations of kids exploring these places like I did when I was a kid.  Your life long work continues to inspire us and will continue for as long as people treasure these beautiful spaces.  Thank you for all that you do!

Not my photo but from the Woodland Dunes website.  I remember these days in the 70's and early 80's.  A sunny day with wet snow and yet still cold enough to wear gloves.  Bernie educates us about the nature.

Until next time.......

Antelope Island

Bison at Antelope Island State Park

We wandered further North into the state of Utah searching for the Chukar. This bird originally hails from Pakistan but was introduced into the US as a game bird.  The bird prefers rocky and arid landscape which was exactly the reason why we had to go to Utah.

Helping us find this bird was none other than Mia McPherson.  She is one of the best wildlife photographers out there.  And it turns out that she's also a wonderful person to get to know!  Our main target was the exploration of Antelope Island State Park near Salt Lake City.  It's located within the glassy waters of the Great Salt Lake.

Thousands of American Avocets hang out near the causeway

As we scanned the causeway onto the island, we saw thousands of birds covering the patchy stretches of water around the Great Salt Lake. Today that "lake" is disappearing due to drought conditions and water usage. Waterless piers that once held skimmers are now void of any traffic.  Hopefully, Utah will benefit from the wet El Niño winter pattern that has begun to take hold for many of the Western states.  

Western Meadowlark near the empty piers

And yet, there are still areas that have larger patches of water. It's strangely a beautiful sight to see.  There were so many water birds around this island that I forgot we were exploring a drier area of the US. 

Phalaropes fly over our heads from out of nowhere!

Once on the island, I kept my eyes and ears open for the Chukar.

Several moments later, I heard "different" birds making an unusual chatty sound nearby the visitor center.  My eyes focused on the various rock outcroppings and boulders in the area.  And then......

......it happened!  I saw Chukars sitting on top of rocks.  And not just one or two but MANY!  I quietly walked down the path and turned the corner of a large boulder.  As I did, a pair of Chukars faced me only several feet away.  And in that moment of quiet, we watched each other carefully.

Chukar

Antelope Island is truly a magical space that doesn't feel anything at all like Utah.  Or maybe it does feel like Utah? I don't know.  I haven't visited enough of Utah to make a judgement, but I can tell you that I loved it. I highly recommend this state park for a visit. There were RV's parked in their camping areas and I was a bit envious that people were able to spend several nights on this island.

Sage Thrasher

The golden light of the Utah sun made for wonderful photo opportunities. A pair of Sage Thrashers popped up on greasewood for some lovely views.

Horned Lark

While Mia navigated around the island, we were always careful to keep an eye open for the many bison walking around the roads and paths.

We stopped along the way investigating unusual habitat on the island.  At this particular stop(below), Mia showed us an older Black-billed Magpie nest.  This dome creation is a piece of art!

At one point, I had my window open and almost fell asleep.  I was SO relaxed. The urban sprawl of Salt Lake City stopped at the the entrance to the causeway.  And the island was a sanctuary of peaceful thoughts.

The golden browns of the landscape can make bird spotting a challenge.  Take for example this Wilson's Snipe below.  Mia spotted the bird along a riparian area and it took me several minutes to find her snipe!!!  It was only a couple feet away from my face!  Camouflage!

Wilson's Snipe

Our adventures in Utah would continue one more day.

I'd like to thank Mia for her friendship and also for her time showing us around the natural spaces of Salt Lake City.  I will never forget this trip out to Antelope Island. 

On our final voyage into Utah, there was one other bird I so badly needed to find.  Stay tuned for more......

Petrified Forest National Park

Aliens?

I had never been to the Petrified Forest National Park.   It didn't sound very interesting to me, but this park had a bird I needed to get on my lifelist.....the Scaled Quail. For rock people, I imagine this is a little piece of heaven.  Just don't steal any of the rocks or you'll go to hell. The park rangers asked us, "Do you have any rocks in your vehicle?"  I thought to myself, "Yes.  They're all over my car floor." But I figured out quickly what she was asking and replied, "No."  Then I asked her a question.  "Have any good birds been seen here lately?"  She shrugged her shoulders and said simply, "I only know things about rocks. But I can phone a friend at the Rainbow Lodge."  Wait?!!  Rainbow Lodge?!!  Sounds like a fun gay bar. But then my reverie snapped back to reality.  This was Arizona.

"Hello?" asked the friendly lady on the other end.
"Oh hi there, my name is Chris and I'm a birder.  I'm just wondering if you've had any sightings of the Scaled Quail or other birds?"  Ebird has very little documentation on this park for this year which made it difficult to play detective.
The mysterious Rainbow lady answered, "Nothing lately, but there are birds around the Visitor Center." 
At this point, I said to myself, "You've got a real mystery here Chris.  Go see what there is to see.  Use your ears to locate."  Without seeing the trailer to the movie, I drove down the 28 mile road expecting the unexpected. 

Right away, I began to see birds.  Not lifebirds, but birds that allowed me closer views!  Horned Larks ruled the park. Common Ravens sat and posed for me up close.  I was just inches away from this bird!

Horned Lark

But I needed a little support and called upon King Tuzigoot for help.  And from the ancient Petrified Forest near the Crystal(Meth) Forest, he arose.  "I call upon the King to rise from these ancient trees turned rock!", I shouted. He was as majestic and as friendly as I remembered him since our last visit.  The King informed me that these rock logs were all that was left since the time of dinosaurs.  It had been a forest at one point.  But with time, the trees turned into rock and crystal....hence the name Crystal Forest.  He didn't know what Meth was.  I told him it was bad stuff and we moved on.

His eyes picked out the rock wrens jumping around on these ancient artificacts.  Very cool!  Thanks Tuzigoot!  They blended in well with their surroundings and I almost missed them!

Rock Wren

I also found birds.....on rock.  I wondered what birds once lived on these great lands. 

If that wasn't enough, we arrived at a very colorful desert on the old Rte. 66.  They weren't lying when they said this desert appeared painted.

Common ravens stole the show.  There were so many nesting pairs that I became fascinated with their behaviors on this trip.  They are extremely intelligent birds.

But the King wasn't having any of it.  "No more birds!", he said.

The Horned Lark watched.....

 ....as the King went nuts.......

.......the Common Raven flew.....

And on this day along 28 miles of glorious Arizona highway, we counted 15 species.  The Scaled Quail was a no show. This was a great and classic Arizona trek worthy of the name.

Red-tailed Hawk  1
Eurasian Collared-Dove  1
Black Phoebe  1
Say's Phoebe  5
Cassin's Kingbird  3
Common Raven  7   3 Pairs Nesting
Horned Lark  21
Rock Wren  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Brewer's Sparrow  1
Vesper Sparrow  1
Black-throated Sparrow  4
White-crowned Sparrow  4
House Finch  10
Lesser Goldfinch  4