On the Road Home

TR and Kathie 3-19-10

It is a sunny morning Friday when TR, Gus and I head over to the Oklahoma City Memorial. Gus has put up with me and all my birding, Now it is his turn to do something that he really wants to do. We have been here once before and found it so moving.  Now we are here once again. I think that I will still be able to count birds here, but the truth is, there aren’t many hanging around.  I hear a killdeer, I see a Northern mockingbird, and, finally, 3 house sparrows on my way out. That’s it.  While TR and I walk around surveying the landscape Gus is off by himself taking pictures.  His photo essay will publish on the 15th anniversary of the bombing later this month.

For now I must say good-bye to TR and Oklahoma where I counted 49 species of birds in various locations, including in TR’s yard!

With the car packed and the dog inside we turn our noses west and head for home.  Our route takes us across I-40 and the panhandle of Texas.  I am full of ideas about where to stop and count bird in Texas since we were driving so quickly through it on our way east.  I find a national grassland not far off the road and wiggle with anticipation in hopes of stopping for a good bird count on our way to Albuquerque where we plan to spent the night.  But as the saying goes, “The best laid plans of mice and men do often go awry,” well…

Route 209 New Mexico 3-20-10

The storm clouds gather, the winds pick up and the temperature drops. A check of the weather channel indicates snow storms ahead. We speed right past the grasslands with snow flurries starting to fly. At some point in this mad dash Gus and I change places. While Gus has done the majority of the driving on this expedition, I do give him a break when he lets me, and he lets me now.  But here is where life takes a little interesting turn on us.

Route 209 New Mexico 3-20-10

We stop to get gas and I want a cup of hot tea, but they don’t have any. So, we get in the car and head west with me driving and Gus dozing beside me.  However, I am craving tea like I have never craved tea before.  As the sky darkens and the snow flies I just want some tea! We cross the state line into New Mexico and I see the signs for Tucumcari ahead with several exits.  I notice that one exit says it has a McDonalds and I know McDonalds sells hot tea.  Though I know Gus wants to forge ahead, I vow to myself that I WILL stop and get a cup of tea, no matters what.  So, when the exit comes up I get off the freeway and drive the short distance into the McDonald's parking lot.  Well, right behind the McDonald's is a La Quinta Inn.  We have been staying at La Quinta’s because they are clean, affordable and pet friendly. After purchasing my tea with both snow and darkness falling, Gus decides to check into the La Quinta. Good thing we did.  We quickly discover that we have rented one of the last rooms of the night!  Not only that, but the highway ahead of us is closed down due to the snow!  If we had pressed on we would have been stuck on the highway all night long! I have never been so thankful for craving a cup of hot tea in my life!

 

Route 209 New Mexico 3-20-10

The next morning we sleep in and listen to weather reports.  None of it is good.  The highway between Tucumcari and Albuquerque is still closed with a foot of snow and more expected.  We have to decide before noontime, do we dare to try to get through, or should we rent our room for another night?  We are so close to home and we just want to get there.  We decide to leave. As Gus goes in to check out he meets a couple coming in.  In a short conversation with them Gus discovers that they just got through after spending 8 hours on the highway! When Gus says he will try to get through, they tell him to look outside.  From the hotel we can see the overpass on I-40.  It is a parking lot! Tractor trailers are packed like pigeons in a coop.  There is no room to budge, but we don’t want to lose another day of travel.  We consult our maps and decide to drive down the east side of New Mexico and then head west farther south. With the decision made Gus hands in our room keys and we head south.  As soon as we pass beneath the highway we feel a burden lift from us.  The road before us is wide open and clear. Though the temperature is only 19 degrees, the sun is shining on the high plains before us. We are travelling at 70 mph with not another car in sight.  We have the whole road to ourselves!

Route 209 New Mexico 3-20-10

I gaze out the windows at the road.  To my utter amazement little birds are flying up form the edges.  I soon discover that they are horned larks! Snow is drifted along the edges like fine powder driven by the wind.  It is so cold but so beautiful.  I cannot believe this flat high land.  It is laid out before us like a flaxen carpet sprinkled with silver. Overhead the soft blue sky dazzles me with puffy clouds ships sailing in a tranquil sea. What started out as a hindrance has proven to be one of the most peaceful and relaxing parts of our journey. We are so glad that we went this way!

In spite of the delays, we decide to stop at Bosque del apache NWR on our way home.  Though it is almost 5 PM by the time we get there, we spend the next 2 1/2 hours birding as we drive the loop road. 

Scenes from Bosque del Apache

Western bluebird

Roadrunner

Great Blue Heron Flashing (sunning)

Bosque del Apache NWR 3-20-10

Though the sandhill cranes are gone there were still plenty of birds to see.  I counted 41 species for the day, including some snow geese that were still hanging around.  Perhaps they too were delayed by the storm.

We leave the Bosque around 7:30 PM and head back down the road as darkness falls.  It is well after midnight when we finally arrive home, but oh how good it feels to sleep in our own bed!

Great Blue heron hiding behind the bank of the canal. 3-20-10

The Weather and the Hawk

Cooper's hawk in my backyard 12-8-09

All night long the wind howled rushing down the mountains like a flood. Hearing a tumbling grating sound I switch on the back light only to discover one of my bistro chairs has tumbled off the raised patio. I stand it upright in the raging wind and brace it between the gas grill and block wall. After locking all the doors I snuggle in next to Gus and tried to sleep while the restless wind calls to me in the night.

Santa Rita foothills 12-8-09

I awake on Tuesday morning to find the wind whipping the trees into a frenzy. Dark clouds gather over the mountains shrouding the peaks in gloom. At 7:15 a.m. with the sky barely starting to lighten I glance at the thermometer and read a temp of 48F degrees. By 8:00 a.m. the rain starts falling and with it the temperature drops. Over the next 3 hours I watch if fall until it bottoms out at 38F degrees. The storm has driven birds into my feeders in hordes. Costa’s humming birds swarm the nectar feeders, house finches and house sparrows mob the seed feeders. Gambel’s’ Quail clamber over the quail block and scurry around beneath the feeders gobbling any dropped seed they can find. The flickers take over the peanut and suet feeders. Gila woodpeckers vie with flickers for suet and easily muscle away hummingbirds for drinks of nectar. Everyone is puffed up from the cold, feathered pompoms bedraggled and forlorn.

Wind Damage 12-8-09

With all these hungry beaks to feed my seed supply has gotten low. As the rain tapers off I head to the store to purchase more seed for hungry birds. As I drive down the street I pass an uprooted weeping acacia tree in my neighbor’s front yard. It took the Christmas decorations with it and crushed them beneath its weight.

Cooper's hawk 12-8-09

Back home again I fill the feeders and sit at the computer entering data into eBird. The sun has started to break through now even as it is sinking in the west. Suddenly I hear a thump against the window in the living area. I know what that thump means, so I get up and turn the corner to see which bird has hit my window, hoping I can save it. Hoping it is not dead. It has been a long time since I have had a bird die from a window strike. As I turn the corner and the back yard comes into view I see that all the birds have fled. The reason why is easily apparent as I see a Cooper’s hawk perched on my block wall. She is standing there on one leg, her other foot tucked up into her thick down for warmth. I glance out the patio door. NO bird. I look out the picture window. NO bird. Then, I grab my camera and creep closer to get a shot of the hawk.

Dead female Gambels' Quail 12-8-09

It is then that I discover the dead quail on my patio table. The back of the couch hid its corpse until I was in the correct position to see it. I gaze at the bird looking for signs of life, but there are none. No foot twitches. No chest rises with breath. No eyelids flutter. She is truly dead.

Then, I start to wonder. Why doesn’t the hawk take the quail? It is still sitting there calmly on my block wall looking around as if it expects some other bird to suddenly present itself for a meal. It looks this way and that. It scrutinizes me with an intense gaze, but it doesn’t move.

I back off hoping it will fly over and take the quail. What a sight that would be! Is the hawk bold enough to fly underneath my covered patio and claim its prize? I don’t know. The hawk doesn’t move and I am beginning to think it is stupid. I put my camera down on the ledge and go back into the den to check on the status of my bird lists. The computer screen tells me my session has expired, so I try to get it back. I am only sitting there for about 5 minutes and then I decide to check on the hawk again. I creep slowly around the corner, hoping to spot it still, but the hawk is gone. I walk over to the window expecting to have to clean dead quail off the table but… the quail is also gone! The hawk did take it! And I missed it! I should have stayed there in the corner. Maybe I could have gotten the shot of The Hawk That Came to Dinner!

Male Costa's Hummingbird in my Palo Verde Tree 12-8-09

Knowing that hawks often will fly to a nearby perch to eat their kill I grab the camera and tip toe out the back door cautiously glancing up at the neighboring rooftops, hoping against hope that I will find the feasting bird, but alas, the rooftops are empty. I am so mad at myself for not waiting to see. I’m so mad because it wasn’t the hawk but me that was stupid. My only consolation is a cute male Costa’s Hummingbird fluffed up in my Palo Verde tree soaking up the last rays of the setting sun.

I go to bed on Tuesday night under silent starry skies. No wind calls to me in the night and so I sleep peacefully. This morning the sun burst forth from behind Mt. Fagan briefly flooding my kitchen with light before the shadow of the patio roof cast my world into gloom again. I crank the temperature higher on my furnace, brew a cup of tea, and sit down to finish painting my Christmas card. (No, you can’t see it yet!)

Hummingbird Morning

Costa's and Anna's Hummingbirds 10-29-09

It was 38 degrees here in Sycamore Canyon when I awoke this morning. As soon as the sun rose the birds started to appear. The temperature dropped sharply yesterday driving the birds into my feeders. There was a feeding frenzy last night just before the last few rays faded from the sky. When the morning sun touched the earth once again the hummingbirds were back to refuel. Hummingbirds usually don't like to share the feeder, but when it is this cold and there are so many, they seem to give up and focus their energy on feeding instead of fighting. Most of these are Costa's hummingbirds, but the one hovering to the right with a central throat patch is actually a female Anna's Hummingbird. How great is it to live someplace where you get hummingbirds in autumn and winter?

Immature male Anna's Hummingbird 10-29-09

Don't mess with me!

This immature male Anna's isn't about ready to share his stash with anyone! He sits here on the hand of my ballerina sculpture and chases all the other hummingbirds away! Sometimes when he is busy chasing off one small intruder another slips in and gets a drink!

Someplace Else

Do you ever get up in the morning and say to yourself, “I want to go someplace else?” Well, it happens to me frequently and on Saturday I acted on it. After some morning errands we hopped in “Birdie” our SUV and headed east on I-10 towards El Paso. We had been making a lot of trips south towards Rio Rico lately but today I wanted to see “Someplace Else.”

The Sonoran desert falls behind us as we drive the black ribbon of asphalt. A blazing sun reflects off the brown earth and silver grasses now dry since the Monsoon ended a month ago. Saguaros and cholla give was to grass and scrub. We travel through Benson and the boulder strewn Texas Canyon. In Wilcox we pass the playa off to the south, and the apple orchards to the north. Farther east we pass pecan and walnut groves that are apparently open to the public. We drive on by, our eyes constantly on the horizon. I have a destination in mind and I want to get there before it’s too late.

Now the grasslands around us turn into gently sloping hills. I-10 starts a gentle but steady climb upwards. It is late in the afternoon and the sun is already casting long slanting shadows before us. The Chiricahua Mountains to the south define the topography with their tall and jagged peaks. Then, I see the sign and Gus pulls over. I have found “Someplace Else!”

I have never been to New Mexico before. I have never counted birds in New Mexico. We won’t cross far into the state but at least I can say I’ve been here. A few more miles east and we exit at Road Forks on highway 80. Here we head south towards the small town of Rodeo, a 22 mile drive. I’m giddy with excitement and all eyes as we turn Birdie south.


To be continued…

Local Nature News: It is being reported in local media that a mountain lion was shot and killed over the weekend in Madera Canyon for stalking a man and his dog. The mountain lion is being checked for rabies.

Weather: Sunny, warm and windy with gusts over 40 mph. Dust storms are possible, especially in Pinal county along I-10. The current temperature in Sycamore Canyon is 80 degrees F.

Scott's Oriole Stops By

Yesterday while I was busy typing away in the den Gus called me from the kitchen to say there was a really pretty bird he had never seen before out in the backyard. I quickly got up and rounded the corner to see. Grabbing my ever ready binoculars I stared flabbergasted at the bird sitting in the mesquite tree. I told him to grab his camera for I knew it was an oriole, but what kind? He picked up the camera, changed lenses, focused on the bird and just as he was about to snap, it flew over the wall and away. I, with the binoculars snapped at him, with the camera, "What took you so long! What were you waiting for?" Of course, I quickly apologized saying, "You realize I'm just excited and frustrated." My ever patient husband understood.

However, it soon came back and he was able to get quite a few good shots. Over 100 in fact. All were taken from inside the house through the windows. Some are milkier than others due to the reflection of light. We watched the oriole drink nectar from the hummingbird feeder, and eat suet along with the Gila woodpeckers. I remembered hearing about people putting oranges out for the orioles, so I sliced one in half and wedged it onto the wrought iron bird hook. but silly me, it wasn't until today when I was entering yesterday's bird count into eBird that I discovered this was a new life bird for me!

New for me, new for Arizona, and new for Sycamore Canyon! I haven't seen a sign of it today, but what a treat yesterday was! A ray of sunshine in a stormy day when temps dipped into the low 40's and we had rain, hail, sleet and even snow. Today the Santa Ritas are sugar coated once again, but with temps rising by 10 degrees each day for the next 2 to 3 days, we will soon be back into the 80's once again. We are in the midst of See-saw weather. This should last for about a month.

It's Official

It’s official, I’ve become a wimp. The temperature is only 59 degrees today. The wind is gusting around 25 to 30 MPH and I’m freezing!!!!!! I cranked the heat up to 70 this morning, but now I bumped it up to 72 and put on a sweater. It doesn’t take long to get use to the 80’s. I’m ready for sandals and sleeveless shirts again! I’m not quite as bad as the natives, though. While I was outside in just a long-sleeved shirt this morning, the young man who delivered my tree was wearing a flannel shirt and a winter coat!