Turning Over A New Leaf

Western Screech-Owl near my work site

I am healing.  I am getting stronger, but it's slow. You'd think I was out every day looking for birds, but I am not.  I have three really important goals right now.  Walk more.  Lose this stubborn belly fat.  And drop the weight. 

A pack of Javelina or Collared Peccary cross a pumpkin patch to get to a river

On the financial level.  Save money.  Stay at home.  Make this year about birding Pima County well. It's a huge county, but I know where to go.  There are just a few people who know Pima a little better.  But I've made notes over the years for a year like this one.  And it has paid off so far locating certain difficult bird species. 

This brillaint Lillian's Eastern Meadowlark is a favorite of mine

I had habitat picked out.  Just never had the time to do the slow investigation that was needed.  But I'm glad I made the notes as it has made my job so far a breeze.  Some birders get angry that I hide my reports about certain rare birds.  That's ok. I learned my lesson a long time ago.  I told someone and they told others.  And then the bird was never seen again. I'm a quick learner. If you are a true birder, you know and understand a bird's habitat requirements. And with that knowledge, you can find the bird you are looking for. I need birders to know that the bird's safety comes first. So far, I've been excited by the owl discoveries.  From Long-eared Owls to Barn Owls to Burrowing Owls, the trickiest in my county, to the easier Western Screech-Owl and nesting Great Horned Owls.

The Round-tailed Ground Squirrel peaks up from a hole to make sure it's safe to search for food

This slow methodical approach has really allowed me to absorb all the habitats more.  Take my time.  Explore new mapped out spaces for certain species. Granted the beginning of the year is always the easiest. 

Work has taken up much of my time allowing me to bird once or twice a week. 

It has been a wonderful time connecting with birders.  Just sitting on a bench and helping a visitor ID a new bird or a difficult sparrow.  There is nothing new anymore here in Arizona except for the personal connections I make with birders and their love for birds.  It makes me smile.  The more I do this; the more I realize I'm beginning to fill in vacant roles that were once filled by birders who are no longer with us. In a way, it's a very sobering thought.

The subtle beauty of a Lincoln's Sparrow

I have changed as a teacher this year as well.  I am more relaxed than I have ever been with my students.  We talk and I teach.  When I'm done with my lesson, a student shares with me a bird they've seen.  They show me a picture and I ask them about the bird and if they know what kind of bird it is, etc etc.  

A Common Raven comes in for a sip of water

 I speak to a new friend on the phone.  An opportunity arises for my students.  I am excited.  So we begin to brainstorm.  I begin to write down a strategy to see if we can maybe make this student trek to our national park happen. What if it was an overnight 2 day event?  And what if we could give them the hands on experience necessary to excite their minds for a future of protecting our beautiful and sacred Sonoran desert?  I am very grateful for the conversation and also for the opportunity to get to know another kindred spirit.

A Pied-billed Grebe hunts for larvae in the murky water

 At home, I find a Canyon Tree Frog in my garden!  I watch my new friend sit every day on one of my Mexican pots as it bathes in the sun.  The nights get cold and I wonder if the frog will make it.  In the morning as I put oranges out for my Verdins, I check to make sure the frog is okay.  And there the frog is.  And I smile. 

A wonderful and shocking surprise in my garden, the Canyon Tree Frog, sits on top of my Mexican pots.  Where did it come from?  I never touch that part of my garden.  Has it lived in the soil of that pot for a long time?

 In the quiet of my office, I research and plan for my July trip to the Darien Gap in Panama.  I purchase a ticket for the entire month.  The first half will be grueling as we hunt for the Harpy Eagle.  The second half will be my vacation. I'll sit in my rocker on the veranda overlooking the gardens and coffee plantations in Boquete wearing my sweatpants sipping on something warm. I will meet up again with Ivan in Gamboa.  And I sense I'll finally get to meet some "friends" from Facebook for the first time in person. 

A Botta's Pocket Gopher comes up to grab a bite of grass

Each year is a new chapter in our life.  We can let it pass us by or we can make each day an event. After being stuck at home to heal for several months, it's good to feel stronger.  And it's good to get out again and be a part of the community.  The pause in my life was a good thing. 

There are goals to be achieved for sure during this important year of 2020. We'll meet up with Nancy and her sister for a wonderful hummingbird hunt in March. We'll explore new birding hotspot, the Canoa Ranch and do a Hawk Watch in March with Tucson Audubon. We'll also visit the garden at El Presidio as I add several new native plants to our property. Then our friend Dr. Steve from Wales comes in April to chase Arizona lifers.  Our Tucson Audubon Big Day will be some time in April/May as we, the Wrenegades, try to find as many bird species as we can in one day. And there are so many more things that will happen.  But for now, I'm birding at my own pace.  I'm sleeping in during the mornings as much as I can.  I'm still a birder but a much more relaxed one now. Until next time.....

Sorting Algorithms

I can travel anywhere in the world and fall in love.  But there's something extra special about my state of Arizona.  I love it here.  I really really do. 

Sure.  I've taken a hit in pay for living here.  And sure Arizona ranks at the bottom in teacher pay and education.  The politicians here are made up by mostly savage greedy and uncaring people, but there is a glimmer of hope that things are changing. Our #RedforEd movement worked.  Kyrsten Sinema won and will be our first female democratic senator in Arizona. Katie Hobbs is Arizona's secretary of state. And Kathy Hoffman will watch over our public schools as the new state superintendent of public instruction. We can breathe a sigh of relief.  Maybe now, we will begin progress and get our schools to where they need to be.  Before, special interest people who owned charter schools were in control and they were bleeding monies from the public school sector!  That has been stopped.  For now.  We still have a ways to go!

I didn't move here for those reasons though.  I moved here because I feel a connection to the Sonoran desert, the grasslands, the Mexican people and specifically for the beauty and quirky nature of Tucson.  There is something that makes me feel happy here.  And no matter where I go, I miss my southeastern Arizona world. 

We did my Bisbee birding loop trek this weekend which encompasses the Whitewater Draw, Bisbee and the San Pedro House outside of Sierra Vista.  I was feeling craney and wanted to spend some time with the gathering Sandhill Cranes of the Whitewater Draw.  So Micheal and I took a road trip to the Draw.  

Then Micheal asked, "Are we going to eat in Bisbee?"  Of course!  We tried a new place that I had scouted out last year while on a fabulous student trip.  I'm sorry I didn't take many pics in the town of Bisbee but if you visit us here in Arizona, you really need to check this place out.  It was BUSY!

We spent the late morning/early afternoon with the cranes.  You can watch these birds for hours.  At the right time of day, they put on quite a show.  Many photographers go to the "Draw" to capture the cranes in action.  It's a great place during winter for waterfowl and 10's of thousands of wintering cranes.  More importantly, you can find the near threatened Bendire's Thrashers in this location on Bagsby road into the Whitewater Draw.

I needed this weekend to try and figure it all out.  Watching these birds while doing some relaxing birding helped me organize difficult ideas. 

Since our place has been painted (and now paid for), I'm ready for the next home project.  I've been working out in the garden putting in hummingbird plants and feeders.  Our next big scale project is the AZ outdoor room.  It will be great to open windows and not worry about the cats getting out.  

Juggling the birding adventures and home improvement projects are no easy task.  And yet they have to get done.  I mean, they don't, but I'm not one to sit and wait for something to get done.  The only way to get it done is to do it yourself.  The whole project costs about $3,300 dollars and will be worth every penny.  I'll feel safer, have an extra area for secured storage and an open room for the cats to enjoy being outside but not outside:)

A sleepy Screechy

Sometimes when I get stuck, I just go birding and let my thoughts sort themselves out.  And like these Sandhill Cranes that never crash into each other, travel and home improvement can also line themselves together to achieve the bigger picture. 

Everything eventually sorts itself out.  The chaos of this world can be overwhelming at times. 

I just need to remember to breathe and enjoy the moment. 

This week's photography took place at the Whitewater Draw near Bisbee and the San Pedro House along the San Pedro River near Sierra Vista. 

Greater Pewee

The special bird of the week is this lovely Greater Pewee that has been hanging out at Reid Park near our place. 

Winter has arrived.  There are so many options out there.  Where to go next?

Western Whiptail Lizard

Until next time.....

The Red Army Part 2

At the midnight hour, the day before we were supposed to return back to our classrooms, the deal fell through.  Anger.  Rage.  And once again, a trip up to the capital in the thousands is what many Arizona teachers did.  

"20 By 20" was Governor Ducey's response to the public education crisis in Arizona.  In other words, a 20 percent raise by the year 2020.  Originally it was 2 percent, but Arizona teachers had had it. Classrooms falling apart, support staff gone, and the loss of amazing teachers to other states were just a few issues that set off the Red For Ed movement.

Now at the midnight hour, literally, we were in the legislature once again in Phoenix.  The legislature wasn't going to pass Governor Ducey's proposed budget.  With thousands in the mall, legislation building and inside the legislation room with our lawmakers, we made it known that we weren't leaving until that budget passed.  And it did in the very early morning hours. It isn't a perfect plan, but it will do for now.  It was very clear that Arizona lawmakers didn't care about public education. They ignored the shouting from the mall and outside rooms. Their indifference spoke volumes. One representative, Kelly Townsend, wanted to fine teachers for walking out of the classroom.  Thankfully her bill didn't pass. This class act happened to be watching a movie while voting down a child care measure. Needless to say, their days are numbered. They have unwittingly created a red army come re-election night. Both Republican and Democrat teachers have joined together to stop these bad lawmakers, the Koch Brother agenda to privatize public schools and Dark Money. 

Exhausted physically and mentally by the strange hours of the strike and (not getting paid), I prepared for our fundraising event with the Wrenegades.  The crazy hours were taking their toll on my body.  I wanted to back out, but I made a promise to the team and I didn't want to break our year tradition.  

Wilson's Phalarope

 We raised lots of money for Tucson Audubon and had a very challenging time with high winds.  Each time we come together as a team, we learn lots from each other while catching up with things happening in the Arizona birding world. 

I birded, but my mind was on the strike.  How many more days would we go like this? Would our demands be met?  Would they extend our school days?  There were so many balls up in the air that it was difficult to concentrate. And my sleep schedule was all off. 

White-faced Ibis

 The birding was good and the first part of our evening passed with a beautiful reminder......

.....which was to just go with the flow.  I can't be 100 percent all the time, but I will try my best. 

Our evening was made even better when we started getting into the creepy urban wildlife spaces like the Sweetwater Wetlands.  I shared with the team why I had the heeby jeebies and they kind of all laughed it off until the person from Tucson Water, who unlocked the gate, joined us and shared a similar tale. 

There are no ghosts or goblins.  But there are strange characters that hang out at the park during all times of the day. Two such characters are known as Raccoon Bob and The Butcher.  When the lady started telling the story about the Butcher, they all burst out laughing.  I could tell that they hadn't birded Sweetwater enough to know that the Butcher was real. 

And while we were there, Raccoon Bob PASSED us in his rusty old bug TWICE!  Raccoon Bob hides in the darkness to watch mammals at night.  His favorite mammals are the raccoon.  I wasn't afraid of him.  I was more afraid of the Butcher.  He rides in an old red meat wagon and lives out of the vehicle.  Birders swear that he has been breaking into their vehicles.  And I'm also of the mind that it's the Butcher responsible for the parking lot crime wave.  We didn't see him that evening, but I knew he was around the area.  So did TEP(Tucson Electric and Power)

After the Sweetwater experience, I became a zombie up on Mt. Lemmon. I couldn't focus for the life of me.  It was 2 or 3 AM and I was cold.

In the morning, I found a letter on a rock overlooking the grand canyons of Mt. Lemmon.  The team thought I was joking around at first when I read the letter aloud, but it was a sad note.  A hiker had recently passed away on the trails after getting lost. By the time he was found, he was too far gone.  Our team member, Sara, saw his body in the bag before they took him away.  The letter was from his niece telling him that she would never forget him and that every time they looked out from that vista, she would think of him. On the rock by the letter were a pair of sunglasses and a tea packet. We folded the letter neatly up and placed it back on the rock.  It was a moment of reflection. 

Red-faced Warbler with the nest site behind

At this point, I had achieved my "2nd wind" and was excited to watch a pair of Red-faced Warblers make a nest under the roots of a tree. 

It was early morning and the woods were dark.  But how beautiful.  Then I found out the strike was off and it was back to work again getting the students ready for the finals. 

Canyon Towhee

After the Wrenegades, the strike and being back in the classroom, it was then time to guide.  Believe it or not, I looked forward to the guiding the most.  It gave me something to focus on.  

Western Screech-Owl

For 2 weekends, we chased really great birds and had success with most of them, except that blasted Arizona Woodpecker.  They were heard everywhere and yet, they were little buggers to spot.  

Western Tanager

I had a blast spending the weekends with Steve and Kathy from Wisconsin.  There is something about Wisconsin birders that I love.  Maybe it's because we're from the same state.  Maybe it's because I can slip back into my Wisconsin "don't cha no" accent and not be teased.  Or maybe because it's just nice to be around good people. 

Yellow Warbler

I take huge pride in Southern Arizona.  Showing people our secret gems from around this part of the state is always wonderful.  We are more than just a desert.  Although, I think Kathy will agree with me on this.....it's hot here!  So we went to higher elevations OR got up super early.  

Acorn Woodpeckers

We found the Rufous-backed Robins, Sinaloa Wren, Rose-throated Becard, nesting Elegant Trogons and lots of other birds.  

American Robin guarding a nest

We even spotted some weird rarities like Cassin's Finches, a Townsend's Solitaire and Williamson's Sapsucker. All lifers.  And not expected at all during their visit.  

The days fly by so quickly.  Kathy asked me what I'd do this weekend and I laughed. Nothing.  I am going to clean my house and sleep in.  No birds.  No heat.  No strikes.  No fund raising.  Just me and a cup of coffee watching my bird feeders.  

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Las Aventuras is planning 3 major treks before this "season" is over. August is the start of the new birding season. Anyhow, one trek is just exploring an area for birds in general.  The second trek will be the important one and it will hopefully propel me beyond the 1000 life bird mark.  And our 3rd will be a fun road trip to find just one bird in the US.  Stay tuned for more.......