Author Archives: Richard

Get A Room

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Yesterday, I got an early start and visited the City of Tucson’s Sweetwater Wetlands, a 60 acre treatment and recharge project set up for wildlife viewing. It is a popular birding site where you can see nearby tractor trailers on I-10 while watching a Northern Harrier hunt for rodents.

I saw about 35 species in an hour but I also saw wildlife – or wild life. So this post might be PG or NSFW.

Moving along one of the paths that line the marshy lagoons, I noticed movement up ahead behind a tree and through my binos saw a big racoon – no make that two racoons. It was 8:30 in the morning.

I felt like a paparazzi as I watched and fired away with the Canon but they could care less. After about ten minutes, I slowly walked by them and if racoons can have a sheepish grin, this couple did. I left them to enjoy their cigarette and coffee or whatever.

It is nice to see a public facility so open and accessible – and such a neat teaching tool about wildlife and water reclamation. And its nice to think that in about two months, there will be three to six baby racoons to enjoy the place.

A Morning Hike

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Penny and I are in Tucson staying at a nice county park – Gilbert Ray Campground – where yesterday morning we took a short hike up Brown Mountain.

Before we left the campground, we saw several Phainopepla (harder to spell than find here) and a covey of Gambel’s Quail, who scurried off.

The trail was lined with thorns and of course, Penny had to check them out. She ended up with a paw full of quills from a fishhook barrel cactus which got me as I removed them. Here she explores what I think is an ocotillo.

A pretty Northern Flicker graced the top of a big saguaro cactus.

Several Lesser Goldfinches just sat there and let us walk by.

This Curved-bill Thrasher was having a cactus fruit breakfast.

Coming back down, we had some nice views but the winter sun was heating things up – although starting at 55 degrees and ending at 71 is pretty nice. It not hard to see why the campgrounds are filled with northern visitors.

Bienvenido a arizona.

Too Many People, Not Enough Birds

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The Southwest is packed with travelers – perhaps it’s the lower fuel prices, the need for some fresh air after a putrid election season, or just the boomers spending their kids’ inheritances, but I’ve had a challenge getting camping spots and sometimes seem to spend more time planning than birding. But why whine, the weather is great as are the birds. This Bewick’s Wren thrilled us at Patagonia as it sang and was answered by a buddy.

We’ve been seeing Green-winged Teal since Texas and they never fail to impress us with their markings.

On the other hand, sparrows in general are our nemisis – we’ve gotten better on gulls and terns but these are the next challenge.

This Dark-eyed Junco is a lot different from its eastern cousins.

The Western Bluebirds were delightful to see on an early dog walk in Payson, Arizona.

Curved-bill Thrashers are amazing morning songsters with quite a repertoire rivalling the Northern Mockingbird.

This sunset at Patagonia Lake is typical of the evening and morning light show in the skies of the West.

The van windshield is replaced and we start moving west starting at Organ Pipe National Monument and then Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. California here we come.

Sweet Penelope Sue

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Our Vizsla, aka Penny, just turned 13 last month and is having a wonderful trip.

When not sleeping on the floor between the driver and passenger, she is curled up as close to the gas furnace outlet as she can get.

She is known for pointing anything but wild birds. Here she is with an Arizona Tree Lizard a few years ago.

Saturday, she discovered that there was a bird at our friends’ house where we were visiting.

As part of the plan suggested by the vet to keep her healthy and less hyper, I am giving her pills for anxiety. We ran out and were awaiting a shipment.

So a few days ago, we decided to take a short drive to go into Patagonia for some shopping and mail pickup. We stopped at the Post Office, and the Sally did a little grocery shopping at two stores. Then she hit a gift store. I waited, catching up on email, and after a while, turned to see if Penny was staying cool – and found the van dogless.

The next two to three hours were spent searching. We suspected that she slipped out at one of our stops. Sally walked up and down the back streets talking to dozens of folks. I drove the van all over, visiting the posrmistress, the marshall’s, the public works guys, and dozens of others. People were wonderful but no red dog in sight. At Sally’s suggestion, I called the park but they had no loose dog.

We were just devastated, fearing the worst, when my cell phone rang and the park ranger told me that Penny was with our campsite neighbors. The imp had snuck out of the van as we prepared to leave and we drove off forgetting that her brown snout is always up under the dashboard. She had been watered, fed, walked and had had a much better afternoon than we did.

Perhaps there are enough anxiety pills to share.

Whitewater Draw

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One of the amazing sites, and sights, of birding Southern Arizona is Whitewater Draw, the winter home of thousands of Sandhill Cranes. I’ll just let these pictures tell you of our visit.

We were enthralled by the way the cranes just appear as specks high in the sky and spiral down in twos or threes, hundreds at a time. As a pilot, I marvelled at the way they spilled lift, descended in close formations, and picked out a precise landing spot among the thousands already resting. It was an unforgettable day.

Desert Birds

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Two of our last camping stops have been at Texas state parks (Seminole Canyon and Davis Mountain) with a nice variety of desert birds. Here are some that we saw starting with a Cactus Wren.

A House Finch (not really a desert bird per se)

A Loggerhead Shrike

A Canyon Wren

A Lark Bunting, I believe. Another shot of similar bird in winter plumage follows.

A Woodhouse’s (formerly Western) Scrub-jay

We’ve had a chance to take several hikes at these parks but after several great Mexican meals, feel the need for more walking and fewer tacos/enchiladas. Adios Amigos.

Birding at the Cocina

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We had breakfast at Irma’s, a small Mexican restaurant just outside [Pancho Villa State Park](http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us//panchovillastatepark.html) in Columbus, New Mexico.

The food was great and the decorations quite unique. The owner has a penchant for roosters. They are too neat not to share.

There was a rooster in the cooler. Irma said, “He’s being punished.” (She had no other place to display him)

This statute is made in Mexico out of car tire rubber.

We returned to Irma’s this morning for a get out of town breakfast. Next stop – Patagonia Lake State Park.

All Cracked Up

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We were heading west from Laredo on a rural highway with many trucks sharing the road. Sally was driving, doing about 75 which is the speed limit, and I was editing photos on my MacBook. The road was smooth and traffic moving nicely when, wham, there was an explosive noise in front of me and I was covered with tiny shards of glass. We had taken a hit, probably from a rock from a truck in the oncoming lane – but Sally thinks it was a small meteorite. In any case, she saw a dark image fly across just before the impact.

The result was dramatic, a bullseye hole in the windshield, up in the black radio antenna section, was visible with three cracks emanating from it. We pulled over, dusted off, and were back on our way.

The small hole and long crack are dramatic but seem stable. The crack has gone from five inches long to down the whole windshield.

I called my insurance company who took down the information and told me to contact them when I was ready to replace the windshield. (We are a long ways from shops where we can wait all day for work to be done.)

The bad news is that I have $500 deductible on my glass damage but keeping things in context, it could have been a lot worse. I’m glad I was wearing sunglasses to ward off the glass particles, many very minute, that plastered my face and shirt front. We have some down time in the weeks ahead where I can get a shop approved, get the windshield ordered, and leave the van for a half-day. Hey, it’s only money – and it wasn’t a bird strike.

Some Birds From Salenino

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I first wrote about Salineno, Texas a few years ago and my recent visits to this wonderful site were just as satisfying. It is easy to see, as you sit in lawn chairs watching colorful birds flock to the feeders, why this little patch on the Rio Grande attracts birders from all over. Merle and Lois, the long-time volunteers, do a great job of hosting neophyte to expert visitors.

Here are some shots I took the other day.

The first three shots are an Altimira Oriole, a Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and an Audobon’s Oriole. (The Hooded Orioles have not shown up yet this winter. Here is an Orange-crowned Warbler.

The Green Jays were everywhere as were the Great Kiskadees, like this one.

The Rio Grande is higher than often but still rather narrow. That is Mexico in the background.

Next – some birds of the desert as we head toward New Mexico.

Reds

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We are at Falcon Lake State Park, just across the Rio Grande from Mexico, and on the first evening were greeted with this splendid sunset – and have had several more since.

The birds here are wonderful. The Northern Cardinals, like this one, have a vibrant vermillion color – seemingly much more "red" than our pretty ones in Vermont.

At the campsite, we are treated each day to the aerial antics of several pairs of Vermillion Flycatchers. Here is a long-range shot of one of the handsome dudes.

We are heading west but I’ll be showing you some of the other neat birds that have graced our lives the last few days. Stay tuned.