The Colors of Christmas

White-winged Dove Angel 2009 by Kathie

The colors of Christmas
Are midnight blue,
And star shine gold,
And stable brown,
And flaxen straw,
and Miracles.

The Colors of Christmas
Are Santa Claus red,
Belt-buckle black,
Snowy-beard white,
Christmas tree green,
and Magic.

The Colors of Christmas
Are apple cheek roses,
Pastel pink-puckered lips,
Eye-shine blue, or brown, or green,
Sunny smiles,
and Love.

~Kathiesbirds (October 20, 2009)

To all my family, friends and faithful readers, may your holidays be filled with miracles, magic, and most of all,

LOVE.

Merry Christmas

from Kathiesbirds!

The Birds of Christmas

Winter Birds in Sycamore Canyon

Bewick's Wren climbs the block wall searching for insects 12-5-09

Ever since discovering Sycamore Canyon almost 3 years ago I have been counting birds. Even before we moved in I started my Sycamore Canyon Bird List, which you can see in the side bar. Since that time I have kept constant track of all the bird species seen in this area. In 2 1/2 years I have seen 90 species of birds right here in Sycamore Canyon. Many of them I have seen right from my own yard! Our yard was nothing but bare dirt in the back while small scrubby trees and bushes grew in the front. In less than a month after we moved in we bought and planted a native velvet mesquite tree in the backyard. By the following spring we added a Desert Museum Palo Verde and a patio with sitting walls. This year we added more plants and an irrigation system to the backyard. Meanwhile, the front yard trees have grown taller, the bushes have filled out, and the manmade wash beside my house has filled in with pioneering species like creosote bush and brittle bush. And, as mine and other neighbor's landscaping matures I have recently noticed an increase in the bird population in my yard!

A verdin at my window hummingbird feeder 12-5-09

Suddenly I am getting Bewick's Wrens and verdins. The verdins even come to my nectar feeders, something I have never observed before, but I have this sweet pair hanging out in my yard on an almost daily basis. While typically insect eaters, I guess these little gray birds know a sweet thing when they find it! I have no complaints. I love their merry chatter and cute little faces. Though hardly much bigger than the hummingbirds, they are quite gregarious. Still, the hummingbirds have no trouble taunting them or chasing them away. With cactus wrens and Gila woodpeckers all vying for nectar, it is all out war in my backyard right now!

Here is a list of MY 2009 December Yard Birds:

1. Gambel's Quail
2. Sharp-shinned hawk
3. Cooper's hawk
4. White-winged dove
5. Mourning dove
6. Greater Roadrunner
7. Anna's Hummingbird
8. Costa's Hummingbird
9. Gila woodpecker
10. Gilded Flicker
11. Say's Phoebe
12. Loggerhead shrike
13. Common raven
14. Verdin
15. Cactus Wren
16. Bewick's Wren
17. Rock Wren
18. Curve-billed thrasher
19. Canyon towhee
20. Black-throated sparrow
21. White-crowned sparrow
22. Northern Cardinal
23. Pyrrhuloxia
24. House finch
25. Lesser-goldfinch
26. House sparrow

Have a Very Birdy Christmas!

and that's...

MY Christmas World Tuesday

Winter Birds at Rio Rico Pond

Abert's Towhee at the Rio Rico Pond 12-12-09

After stopping at the flooded fields to count birds we drove the short distance over the train tracks to the Rio Rico Pond. Before I even got out of the car I could see ducks peppering the pond surface. As usual, as soon as I opened the car door they all paddled off to the south end of the pond but I could still see them and count them. And while I was standing on the outside of the barbed wire fence this Abert's towhee flew right over next to me and the tree I was trying to hide behind! The Abert's towhee is distinguished by that bit of a black mask around its eyes and bill. They are usually spotted in the vicinity of water. Though I have seen them numerous times in Sabino Canyon, I have never seen on in Sycamore Canyon where I live and this is my first time seeing one in Rio Rico or Santa Cruz County!

Great Blue Heron and Great Egret @ Rio Rico Pond 12-12-09

Location: Rio Rico Pond
Observation date: 12/12/09
Notes: Watched from behind the fence. Gus stayed in car.
Number of species: 15

*birds new to my Santa Cruz County Life List

Gadwall 16
American Wigeon 2
Mallard 20
Northern Pintail 4
Green-winged Teal 2
*Canvasback 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
American Coot 1
Killdeer 1
Wilson's Snipe 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
*Abert's Towhee 1
Song Sparrow 1
Eastern Meadowlark (Lilian's) 6

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Canvasbacks on Rio Rico Pond 12-12-09

Skywatch Friday: December Blue

December Blue sky looking south from Rio Rico Dr.

(please click to enlarge, you'll be so glad you did!)

Gus and I took a drive to Rio Rico on Saturday to enjoy the good weather and do a bit of bird watching right along Rio Rico drive, between the Santa Cruz River and the Rio Rico pond. Gus pulled off onto the shoulder so I could check out this flooded field for birds. I never left the car but simply watched birds from the open window, using my vehicle as a blind. It paid off as I soon added 3 new species to my Santa Cruz County Life List!

Skywatch Friday

These are the birds I saw in this spot. Birds new to the Santa Cruz County List are in blue. Besides the listed birds were many "peeps" I could not identify, partly because I am still learning my sandpipers and plovers, partly because I don't have a spotting scope and they were too far away, and partly because they are in winter plumage which makes it even more difficult!

Location: Rio Rico Ag. Field South
Observation date: 12/12/09
Notes: Seen in flooded ag. fields between Santa Cruz river and Rio Rico pond. Pulled off of the road but never left vehicle. Used it as a blind. There were more peeps but I could not I.D. them all.
Number of species: 18

Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 2
Mallard 10
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 2
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 1 See far to the south soaring.
Prairie Falcon 1 This is my best guess. Fast flight, pointed wings, brownish. Came out of nowhere pursuing peeps.
Killdeer 3
Least Sandpiper 4
Long-billed Dowitcher 8
Wilson's Snipe 3
Gila Woodpecker 1
Say's Phoebe 1
Vermilion Flycatcher 1
Red-winged Blackbird 26
Eastern Meadowlark (Lilian's) 3
Brewer's Blackbird 8

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

My World: Tumacacori NHP part 2

Tumacacori Mortuary chapel and Mission 11-5-09

In November I visited Tumacacori National Historic Park for the very first time with my friend Sherri. You can read part one by clicking here. I found this place satisfying on so many levels. Not only is it beautiful and peaceful but it also has excellent birding, hiking and photography opportunities. Located along the Anza Trail, one can hike along the Santa Cruz River through mesquite bosques and desert scrub. The original De Anza Trail went from Mexico to California. Parts of the trail have been restored but currently it is still fragmented. Last week I showed you some of the exterior of the mission. Today we have a tour of the interior and the convento.

Mission Interior looking towards main entrance and former choir loft.

Adobe walls and carved wooden door.

Alter Area 11-5-09


(click here to see what it used to look like.)



Sanctuary Dome 11-5-09

Detail of pillar (click to enlarge)

Sanctuary dome seen against a brilliant November sky
from the convento area.



The convento was not a convent in the traditional sense but rather a collection of buildings attached to the Mission used for various purposes.

Interior of convento 11-5-09

Kiva fireplace in convento 11-5-09

Tumacacori Questions

Whose feet have walked on these floors?

What meals have been cooked in this place?

How many prayers have risen like smoke

in blue Arizona skies

or stormy gray Monsoons?
How much death has happened here,

and how much life?
I pass by today

I walk with ease over this sacred ground

without fear of attack

or hunger

but I wonder

with each dusty step I take,

who was here before me?

and that's...

...MY World Tuesday

Art Show At Eckstrom-Columbus Library

Kathie with my friend, Sherri standing by my paintings 12-10-09

Table by the entrance where you sign in and read Artist Statements



Staff member Mohamed Warsame watches
Mark Holdaway
demonstrate his music.
Mark plays and records music played on traditional
African instruments.



Art on display

The show runs from Now until January 31st, 2010.

If you are around, come on down!

Gus and I both really liked this painting.


Click here to read the library hours and location.

Skywatch Friday: Tumacacori Convent Window

A blue November sky shines through this ancient window from the Tumacacori Mission convent. Green trees and utility wires are framed by the adobe and plaster walls of the past.

Photo taken 11-5-09 by Kathie Brown with the Nikon D80 70-300mm lens.

(Please click on the photo to enlarge for the very best view!)

See more Sky views at

Skywatch Friday...

...your window on the world!

Announcement: Local Art Show Opening

at the Eckstrom-Columbus Library

tonight from 4-6:00 P.M.

and guess who has 3 painting on display?

Yes, I plan on being there!

The Eckstrom-Columbus Library is located

at the corner of 22nd St. and Columbus Blvd in Tucson, AZ

The Art Show runs from Now through January 31