Always Chasing Rainbows

The hikes have been grueling lately.  With desert heat and rarities popping up left and right, it has made the birding a true challenge.  Which bird should I chase first?  Many of the birds are in difficult or remote locations!

Violet-green Swallow

For all the "hits" I get on my target birds, there are also the misses.  Aztec Thrush, Berryline Hummingbird, Rose-throated Becard, Slate-throated Redstart. All misses because of time.  Only one would be a lifebird.  And when I dip on a bird like I did with the Aztec Thrush, it burns bad. Timing.  It all comes down to the timing. When you don't have the time, you appreciate every minute you have more.  My life is one long schedule.  It's pretty awesome, but like everyone else reading this blog, we have lives outside our hobby that require us to be present:)  It will just make the story sweeter when I do finally see these birds in Arizona:)

Black-throated Gray Warbler

I'll hike miles to find a new bird.  But with time constraints, it makes waiting around for a bird difficult.  Had I only waited 10 minutes, I would have seen the bird!!!  BUT NO.  We had to head back down the mountain to get home.  It's a terrible feeling.  I got into my car and couldn't talk for awhile.  I got a text from a friend who told me that the bird popped out as we were heading back down the trail. 

Gordon spots an Hepatic Tanager.  In the distance, a wildfire burns near Young, Arizona.

Time was ticking and my window for the Aztec Thrush closed. No more Southern Arizona birding for awhile.  On our last days in Arizona, I birded with Gordon(above) once more on Mt. Ord.  

The heat was an astounding 117 degrees in the desert!!  I use this reliable kitty weather forecast for help. So we had to climb the mountains for some reprieve.  But not by much. It still was pretty hot up there!

It's amazing how birds can even survive these extreme temps!

Hutton's Vireo

Like good Arizona birders, we pack lots of water. Some it is frozen while the rest is chilled.  The body MUST stay cool in the extreme heat!  We also went early and left the house by 5 AM. Although, you can get up at 4 AM to start!!!  But that's way TOO early! Or is it?

Hepatic Tanager

We track water sources.  Cattle tanks.  Mountain streams, etc etc to find birds. During the Arizona summer, birds will feed before the sun rises(the 4:30 AM time period), hang out in the shade during the sunny and hot times of the day and stay near any water sources that may be around the area. Visiting birders need to take care and do the same!

We find plenty of wildlife resting in the shaded areas.  We also take advantage of these areas along the road staying out of the intense sun.  As we do, we spot several deer casually crossing the road ahead of us. 

It is also completely acceptable to sit at public bird feeders and search for rarities:)  Especially after the 10 AM time period.  

Lucifer Hummingbird

Sometimes I will chase ONE bird for 30 minutes in the sun. I am confident about where these birds are hanging out. Otherwise, I wouldn't go and get them. So I get my pic and run back to my air conditioned car:) Take for example the Tropical Kingbird below. It is currently nesting in its' typical spot at the Sweetwater Wetlands. Easy.

Tropical Kingbird

There are even easier ones to snag. Park and bird! There is nothing wrong with birding from your car. This American White Pelican decided to hang out at Lakeside Park for a few days before taking flight.  

American White Pelican from the Utah area(note green tag)

And around the same time, a Least Tern returned to the same spot.  I think it's the same one that I discovered here a year ago. The migration dates were almost exactly the same. Note the times I used "same" in this paragraph:)

Least Tern

But when it gets too hot, it's time to head up to the higher elevations.  Early mornings are still the best as they provide cooler temps. 

House Wren

While the canyons are still dark, you'll hear the owls finish up their last calls. 

Brown Creeper

Of course you have to do some hiking to see some of this stuff, but WOW!

And then an owl calls.  It's like a dream come true.  WHOA!  And the crowd goes wild!

In the shadows, lurks a Northern Pygmy Owl

With so much hiking going on, it was time to just rest and get ready for the cooler temps. June is the BEST month to leave Tucson or Phoenix.  It's hot and the rare bird alert is fairly quiet during this month.  Where do we go?  North:) Or West, to the beaches of San Diego.

It's hard to get up when you have such cute cats around you purring nearby.

My blog series will once again focus on a new birding area outside of Arizona. It can be cool, rainy.......and GREEN!

Until then, I'm going to do as this male Anna's Hummingbird is doing.....hanging out in the shade!  Birds will often "pant" to exhale the hot temps in the body through evaporation of moisture along their mouth, throat and lungs.  In other words, they stay cool.  

A HOT male Anna's Hummingbird hanging out in the shade on a 117 degree day!

Stay tuned for our next adventure.  Gordon will be joining me on an epic journey into one of the most beautiful states of the US.....Wisconsin.  So get your bug spray on and pull out those cheesehead hats!  Until next time!

The Tie That Binds

Barn Swallow

Like all good things, our journey to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park came to an end.  Our final days were sunny and rainy.  We stayed around Estes Park and near several other park trails to map out our wedding plans this October.  I am excited for our families to come together and experience this wonderful park.  

Garter Snake

One of my favorite spots to explore happened to be around Lake Estes. 

Several times we were caught in the rain and hung out under a ramada watching elk and other critters scramble for cover. 

Pine Siskin

There is nothing stranger than finding a pelican in the middle of a mountain lake.  And yet we found THREE of them!

American White Pelican

So during our last several days, we scouted out several spots for our vows to take place, sampled several of the restaurants around the area and took a look at our cabins.  

Pine Squirrel

October will bring crazier weather(possibly snow!).  I am also hoping that Fall will be either in full swing or winding down at that time.  The Elk will be bugling while the tourist crowd will be smaller. 

And while there were many tourists during our pre-wedding visit, we found many quiet areas to escape.  

A Robin warns us to read the sign

On our last night, we drove back to our campsite after a memorable week visit.  I cannot wait for this wedding family reunion to happen.  I learned a long time ago that weddings are not about the people getting married; they are about the people attending:)  It will be a "small" event with just our families.  With just immediate family, there are around 50 people!  Some of my family are planning on hunting while others sample the beer and shop around the area.  The plan is to get the ceremony over in 15 minutes with a picnic afterwards.  Then it's all about how they want to spend their vacation as a family.  

I hate weddings with a passion but I understand the importance of them.  So since I could not avoid the whole wedding event, I tried my best to make it as natural and simple as possible:)  Compromise is great.  "You want a wedding?  Great!  But it's going to be outdoors and like a camping trip:)"  And there were other discussions compromising on "this" and "that", but ultimately, I think we have a wedding that represents both of us. It's going to be a Lord of the Rings event.  We're going to wear Elvish robes and ride out on Elk:)  Enya will also be present singing her ethereal music. My nephews and nieces will dress up as Orcs. My siblings, since they are from Wisconsin(aka the Shire) will dress up as Hobbits.  Okay....maybe I'm going too far, but it helps cut down the stresses of planning for a wedding. 

Violet-green Swallow

During the upcoming weeks, Las Aventuras will be heading out to various locales searching for tropical and pelagic birds. The life bird quest continues! Until next time friends......

The North American Swallow Challenge

Tree Swallow

I sat back one day and thought, "How many more types of swallows are out there for my North American needs list?"  After reviewing my Sibleys and National Wildlife Federation guides, I found out that I need only one more.  If you are a birder, try to figure out which one it is.  If you're not a birder, which swallow is your favorite?

My first documented swallow was the Tree Swallow back in Wisconsin.  The vivid shiny blues caught my eye.  We saw our first one here in Tucson during early spring.

Bank Swallows

Bank Swallows are one the plainest of the swallows, but they have a cute look to them.  They are easy to ID by the collar or necklace around their necks.

Barn Swallows

Barn Swallows are easy to ID with their vivid marks and long scissor-like tails.

Violet-Green Swallow

But add a little green and you've got yourself a Violet-Green Swallow.  It's funny how swallows can be overlooked by birders. 

Each nest is created in slightly different ways.  This Barn Swallow above prefers to build on the sides of buildings etc.  They make a little basket.

I wasn't able to post any of these shots until I had the vast collection of photographs completed.   If you look at a lot of telephone wires, you'll find these birds hanging out.  They tend to do this early morning or late at night.

A swallow that is found all year round in Tucson is the Northern Rough-winged Swallow.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

It's another plain brown swallow, but it's body is much bulkier in flight and reminds me of an odd shaped submarine.

Cliff Swallow

The Cliff Swallows like to build nests under bridges, etc.   They are quick to fly as are all swallows.  Again note the shorter and round tail feathers.  The wingspan is shorter and the head pattern/coloring is different.  They fly quickly and when there are hundreds of them in the sky, it can be a tricky job sorting all the birds out.

Look at the above and below shots.  One is the Cliff Swallow while the bottom is the Barn Swallow.  Maybe you can see why I'd confuse them at first glance:)

Finally, we come to the large and spectacular Purple Martin.  I was at a pool near open desert land when I saw these cool birds watching me from above.  They come to Tucson and nest in our Saguaros.

Purple Martin

They are indeed purple but can appear black in different light situations. So who am I missing?  Or who is your favorite swallow?

I still need the Cave Swallow.  They are found around southern New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. Once and awhile, one or two will fly into Arizona. I hope you enjoyed this showcase on swallows.  More to come.....

Mt. Ord

Mt. Ord

I've been trying to keep up with my birding, but it has been difficult.  Simply put, I can't.  Birds have been coming in left and right while I'm in the middle of a teaching lesson:) There are so many birds that I have to focus myself at times because it's overwhelming. What do I want?  Flycatchers? Warblers? Where should I go? Too many decisions!!! On a wonderful outing with Gordon Karre, Mark Ochs and Kathie Brown, we fled into the beautiful countryside of the Tonto National Forest. It was the perfect place to not have to make those decisions:)

Hutton's Vireo feasting on a tent caterpillar

It started off as a cold morning and then worked itself up into a hot afternoon.  We went from desert landscape into pine forest mountain tops.  It was a fantastic day full of cool finds and observations.

Hutton's Vireo

It was my first time meeting Gordon and Mark.  I love meeting birders.  I especially love watching the way they bird.  Gordon is very much like I am in that we search for target birds and try to get better shots and observations of birds we have already seen.  Kathie birds with a gentle heart and takes her time counting them all.  And Mark!  Why his style was the most interesting of us all!

Kathie saying hello!

He spoke in a dialect I recognized....Wisconsin!!!  Even though I lived in the Great Lakes region all of my childhood, I never learned to bird there. Something I hope to remedy in the future.  But I was constantly surrounded by people who loved the Green Bay Packers. Now I was never into football, but I was fascinated by Mark's strength and vigor towards birding.  He birded like he might play football. All I needed was some guacamole and chips to watch him bird. That sounds weird so forget that last sentence. Not once did he stop and not once did he miss out on a bird song.  A bird would sing and he would ID!  Incredible!  And all the while, he spoke in a loudish voice telling midwestern jokes using slang which can many times be lost on the rest of the world. I tried to spend time with all three while still snapping shots of elusive warblers and other small birds.

Grace's Warbler

And there were so many great birds.  But the heat!!!  Ugh!  We are reaching that time of year when I bird early morning until about 11 AM.  Then I go home and take a nap and if I get all my chores done, make for an evening birding somewhere close to home.  It would get hot.  I had my water pack on because I sweat way too much.  It's in my DNA. But even with all the water in the world, the body can only take so much heat.  I could see that Kathie was getting tired.  The protector in me watched over her.  I could see Mark far ahead.  The chaser in me kept tabs on Kathie and moved quickly to snap a shot of a Virginia's warbler.

Violet-green Swallow

There were truly so many incredible birds in this location, but I began to feel a bit...um....bloated.  It was not a good feeling.  We went up in elevation, walked in the heat, and had some food.  Not a good combo and for awhile, I kept my distance as air bubbles exploded inside my stomach.  It felt terrible.  Little did I know that Kathie was having the same issues:) Altitude sickness. We laughed about it on the way home.  And it's not like we haven't done these major hikes before but for some reason on this day, we didn't feel so good.  Gordon also reminded us that we did  get up at 3 in the morning.  And was it worth it?  Oh my gods, you bet!!! I wouldn't trade that experience for anything else in the world.  It was invaluable!

Up to Mt.Ord

It was great to get into a new area and count birds.  It was also interesting to note various bird species mixed in together that normally wouldn't intermingle together around Tucson.   It was a little jarring to find normally difficult birds in Pima county all around Maricopa county.   Very strange indeed.

Virginia's Warbler

Gordon called our day a "3 Tanager Day".  For here, we spotted the Summer, Western and Hepatic tanagers in great numbers.

Western Tanager, male

Also in great numbers were the Scott's Orioles and Black-chinned Sparrows.

Scott's Oriole

The road up Mt. Ord is a very rocky one so be warned:)  This day was super dusty and the photos were some of the most difficult to snap.  By the end of the day, I had over 1000 pictures and about 20 of them were worthy of posting.

Black-chinned Sparrow

A special thank you to Gordon for a lovely day.  It was a blast and hopefully I can return the favor and get you some lifebirds in the near future.  I am linking up with Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday. Stay tuned for more....