Miraculous Chaos

Trumpeter Swans

Sometimes life has a strange way of challenging us. These past two weeks had been extremely difficult for me. I always try to do excellent work with the best of intentions. This past week's lifebird and mega-rarity for Arizona reminded me to keep everything in perspective. The arrival of the Trumpeter Swans made me forget all the needless crazy human drama.  

So the birding world also had a little big drama. The arrival of the Trumpeter Swans shook the foundation of the Arizona birding world. Never in our lives did we expect these rare gems to show up. Maybe they heard about our infamous Gem Show here in the Old Pueblo!?!? There are VERY few records of these birds visiting the state. All day long, working birders were trapped inside their work spaces while reports from the retired, visiting, workers with flexible jobs and those "who-don't-have-jobs-but-can-still-bird" reported these mega-rarities.  I paced like a lion in a cage wishing I were ancient, wise and retired. WHY??!!!!!!!!  I called Micheal and told him to grab the camera and GO!  "But I have to work in a half hour!", he whined.  "GO! NOW!"  So he went and discovered a media frenzy at Sweetwater.  Several minutes later, he texted me back and said, "Got 'em!"  

Here are the "Big 3" in the US.  On the left, the invasive Mute Swan hails from Europe. In the Upper Right hand corner, the rarer Trumpeter Swans are  making a comeback from near extinction.  The Tundra Swan is the only common, yet rare, visitor to Arizona during our winter months.  The bill on this swan is slightly different than that of the Trumpeter Swan AND this bird also has a yellow spot on the lores.

The school bell rang and I shot out of my cage like any trapped wild spirit would do. I arrived at Sweetwater to a full parking lot and went straight to the spot.  There they were!  NO WAY!  We didn't know it at the time, but we would be the last group to view these 2 swans before they disappeared the next day! I glowed for several hours after that observation.  But alas, it would not resolve my ridiculous issue the following day. 

I began this adventure as a young Spanish instructor.  Inspiration has always come from my work out in the field and it has been infused into my lectures today. That same energy is still there but it has changed over the years in a more seasoned matter. The world is not the same place it was many years ago. 

After doubting my teaching style that has been successful over the years, I saw this little message from A Little Piece of Me.  

There is only one of you in all time, 

this expression is unique. 

And if you block it, 

it will never exist through any other medium 

and it will be lost.

 ― Martha Graham

I have lost family, friends and students over the years.  I am reminded that we must live for today and not tomorrow.

I have always been a "teach with a smile and laugh" kinda guy.  But this past week the joke was on me and it wasn't very funny. To make a long story short, I blame it all on Pablo Neruda.  I'll have to write an ode to him for all the headaches he has given me over the years!  For now, I'll stick to the birds. 

The ear tufts stick out.  But will she stick it out over the next several months with all the students around?

My day began with the special sighting of our Great Horned Owls!  This is significant because she finally chose the human made basket instead of her yearly "ledge-of-death".  In the past, the owlets would try to leave the nest from a super high ledge only to fall to their demise.  About 4 years ago, we tried something different for this insistent pair of owls.  Finally this year, she chose the basket!  During the 4 year time period, we've successfully helped them raise 10 owlets!

I'm just calling this one...."The Southwest Today"

While my personal storm passed, another arrived in the form of dark gray skies full of wet and heavy clouds. Rain.  We wanted to do some birding in fun places around the state, but unfortunately, every place we turned had the same forecast!  So I stayed close to home. It still was a lot of fun.....although it was a wet birding trek. 

The Lark Sparrow

Winter storms are common during the months of January and February, but this one brought us an unusual amount of rain.  It rained for a day and a half!  This is very rare for us as our rain events usually last less than an hour or two at the most. 

But as you can see, the washes filled up.  Birds were hungry and cold!  My feeders saw a LARGE influx of Lesser Goldfinches. 

A juvi Sharp-shinned Hawk

It was a drive and bird kinda weekend. However, towards mid-afternoon, a downpour happened at one of our locations and it was time to pack up and leave.  We had been far from our car so by the time we reached it, we were soaked!

A Mourning Dove endures the rain

One of our fun challenges this year has been working with our cell phone camera option.  If you haven't noticed, my posts have begun to feature several artsy shots each week utilizing the camera part on the cell phone.   

I've also crossed the photography line regarding detail in pics. I like my camera very much but I'm wanting more now. For the first time, I switched the setting on my camera this past week for stronger results.  So far so good.  However, these pics take up more space on the SD cards and I have to be conscious about how many pictures I'm taking.

For now, I'm still thinking about the Trumpeter Swans.  What life bird follows after their grand departure?  I don't know.  I really don't. 

Black-crowned Night Heron

So I'll continue observing and snapping photos of previously seen birds enjoying their habitats and behaviors. 

Redhead

But like the Trumpeter Swans, I may at one point snap and fly drive....somewhere new.  There are still several locations I have to check out, but I know I'll be on the road again soon. 

A pair of Redheads

Winter is winding down and soon spring migration will be upon us. As for now, I'd like to keep the chaos to a minimum:)  My blood pressure can only rise so much:) More to come......

Common Merganser

A World Away

Saguaro Lake

Sometimes life gets crazy.  It definitely can be challenging.  In this fast paced life, I find that nature can be very healing.

Double-crested Cormorant at Christopher Columbus Park in Tucson

Sometimes it's not so much the birds but the escape that they provide.  It isn't fiction. I do travel quite a bit.  It's what I do best. I used to hike the same trail at the same time every day....and it got boring.  Once I started birding, I realized that I could make my walks more interesting by following the birds.

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet at Agua Caliente Park in Tucson

This past week had been a lot of fun as I trekked from our snow topped mountains to sod farms outside of Phoenix with friend Gordon Karre.  Our weather here has been wonderful.  Therefore, it's difficult to resist the urge to explore.

Pied-billed Grebe catching a snack at Agua Caliente Park

My first trek took me to Summerhaven up on Mt. Lemmon.  There was quite a bit of snow and ice up there as I hiked around my usual areas searching for the birds. 

Olive Warbler

 And surprise surprise! I lucked out by finding ONE Olive Warbler.

Agua Caliente Park

As I came down from the mountain, I decided to stop at the nearby Agua Caliente park.  And I'm glad I did!  I found their first of the year sightings of the highly sought after Northern Beardless Tyrannulets!  Pretty exciting stuff.

Yellow-eyed Junco on Summerhaven, Mt. Lemmon

Then it was off with Gordon to the Rousseau Sod Farms and Saguaro Lake in Maricopa County.  

Bald Eagle near the Salt River outside of Phoenix

A lot of the birds seen around these areas aren't as common in Tucson or around Pima county.  So many of them were first of the year birds for me. Or as birders write.....FOY.

Common Goldeneye on the Salt River

The canals around Phoenix and surrounding cities are full of really amazing ducks, geese, herons, hawks, etc. As we were looking across the agricultural fields, we'd have several birds fly up and pass over our heads.

Common Merganser near the Russo Sod Farm outside of Phoenix

Flycatchers are fun.  This bird below gets confused with the Dusky Flycatcher BUT if the birder pays attention, it can be a simple ID.  This Gray Flycatcher pumped its' tail downwards making the ID a snap.

Gray Flycatcher at Saguaro Lake

This is the first decent photo documentation that I've taken of this bird.  My first time I saw one, I used my Iphone to snap a pic. After that, I had seen them in many other locations, but the branches always got in the way of the bird! 

We counted many American Pipits at the Sod Farm.  Most of the them were feeding around the greens.

American Pipit at the Russo Sod Farm

Along the canals, we had beautiful views of an Osprey kiting.

Osprey near the canals of the Sod Farm

Beauty is everywhere and only a walk away.  And it's a great way to clear the mind after a crazy day at work!

Where will we go next week?  Stay tuned for more!

A Dabbling Duck

Mexican Spotted Owl

There a bird.  Here a bird.  Everywhere birds.  An electronic list is sent to me daily about the birds seen around the state of Arizona. I have begun getting lists from Mexico so that I can study the strange new names.  Some are still familiar.

Red-naped Sapsucker

Over the past week, I've done some really sporadic things around Southern Arizona.  I went to find a Spotted Owl in town. 

Then it was off to help out at the Wings Over Willcox festival.  I hung out at a booth with the Mexican ranch crew(the ones that track the Jaguars).  We had a lot of wonderful people stop by including a certain bear:)

Wings Over Willcox

On Sunday, we took a trip down to the border region grasslands where we had a nice time around Peña Blanca Lake, Kino Springs and the Cienegas Grasslands near Empire Ranch.

Rock Wren

I'm in a strange place right now with birding.  It has been a lot of fun watching new birders get excited about the birds here in Arizona. To be honest, it's been a lot of fun helping people find the birds.  At home, I read up on birds.  If there's a documentary on birds, I'll watch it. 

So there are some birds I like more than others. I think that it's this way for many people.  The only bird I really wanted to see on our day out was the White-tailed Kite.  The sun was setting while we watched this beautiful kite for a half hour.  I think it has to be one of the most elegant and graceful birds out there.  The pic below was my favorite.  There are three layers to this photo.  The setting sun.  The gold colors of the grasses. And the silhouette of the kite landing.  Perfection.

White-tailed Kite lands

We hiked for a bit around several areas finding all of our wrens for the day.  At Kino Springs, we stopped for the Black-bellied Whistling ducks.  I snapped a shot even though the lighting was all wrong.  The birds came up rare on my report and I needed to document them.  It was strange because I've seen 4 or 5 of them together this time of year, but not 26!  So I snapped a photo just to be on the safe side.  

Peña Blanca Lake

Anyhow, I've been a dabbling duck.  I go there. Stay here. It doesn't matter.

Verdin

I focus on getting better pictures of birds that have poor photo documentation. For example, I've seen the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher many times and yet I didn't have a very good picture of one.  I've come to enjoy watching the various gnatcatchers over the past couple years. To the untrained eye, they all look the same, but they are definitely different birds:)  And it's noticing the subtleties that make birding fun and worthwhile. 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

So right now, I will continue to dabble in various projects until the bigger trips arrive. 

Canyon Wren, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, White-tailed Kite and Rock Wren

A Disquiet Follows My Soul

Lovebird en cantata

By the end of the year, I was exhausted.  Then something strange happened to me after our jaunt to New Mexico for the Common Crane.  I became a bit sad.  Was this it?

My cat Luna is exhausted watching me run in and out of the house for a rare bird

What would I do now? For a week, I struggled to redefine my work and get a grasp on how I would organize my journey this year. I still need to make some birding progress because as most of us already know, life doesn't wait for us to catch up. 

Tucson's "new" premiere birding spot....."The Coachline Gravel Pits Lake"

So I called Kathie. We chatted for awhile and like always, she gave me some wonderful advice.  Saturday morning came quickly and I woke up feeling a tad better.  I headed out to Madera Canyon which remedied some of the building anxiety. Getting rid of the "chasing bird" syndrome is not an easy thing to do.

Lewis's Woodpecker near Madera Canyon

As I sat watching the Pine Siskins at the feeders, I noticed several birders approaching.  One asked if he could sit next to me and I said of course.  He proceeded to ask questions about the birds as did several other birders seated in the nearby benches.  Instead of giving them the answers, I had them work for their ID.  It's the teacher in me. And it was fun watching people connect with the birds. 
 

Pine Siskins with Lesser Goldfinches

I continued observing the birds getting quality views of them all as I've done time and time again....year after year. It doesn't make them any less spectacular.  But what would my challenge be for the year?  I was still trying to figure it all out.

Magnificent Hummingbird

Another day would pass and I'd chase the rare, for Tucson, Eastern Bluebirds and just sit and watch them feeding on the desert mistletoe berries.

Eastern Bluebird

I went to find my Yellow-headed Blackbirds for the year and discovered them in the same place around a pair of Red-winged Blackbirds.  I observed their size differences and also enjoyed viewing the male and female Red-winged Blackbirds together.  Three years ago, the female confused me. I had thought she was some rare sparrow. Silly me. Today, this bird is part of my being.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds

I move on and explore some more, spotting both common and rare birds in new and old places. And I begin to feel something inside again.  The spark. Instead of the rush to find that rare bird, I sit back enjoying the full experience.  I see two men with their scopes looking for Wood Ducks.  One of the men tells me he shot one the other day. He asks me where he could find more. I keep their locations secret. "I don't know.  I haven't seen any this year."

Drake Wood Duck. Hide your brilliance!

Two ladies are doing a big year and ask me about several birds.  I smile and share with them several areas that they should target. While they are speaking, I notice the two paired geese that have stayed in Tucson over the past month or so flying over to our location. The Snow and Greater White-fronted Geese make a landing. They have bonded now.  What if something happens to the other?  They are right by my work which makes for a nice stop on the way home. Tucson birders are very happy to have this relatively new place to bird.   Also in the water, we notice 18 Canada Geese!  For most people, these birds are common but in the Tucson area, we're lucky if we even have one stop by for a visit during the year!

A Northern Shoveler leads the way for the Snow and Greater White-fronted Geese

I continue searching and visiting areas. There are a lot of birders doing a Big January.  

Canvasback

I revisit the now annual  and rare wintering Eurasian Wigeon, but this time I try to get a picture that shows the contrast between the two wigeons.

American Wigeon with a rare Eurasian Wigeon

I find myself beginning to develop a plan as I bird with my bud Magill Weber around the Phoenix Metro.  Just what would I call this chapter of my birding career?  We explore cemeteries and random parks for species we have already seen over the years.....just not for this year:) 

People ask, "What happens after we die?"  This past weekend I discovered the answer!  Birds sit on our gravestones!

But the difference here is that we examined new areas to find these same birds and that made the challenge much more exciting. Magill counts over 300 American Wigeons at one of the cemeteries.  While doing so, she locates a rare morph Storm Wigeon! About 1 in 500 male American Wigeons are born with this beautiful "White-cheeked" morph.  Definitely won't be telling any hunters about this bird!  The fun part about this count was that the birds kept flying in and out of the watering hole during Magill's count!  

Storm Wigeon-a rare morph of the American Wigeon. 

And it's these minute details I enjoy today. The challenge of finding one bird in a flock of over a hundred or a thousand is very rewarding.  As everything begins to unfold, I realize that I am happy exploring weird spots without having the need to get a pic of the bird anymore since it's not a lifebird.  I can relax and just observe. It makes birding much more enjoyable.

Laurence's Goldfinch

We play detective and think like the birds.  And there they are.  Not always.....but most of the time. 

Say it like you mean it...STOOOOOOOOOORM WIIIIIIIIGEON!  Magill says the nickname of this AMWI morph sounds lke a 70's rock band!

And then it happens! A theme snaps into my brain for this new birding year. AMERICANO. In Spanish, the word "americano" refers to anyone from the Americas which includes the US, Mexico and Canada! The primary focus of my bird searches will happen in the West and Mexico.....especially around the state of Sonora. So a North American year it is!

A Green-winged Teal showing off his.......brilliant green on the wing:)

And just like that!  POOF!  My anxiety goes away.  It's not the US anymore but a good portion of North America. I hope to see a Groove-billed Ani again which is definitely one of my top 10 favorite birds.

One of my all time favorite top 10 birds, the Groove-billed Ani.

For now, it's all about combing the parks, cemeteries and rediscovering all the birds from last year:)  And so the new adventure begins.  Americano. 

When I pass into the unknown, I hope that I am surrounded by birds.