Birding from Dawn ‘till Done, Kathryn’s last Day in Sycamore Canyon

Can a day start out any better than with a red-tailed hawk soaring in a bright blue sky?

Skywatch Friday!

Since Kathryn's plane did not leave until late afternoon we spent our last morning going for a hike in Sycamore Canyon. in 30 seconds we were in the Big Wash or the main Canyon and seeing birds. An unfamiliar song led me to this familiar bird, a canyon towhee.

Farther up the canyon we were startled when a red-tailed hawk flew screaming out of this nest high over our heads in a saguaro.  We had not seen the nest nor taken notice of the cactus until the bird flew out. since we did not want to disturb the bird or the nestlings we hurried away from that location.

Meanwhile mama (or papa) bird continued to scream at us from across the canyon in a mesquite tree on the opposite rim.

We were seeing so many birds in the sycamore Canyon, a reminder to me that I need to come out here more often!  while I am chasing birds all over SE Arizona, once again I am discovering that there is a treasure trove right in my own backyard! We found this little bird and I took several photos of it.  I’ve studied and studied it and finally come to the conclusion…

…that it is a Western (Pacific/Cordilleran) Flycatcher due to the lack dusky smudges on its undertail coverts, the short primary projection, the slight crest and the eye ring pointed at the back.  If you have a different opinion please tell me and tell me why!

However, the male Phainopepla presents no such problem in identification with his silky black crest and red eyes.

We saw so many birds out in the wash and the whole time I kept saying to Kathryn that I was so surprised we had not seen a black-headed grosbeak out there. We barely got back home and I was dressing after taking a shower when Kathryn called out to me that there was a black-headed grosbeak in the acacia tree in the front yard!

While I saw it there I was unable to get its picture, but then the bird obliged me by flying to the backyard and landing in the mesquite tree which made photographing it a bit easier as I could gently slide the sliding glass door open and poke out my lens.

  What a great way to end her birding trip.  To top it all off, as we left for the airport we saw a Swainson's Hawk soaring at the bottom of the road in my neighborhood, her final species for this trip and a new addition to her AZ Life list! Sycamore Canyon is a great place to live!

Location: Sycamore Canyon Wash
Observation date: 4/13/10
Notes: Birding with Kathryn.
Number of species: 28
Turkey Vulture 5
Red-tailed Hawk (Western) 3 one hawk on nest in saguaro.
White-winged Dove 5
Mourning Dove 22
Greater Roadrunner 1
Costa's Hummingbird 2
hummingbird sp. 1
Gila Woodpecker 6
Gilded Flicker 4
Gray Flycatcher 1
Cordilleran/Pacific Slope flycatcher 1
Bell's Vireo 3
Gray Vireo 1
Common Raven 2
Verdin 7
Cactus Wren 6
House Wren 1
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 1
Northern Mockingbird 5
Curve-billed Thrasher (Western) 6
Phainopepla 6
Lucy's Warbler 2 pair building a nest.
Green-tailed Towhee 1
Canyon Towhee 1
Rufous-winged Sparrow 1
Pyrrhuloxia 2
House Finch 10
Lesser Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Location: 17 S. Vermillion Sunset Dr.
Observation date: 4/13/10
Notes: Birding with Kathryn. Her last day here.
Number of species: 17
Gambel's Quail 6
White-winged Dove 2
Mourning Dove 15
Gila Woodpecker 8
Gilded Flicker 3
Say's Phoebe 2
Chihuahuan Raven 1
Cactus Wren 3
Curve-billed Thrasher (Western) 6
European Starling 3
Rufous-winged Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Black-headed Grosbeak 1
House Finch 9
Lesser Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 9
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

My World: Sycamore Canyon

My World is Sycamore Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains of Southern Arizona. I have only to step out my door on a chill January morning with my new friends Carolyn and Daniel. We hike up the mountainside trying to find the path down into the canyon. Steep cliffs and cactus greet us everywhere. A stiff wind blows through our bones. A pair of Red-tail hawks fly up from below the cliff as I search for the path we need to take. Finally I find it and we head down, down, down into the gravelly wash.

Daniel and Carolyn have recently completed their training to be volunteer naturalists at Sabino Canyon. Down in the wash Daniel points out to me this twig of a mesquite tree that's been girdled by an insect. Though it looks like someone has neatly cut it, an insect actually did this. It lays its eggs in the cut on top where the sap no longer runs. Soon the larvae will hatch and eat their way through until the thin branch drops to the ground as if cut with pruning shears.

Though we are looking for birds there are signs of insect life all around us. A preying mantis egg case glows golden in the early morning light. Though it appears dry, it is really a promise of spring time, with new life growing inside.

Above us we hear the croaking of ravens and crane our heads to watch their powerful flight.

They perform a black ballet in a sea of blue and fly off over the rim and out of sight.

Another egg case hangs on a twig peppered with holes from a wasp. She has laid her eggs on this food source for her young. No preying mantises will emerge from this egg case in the spring. I do not know when the wasps will appear. All is life, death and beauty out here in the desert.

We turn north down the wash with silver sand beneath our feet. Down here in the Canyon we are somewhat protected from the biting wind. The sun has risen higher now and finally starts to warm us. It has coaxed the birds out also and the verdins sing from the trees. Sparrows flit about furtively and dive out of sight before we can identify them. We find a few Brewer's sparrows, and I hear the black-throats sing. A pair of canyon towhees pops up on a bush for one brief moment, then ducks for cover again. Beyond them a Pyrrhuloxia appears back-lit by the rising sun. When it flies to a different bush the sunlight bathes its feathers in light revealing the red eye mask and stubby beak.

I am amazed how tree-like some cactus seem. This prickly pear is so old and heavy its trunk looks like it has bark.

And in a silver teddy bear cholla two cactus wren nests wait for springtime warmth and romance.

Daniel and Carolyn ask me if I know how to tell a Teddy Bear cholla from the other varieties. Daniel demonstrates by removing the sheath from a cactus spine. "Doesn't that hurt," I ask? But Daniel says no. Then he explains that the silvery spines of the cholla cactus are really modified leaves. They help to shade and cool the plant as well as protect it from damage. You can actually grasp the pointed end and slip it off the spine as easily as removing a satin glove. The hard inner spine is left behind, but the sheath is soft as silk. Their flaxen color reflects the sun's harsh rays away from the tender flesh, thus cooling the cactus. So, if you see a silvery cactus shining like silken fuzz in the desert you know it is a Teddy bear cholla.

Farther down the wash the remnants of last summers Monsoon are piled up against the base of this small tree. How it withstood the onslaught of water and debris I'll never know. It stands here now a silent witness to the nature's former fury.

As we near the end of our hike a Black-throated sparrow finally flies up to sing in the sunlight atop yet another Teddybear cholla. I have never figured out how they can stand on one of these cacti and not come away with bleeding feet, but many of the birds do it and many use this species of cactus as a safe nesting place. For now the desert waits as I do, for the healing warmth and renewing rains of spring.

Today's photography comes to you courtesy of Kathie Brown with the 70 -300mm lens. Click on any photo to enlarge.

A Craving for Nature

Female Costa's Hummingbird in Palo Verde Tree 9-9-08

Click on images to enlarge for best viewing

It's another one of those days when I realize I have been inside for too long and I need to get out. My body is craving sunshine and fresh air and my spirit is craving the solitude of nature. It's been awhile since I've been out into the wash so, though it's already getting late for bird watching I pack up my gear and head out the door around 9:45 a.m. It's a short walk across the street to access Sycamore Canyon Wash. Dogs bark at me from behind block walls as a rapidly warming sunshine beats down on me. The humidity is lower than is has been of late, and for this I am grateful. Ahead of me a thunderhead is dancing on the Santa Ritas which look lush and green after this summer's monsoon rains. (Look for the photo in tomorrow's Skywatch Friday post.) They say the monsoon is ending, yet storms continue to roll through the area with more expected this afternoon and later this week.

Even before I pass the neighborhood boundary I am seeing and hearing birds. A Gila woodpecker laughs from a nearby bush, then drops to the ground beneath it. In that same bush some house finches hide in the dense greenery. Then, a flock of about 20 house sparrows flies from a nearby rooftop to land in a mesquite tree in the wash. Here is the edge of human habitation and wildness.


I start south down the trail to enter the big wash with the calls of cactus wrens and curved-billed thrashers following me. I pass numerous desert hackberry bushes bursting with their tiny orange fruit, so beloved by birds. These hackberries are edible and have a slightly sweet taste, but, while they may satisfy the appetite of a bird, it would take many to fill up the stomach of a human being.



As I pass through the barbed wire opening that leads into the canyon I am greeted by wild cotton blooming all along the edges of the sandy wash. The delicate white flowers open joyfully to the sunlight, exposing their fertile centers to desert pollinators. I can hear the buzzing of bees and other insects all around punctuated by the rapid clicks of Arizona Clickers hiding in the brush. I see the delicate and erratic fluttering of butterflies in every direction as they move silently about.

On the same wild cotton bush this pink veined bud belies the white blossom it will be once its petals open to the sun.

I am already feeling the heat of the day as I turn to walk up the wash by the big cliff. I am 20 to 30 feet below the houses that perch above on this canyon rim. From here they cannot see me, nor I them, and I feel as if I am alone in the desert with this wildness. A glance about me reveals all the trees, shrubs and flowers in full leaf and bloom. For the moment this verdant landscape looks like a lush oasis, but soon the drying autumn winds will turn the grasses yellow, and then brown. Drought deciduous plats will drop their leaves and once again the desert will turn brown, gray-green and sandy. Soil moistened by rain will crack. The Sonoran Desert Toad will hide. The White-winged Doves and Turkey Vultures will migrate south. The Purple Martins have already fled their summer homes. I may have seen my last one two days ago. I will miss their flute like twittering as they fly above my house.

Clinging to the side of the cliff a clump of trailing four o'clock tumbles down in a violet cascade. I listen to the noisy chatter of a verdin and soon spot the tiny bird with its yellow head and red epaulets flitting about amongst the foliage of a nearby tree. While I am in the process of locating the verdin I discover a female Costa's hummingbird roosting beneath the canopy of a desert Palo Verde. The Palo Verde tree is covered in thousands of tiny green leaves in response to all the recent rain. It forms a thick and shady shelter for this tiny bird. I recently read in Stokes Beginner's Guide to hummingbirds that Curved-billed Thrashers and Greater Road Runners both prey on this desert species and that Costa's Hummingbirds will avoid feeding if either of these birds are present. I can hear the "Whit WHEET!" call of a thrasher farther up the canyon. I hope this little gem is safe beneath these branches. I move quietly away and leave the tiny bird undisturbed.

Across the wash from the Costa's I seek shade beneath my favorite overhanging mesquite tree. The fluttering of a plastic bag catches my eye and I glance up to see this blue "desert bloom" caught in the spines of another tree. While it almost looks pretty set against the sky, this plastic poses a real danger to wildlife and is evidence of our human impact on the land. I would like to take it down and bring it home to throw away, but there are 2 reasons I don't. One is that it is up too high for me to reach. The other is that I have learned by experience that if I want to collect garbage from off the desert plants I'd better have some thick gloves for, usually whatever is caught on the spines is also full of spines and glocids it has collected on its windy and tumbling journey to wherever it is now caught. Perhaps I will come back later to purposely remove it. For now it serves as a reminder to close our trash and recycle bins tightly. This is one "desert bloom" all of us can do without.

I feel the tension and stress leave my body as the rhythms of nature wash over me. It's as if the air, soil, sunlight and greenery permeate my being. Though I can hear the sounds of construction in the distance, here the sounds of nature are closer and sooth my frazzled soul. I catch the motion of birds in a bush and find some Black-throated Sparrows flitting about. While two are mature Black-throats I am momentarily thrown off by the presence of a juvenile with it's still developing facial markings. I hope I am seeing the much rarer five-striped sparrow, but quickly realize it is a juvenile Black-throat.

I am tricked once again when I find this juvenile Rufous-winged Sparrow deep in the heart of another desert bush. I saw the adult with it's rufous crown, and rufous wing patches with two distinct malar stripes, but this stripey young thing puzzled me until I was able to look it up at home. My two favorite field guides were of no use to me as neither Kaufman's nor Sibley's described or had an images of a juvenile Rufous-winged Sparrow. I then pulled out my National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (which I rarely use) and from this I was able to identify this juvenile as a rufous-winged sparrow. Notice the eyeline, and the two developing malar stripes on the sides of the throat but the breast is slightly stripey and not yet clean and clear like an adult bird would have. This little bird is also still developing its rufous crown and wing patches. Larry of the Brownstone Birding Blog recently did an informative post reviewing bird guides and in particular the new Smithsonian Field Guide to Birds of North America. Like me, he notes that most bird watchers usually consult more than one field guide.

This pile of debris beneath a bush is not the result of flash floods, but rather the collections of a pack rat in the construction of its desert den. This desert creature is smarter than I am, hiding from the heat deep with in its shady interior. As sweat pours down my back I decide it's time for me to head home also.

As the gravelly soil crunches beneath my feet the Zebra-tailed Lizards hightail it away from my footsteps with tails curled over there backs. This one stops on a rock to gaze at me as if to decide whether it really needs to flee. It does a few push-ups while waiting. I would like to reassure it that I mean it no harm but I don't know how to speak lizard. So, I snap a few photos and it doesn't seem to mind until I take JUST ONE STEP closer...then Zip! Up curls the tail and this lizard is gone! I identified this lizard from the Lizards of Arizona web site by Thomas C. Brennen. Click on the link if you need help with lizard identification.

I leave the desert where I entered it and walk back home. The fairy dusters growing in the parking strips are all in bloom also and a powerful attractant for butterflies like this cloudless sulfur.

Across the street my eyes are drawn to these Texas Rangers exploding with blossoms. These plants seem to burst into bloom overnight creating vibrant purple splotches to the landscape, then just as quickly the blooms seems to fade and drop, but when they are in bloom, the effect is spectacular. A little research reveals that they blossom in response to heat and humidity and are sometimes known as the barometers of the desert. Read about these drought hardy plants here.

My walk is done, my soul is soothed. I've quenched my nature fix for today. Who knows how long it will last. I suspect I will need to feast from nature's bountiful table again soon for my soul is soon famished without her. It is a healthy fix, however, one that shall sustain me throughout my life.

Photographer's Note: All of today's photography is by kathiesbirds with the Nikon D80 set in sports mode and the 70 to 300 mm lens with VR reduction.

Birds Seen Today

Location: Sycamore Canyon Wash
Observation date: 9/9/08
Notes: At 9:45 it was 77 degrees F.
Also saw 1 cottontail rabbit, 1 ground squirrel, some Zebra-tailed lizards and numerous butterflies. Mostly clear skies with a light breeze.

Number of species: 15

Turkey Vulture 3
Mourning Dove 7
Costa's hummingbird 1
Gila Woodpecker 3
Gilded Flicker 2
Verdin 2
Cactus Wren 4
Curve-billed Thrasher 4
Phainopepla 2
Green-tailed Towhee 1
Canyon Towhee 1
Rufous-winged Sparrow 2
Black-throated Sparrow 5
House Finch 7
House Sparrow 20 All the house sparrows were behind a house at the edge of the wash. They did not go far out into the canyon.

Birds and Bugs with Doug

(Doug Taron and Kathie. Photo by Gus 7-26-08)

Click on photos to enlarge for best viewing.

I waited anxiously on Saturday afternoon for the arrival of Doug Taron from Gossamer Tapestry. Doug is in town for an insect conference and we made arrangements to meet a few weeks ago. Now the day has arrived, the house has been cleaned and Gus and I have just returned from a trip to the store to buy the pizza cheese and a few other items. I have recently started using block mozzarella and shredding it myself when I learned that pre-shredded cheese is coated with plastic to keep the pieces from sticking to each other. I am in the middle of putting away dishes when the doorbell rings. Gus and I both greet Doug and welcome him into the house. One of the first things Doug notices is Gus' Red Sox T-shirts. Gus is an avid Red Sox fan and has been since he was a child. It turns out Doug is also a Red Sox Fan, having grown up in that area, so he and Gus discuss baseball while Gus gives him a tour of the backyard and I shred cheese and whip up the pizza dough. We have been making our own homemade pizza for over 25 years and chose to serve it to Doug tonight. After the backyard tour, with the dough rising, Doug and I set off to see Sycamore Canyon Wash. I trade my sandals for my hiking shoes and don my hat and binoculars. With my camera hanging from my shoulder strap we cross the street and enter the canyon.

(Sycamore Canyon scoured by flood waters photo by Kathie 7-26-08)

This is the first time I have actually entered the canyon since the big flash flood earlier this week. I am impressed with the new landscaping created by the scouring waters of the flash flood. Parts of the cliff have been scooped out even deeper and new channels have been carved. Piles of debris are stacked here and there along the banks and wrapped around tree trunks. It is a whole new world for me, but houses and the cliffs above keep me oriented. a few clouds drift overhead on this warm day. When a few sprinkles fall from the clouds I wrap my D80 in the plastic bag I stuffed in my pocket as we headed out the door.

(American Snout butterfly photo by kathie 70-300mm lens, 7-26-08)

One of the first insects we find is this long-nosed butterfly. I'm amazed by it's silvery wings and compound eye. Their wings do have a spot of orange in them, but that photo did not come out.

While there are many birds in the wash our focus today is on the insects they dine on. Still, we couldn't ignore this Gila woodpecker that perched nearby scolding us from his perch.


Doug found these insects with piercing mouth parts that penetrate the cactus pads and fruit in order to suck out the nutritious liquid inside.


This orange beetle in a yellow flower is a bright spot in the day.

(click to enlarge)

(Long-horned beetle photo by kathie, 70-300mm lens)

I spotted some motion around the top of a mesquite tree that quickly attracted Doug's attention. A long-horned beetle hovered near the top branches back lit by the setting sun. We chased it around the tree trying to get a photo with the sun on the insect but it would not cooperate. Still, this silhouette shows how long it's antennae really are. By now I am sure the pizzas are ready and Gus must be getting hungry so we head back to the house. Sure enough, the two pizza pies wait on the counter, already to go into the oven. Gus and Doug sit down to watch the Red Sox game Gus has recorded while I quickly upload photos onto the computer to show Doug. Soon we are eating steaming hot pizza and chatting around the big screen TV.

The sky grows darker while the guys watch the game, then Doug inquires if I would like to try black lighting in the wash. Heck yeah! We pack up his gear and I change my shoes once again before heading out the front door and across the street. We walk back down toward the barbed wire opening trying to decide where we might find two trees to string a rope across and hang the sheet from. Then Doug decides that barbed wire fence might just do the trick for us.

We hang the white sheet across this bit of barbed wire fence that is used to discourage Off Road Vehicles from entering the wash. Doug says the wash acts like a super highway for the insects providing an uncluttered flyway as they go about their nighttime business. I watch as Doug gets out the rest of the gear to set up the black light and attach it to its power source, a portable but heavy battery pack he carries around with him. We have a bit of a brief shower that temporarily slows things down, and I have to stow my camera in Doug's backpack to protect it from moisture, but once it is over it isn't long before the insects start to arrive. A few beetles and smaller moths come first, but then the larger insects start to show up.

(Close-up of a White-lined Sphinx Moth hyles lineata. Doug says they are as common as Dandelions but I am excited to see them anyway. )

The moths and other insects collect on the white sheet that hangs over the barbed wire. You can just see the black light shining through from the other side. The moths would get so frantic that some of them beat themselves against the ground, or worse, against my ankles! Yuk. I'm sorry but I jumped like a girl. Unknown insect wings in the dark are a little hard to take, but it was worth it. Almost all the larger moths seen here are white lined Sphinx moths, the only name I can remember.

(Rustic Sphinx manduca rustica photo by Kathie 18-70mm lens 7-26-08)

This big beautiful guy was the prize of the night. I wanted to take its picture but was afraid it would fly away before Doug could collect it. Doug assured me it would be alright and it was. I was so excited by the whole process. I snapped a few photos and then into the jar it went. Finally jet lag got to Doug and we decided to call it a night. I'm afraid I could have stayed out there for hours enjoying the mysteries of the night. Who knew there was all this activity happening while I sleep soundly nearby in my (mostly) bug free house! We shut off the black light, shook out the sheet and headed back to my house with Doug's head lamp lighting the way for us until we reached the sidewalk again.

When we returned to the indoor lights we discovered this hitchhiker riding on Doug's shirt. You can see how big it is compared to his shoulder. I have never seen any moth other than a Luna moth that was this big.

(Colorado River Toad photo by Kathie 7-26-08)

As Doug stepped out the front door to leave, look who was waiting there in the corner catching insects that were drawn to the light. "Wow! they're bigger than they appear on your blog," Doug exclaimed. Yep. Pretty darn big. Perhaps I should put a shoe outside and turn on the light, just so I can take a photo that will put the size of these poison Colorado River Toads , bufo alvarius, also known as Sonoran Desert Toads, in scale for you. They are very big: 7 inches from nose to rump and that does not include their legs! What a way to say good-bye. I chased the toad across the front of the garage trying to get another good picture. Later, after Doug left, Gus went to take Blossom out the front door for her last good-night stroll of the evening. Mr. Toad was sitting there waiting for insects again, so Gus let blossom out the backdoor instead. We also found tow other White-lined sphinx moths that somehow got loose in the house. I captured them carefully and released them out the backdoor into the mysterious night.

Flash Flood in Sycamore Canyon

(Click on photos to enlarge for the best view)

Part of the adjustment I have to make during the monsoon is to try to get all my work done in the morning before the afternoon storms break out. This Tuesday morning I sort through email and upload vacation photos to the computer. Then, I spend the next 2 to 3 hours editing and filing almost 700 photos, and that is just one card! I have 3 more to go through! By 2 p.m. my eyes are watering and my brain is fried. I make myself shut off the computer and go fix myself some lunch.

The skies are turning gray with heavy clouds and as I am sitting watching a movie the thunder and lightning start. Soon the rain is pattering on the rooftop and patio bricks. Then a giant clap of thunder cracks the sky with a brilliant flash. The power surges and the TV goes out. The gentle rain has turned to a pounding water faucet and I watch as the retention basin next to the house fills with churning brown water. Through the shut windows of the house I hear a familiar croaking cry and open the laundry room window to see and hear better. The Colorado River toads are singing in the flooded wash one again. The rain cooled air feels nice, so I decide to open the glass sliders under the covered patio to let in the fresh air without getting splashed by rain.

I watch the storm rage in all its fury from sheets of rain to lightening flashes and cracking thunder. One crack is so close and so loud it startles me and I jump in my seat. I cannot use the computer or the TV, so I sit and write in my journal and watch the water flow. At 5:15 I turn on the TV in the bedroom, which is still working. The news is reporting that there is flash flooding in Green valley and Sahuarita and Sahuarita Road is closed. When I finally get a hold of Gus he is on his way to the car and it isn’t even raining where he is. However, he decides to come home by a different way and all I can do is wait. The next time I speak with him he is off the highway about 10 miles from home and traffic is moving at about 2 miles per hour. In the end it will take him over 2 hours to arrive home, a difference of 3 ½ hours from his usual trip.

I step out the front door to look for his car as the rain has finally tapered off here. I hear the sound of rushing water and realize that the Sycamore Canyon wash must be running! I have lived here for over a year now and have never seen water in the canyon, though I have seen evidence of its force each time I walk on the dry gravel when I go hiking. I hurry inside for my camera. I grab a coat, change my shoes, and wrap the D80 in a plastic bag to protect it from the few sprinkles of rain that linger. Then, it’s out the door and up the hill to a point where I can access the desert. As I walk through I am met by a blond-headed boy named Noah (I’m not making this up). He talks to me excitedly about the wash running and informs me he has been in it just recently when it was flowing at around 3 feet. As I look down the edge of the 25 ft. cliff at the churning, roiling brown flow I warn him strongly to not do that again.

I am wide-eyes and open mouthed at what I am seeing. Brown water rushes by in every available channel. If I were walking down there today I would have been washed away. I had just heard on the news how Cienega Creek rose 6 feet in five minutes! I have no idea how deep this is, but I have no doubt the current is strong and fast.

I keep back 6 to 8 feet from the cliff edge due to the already saturated ground. As the water below me carves yet a deeper curve into the cliff, I do not want to be standing there when it decides to collapse.

I walk farther south up the path to the open place behind the homes at the top of the cul de sac. I call this spot Sunset Point due to the fact that there is a wide open view to the west. I am not the only one with this idea, for many of my neighbors are already gathered here, watching the wash run. They come and go in their own steady flow the rest of the time I am here.

I cannot describe how loud the water is or my amazement at this flow of water. It is unlike anything I have experienced in my life. Though I have seen video of flash floods on the news and read about it in stories and in the newspaper, it is quite something else to stand here and watch previous dry ground be turned into a raging roiling river.

A man is standing next to me with a wide brimmed Aussie looking hat and a camera hanging from his neck. I, too, have my camera and birding hat on and as we start to talk he asks if I am the person who writes the Sycamore Canyon Blog. When I tell him yes he tells me that he reads it almost every day. I am quite surprised and pleased by this and we discuss living in AZ and the pending Rosemont Mine. Having moved here from Seattle, we discuss the weather and sunshine and then I find out that he knows the Ray Bradbury story about the little girl on Saturn where it rains all the time. The sun only appears for an hour once every 11 years and on the set day she is tormented by classmates and locked in a closet during that one hour of sunshine. For me, it is the cruelest joke and a punishment worse than death. I cannot live without sunshine. Now I meet a stranger from Seattle standing on a cliff edge in AZ and he is the only person I have ever met who knows of this story and relates to it as I do. Meeting Dave was quite a delight and we chatted for the rest of my time there until Gus called to tell me that he was finally home. As I turn away from Sunset Point the sun is just setting behind the remnant clouds.

It cast a rose and tangerine glow over the desert and after snapping a few shots I walked home on streets of pink and purple pavement.

This morning I hurried out the door to see if the wash was still flowing. It was not. All the water had drained off leaving behind new channels and piles of debris. The desert is alive with activity. Birds are everywhere and their songs fill the desert around me. I see a coyote dart across the muddy wash below me. A family of quail darts across my path.

A look across the desert reveals some kind of swarming insect rising in a column. Then I find a similar column nearby and I am able to photograph this insect.





I stand on the same cliff edge where I stood with Noah and gaze down at new piles of gravel. I find a puddle of soft mud, unusual in this cement like caliche.


Purple martins dart overhead twittering and chirping as I walk by the Sentinel Saguaros.

I walk to sunset point and view the ground below where my shadow falls on the damp earth, amazed at the lack of water. All is silent now, save for the bird sounds. Cooing doves and cackling cactus wrens are the only sound filling this muggy morning air.

Looking north down the canyon the red cliff edge where I stood last night is a dark spot amidst all the lush green foliage. From here the homes look dangerously close to the wearing away of the soil.


But at my feet, a desert marigold blossoms, a cheerful sunny face after the pounding rain, a symbol of hope in the desert.


Nearby the prickly pears ripen like fat red jewels along the rims of the cactus pads. Soon it will be time to make prickly pear jelly again.

As I walk home, rain is falling through sunlight, a deceptively gentle rain. In the west, a rainbow appears over the previously flooded canyon and the humidity rises in preparation for another round of storms.

Photographer's Note: All of today's photography is by Kathie with the Nikon D80 18-70mm lens set in various automatic settings.