It's A Dry Heat

Yellow-eyed Junco collects nesting materials

June has arrived here in the Sonoran Desert. And it is hot hot hot!  Birders get up at 4:30 AM to start their day! They can bird "comfortably" for a few hours before being forced to return home. The retired birder gets up early and birds.  Then they take an afternoon nap:)  For me, I am trapped inside my house during the day because of all the projects/conferences/appointments going on.  However, I still try to bird up on the mountain for some cooler temps and even cooler birds when I get the chance.  

Just a couple weeks ago, we lost yet another hiker on a popular trail in Phoenix.  The cause?  Not enough water to stay hydrated.   He passed out and never woke up.  These sad stories are always difficult to hear. For us desert rats, they are important reminders to carry lots of water.  Of course, no one should be hiking in the deadly afternoon sun for so many reasons. So what's a birder/hiker to do? Go early. Let someone know where you're going. Or go with others. Bring lots of water or a camel pack.  Wear a hat and sunscreen. 

Painted Redstart

So I went hiking up on the cooler Mt. Lemmon because I despise the heat. I followed several trails near the UA space observatories. At one point, I sat down observing the birds calling around me. 

House Wren

In one location, I sat near a puddle of water in the woods.  Here warblers and thrushes came down for a drink.

Red-faced Warbler

As of late, I haven't been able to really do any serious birding because of various projects.  El Presidio needed a parking lot makeover.  And so I supervised the project and funding.  After it was done, it looked so beautiful that I didn't want to park on it at all:)

El Presidio gets a little TLC

 As a reward for surviving the late morning temps with the parking lot crew, I quickly took a break and drove to a local park to find a rare Canada Goose. These birds are common everywhere but Tucson:) 

So I quickly walked and sweat my way in 111 degree temps to find this one bird.  It took 15 minutes and then it was back in my car. 

Canada Goose at Columbus Park

When I become antsy, I sit down, edit photos and watch my feeders from the windows.  

American Robin

I've been playing around with a different photo program on an Apple computer to enhance the details of the pics better. 

Hermit Thrush has quite the appetite

But even that gets to be a little too stationary for me. 

On the quiet trail, I looked down upon the Tucson valley.  I could almost feel the heat from where I stood.  There was no escaping it.   One day later, we headed into the hotter city of Phoenix for Comicon. 

I love art!  This is an Effie impersonation utilizing a sweet butterfly design from the Hunger Games movie!  

 I had a difficult time staying inside buildings surrounded by thousands of people.  It was a little too much.  To ease my mind, I looked for things that were nature inspired. 

And I found lots of interesting things that included wildlife into their designs.  We had a great time, but I still needed to bird a little.  There have been sporadic reports over the years about two Mute Swans hanging out at a cemetery.  We escaped the massive crowds and braved the 114 degree temps.  People like to say that in our desert, we have a dry heat. Yeaaaaah:)  It's still hot and we still sweat....creating humidity:)  So we found the swans without any issues, but the bugs were terrible around the grassy areas. That outing lasted 20 minutes. 

Mute Swan

So what do most desert people do during our driest and hottest month in Arizona?  We take trips to cooler places like San Diego, Flagstaff, Pinetop, attend any convention or event that has lots of air conditioning etc etc. 

My brother Matt(in a Batman outfit he made from scratch!) with Deathstroke and Bane

Star Wars action!

Richard Dean Anderson from Macgyver and Stargate SG-1

A very special epic and COOL trip is about to happen this upcoming weekend. More to come from Las Aventuras next week. For now, stay in the shade and drink plenty of fluids.  And thanks for stopping by!

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