My Desert My Home

Broad-billed Hummingbird

After two months of absence, I returned home to Tucson.  It felt good to be in my own space again and to hear my own voice. 

I am connected to the wildlife here.  I feel their living presence around me.  Nothing surprises me here anymore.  It's my home I know best. I hear their voices and understand their movement.

White-nosed Coati

I see my friends and it all makes me happy. 

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

There is beauty in every space IF we know how to look for it.  But somehow, this desert space is way more epic than anything I've seen around the world. 

A sunrise.  A sunset.  A monsoon shower.  A Gilded Flicker calling to the other.  "Come here!  I found a hill of ants for dinner!"  The other responds and flies to its mate. 

I sit under a ramada in the 100 plus temps.  A migrating Wilson's Phalarope casually passes me by. 

Wilson's Phalarope

I hear the rustle and anger of birds in a tree.  I suspect a snake is raiding a nest. 

Sonoran Whipsnake

Purple Martins are amazing birds, but somehow my desert Purple Martins are better:)

Purple Martin, the desert subspecies hesperia

Especially at sunset near their Saguaro home. 

I am back in my own car again, the USS Betty White.  As the sun sets at Saguaro National Park, I think to myself that I am one lucky guy.  There is no place like home. 

Life Is But A Dream

As the years move forward, one moment blurs into the next like a stream of consciousness forever flowing and changing the course of my life. 

Each day a gift.  Each day a promise.  

The fading sun kisses the world good-bye.  Momentary bliss. 

The soft petal of a flower.  

Daring to take a step forward into the unknown. 

All lasting impressions within my mind.  

So I live for today.  I live each moment.  And I remember.......

......all the good things that I see around me. 

Because at the end of it all, this is what I'll remember..... 

The dream of having lived my life and lived it well.

My photos today were modified by using an app called SuperPhoto.  

The Hourglass

Kristen captures a Tucson sunset at Saguaro National Park

Even though final exams finished, I knew I wasn't done.  As I signed off at work, my biggest  challenge was about to begin. 5 visitors in 5 days!

Blue Grosbeak

My friend Kristen was staying at our place for a rest before heading to Los Angeles.  While she drove to Tucson, I met up with another friend, Pam, at Saguaro National Park.  

Saguaro National Park

Eventually, everyone found each other and we chased sunsets.

Antelope Jackrabbit

As we said our hello's and good-bye's, I was off to help other visiting friends find Arizona's amazing owls. Day 2 began. 

White-winged Doves on a Saguaro Cactus

I met with Khanh and Walker in Madera Canyon before sunset.  There, we owled for several hours. 

Elf Owl

These two guys were completely enamored by our beautiful owls. I don't blame them.  They are pretty amazing. Sometimes they forgot where they stepped and took a spill.  After the second time watching Khanh take a fall and stabbing himself with a cactus needle, I was concerned. It would have sucked to twist an ankle on the first night! Lots of blood was shed that day:)  I forget how tricky our terrain can be for visitors. Plus owling in the darkness is challenging. 

Whiskered Screech-Owl

After successfully finding Whiskered Screech-Owls, Elf Owls and Flammulated Owls, I went home for a several hour sleep.  The next day was even more challenging!  Lots of hiking!  When people come to Arizona, they want to see everything!  Living here allows me to focus on places and absorb.  Now if I were traveling here as a visitor, I'd have to pick and choose which birds I'd want to see.  Florida, you know I'm talking about you:)

Northern Goshawk

Anytime, we are on the trails, we HOPE to get satisfying views of our target birds (but sometimes they don't always play nice).  Khanh wanted Montezuma Quail and Elegant Trogons.  He got them both but it wasn't easy.  For me, it was challenging because the Montezuma Quail are VERY elusive.  Many times birders stumble on them by accident.  Now I had to intentionally find them.  I know how to do it, but they don't often cooperate for photographers.  I taught Khanh about their habitat. He was able to hear the birds call AND eventually, he was able to see them.  

And while searching for the quail, we discovered nesting Northern Goshawks!  These photos above are a first for Las Aventuras.  This accipter species is EXTREMELY difficult to capture on camera.  We had to play a game to get the shot. In the morning, we had accidentally flushed the bird from a tree.  It was quick to disappear and went almost undetected. But my ears honed in on a moving branch. Khanh quickly spotted the bird as I pointed to the area where the noise was made. 

Khanh at the infamous "Split Rock" searching for a Spotted Owl in Miller Canyon

Secretive in nature and known as "Gray Ghosts", they are fast operatives in montane forest.  Anyhow, we left the area and returned back in the afternoon to see if the bird returned to his original spot.  He did.  And for a few brief moments he didn't notice us from across the creek watching.  What a pretty spectacular sighting!

My weekend would continue and by Sunday I was really needing my rest.  Then Monday would come and I would meet up with a wonderful lady by the name of Bonnie from Wales.  We had a great time as we discovered a Wood Duck, several rare Tucson Inca Doves, and a wonderful look at a Wilson's Warbler.  She also was able to observe the Mexican subspecies of Mallards nesting in our park while I also helped her get two lifers, the Vermilion Flycatcher and Lucy's Warbler. She had great views of both! 

My week ended and I was exhausted.  What an amazing time out with some wonderful people!  Southern Arizona is one of the most beautiful places on this planet.  Its' harsh conditions and epic landscapes make it a "must see".  Time is often a factor when planning a trip here.  If you can't fit it all in, there's always another trip:)  Until next time......

The Radagast Factor

Antelope Ground Squirrel

Learning to "speak" bird and animal takes time. In this final two part series, I finish up my notes and observations about "talking to the animals".  While on a trek to Saguaro National park, I was hoping to find the elusive Crissal Thrasher.  Still a no show for me!  Maybe I have a new Nemesis bird!  While trying to call  out a Thrasher, I attracted this above Antelope Squirrel.  And for several moments we were chatting back and forth together.  He got super close to me and I forgot about where I was.  Kathie was with me on this outing and snapped me back to reality because the Thrasher was staring at me.  Oh how that must have appeared!  She had thought I was looking at a bird and it turns out, I was hanging out with a ground squirrel.
Maybe these are the steps into "crazy":)

Curve-billed Thrasher

Here's the Thrasher staring at me.  Don't judge me!:)

Sunset at Catalina State Park

I'm having too much fun out in the wild.  I never go home empty handed.  This post today includes two of our wonderful parks from around Tucson.  One is Saguaro(with Kathie) and the second set of pics come from Catalina State Park. All in search of the Crissal Thrasher! I should mention that the best time to find Thrashers is early in the morning or at sunset.  Now you can find them anytime really, but they make nice appearances at these times.  I feed one Thrasher here at El Presidio.  In fact, in Arizona, you can find Bendire's, Curve-billed, Crissal, Sage and Le Conte's Thrashers.  I have yet to find the last 3. And there are two others outside of our state that I still need to find.

On our trek through Saguaro, this Cactus Wren perched perfectly above the sign.  I had to take the pic:)

But the title of the post?

Sunset at Saguaro National Park-East

Well if you read "The Hobbit" or saw the movie, you might recall a certain brown wizard known as Radagast who was the protector of all things wild.  He was put on Middle Earth to protect the forest and the critters.  Many times he had difficulty understanding the outside world and couldn't relate to mankind, dwarves or elves.  He was considered by his peers as the odd wizard.  However Gandolf respected him.  Saruman not so much.

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

I don't think there is anything crazy about connecting with nature.  Whether someone is a tree hugger or a birder, it's one of the best ways to forget the negative outside world.  Commune with nature!

Townsend's Solitaire

And if you go alone, you may hear the "quiet" presence of life around you. Stop.  Look up.  Look down.  Look all around. And you may just find a Townsend's Solitaire staring back at you.

Here's a clip of Radagast helping Gandalf, Bilbo and the Dwarves out. 

Year In Review-Southern Arizona

 This year, I did a lot of travel around Southern Arizona. There are almost too many places to see, but here are some memorable experiences.  Whether it be from Ramsey Canyon above or along the San Pedro River below.....

 .....or in the magical world of Portal.........

.....near Buenos Aires wildlife preserve......

 ....or watching the thousands of Sandhill Cranes at the Whitewater Draw......

 .....driving and hiking around Picacho Peak.....

 .....or exploring the skies of Kitt's Peak.......

 ......or looking down onto Tucson from Wasson Peak......

.....in and around both sides of Saguaro National Park........

.......or trekking the arroyo in Tucson..........

......Southern Arizona is a treasure that must be seen.