Wrenegade Madness

Summer Tanager

It started around 5 PM on a Saturday night. The Tucson Audubon's Birdathon began.  Our members Matt, Jennie, Sara, Tim and Corey all gathered for the most exhausting trek ever.  We began our journey into Wilcox at Lake Cochise. 

The winds of change came upon us as a storm blew through Southern Arizona.  But we were prepared. 

Hermit Thrush

At the top of Mt. Lemmon, we nearly froze to death as dense fog brought the kind of cold rarely experienced by desert birders.  A wet chill tried to dampen our spirits, but we weren't having any of it. 

And down the mountains we went into the grasslands of Sonoita. 

White-winged Doves, Inca Dove and Lark Sparrow

There it was warm.  So we hid in the shadows with this Rufous-crowned Sparrow counting birds outside of Patagonia. 

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

We looked up. And down.  And all around. And would you believe it if I told you we found lots of birds?:)  Thanks to fundraising events like these, we'll hopefully continue to protect our birds for generations to come. 

During a reprieve, we settled down at some feeders and watched....more birds. 

Yellow-breasted Chat

Before we knew it, Sunday had come and gone.  Our once a year birding event would come to an end. And every year, we ask ourselves, "Why do we do this crazy thing?"

But we remember quickly that it's all about protecting our planet's birds and the habitats they use.  We raised money.  We had a lot of fun.  And we found 174 birds in one day!  THAT is a good day indeed!

The Wrenegades

As the marathon came to a close, we said our good-bye's quickly so that we could get into our comfy beds and sleep forever.  The Wrenegades will return another day. 

Barn Owl

Until next time.......

Spring Fling

Gambel's Quail-male

The beauty that comes from both nature and birds is so exciting for me.  It inspires art.

Lazuli Bunting

This was a lazy outing after several hikes.  I popped open a bag of my favorite cheesy ruffled potato chips and sat on the ground near the feeders and watched the bird show for over an hour.  The indigo blues of the migrating Lazuli Buntings mesmerized!

It's that time of year in the desert when many of our "flashier" and "colorful" birds return to Arizona.  Our wildflower and cacti show also delights with its subtle yet bright colors.

Globemallow

Birds actively collect nesting material OR feed their young. 

nesting male Black-capped Gnatcatcher

The birds are very vocal.  Take for example this nesting Black-capped Gnatcatcher(above) and Northern Beardless Tyrannulet(below).  While on the trails, they could be heard rather easily as they noisily flew from one bush to the other.

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

It's an amazing time of year for so many things.

As my work winds down, I prepare for bigger things.  Some nights, I just go birding alone to relax my mind. 

Lesser Nighthawk

Sometimes, it's about studying several birds better that I don't always get to see.  The Vaux's Swifts are a first for my photo collection at Las Aventuras.  Swifts are difficult to get on camera.  The sun was setting quickly and I had a few moments to get these next two shots.

Vaux's Swift-the cigar with wings

Sometimes, like in this case here, you get one shot.  As the sun was setting, I knew I had just a minute to get these birds on camera.  Observation time for this bird was less than a minute!!  I watched the skies for 45 minutes observing hundreds of swallows buzz around quickly.  During this time, I was searching for a different flight pattern to help me lock onto at least one bird.

Then I saw something that looked like a bat flying but as it banked to the side, I knew I had my swift.

As the sun set, I planned for the next day. 

Green-tailed Towhee

It's always fun to go somewhere new and look for wonderful birds.

Lark Sparrow

Because during spring migration, anything and everything is possible!  You can find lots of exciting birds in your local parks, at your work site, etc. 

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

For all you Eastern birders, why aren't you checking out those trees for those amazing migrating warblers? It's May my friends:) Get ready!  They are about to come through your area if they haven't started already!  For me?  Well, I'm keeping my eyes open down here for something rare:)  Until next time.....

Prickly Pear Cactus

Swiftly Passing By

 I spent a whole week debating what I would do....chase birds or just relax and bird a favorite hotspot.  There are more birds I need to find but they are simply too far out of range to observe properly within the short amount of time given.  Everything now points to California but I only had the weekend for birding.  And I didn't want to be on the road driving for most of it. 

Sparrow love.....Vesper Sparrow

When I am conflicted with direction, I know what I must do.  Bird the Whitewater Draw.  I think it has to be one of my absolute places to visit.  The location feels like I'm back in the Great Lakes region again.  It's a pretty special place. 

Now if we took the mountains out of the shot above, this could be a wetlands somewhere in central Wisconsin. During the winter months, this place becomes a hotspot for many birders as thousands of Sandhill Cranes congregate these waters and surrounding farmer's fields. As one might imagine, lots of waterfowl also hang out here. 

It's a little too soon for all of these birds, but we did have one large flock of Cinnamon Teal hiding out in the reeds.  We did a little walk around the area and flushed over 60 of these ducks!

It's still warm and it's still wet in Southern Arizona.  Another storm passed through our area from the Pacific Northwest and it pushed down several more migrating Vaux's Swifts. 

Vaux's Swifts are pudgy swifts with short tails that breed between Southern Alaska and central California during the summer.  As they head back to Central and South America, several will pass through Arizona. Many times, this bird can be seen riding the winds in front of major storms around watering holes.  In my case, Hurricane Odile helped me locate one around the Sweetwater Wetlands. This year has been a very good year for many birders in Southern Arizona with all of our monsoon storm activity. 

There were lots of brown and gray birds from our adventures.  From top to bottom and left to right.  
Merlin, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Red-tailed Hawk
Loggerhead Shrike, Killdeer, Mississippi Kite
Common ground-dove, female Lazuli Bunting, Vaux's Swift

Perhaps the most significant part of this trek was observing migrating swallows as they gather in great numbers heading south.  The highlight of our day is captured below on this fence line. Swallows tend to be tricky birds to capture on camera.  And it's rare having 3 different swallows sit still long enough for a picture. As I've stated in previous posts, a lot of birders have a hard time id'ing swallows above them because they fly so fast.  On this trek, they surrounded us in great numbers.  We stood inside their cloud amazed by their acrobatics.  There were lots of bugs....including chiggers.

L to R- Bank Swallow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow

The bug life increases with heat and moisture.  This Great Swallowtail below found our citrus trees at El Presidio, laid the eggs and is now in the final stages of butterfly life. A bit like Charlotte's web. 

Giant Swallowtail

There is a birding loop I make if we go to the Whitewater Draw.  We drive through Benson and Tombstone and count birds along the way.  Once we arrive at the Whitewater Draw near McNeal, we spend a good portion of our time birding.  At around lunch time, we head over to Bisbee for break and then head over to the San Pedro House near the San Pedro river for an afternoon of birding there. Then it's visiting our relatives in Sierra Vista and back home in Tucson. 

And Arizona sunsets are always amazing.  If you haven't birded Arizona, you're missing out.  Over the next several weeks, my journeys will take me to Globe, Colorado and a return back to California.  And the adventure continues.....

For more fascinating finds, check out Wild Bird Wednesday!

The Winds of Change

The seasonal desert changes are subtle and in some cases, almost invisible. If it weren't for the promise of lower temps in the fall and winter, southern Arizona wouldn't be such a popular place. And so when migration commences towards the end of July into August, birders know that some incredible birds will come our way. The only thing?  The onslaught of deadly heat. This year, for the first time in my life, I can actually see the changes. 

Blue-footed Booby

Nowhere is it more apparent than with the migration of birds.  Storms still blow in rare birds like the Blue-footed Booby above.

And people still escape the heat with water.  It was this way before and forever it shall be I think until the end of our days.

On a hot day with a Mega Rare, Code 4 bird(5 is the highest), North American birders came from all over the country once again to get this first ever recorded sighting of a Blue-footed Booby in SE Arizona.  I have seen these birds in the thousands on several islands off of the coast of Northern Mexico. But for Kathie, it would be a lifebird.

I just needed to bird.....really bird.  I hadn't done so for a full week.  But as is the case during this time of year, my thoughts turned towards the future.   

I have been reading about the historical birding spots of Arizona.  Some have changed.  Some have not. And some are in danger of disappearing.  Thanks to great documentation by birders over the decades, we, today, are able to walk their footsteps and glimpse at what was, is or may become.

Kino Springs

We birded Patagonia and Kino Springs near the Mexican border.  These places, thankfully haven't changed much.

Lazuli Bunting

But as birds are now heading south, my thoughts wandered more about old birder haunts that I had read about.  Birders who are now gone.  Had the birds they had seen also changed over time?

American Coot

And then there are the birds. Those magical wonderful and random sightings that happen during migration.  I watched as a Nashville Warbler went through my garden patch in Midtown Tucson(Speedway/Alvernon).  It was a show stopper. It slowly jumped around my potted plants and while it was thrilling, I thought about the long journey ahead.  For 5 special minutes, I watched outside my living room window as it hopped out of my area picking up bugs from the ground until it disappeared for good.  And then I was sad.  In my mind, I said, "Buen viaje" or Good journey.  Never had I felt that before. I have about 15 regular birds at my feeders.  This particular bird was a first!!!  We traveled hours to find this bird in Yuma during winter. But for this time around, we didn't have to do anything but look out our window. 

Nashville Warbler

And yet our weekend was full of wonderful finds in Sonoita and Patagonia.......we discovered Grasshopper Sparrows, Buntings and more!

Eastern Meadowlark

Then we stopped at a place to watch birds.  It has been historically a birder hotspot for many decades. As with everything, change is inevitable.  The Paton's passed away and today Tucson Audubon, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and the American Bird Conservancy are trying to save the house and property.  It's a landmark for so many people.  But will it stay open?  Time will tell.  It might very well have been my last time there. If you are interested in helping save this place, click here to make a donation. This drive will happen until October 15th.

Paton's House

I watched the Pipevine Butterfly dance across flowers.

Time has changed me.  It has made me more aware and sensitive to the subtle movements within this larger world.  One cycle ends and another begins.  But just how many cycles will I get of my own in this lifetime?  I have only scratched the surface on this lifelong world journey.