Wrenegades 2020 Birdathon

Eared Grebe

Dear friends of Las Aventuras, 

I'm sorry for the delay in blog posts. I have been working on documentation for two separate writes for this week and next. It has been a lot of fun and it has definitely taken my mind off of our current situation. This past weekend we did some important fundraising for Tucson Audubon. I'd like to thank all the people who donated to our team, the Wrenegades.  We've raised some good money to protect Southeastern Arizona's birds, habitat and wildlife!

American Avocets

Obviously, this year we had to do things differently.  The team had to break up and work within our circles of family and friends being socially distant and responsible. In this post, you'll see how we accomplished our goals separately and yet together using technology to communicate.  

I was responsible for the shorebirds migrating through the state right now. I went with my friend Celeste and her furry pooch, Cheroot. Together we saw some amazing birds.  You'll see some of our finds in today's posts. Much of our energy was spent around water areas like Lake Cochise in Willcox and the riparian area near the San Pedro House.  It was a gorgeous day!

In Arizona, especially southeastern Arizona, there is a lot of habitat to cover.  While I took the Cochise county sector, Captain Jennie(MacFarland) Wren covered the Santa Cruz county area with Richard Fray and together they found such amazing birds like the Thick-billed Kingbird along the DeAnza trail.  

Her area is great for vultures, like the Black Vulture, and other hawks. There are also great sparrows like the Rufous-winged Sparrow just waiting to be found. And they did!

American Avocet

Throughout the day, we kept in contact with Jennie and reported our finds.  She kept together the checklist as we all accomplished our goals.  Jennie and Richard birded from home.  It also helps to live in Rio Rico where the wildlife is outstanding.  It's near a lot of great birding hotspots along the I 19 corridor.  

Meanwhile, Wrenegade's team member Sara Derouen Pike, took to the local state parks and city parks with her family to find such treasures like the Northern Beardless Tyrannulet.  Sometimes we get so busy that we forget the "basics".  You know......Rock Pigeons, European Starlings and House Sparrows.  And in our case for that day, we didn't have a Black-tailed Gnatcatcher on our list!  Sara saved the day and found us one!  

So many birds and just not enough time in ONE day to find them all!  Arizona birding is amazing. 

White-faced Ibis

Sometimes I will find random birds that I wasn't expecting to get on my list like the nomadic American White Pelican.  What a treat!  These are inland pelicans but not always guaranteed on our counts. 

American White Pelican

Often times, a lot of our amazing shorebird species are overlooked.  Some of them are too confusing I hear people say, but if you get a close up look, they are quite beautiful.  

Like sparrows, the sandpiper group can be difficult for beginning birders.  They can even be difficult for expert birders if they are in the wrong light!  Thankfully, this Western Sandpiper posed nicely for the camera where I could observe that nice rufousy cap with black legs. There are some rufous patches on the back that also help with this ID.  

Western Sandpiper

I failed to find any Baird's Sandpipers, but we did find quite a few Least, Spotted and Western Sandpipers.  

 

It may shock some people to hear that we even have Willets pass through Tucson.  Where's the water?  Again we don't have many watering holes, but where there is water, there can be waterbirds!  It's important to check them daily as birds come and go.  And during our birdathon, we checked Willcox Lake several times to pick up new birds during each visit.  

Western Willet

Meanwhile, our very own Matt Griffiths took social distancing and birding to the next level.  This guy BIKED from Tucson up into canyons of Mt. Lemmon!  He was the last to report from our group because he was out of wifi range.  My hat goes off to Matt.  I'd be dead trying to do that route. The ride up Catalina highway is a steep, hot and dangerous one. There can be so much traffic as well. Years ago I used to bike marathons.  Today, not so much.  He'd blow it off as nothing, but what he did was an amazing feat of birding.  Meanwhile, Celeste, Cheroot and myself sat in the shade and ate lunch with a nice cold coke.  That's my kind of birding:)  

I like the walks, but it's over one hundred degrees now here in Tucson.  You bird in the morning or in the evening.  And if you have a strong desire to bird the whole day, you go up into the higher elevations or bird from the a/c of your car. 

I had to take off my birder's cap for you all so that you can see this crazy covid do!  We wore our masks when people got too close.  We still have lots of cases here and so social distancing and masks are necessary.  Thankfully Arizona has a lot of wonderful wide open spaces to meander!

After all was said and done, our team managed to find 165 different bird species for the day.  Each one of us will tell you that we had several stand out birds from our journeys. I always love those conversations.  It's exciting to hear who found what and where. 

Solitary Sandpiper

What we do is important.  Our team has raised, so far, 4300 dollars.  We're not done yet.  Tucson Audubon is one of the most active organizations here in Tucson and in the country. The organization is very involved with the Tucson and Southeastern Arizona communities. There is so much going on at all times.  Even if you can't financially help, we still offer so many other ways you can participate with our local birds.  All you have to do is check out the Tucson Audubon website.  

Wilson's Phalarope

If you'd like to donate, click here. 

Long-billed Dowitcher

As always, thank you for following Las Aventuras.  Next week, we go on a chase and take an adventure up into the White Mountains as I learn to maneuver around birds and people.  We do some more social distancing in cooler weather!  Until next time.......

Coastal Desires

Living in the desert makes me yearn to be near the ocean when I have the opportunity.  I guess I was also chasing Rock Sandpipers along the Oregon coast near Tillamook even if it was a little early for their arrival. It was more about enjoying the cold ocean wind.  Autumn colors. Ocean. Coffee. And birds. 

Tillamook is relatively close to Portland.  It's an hour and something drive through beautiful misty coastal rain forest to the rocky Oregon shoreline. Between the rain and dark conditions, it was a challenge to find birds.  

Beautiful Portland from on top of a dormant volcano

I often forget that most of the country is cold outside of Tucson.  It's refreshing to be surrounded by misty gray skies. I'm not a fan of gray skies for more than a couple days, but I do love how they can make one sleepy and tired all the time.  It's great "sleeping in" weather. 

Varied Thrush are absolutely beautiful but you would never know it from the dark conditions they like inhabit

As I drove along the magical highway 6 from Portland, I'd find opportunities to stop and explore for a quick bird count in a nearby campground or parking lot. The lighting inside some of these old forest areas made taking photos difficult. The habitat though was truly unique and much different from the birding in Arizona. 

I hit the peak time of autumn and everything around me was full of color.  Leaves were falling. And I felt very happy. 

Black Turnstone

When I arrived at the ports along the coast, I could see a very turbulent ocean with lots of high winds.  The birding was still better here along the ocean than it was inland as there had been nonstop rain. Along the coast, other than the winds, it was pretty decent birding weather. I searched coves that were calm and protected from the wind. And sure enough, I'd find all the shorebirds huddled together. 

Surfbird

Originally I had planned to hike along the beach to count gulls but the waves were out of control and the tide was high. I scanned around harbors for Marbled and Ancient Murrelets but again, the water was too rough.  It's amazing anything can survive those chaotic waves. 

At one location, I enjoyed watching sandpipers huddle together. The wind was so loud that the birds were not spooked by my movement. I enjoyed long looks at these birds until a Peregrine Falcon flew over and caused chaos. 

Least Sandpiper

I'll admit that sandpipers are not my most favorite shorebirds to observe.  I like them, but I often see them through a scope.  And that's rather boring.  In this situation, I was able to get a few feet above them and see their field marks better. 

Two slightly larger Western Sandpipers sandwich a Least Sandpiper

A new storm was heading my way and the waves began to hit the shoreline harder. I carefully walked out onto the point keeping my eyes out for rogue waves. 

A bird that I don't often get to see, the Black Turnstone, was a thrill to observe. 

And who doesn't love a cool looking Surfbird?  I hadn't been expecting this species up in Oregon.  For some reason, I think of them as a Southern California/Mexico bird, but their range extends from the top of North American to the southern tip of South America.  That's pretty amazing. 

The rain began to fall and the waves were now crashing against the shore and getting me wet.  At one point, I put the camera away and tried to not get pushed around by the strong winds.  

The highway back to Portland is absolutely beautiful.  There's also a chance for birders to spy Mountain Quail and Sooty Grouse. My last lifer for the trip was the sneaky Mountain Quail.  

Mountain Quail refused to pose for the camera. 

I'd like to thank Khanh and Robert for their hospitality.  It was the break I needed.  Next week we head back to Arizona for some birding with friends.  Until next time.....