The Caravan

Our trek to Organ Pipe was interesting, but it was the work in Mexico that had me more interested.  A lot of birders signed up for a gull workshop with AZFO's Lauren Harter and David Vander Pluym.  And on the last day of the conference, a large caravan of birders crossed the border into Mexico.

Magnificent Frigatebird

We planned on staying the night in Rocky Point or Puerto Peñasco.  Many of the birders wanted to go with the caravan together.  No matter how many times I write this, there are still birders who are afraid to cross the border even though it's completely safe to travel to Rocky Point.  Like everything else, people need to use common sense. 

30+ birders scour the ocean with their scopes

We spent our morning with scopes and gulls.  But we also had our own agenda.  I wanted to do a count around Morúa or the Pinto Estuaries so we broke away from the group after lunch to do our own counts. I've been doing work around those areas for several years now and had never birded the area in October.  We rented a place on the Morúa estuary and really had a nice hike full of excellent birds there.

AZ Fish and Wildlife's Troy Corman and Wrenegade team member Tim H scope the horizon for possible rare birds

It's hard to navigate areas with large groups of people.  Many were there to spot the Yellow-footed Gull which is a bird of interest for many people.  These gulls live around the Sea of Cortez in good numbers.

Yellow-footed Gull

We said our good-byes and then were off to our sector of Rocky Point to get some work done.

At Morúa Estuary, we do a major bird count

The first bunch of birds we crossed paths with were plovers.  Snowy Plovers were everywhere.  They are the cutest of the bunch.   

Snowy Plover

Another common plover along the Pacific waters is the Black-bellied Plover.  Most of the shorebirds are in their winter plumage right now so they all look rather gray together.  Some can be downright tricky!

Black-bellied Plover

Another special bird that people come to see in Rocky Point is the Wilson's Plover.  They have a big bill and are the sassiest of the bunch.  In the pic below, the bird is throwing a little "tude" at an oncoming Snowy Plover. 

Wilson's Plover is the sassiest of the bunch

Even though it is cooler and pleasant, the sun can be quite strong as it bleaches the landscape.  In the pic below, we arrived at the mouth of the estuary where the bird life was at its highest.  I discovered my first Black Skimmers for Mexico here.

The bright light of the dunes and the ocean create a bleaching of color affect

Another great bird to see was the Elegant Tern.  They were the most common tern in this area next to the Forster's Tern. This species is listed as Near Threatened.

Elegant Tern

There were schools of fish everywhere.  And where there were large numbers of fish, there were hundreds of birds diving into the waters. Heermann's Gulls closely followed Brown Pelicans and tried to steal the food from their bills. 

A near threatened Herrmann's Gull sits on the back of this Brown Pelican

On Sunday morning, Gordon wanted to do his survey at Cholla Bay.  So he showed a couple birders how he likes to do his count.  As always, we had a great time and finished our counts with a nice list of bird species there.  The key is to go at low tide if you're a photographer.  At high tide, Cholla Bay is great with a scope.  

Short-billed Dowitchers

Short-billed Dowitchers had to be carefully ID'd by listening to their flight call.  As they flew, we were quickly able to ID them as Short-billed and not Long-billed.

Birding Cholla Bay at low tide is great for photographers wanting to get up close to the birds

As the bay drains of water, shorebirds, like the Red Knot below, go crazy on the crabs. 

A dull winter plumaged Red Knot forages for food

I've seen Red Knots in a lot of places but they are often too far to get clear views. One of my goals for this visit was to observe this species better. And it was great! 

Western Willet

Our special find, and definitely off my radar, was this gorgeous Fox Sparrow, the Sooty-colored subspecies. At the Morúa and Pinto Estuaries, there are specific green spaces or migrant traps that have green lawns and mesquite bosques.  I looked over at the trash bin and saw a bird scratching on the ground.  At first I thought it was a towhee until we put our bins on it!  HOLY COW!  We ended up with a Fox Sparrow on our Mexican life list. I also added a Dark-eyed Junco which was yet another bird I had not expected for Mexico.  Anyhow, the migrant traps around the hotels are great near the estuaries!!  I've had so many surprise warblers and sparrows show up in these green spaces. 

A rare Fox Sparrow

Our adventures continue......

Treasure Hunts

The month of August is a busy one.  I've returned back to work, continue to monitor key bird areas around Tucson and lead several trips.  August is also known as an excellent month for shorebird research.  And it's also challenging due to their hidden and remote locations. 

Currently in my yard, I am monitoring a Broad-billed Hummingbird nest. On the 14th of this month, I found the nest with two eggs.  

Now I have two baby hummingbirds growing up right before my very eyes.  The mother decided to put this nest right next to my car.  So now I have to be super careful getting out!

Okay.  Currently, their bills are poking out of the nest and it's a bit of a poop fest. I know it's a full time job Mom but couldn't you clean up around the edges?:) To help Mom out, I filled up the feeders.  She now begins to catch insects and drink nectar to make a slurry for the babies. Think of it as a bug protein shake. And there are plenty of mosquitoes in my garden right now.....so have at it:)

August also brings with it bugs and heat.  However, shorebird migration is rather exciting.  Encouraged by a report from friends, I went with Micheal and Magill to find a rare Ruddy Turnstone.  It was nasty work.  I have a strong stomach but on this day, I almost lost it.  

White-faced Ibis

It was 108 degrees and we were at a cattle slop pond, not the most scenic of places to bird. The flies were terrible.  And the smell.....well that was its own special reward.  At one point, I almost threw up.  I looked over at Magill and asked her what that god awful smell was.  She pointed to the pile of dead cows and I almost tossed my cookies. We were downwind from the ground up piles of rotting flesh.

I laughed because Micheal had just gotten out of work and there he was in his bright pink scrubs in the middle of Mad Max land.  However, I needed company.  I can't drive these longer distances anymore without falling asleep at the wheel. It's hot and it's boooooring!

An excellent state bird for Arizona, the Ruddy Turnstone

State birds are difficult now and they require some team work if only for shared misery and encouragement.  Micheal enjoys birding when we are in beautiful places.  He also likes cool looking birds.  This one didn't do it for him, but it was an important state bird.  

A couple weeks later, I get a text from Magill about a Red Knot.  This is ANOTHER state bird that can be tricky to spot.  It's also a very rare migrant.  But the catch?  It was found at yet another sewage treatment facility up in the Phoenix area.  

Stilt Sandpiper

 During this time of year at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, it's hot and muggy.  At one point, Micheal almost passed out from the heat.  He did get to see the bird but once again, he wasn't thrilled. When these birds are in their breeding plumage, they are quite beautiful.  

A fantastic state bird for Arizona, the Red Knot

Once again we celebrated another new state bird for Arizona.  This month alone has landed me THREE very tricky birds for the state.  I missed the Fulvous Whistling-Ducks and Reddish Egret due to the time factor. There just wasn't enough time with my busy schedule. 

While work has taken up a good chunk of that precious time, I have found a little break time to monitor our nesting Purple Martins at my job site. They are gone now. But each year I get a couple weeks with them before their large group migrates away. 

I'd like to also stress the importance of vegetation.  If that saguaro wasn't there, there would be no Purple Martin activity ever. Sadly, this saguaro has seen the pristine desert around it disappear over the last 16 years.  Today, a huge solar panel stands next to the last of its remaining brethren. They are also now surrounded by a developing housing project.  Yes, I worry about this saguaro and I will be sad if anything ever happens to the 4 that still remain.  But this one saguaro has been home to 5 different nesting bird species AND provides food during our hot spring month of May for our desert birds!

a male Purple Martin flies about their Saguaro

Between the bugs and the heat, I'm ready for this month to be over.  If you like birding and don't care about chasing state birds, there are many great alternatives for cooler birding on the higher elevations. 

I just came back from Mexico and will be writing that blog post in a few days.  I'm taking the weekend off to catch up with all of you and have a nice cup of coffee in my pajamas. 

So for now, I hope you avoid(or not), nasty piles of ground up dead cattle.  If you are in Arizona, this is where you'll find the rare treasure birds right now.  These excellent birds are found around these poop filled watering holes.  While it's not as scenic as say the Grand Canyon, it's where state chasing birders go this month.  Until next time.....