Big January: Two "Common" Birds

Pushme-Pullyou Coot at Patagonia Lake State park 1-31-09

As many of you know, I have been competing in a Big January Bird Count with other Bird bloggers this month. Big January is when you count as many species of birds as you can see in your own state for the month of January. I participated last year after Larry of the Brownstone Birding Blog challenged me and other birders to a contest. I joined the game a bit late last year, but this year I hit the ground running on January first. This year I also know my state better and I knew where to look to find various species.

At the beginning of the month adding new birds to your count is always easier as even the familiar backyard birds are your first time for this year, but as the days and weeks pass the same species start showing up on your bird counts and the challenge becomes finding species that you haven’t already counted. I went at breakneck speed towards the beginning, but I have to confess, I sort of petered out near the end.

The weekend of January 24th and 25th I only went to Saguaro National Park West on Sunday. Though I counted birds there, they were all species I had already counted someplace else. I didn’t count any new birds the rest of the last week until Saturday, January 31st when Gus and I headed out for One Last Hurrah. I read on the Southeast Arizona Rare Bird Alert that the Elegant Trogon has been hanging out at Patagonia Lake State Park. I have never seen the Trogon, and so it would be a triumph to add it to my Life List as well as my Big January Count. We packed up our gear and headed down there to try to find the bird. What a great way to end the game, I thought, if only I could find it. Well, we not only did not find the trogon, but I did not count any new species of birds on the Birding Trail at the east end of the lake. However, just before we left, I asked Gus to stop at the beach area. I wanted to see if there was anything new or different there.

As I stood on the grassy beach with the blue lake reflecting sunlight like fractured glass a flock of Common Mergansers flew past in a line. There were 12 of them heading towards the west end of the lake. Then, two more flew back to the east. They were quite far out for a photo, but I attempted one anyway. Then, a lone duck came flying low and slow. This time I was ready with my camera. I focused and panned as it flew by. When it landed in the water I peered through my bins at a black and white duck with that unmistakable white cheek patch of a Common Golden Eye.

So, the Common Merganser and the Common Golden Eye make 108 and 109, Right? Not so fast she says.

First of all, when I counted the Pyrrhuloxia as number 107 the other day I was wrong. I kept wondering why it was not recording on my eBird list at the end when I lined up the data according to the dates. So, yesterday I arranged the data alphabetically and found out I HAD recorded this species of bird at the beginning of the month in Arivaca. So, that makes the count 108.

Now, for another adjustment: In recording the Black-throated Green Warbler I saw at Madera Canyon I have been corresponding with Rich Hoyer from eBird. Because this is my first sighting and because I don’t have any photos and I did not see the markings on its back and because a Hermit Warbler was also seen in the area around the same time, my Black-throated Green sighting is noted but not validated. Therefore I am removing it from my Big January list and putting it as unconfirmed on my life list. This is okay. I do not want to count a species of bird that I have not positively identified. I am sure I will get my chance again one day. As for eBird, they have to do this to maintain their quality of information. It is not a slight towards me or any other birder. In fact, it can make you feel more confident in the data they release.

So, with these two adjustments and the two new species my Big January count stands at 107 species!

Bridled Titmouse at Patogonia Lake State park 1-31-09 by Kathiesbirds

Now, I have two weeks to rest up before the Great Backyard Bird Count starts on Presidents Day weekend, February 13 through the 16th.

Big January Bloggers Final count:

Larry, Brownstone Birding Blog: 100*

Ruth, Body, Soul and Spirit: 61*

Mike, 10,000 Birds: 55*

Mary, Mary's View: 30ish* (she thinks) :)

The Strobels, Bird Couple: 87*

KAllen305, Kitchen Window Birder: 37*

Anyone Else? Let me know and I will add you to the list!

*Congratulations Everyone!

Notice: Pima County Residents

Pima County Multiple-Species Conservation Plan

The Pima County Board of Supervisors would like your comments on Pima County’s most recent Multi-Species Conservation Plan (MSCP: go to the main website to access the PDF file.) If approved, the plan would provide a comprehensive way for Pima County and the regulated community to achieve compliance with the Endangered Species Act in unincorporated Pima County. In the past, this has been done project-by-project, species-by-species.

Various efforts to avoid, minimize and mitigate the impacts of urbanization on various plant and animal species and their habitats have already been implemented through the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. We are proposing to formalize those existing programs and institute new measures in this document.

We invite your comments!

Attend an informational meeting to learn more. Use this comment form (in Excell format) for handwritten comments. Or, you can complete an online survey. Your input will help us draft the community’s final proposal, which will be sent to U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for formal review later this year.

Public Meetings at
Green Valley Branch Library
Wednesday, February 4, 5-7 PM

Tucson Estates Community Center
February 9, 5-7 PM

South Tucson Branch Library
Tuesday, February 10, 4-6 PM

Ellie Towne Community Center
Tuesday, February 17, 5-7 PM

More information at http://www.pima.gov/cmo/sdcp

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.

Big January: Pyrrhuloxia No. 107

Male Pyrrhuloxia in Sycamore Canyon 1-29-09 by Kathie Brown

Pyrrhuloxia has to be one of the funniest words I have ever heard and one of the hardest to remember how to spell, but the bird it signifies is outstanding and one of the easiest to mistake for a female cardinal if you are not familiar with it. Pyrrhuloxias are found in brushy and arid habitats in the desert southwest. They sound and behave similar to Northern Cardinals and are often found together.

While most people can identify a male Northern Cardinal with his bright red plumage, black mask, and red crest, the female of the species can be more difficult to identify, especially when in Pyrruloixa territory. So, how do you tell them apart? Well, as seen above, the male Pyrrhuloxia is not red all over. The red is confined to certain areas of the body. The Phyrruloxia, whether male or female, does not have a black mask. Pyrrhuloxias have a short, stubby yellow beak. Cardinals have a red conical shaped beak, though the female cardinal's can appear reddish-orange.

If you look at the photos above, you can see the difference between a male Pyrrhuloxia and a female cardinal. Though it isn't very dark the female cardinal still has a hint of the black mask around her beak. Notice how her beak is also longer, reddish, and more cone shaped. You can clearly see the yellow stubby beak of the male Pyrrhuloxia here. As an interesting point, the Cardinal Symbol used by the Superbowl challengers Arizona Cardinals have it all wrong. If you look at the Symbol they use, their Cardinal is depicted with a Yellow beak. Another case of Art trumps reality!

I had not seen a phyrrhuloxia yet this year but I knew they were resident here in Sycamore Canyon. On Thursday I went hiking in the wash with some new birders I met. (Come back for My World Tuesday to read about this hike) We did see one out in the wash, but it flew down behind some brush before I could capture a photo of it. I was sorely disappointed but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. Later, when I was back at home uploading my bird count into eBird I looked up to see a Pyrrhuloxia right outside my window in the bird feeder. I quickly grabbed the camera off the desk and starting snapping, but the bird was in the shadow and inside the bird feeder. Those shots aren't worth publishing here, but then, to my surprise and delight, this gorgeous male hopped out onto the fence in the sunlight and I was able to snap off several shots before he flew away.

Big January Update: 107: Pyrrhuloxia

Female Northern Cardinal 2-9-08 by Gusto! at Tucson Botanical Gardens

Update 1-31-09: I must have been on drugs when I posted the original title. It's number 107, not 207! Also, the pronunciation is "pie-rul-ox-ee-a."

Wikipedia's Pyrruloxia entry says: Its name comes from Greek terms describing its coloration (πυρρος = pyrrhos = reddish or orange) and the shape of its bill (λοξος = loxos = oblique, hence crossbill).

Skywatch Friday: Winter Sunset

Winter Sunset in Sycamore Canyon 12-15-2008 by Kathie Brown

(Click on photo to enlarge for the very best view)

Skywatch Friday

Big January: Chestnut-sided Warbler Surprise

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Sabino Canyon 1-23-09 by Kathiesbirds

Friday morning I wake early and head for Sabino Canyon. It's been a couple of months since I have been here and today is the first Important Bird Area Survey of the year. I meet Jean, Pam and Peggy under cloudy skies near the visitor center and we begin our hike up the canyon. though the sky is lead wool, the air is only slightly cool, with that muggy, humid component to it. We take off our light jackets and overshirts from the exertion of the hike, then put them back on when we round a corner and encounter a light wind. Around us the normally noisy desert is silent, save for a few cactus wrens and thrashers. A bright red Cardinal sits atop a hackberry bush, unmistakable against the soft gray sky.

Clouds climb over the canyon's peaks and tumble down the canyon's walls. the creek swells with run off and I can hear the roar before I can see the water. We start our survey in the usual area near the first picnic sight, but no birds sing. We hike along the wet and grassy bank, but see, nothing. I am starting to think the birds are smarter than we are and they've all stayed home, but we trudge onward. Soon the swollen creek turns us back and we cannot go quite as far as we usually do. We head back to the paved trail, then descend along the cliff to the riparian area once again.


Down here by the creek the ruby-crowned kinglet flitter about. We hear their high-pitched voices before we finally spot one in the thick underbrush. Around us giant reed grows tall above us, transforming the creek banks to a jungle. These invasive plants are in the process of being removed by the forest service and a group of trained volunteers. We duck under their towering heights and wander among the willows by the dam. It has been reported that a rare chestnut-sided warbler has been spotted in the area. We crane our necks combing the treetops looking for the little bird.

I expect to see the lovely chestnut sides of the bird indicated by the photo in my bird guides, but when I finally spot this tiny feathered gem in the African sumac by the dam it isn't what I expect. Jean, Pam, and Peggy are more experienced birders than I am and when I call them over they confirm it is the chestnut-sided warbler in non-breeding plumage. the little bird flutters in and out of the foliage, making it very hard to photograph. I barely get a bead on it and it's gone once again. One surprise to me was the way it holds its tail upright like a wren. A visit to the newly formed Arizona Field Ornithologist page gives me further information:

Chestnut-sided warbler photo by Kathie Brown 1-23-09

Even when it completely lacks any Chestnut on the sides, non-breeding Chestnut-sided Warbler is a distinctive bright yellow-green above and unstreaked grayish-white below. It also has wingbars and an eyering. No other warbler has this combination of features.

From AZFO Photo ID Pages-chestnut-sided Warbler.

We continue past the dam and along the creek. Though our list is small today, this one bird is worth it all. Over the dam the swift water tumbles roaring a song in our ears. The boulder strewn creek bed is evidence of its power. Gray sky above becomes life-giving water below.



Big January Update:

105. Chestnut-sided Warbler
106. Anna's Hummingbird

Also, check out Diane's Sabino Canyon Blog

Blogger's Note Update 1-29-09: I submitted my Chestnut-sided warbler photo to the AZFO Webpage where it was accepted and posted. This is a first for me.

My World: Birding at Breakneck Speed part 2

My World is a world of birding, and this month I am Birding at Breakneck Speed in a contest with other bloggers for a Big January Bird Count. We are each going out in our own states and counting how many species of birds we can see in the first 31 days of 2009. The month is nearing an end now and soon we will know who has won. It's all in good fun with no other prize than bragging rights and a good excuse to be outdoors watching birds. So, when I received an email from fellow blogger Denapple telling me she was coming to Arizona for the Wings Over Wilcox Birding Festival last week, we made arrangements to meet each other and get in some Arizona Birding to boot! Denapple's real name is Kathy and I met up with her and her husband, Dick in Green Valley. Together we rode up to Madera Canyon, which is where she wanted to go birding after reading about it in another Blogpost from a couple of week's ago.

We started our day together at the Proctor Parking lot and trail. Before we even park the car a Say's Phoebe greets us from a nearby fencepost. We load up with birding gear and head down the trail with the profile of Elephant's Head bathed in long violet shadows before us. As we walk through the sun spangled and charred remains of mesquite and ocatillo left from a previous fire not a sound is heard but the soft rustle of the healing grasses and the scruffy sound of our own feet on pavement. We soon leave the sunlight and enter into patchy shadows as the path enters a tunnel created by the trees that grow along the creek. I am looking everywhere and listening intently for birds, but we are seeing and hearing nothing. We wander past the chattering creek across Proctor Road and up along the loop trail. Giant sycamore trees loom over granite boulders as the trail wanders up and down through a mixed forest of oak, juniper, sycamore, mesquite, willow, and cottonwood. I am starting to think that this birding trip is going to be a bust. We meet other travellers on the path, but still no birds and then, finally, they start to sing. First we find some goldfinches, then a raucous flock of Mexican jays flies through. We spot Chipping Sparrows and a Verdin, the first time Kathy has seen one. Then the woodpeckers show up and we see a Gila, Ladder-backed, and an Arizona woodpecker. Under a bush I find a Green-tailed Towhee hiding and Kathy gets her bins on it just in time before it flies away.

As we head back towards the parking lot we find a Hammond's flycatcher high in a live oak tree and up there with him I find these pink puff balls and I start to wonder if cotton candy grows on trees. I have no idea what they are, and I am intrigued.

Down by the creek once again we find a female cardinal hiding in the brush. As I maneuver to get her photo I take care to look for the cone-shaped red beak with the bit of black around it. Out here it can be easy to mistake the female cardinal for the similarly colored Pyrrhuloxia, but the Pyrrhuloxia has a stubby, parrot-like yellow beak with no black mask.

We leave the Proctor Parking lot with 16 species under our belt and head on up to the Madera Picnic area, a place that is usually ripe with birds. It is a reliable place to see Acorn Woodpeckers as well as Bridled Titmice. We head up the creek side trail searching the trees for these species. Imagine my surprise when we find this female Townsend's Warbler instead! Her yellow throat distinguishes her from the male Townsend's.

We cross the creek and emerge from the woods near the Santa Rita Lodge and Cabins. Here the owner's have set up bird feeders and birders are welcome to sit and watch the birds as long as they don't disturb the birds or the guests. Hanging from a thistle seed sock I spot my first Pine Siskins of the year. Last year they came to my backyard feeders, but they have not put in an appearance so far this year. Beneath the platform feeders the sparrows and junco hide in the shadows and gobble up seed spilled by greedy Mexican jays. Once in awhile they hop out into the sunlight and I see that there are at least three varieties of Dark-eyed Juncos here.

This little pink-sided juno is distinguished by its black lores, gray-blue head, pink sides, and dull brown back.

This Oregon Junco sports the typical black hood, brown back and sides. Note the pink beak and dark eyes.

The gray-headed junco also has dark eyes and a pink beak, but it has a red mantle on its back. The similarly colored Red-backed variety has a bi-colored bill that is dark gray or black on top. All of these used to be considered separate species but were lumped together with the slate-colored junco into one group renamed "Dark-eyed Junco". The slate-colored variety is the one most often seen in the east and there is also a white-winged variety seen in the midwest. The Yellow-eyed Junco is considered a separate species and is only found in the mountains of Southeast Arizona. According to Sibley's guide this bird is slightly larger and walks instead of hops. I have yet to see one myself and there are none here today.

The warm January sun is beating down on us and our stomachs are starting to growl. We walk back to the picnic area to eat our lunches which is a combined effort on our parts. Dick and Kathy graciously bought sandwiches and cookies for all of us. I brought along some chips, fruit and extra water. We sit in the shade of the towering trees and I am amazed at how comfortable we all are with each other. We chat pleasantly or are silent, with no one feeling awkward. Kathy so wants to get a good photo of a bridled titmouse and she tries to lure one in, but she is stalking an Acorn woodpecker when this little one lands nearby on the ground.

Then, to our utter delight a Hermit Thrush pops by. How amusing it is to me to find other people who eat lunch with their binoculars and cameras at the ready! When a bird comes by we all jump up and focus in for a better look, then sit back down to munch away as if nothing unusual has happened. This is normal behavior for birders.

And suddenly the trees are full of Acorn woodpeckers with clownish faces watching us with wary white eyes.

With lunch finished we drive up to the top of Madera Canyon. I tell Kathy and Dick they at least have to see the view from the top, but once there we decide to get out and hike a short distance up the trail. I have never birded the upper canyon as I rarely have anyone to go with me. We decide to try the Carrie Nation Trail and stroll along at a comfortable pace.

It isn't long before we are seeing birds. Many are the same species we have already seen down below, but then I spot a flash of red and am delighted to have found a Painted Redstart. These brightly colored warblers are busy little birds that people come from all over to see. I saw my first one in Ramsey Canyon shortly after moving here, then didn't see one again until last December with Gus. Now the little black, red, and white bird flashes in the tall trees above us. We all strain our neck trying to get a good view and a good angle for a photo, but the redstart keeps flitting higher and higher above us in the thick tangle of twigs. Still, I manage to get a couple of distant shots and you can see its bright red breast, black head, and the white wing bars and tail feathers.

Gus took this photo on December 29, 2008, so it didn't count for my Big January count, but the bird I saw today does. In this photo you can see the colors better and the comical white comma underneath the bird's eye. I suppose this white marking helps the bird to see better in the dark forest in which it lives.

With shadows growing longer we head back down the trail and as we do we freeze as a male Townsend's Warbler flashes into view. It is so close to us in the nearby juniper tree. It flits about busily on the branches searching for a meal. We both try to stop trembling long enough to get a shot or two, but there is no worry. The little bird doesn't mind us a bit. It is a perfect way to end a nearly perfect day. After all my worries about seeing enough birds we had a rich and varied trip with a total of 27 species after all and 10 additions to my Big January count. Kathy and Dick feel like old friends already and it is hard to say good-bye.

Kathiesbirds and Kathy Denapple in Madera Canyon 1-24-09

Big January Count Update:

95. Arizona woodpecker

96. Northern Cardinal

97. Rufous-crowned sparrow

98. Hutton's Vireo

99. Hammond's flycatcher

100. townsend's Warbler

101. Pine siskin

102. Brown Creeper

103. Painted Redstart

104. Black-throated Gray

Male Townsend's Warbler on the Carrie Nation Trail 1-24-09

Madera Canyon Bird List 1-24-09

1. Arizona woodpecker
2. Gila woodpecker
3. Acorn woodpecker
4. Ladder-backed woodpecker
5. Red-naped Sapsucker
6. Mexican jay
7. Say’s Phoebe
8. Hammond’s flycatcher
9. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
10. Hutton’s vireo
11. Verdin
12. Hermit thrush
13. White-breasted Nuthatch
14. Brown Creeper
15. Bridled titmouse
16. Yellow-rumped warbler
17. Townsend’s Warbler
18. Black-throated Gray Warbler
19. Painted Redstart
20. Dark-eyed junco
21. Green-tailed Towhee
22. Chipping sparrow
23. Rufous-crowned sparrow
24. Northern Cardinal
25. Lesser goldfinch
26. House finch
27. Pine siskin

Read Kathy's Account of this day on her blog: Life, Birding, Photos and Everything