My World: Birding With TR Ryan

Lark Bunting in Sycamore Canyon 10-8-09 by Kathiesbirds

T. R. Ryan's visit with me begins in Sycamore Canyon. It is Tuesday afternoon and I am writing last week's MY World post and waiting for him. Finally he arrives and before long we are out the door. We have just enough time to visit Saguaro National Park's Rincon Unit before darkness falls. On our way out of the Canyon, I decide to drive him up the foothills to see the view from here.

Yellow Warbler in Sycamore Canyon 10-6-09

Our birding expedition begins as soon as TR arrives when he sees his first Anna's and Costa's hummingbirds in my back yard. Then, as I pull the car over to show him the view of the canyon we find this little yellow warbler and its mate hopping about among the cholla cactus and mesquite trees that dot the hillsides around us.

American Kestrel in Saguaro National Park's Rincon Mountain Unit

It is a quick 20 minute drive from my house to the eastern section of Saguaro National Park. Saguaro is divided into the Tucson Mountain Unit on the west and the Rincon Mountain Unit on the east with the city of Tucson sprawling inbetween the two. Though the Rincon Mountain Unit is the largest, it is the least visited of the two. However, it is the closest to me, and I am eager to show it to TR. The park is fairly quiet as we drive in and park at the visitor's center. As soon as we exit the car, TR gets another life bird when a Black-throated sparrow jumps up on a nearby bush. We see cactus wrens and hear Curve-billed thrashers before we leave the parking lot, but soon after that the desert falls silent in the late autumn day. We drive the 5 mile loop raod without seeing many birds, but before we leave I drive TR down to the Javalina Picnic Area which has historically been a rich birding area for me. Sure enough we find an American Kestrel, along with a cardinal, another black-throated sparrow, and others. The sun is low in the sky now, casting a golden glow on what remains of the day. Our bird list is not large, but almost all of them are life birds for TR.

TR walking the Proctor Trail in Madera Canyon 10-7-09

Tomorrow we are up early and soon we are driving south. We arrive in Madera Canyon by 9 a.m. and hike on down the trail. The morning sun is warming, but a brisk wind blows. Still, we manage to find quite a few birds on this short paved loop. I am quite surprised to find the creek dry as we head on down the trail.

We find this ball of resin clinging to the side of a mesquite tree. I have never seen anything like this.

Resin ball 10-7-09

It looks like some confection made crackling hard and translucent by nature's own candy maker.

Bridled titmouse 10-7-09

We hear a faint twittering and a call that reminds us of chickadees, but higher pitched and different somehow. Soon we spot the bridled titmice working their way among the twigs and branches gleaning food. Bridled Titmice are one of TR's target birds and here they are, right before our eyes. T. R. is mesmerized.

Green-tailed Towhee 10-7-09 Proctor Trail

I saw a green-tailed towhee on our way into the trail, but TR was a bit ahead of me and didn't get such a good look. However, on the way back out this little bird hopped right up into some dead brush and let us get a really good view. Yet another life bird for TR.

From here we head farther up into the Canyon to another favorite birding spot: Madera Picnic Area. As soon as we park the car TR gets to see yet another target bird, the Acorn woodpecker. While he jumps out for a better look, I gather my gear and the food and we head down to find a picnic table for a rest and a snack. However, just as soon as I lay my books, bags, and cooler on the table I see something in the shadows of a nearby bush. It is barely 10 feet away from me and my jaw drops open and I start to shake. Can I be seeing what I think I am seeing?

Juvenile Band-tailed Pigeon 10-7-09

T.R. is wondering what I am so excited about but I can barely answer him. I have been in pursuit of this species for almost a year, and now here it is, right before my eyes. I see the pigeon's body, but this is no Rock Pigeon or Mourning Dove. "How do you know," asks T.R.? "See the yellow feet and the yellow beak," I say, but something is not right. Where is the banded tail and the white crescent and green iridescence that should be on the back of the neck. Yet it has a yellow beak and yellow feet. Rock pigeons have pink feet and a gray beak. Mourning doves have the same with a pointed tail and speckled wings. As my mind races, all I can think is that this must be a juvenile.

Juvenile Band-tailed pigeon 10-7-09 Madera picnic area.

TR and I both snap several photos. The bird doesn't seem to mind a bit. It settles beneath the bush for a nap, and stays there the rest of the time we are here. After I finally sit down, I pull out my bird guides to check. Sure enough, it is a juvenile band-tailed pigeon. Unlike the street pigeons, this one favors oak woods and pines and is a summer resident here in Southeast Arizona. Though I know it has been seen here in Madera Canyon, this is my first time ever seeing one here, or anywhere! I brought TR here because this was at the top of his list of places to visit. We came here seeking lifers for him, but this soft young bird is my reward. Life Bird 363 for me!

We hike up along the creek and emerge near the Santa Rita Lodge. There we find wild turkeys and Mexican jays eating greedily from the feeders. I search the nearby trees for Arizona woodpeckers, but no luck. Arizona woodpeckers are our only brown woodpecker here in the USA, and many people come to SE Arizona to see them. No luck today, but reason enough for TR to come back and visit me again!

We finally drive all the way to the top of Madera Canyon and start to hike up the Carrie Nation trail, but we are tired and hungry. After a few minutes of hiking we are seeing no birds at all. Not a one! So we head back to the car and drive out of the canyon. We take I-19 south to Rio Rico, where I show TR hawk hill and the Swainson's hawk field. The bales of hay and the Swainson's hawks are all gone, but we do find a female vermilion flycatcher, a western kingbird and a kettle of Chihuahuan ravens swirling overhead! We leave Rio Rico shortly after 4 and meet up with Gus in Tucson at a local Mexican Restaurant called Macayo's. It is the perfect way to end the day, since I have neither the time nor the energy to cook and clean up!

Queen Butterfly in Sycamore Canyon Wash 10-8-09

(Thanks Doug!)

Thursday morning dawns bright and clear. The wind has died down so all is calm as T.R. and I head out into the wash. This will be our last hike before he has to leave. We saved Sycamore Canyon for last since we do not have to drive to get there. It is right out my front door. I do not know what we will see, since we have not seen large numbers of species at all in the places we have birded so far, but Sycamore Canyon does not disappoint and soon we are seeing birds everywhere! So many, in fact, that it is hard to keep track of them all. I get on one bird and TR finds another. "What is this," he ask. "Wait a minute, I am not sure what this one is!" I reply. And we spin, and snap and look and list and hike and look some more. We are finding phainopeplas, Gambels' Quail, Gila Woodpeckers, Gilded flickers, Black-tailed gnatcatchers, black-throated sparrows, Costa's hummingbirds, curve-billed thrashers, cactus wrens, turkey vultures and more. Birds are all around us. Birds are everywhere. T.R. wants to see a pyrrhuloxia, and finally we find one when we near the bridge over the wash. We also find a ladder-backed woodpecker, and a lark bunting eating grass seed heads by the side of the road. The lark bunting is in the same area where I had the Unexpected Encounter with the peregrine falcon and I point it all out to him. We are in no hurry and we go at our own pace. T.R. is enjoying the beauty around him. I think the magic of this place has wrapped around his heart.

Verdin in hackberry bush in Sycamore Canyon Wash 10-8-09

We have been up on the canyon's rim but now decide to hike home up the floor of the wash. Here TR gets his best view of a verdin yet. while we are hiking we discuss where he is going to next and it is then that we hatch a plan for me to meet him in Patagonia tomorrow and go birding at the Patagonia -Sonoita creek preserve together. So, after entering all our bird counts into eBird, TR packs his vehicle and I hug him good-bye. I wave as he drives down the road and a smile spreads across my face. I'm ready for more birding adventures, but I am glad for an afternoon of rest!

And that's MY WORLD Tuesday (and Wednesday and Thursday...)

also, visit Kathie's Poet Tree to read my new poem: Brown Creeper

Mother's Day at Las Cienegas NCA

(photo by Gus)

On Mother’s Day I get to choose what we do so I chose to avoid the crowds and get lost in nature instead. Gus and I drive east and then south on Highway 83 towards Sonoita through Davidson Canyon. Just south of mile marker 40 we turn east into Las Cienegas, a National Conservation Area. Here the terrain is so different from the Sonoran Desert that surrounds my house. We drive over a cattle guard into a vast grassland reminiscent of an African Savannah. Mesquite trees dot the rolling hillsides while wildflowers bloom along the edges. The frilly white blossoms of this wildflower greet us as soon as we entered Las Cienegas, a fitting start to Mother’s Day.


I have no idea what to expect from Las Cienegas. We have only been here one time before and that was late in the evening in the winter when raptors were the most common bird we saw. That day we only drove about 5 miles into the NCA before it got dark and we had to leave. We are here early enough today at 8:00 a.m., but already the sun is beating down and the temperature rising. At this time of year many of the birds settle down for the day by ten a.m., but we are going enjoy the drive whether we see any birds or not. With such an open area, Gus says he won’t get any good opportunities for photographs.

(Say's Phoebe: photo by Gus)

As soon as Gus pulls over to photograph the wildflowers we see our first bird. It is a Say’s phoebe, which surprises me since I haven’t seen them in over a month. Farther down the road a Cassin’s kingbird perches atop a sign before flying off to a nearby mesquite. The dirt road soon comes to a T and we turn left towards a creek area about 3 miles north. Here we pull into a parking lot beneath towering cottonwood trees. A large cottonwood trunk lies on the ground, its trunk naked and silver in the shade of its kin. The sounds of bird songs fill my ears as soon as I step from the car. My heat starts to beat like the wings of a nighthawk with fluttering anticipation. We head for the path at the far end of the parking area and enter another world.

The dirt trail winds through a bit of a meadow at first. Off to the right the cottonwood, willows and ash trees rim the small creek that flows. To the left mesquite and cottonwood trees grow on the edge of the meadow against steep caliche banks cracked by sun and water. Gus stops to photograph a butterfly feeding from a lavender thistle.

(Abert's towhee: photo by Gus)

I hear birds all around me, and we spot an Abert’s towhee hiding in the thick foliage. As the path winds closer to the creek we suddenly spy a bright orange dragonfly clinging to a grass stem. Gus captures these beautiful images of this jewel-like insect.

(Flame Skimmer Dragonfly Photo by Gus: Identification courtesy of Doug Taron at Gossemer Tapestry)

We drag ourselves away from the bug and enter the forest primeval, for that is what it feels like. We are here alone. All sights and sounds of civilization are gone. The tender new grasses and flower sprout beneath our feet. Duck weed floats in the slow moving creek. Lizards move through the grass and forest detritus and I startle easily after Saturday’s encounter with the rattlesnake. The dappled sunlight bathes the forest floor as we wander further down the path. Gus amazes me by spotting a summer tanager before I do. I have never seen one before and it is a life bird for me.

(Summer Tanager: Photo by Gus)

I marvel at the striking red of this bird set in the shadows of this dark grove. Soon the path narrows and hugs the giant roots of cottonwood trees on our left. To the right the bank has fallen away dropping 4 or more feet to the creek level. Gus and I both clamber over thick roots that hold the remaining soil together, but I can’t help thinking I wouldn’t want to be on this path during the coming monsoon!

(photo by Gus)

We finally reach an area that has flattened out and we stand beneath towering trees. It is so quiet, save for the bird songs and the gentle rustle of leaves overhead. In this thick forest there is not much undergrowth and I wonder if there are any birds here at all, but the forest is ready to surprise us as a vermillion flycatcher lands on the dead limb of a nearby tree. It is a little female, but soon a male flies into view.

(Vermillion Flycatcher: Photo by Gus)

The pair chase each other back and forth through the trees, then alight on a limb to mate. We linger in this area for quite awhile as more vermillion flycatchers and summer tanagers flit in and out of the trees. Suddenly I hear a loud ruckus in the trees above me. Gus and I tip our heads to see what is causing the commotion. We locate the sound just in time to see a smaller bird chasing a larger white bird from the treetops. A white-tailed kite! I have read about them on the way down here and now I am seeing one for the first time. I watch its white rump disappear over the forest edge and silence descends on the forest once again.

(photo by Gus)

We turn and head back to the parking area as my throat is getting quite dry. Once back on the other side of the giant tree roots we are closer to the water once again. Now I spot a yellow-breasted chat along the creek edge. Then I find another. Next, a song sparrow flies to a sapling and sings its melodious song, its head tipped back to let the notes roll from its tiny throat. Such a big song for such a small bird!

(Song Sparrow: photo by Gus)

I spot a flash of yellow and find a common yellow-throat. Maybe common for some, but this is also a life bird for me.

(Yellow-breasted chat: photo by Gus)

Gus is able to capture one image before the bird disappears into the greenery. Next we finally find the source of the constant tapping we have heard ever since entering this wood.

(Ladderback woodpecker: Photo by Gus)

Hanging upside down on a limb is a female ladder-back woodpecker. We find yet another yellow-breasted chat and then a small flock of white-crowned sparrows as they moves through the underbrush. I find a thrush in the shadows across the creek but it is too far away to photograph and it is only later that I discover there are 3 kinds of thrushes possible here. I should have paid more attention to field marks and taken better notes. Flycatchers abound in this wood, but I am woefully weak in identifying Empids, though the Ash-throated flycatchers are a bit easier.

(Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Photo by Gus: Identification courtesy of Doug at Gossemer Tapestry)

As we step from the shade of the woods into the meadow again it is like stepping into an oven. The canopy of the trees kept us comfortably cool, but here in the desert southwest it’s all about radiant heat. The sun warmed air is hot and dry and we head for our car for much needed liquid refreshment. On the way across the meadow we find a Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly sipping on thistle nectar.

(Photo by Kathie)

While Gus rests in the shade of the car, I wander around under the giant cottonwood grove. I see more summer tanagers, more vermillion flycatchers, ash-throated flycatchers, and, to my surprise, a nesting pair of white-breasted nuthatches going in and out of this hole in a tree limb with moths in their beaks to feed their young.

(White-breasted Nuthatches in nest hole: Photo by Kathie)

Then, as I am about to leave, I spot a small sparrow hopping and digging beneath one of the cottonwood trees. When I look with my binoculars I see a rusty cap, and a white malar stripe bordered by black. My heart starts to pound for I think this is a Rufous-crowned sparrow, an elusive sparrow that I have been on the search for ever since I learned about it. I keep hoping to see one in Sycamore Canyon, but so far have only found Rufous- winged sparrows and Chipping sparrows. This species is differentiated from the other two rusty capped sparrows by its conspicuous eye-ring, and only one dark whisker mark. The rufous-winged sparrow has two. The chipping sparrow has none. Since I have the camera with me I snap off 30 or more photos. Once at home I am able to confirm my suspicions. Yet another lifer for me today!

(Rufous-crowned sparrow: photo by Kathie)

We drive out of the parking lot and head south out of the Conservation area. While we could get back to highway 83 the way we came in, we decide to drive the 8 miles south to Sonoita and circle back around towards home. We follow the narrow dirt road though a mesquite Bosque up low hills and down into wide desert washes.

(Photo by Gus)

We find two more Cassin’s Kingbirds and then a pair of Black-throated sparrows alongside the road. Then I spot a sparrow with a very patterned face. We stop the car and as Gus tries to get a photograph it flies off to the safety of a mesquite bush. Still, he is able to get this photo of the beautiful face of a lark sparrow!

(Lark sparrow photo by Gus)

Just as Route 82 comes into view we come to a cattle guard and to my surprise I see a male and female lark bunting on the dirt road before us. The cows in the nearby corral quietly chew their cuds and stare at the crazy humans so enthralled with birds. Our final bird of the day we find accidently as we followed the flight of another kingbird right in front of our car. Gus stopped to get a photo but the bird flew off to more distant cover, but there on a small shrub right next to it this horned larked clung to the twigs with sunlight pouring down, it’s feathery horns raised in beautiful display. Since it was on my side of the car, Gus handed me the camera and I got this shot, the last of the day.

( Horned Lark: Photo by Kathie)

In the end, after all my fears of not seeing any birds and Gus’ fear that they would all be too far away for any good shots, I ended up recording 29 species of birds (and it would have been more if I could have indentified the flycatchers and the thrush) and Gus got more than enough opportunity to get some awesome photographs. His favorite is the dragonfly and this shot of last year’s yucca blooms against the desert sky.

To read about Doug Taron's interesting adventure at Las Cienegas click here.

Sunday's Story of the GBBC

Every day is warmer and drier and the birds have dispersed from my yard. Though they still show up in hordes, there is not the number or variety as there was on Friday when the storm rolled through. Today I expand my horizons and try to find some new birding areas close to home. Gus and I are both still fighting this cold, and he stays home to rest. My obsession drives me from the house to add to the greater knowledge of bird populations across the U.S.A. Besides, I am determined to have Corona de Tucson well represented in the bird count, so off I go.

I start at the local park in our neighborhood where I am horrified to see they have started to tear the desert up to make way for the community center. The area is all marked off and heavy equipment is parked at the edge. I knew this was coming but it still makes me sad to see it happening. I know how many birds and bunnies inhabit the scrub they will now tear up. Cactus will be plowed over, though some will be saved, and in the end a pool and club house will be built, all with new landscaping. New birds will move in to inhabit the landscaped areas, but the wild delicate species will be gone, driven off to find new habitats in undisturbed areas.

Today I count a mixed flock of Brewer’s, Rufous-winged, and Black-throated sparrows among the thin grasses. The usual suspects of Gila woodpeckers, cactus wrens, and curved-billed thrashers are present also. The thrashers and cactus wrens make their nests in spiny cholla (pronounced choy-a) cactus. The fruit from these cacti hang down in chains and drop to the ground to be eaten by other desert animals. When a cholla cactus dies it leaves behind a beautiful gray skeleton. This latticework trunk makes a nice addition to the yard or even as part of your interior decorating if you find a good piece. Here in nature, the birds simply use it as a perch. I’m sure for them the appeal is purely practical and they are unaware of its esthetic appeal.

From the park I simply drive around trying to find a good area to bird. A Sunday morning quiet has descended on the area but over on Houghton Rd I see and hear a bunch of birds in some tall trees in an older part of town. I pull over in front of what I later discover in the Tin Cup Lounge and Country Club for the Santa Rita Golf Course. There are lots of cars at this place, so I pull a little farther down the road and park in front of a vacant lot. This vacant lot proves to be a gold mine as I soon discover.

It’s only a small area of land about 1 ½ acres in size. To the north if a hair salon, the east border is formed by the golf course with tall pines and other trees. On the south the Country Club frames the lot with tall eucalyptus trees and some juniper. The western border is formed by the road which has a constant stream of traffic. But, here in this little abandoned and scrubby field the birds have found refuge. I’m drawn in by the chirping, tweeting, cackling sounds. Feathered motion is everywhere. Tiny birds flit from brush to bush, cactus to cactus and tree to tree. The sparrows fly up briefly, then dart into the grasses again. I find thrashers and cactus wrens building nests. Before I am done I count Brewer’s, Rufous-winged, White-crowned, and Black-throated sparrows. I suspect there are others I can’t identify.

Then I see something different and focus on it. It has a larger beak, a striped breast, central breast spot, dark malar stripe…what am I looking at? Dickcissel and Lark Bunting go through my mind, but I put down my binoculars and swing up my camera. I need to capture a picture if I want to be sure. The little scallywag runs for cover. It stays low in the grasses but I snap away. When I get home I discover it IS a lark bunting! A new bird for my bird count at least! On Sunday I count 21 species in this forgotten bit of earth. When I return here on Monday I add two more species to the count. I also observe the red-tailed hawk bringing nesting material to a tall pine on the golf course. I suppose someday this forgotten piece of land will be plowed up to make way for a parking lot or something, but for now I can only hope it stays this way for a long time to come.

Birds Counted in and around the vacant lot: 1. Red-tailed hawk, 2. Mourning dove, 3. Anna’s hummingbird, 4. Costa’s hummingbird, 5. Gila Woodpecker, 6. Say’s Phoebe, 7. Chihuahuan Raven, 8. Cactus Wren, 9. Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 10. Curved-billed thrasher, 11.European Starling, 12.Yellow-rumped warbler, 13.Canyon towhee, 14.Rufous-winged sparrow, 15.Brewer’s sparrow, 16.Black-throated sparrow, 17. Lark bunting, 18.White-crowned sparrow, 19.Phrrhuloxia, 20.Great-tailed grackle, 21.Housefinch 22. Hutton’s vireo, 23. Orange-crowned warbler.