To Be Young Again

Verdin

Spring.  It's an unofficial holiday; a celebration and renewal of all things centered around life.  For many in the US, it's a happy time as the weather warms up and those dreary gray clouds disappear.  Then the green and colorful blooms begin! In Southern Arizona, we start a little early. Our true spring begins in March. In May, "spring" really feels like the start of summer.  However, nature still tells us that it's "spring" around here with all the little critters making a fuss. 

Brown-crested Flycatcher collecting food for the recently hatched young

We had cooler temps in the mornings this past week and I wanted to take advantage of them while I still could.  So I got the equipment ready to do some serious documentation on the nesting and breeding birds at several of our local parks. 

I'm always surprised by how quickly the young grow up.  I mean.....this can be said about any species! Even humans! My nephew is already going to be a sophomore. Where did the time go? How did my family get so old??!!!  The only conclusion I can come up with is that they live in Wisconsin.  I haven't aged a day here in Arizona:)  So you ask about the gray in my beard?  Well, that's easy. I spray painted that stuff into my hair to look wise and Gandalf-like so that my family wouldn't feel any different :)

Red Torch Cactus

You know what?  I hate teaching.  Or so I say:)  When it comes down to it, I love my kids. I hate the politics behind teaching....and also some of the bad parenting happening out there. #stopenabling  It was so very sad saying good-bye to my Seniors as they will leave for the military or college or.....nowhere in a few short weeks.  The free spirits told me that they just want to explore.  WOW!!  I remember those days.  Now I'm bogged down paying for health insurance, home repairs, protecting our environment, fighting that asshole of a man known as Trump and cleaning the kitty litter(I swear he's been crapping in the litter! I know he's been doing it to our country. For example, take his 3 AM tweets on the toilet) But back to being young. I still explore because it's in my blood.  So I tell my Seniors......explore.  Be safe.  And discover! 

Baby Mallards

In my life, I've had near misses myself.  They were scary.  Almost losing my sister on a Guatemala trip was something that to this day has scared the hell out of me. One year, a faithful Spanish student of mine went off to explore the world and was nearly killed when a motorcycle hit him head on.  I know it's not my fault, but I couldn't help but feel partly responsible for encouraging him with my words to explore the world. It took years of rehabilitation. Just a couple weeks ago, he graduated from college.  And I am so proud of him. And I'd still tell him the same thing.  Explore!  But be careful!

Female Gila Woodpecker feeding the young.  Look at that amazing Saguaro cavity!!!  That is amazing!

Youth.  Inexperience.  I wish I could telepathically share with them all my life experiences.  Be careful when dating.  Be careful settling for something that you are not ready for.  Don't take out too many student loans.  Stay away from those damn drugs. But have fun!  How do I pass that information on to the future generations? Were they listening to my lessons? Quite simply, I have to let them go.  They have to leave the nest at some point. It's something they have to EXPERIENCE on their own. 

A male Gila Woodpecker pokes his head out to see what's going on

Life is dangerous.  It's also beautiful.  As I listened to the young birds call for their parents, I worried for them.  Get away you Cooper's Hawk!! I watched our nesting Common Ravens get bullied by this bird.  One of the ravens actually whimpered.  Again, I wanted to tell the raven, HEY!  Wake up!!! You're bigger!  Kick that bully away from your nest!  Years ago, I realized I cannot change the world nor control the outcomes of others. So, it gave me a certain freedom knowing that it's my life that I need to take charge of.  It's not my responsibility to try and "fix" others. But I can hope that both Common Ravens will stand up to that nasty Coops:) Birds are like people; people are biological creatures.....and we are all connected.  Their story is our story. And vice versa. 

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

I walked around more and heard our infamous Northern Beardless Tyrannulets.  Everyone comes to this park to see these tiny flycatchers. On this day, the parent Tyrannulets were training their young one to fly from branch to branch.  I stood a safe distance and watched as one parent flew under the shade of the mesquite calling "PIU PIU PIU!" Translation:  Ok.  Fly here. The little one would respond with not quite the same call and fly to the branch.  The parent would then reward the little one with food. And over and over they did this in the hopes that one day, this little Tyrannulet will one day fly off and live its own little life. 

I watched a Bell's Vireo collect nesting material.  I asked myself, Is this the second clutch?  OR Did the first nest fail?  In the mind of a bird, a failure means try again.  Move on.  And do it again.  There's a message in there somewhere. 

As I walked out my classroom door, another Senior stopped and told me that he was thinking about taking a bird watching class at his university.  I had a huge smile on my face and told him that this made me very happy. While my objective is always teaching the Spanish language, I also try to connect my lessons through life experiences.  In the background, I'll have a bird on my SMART board.  When I disappear for that one day at school, my students know that I'm not sick but instead chasing a rare bird:) And it's my obligation to show them my results the day after:)

Arizona Bell's Vireo collecting nest material

I have one more week of school to go.  The forecast will be in the 100's again.  So I called my a/c guy to check our unit because I HATE the heat and want to prevent disaster from happening!  I climbed up on my roof and sat with him as he went over each of the specs. I thought to myself, Why don't I live up here?  It's beautiful!  Anyhow, everything looked good to go.  If there's one thing that stresses me out, it's the fear that our a/c unit will die in the middle of summer.  I have a secondary unit back up but still.....

So I'm ready for summer.  I've said my good-byes. And now it's time to move forward because life doesn't wait for any of us.  I've been stuck at 759 lifebirds for too long! If I remember correctly, there are over 10,000 bird species out there that are waiting for me to find!  And you know what that means.......

The many owls I've seen this year! Most shared with people I love.  Thank you all for your friendship. 

An adventure is waiting to happen.  Here are my reports from this past week.  For people coming to Tucson, you'll find these areas easy to access.  Go early before the heat. Birds are active from 6 AM to about 10 AM.  And don't forget to bring water!

1. Reid Park
2. Lakeside Park
3. Agua Caliente Park

Until next time........

A Tucson Spring

It's spring here in the desert.  I've kept it local for several weeks because I need to budget my money for a bigger trek coming up.  It has been an enjoyable challenge because I am forced to play within the perimeters of my own area.  It's a different kind of birding, but it's still quite enjoyable. 

Mallard duckling

Outsiders often visit the Old Pueblo in April and ask the locals, "When is your spring?"  People living here KNOW that spring is subtle.  Our trees leaf out and release terrible amounts of pollen:) But our trees aren't bold and tall like the ones found on the eastern part of the US. For birders, we visibly see the migration happening before our very eyes. 

While waiting for my master lens to return from the shop, I took cell phone pics and used a smaller lens for some of these shots.  Imagine going to your work place and finding this Great Horned Owlet staring back at you?!  It was hard to focus and listen to the adults talking in the room:)

Least Sandpipers

While Tucson doesn't have a lot of watering holes, we do have a few that attract some special migrants.  This time of year is good for rare sandpipers.  The most common are Least, Spotted, Western and Solitary Sandpipers.  Pectoral and Stilt Sandpipers are good birds but they are not always reliable. I have found that I need to be in the right place at the right time to spot these passing migrants.  The key is to place yourself in those spots for a possible sighting. 

Solitary Sandpiper

 Staying in one area also allows for a VERY in depth look at our local birds.  Take for example this Killdeer below. 

Many of us know that a Killdeer parent will act injured to draw a predator away from the nest. While I am not a predator, I am clearly a danger in a different kind of way.  

Almost every living creature on this planet uses some form of communication.  As a birder, it's my job to interpret that communication for a better understanding of the birds.  It offers a very satisfying observation as well. 

In this particular case, I knew I was near a nest.  I stopped quickly and scanned the area.  Had I made a few more steps in the wrong direction, I might have stepped on these eggs.  Thankfully, I understood what the bird was telling me. Look at how much this Killdeer's eggs look like the surrounding rocks!  Nature is amazing. 

I believe that Coachline, or El Río Preserve, will be one of Marana and Tucson's premiere birding spots when it's all finished.  It has been a wonderful success.  A walking/bike path have been put into the area making this premiere birding spot even better.  There is now a parking area (with a ramada for lunch and shade).  As a local, I can tell you that I am super excited about this transition.  And my tires are glad as well.  No more gravel/sharp rock parking:)

Several years ago, friend and birder, Magill sat with me as we did a Big Sit and counted birds under the awning at this place for the day.  It was a lot of fun as we ended our observations with lots of Lesser Nighthawks flying around us. 

Black-crowned Night Heron

 After two weeks, my master lens returned back to me repaired and I was so excited to get the darn thing that I headed to Reid Park to film Great-tailed Grackles collecting mud.  It. Was. Great.  Even if they were just Great-tailed Grackles:)  That's how happy I was!

But during those grueling two weeks of waiting, I did some research for our upcoming Wrenegades event.  Every year, we get together to raise money for the birds of Southern Arizona.  It helps support Tucson Audubon's projects. 

I spiced up my treks but kept it cheap.  A really nice place to bird on Mt. Lemmon is the Rose Canyon Lake area.  But I didn't want to pay the hefty entrance fee so I parked off the highway and hiked down to the lake.  Another woman did the same but as she was hiking down into the area, she didn't realize how far it was:)  So I kept encouraging her to keep going.  "Where is the damn lake? My kids better be down there."  I told her not to worry.  We chatted the mile hike down and got to the lake.  She didn't see them but from her conversation about her kids, I guessed they'd be at the floating dock fishing.  And there they were.  That trek, for the day, landed me a Lewis's Woodpecker. 

I also scouted around for the ducks.  Again for our birdathon.  There are a few wintering ducks still around....like this proud drake Ring-necked Duck. 

A Round-tailed Ground Squirrel eats some refreshing Barrel Cactus fruit on a hot near 100 degree day. 

And my research takes me into new areas around town locating new Burrowing Owl locations.  The one at our airport is now gone which means that the construction crew destroyed the burrow:(  Thankfully birders saved the birds and had them relocated.  It was very sad to see them go.  But it also forced me to scout out new locations which was fun. 

Next week, I join up with my fellow Wrenegades to find as many birds in a 24 hour time period as we can.  Will we break our old record?  Stay tuned for more.....