White Winter Hymnal

The brisk cold winds of change came soon after my return to Arizona. One week after the warm border searches, it was time for some mountain fun. Winter had indeed arrived to Southern Arizona. 

the snowy Huachucas

With state birds in mind, I joined a walk I had been wanting to do for awhile in Sierra Vista. Last week it was the Streak-backed Oriole and today, I was hoping to find the secretive American Bittern at the Sierra Vista EOP(or Environmental Operations Park) It's a secured area with group lead access only on Sunday mornings. With the recent snowfall during the weekend, I couldn't resist the photography bit in both the Huachuca mountains and Cienagas Grasslands.  And this is where our story takes place today.

A Loggerhead Shrike at work.  It's Vole dinner

On our way through the gates, a participant in the group noticed a vole speared onto a branch.  It was evidence that the "Butcherbird" (aka Loggerhead Shrike) was nearby.  While the group examined the fresh kill, we tried locating the bird. No luck!  But as we left, we noticed that the vole was gone:)  

Loggerhead Shrike

Afterwards, I took a solitary walk on the snowy paths of Ramsey Canyon.  There, melting snow fell upon my head.  I was a tad wet when I left this winter wonderland.  BUT WOW!

My favorite tree in all of Arizona.  It's old and ancient.  Someday I'd like my ashes to be placed around this very large tree. I call it the Heart Tree.  It's at the center of Ramsey Canyon, one of my top ten favorite places in Arizona.

During my walk, I was surprised by how quiet the birds were.  I can only imagine how dangerous it might be as a small bird dodging the huge snow chunks falling from the trees. It was dangerous for people! I suppose it would be the equivalent to an aerial avalanche.  I made note and realized that most birds flew just below the snowline where they were active and feeding.

In the soft crunch of snow beneath my shoes, I watched a Coati run towards me on our now shared route.  We both stopped for a moment and watched each other before he turned off and headed towards the nearby abandoned cabin.

I very much like the cold.  I don't like the eternal gray skies that can sometimes come with the snow, but I do prefer the frosty temps over the hot sweltering ones of our summer months.

One path leads to another.  I stopped in the nearby grasslands and hiked some more.  Birds were present, but I was more interested in quiet reflection.  Things are changing.  I can sense it coming and I need to be ready for those changes.

Lesser Goldfinches mob the thistle feeder

"They" say change is good and inevitable. Sometimes it's about saying good-bye to the ritual and people involved around these loving spaces dedicated to birds and wildlife.  I sat at the now named Tucson Audubon's Paton Center for Hummingbirds alone.  Thankfully Tucson Audubon was able to purchase this home for current and future generations of birders.  It's a great spot for all kinds of birds and a traditional stop for many birders and tourists coming through the Patagonia area.  It's a piece of feathered folklore written in a sacred text for those who worship the bird.

The Violet-crowned Hummingbird-an established resident of Tucson Audubon's Paton's Center for Hummingbirds

Before Tucson took over, a guy by the name of Larry Morgan kept the feeders running for years after the homeowners, the Paton's, passed away.  You'd see him outside with his smiling face helping people spot their lifer Violet-crowned Hummingbird.  When Larry and his wife said they were leaving to begin a new chapter in their lives, I was both happy and sad. It wasn't quite the same without him there on this last visit.  It just proves once again how we all can make a difference for so many people. And how Larry has made a huge impact for thousands of birders across the world.  How can I write down this feeling in my Cheesehead lingo?  It's like having coffee cake with your friends on Saturday morning for many years and then.....no more Saturday morning get togethers.  You eat the coffee cake alone.  And it doesn't taste as good.  Anyhow, I'm going to miss Larry and my Patagonia routine.  He's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet! He's in Tucson now so hopefully we'll get to do some birding together now that he's closer:)

My reflections continued into the Ciénagas Grasslands near Empire Gulch where I walked alone against the biting wind. I strayed into the old abandoned buildings looking for owls and other goodies.  This is another top 10 favorite spot for me in Arizona.  There are 3 grassland sectors in this general region.....the San Rafael Grasslands, the Ciénagas Grasslands and Buenos Aires Grasslands.  ALL are spectacular!

The overall weekend was a lot of fun and full of quality alone time.  Every person has their favorite place to bird(or just visit!) While all birds are amazing, their locales are sometimes not:)  This weekend was about connecting with the places I love the most.

And as for my new state bird?  Yes, I achieved my goal.  I found that rare stinker of an American Bittern that has been hiding out for several months in Sierra Vista. The bird would have silently flown off had I not heard the rustle of reeds nearby. I was able to get everyone onto the bird before it disappeared into the far distance. I'd like to thank our group leader Bill Brown for the opportunity to bird this spot in depth.  He did an outstanding job with everyone involved. And it's always a plus working with people who are kind and friendly. Bill is as we say in Wisconsin "good people". Leading a bird tour isn't is as easy as it looks as I'd soon get to experience personally.  But that story is for next time. 

American Bittern in flight during our Sierra Vista EOP walk 

On a final note, one of the things I do with new birds is study them in various locations around the country.  The picture above is from the actual bird we saw.  It is countable. The one I studied in Utah, below, is not as it was in a large aviary.  I do hours of study on each new bird before trying to find them in the field.  And this is where I think aviaries are important as they can be a living classroom for birders and people interested in wildlife. I can read about birds and memorize their sounds, but understanding their movement and behaviors in a closed setting helps me "observe" better out in the field. 

American Bittern

From volunteer to participant to bird guide, my January continues in a most spectacular way. My quest within the state of Arizona for new state birds takes me north into unexplored territory. Stay tuned for more.....

Winter Wonderland

The calm magical moments of snow gently falling.

Makes me pause. Inner joy!

Absorb. Wrap my mind around it.  Reflect. 

When chaos happens and balance is lost, I surround myself in these memories. These moments.  And I am whole. 

And it is here in these memories that I restore my faith in people and the world.  Happiness. Centered. At rest. 

The silence of a snowy forested path.  Peaceful bliss.  My personal Xanadu.

Oh gentle snow.  You are as majestic as you are graceful.

May you stay forever in my memory. 

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

When we think of the word "ALIEN", our minds often go to outer space.  If you live close to an international border,  you might think of someone who is NOT from your own country.  Today's adventure takes us into the heart of a snow storm, the search for a very welcome alien, and a trip to Roswell, New Mexico.  But we weren't searching for UFO's. 

It began as we headed on I-10 towards New Mexico.  My final days of vacation were to be spent searching for a very rare bird to North America. Some might call this bird an illegal alien.  But most birders think otherwise:)  I didn't want to go back to work wondering "What if...."

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge

As we moved closer to the New Mexican border, we began to see a very snowy and cold weather pattern building.  And so it began.  Severe snow showers! At times, we were in white out conditions.   How would this impact our trek??!!  Should we turn back?  

Western Meadowlark

But I began to see images like the ones above.  Birds in snow. I became curious and watched the heightened bird activity throughout the state along our route.  It was a very rare opportunity to see New Mexico covered in a blanket of snow.  And it was an opportunity to do a rare photo shoot with SNOW! 

The aftermath.....a frozen tundra!

Our trek would lead us into the Chihuahuan desert, up into forests and then back down into the hilly grasslands. As the skies began to darken, we pushed further into the storm before absolute darkness took over.  We had two excellent windows for observing this rare bird and one of them would be closing for us in a matter of hours!

Known as the Common Crane in Europe and other parts of the world, this crane isn't so common here in North America.  Cranes, during the day, will fly out into the agricultural fields and feed.  At night, the birds return to their wetlands to roost.  Early morning, they warm up and take off.  Those opportunities are what birders call "windows".  I didn't feel like chasing cranes all over the farmer's fields due to the bad road conditions.  Ice had begun to form.   

We arrived into Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge just in time.  The snow was now falling quite a bit.  We had our gear as we hiked to a spot where we could count the hundreds of Sandhill Cranes flying over our heads.  It wasn't long before we spotted our target bird, but darkness had settled in.....and so had the cranes.  We marked their location and where the Common Crane landed so that we could get some photos in the morning. By this time, the roads had become slick and dangerous.   

On the way back, we spotted deer and elk along the sides of the country roads.  We drove slowly to our bed and breakfast on the back roads careful not to make any sudden moves allowing ourselves enough breaking room.     

In the darkness, I could make out Western Meadowlarks hunkering down for the night.  This bird was very common around the fields here and it was a bird I wanted to study more.  We have both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks in southern Arizona, but they seem to be trickier to capture on camera.  Every time I've gone to New Mexico, they seem to pose for me.  

But this Common Crane.  It was our target bird.  A couple years ago, I studied cranes and took plenty of notes on them during a summer trip to Wisconsin.  My focus, at the time, was our state's very special crane known as the Whooping Crane.  While we were there, we attended several lectures about the various crane populations around the world.  The Common Crane, unlike many others, has a stable and very large population back in Europe, Asia and other parts.                                                                                                                                                            

Common Crane

It's rather distinct when compared to our Sandhill Cranes here.   The bird is larger.  It has a black crown and neck.  There is a white patch behind the eye with a yellowish bill.  The very top of the head on this crane is red and featherless. 

I've placed a pic of the common Sandhill Crane below for comparison. 

Sandhill Cranes

There is no denying the voice of a crane.  It's loud and can be heard in the far distance as they fly from one area to the next.  In the evening, we scanned the skies and counted over 2000 Sandhill Cranes!  And we found one Common Crane in the bunch.  In the morning, we knew we had to go back and relocate for an ID pic.  Anytime a rare bird is observed, it is best to get a picture for not only credibility but for evidence as well.  When ebirding a rare bird, it's important to include as much information as you can like......what you observe, what time, where, pics, etc etc....

So I am including real time photos of what we saw.  With my binoculars, I could see everything.  As you can see with this camera pic, it's a lot more difficult using a camera.  We stood in the cold.  Micheal kept the data as I relayed to him the information from my bins.  He'd punch in the numbers and I'd count the cranes flying over.  This allowed me to focus on what direction the cranes were flying and where they were landing.  Bitter Lake National Wildlife refuge was a new area for us and it was important we didn't waste time in the morning searching for the birds before they took off. 

Start counting and look for Waldo!  I mean...the Common Crane:)

We returned in the morning to the 2500 cranes.  They are noisy birds so it was easy to get into an area to view them.  The problem with this particular target bird was distance.  Scopes are great but I don't own one.  However with binoculars, I was able to spot the bird.  If I had used only a camera, I wouldn't have been able to spot the bird. 

Where might the Common Crane be?  Can you find the bird?

When I began birding, this type of mission would have been impossible for me.  Experience and practice have been wonderful teachers.  I used to dread these challenges but today I look forward to them.  I've also learned better to enjoy these crazy places and look beyond the birds.  Roswell wasn't what I thought it would be.  Sure it has its cheesy museums and restaurants, but it's also more than that.  

So part of our experience explored the cheesy tourist fun while the other led us into the amazing landscape vistas around this fantastic New Mexican locale.  

Note:  Bald Eagle above my head

When I first began birding, I hated the idea of exploring New Mexico because I "thought" it was a boring state.  After several years of visiting this state, I have fallen in love with this secret gem of America.  The food, the people, the landscape, the culture, and the wildlife seem to be mostly untouched by the outside world.  When compared to the crazy urban development of California, New Mexico is still wild and open. The Wild West is still alive here and I hope it stays that way for a very long time.  

My Senior Graduation Picture

Perhaps the greatest question behind discovering this bird was, "How on Earth did this crane get all the way over here to the US?" A common opinion is that this crane got mixed up in the northern migration route with the Sandhill Cranes.  Every bird has a story.  And in a way, I suppose it's a similar story to the Roswell Aliens who landed here many years ago. Supposedly, they also took a wrong turn:)  Either way, I now can say I've seen an alien(or two) in Roswell, New Mexico.

A Dorm Room View

A view from my bright pink dorm room back in the early 90's. A flashback in time to the colder and more serene moments.  Below the window is that first spider plant I took care of myself and the beginning of many more plants to land in my care.  This one image brings back a flood of good memories of nature and life as a college student.  This weekend I'll be getting back into the garden with a post on "Repetition" in the garden.  Until then, curl up with a good book and cup of tea:)

Outside my Honeycomb apartments in Stevens Point next to Schmeekle Reserve. I was secrectly a hobbit back then:)

Jack Frost!

I am afraid.  I am scared.  I have worked my tail off this year in the gardens!  And for what? I am angry. I am in a state of panic.  I won't sleep.  A snow storm is heading our way that will bring A LOT of snow to the Tucson valley and blizzard conditions in the sky islands/mountains.  Is this normal? Absolutely not.  Maybe a one day event at most, but this is promising much more with temps dipping into the low 20's for at least 4 days!! Citrus must be protected!  This sounds like a joke to our friends in the North, but this is a major event in Tucson.  The last time this happened, the snow storm killed millions of dollars worth of plants at nurseries. Of course, Phoenix is not in any danger of the severe wind or cold temps, but Tucson most definitely is.  I'm sure the pics that will follow in the following days will be interesting.  I have called upon my neighbors for sheets to protect the gardens here at El Presidio. People tell me to use lights to warm things up but there are no electrical outlets for such things....this is also not going to be a light freeze or a one night event.  This freeze is going to kill plants.  In my 12 years here, this will be the second time I have experienced a cold snap like this....but that was one night and it killed half of my, then, small garden. Today I purchased what was left of the "plankets"....or blankets for plants.  The large sizes were sold out by 9 AM this morning. And people are purchasing sleds.....SLEDS!!  in the desert.  Unnatural, I tell you.  What follows in the next  several days should be very interesting....pray that Mother Nature be merciful.

Remembering the Devastating Winter of 2006

We, here in AZ, are waiting for "fall" to begin.  We can only hope it will start soon, but honestly, it still feels like summer.  During a conversation at the Botanical gardens last weekend, this extremely rare snow event was brought up during a discussion about the horticulture business in Tucson. Plant nurseries lost millions of dollars to this storm. So while we suffer in hot, humid conditions, here are some cool thoughts from that chilly November of 2006. The following pics are from my own camera and from other Tucson viewers at the time. (off of the KOLD website-the pics are no longer  there unfortuneatly, but I saved a few:).

Can we say Christmas card?

A KOLD viewer took this of their puppies playing:)

My car Goldy(RIP)

I got up early and took this pic from my backyard!

Some of these plants died in this pic:(

My hood

 The fence around my patio

One winter to rule them all.....it was one evil November day that caused massive plant death and millions of dollars of damage to the Tucson nurseries.  It was the first(and probably the last) time in my Arizona teaching career that I ever had a snow day from work. People from the cooler regions understand and appreciate the excitement of a snow day:)   I couldn't believe my eyes as I looked out my apartment window at the time and saw SNOW!!!  My tropical patio suffered a major set back and I couldn't do anything about it.

To this day, gardeners still talk about that winter "5 or 6 years ago" that killed so many trees and plants.  I discovered that the Silver Dollar Eucalyptus, while one of my favorite trees, is not that cold hardy.  As a consquence from that storm in Tucson, most of those trees died....some were very very old.  Today, you won't find as many of those trees around the Old Pueblo anymore.  Other varieties of Eucalyptus stood the test of Mother Nature's fury.......

Winter in Tucson:)

A cold evening after....Look at how the snow blanket covered my neighborhood. I'm on a hill looking down and Mt. Lemmon is in the background.  This is in the Foothills near Sunrise and Swan

Due to this topic being brought up in class, I thought, "Hey great idea....share those beautiful winter pics!!"  It was a one day event but boy the aftermath was felt for years.  Old trees were taken down....in one neighborhood, they had a line of those silver dollar eucs and it took them 2 years to remove the dead giants.  That is why today I won't plant certain trees because all it takes is one night to kill many years of work.  I will admit secretly that I planted several Jacaranda knowing that a snow storm could kill them.......but my heart longs for the Jac:) And once you see the purple blooms on the tree or covering the ground, you will want to plant one yourself:)  Maybe two....or three......Enjoy the pics!!  PS.  You better start your Christmas shopping now....don't procrastinate like I do:)

From Mt. Lemmon