Skywatch Friday: Celestial Sky Watcher

Cedar Waxwing at Agua Caliente Park 11-15-09

Skywatcher, birdwatcher Celeste 11-15-09

Last Sunday Celeste from Celestial Ramblings came to visit me here in Tucson with her husband. We went bird watching at one of my favorite places, Agua Caliente Park on the Northeast side of Tucson. Though the day started cool and clear it soon warmed up to about 70 degrees. Scroll down to read the full story below or click on the link:

Celestial Ramblings in Agua Caliente Park.


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My World: Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve

In the southern Mountains of Arizona lies a small town called Patagonia. Known as a birding and art Mecca, I met TR Ryan there on Friday morning after his two night stay at my house.



The blue adobe walls of the Duquesne House greet me, the front porch strung with red pepper chandeliers,

I step through the front door of this room into a Mexican heritage museum. I walk out the back door into a court yard from the past with lovely shady places to sit and contemplate…

While TR wanders the garden, sipping the fragrances of the flowers, listening to the hum of hummingbirds, and the breeze dancing in the trees

We soon pack up and drive the two short miles to The Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve. We are greeted by Cassin’s Kingbirds, canyon towhees, and a lark sparrow, seeking food on the gravel trail.

The trail meanders along Sonoita Creek, one of the few perennial streams in Arizona. As such, it is a precious resource and the Nature Conservancy has purchased it to preserve this fragile habitat. It was the first project undertaken by the Nature Conservancy in Arizona.

I am surprise by how flat it is, with mountains rising in the distance. But here the golden fields reflect autumn sunlight and shadow, while cicadas buzz in the trees. T.R. tells me this look like Oklahoma in the summer.

We walk quietly down the soft dirt trail and enter the woods once again.

Where we find western wood pewees and other flycatchers flitting among the creek side trees.

This is a quiet place, ripe with sunlight, perfect for bugs and birds. I see a woodpecker fly into the thickest trees and disappear before I can identify which species it is. We find a female vermillion flycatcher and an ash-throated flycatcher in the willows and cottonwoods down by the creek.

And then to my surprise on a dead snag overhanging the riffled water, a cedar waxwing perches silently alongside a Says Phoebe! Though I am quite familiar with cedar waxwings, I have never seen one in Arizona. It seem to me a bird out of place, a mixture of north and south, east and west, with the Says’ Phoebe sitting next to it.

When we return to the visitor’s center and ask about the bird, we find out it is indeed a rare sighting to see a cedar waxwing here. As such, we are each awarded a free poster. While TR chooses the view of the mountains, I pick the gray hawk instead. Though we did not see one today, we did end up with a list of 26 species of birds, many of them life birds for TR, and for me an Arizona life bird with the cedar waxwing sighting.

If you would like to visit the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve you get there by taking highway 83 south off of I-10 through Davidson Canyon, an Arizona Scenic highway. In Sonoita turn right on Highway 82 and follow it into Patagonia. Turn right on 4th Avenue to a T intersection. Then turn left and follow the signs to the preserve, about 1 ½ miles down the road.

Info from the Nature Conservancy web site:

Planning Your Visit The elevation at the preserve is 4,000 feet. The best months for birding are March through September. Late April and May, and late August and September, offer the greatest diversity of species, including migrants and spring/summer residents. Winter is the season for sparrows and occasional southern vagrants such as the rufous-backed robin.
Visitors may learn about the preserve, its wild residents, viewing interpretive exhibits at the Visitor Center.

HoursApril-September: Wednesday-Sunday, 6:30 a.m.-4 p.m. October-March: Wednesday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed: Mondays & Tuesdays all year & on Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Days.

Fees$5 per person. Conservancy members $3. Patagonia residents and ages 16 & under free. Fees are valid for seven days from date of purchase. Annual passes are available.

And that's...MY WORLD Tuesday

Birding Maine with Beth

For me, part of the fun of birding is finding someone to go birding with. In July I travelled to Maine where I met my new blogging and birding friend, Beth of Beth's Stories.

We met at the Boiler Room restaurant in Wilton, ME, which is near Wilson Lake. The Boiler Room is housed in an old mill which still has the mill creek running alongside.

Beth and I sit inside the brick lined boiler room dining area which still has the remnants of its past hanging about on the walls and ceiling. It was the first time we met but we felt like old friends. It is an easy meeting. Her red hair catches my eye. I always wanted to be a redhead. Her bright eyes sparkle behind her new glasses. We order our meals and chat, but we are eager to finish so we can go out birding together.

After our meal we head out to find birds. A few clouds overhead threaten rain as we stop by the smooth blue lake to take a few photos and see if there were any birds on the water. Wilson Lake, also called Wilson pond, is just one of many with that name in Maine. My grandfather use to camp and fish at another Wilson pond up by Moosehead Lake far to the north. I was born on his birthday and it is because of him that I feel such a connection to this state. However, there are no birds on this lake today, so we drive over to a nearby cemetery I know of to see what we can see.

We park our car in a quiet corner where large eastern white pines ring the edge of the graveyard. We glance up to see the evidence of woodpeckers, but no birds. Then, we hear a ruckus in the trees and watch as a family of blue jays flies into the pines.



The young jays screech and squawk at the parents to feed them. The parents are frantic to oblige. We laugh and enjoy the show. Then, I see some movement across the street. The black and white barring of a hairy woodpecker hanging about flahses by and lands clinging to a tree trunk. Perhaps he is the one who made at least some of the holes we observed earlier. After spotting a red-winged blackbird in a wet meadow beyond the trees, a chickadee and a few mourning doves we head back to the car and decide to try someplace else.

I suddenly remember a place I had seen on the back side of the lake from when I lived here before. We drive west along the lake until we reach Rt. 2. I take a right, which is west, and just a bit further we turn off Rt. 2 onto Pond Rd. We follow the road around a bend to where it opens into farmland and meadows. There on the left I see the gravel parking area just as I remembered it. We pull in and grab our binoculars and cameras. Even before we cross the road to the trail I spot an Eastern Kingbird sitting on the gate. I am thrilled, for Beth and I had been discussing this very species earlier and she had mentioned that she had not seen it. Our first bird at the Foothills Land Conservancy site is not only a Kingbird, but a life bird for Beth!

Then, as we cross the street to the meadow we see a Savannah Sparrow catching insects in the meadow grass. A warm sun shines down on us filtered by the threatening clouds. The air is muggy but a light breeze ruffles our hair now and again. I did not remember to bring bug spray and neither did Beth. I know I will pay for this foray into the meadow, but I will not be deterred by mosquitoes. This is the only day and time that Beth and I have. We forge on.

Soon I hear this strange whistling buzz in the trees overhead. A quick look up reveals a flock of cedar waxwings silhouetted against the patchy blue sky. All my senses are on alert as we walk onward. Someone has mowed a path around the meadow, which is thick with tall grasses and wildflowers.

Beth is much better than I am at tuning into the wildflowers we walk amongst. She points them out to me and I stop to photograph them, all the while listening for birds and watching for winged motion in the trees. Suddenly I grab her arm as my mouth drops open, for I cannot believe what I am seeing in the nearby trees. A bird with a curved bill is clinging almost sideways to a branch. I see it's clear white breast and long chestnut tail. It looks at me through wary eyes rimmed with red and freezes. I'm torn between trying to show the bird to Beth and trying to get a photograph. Beth hears the excitement in my voice as I try to point the bird out to her. I raise my camera to get a shot of the cuckoo and it spooks. Beth watches as the bird flies across the meadow to the trees beyond. I never expected to see a cuckoo. It wasn't even on my radar screen. I know it only as a bird in a book until now. Later, I scour my bird guides for clues as to which cuckoo it was, for there is a yellow-billed and a black-billed cuckoo. I was hoping they had different ranges, but their ranges do overlap. But, since I clearly remember seeing the red skin around the eyes I decide it must have been a black-billed cuckoo. This, too, is one of the pleasures of birding, for birding is a puzzle to be solved.

We continue on our way, but poor Beth endures me repeatedly remarking, "I can't believe I saw a cuckoo. I can't believe I saw a cuckoo" for the rest of our hike. As the trail leads from one meadow to another I'm struck by the beauty of these milkweed blossoms. Though I have grown up with milkweed I am more used to the dry seed pods and the fluffy down that floats on the wind. This is my first time really noticing the blossoms that create the seeds in the first place. The unopened buds appears like tiny purple fruits, but when they open the berries become pink petticoats on a green stem flanked by large shady green leaves. No wonder butterflies like them. What a pretty place to rest and feed.

As we walk along we spot this huge beetle crawling in the grass. I have no idea what it is, but Beth is not afraid to pick it up for better viewing. I'm content to take a picture and let it crawl away. Birding not only provides the opportunity to see birds, it connects me with nature in so many other ways.

As we walk along through the meadow I glance back at the view behind me. These mountains to the west are framed by the trees that ring the meadow and by the tall meadow grasses and weeds.

Farther on I am surprised to find a few maple leaves in the marsh already turning, a reminder that here in Maine, winter is never far away.





Then we find a few ripe raspberries growing along the edge of the meadow. Beth and I pick a few, surprised that the birds have left any at all. We hear the pounding of a woodpecker and find a little downy working on a nearby tree.

As meadow leads to meadow, we cross this plank bridge over a small brook, almost hidden in the dense grass.

Here in this wet meadow we find common yellow throats galore. They pop in and out of the grasses and I snap numerous pictures before I finally get one where the bird is fully exposed. He looks like a mischievous little bandit with his black mask. I'm sure he is having a good laugh at us!

We finally reach the marshy end of the meadow. Beyond Wilson Lake lies to the east. This looks like perfect moose habitat, but we see none. However, the mosquitoes are out in force and I slap away at my legs and arms trying to ignore their bites.

We follow the path back through the meadow to our car. Sometimes we talk. Sometimes we walk in companionable silence enjoying the experience for what it is.

Back at the car Beth sits patiently on a rock while I photograph the farm field full of recently baled hay. The slanting light of the setting sun has thrown a cape of gold across the land.

I drive Beth back to where she parked her car and we hug each other good-bye knowing that we have each made a new friend. This is the joy of birding: new friends, new places, new discoveries. But as I get in my car to drive back to the hotel, I experience one of the pains as my welted legs start to itch with over 100 mosquito bites. I'll carry this memento home with me to Arizona where it will linger for many weeks. But it was worth every mosquito bite I got and I would do it all over again. Thank you Beth for meeting me and sharing this experience. To read Beth's account of this day click on Finding Birds in Wilton.

Sign embedded in a rock at the far end of the meadow near the marsh.

Visit Wrenaissance Reflections to see edition # 83 of I and the Bird. Click on the button above to view the main web site.

Birds seen:

Location: Foothills Land Conservancy
Observation date:7/14/08
Notes: This place was alive with birds and mosquitoes. So much to
see. I will definitely go back. Beth and I both took photos.
Number of species: 12

Black-billed Cuckoo 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern
Phoebe 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
American Crow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 2
American Robin 1
Cedar Waxwing 12
Common Yellowthroat 5
Savannah Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 2
American Goldfinch 9

Photographer's note: All of today's phototgraphy is by Kathie with the Nikon D80 and the 70-300mm lens set in sports mode for the birds and landscape mode for the landscape shots.

Birding Connecticut: Comstock Bridge

(Today's Photography Courtesy of Kathie with the Nikon D80; 70 to 300mm lens, as always, click on photos to enlarge for best viewing.)

Comstock Covered Bridge is located on Rt. 16 just west of Colchester center. Built in 1791, it spans the Salmon River.

In 1936 it was repaired by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It has been repaired once again recently but whomever did it made a bad job of it. Huge rusted metal beams run along both sides of the bridge to stabilize it. Long metal bolts were then drilled through the wooden beams of the bridge and into the steel girders. Because these girders run the length of the bridge and onto the banks it would be easy for people to climb out on them. The solution? Let's make this once picturesque bridge even uglier by putting wire cages at both ends of the girders! There, that solved that problem. While no one can hurt themselves now, neither will anyone want to photograph this bridge except to show everyone else how the job was botched!

This flock of barn swallows doesn't seem to mind one bit. They are having as much fun watching me as I am having watching them. The swallows are sitting on wires across the street from the bridge. It is in these same trees where I saw the American Redstarts.

The Salmon River flowing beneath Rt. 16. On the other side of this bridge and across from the Comstock Covered Bridge is Salmon River State Park. (Click on the links to see pictures of the bridge prior to the steel girders being added. This is the way I remember it.) As a child I knew it as a fun place to swim as well as a place where my Grandfather went fishing. Now I am exploring these old haunts as new places to bird. For today I will keep to this side of the river.

A song sparrow catches a moth in the grass near the bridge.

Then it hops up on a fence post to sing about its breakfast!

My son, Alex walks along the rivers edge.

We cross the wooden bridge and head around this bend of the river.

A great blue heron flies in and lands among the rocks...

...but I am distracted by the sounds of Cedar Waxwings in the trees overhead. I observe them hunting insects over the water in a flock. I have never witnessed this behavior before. It is new to me. I thought they only ate berries, but these birds are acting like flycatchers flying out from the trees, grabbing an insect and then returning to their perches.

This little chipping sparrow bids us good-bye as we head back home to Gramma's house.

View of the bridge with the steel girders running along side. Notice the chain link fence at the end near the bank.

Birds Seen today:

Location: Comstock Bridge
Observation date: 7/9/08
Notes: With Alex. Sunny, warm, light breeze. Cedar waxwings hunting insects
over river.
Number of species: 14

Common Merganser 1
Great Blue
Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Barn Swallow 6
Black-capped Chickadee 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
American Robin 6
Cedar Waxwing 8
American Redstart 2
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
American Goldfinch 2