The Wrenegades Awaken

Pic courtesy of Sara Pike

Each year, I tell myself I'm not going to do it again.  And then I do:) Why? I like the crowd.  I like the challenge.  Raising money for Tucson Audubon is a good thing especially when our current US administration is cutting funding back for many of our conservation programs around the US. 

Tim's secret plans

Each one of us is in charge of something on this 24 hour crazy-thon.  We go a full day straight looking for birds in Southern Arizona.  Tim is our excellent organizer and planner.  Every bird hotspot is carefully chosen with a timed response.  This means we have to find as many birds as we can in our window timeframe. Then we are whisked away by our drivers Sara, Matt and Tim.  

Copulating Killdeer

 I am the documentation guy.  I ebird every hotspot conscious or not:)  I keep the lists and photos of our journey for our donors.  After it's all over, we process the data and pics so that the group can send their supporters all the highlights and fun from our treks.  

Long-billed Dowitchers, Least Sandpipers

But I have to admit.  There are some spots I love more than others.  I love Willcox, AZ.  I love that after our search we stop at the Mexican restaurant to grab something to eat.  It's essentially the calm before the storm.  

American Avocet

 I love owling with the crew on Mt. Lemmon.  I don't like birding alone in the dark.  And you'd be surprised by how many random cars we see at night around 3 in the morning.  It's hard to see who is in the car since the windows are all fogged up:)

Scaled Quail

This year our team made some interesting discoveries.  At Cochise Lake, we found 4 Western Grebes.  I haven't seen these birds here before so it was an interesting observation. Also at Cochise Lake, we discovered, for the AZ birding crowd, a cute little Snowy Plover.  

But a big surprise was about to happen during our night out on Mt. Lemmon.  Our team has suspected for a long time that we had been hearing Northern Saw-whet Owls near Summerhaven over the past couple years.  We just never had visual confirmation.  Until now.  

A new bird to my Pima County list! Northern Saw-whet Owl

 Thanks in part from a tip by Brian Nicholas, a Tucson birder and really great guy, we went to an area near his coordinates.  Almost immediately, we heard a high whinny call that was NOT a Northern Pygmy Owl.  We knew we had a different and very rare owl on the mountain.  Any sleepy thoughts I had were quickly erased as I became super alert.  While the group was excited by the discovery, Matt and I grabbed the spotlight and flashed it up to where the call was being made.....and my camera got one shot and that was it. For Matt, it was a lifer.  For me, it was a significant discovery that will now lead me into a new investigation.  Is there a tiny population that breeds up there?  OR are they migrating through the area?  This bird alone made the trek worthwhile.  

But the fun didn't stop.  At dawn, the bird chorus on the mountain is overwhelming.  It began at around 4:30 AM and continued for 30 or 40 minutes.  One call in particular lead us to this hard to photograph warbler, the Virginia's Warbler.  For the first time in 6 years, I was able to get long and satisfying looks at this normally secretive warbler. This is one of my favorite pics from our trek. 

Virginia's Warbler

 As we continued throughout the morning, I began to get more tired.  It was cold and then it wasn't.  In fact, it got nasty hot.  And I hate birding in the heat.  But when doing a birdathon, birders have to keep going. 

Western Wood Pewee

 And we did.  The heat began to get closer to 100 degrees and my body was not having it.  

Hermit Warbler

At one point, I nearly passed out.  I couldn't do it anymore.  We were at the DeAnza trail in Tubac when I lost the energy to bird.  

the Davis Pasture in the Cienagas Grasslands-pic by Matt Griffiths

While Matt, Jennie, Sara, Corey and Tim kept hiking the 90 degree, chigger sensational DeAnza trail, I sat in the park under the ramada and counted birds.  I am, after all, a mere mortal.  I should have taken two days off instead of one but finals have arrived and students need their teacher for support.  

Matt, Jennie, Sara, Corey, Tim and me in the back

By the end of the day, I acquired new information that I can now use for my own research.  The team was exhausted but we did it. And it felt good. Not only did we raise several thousands of dollars, we broke our old record and surpassed our 180 bird species goal in a 24 hour time period with 182 birds.  I really like these people a lot.  

 We cross paths throughout the year but really only bird on these two days together each year as a team.  It's a tradition that I hope we keep going every year.  If you'd like to track that tradition, here are some links to our past searches and how we've grown as a team. 
 2014-Blur  2015-Veni, Vidi,Vici 
 2016-Return of the Wrenegades

And as a side note, I'd be remiss if I forgot to mention how Tim is always attacked by some wild mammal. One year it was a rabid skunk.  And while not wild, this year it was a mother cow.  Good times!  Until next week:)

The Study of Birds

Birding is more than just looking at birds.  There are so many facets to this "hobby" or passion of ours.  We sometimes will play the part of explorer or detective.  Obviously observation plays a big role in all of this.  The more we do it; the better we become.  As time progresses, we grow individually and as a group collecting data for organizations like Audubon, AZFO, or Cornell University(aka Ebird).  On the outing to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon last weekend, our focus was on nesting birds.  However, as many of us discovered, there was a lot more happening than just nesting activity.  

The first part of the journey began with our beautiful California Condors.  They are still very much endangered due to lead poisoning.  This, many times, happens when hunters use lead bullets instead of the copper ones. The lead spreads through the carcass that is left behind.  At that point, scavengers will feast on those remains.  Currently, the state of California has banned the use of lead, but Arizona and Utah have not. Therefore, Condors still face this threat.  They are all tagged and checked each year.  Often, several condors must undergo a detoxification process. Sadly, some will lose the battle.  Hunters, for the most part, are responsible, but the lead poisoning continues which indicates that some may not be playing by the rules. One would think Arizona would move forward adopting a ban on lead similar to the one in California. My friend Ranger Gaelyn, the Geogypsy at the North Rim wrote in a comment, "In AZ, and now in UT, game & fish works on hunter education with 80-90% voluntary compliance. The lead problem may not be exclusively from hunters either.". Thanks Gaelyn for the info! If we can figure out the lead issue, these birds could make a strong comeback. Other issues that Condors face....Golden Eagles, coyotes and power lines. 

On our outing, we tallied 5 CONDORS!  As mentioned previously, all the condors are tagged.  Each Condor was ID'd via the internet.  There are places, like the Peregrine Fund, that helped me ID the backgrounds on each of these birds.  The lettered Condors indicate that they were captive bred at the Portland Zoo. The websites also gave me the age, when they were released and how they were raised.  For example, L3(above) was raised by a foster parent Condor while 53(below) was raised by a hand puppet:)  It sounds funny, but it's true.  Sometimes the Condors are raised by their biological parents in captivity or in a few cases.... the wild!  This is great news for the Condors as their range is SLOWLY spreading into new areas.  In fact, Utah has reported their first condor chick in the wild! Congrats!

Our main study revolved around nesting birds. There was quite a bit of bug collection going on everywhere we turned.   

Western Bluebird

 Bluebirds, like other birds in the area, also nest in the cavities of trees.

There were several stretches of burned trees along the North Rim. Now to the human eye, burned areas look like a stain on the landscape, but on closer inspection, we found that many woodpeckers and sapsuckers used these burned areas for nesting like this Williamson's Sapsucker below.  

Williamson's Sapsucker(male)

We also made yet another discovery while on the trails.  This unfortunate Common Poorwill may have been hit by an oncoming vehicle.   It is a difficult bird to see at night.  Like most nightjars, it prefers to sit along dirt roads near shrubs and flies the evening skies capturing insects for a meal.  However, the team was allowed a closer inspection of this normally difficult-to-see bird.  I always imagined the bird to have rough feathers, but when we touched them, they were amazingly soft.  

Common Poorwill

 We also discovered that there were warblers favoring certain trees.  We commonly found the Virginia's Warbler feeding on blooming New Mexican Locust trees. 

Virginia's Warbler

 Finally, we were able to really study the differences between Cassin's and House Finches.  The Rim was full of Cassin's Finches and were rather easy to find around water sources. 

Cassin's Finch

For me, the detailed study of birds has become a passion.  The only time it isn't a passion is when it's too hot outside:)  I help when I can, but I am constantly exploring new areas.  But one day, I will be forced to sit down.  And if that happens, I'll probably begin painting the birds I have seen in this lifetime.

Black-throated Gray Warbler

It's one experience to observe a lifebird for the first time; it's another to see it repeatedly and truly understand the bird's habits. 

The adventure continues......

Lesser Goldfinch

For more birds from around our world, check out Wild Bird Wednesday. 

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....