I watched a herd of Pronghorn with Indigo at the Empire Ranch in the Cienegas Grasslands
Over the past 2 weekends, I've had the pleasure of birding with some great people searching for some excellent state birds. And mammals.
Scott scopes Lake Pleasant
Scott was free to bird one weekend and so we took off to find the rare Iceland Gull at Lake Pleasant near Phoenix. It was a juvenile gull first discovered by the talented Melanie Herring.
We find Usha and Janine already on the gull
Birders from all over the state went to go find this bird. Last year, the Thayer's Gull was lumped back into the Iceland Gull species. This was the trickier Thayer's subspecies. It looks similar to a juvenile Herring Gull but has softer, more muted tones. Even in the adult form, this subspecies can be tricky to ID.
We get to the shore and start planning the rest of our afternoon after the gull find
This was a great opportunity for the two of us to study this bird up close.
This subspecies of Thayer's now goes officially by the name, Iceland Gull
And like any gull, the Iceland's was no different. Where there was food; there was the opportunity to eat. I captured this adorable scene along the lakeshore. What an absolute thrill to see this bird in the state! Gulls are amazing. In North America, we are very lucky to have so many interesting gull species.
This little girls lectures the gull on sharing something of which gull nor geese are known to do.
While this wasn't a life bird, as they are found in Wisconsin during the winter, it was an Arizona first for both of us. It has been some time since one has been seen here. So I celebrated with a taco salad at lunch:)
I wish all birds were as cooperative as this gull. This past weekend, Magill asked me if I would go down with her to find the first state record of a Ringed Kingfisher. Honestly I groaned a bit. I had gone several weeks earlier and had a VERY brief sighting and I'll be honest, it sucked. So I gave hope a chance. When we bird together, we always get our bird. It just took patience and some skill.
Along the way, we stopped and looked at water birds. The trek to Safford is a long one from Tucson. In my head, I worked out a plan. I helped Magill find all the places I had previously investigated on my first attempt. We were meticulous. The person reporting the bird threw the rare kingfisher on a general marker without telling anyone where the bird was. And that's ok. This wasn't our first rodeo. We spent the morning canvassing map points around the various ponds careful not to trespass onto anyone's property.
A Long-billed Dowitcher struts around this other onlooking bird. The bird appears to be saying, "What's up?"
The park ranger played coy with us because she was concerned about the safety of the bird. And the birders. Apparently, Safford is run by savage gun owners. We did not see any bad behavior by the locals at all. They were very friendly with us. But maybe that was just with us and our Wisconsin charm. We had fun playing detective. I mean, we were also the same team who investigated the Tundra Swan mystery with several golfer ladies in their carts.
a drake Green-winged Teal
I remembered the lovely weekend birding for the Iceland Gull with Scott. Nice habitat, easy bird and great company. Why couldn't this bird hang out in nicer conditions for us?! I wouldn't say that the habitat is exciting nor is it my favorite place to bird in the state. But I was thankful for the great company as we did quite a bit of laughing. We stopped in this restaurant that smelled like a church. So I ordered cheese curds to cover the smell. Then the moment of truth happened after eating our taco salads. Before lunch, I was getting to that grouchy birder phase, not quite giving up but not wanting to bird until I had some food in my stomach. We both decided to hit the pause button and grab a bite to eat. The taco salads hit the spot. A quick scene replay. Magill, "Does this taco salad have romaine lettuce?" (Romaine lettuce is getting recalled right now in the US and has been taken out of many of the restaurants) The Waitress, "Huh? It's just lettuce!" So we took our chances:)
scenic Lake Pleasant on a cold morning
During our meal, we played the roles of psychologist, scientist and of course, birder. Then we went after our bird narrowing the list of possibilities down to 2 hotspots.
Wilson's Snipe chill in the mud clumps
And VOILA! We found this tricky devil perched quietly in the shadows. We legally observed the bird from the public road. When it came time to ebird this information, we had a serious conversation about publicly sharing the hotspot. We hid the spot for a couple hours to have our talk. Eventually we came to the conclusion that we'd share the spot for other birders who have been wanting to see this bird as birders have shared with us their special birds.
a distant photo of the Ringed Kingfisher
Because it's a first state record, a lot of birders have been wanting to see this kingfisher. The problem is that humans are nuts. I don't know what is true or not, but I trust several of my friends who saw birders illegally trespass! We knew the rules before looking for this bird. Anyhow, there was drama the next day. So part of me wishes that we had hid the checklist. I do it with owls and other endangered birds. Some birders didn't know the whole situation but had their 2 cents to add. We saw the bird, never trespassed and waved and said hello to the neighbors sporting this pretty pond. No issues. We did our documentation and left the bird to hunt alone.
Celebrating the day is just something people should do more often. I discover my lifer Scarlet Macaws in 1996.
Years ago, when life was simpler and my camera was film, we'd share our experiences over a meal while on the road. The pic was taken 22 years ago, in southern Costa Rica after a day of chasing Scarlet Macaws. There's nothing quite like a meal to celebrate a moment. It has been an amazing past two weekends here in Arizona. I think I had the best car ride home with Scott listening to Spanish music while the sun was setting over the ag fields. Or was it catching up with Magill and her Maine adventures? Maybe it was watching Indigo get excited about his first Black-tailed Prairie Dogs in the field? This is what nature is all about; bringing people together. And we need to protect it. Until next time.....
Far away from home up on a balcony above the world, we sat and watched the world pass by. It was a place where we could sleep in and not stress out about the equipment. I drank my coffee and watched the beautiful waterways around the island of Flores, Guatemala. Some of the easiest birding ever.
Green Heron
I watched for birds and my friend Lynda watched for.....well other forms of wildlife. There happened to be a marathon brewing around Guatemala and everyone was getting in shape for the big day.
It's interesting that from our rooftop views, we could see many wonderful things. The flycatchers were incredible!
Great Kiskadee
And of course the sunrises and sunsets were pretty spectacular.
Many tourists stop in Flores and then head to Tikal for a day or two. Personally, for me, Flores was a much needed break from the chaos of Guatemala. It's a safe little island for the traveler to let down their hair. There are nice accommodations, great restaurants, and travel agencies around this half mile island.
Ringed Kingfisher
One night we walked the perimeter of the island and found this massive Ringed Kingfisher perched on a phone line. Mother of Pearls! I've seen this bird twice in my life and each time I've forgotten how big it is!
Mangrove Swallow
But do you know what's not big? These adorable Mangrove Swallows. I love swallows, but these little guys stole my heart. They were everywhere along the island. Along the way, we stopped for coffee, drinks and food. I really had some wonderful sleep during this leg of the trip. Maybe because there was air conditioning?:) Also note that there are ATM machines here.
Bananaquit
There were Grackles everywhere. Keep your eyes open for the Bananaquit. In the center of the island, there is a lovely little park. It's a wonderful little place to restore your energy after many rocky and bumpy trails out in the wild.
Have you ever heard of a Bananaquit? As you can imagine, it's a bird that loves plantains....and bananas! Pretty cool tropical bird. More to come.....
Today I'm linking up with Wild Bird Wednesdays
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