Stand Perfectly Still

Muriel and Gordon explore the trees and bushes at Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve for the rare Rufous-backed Robin

A slight rustle.  That nearly muted call from within the grasses or reeds. Your cloaked disguise makes you vanish from within. 

Several Mule Deer hang out near Huachuca Canyon

A speck upon the landscape. A compact little operative working the tree.  

Look carefully at the photo.  Warblers are hard!  Here is the rare-for-Arizona Yellow-throated Warbler currently hanging out at the city park of Patagonia.  I reported on this guy two weeks ago without a picture.  This time I knew where he was hiding and got the pic:)

If I stand still, I might see you better.  

If I don't move, you may stay longer.  

Vesper Sparrow at the Sonoita grasslands

If I am patient, I will find you hiding. 

Chestnut-collared Longspur

If I don't frighten you, perhaps you'll stay longer. 

Pronghorn in the grasslands.  Yes, the vistas are like paintings.  That's why I love the photography bit around these parts

 For you are what brings me to these parts of the world.  

A coyote

 You are why I wake up so early in the morning. You give me a reason to start my day with a smile.

We flush several female Chestnut-collared Longspurs from the grasses

And why I'll continue to wake up....oh-so-early!

The Gadwall are speechless with this raccoon passing them by.  Definitely not a duck.  At Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson

Just so I can see you swim across the pond or....

Busted:)

.....stare back at me.  I am your friend.  I will do no harm. I will keep my distance.

Ruddy Duck at Peña Blanca Lake

And I promise to stand perfectly still so that you can go about your business.  And I promise that I'll always be a responsible wildlife photographer.

Canyon Wren 

I'd like to thank Muriel and Gordon for a fun day out for the first half of this blog.  It's always a pleasure working as part of the team when we are out searching for rare birds. The second half of this blog was done alone just quietly standing in one spot along the path.  My best work usually happens just sitting on a log or bench being patient.  It's not easy:)  

I remember sitting in the front row as one of those crazy fans.  I took this pic at the Phoenix Comicon back in 2011. 

I'd like to dedicate this blog post to a childhood hero of mine.  Star Trek inspires me to this day and Leonard Nimoy was like an extended part of my family for most of my teenage years.  Even as an adult, this guy can be seen in my classroom on a poster as the infamous Mr. Spock.  

I finally meet him in person!

I was fortunate to meet this amazing actor and man back in 2011.  You are and always will be my friend.  Thank you for helping me through those tough years as a kid.  Star Trek changed my life for the better. 

Something About Mary

From Kachina Springs, Flagstaff, AZ

There are some wonderful benefits to the new Ebird IPHONE app known as Birdlog.  It's great! Let's say you want to go to an unknown place and bird. All you have to do is turn on your phone from your location and pretend to submit a report.  Highlighted red, blue or yellow tags will pop up showing you places where birders go seek new life and new civilizations.  And that's how we found Mary lake, Kachina Springs, and the Mormon Lake in Flagstaff.

I have lived in Arizona for a good portion of my life and had never known about these places. It was a fun car ride and along the way we made stops.....many of them! Our best views came from a family of Osprey fishing on Lower Mary Lake.  The weather was just perfect and made for some great birding!   

There were so many waterbirds that I had to really be careful.  I'm glad I did because I was able to get my Common Goldeneye.  The pic below shows many "ducks" to the common eye, but if you blow that pic up, you'd see it's a massive mix of Buffleheads, Mergansers, Ducks, Coots, and oh so much more.

So let's do it for fun!  Let's blow this pic up and take a look at some of these fantastic water birds! Here's a Common Goldeneye(below) that I found in Wisconsin. Once I have a good shot of the lifebird, I relax and observe the birds as they are.  At Kachina Springs, I was able to breathe in the fresh mountain air and count birds.

Buffleheads made for a great show.

Western Bluebirds surrounded the water areas.

Ruddy ducks....

Ring-necked ducks......

Canvasbacks....

Northern Shovelers....

Redheads.....

Common Mergansers....

Lesser Scaups....

and Green-teals ducks are all swimming together.  The trick is taking a closer look and never assuming that they're all one species.  Something Kathie taught me. Not Mary.

I do love ducks, but I love Osprey more.  It's hard to count ducks and other waterbirds when these gorgeous birds of prey are out in full hunting mode.

The views were enjoyable.  The walks were fantastic.  And the birds were just icing on the cake.  I think driving through the woods with my car window down was my favorite part.  It was like being back home in Wisconsin again.  Perfection for some is fishing.  Perfection for me is this.  All of it.  The birds, the plants, the new discoveries and of course......the experiences.  If you're up in the Flagstaff area, check out Kachina Springs, Mormon Lake and the Upper and Lower Mary Lake recreational areas.  All I have to say about it is, "Frank and beans!"  More to come....

Contributions

Ruddy Duck

Greetings all, I have been on the road for the past several days celebrating the holidays with family and friends PLUS doing some epic birding.  Sunday, I'll be back again catching up with posts.  There just doesn't seem  to be enough time in a day to do it all.  So let's get started with today's topic.  I didn't want to bring the camera on this shoot. To be honest, I wasn't into taking any pics, but I always bring the camera in case that random bobcat shows up.  Murphy's Law would suggest that the minute I left the camera home, the bobcat would make an appearance at Sweetwater.  Today's post marks a first in two different areas.

I now have another weapon on my wildlife/birding treks.....the IPhone!  After this past years Montosa Canyon run in, Pat decided that it was time for me to get a cell phone.  I have resisted that technology for years.  But I'm finding that the Panoramic feature is SWEET!  So you'll be seeing many more of these.  Plus when someone calls me, my favorite bird call of all time(the Loon) will sound.  Just hopefully not in a movie theater!

But all of that is foolish stuff when compared to the feeling I had today as I joined an Audubon group at Sweetwater in Tucson.  It marks a first for me and I'm proud that I could help beginning birders out.  Some were old pros but I found that I loved helping people ID birds.  And my neighbor wanted to go birding with me.  She had asked me for this outing chance to see what I see everytime I go on my walks.  I love her dearly and said absolutely.

It would mark the first "cold" day for Tucson since last spring.  The temps were in the 40's and it was COLD!  My nipples could have cut glass. Okay maybe that was too much:)  A group of 7 met and we began our trek.  It was very rewarding and a lot of hard work spotting the birds.  But I scoped out the area the day before as the leader Debra had done so that I would be prepared for my friend.  I got her a checklist and I brought my notepad along with me(like Kathie taught me) and left the camera at my side.  It wasn't about my pics.  It was about finding as many birds as we could.  Debra had her scope and we viewed birds.....48 of them to be exact(at least on my count).

Ruddy Ducks, Grebes, Hawks....you name it!  Even Snowy and Great Egrets were discovered in the distant skies.  Thanks to 6 other sets of eyes, we were able to spot lots of wonderful birds.  But I was contributing and helping people ID the birds that I know so well.  Sweetwater is my patch here in Tucson when I need to bird quickly.  And I knew my birds.  But this time we had a scope and I could finally ID Least Sandpipers and a Belted Kingfisher using Debra's scope!  Thank you!!! We had a fun lunch afterwards and it was wonderful getting to know a new birder buddy.

Look carefully for the Belted Kingfisher

But I also made a realization.  I missed Kathie.  For two weeks we hadn't been able to bird together and it wasn't the same.  I know that it probably sounds weird but it hit me right in the face that I missed my birding buddy. I am thankful that both our spouses allow us to hang out and bird together.

Red Tail Hawk

Debra was awesome and amazing and I hope we get to bird together as well.  But I am finding that many of us have similarities.  We all have spouses that prefer to stay home while we explore the outdoors.  It's also very rare and wonderful to have a birding buddy to share the adventures and thrills.  I didn't take it for granted before but when we couldn't bird these past couple weeks, I found that I missed birding with her.  Debra spoke of her male friend she used to bird with and how much she missed birding with him.  And that's when I made the connection.  Bizarre but true.  Birding is an addiction and deep inside we want to be around people who LOVE birding for more than just an hour.  I've written before that Pat can stand about an hour before we have to go to breakfast:)  I don't want to bird for an hour.  I want to bird for much longer and I want the person next to me to get excited!! And I thought about this more and here's my run-on sentence conclusion......it's NO different than the football crowd sitting and screaming at a TV together eating guacamole and drinking beer.  Well it is different.  We're exercising; they're not.  The simple fact is that we all should have hobby buddies to make the experience even more incredible.  Pat and I have lots of other things that we do together.....but birding is not one of them.  And that's okay.

Harris Hawk

Every bird is a complete thrill and it's so exciting to play detective with another person who gets in the game as much as any birder does.

Eared Grebe

Recently, several birder people have set goals.  For example, they'll say that they hope to spot 50 species.  No time limit has been set yet on these outings because that would make it quite the workout:)

Recently, I've been asked to join in on the Christmas Bird Count and I'm absolutely thrilled to join in on the quest.  I believe Kathie and I both will be joining up together to do the count somewhere. She keeps me focused.  I tend not to look both ways when crossing the road.....especially when we're on the hunt for a bird!   This Audubon excursion, selling my photography, and having several pieces published in an upcoming book validate that what I'm doing isn't a joke but something that is leading elsewhere.  And I will keep trying my best to learn as much as I can until I can't anymore. And learning never ends.

Grebe love....Pied Bill Grebe and Eared Grebe together

In a short 3 years, I will no longer be owned by debt and student loans.  That day, and let me tell this to you all, will be a coming of age celebration.  For many years I have been financially trapped by this "education" investment.  When it happens, I will be planning a "BIG YEAR".  I want to know more.  I want to see more. Be more.  But my home base is teaching me a lot.  Arizona is truly a premiere birding spot.  This is a hotspot in our country for so many species.  International travel has opened my eyes to how others view Arizona.  I just didn't see what they were seeing......until I actually opened my eyes.

On this trip, we found so many incredible things.  Sparrows still challenge me. And the difference between a Clark's and Western Grebe are subtle, but I won't stop until I learn them all by heart.

Over the next several days, you are going to witness some incredible finds from trips not only with Kathie but with my solo visits as well.  There will be lifebirds added and photographed.

And while I write this post, I am also wanting to share with my garden friends that I have not stopped gardening.  But I have been working on a courtyard segment as well but it's just not complete yet and I can't wait to share with you the plants and water feature that are going into our property.  There's a lot happening on the plant side as well.   Yes.  I am a busy person but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world because this is where I'm at in my life and I don't know where it's all heading.....but I do like it:)  A special thank you to Debra for an awesome day.  I hope we get to bird together again. More tomorrow.....

A rare sight...the Sora!  But it is heard easily:)

Let's See What's Out There

American Wigeon

Everytime I run out the door into the world, I keep an active eye out for new species.  It becomes increasingly difficult to spot new birds on wildlife outings as they have already been spotted before.  And not every outing is a success in finding that new lifebird.

Solitary Sandpiper

But I also look at every outing as a potential better sighting of a bird that will give me that million dollar shot.

Ruddy Duck

But today I wouldn't get the stellar shots as I'd get a new life species to add to my list.

Canvasback

Interviewing several birders in the area, they were all excited to report the Canvasback.  And they did indeed capture my attention as they had a reddish head with a clean white back.  I at first thought they were just another duck hybrid until further conversations revealed that they were indeed special.

Northern Harrier

While "listing" as many bird species as I could, I was able to observe the Northern Harrier in great detail.  Like the American Kestrel, it comes and goes.  It has been awhile since I had seen the bird. So it was fun to make observations.

Black Crowned Night Heron

Herons are strange birds.  Sometimes they will sit super close to you while fishing and other times they'll just hide in the vegetation.  In many ways, they make me laugh.  They'll use you for food and then disappear.....much like our cats at home:)

Northern Harrier

At the time, I had been trying to figure out this bird of prey above.  In one other shoot, I came back with terribly terrible pics.  It was only on this day that I could get an ID from this pic.  Very tricky with the sun setting.

The Canvasback stayed for that day and then disappeared the next.  They weren't spotted at all afterwards. And like many of the birders had advised me to do....."Get your shot now because they are not a reliable bird to see around this area."  So I did and now have ID evidence:)

But I get distracted with all the other things going on....Harris Hawks hunting, ducks quacking, etc etc.....

Harris Hawk Family

And everytime I go out into the field, I am energized by the possibility that maybe....just maybe, I'll find something new:)  Little did I know but in the upcoming days ahead, I'd discover more incredible new birds.  Stay tuned for more.......

Black Neck Stilts