The Highs and Lows

The carpeted green valley below Kitt Peak

Lately, I've been focused on the job that pays for my health insurance.  The start of the new year for every teacher is a tricky one.  If you set the tone right during the first several weeks, the rest of the year is perfection when it comes to classroom management.  On top of the main job, I've also been working on our house project that includes lots and lots of planning.  And on the weekends, I eagerly escape to go birding with friends. 

a Canyon Wren plays hide and go seek with us

Gordon came down for the weekend and we decided to do fun birding in cooler settings.  Kitt Peak was new for Gordon and it was just a nice get away from the heat.  For the first time in a LONG time, we should have brought our sweatshirts!  It was cold!  What a wonderful thing!

Yarrow's Spiny Lizard

 In fact, this is the end of summer for us.  It's the height of insects and migrating birds and bats.  September is so GREEN and buggy!  This is the best time of year for butterflies.  The trails are full of them!

a stock photo from several years ago on Kitt Peak.  This is the area we covered birding

We headed south of Tucson towards Sells on the Indian Reservation.  There's a peak that has telescopes on it.  And that's where we birded the morning finding lots of fun birds.  

Mexican Jay

We found Mexican Jays collecting acorns from an oak tree. 

juvenile Mexican Jay

 Spotted Towees appeared to be marking territories for yet another nest.  

Spotted Towhee

Meanwhile butterflies stole the show. 

Bordered Patch Butterfly

Down below in the valley, the wildflower show was incredible.  The rains have been good to Southern Arizona and the oranges, blues, purples, reds, yellows and pinks are confirmation of a happy desert. 

Arizona Poppy

One area was thick with wildflowers.  A beautiful carpet made by nature. 

Trailing Windmills

 There was no shortage of bugs. I try to escape the chiggers and mosquitoes, but they somehow find me. 

Plains Lubber Grasshopper

 The heat finally ends our Saturday of birding fun.  Sunday comes and we were looking forward to exploring Reddington Pass.  This was another new area for Gordon, but as we exited our place, we hit a wall of heat and changed the plans. 

American Snout

We wanted an easy place to bird, get water, have a nice lunch and see fun things.  The Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum was the perfect fit.  While it's technically a "museum", it's much more than a building full of crap.  Here you can explore the wild spaces and see lots of real and wild critters that hang inside and outside of cages.  It's a great place to look for desert birds like the Cactus Wren or Gilded Flicker. 

Gordon and Micheal scour the Desert Museum property for butterflies, lizards, birds and other odd insects

Another unique species that lives on the grounds is an iguana that has survived decades on the property.  

San Esteban Island x Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana

Meanwhile we checked out the other critters hanging out around the riparian/desert corridor of the museum grounds.

male Bighorn Sheep struts his stuff

Eventually we made it to the aviary.  This year, I have spoken with many people about this subspecies of Northern Bobwhite below. The Masked Bobwhite is VERY rare and can only be found at the very close border of Mexico and Arizona on a few ranch lands.

the extinct-in-the-wild subspecies of Northern Bobwhite(Masked Quail)

They are breeding these birds to release in the wild, but even when we go to study them in the cages, they can be difficult to see!  So it was a real treat to find that this pair had mated....and had a chick!

I know it's a caged bird, but it's so rare in the wild that practically no one has seen these birds at all beyond a stuffed model on display for what used to live in the grasslands. To see them like this close up was spectacular. Over the years, I've seen only one in the aviary and she was always hiding.  Not on this day!

And that chick was adorable. 

After work, I'm exhausted.  The heat drains the life out of me. The mornings are lovely and it's really the only time to do any birding.  You get a 4 hour window and that's it.

Olive-sided Flycatcher

A lovely win for the week was an Olive-sided Flycatcher hanging out at my local patch that I monitor weekly.  And a very human downer happened when I misidentified a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron for a super rare Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.  To be fair to myself, many others thought it was a juvi Yellow-crowned Night-Heron as well.

American Avocet

I got two minutes to look at the bird from a distance, snapped my shots and then had to wait until I got home to look at them.  Magill got home before I did and looked at the pics up close and said, "Nope.  This is a juvenile Black-crowned."  Our hearts sunk.  The ID is a tricky one, but next time I'll be looking at that bill better. 

Birding in Dateland and surrounding areas for shorebirds

The juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has an all dark conical bill where the juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron can have some yellow in the bill. Oh well.  You win most and lose a few every once and awhile.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

We randomly explore the state and search for something fun to show up. I wouldn't do it alone as it's more fun birding with friends during this nasty and beautiful time of year. We motivate each other to bird during these trying times. Migration is upon us and every day, there is something just waiting to be found.  Will you find it?  Until next time.

Year In Review-Southern Arizona

 This year, I did a lot of travel around Southern Arizona. There are almost too many places to see, but here are some memorable experiences.  Whether it be from Ramsey Canyon above or along the San Pedro River below.....

 .....or in the magical world of Portal.........

.....near Buenos Aires wildlife preserve......

 ....or watching the thousands of Sandhill Cranes at the Whitewater Draw......

 .....driving and hiking around Picacho Peak.....

 .....or exploring the skies of Kitt's Peak.......

 ......or looking down onto Tucson from Wasson Peak......

.....in and around both sides of Saguaro National Park........

.......or trekking the arroyo in Tucson..........

......Southern Arizona is a treasure that must be seen.

Beacons In The Sky

Ever look up into the Tucson sky and see white objects on top of mountains?  Well it's not a UFO, but one of the many space observatories that are located on our mountain tops.  While on a wildflower and wildlife hunt, I passed by Kitt Peak and decided to stop by.....

As stated, I had been searching for the amazing California Poppy displays around this mountain range, but I was disappointed to discover that I had been too early for the show.  I'll be heading back that way again and crossing my fingers that they will be in bloom this month.  This photo series was taken in March.  The story I tell today was a strange one.....but hey, I replaced my chapstick that I use on my hikes during the dry season.

While the trek wasn't a complete waste, it wasn't the most exciting.  Thankfully I went on the tour with our guide by the name of Bill.  He was a retired man with a wonderful smile and patient heart.  Sounds like I love him.  I just recognized the fact that he is an excellent educator for the public.  Someone who likes people and likes what they do.   First.  If you plan on going to Kitt Peak(south of Tucson) during the day, you need to take the tour.  Second.  Be prepared for chilly weather on this sky island.  It doesn't look like it's high up, but it is.  And the wind can be COLD!!!  Wear pants and a jacket during this time of year.  Kitt Peak is the most accessible for visiting the observatories.  Did you know?  Tucson has a light ordinance to help reduce urban light pollution for our space observatories?

Grey-headed Dark-eyed Junco

I went to see what kind of birds were hanging around the mountain tops.  And I wasn't disappointed.  The Grey-headed Juncos and Mexican Jays were all over the place.  And the Chihuahuan Ravens were majestic in the wind.  Beautiful birds.   Before the tour, I walked around the several observatories enjoying the fresh air.  The tourists visiting this day were a little bizarre.  A group of nasty smokers had a difficult time with the higher altitudes and couldn't breathe well.  I wonder why?  Even though one of the space observatories was  nearby, several of them complained about walking less than a block to visit one!!!  They got back into their cars and lit another cigarrette and drove off.  That's okay because they were annoying.  But why drive all that way just to drive back down again??? And smoking is bad for you. The smell annoys me as does a Southern drawl or a Wisconsin, "Hey der!" I rid myself of my Cheesehead accent years ago. I still have to make a concentrated effort on pronouncing words like "bag, flag, etc."  Open vowel sounds....not closed.  It's not "beg" It's "b-aaahh-ggg".  Some habits are hard to quite I guess:) My family has a strong and thick accent so I have to be careful when I'm home visiting not to slide back into that German/English mishmash.  I don't always succeed. Okay den, let's focus more on da topic, ya?

Kitt Peak was created in 1953 and funded by several universities around the country.  Today many observatories are located on top of this Tohono O'odam run land and are funded by the various universities around the country and the world!  Without the tour, it was boring....but the birding part was fun.  Some of the structures look like they need some work.  One observatory looked like it needed some updating.  The Solar Observatory, in my opinion, was depressing.  There was termite damage inside one of the telescope areas.  You can visit some areas but not many.

 I suppose to give it a fair shake, one would need to visit the observatories at night when the place "comes alive".  Like finding life in the Amazon Rainforest or searching for owls, the night is when stargazing is done by astronomers.  And that makes sense.  Several of my friends have done the dinner, overnight stays and telescope viewing from Mt. Lemmon and Kitt Peak and had loved the experience.  So to get the real experience, set up a stay for the night via their websites.

But if you go during the day, you may be disappointed.  Check out this empty basketball court below.  It looks like it hasn't been used in a hundred years!  In fact, it reminded me of my trip to Gamboa in Panama.  Do people really use this place to look up into the night sky?  I was doubtful.  So instead of me making a snap judgement, I took the tour at 1:30 and was glad I did..... 

It put a human face to the barren white domes. The people in this tour group were B.I.Z.A.R.R.E.  Well there were a couple cool people in the group.....like the nice couple from Washington.  I think everyone I've met from this state has been really wonderful.  But I know there are always a few bad apples....like the couple from Minnesota!!!  Seriously.....Minnesota.  Most people from this state are really amazing as well.  Bill, our guide, was friendly and answered every question as if it were important.  One of the telescopes on Kitt Peak is monitoring for incoming asteroids passing by Earth's orbit.  The female version of crazy asked if they would be able to see a shot of an asteroid  hitting Earth!!! She was serious. Everyone in the group chuckled except Bill.  He answered the question as if it were important.  Must be the scientist part of him.  Or he goes home afterwards, cracks open a beer, writes down the quote of the day in the book and laughs to himself.  Hey we all get one of those moments don't we?  Once, when I was younger, I asked an incredibly stupid question on a submarine.  At the end of the tour, I innocently asked our guide, "Is this where we started?"  I won't forget that moment.

On the way to the observatory during the tour,  male version of crazy starts rattling off strange facts about nothing.  Once inside the observatory, there were annoying kids running around while our tour was going on.  Crazy guy turns to an older couple...they looked like Grandparents....and asks them if those were their 5 or 6 year old kids!!!????  Again everyone in the group just kind of looked at each other.  My final opinion is that they were not human but instead.....Martians.  Martians from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I was also thankful for this sign.  It was a reminder that a cliff was right next to me and that I could fall off. 

So like this Mexican Jay, I took off from Kitt Peak adding two more birds to my list for the year.  And with a bit more knowledge on telescope design. But mostly that I could tell the difference between a Junco and a Warbler:) And that there are Martians posing as human.

And the wildflowers?  Major fail on my part.  Kitt Peak really is a great place for wildflowers...especially in April in May.  But because it's a bit cooler there, the flowers don't develop until later.  My best bet would have been to go up Hwy 77 in March.  There were wildflowers...just not in the mass groupings I was hoping for. I'll try again because this is definitely a hotspot for them! More tomorrow....

Scorpion Weed