The Tasty Pinecone

 

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!", shouted the Cliff Chipmunk as he slammed his staff down onto the rock. 

So I parked my car and walked around him:)  But he was right.  The road behind him was not passable at all. Too much ice!  So I went on foot into the quiet forest of snow and pinecone. 

Another voice called out from the Ponderosa Pines.  It was the Olive Warbler!

There she hopped around screaming her scratchy, "Teacher teacher teacher!" call.  Yes, I know! I'm a teacher!

After she left, the woods went silent again.  

Until I heard a pine cone drop.  

One of the Abert's Squirrels said aloud, "It's not me!"

The Cliff Chipmunk just told me to keep moving along. 

In the sunlight, the snow turned to water and filled the creeks.  But in the shadows of the mountain, the snow remained. 

More silence until another pinecone fell. I looked up and saw Mr. Abert's having lunch. 

Then.  Breaking the silence, a high pitched "zzzt" sliced through the cold air.  Recognizing the call, my eyes scanned the lichen covered bark until I spied the movement of a camouflaged back. It was that of the Brown Creeper.

A Pine Siskin called out for me and said "hi". 

As I left the snowy trail, I found snow people enjoying the nearby ski lift. 

What a perfect day to go birding up on Mt. Lemmon!

There is still snow up on the mountain and plenty of pinecones for the critters to munch on. Until next time.........

Come Rain; Come Shine

Apples=Fall!  These apples had a shower thanks to Mother Nature.

This past week was one for the records in Arizona.  Hurricane Odile came and poured lots of wonderful rain around Arizona.  Southeastern Arizona was hit the hardest with some areas receiving over 4 inches!  Rivers and washes overflowed near cities like Sierra Vista and Patagonia essentially shutting down most of our access routes into their wildlife areas.  Thankfully Tucson was spared the nasty stuff.  However, we did have rain almost every day in different parts of the Old Pueblo last week.  The moisture has since stayed around our area and it really has been nice.

We've been on the road since the beginning of September and this past weekend was one for relaxing and enjoying the bird feeders up at my friends' cabin on Mt. Lemmon.  It's close to Tucson and completely in its own world.   They have birds like Red-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jays, Yellow-eyed Juncos, Mountain Chickadees and other colorful characters coming to their feeders.  So I loaded up their feeders with a book in hand, breathed in the pine scented air, got in my pj's, watched the rain come down and had my camera ready. And all in that order:)

A wet Abert's Squirrel ponders if there are any nuts to be found

The home life at El Presidio has been difficult due to a neighbor with severe mental issues verbally attacking residents. Not only is he a danger to himself but to those around him. As HOA President(someone has to do it), I get to deal with it all. Anyhow, he has been very aggressive with many of my fellow neighbors.  They, of course, have injunctions against him. While dealing with one of his outbursts, the police and our poor neighbors, I saw this migrating Pacific-slope Flycatcher move through our garden!  What are the chances?!  I quickly grabbed my camera when the drama was over and snapped off a couple shots before this new yard bird disappeared!  Unbelievable!  Perhaps a message from Mother Nature reminding me that this too shall pass?

Pacific-slope Flycatcher happens to pass by during a serious conversation!  Yes it was awkward to say "Excuse me.  I need to get this picture."

So when my wonderful friend's offered me their cabin for the weekend, it was a no brainer!

And thus began my studies for the weekend.  Warbler migration is happening all around us and so I went to the top of Mt. Lemmon to get better photo documentation of Hermit Warblers.  They currently are migrating down along the Pacific Coast regions back into Mexico and Central America. Every spring and fall some will pass through Southern Arizona within our Sky Islands. 

Townsend's Warbler

Meanwhile, the Townsend's Warbler crosses over from the state of California and the North during the same time period as they head to their wintering grounds both in Arizona, Mexico and Central America.   They not only cross paths but have also been known to crossbreed! Hybrids are possible between these two warbler species!

Juvenile Hermit Warbler-I'm thinking female because there are no black markings on the throat and the underside is whitish overall

It was a relaxing weekend.  I didn't have to go far to study my target birds.  Plus I had a wildlife party at the cabin. Pygmy Nuthatches were out of control!  They were not afraid of me at all. 

Pygmy Nuthatch

I sat reading my book while 16 of these little birds clung to the large cylinder feeders. Then I noticed that one of the Pygmy Nuthatches got inside the feeder!  I helped the little bugger out with assistance from his friends.  They sat around me watching as I opened the feeder up so that he could get out.  These days I feel like I have a stronger connection to the birds than I do with people! I wish someone had been there to witness the event. It was a Snow White moment as I sang.... "♪♪Aaaaaaahahaaaaa..♫..aaaahahaaaaa♪♪!"  To be honest, my best work usually happens when I'm alone on these treks. 

An Abert's Squirrel and Steller's Jay at odds.

I arrived to the rainy and wet mountain top and all of my energy just drained from my body once the cool temps hit me.  I miss the cool temps. The cabin had been quiet, but I made some calls to attract the local Steller's Jays.  They came quickly as I set up my peanut feeders. Steller's Jays will also inadvertently signal to other birds that there is food nearby. Or at least that has been my observation from visiting the cabin over the past 10 years.  Quickly enough, I had birds at the feeders.  Below is a photo of the views I had from the cabin windows.  It was quite the contrast from the hot desert floor below where it was sunny and in the 90's! All thanks to tropical depression Odile!

Soon the desert will be safe again to explore.  Right now, it's full of baby snakes, reptiles and bugs! Herper heaven!  I am a snake charmer(not by choice) and want to avoid contact with the scaled variety. My issue?  Accidentally stepping on the poor things while I'm scanning the trees and sky! Over the past several years I've had many encounters.  Take for example this Green Rat Snake.  I almost stepped on the poor bugger thanks to a very vocal Hepatic Tanager.  Then I discovered it was a Herper's dream to find one of these.  Apparently they are hard to find! So we kept the location secret from the Sith Herpers who would illegally poach the area for this gem.

 The heat and humidity are still too much to endure after being out in the desert for about 20 minutes, but the weather is cooling down each day.  Here is a photo taken from my work place of the Santa Catalina mountains covered by the tropical remains of Odile.  Summerhaven is up there and covered by the dense clouds!

For my plant friends.  In the forefront are the gorgeous Ironwood trees.  The purple bushes are Texas Ranger and our course, the large cactus is our very own Saguaro Cactus.  Yeah....Arizona has it all!

This past weekend was another successful study.  Sometimes birders will become frustrated with poor observations of a life bird.  Sometimes we only get a brief glance of our life bird before it disappears for good.  So I'm thankful that the Hermit Warblers played nice this weekend.  Here are some other common players found around the town of Summerhaven. And haven it was!

Top to bottom and left to right

Hermit Warbler; Yellow-eyed Junco

Wilson's Warbler; Mountain Chickadee

Pygmy Nuthatch; Pine Siskin

Steller's Jay; Townsend's Warbler

Mountain Chickadee

Thanks for tuning into Las Aventuras each week! For more birds from around the world check out Wild Bird Wednesday!

Table Manners!

Northern Flicker

We climbed through wind and snow to check on my friend's cabin up on Mt. Lemmon. I brought a secret stash of peanuts and pineapple(thanks to Kathie!) bits to call upon some old friends from last year.

Ski Valley

Getting there wasn't easy.  The desert was warm and breezy.  And yet 25 miles away, the frigid town of Summerhaven was covered with snow!  I had been losing ground with my bird count.  While my father was visiting, I had to take a backseat on the birding and it may have cost me the Rusty Blackbird.  But I still needed new bird species for this year.  I knew they were around my friend's cabin.  Just needed to call upon their appetites:)

And within 20 minutes of me calling out to them, the Steller's Jay came quickly.  I placed the bag of goodies on the wooden post and watched them fill up.  It was cold!!!

But the Northern Flicker heard me as well and popped up for a nut.....or two........good thing this Flicker had a bib;)

Steller's Jay

But I thought we were supposed to chew our food first!!! At least that's what my mother taught me:)  However, some birds, like the Jay, will stuff in as many nuts as they can fit into their mouths for later consumption.  Clever!

We had to walk through a blanket of snow to get to the cabin.  The roads had at least 9 inches of the white stuff.  And then there were the drifts! My feet took all day to thaw for this birding expedition!

But it was worth it:)  Later the Acorn and Hairy Woodpeckers would join us around the feeders.

Acorn Woodpecker

The snow was gorgeous, but as you can see below, the cars were all lined up for skiing!  Of course this happens up in Ski Valley.  We drove up to this part to see if we could find a parking place for some hot chili.....but it was FULL!   So we headed back down to the village and ate there.

Meanwhile, back at the cabin, all the birds were clearing off the food quickly.  One Jay turned into two, then three, then four, then five.....and SIX!  I can always rely on my Jays to call the crew in:)  Other birds will also follow these loud birds.  Before one knows it, there is a party going on!

And I welcomed that party as I was able to add 5 more birds onto my Pima county list.  None were lifebirds but they were all great birds to get on the list:)  Currently in the state of Arizona, I have found 185 species of the 314 birds reported!  More are on their way and things are going to heat up in March and April!

Our walk on Grosbeak road!  No Grosbeaks....yet:)

But on this day we froze:)  That's what I love about birding.  Each journey is strange and different. Personally, this was a fun day and I'm glad my friend had to check up on the cabin.

I would spot Steller's Jay, the White-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee, Hairy Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker and Northern Flicker.  Plus I was able to get closeups of these birds at the feeders!

I practically had to put my feet into the furnace to revive their walking powers again.  We were numb from the cold!

It made for a very productive day in the photography and EBIRD department!  I love playing detective and I especially love all the fun that comes with the birds:) And my friend's cabin was fine:)  Until next time.....

Two For One

Okay is this bad??  For a birthday present, Pat takes me to go stargazing.  Yet on our trip, I also do a bit of birdgazing:)  I also add a new bird to my lifelist.

Steller's Jay

The cold temps are right up my alley.  We hang with our friends up in their cabin before the stargazing begins and I spot TWO PYGMY NUTHATCHES on their birdfeeders!!!  I am thrilled to finally see these birds out in the wild.

Pygmy Nuthatch

But we head up to the observatories that have all kinds of birds everywhere and begin our stargazing.  We had a blast on this cold and chilly day up on Mt. Lemmon.  The stars and bird finds were awesome! Do you find yourself doing this as well? More tomorrow.....

"Moon Spirit of the Mountain"

Pure magic!  On a recent photo shoot on Mt. Lemmon.

Photos by Chris Rohrer