The Grassland Road

Several months ago I began working with Luke Safford to guide a trip with Tucson Audubon and their wonderful Southeast Birding Festival. I got to pick the place and how we birded.  So I had to choose.  My favorite places to bird in August are the grasslands, Mt. Lemmon and Willcox Lake. So I chose my absolute favorite, Las Cienagas Grasslands. 

Botteri's Sparrow

 It was a bit scary but Luke was very helpful and gave me all the tools I needed to tailor this trek for our guests.  I needed a driver.  Done.  I wanted another guide with me.  Done.  Before I knew it, our trip to the grasslands was booked!  Twenty hopeful birders got into our two vans and placed their life lists in our hands!  The thing about the grasslands is that I feel very connected to the birds here. I knew our guests would fall in love with the landscape.  And they'd soon fall in love with our sparrows.......even if they didn't think they would:) 

In fact, as an educator, I feel it important to bird areas that have the most activity.  During this time of year, the grassland birds are extremely vocal and easily seen.  Our friends had no problem spotting birds.  But my goal?  Teaching them the calls and sounds of our grassland birds.  And by the bird gods did they learn them!  I had goosebumps listening to the birders pick out the sounds while ID'ing the birds on their own.  

To make things even better?  First class personality and professional bird guide, Chris Benesh joined the party. He is a relaxed and funny guy who helped take the stress out of this trip with our 20 guests. I'm not used to leading a group with so many people!

The weekend before the festival, I went with Magill Weber and we birded the area for my target birds that I wanted to present to the group.  On our list, I had put down birds like the Thick-billed Kingbird, Cassin's, Grasshopper and Botteri's Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlarks and the Cassin's and Western Kingbirds.  BUT.....to make something truly special....I mean.....really really special.....I feel that there needs to be more than just birds.  

And the Cienagas Grasslands have it all.  There is history.  There are birds.  There is epic landscape dotted with colorful wildflowers.  And there are Pronghorn. I feel at peace here. 

I think this trip was one of the cheapest of the tours.  And it was the one that made a lasting impression on everyone.  We saw coyotes, pronghorn and prairie dogs.  Speaking of Prairie Dogs....

Mojave Rattlesnake during our scouting mission

 We were running behind schedule and I was worried we wouldn't make all of our stops because we were enjoying the morning.  So I had scheduled a stop at the Prairie Dog settlement on the tour.  I wasn't sure if the group wanted to go and see more mammals but thankfully several participants spoke up and said that they wanted to see the furry little critters.  So we went.....

Cassin's Sparrow

 Cassin's Sparrows were EVERYWHERE!  This is a specialty bird here in Southern Arizona during our monsoon season.  They are very vocal and the last of the sparrows to breed for the summer.  And they can breed many times during a nice wet monsoon season.  This year has been another exceptional year for this grassland species. 

We arrived at the Prairie Dog settlement. I was looking for Burrowing Owls.  They were looking at the dogs.  

Juveniles played.  Adults fed.  And an Australian couple was more interested in a strange bird out in the field. Chris was helping other birders ID certain critters. I was helping a birder ID a Western Kingbird in flight when Willy and Jess asked me about the weird looking bird.  Thinking regular resident birds, I asked them if it was a Killdeer.  They told me "no".  It was too big.  Ok.  How about a Long-billed Curlew?  Hesitation.  Then Willy said he was pretty sure it wasn't a curlew. That got my attention. 

Black-tailed Prairie Dog

 I left the lady after she had ID'd her Western Kingbird. I joined the group who were all now looking at this strange bird.  What happened afterwards was funny and awesome at the same time.  Both Chris and myself put our binos up on the bird and excitedly told the group that we had a mega rare bird!  The Upland Sandpiper!

Everyone became serious.  Photographers grabbed their cameras.  Never in my life had I expected to see an Upland Sandpiper in Arizona!  The birders got excited and their cameras began snapping off shots left and right.  

I think I almost wet my pants.  It wasn't a lifer for me but it was an excellent state bird! No scope was needed and everyone got to see the bird well.  It doesn't get better than this in the epic world of birding. 

Upland Sandpiper

Chris immediately called the Andrew Core hotline(the AZ rare bird alert contact) and I went to the Arizona Rare Bird page on Facebook to post our findings. During that morning, other birders would visit our very special find and be able to count it on their lists.  That night a huge storm blew into the area and the Upland Sandpiper disappeared.  

 What a very special weekend we all had!  One of the participants said that when we got quiet during our initial ID, they knew we had a special bird.  They were excited for us as well!  There's nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of finding something new.  

 I lead a tour the next day to Madera Canyon.  We found some excellent birds and it was fun watching people get excited about adding lifers to their lists.  And it was fun leading them.  Even better?  Raising money for a good cause!  I will continue to help support Tucson Audubon for as long as I can.  They do a great job protecting our areas around the state.  It gives me great pride to hear people say the words, "Wow! This is so beautiful!"  A lot of the money raised helps protect these amazing wildlife sanctuaries of our state. 

My life is different now.  My birding style has changed.  I feel absolute joy watching others discovering our birds for the first time. Just look at the intensity above as they discover their first Painted Redstart.  I want to send a shout out to Luke Safford for helping me put this trek together and to Hollie Faulkner Mansfield for her amazing driving skills.  She seriously has a talent for taking the roads slow so that I could listen for birds.  And also to Chris Benesh for joining the trek. What an honor! I don't know how you do it as a full time job but I do know why you do it.  I was exhausted after a busy weekend out.  Eventually I'll get to the Costa Rican posts, but I am off this weekend to help out with the Jaguar cams and bird surveys down in Mexico.  It will be my final trek down to this particular site so I am a little sad about it all.  I'll have that report next week.  Here are the ebird reports from our trek out to the Cienagas Grasslands. 
For the Cienagas Grasslands, click here. 
For the Prairie Dog Colony, click here. 

Until next time.....

What Would Bob Ross Do?

Nesting Great Horned Owl

 A week passed and I kept myself busy with work while doing a little volunteering for Tucson Audubon.  I monitored my nesting owls but couldn't shake the news.  No matter where I went, I was bombarded with it everywhere. 

Quiet at the San Pedro Riparian area

The United States is having a moment.  The citizens are at odds.  The conservatives complain that all the liberals are whining too much and that they should get over it. But the protests should tell them that it's not going to end anytime soon. 

A Merlin

Americans are witnessing something very historic and very ugly for the first time in decades.  Speaking about politics out in the open is poisonous and deadly.  This uncontrollable poison leaches into everything I do.  And I am not the only one.  Something big is building and I don't think people have a clue about how bad things are going to get.  A movement is beginning.  One that I have never seen in my lifetime.  But perhaps those who are in their 60's(and older) remember a similar moment in history known as the Civil Rights Movement.  So for people to casually blow this off as simply whining are really not understanding how serious this is.  We are a pressure cooker and the top is about to blow.

Pronghorn rest in the Cienagas Grasslands near Empire Ranch

SO.  I tried birding in several spots to rid myself of this negative energy, but everywhere we went, whispers from the crowds and hikers kept the political conversations going.  We had to go away from the tourist and crowded outdoor attractions to find quiet.

Pyrrhuloxia

 It wasn't until we reached the grasslands that I was able to freely let that nasty energy go.  There is something about the grasslands that is so healing. We watched as the wind bent the grass blades forward, rippling across the miles of golden terrain.  

In the silence, my mind began to wander as we hiked along the trails.  At one point, I began to think about Bob Ross while passing a random and solitary tree.  As you may or may not know, trees make everything better in the world of Ross.  And they really do:)

a sleepy Western Screech-Owl

What would Bob Ross have thought about all of this craziness? Would he have put more of himself into his work?  Or would he have said anything at all?  My mind eventually drifts back to the trees.  Some stood together while others stood alone. And yet there was enough space for all of them to grow freely. 

Bob Ross once said, "You need the dark in order to show the light." While he may have been speaking about his painting process, Bob often spoke with a deeper meaning.  I mean, that's why his show was so awesome.  It wasn't just about painting:)

Unfortunately, it'll take more than Bob Ross to get us through this national crisis.  And it's times like these when birding and art and discovery and life should be free from all this madness. It's not.  Somehow, somewhere there will come a breaking point when the so called "whining" turns violent and history will repeat itself....again. For now, the US is in it deep. Until next time......