The USS Betty White

My shuttle, the USS Betty White in her native habitat.  I'll admit it, I'm a little too in love with my car but it has made for the best birding vehicle ever.

OH how I love my Betty White. She makes everything better. This past weekend we went on a mission with Tucson Audubon to save the Chestnut-collared Longspurs in the scenic grasslands known as San Rafael.

The guardian angel of the grasslands, the White-tailed Kite of the early morning

We do these counts every year to protect the habitat for this species of declining longspurs.  In fact, the grassland species on a whole have had the largest impact with declining numbers due to loss of habitat.  So it's important to protect these spaces for birds.

The USS Betty White is a survey vessel used for research and saving birds

I love the grasslands.  And I especially love any sparrow or sparrow-like bird. 

It's challenging and requires a little know-how but our collective experience helped us find quite a few of them. 

The team listens carefully for longspurs, makes note of the grass that they are in and searches for any movement

It's hard not to notice some of the other beautiful birds that winter in the grasslands like the White-tailed Kite below.

When the world seems like it's falling apart, I only need to stroll in the open air of the grasslands to forget all of it.

As we walk towards the cattle tanks, we hear the high "tribble tribble" of the longspurs as they prepare to fly.

Chestnut-collared Longspurs are amazing.

As they flush from the grasses, the longspurs fly in a popcorn pattern zipping here and there every second they are up in the air.  This is one of the most challenging bird species to capture in photos.  They are secretive and fast when discovered.

Most people just see little brown dots vanishing into the grasses. 

Maureen is a pro and was a lot of fun to work with

To make a great day, you need great birders.  And we had it all.  The worst part of looking forward to something is that it also ends before you know it. To say that I was on a high would be an understatement. Grasslands, friends(new and old), Betty White, the target bird and fantastic weather made the event fly by like...well....the longspurs.

Sure they are sparrow-like and brown but they are fascinating birds. To not have these birds around in the winter would break my heart.  They belong here.  It's why we do these surveys. 

To find wintering AZ longspurs, you'll need your ears, some good grassland habitat and cattle tanks/ponds.  And a little luck😉

It's an incredible experience and one that every birder should celebrate.

After our "work" was done, me and the Betty headed over to Paton's to do some birding there.

White-crowned Sparrow

It was super active and the birds put on a good show. 
 

Canyon Towhee

Especially the Cedar Waxwings!

Cedar Waxwings

As always, I'd like to thank Ms. Jennie Macfarland for leading up this survey and inviting me and the USS Betty White to explore strange new grasslands and seek out all things longspur.

Richard, Minnow and Jennie

We ended our birding at Patagonia Lake State Park for a quick scan of birds.  We did see a Common Loon.  That was fun.

AZ birding is the best. Until next time......

As Broad As It's Long

Every weekend brings a new challenge.  The question is, "What bird will it be?"

Water flows in every wash around Southern Arizona

This weekend, Gordon attempted to help friend Joe find his nemesis bird, the Elegant Trogon. I joined up with them to see if we could do the impossible. Several weeks ago I posted our finds at Patagonia Lake.  Unfortunately, we were not able to relocate the male this time.  Our theory is that the bird is now in a more remote area around the lake away from the birding trail. 

a rare Winter Wren at Patagonia Lake

So we headed to the remote Florida Canyon of the Santa Rita mountains.  There had been a female Trogon recently reported....but we missed the window.  Trogons can be very tricky.  They are active in the morning and later take a siesta somewhere in the deep shadows during the afternoon. 

A Black-capped Gnatcatcher-a bird people from all over the US come to find

 While most of the country is still freezing, Arizona is enjoying warmer than average temps.  On our day out, the temps went from a cold 32 degrees in the morning to a warm 80 by mid afternoon.  While that sounds nice for most people, I'm not most people. I get enough heat from our summer months to last me the year. It would be nice to have a longer and cooler winter this year:)

The beautiful and remote Florida Canyon

In the photo above, you'll see the space between the riparian corridor and desert scrub.  It's a natural border that can attract two different groups of birds.  Those from the desert and those who require trees and water. 

An Orange-crowned Warbler

 As the day progressed, I switched from my pants to shorts. I did the same with my shoes but forgot that my "shorts" shoes didn't have any grips on them!

The moon over Florida Canyon

 The snow melt from the mountains has every wash flowing right now in the Santa Rita mountains. It's really quite beautiful. 

the Inca Dove of the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon

 Normally, the streams flow with a slow and steady trickle. But not on this day! We crossed several ice cold streams balancing ourselves on the rocks while trying to keep our equipment dry from the splashing water.  I did well for the most part until a rock gave out from under my foot......and then it was SPLUNK!  

the dam at Florida is flowing

We hiked up the canyon wall, or at least Gordon and Joe did.  I hiked up the steep trail realizing after the fact that I didn't have any grips on my shoes!  So I naturally let them go ahead of me.  Me on the other hand?  Well I slowly inched my way down.....until I slipped and fell on my padded rear! This was also the same place that my friend Kathie almost fell.  So if you go to Florida Canyon, home of the rare Rufous-capped Warblers and Black-capped Gnatcatchers, bring lots of water, good hiking shoes and a friend.  It's remote!

Wild Turkey(the tom)

 I continued on my own the following day looking for a rare Brown Thrasher.  I did find the bird but it's a skulker and these were the looks I had of it(below).  This is birding.  Sometimes you have incredible views and sometimes you have views like the ones below or worse!

a skulky Brown Thrasher

As I was attempting rare bird number 2, I ran into a group of Javelina blocking me on the trail.  One of them made the attack posture and I said, "That's ok."  I slowly headed back to my car and called it a day.  Laundry needed to get done. 

Javelina stop me in my tracks.

There are so many choices right now in the state of Arizona that a birder has to pick and choose their battles.  Watch the incredible flight of the wintering Sandhill Cranes at Wilcox Lake or find a rare Sprague's Pipit in the ag fields of the Santa Cruz Flats.  So many choices.  So many birds.

Bridled Titmouse

 Arizona is a big place.  Where will our adventures take us next week?  Until next time.....

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.