Skywatch Friday: Dusty Skys

4-14-09 @ 4:54 PM MST

4-14-09 @ 5:46 PM MST

This mountain sits across the valley from Picacho Peak. I visited the park on a sunny, but windy day 2 weeks ago. Though the sky was clear and blue when I arrived, the wind kicked up the dust and drove in the clouds, transforming the light on this mountain. From these two photos you can see the difference in just an hour's time. While the sun has sunk lower in the east (to my back) the dust filled sky makes the second photo grayer instead of rich with color like you usually see in the evening.

Springtime often brings high winds like this to Arizona. They can blow up dust storms even greater than this, called a Haboob. When that happens visibility drops to near zero and the best thing to do is to pull your car off the road and shut of all your lights. If you leave even your parking lights on the other traffic will think you are moving and slam into the back of your vehicle trying to follow you. This area around Picacho Peak and Casa Grande is well known for its dust storms. Check out the ADOT webpage for further information about driving in a Haboob.

Skywatch Friday: Picacho Peak Sky

Picacho Peak 4-14-08 by Kathies Brown

(click to enlarge for the best view)

This is one of several views of Picahco Peak I took when I was here birding last week. This shot really makes me feel the weight of the mountain against the blazing white clouds that are backlit by the setting sun. The wind was gusting to over 45 MPH this day, so I didn't see many birds and I had the park almost completely to myself. It was a fun day and I was tired by the time I got in my car and headed back to Tucson to meet Gus at the restaurant mentioned in last week's Skywatch post. Read more about Picacho Peak in My World Tuesday: Picacho Peak

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Skywatch Friday

My World: Picacho Peak

Volcanic Rock and clear skys 4-14-09 by Kathiesbirds

It is a windy day the afternoon I pull into Picacho Peak State Park. Blue skys greet me as I present my State Parks Pass and drive in. It has been 3 years since I have been here and I am eager to be back. Last time I was here we still lived in Utah and Gus and I were down here visiting my son and his wife in their new home in Coolidge for Thanksgiving. It was that very trip that sparked our move to Arizona, and now I am driving back after a two day visit to see them and my new grandson.

Clouds roll in 4-14-09 by Kathiesbirds

Picacho Peak sits right along I-10 and is visible from both directions. It's unique shape has been a landmark long before motor vehicles were invented and long before their was even a road here. It was first recorded by the Anza expedition in the 1700's. Later the Morman Battalion constructed a road through Picacho Pass in 1848. This road was used by the Butterfield Overland Stage in the late 1950's. However, Picahco Peak is best known to non-native Americans as the site of the only Civil War Battle in Arizona. The Battle of Picacho Pass took place on April 15, 1862. Lasting only 1 1/2 hours, three union soldiers were killed before it was all over. A monument to the battle is located in the park and until recent budget cuts, a Civil war re-enactment was held here on a yearly basis.

High Peaks tower over me 4-14-09

Today I am here to watch birds, however. Last time I was here I was not eBirding. For my own personal pleasure, I kept a list of the species, but not a count of how many birds I had seen. I know Picacho Peak as the first place I saw a Black-throated Sparrow and a Verdin. Now I am wondering what birds I will see today.

Saguaro Slopes 4-14-09

The high gusty winds are blowing the clouds in like a thick blanket above me. The winds also seem to be keeping the birds down and the ones I see are few and far between.

Dust storm across the highway 4-14-09

Across the highway the high winds blow up a dust storm in gossamer gray clouds.

Prickly Pear Blossom 4-14-09

But I am soon distracted by the bright yellow blossom of a prickly pear cactus.

Looking back down the trail 4-14-09

I find a little .2 mile hike up the slope of the peak called the Children's Cave. Though I am not technically a child, my curiosity is piqued and I start up the winding path. The path crosses a little bridge, then follows a couple of switchbacks as it gains elevation. I turn back to see the view and my lone car parked in the parking lot.

View to the southeast 4-14-09

I look southeast towards Tucson and the Catalina Mountains. The new Visitor Center lies before me, as well as the edge of the peak.

View to the northeast 4-14-09

Though I have been allover the park in my car checking on spots to bird, I have seen the most birds along the main road at the Palo Verde Ramada. I see it across the street now with the Ramada looking like a giant picnic table. Beyond it a rock formation on the other side of the highway looks like a sleeping dragon. I wonder why the birds like this area so much. I am determined to find out.

So, after peaking in the little cave I head back down the trail. I drive the short distance to the Ramada because I want to sit in it out of the wind and record my bird counts. As soon as I park my car, however, I am off taking photos of a cactus wren.

The secret pool 4-14-09

Then the sounds of birds entices me across the street where earlier I had seen 12 chipping sparrows alongside the road. As I cross the road and look down the embankment I see the source of their interest. A little cement pool sits at the bottom of the wash with what I can only assume is the overflow of gray water from the restrooms above. In the desert water is a precious thing and the sustainer of life. I look on as a few mourning doves and House Finches gather at the edges. The mourning doves stay on the ground while the house finches cling to the desert broom that sways over the pool. I am always surprised when I find house finches in a wild place as I think of them as suburban birds. But here they are on the slopes of Picacho Peak, wild as any other bird that inhabits this dry land.

I turn from the pool to head to the Ramada once again when I spot a thrasher on a Saguaro. I creep closer to see if it is a Bendire's Thrasher, but that long curved bill reveals it to be the usual Curve-billed Thrasher. We have Bendire's Thrashers here in Arizona and I am on the hunt to see one. They are very similar to the Curve-billed with the only differences being subtle changes in the length and curve of the bill, a pale base to the bill, and arrowhead shaped spots instead of indistinct round spots on the breast. So far I have not been confident enough to know I have seen one, so I keep studying on it. While I am watching the curve-billed I hear a chattering in the creosote bushes beside me. I turn to look...

Who's in the bush? 4-14-09

Could it be? I start stalking the little gray bird as it flits about from twig to twig staying deep in the foliage. Everytime it reveals itself it flies aways before I can focus on it.

Patience pays off 4-14-09

Finally my patience pays off as the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher pops up on a branch just long enough for me to snap a photo. I see his black cap and his white eye-ring before it disappears again. I wait a little longer and then...

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher by Kathie Brown 4-14-09

Mouth-gaping surprise! The little bird poses for me. I hear the shutter clicking even faster than the beating of my own heart. And then...

Good-bye!

Birds Seen at Picacho Peak on April 14, 2009:

1. Turkey Vulture
2. Mourning Dove
3. Gila Woodpecker
4. Cactus Wren
5. Curve-billed Thrasher
6. Ash-throated Flycatcher
7. Verdin
8. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
9. Common Raven
10. White-crowned sparrow
11. Chipping Sparrow
12. House Finch

Blogger's Notes: all of today's Photography is by Kathie Brown with the Nikon D80 and the 70-300 mm lens. The historical information in today's post was gleaned from the Picacho Peak website and Wikipedia, as well as from my own experience of being there. To read more about Picacho Peak visit the Picacho Peak website as well as the Picacho Peak History Page. Wikipedia's Picacho Peak entry has an excellent photo of the Cival War re-enactment. I hope this post encourages you to stop and visit Picacho Peak if you are ever in the area!

Skywatch Friday: Cotton

Blue Sky Cotton by Kathie 12-10-08 4:49 PM MST

One of the biggest surprises for me when I moved to Arizona was discovering they grow cotton here. I have always thought of cotton as a southern crop, but not a desert crop. I pass these fields along highway 287 from Picacho to Coolidge. As sunset neared on our drive home last Wednesday, the lighting was just perfect. I pulled off the road in this cotton field and jumped out to photgraph these huge bales.

Picacho Peak Cotton by Kathiesbirds 12-10-08 4:52 PM MST

The remaining cotton looks almost like snow with Picacho Peak on the horizan. Picacho is a famous land mark along I-10. I mark my progress as I drive by its position in my vehicle's windows. It is also a State Park and a perfect place for hiking, bird watching, and for wildflower viewing in the spring.

Close-up of Cotton by Kathiesbirds 12-10-08



Cotton bales all in a row by Kathiesbirds 12-10-08



Mom, Mountains and Cotton 12-10-08 by Kathiesbirds


(Click on the button to continue your tour)

Photographer's info:

• Blue Sky cotton: Focal Length: 27mm 1/250 sec - F/8
• Picacho cotton: Focal Length: 70mm 1/125 sec - F/4.5
• Close-up cotton: Focal Length: 70mm 1/320 sec - F/4.5
• Cotton Bales: Focal Length: 60mm 1/320 sec - F/4.5
• Mom, Mountains and cotton: Focal Length: 48mm 1/125 sec - F/5.6
  

Home Again

When I left for Coolidge and the Phoenix Art Museum on Tuesday one of the last birds I saw was a beautiful male Gambel’s quail perched on the railing outside the den window. When I arrived home late yesterday afternoon I spotted one yet again in the same position as I drove up to my house past the wash. An appropriate welcome home, don’t you think?

This morning I awake at 5:30 am and step out the back door with my cup of green tea steaming in my cup. The sky is just beginning to lighten but a few stars are still visible in this quiet pre-dawn moment. A gentle breeze tickles the branches of the Palo Verde tree still sitting in its box, waiting to be planted. I’m struck by how still it is; not a manmade sound in the world. Overhead a triangle of stars hangs in the blue-black sky. I lift my heart in thankfulness to be alive, something I haven’t done in a very long time.

I stayed in Coolidge longer than originally planned. As usual, this project took much longer than I anticipated and I went much grander than I thought I would. As a result I will have to travel back to finish my painting, but here’s a brief peek at the progress.

Day one: sketch the drawing, paint the background. The water took longer to paint than I thought it would and more paint than I thought it would. I discovered that painting on a textured surface makes it really hard to paint a straight line.

Day Two: Paint lighthouse and the dolphin. The lighthouse is an artistic representation of the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, ME. My son and his wife are both from the east coast and they are missing the ocean and access to the beach. I’m trying to give them and their son a sense of that here in the middle of the desert.

Day Three: Finish the arctic tern and a few other details in the morning, then drive home before traffic in Tucson gets bad.

I will have to return to Coolidge next week to finish my painting, but for now I need to get home. I need to rest my arms and give the painting a time to stew in my mind before I fill in the rest of the details. It’s warm and sunny as I head out. I have to turn the air conditioner on in the car. We’ve had temperatures in the 80’s the past three days that I have been here. All along the highway wildflowers are blooming, especially near Picacho Peak, which is one of the best wildflower viewing areas in the state. On my drive home I spot a turkey vulture soaring overhead in this location. I hope to visit soon before they are all gone by and capture some photographs of this amazing display. (Note: More postings on this trip to follow.)