Las Aventuras: 1000 Life Birds

To boldly go......

Turquoise Tanager 901 in Trinidad

 When I began this journey, I thought it would be just about the birds, but it isn't.  Life has a way of reminding us that all things are finite. The birding world works in loose circles.  Eventually, everything and everyone connects. 

the historic halls of Asa Wright

 Walking the hallways of Asa Wright last year in Trinidad was like taking a step into the past with thousands of other birders and nature lovers alike. 

910-Rufous-tailed Jacamar in Trinidad

 On the trails around the island, I'd discover birds at my own pace.  Some where difficult while others were easy.  

I had heavy thoughts last year and they continue into this year.  Along the way, you meet people who have made an impact on your own life while searching for the world's 10,500+ birds.  During my research, I'd find old records from birders who are no longer with us.  Sometimes, I'd erase the digital record of that person and replace it with my own discovery.  And I didn't want to erase their name from the "last seen" category because that person had meant the world to so many birders, including myself.  

920 Green-backed Trogon in Trinidad

 I am given hope by the growing number of younger birders. Their excitement is contagious. Momentarily I forget about all the research that other birders before me have shared with the world and enjoy my own observations of the new birds.  There, in that space of time, I carefully memorize their calls and behaviors because I may never see that bird again. 

I share a delicious rum on a boat while observing thousands of Scarlet Ibis and American Flamingos, absorbing every second of my visit.  Is this how the others before me felt when they saw their first birds?

Sunset at the Caroni Swamp

 While visiting new areas, I research texts, listen to podcasts, pull up data from ebird and investigate each and every bird.  I have so many questions for so many people who know their local birds the best. 

930-American Flamingos

 The years pass and I lose a birder friend. Then another.  And another.  There is a sadness there.  I am "me" because of their knowledge.  I use their information to guide my journey.  Sometimes we cross on a secret forest path only once and will never see each other again. 

The miracle of this birding life goes beyond anything I could have dreamed of.  After each place I discover, I leave behind my own data trail for future generations.  I am 46 now.  I began this journey in my late 30's.  Time weighs heavily on me.  We don't have all the time in the world.  It took some time to reach a thousand.  How long will it take to reach 2000 or 3000?

940-Masked Cardinal

We travel long stretches and explore new life and new civilizations for the chance to observe new birds.

I stand in unknown lands and know that my time is precious and limited.  I have to make it count.

The time differences, sleep schedules and exhausting treks all pay off when we find our target birds. 

950-Zebra Dove O'ahu, Hawai'i

 I sit watching a luau in Maui and think to myself, "Never in my life would I have been to this place if it hadn't been for the birds."  But here I am.  Here we are. And I am so thankful for this moment.  This special experience.

Along the way, we meet all kinds of wonderful people.  And while the world seems to be falling apart around us, I see wonderful human people erasing the doubts I have about this planet. 

960 Gray Francolin on Maui, Hawai'i

 We birders see things that most people don't even know exist. But the birds guide us.  Sometimes into uncomfortable areas. Sometimes into sacred quiet spaces.

Elevation is my kryptonite.  The White-tailed Tropicbirds, Northern Fulmars and White-tailed Ptarmigans have made me question myself as we go above and beyond the clouds and walk along the edges of sea cliffs.

1000 life birds. It's no joke.  I can't believe I have been so focused on that number.  Now that I've reached it, I find myself relaxing a bit. 

970-Eurasian Skylark on Maui and in Llangoed, Wales

As I prepared for my trek to Wales, I found out that a prominent birder, Bill Thompson III, had passed away from pancreatic cancer.  The man was a hard worker and he was a wonderful caring person. We ran into each other in Arizona a couple times, but it was his podcasts that I listened to in my car that made me smile. Today birders are celebrating his memory.

980-Carrion Crow, Wales

 While I was in Wales, I crossed the 1000 marker and looked over at my new friend Steve and told him that I had hit a thousand. 

I love birds a lot, but I've really come to cherish the moments I get to spend with friends old and new.  Each moment counts.  It's all we got. 

990 Eurasian Blue Tit

 Over the past year or so, I've had to say good-bye to a lot of wonderful people who have helped me climb the ladder to finding and understanding birds. The thing about birds is that you don't have to be an expert to love birds.  You can be a doctor of birds or just a regular person who loves birds.  Their experiences, from both technical and personal sides, have shaped my understanding and appreciation of birds.  

1000 Eurasian Bullfinch

I'll continue to share my passions until I can no longer do so.  It is what we do.  Over the next several months, we'll explore Wales, Texas, New Mexico, Maine and Wisconsin.  And once and awhile we'll stop and see some Arizona birds:)  Until next time.....

To Russia With Love

My idea of LA traffic:)

The mission to find 10,000 plus birds in this lifetime continues.  Today's trek takes us deep into the heart of LA. 

LA Traffic's version of traffic

It was an unexpected trek, or hiccup, in the overall scheme of things. Sometimes you just have to do it. The trek to Los Angeles from Phoenix can be a little over 6 hours by car.  And the traffic is the challenging part.

Allen's Hummingbirds are quite common along the coast of California

I have been buried by home and garden projects, house chores, bird books and research, lecture prep and travel work.  I don't mind a single bit of it, but it's the reason I took a break from blogging last week.  There just isn't any time.  Over the past several weeks, I've been out with lots of great people finding Arizona birds, but it was time to get back in the race. This trek was all about one bird, the Red-flanked Bluetail.

I had wanted to observe this bird but I didn't want to drive alone to LA.  Then Gordon mentioned the trek and it was done.  I'll be honest.  I'm still recovering from the weekend, but it was worth the chase.

Indian Peafowl at their best

The Bluetail has been hanging around the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library for about 3 months. It's the second record for California with most records up in Alaska.  So this bird is a long way down the North American coast. The bird is native to Northern Europe and this particular Bluetail may have crossed over from the Russian side into Alaska and then down as they do migrate in their home range.

Bewick's Wren

We stopped along the way and had some fun birding, but it was this Red-flanked Bluetail that became our target. We arrived to the library in beautiful weather.  Everyone has seen this bird and posted pics of it everywhere. But for both Gordon and myself, we needed this lifebird to just give us a little excitement again.  The last time we both added new birds to our life list was in the summer. Sometimes when things get a little slow, all I need to do is just chase a new bird to feel that adrenaline again.

With a little patience and being surrounded by wonderful people, we found our thrushy flycatcher acting bird. While we were there, the bird was secretive and always hid in the shadows, but that's because I believe the bird is a Russian spy:)

Red-flanked Bluetail

So like the guy who calls himself the US "president", I did a little colluding with a Russian bird.  It's not quite the same. Plus I don't think I'll go to jail for it:) 

Kurt and Gordon chat.  I catch Kurt in mid-thought.  These guys are great.

Anyhow, my work really begins to pick up over the next 4 months.  Like every spring I've been doing this, I always feel a little antsy.  I am an explorer at heart wanting to understand the natural bird world and how it relates to people from different cultures and societies. I get to put on my birder's ambassador hat this upcoming week.  Stay tuned for more!

Snowy Arizona

This storm has been in the making for some time.  We've been hit with storm after storm here.  Visitors escaping the frigid cold temps of the North aren't so happy, but we, the locals who live here, have loved it. The night before the storm arrived, our local weather forecasters told us to get ready for the arctic blast. 

Schools were closed and an official "snow day" was declared. The night before we planned a trek to Saguaro National Park to take pictures. In the morning, there was just rain and then I heard Micheal yell from the dining room, "There's snow!"  Snow in midtown is RARE.  In fact, I don't ever recall seeing snow here.  The closest thing to white this neighborhood ever sees is cocaine or maybe a leucistic Rock Pigeon:)

As always with these two crazy friends, one was focused on using her new camera in the snow while the other was throwing snow balls.  We were amazed by the amount of water here. 

I counted birds and did my surveys at my local patch, Reid Park, taking lots of documentation photos.  For those of you who know Tucson, you know how hot it gets here.  So today was for Tucsonans.  There were so many happy faces everywhere. 

It was an unofficial holiday. For one moment, there wasn't any Christmas madness in the air.  The news focused ONLY on the weather.  And for the first time in a long time, I didn't hear that orange baboon's name ONCE.  We were just people in Tucson, in Arizona, having fun in the snow.

The weirdest thing that I witnessed was this cat below playing in the snow with his human companion.  They were doing a photo shoot together and this cat acted like a dog.  Never in my life have I seen a cat do something like this before.  The guy snapped his finger and the cat chased him on the lawn.  If I did that with our cats, we'd have a revolt!

Then there was the day after. WOW!  The views were incredible.

I continued counting birds and enjoyed the cool temps. 

Ferruginous Hawk

The birds were hungry after the storm. During the storm, they huddled under the bushes to stay warm. Every species acts differently in extreme weather. 

the Southwestern Song Sparrow

 Some people were stupid. In the pic below, we saw this submerged truck in Willcox around Lake Cochise.  It's either a stolen truck dumped in the grasslands OR a bunch of idiots who thought it would be fun to go "mudding" in the snow.  Either way, it looked like a perfectly good truck.

It was a strange weekend full of fun and rare snow birding. 

Curve-billed Thrasher

The wildflower show should be amazing this spring. In a way, it was sad saying good-bye to the storm because the summer temps will be arriving soon enough.

Marsh Wren

 For now, I'll try to take in every moment I can outdoors.  There's no rush:)

Until next time.....

The Trogon Kingdom

male Elegant Trogon at Madera

Nothing.  And I mean NOTHING is more exciting than the discovery of the Arizona Elegant Trogon.  I've worked with these birds over the years doing surveys and attending meetings about their breeding grounds. So when I see one, I get excited just like everyone else does but I forget about what these birds do to people. In a canyon full of rare and exciting birds, these resident birds still win the popularity vote.

British birders spy their first Elegant Trogon and the world is complete

Let me share with you what happened.  I went to Proctor Road to get my Townsend's Solitaire and Gray Flycatcher for the year in Pima County.  And while I was there, birders from all over were looking for the Elegant Trogon.  HOWEVER, there was a "better" bird in the canyon, the ABA AZ first, White-throated Thrush.  This bird should steal the show, but no, the Trogon was more popular.

Several birders from Scotland and Ireland were there while I was birding.  They had tried 3 times over their lifetime to see this bird and when it literally landed in their laps, it was thrilling.  I felt so happy for them.  Their joy was contagious.

In Scotland, Trogons do not exist.  Here in AZ, they do!

The Elegant Trogon can be very difficult to observe in the wild.  If you ask any birder who has chased this bird, you'll hear lots of stories about how they dipped on the bird. During my years as a birder, I can tell you from experience that winter seems to be the best time to observe these birds as they often just sit out in the open and hunt.

The ABA mega rarity, the White-throated Thrush

I nearly had a heart attack when the TRUE gem, the White-throated Thrush landed right next to me. And I had no one around to say, "hey.....pssst....the bird is right here!" So I took my documentation shots and passed the word onto others who were all much more interested in the Elegant Trogon.

Townsend's Solitaire

Last month, I shared my reports of all those birds with you.  But on a quiet stroll after things have somewhat quieted down on Proctor Road in Madera Canyon, I had my best views. It was funny.  I saw those birds before I saw my own target birds, the Townsend's Solitaire and Gray Flycatcher!  But I eventually found them:)

None of them are as "exciting" as the trogon I suppose, but I still like them!

After my hike, I went up to the Santa Rita Lodge and just watched amazing birds.

Painted Redstart

Their feeders were active.  Here in Arizona right now we are experiencing storm system after storm system.  This is not a complaint.  This is wonderful rain that the desert needs. But it requires careful planning.

Arizona Woodpecker

After 2 months of attempts, I was finally able to head to Mt. Lemmon for some important reports.  I went up with friend Hollie and together we saw some amazing birds!  And it was just in time too!  Another storm system came our way while we were on the mountain.  Temps dropped to freezing and snow clouds began to encroach upon the skies. They were dark and heavy.

The frigid cold on Mt. Lemmon!

This is the one time of year that I have an easier time finding Golden-crowned Kinglets in a couple spots.

magical Golden-crowned Kinglets

And like always, I heard them first but what I didn't expect to observe was a male territorial dance!  WOW!  It was like something out of a bird book.  Incredible!

We both watched in awe as they did their display.

Now, the biggest challenge is getting out of work to find an Arizona first(for me), the Varied Thrush! As I near 500 birds for the state, the list gets smaller, especially with the Pima county challenge on!  The 2019 birding adventure is only just beginning. Until next time!