The Short of It

In our last post, The Long and Short of It, we set out to look for both the Long and Short-eared Owls.  Today concludes one journey and begins another. 

The wind gusts were extreme.  And so was the birding! 

 We journeyed into the heart of the Pacific Northwest with VERY challenging photography conditions.  Not only that, we had to find a difficult group of birds in these conditions.  

People turn their backs to the strong gale force winds on Cannon Beach

The wind and rain were constant.  And so were the low clinging clouds.  To be honest, it was all very beautiful, but it challenged the photographer inside. 

Haystack Rock-home of the nesting Tufted Puffins

We'd raise our binos up to look at a bird and they'd fill up with water.  Our cameras took a beating.  We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.  Portland's light conditions were the most challenging.  

Just when you'd think the rain was done; it would begin again!

And most of the birds here didn't care.  I suppose they deal with this kind of weather every day.  We observed many Mew Gulls and added this new lifer to our slowly growing list. 

Carefully taking field notes on this exciting lifer that can sometimes be mistaken for a Ring-billed Gull

 I love gulls so much and this was truly an exciting search for me.  I'll write more about them in my yearly larus report coming up in a few weeks. We'll focus on the Pacific Northwest and the challenges birders have when ID'ing gulls.  If anything, this trip really upped my gull ID skills.  But I won't say that too loudly as I'm still learning lots.  

Mew Gulls-note the smaller yellow(no markings) and somewhat drooping bill

 Oh but the rain.  It continued to eat away at our sanity.  The darkness.  The depression.  The sadness. How do these Portlandians deal with the heavy gray skies?  

Harlequin Duck on Haystack Rock

This Arizonan complains about the heat all the time, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I missed the sunshine.   I don't think we saw the sun ONCE while we were in the city. 

But behind every cloud, there was a bird.  We just had to walk through the mist to find it. 

Song Sparrow

Under ferns, on moss and lichen, there they sang.  But would Gordon finally find his Short-eared Owl?  Could WE find the Short-eared Owls?

Spotted Towhee(the Oregon subspecies)

The clouds clung to every cliff, hid every tree and made the roads slick and dangerous.  The traffic was the worst, especially if there had been an accident. 

In that damp darkness, we saw a shadow. As we moved closer, I watched Gordon get excited.  He toggled ISO switches on his camera, cursed the wet conditions and observed this magical moment under the gentle rain.  Finally, the bird gods granted him this lifer moment. 

Short-eared Owl

Over the next several weeks, we'll explore the beauty and wonder of the Pacific Northwest with our guide and friend Khanh Tran.  It was a hard fought, exciting (and exhausting) time into some of the most beautiful places of the United States. Until next time....

The Long and Short Of It

Ambitious and unrestrained for 4 days, I took my birding on the road.  I didn't plan a thing.  I just let it unfold as it would.  And spontaneity happened!

We watched as this male Red-tailed Hawk captured this Western Patchnose Snake to present to the female as a gift.  A sign that spring is here and that nesting is about to begin for many birds in our desert.

We climbed the high elevations and found a pair of Arizona Woodpeckers hungrily tapping on the bark for a little snack.

Arizona Woodpecker

And then, we discovered this Long-eared Owl resting in the shadows.

So we got to thinking.......

Black-throated Sparrow

Could we find the Short-eared Owl that had been reported recently?

No luck, but that didn't matter. 

Other rarities popped up for us during our search like this Gray Catbird below!

And who could resist this beautiful Pyrrhuloxia?

Or the mesmerizing blue grays of the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay?

Or the orange sherbert of an Olive Warbler....

Or the colorful song of a Greater Pewee?

Simply put.  It's fun to show people around beautiful Southern Arizona and help them find a lifer or two.

It's time to get back on track and seek out new life and new civilizations.  Arizona is my home but there are new birds that must be discovered!  Stay tuned for a very special Las Aventuras next week.

Crissal Thrasher

 

The Wildest Birds

They say that after 400 state birds, it gets interesting. The chases are more intense and often times, our treks take us to the far reaches of the state boundaries so that we might try and add one bird. And sometimes that bird isn't even a lifebird!  Here's a look at the crazy vagrants(or not) that have come to visit Arizona. Warning: some of the photos presented today are of really BAD quality!  It just shows that being a birder is a 24/7 kind of job! At number 400......

Prothonotary Warbler State Bird 400

The Prothonotary Warbler hid in the Arizona Cottonwood leaves during a warm spring day.  It wasn't hard to find but it did require a little patience.  This warbler was close to home and obviously a no brainer to chase. 

Nutting's Flycatcher 401(upper right hand corner) The rest are all the similar looking Myiarchus species!

Then came the Nutting's Flycatcher.  I hate this bird.  It's not exciting to me NOR was the crazy drive to Lake Havasu.  To be honest, it was one of the last of my "expected" birds on my state list to find.  When you get to the bottom of the barrel, you do what you gotta do.....rent a crazy monster truck to the top of a rugged road and find this uneventful number. To make things worse with this bird?  It was in a remote area.  While it was beautiful, there were moments I panicked. Never again.....

                                                                   Black Rail 402
To make things worse, we went to find a Black Rail on the same day. When I decide to rip the bandage off.... Of course, I knew that spotting this lifer and state bird was most likely not going to happen because 1) It's a rail. 2) It's a tiny rail. and 3)Birders rarely ever see this bird. Many times it's a count as a heard only bird. So I brought my phone and took this vocal recording of the bird.  After many mosquito bites and hearing the bird, we drove away from the dark Yuma night for another several hour drive home.  

Red-headed Woodpecker 403

Things started to get exciting when this Red-headed Woodpecker made its way into Arizona and hung out in a very hidden and secret location. This bird was closer to home BUT we needed a sturdy vehicle to get there.   Thankfully, we had one!

Pine Flycatcher 404

An ABA first(first time in the US), the Pine Flycatcher, was a hike and a rocky road trip that had us all biting our nails.  After a little sun and heat along with drinking lots of water, we found this female flycatcher making a nest in a sacred glen.  Magic!

Berryline Hummingbird 405

I'd chase this next one, the Berryline Hummingbird, often and dip. And I would always dip on the bird since it came to visit during my international treks.  So while I sat at the hummingbird ramada of Miller Canyon, I was shocked and surprised to see this bird casually fly to the feeder.  There was no plan.  It just happened as it happened. Right place; right time.  The way real birding should happen.

The heat of the summer came and so did a rare Hudsonian Godwit.  This lifer was seen with a scope demonstrating that not all state birds, or lifers, play nice for viewing. 

Hudsonian Godwit 406

On a beautiful trek up to the White Mountains, we finally discovered the American Three-toed Woodpecker!  It only took 5 attempts!

American Three-toed Woodpecker 407

Then.  A major fallout happened from Hurricane Newton.  I paced my classroom after hearing the news about crazy ocean birds dropping from the sky.  During the last bell, I shooed my students out the door and grabbed my umbrella to witness storm-petrels in the desert!  The drive seemed like eternity.  It was an event I'll never forget.

Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel!!! 408

The shadows from the clouds of the hurricane made photography nearly impossible.  We watched helplessly as this Least Storm-Petrel(below) perished in the waters. So adding state birds can also be a sad one. 

Least Storm-Petrel 409

But some birders held hope when we saw a healthy Black Storm-Petrel fly around the ponds of a water treatment plant days after the storm. By nightfall, we believe this bird made it back to Mexico(which isn't too far away).  This bird has occasionally strayed into Arizona as it lives off the shores of Baja California.

Black Storm-Petrel 410

Some state birds don't play fair. Here is the case of the accidental pretty bird. During work (and during yet another storm), we were all having lunch when Margie spots this rusty orange and black bird from the office windows.  "Chris, what is that bird?"  OH. MY. GODS!  A rare Orchard Oriole came to visit and I did not have my camera.  So Margie snapped a shot with her IPHONE.  The bird took off afterwards and wasn't seen again. 

Orchard Oriole 411

A boring bird to add to the state list, the California Scrub-Jay, was more of a technical trek.  I don't really care for those too much but we were able to hear the bird and check it off the list. 

California Scrub-Jay 412

Another stormy (do you see a pattern here?:) and fun day out after work had me using my cell phone to snap a picture of the Common Tern.  I don't always bird with my camera now.  Sometimes I just want to be a birder with binos and not bring that heavy camera. 

Common Tern 413

The furthest and most stressful bird of the year, the Lesser Sand Plover, had me in suspense for a couple weeks.  It was a state first/lifer that required MANY hours of driving.  Thankfully, it waited for us before disappearing into the unknown THE NEXT DAY!  Talk about luck! Afterwards, we slowly birded our way back down to Tucson visiting with friends and not wasting gas on one bird. The whole trek took 3 days long.  

Lesser Sand Plover 414

While not ABA countable, I'm counting this one.  Monk Parakeets have been breeding in this state for awhile and if the birds breed successfully, I count them. For the ABA listers out there, I actually got my countable Monk Parakeet in Florida several years ago. If it's one bird group I enjoy the most, it's the parrots/parakeets.  So I have been studying their populations around the US for quite some time. There were several AZ populations of the Monk Parakeets years ago but then they mysteriously disappeared.  Over the years, we have tracked down their disappearance and in the process, have also relocated their last breeding colony. Several colonies were taken out by wildlife management as they were considered invasive.  And the neighbors didn't really appreciate the noise:) This is a bird of interest for me in this state.  I'll continue monitoring the small? population.  There are rogue birds discovered every year in strange places around Phoenix.  

Monk Parakeet 415

After finding the Pacific Wren 2 years ago, it was time to locate the Winter Wren.  Easy. But the little buggers are tricky to capture on camera as they act like little mice with wings!

Winter Wren 416

Then a Christmas miracle happened.  A happy male Long-tailed Duck came to visit for quite some time.  And he made many birders happy:) It was strange observing this one in the sunny Phoenix area.  Back home in Wisconsin, they love the icy waters! But this one had a taste for the desert:) A true "snowbird"......

Long-tailed Duck 417

The Rose-throated Becard was tricky.  I tried once for this bird in Arizona but it hung out in a remote area. I dipped! And I had to have my car aligned after driving on that washboard of a dirt road! I've seen the bird many times in Mexico and Guatemala but never in the US!  This year several RTBE were seen along the DeAnza trail and I was able to add this bird to my state list.  It felt good!

Rose-throated Becard 418

The Mexican bird species all played nice for me this year.  Normally the elusive Green Kingfisher doesn't like to hang around for a pic.  But thankfully two stuck around this winter in Patagonia for a photo shoot.  Finally!

Green Kingfisher 419

I didn't chase a Palm Warbler outside of Tucson because I knew one would eventually come to me.  All I had to do was be patient.  It has been a good year for adding warblers!

Palm Warbler 420

And more recently, I finished with yet another "FINALLY!" as we spied this Tennessee Warbler.  State birds after 400 are not easy and it gets trickier as we climb the ladder towards the top.  There are no prizes other than the smiles and satisfaction that happen when we find difficult birds. I should also mention that I wouldn't chase many of these birds without the help and support of friends like Brian, Magill, Gordon, Muriel, Kathie, Jeremy, Janine, Babs, Micheal and so many others. Let me put it this way.  When you are dealing with remote areas, always...ALWAYS bring a friend for safety. I now sit at 421 and wait. Who will the next state bird be?

Tennessee Warbler 421

Winter's Final Grasp

Every year, I make my winter trek down to Willcox or the Whitewater Draw and say good-bye to the Sandhill Cranes and Chestnut-collared Longspurs.  For some, this experience is comparable to a holiday or birthday celebration.

It's also my way of saying good-bye to winter.  It's hard to let go of the colder days knowing that those unbearable hotter ones are only a few months away. I now can sense when the migration is beginning to move. I can't explain it.  I can't plan it. I just know.  

I leave my car and listen carefully to the wind and focus on longspur titters in the grass

So I moved quickly on my day off to see the cranes one last time.  When I arrived, they swirled high above me.  Then......

......they began their descent all around me. Again, I can feel their patterns.  I can't plan it.  I just know the moment when they are going to do it.

  I am in sync with certain species while with others, I still have a long ways to go.

Their departure marks the end of winter and the beginning of our spring migration.  I am excited about what's to come, but I will miss these cold and windy days.  These are the days when I can play outside all day long and just enjoy the weather.

As we finish up with the AZ winter series over the next couple weeks, we'll begin a new chapter of exploration.  Stay tuned for more.....