Dreaming Trees

These Cottonwoods will be trimmed instead of getting cut down.  Many visitors signed petitions to keep the trees where they are. Storm damage had caused several of these trees to drop their large limbs around the San Pedro house prompting action.  These trees are home to several woodpecker species and owls and provide food and shade during the hot summer months. It's one of the few reliable places you can find Pyrrholoxias and Common Ground-Doves

This past weekend I quietly walked along the paths of the riparian corridors in Southern Arizona. 

Babs observes a rare juvenile Common Black Hawk on the DeAnza Trail

I was joined by Babs Buck for one of the treks.  We enjoyed wonderful views of many birds while celebrating the cooler temps again.

A Santa Cruz resident takes Molly, her horse, for a much needed exercise.

Our challenge? Could we find something rare? We went to find what we could find but without expectations.  It was a fun morning out.

Juvenile Common Black Hawk

It didn't take long before we spotted a juvenile Common Black Hawk!  It fed from grasshoppers along the Santa Cruz river.

The bird seemed to follow us along the DeAnza trail.  This hawk should be down in Mexico or Central America right now, but it has decided to hang around Tubac.  It has been an unusually warm fall so this may explain why this bird is still hanging around the Santa Cruz river.

While not rare, we found the orestera subspecies of the Orange-crowned Warbler.  It's not the most common subspecies here in the state.  Most of the Orange-crowned Warblers here in AZ fall under the brighter yellowish/green lutescens subspecies.

Orange-crowned Warbler(orestera subspecies)

This was an exciting addition to the other Orange-crowned Warbler finds.  Altogether, there are 4 subspecies. I can now say that I have officially seen 3 of the 4 subspecies.

lutescens subspecies

The lutescens subspecies is shown above with the orange-crown showing(rare).  The sordida subspecies was found on Catalina Island off the coast of California.  It has been mentioned that this bird may be separated as a new species down the road. It lives on the Channel Islands year round. 

sordida subspecies

Birding is so diverse.  You get as nerdy as ID'ing subspecies or meeting up with artists.  Here is Michael Summers inspiring onlookers with his talent at the Scottsdale's DeRubeis Fine Art Gallery.  Ideas were exchanged for an art show. It would be so much fun to collaborate with him BUT I need to clone myself.  Money for birding trips?  Or money for putting a photo gallery together? Such decisions!

Michael Summers at work

But on this weekend, I took it slow.  It was a quiet walk alone to several places.  I watched a juvenile Peregrine Falcon at sunset as I let my body absorb the cold temps.  It felt so good.  This summer has been relentless.  I am looking forward to the winter ahead.

Juvenile Peregrine Falcon

The trees along the riparian corridor are rich with life right now. 

The trees are about to sleep for several months.

Babs snapped this shot of me.  We had a great morning out.

And as I walk under these dreaming trees, I plan to take my birding into a quieter chapter of my life.

A Look At Things To Come

Muriel scans for that secretive Dusky Grouse!

Time to get back into birding. 

Zone-tailed Hawk along the DeAnza Trail. It was a ten minute walk before I just said, "No more!" We turned around and headed back to the A/C but not before we saw this guy soaring above us. 

It doesn't mean that I wasn't doing anything; it just meant that I needed to reorganize my priorities. I have been organizing events and projects for the next several months.  Here's a look at some the things we're working on here at Las Aventuras. 

Babs hears what sounds like the American Three-toed Woodpecker in Greer

During the month of September, I kept it low key, making phone calls and organizing trips with people visiting or planning on visiting. I am working on a 5 part series of podcasts that will be released by the end of this year.  I have nearly completed the first episode and am working with an indie artist for my intro.  Surprisingly, it's not as easy as it sounds:) There's a lot of editing that goes into the recordings and thankfully Micheal enjoys doing that part of the audio.  While on the road with my friends, I think to myself, "Why am I not recording some of this conversation?"   

We meet up at the Iguana Bar with Jim and lots of herpers and buggers.  Micheal carries the beer near Texas Canyon

The plan is to get recordings of the real life experience happening behind the birds. I'm hoping it brings a little Bob Ross, CBS Sunday Morning and NPR into our lives. Ideas for the first podcasts include Episode 1-The Sweetwater Wetlands Episode 2-The Ocean(with Debi Shearwater), etc etc.  

Somewhere out there, there are Dusky Grouse.  At Green's Peak

October has arrived and I'm scheduled for several weekends.  This week, I head to the beautiful coastal town of Monterey where I'll meet up with Debi Shearwater and bird the cold Pacific waters for some fun on the Pacific.  And we'll visit with our friend Kathie Brown from Maine. 

Peregrine Falcon

November brings us into the holiday season.  It will be a rather light month birding wise.  I'll be back down in Mexico for a weekend with the Aribabi crew.  While the crew is tracking jaguars, I'll be doing my twice annual bird check at the ranch.  Another project will have me once again counting Bell's and Sagebrush Sparrows at the Robbins Butte Wildlife area. 

Did a photo shoot several years ago with these Rainbow Lorikeets.  And Michael Summers made magic happen with this beautiful bird. 

And I'll be finishing off the month with a special visit with Michael Summers who has painted some of my photography.  We'll be meeting in Scottsdale during one of his art shows.  As December arrives, I'll be finishing up with work and planning on ending my year in Wisconsin. Or at least...that's the plan.  

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Planning never ends and it requires goals.  Next year, we're scheduled to stop in Oregon and Washington, Colorado, Costa Rica and many many other locations.  And I'm going to work with birding educator Deborah Vath on some projects that involve getting our youth energized about our incredible world of birds. 

Michael McNulty films the nectar feeding bats near Texas Canyon

It's amazing how all of this just blurs from one moment into the next.  It's exciting and it's fun. Until next time.....

Nemesis

Merlin

The post name says it all.  Birders use a lingo phrase known as "Nemesis bird". "What is it?", you may ask? Well it's a bird that for some reason or another "hides" or evades our own birder radar.  And yet, others will see it everywhere, often, or sometimes while the poor one singular birder(that would be moi) won't see it at all! Every birder has their own "Nemesis" bird. On our hunt for birds this month, I hoped to find my own Nemesis bird....the Merlin.

Ferruginous Hawk

Now the problem with my Nemesis bird is that it is surrounded by similar looking birds.  I would get excited if some new behavior was observed and think....."Is that it?"  I had several false moments of excitement that turned quickly into disappointment as I realized I had been looking at a Juvi Cooper's Hawk or Sharpie(Sharp-shinned Hawk)!  So I thought I'd share with you several of those moments. .

Cooper's Hawk(Juvenile)

A Merlin is a small bird that has a few markings that are similar to falcons and the smaller hawks.  I saw the Cooper's Hawk in the river and thought.....maybe?  But it turned out to be too large and the markings weren't right.  At all.  In fact, now that I've actually observed the Merlin, I can tell you that the flight patterns are very different.  The Cooper's flies low.  When I saw the Coopers take off, I knew immediately that I wasn't dealing with a Merlin.  Bummer. Meanwhile reports were coming in....Merlins everywhere!  Everywhere?  Really? Then pictures would follow and I'd sigh....

Peregrine Falcon

Off in the distance, I see dark markings and a face mask.  But it was too large and the markings were too dark and different. But still.....a Peregrine(above).  A very nice find.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Quick movement or no movement at all made me suspicious.  I always imagine where I'll find a new bird. There's never "if" in my vocab. But I will say this.  It's always unexpected!

The American Kestrel is an easy bird to ID, but if you're new to birding and haven't done much observation on these various birds, it can be difficult.  The Kestrel is the smallest(and most colorful).  But as you can imagine, when something flies over my head quickly, I have to do a quick snap with the camera and then observe behaviors.

Prairie Falcon(thank you Jeff for the ID correction!)

I don't take anything for granted and I stop at every location just so I can find my Nemesis bird.

Cooper's Hawk

I go to the places where it was reported.  Instead of finding the Merlin in the spot it should be; I find a Sharpie.

American Kestrel

Or a Cooper's, Kestrel.......

The big hawks, like Red-tail or Ferruginous, grab my attention because they are such incredible birds. But then something unexpected would happen.

Red-tail Hawk

On an outing with Kathie after a day of birding(we had called it quits), she noticed a strange bird high high up in the trees.  We were driving quickly as the sun was setting......so how she spotted this Merlin is beyond me!  But she did and said in her excited tone, "Oh my gosh Chris, I think it's a Merlin." Merlin whisperer, I thought. After so many attempts, I was like, "Yeah right."  We stopped the car and I looked closely.  I had gotten my hopes up so many times before.  What if this was another Sharpie or Coopers looking different because of the sun angle?  But I saw the marks and cautiously became excited.  And I observed and observed and observed.

Solitary. Dark underwing.  Angular pointed wing.  Flight very different. Short and quick wing flaps. Wingtips do not reach tail tip.  And very weak mustache.

And then I knew.  It was the Merlin. One cannot go on tail alone.  Even though it's "square", the Sharpie has the same feature. So that's not always a reliable field mark.  This bird is difficult here because it is lighter in color than it's much darker Pacific siblings. To celebrate, we headed to Peña Blanca lake to end the day!

So now I have to find a new Nemesis, but I'd much rather not:)  If it's one thing that birding has taught me this past year, it's that it's better with friends who help one another and work as a team.  There is no time to focus on the negative anymore.  Life is short.  Keep away from the bad energy and just let things unfold as they do.  I am a completely different person than I was when I first began this journey.  And because of it, I'm finding a renaissance happening in my own life.  With all of this comes a singular and powerful focus that I haven't felt in years.  I'm not just seeing birds anymore; I'm seeing animals and other critters.  And it's my job to keep their secrets safe, but I'll snap a pic first:)  More soon.....

The Tucson CBC 2012

The Verdin

I always bird with my camera.  Not having the camera on our Christmas Bird Count would have been a bad idea.  I am a strong believer in photo ID.  And it would come in hand with an accipiter found.  Turned out it was just a battered Cooper's Hawk.  However our day would turn up some amazing species!

It had rained non stop for almost 2 days. However our morning cleared up and made for a wonderful day birding.  There were 4 of us walking the Tucson area.

We found some great birds including the Black Throated Gray Warbler and Male Summer Tanager.  It's amazing that the Summer Tanager has remained in Tucson for the winter.  The Tucson team counted a total of 6!  That's an incredible amount of Summer Tanagers for our area at this time.

Some of the regulars like the Cactus Wren put on a good show.  We found 9 of them hopping around a house.

It was cold so the birds were very very hungry.

As you can see, everyone is a little "puffed" out and huddled together.

This Curve billed Thrasher makes me laugh.  They have such a grouchy face.

And if looks could kill......

Tucson again reigns as the nation's number one Vermilion Flycatcher capital.  On this day, over 177 of them would be counted in our city.  That's a record breaker for the US.

A truly special find is the Peregrine Falcon.  This is a first time wild sighting for me and I was thrilled!

Rock Pigeons were numerous.

And so were the Broad Bill Hummingbirds.  All wonderful and lovely sightings.  Overall the Tucson CBC had one of its highest turnouts and counts of bird species within the city.  It was a lot of work but also quite fun.