A New Year of Beginnings

Hello all!!!  Happy New Year!  Well it will soon be:)  I'm having a blast out in the field on my time off. And it's because of this change in my life that I won't be able to blog everyday like I have for the past 2 years.

Osprey at Kennedy Park, Tucson

It has finally caught up with me and I'm finding that the daily writing etc is impossible:)  I will be posting when I get the chance and of course reading all of your work.  It's one of the reasons why I started blogging .... to network with all of you.

I want to enjoy that part again without worrying about posting once a day.  There's a lot to look forward to next year at Las Aventuras and I am so excited for the schedule coming up, but you'll have to wait and see all the happenings that will be going on.

For now, I wanted to share with you....finally!....a most accidental and wonderful thing....the Osprey.  After many many outings trying to find this bird in Tucson, it came out of nowhere while I was searching for a Horned Grebe.  No Horned Grebe.....but who cares!  The Osprey was the star of the show.

I also got closer to the Western Grebe than I have been able to since my search for them.  Las Aventuras has a trek coming up from outside of the state of Arizona.  I hope you'll join me as we discover even more birds than before.......I'm not going anywhere:)  I'll just be out in the field A WHOLE lot more:)

Western Grebe

My goal for this next year is to add about 150 more birds to my list.  I think it's achievable.

So how about something new?  How about the Hooded Mergansers!  There were 18 on this day.

Hooded Mergansers at Sam Lena Park

The males(or drakes) look like aliens while the females look quite the opposite....but still....striking.  Both genders made me do a double take.  They look so different from each other!  How could they both possibly be the same bird??!!!  And yet they are.

Las Aventuras isn't going anywhere in the blogoshere, it's just doing what it does best....exploring strange new life and new civilizations and boldly forcing me to go where I've never gone before.  Happy New Year everyone!

Reliable Tucson Birds

Before I begin today, I have to apologize for the lack of blogging.  We have been hiking nonstop and when we're not doing that, I'm grading final exams.   It has been extremely crazy over here with the holidays in gear.  Personally, I believe everyday in life is a holiday if we make it that way....so I never quite understood this time of year.  I like the actual day when family and friends get together but everything else just weirds me out. What if we could just spread it all out over the year and be nice to each other all the time?  OR What if we didn't make the holidays such a big production!?  Of course I only write this because it gets in the way of birding;) Speaking of birding....

Anna's Hummingbird ....you can't miss 'em:)

Vermilion Flycatcher....get up and head to one of our many parks.  You won't miss this one!

The Red Tail Hawk is everywhere in Tucson.  In fact if you come to bird in Tucson, we'd like you to know that this hawk, the Cooper's Hawk, the Harris Hawk, Gila Woodpecker, Verdin and Vermilian Flycatchers are several of our main attractions.  Meaning....of all the birds that live in Arizona, you'll have a great chance spotting these birds.  There are others that are also reliable like the Anna's Hummingbird.  Some of our specialties(but not guaranteed to find) include the Sulphur Bellied Flycatcher, Elegant Trogon and  of course the many hummingbirds:) These birds are seasonal so check when they come to visit. We have the highest counts of these birds in the country! So here's my question for you.  If I were to go to your city, what would be a reliable bird I'd find on most to every outing?

                                                          Red Tail Hawk in Flight

Harris Hawks...depends where you look, but while I bird in Tucson, they are almost spotted on each outing.

The Verdin.  Research the sounds and listen for that hummingbird like sound....but not quite....and you'll find this little number hopping around you.  Sometimes you don't even know it!   

Reliable and Common bird....the Red Tail Hawk
Check telephone poles in the city.

Digging Deeper

Great Egret

Searching(chasing really) for the Western Grebe, I wasn't into the photography bit.  However, the one picture that I really worked for was this one.  It was an early early morning at around 6 AM before the humans and their dogs would arrive at Sam Lena Park in Tucson.  Using my GPS tracker, I was hot on the trail before it got too hot!

Western Grebe

I found my target bird which is only used for ID purposes.  This is not a great shot but evidence that I found the bird.  Along the way, I had nice views of this female Belted Kingfisher.  I am hoping to get better shots but this is my best so far.

Female Belted Kingfisher

However, my series of photos dealing with this Great Egret below would be the artsy shots for the day.  And everything thing else was just icing on the cake.  Here is my take on the work.  Note the clarity of the shadows and the slightly out of focus images of the actual bird and its' reflection.  And my intent here is, "What's real?"

And that was a thrill for me to observe!  But more importantly it creates a deeper shade to the shot than looking at "just another bird".  I think I took about 50 of these!  I never know when an opportunity will present itself, but when it does, I'm ready with the camera.

Spotted Sandpiper

While focusing on the Great Egret, my eye captured another lifebird scurrying along the shore of the lake.  Grabbing the camera, I snapped an image quickly before the bird disappeared.

Northern Rough Winged Swallow

Above my head, two Northern Rough Winged Swallows flew.  I questioned if they were real, but I snapped the shots for evidence.  Not all of them have migrated and several reports from that day indicated several were still in the area.

Northern Harriers

After Sam Lena, I headed to the Amado Recharge ponds to find the Lesser Scaup reported.  I would find the find the bird but not on this day.  But I did see another two Northern Harriers along the pond.  I had to strain my lens to get a poor quality shot.   They are such interesting birds.  I'll have a report on how challenging the birding has become so stay tuned for more:)

"Great" Expectations

African Brown Goose

On a slow day, I went to take a walk at Columbus Park in Tucson.  I wanted to take advantage of the cooler temps and see if I could spot something different.

Great Egret in flight

And while I didn't have lots of new sightings, I was able to capture the "Greater" birds out in the open.  Some of them were the closest I've been able to capture on camera!

Great Blue Heron

Like the Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets.  They walked slowly around me as I watched them eye up fishermen and their bait:)

But for the first time, I was able to spot wildlife and then spot people walking towards them.  And at this point, I was able to predict their trajectory as people and dogs alike spooked the birds into flight.

And that is where I set my camera waiting with great expectation for "the" shot.

Great Blue Heron in flight

It was also the perfect time of day to spot Great Egrets as the sun wasn't as strong yet to make them "glow" in the sunlight.

And so while nothing major happened, I was able to get close to some amazing birds.  There's never a dull moment while birding:)  More tomorrow....

Cemetery Birding

Hi everyone, just a quick update.  I've been on the road these past several days which has made it difficult to be on blogger.  I'm hoping to get caught up today.  Life has gotten in the way for the moment but I'll be back reading this week again.  Now for today's feature.....

Did you know that if you look for birding hotspots, you'll find them at cemeteries?!!  In the spirit of Halloween, Day of the Dead and All Souls Day, I decided to head to one popular EBIRD cemetery hotspot.

Birders bird everywhere apparently.  I mean, it wasn't a bad experience but I got caught up in the headstones and watching the people around graves sitting on lawn chairs.  It was relaxing and wonderfully quiet.

And indeed full of birds as promised.  Right now the Privet trees are producing berries that hundreds of House Finches are enjoying around the grounds.  There was a Kestrel, an unknown hawk, MoDo's(Mourning Doves because they're sad), a Verdin, and several other birds that I couldn't make out.  In other words, the Usual Suspects(as the birder term goes) were all there.

And the sunlight was lovely.  Even better was that I was able to get out and do some birding before the sunset.

The problem though for me was concentrating because I was fascinated by the human need for statues, flowers, religious symbols, etc.  I don't believe in any of it(for me, it's all about the good kharma:) but I still find it interesting. The cemetery is a great place for reflection and it was very calming.

I went into deep thought mode.....like super deep thought mode when I began reading headstones.  The recent ones were full of flowers, candles, and decorations while the old old ones(from the 1800's) sat barren of anything.  Essentially forgotten.

But this headstone tugged at my heart strings.  Recently, someone's mother just passed away and I thought about how beautiful it was that they put all this effort into seasonal decor.  I think their Mother would be proud.

And then there was another that made me tear up.  A special needs child had just passed away and a wonderful, simple poem had been written to remember the positive spirit of this child. And I thought of my blogger/friends with Special Needs children and the emotion that goes into raising a child which comes with extreme ups and downs. I worked nearly 15 years with this group before I began blogging.  So as for birding at a cemetery......well, I don't think I could do it well with all the distractions of the spirit and living around me.  There's another challenge for me coming that deals with garbage dumps.  But I'll wait to do that until I can stomache the smell.  Maybe it would be better having a friend like Kathie along.  I'm sure that would be quite the post.  So for now, I leave you with this "shadow of the spirits" shot.

An Active Day!

Vermilion Flycatcher(male) and curious:)

It was El Presidio Gardens 2nd clean up event for this year and thank you to all the homeowners who came to help out on this very important day.  Without your help, our property would grow into a jungle!

Say what you like about pigeons but they do look beautiful in groups flying circles.  In fact, Miramonte Neighborhood has a group that swirls in circles AM and PM.  A signature piece to the Country Club/Speedway corners.

But on this day of write(10/6), something bigger would be revealed.  It has been hot here and now with the cooler temps arriving, it seems everyone has been breathing a sigh of relief!  Even the birds.

African Brown Goose

During our workday, I was overwhelmed by the number of bird species coming to visit El Presidio.  And let's not forget the butterflies.  For me, it was a testament that the gardens are serving their purpose.  Certain plants attract certain critters and for the first time(during the entire day), I was able to see how our property is attracting these magnificent creatures.  The research is paying off.

Black Crowned Night Heron

Certain areas have natural springs and of course, there are the parks......

Which is where I took these photos today.  Two Arizona blocks away is Reid Park.  I needed to get some birding in before our workday because I knew I would be exhausted afterwards. So I got up early and headed to the park where I would get my best shots ever of the Black Crowned Night Heron.

I was floored!  Never had I expected to find these magnificent creatures up in this tree.  In fact, there seemed to be an entire rookery up there!  But even stranger was this Great Egret on the adjacent branch!!!  Between this one bird and the many herons, I was snapping off shots for a half hour!  Even better was that I was finally able to get a nice shot of the Egret.  If you've tried to photograph these birds in the wrong lighting, you know what I'm talking about:)  In Tucson, our sun is intense and this bird glows on the shots because the white feathers reflect the sun!  Not today:)

But then, I nearly crapped myself.  And I almost missed it but thanks to my constantly evolving "bird sense", I spotted my first Kingfisher for the year!!!  The cherry on top of that delicious ice cream sundae.  This is the Belted Kingfisher.

I hope to get better shots of this wintering bird this year so we shall see.  But this bird is like spotting an owl....it makes me go "Ooooooo":)

Reid Park is my recommendation for those wanting to spot the Vermilion Flycatcher.  They are numerous here and seem to love the bandstand area.  Look at the trees around the building.  If this is on your life list and have limited time in Tucson,  head here early in the morning.  I spotted 5 pairs.  My female shots weren't so good.  She's yellow and has that black band around her eyes. 

While the pic below isn't up to snuff, I wanted to help you find where these birds like to perch.  This fence held two species.  The Gila Woodpecker stopped in for some fun.  It's one of the most reliable birds to see in the landscape.  You may not see the billion birds out there, but you'll always spot this Tucson favorite. And hear them as well:)

Like the Great Egret, this bird can also be difficult to get on camera because it's so small and if the sun hits the red feathers right, you may get blurry images.

There's plenty of water for these birds in this park.  I got there before the humans arrived with their dogs.  It was quiet, peaceful and the birds were happy.

Birding is definitely something to do bright and early.

Surprisngly I felt recharged and refreshed for some great gardening afterwards.  Although today as I type, my hands are full of cacti spines!  Yes, I wore gloves but none of that matters because our place looks fabu.

I came back and everyone was ready to work.  I pulled out my mental list.  Trees that needed pruning.  Weeds that needed pulling.  Plants that needed planting. Etc etc.

And while we were having our HOA meeting outside, I had a difficult time concentrating.  Because of the amazing life around me in the canopy of the trees.....the Curve Billed Thrasher, House Sparrows, House Finches, Cardinals, Verdins, Mourning Doves, Anna's Hummingbirds, Northern Mockingbird, etc etc.  They were all there and it was incredible. Truly incredible. And the butterflies hovered and clung to many of our leaves.  There were Queens and Swallowtails galore.

And I realized that once we add a water feature to the courtyard, we will have the perfect storm for maximum critter activity. Who knows?  We may become an EBIRD hotspot:)

And yet another shocker for me......this Starling.  They have invaded Tucson.  I thought I was seeing things but no....indeed, this was the Starling that gets everyone all angry.  But for me it was a life bird like the Belted Kingfisher so I kind of looked at this bird differently:)  Pretty scary looking.

And vocal!!!

To finish this post, I thought I'd end with a Swallowtail on Lantana shot.  Look at the wings of this beautiful butterfly.  You may notice that they aren't in great shape.  This is their last hoorah for the year and I will be sad when they disappear.