My World: Birds Are Busting Out All Over!

It's a cool morning in My World on Tuesday, March 24 when I step out the front door to take a walk. A strong breeze ruffles my hair as well as the dog's as we walk up the street. It is so nice out here, I think to myself, I should go for a walk. But you have work to do inside, I remind myself, as we saunter down the street. By the time I return to the house I have persuaded myself into thinking that I will only take a 20 minute walk out in the Canyon. Jean, a volunteer naturalist at Sabino Canyon, has reported seeing migrants up there. I really want to see who is here, for no one is showing up in my yard!

It's still early in the morning for once--only 8:30 a.m. I grab my gear and bolt out the front door. In 30 seconds I am in the Big Wash, which is the main drainage for Sycamore Canyon. Already I am seeing birds fluttering into the scrub. Ahead of me a gilded flicker is silhouetted against the recently risen sun. I pass through the opening in the fence and peer at the paths before me. I can head south up the canyon floor, or north down toward the park. I can hike west across the wash and emerge on the west rim. Which way should I go? Where will I see the most birds in the shortest amount of time?

Arizona Powdered Skipper systasea zampa

(Thanks Kayleen, Doug and Diane!)

I head west across the rim and follow the voice of a male Gambel's Quail calling from his perch in a mesquite tree. While Gambel's Quail are mostly know for their "chi-GA-go" calls, I have learned they have many voices. The gentle "whoop, whoop" when they are coming to feed, and this single note the males emit when while perched on a lookout spot. I watch while he throws his head back, his plume bobbing in the wind, his beak pointed towards the sky. "Auk!" He cries. "Auk!" again, in a steady rhythm that means, what? I do not know if he is calling for his covey or proclaiming his territory. I only know I have seen the males do this several times. I try to get his picture with his beak raised to the sky, but he is thick in cover and I only catch him with his beak closed.

However, on the brittle bush beside the path a butterfly alights. It's dusty, blurry pattern is strange and new to me, and I wonder what species it is. I am at a loss when it comes to identifying butterflies. Perhaps it is a moth!

I am at the western edge of the wash now but all seem silent up there. I decide to head back into the wash where I follow the sounds of bird song down hill to the north.

Though I see lesser Goldfinches in my yard all the time, it's always nice to find them in the wild. This lone male is perched on a dead snag singing his springtime song.

But I am distracted by the scolding of a wren. When I look to see who is scolding me I find this vireo in the same tree. It's bright white spectacles and the yellow wash on its sides confirms it as a Cassin's vireo, which is similar to the Plumbeous vireo, which lacks the yellow wash.

We quietly inspect each other, it from it's twig and I from the gravel bottom of the wash. Vireos are such fun to watch as they hop from branch to branch searching for insects. Until a couple of years ago I only had one vireo on my life list. I considered them an almost impossible bird to see, since they don't come to my feeders, but since living here and getting out into all the natural areas available I have added at least 5 species of vireo to my life list!

Farther down the wash I find a male Costa's Hummingbird high on the tallest twig of a mesquite tree. I am happy to see him because only the females seem to be visiting the feeders in my yard right now. By the time my walk is over, I will have counted 3 separate males out here in the desert.

Ahead of me the red gravel cliffs rise as the bottom of the wash bends and curves with the land.

A closer look reveals a female flicker excavating her nesting hole. She works away busily as little black particles of the interior saguaro fly in the wind.

I have been seeing turkey vultures since the beginning of March, but have failed to capture one in flight. Now the large vulture soars and tilts above me in the rising thermals and I can see his bald red head clearly.

Spring is creeping over the desert in a fine green film. It contrasts with the dusty green-gray of cactus and the dry brown grasses and spent foliage of last year. Beyond the desert the Santa Rita mountains rise in a soft blue-green haze. They are a temperate backdrop to the dryness of the desert.

I turn to scramble up the bank of the wash towards home. My twenty minute walk has turned into a two hour ramble. I have counted 19 species of birds in the wash today with the addition of this ash-throated flycatcher flitting through the brush as I walk home.

Birds Seen in the Sycamore Canyon Wash 3-24-09:

1. Turkey vulture
2. Gambel's quail
3. Costa's hummingbird
4. Mourning dove
5. Gilded Flicker
6. Gila woodpecker
7. Cactus Wren
8. House Wren
9. Ladder-backed woodpecker
10. Cassin's Vireo
11. Verdin
12. Ash-throated Flycatcher
13. Curve-billed thrasher
14. Common raven
15. Rufous-winged sparrow
16. Canyon towhee
17. Pyrrhuloxia
18. House finch
19. Lesser Goldfinch

Photographer's Note: All of today's photography is by Kathiesbirds with the Nikon D80 and the 70 to 300 mm lens set in sports mode for bird shots.

Addendum 4-1-09: I've corrected all the misspellings today. I've been busy with my grandson for 2 days and was barely able to finish this post just after he arrived. I appreciate everyone who stops by and Thank You So Much Doug, Kayleen, and Diane for identifying the butterfly for me! I thought it was a butterfly but then when I started to write this post I doubted myself because the insect's wings were spread and it looked so fuzzy and blurry.

Clearing My Head

California Brittle bush 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

As the slow gray dawn blushes pink in the east my feet hit the floor as my mind races. For the first night in over a month I have made it through the night without the pain killers I have been taking to alleviate the jaw pain from a dental procedure gone awry. I had feared this day would never come, yet here it was. I hate to take medication of any kind but the pain and swelling were unendurable. Yet, I could feel my creativity slow with every pill I took. Now I feel the weight of my own body as I walk out the front door. I have been inside for too long. I crave nature like a drug. I need to be outside and away from these walls and this ceiling. I want to shed these human trappings and fly free like a bird…

Globe Mallow 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

…however, it is Friday before I finally take that walk and after doing all my morning chores it is late by the time I get out the door at 9:30 a.m. The workers have already been busy on the house across the way for three hours or more. An overcast sky greets me today. The great blue yonder is lost in a veil of thin gray clouds that shield the sun’s rays, but I feel the humidity in the air. The day feels muggy to me.

Fairy duster blossoms a.k.a. False mesquite 3-20-09

Wild flowers are blossoming everywhere and with blooms come the bees. I can barely look at a flower without finding a bee crawling greedily over it. They seem frantic in their search for pollen and not one iota interested in me. I am glad to see and hear the bees, even though I know most of these are probably Africanized. I keep my distance as I walk along with the hum of their spring song in my ears.

Wolf Berries 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds


Brittlebush 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds




Vesper Sparrow on Mesquite with Creosote bush 3-20-09

Down the street I cut the corner on the Saguaro Loop trail. This little patch of desert is often ripe with bird life, and this morning is no different as the songs of sparrows, curved-billed thrashers, and the cackle of cactus wrens greets me.

Cactus Wren 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

Update 3-28-09: Mormon Tea identified by Diane. Thanks Diane!

I wander slowly down the winding trail past plants I know and some I don’t. So many things are in bloom right now, and the wolf berries are already fruiting! I find one strange plant with tube-like stems and buds emerging like grains of wheat!


Its overall size is about 2 feet high and scraggly. I marvel at the shape and texture of the buds and wonder what it’s called.

I follow the gravel path onward and emerge on the pavement again. Car after car passes by in the time it takes me to reach the road and cross to where I disappear into the desert on the Barrel Cactus Loop Trail.

These trails are marked and maintained by the HOA for use by residence and others.

From here I can see the new Fire Station with its silver roof blending into the soft gray sky. It’s not the prettiest place in town, but I am glad that they have done the whole building with solar power.

I am taking this trail because it follows the wash behind my friend Sherri’s house. Whenever I visit her I see and hear so many birds in the open space beyond her fence. Today I want to see what I can see and hear for myself, alone and uninterrupted by conversation or the need to socialize. I need to be alone in nature. I need to feel like I am someplace wild. I have been seeing thrashers everywhere and now is no exception. They perch aloft on ocotillo and mesquite and fly to the ground to skulk beneath the scrub. I am searching everywhere for something new, but I am seeing all the usual suspects. Verdin call with their “tu-tu-tu” from the tree tops. Sparrows scatter like dust in the wind. I hear the “chi-CA-go” call of Gambel’s quail farther out in the desert while all around me the backs of houses loom like manmade cliffs.

Thrasher Sky 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

The width of this open space varies as it runs between the neighborhoods. The trail meanders down into gullies, then brings me close to backyards. I do not like being close to the backyards. This is not quite the nature fix I wanted, but I am amazed at all the birds I am seeing. How is it that they have been able to make peace with the human presence? They seem to feel safe in this desert scrub as they dive for cover when they hear my approaching footsteps. Though I try ever so hard to tread lightly, my footsteps on gravel sound like magnified crunching even to my ears.

New Growth on a Prickly Pear 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

I find a little wooden bench behind someone’s house. It looks so inviting in the shade of some bushes. I consider sitting for a few moments to see if the birds will relax and come to me, but I can hear them calling father down the path and I walk on.

Desert Hackberry Bush 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

The sounds of sparrows singing has risen to a cacophony right behind Sherrie’s house. I stand here and try to figure out why this place? What is so inviting to the birds right here. The presence of Hackberry bushes is one clue, as well as numerous varieties of cacti. I see Palo Verde Trees and mesquite along with creosote bush and other scrub I don’t know the names of yet. The homes above me on the west end at their rail fenced yards where the gravelly earth slops down to the wash. This is one of the widest points between the two neighborhoods and for some reason, the birds love it.

Canyon towhees in Hackberry bush 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

I can identify white-crowned sparrows, brewer’s sparrows, house finches, house sparrows and rufous-winged sparrows here. I find one lone pine siskin in a nearby bush, and then a pair of Canyon towhees flies into the hackberry bush before me like desert dust with feathers and wings. They watch me warily before diving for cover again.

Desert cottontail 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

I feel like I am walking down the bunny trail when a little Desert Cottontail comes hopping along. It doesn’t see me at first, but stops dead in its tracks when it does. It pauses on the path and we stare at each other for a few seconds before it hops off into the surrounding scrub. I am about to continue down the trail when three more little bunnies come racing towards me. They spot me even sooner and veer off sharply not knowing that I would never hurt them.

Lesser Goldfinch 3-20-09 by Kathiesbirds

A few steps farther down the path I hear the twitter of a lone Lesser Goldfinch atop an ocotillo. She grasps her thorny perch and sings her spring song to a pale sky before flying off. A male Pyrrhuloxia flies to the top of a tree to sing, and then I spot his female staying low in the brush. Eventually she joins him briefly before melting quietly into the shadows and thickets once again.

I must have stood here for over a half an hour trying to figure out all the birds I am seeing, but the heat of the day urges me onwards and I finally continue down the path. Suddenly the scrub grows silent and I wonder why. They say the birds are down by ten, and it must be after that time. Did they all simultaneously decide to sleep? I spot a male cardinal fighting with a thrasher in a tree a few paces on. I pause to try to coax it up by “pishing.” As I purse my lips and force the air between them the birds actually dive for cover and then a Cooper’s hawk rises slow and irritated from a nearby tree. Of course! I should know by now. If all the birds become suddenly silent, a hawk is usually lurking somewhere nearby. If I had just looked a little farther down the path I might have seen it sitting on its lookout perch.

I can feel the heat on my back now and I fear I am starting to burn. I quicken my pace as I finish the trail and emerge on the street once again. In the last few paces of the desert wash another thrasher waits atop a saguaro, a Gila woodpecker laughs at me and three mourning doves fly up on whistling wings from beneath the shelter of a creosote bush beside the path I walk on. Though this trail wasn’t as remote as I wanted, still, the sights and sounds of the desert soothed my soul. I feel more peaceful now. I walk home in the heat of a midday sun with a happy feeling of fatigue. It’s a satisfied tiredness. I think it is time for a nap!


In all I saw 23 species of birds today, March 20, 2009. Here is the list:

1. Gambel's Quail
2. Turkey Vulture
3. Cooper's hawk
4. Costa's Hummingbird
5. Mourning dove
6. Pigeon
7. Gilded Flicker
8. Gila woodpecker
9. Curve-billed thrasher
10. Cactus Wren
11. Verdin
12. Raven
13. Canyon towhee
14. Brewer's sparrow
15. White-crowned sparrow
16. Rufous-winged sparrow
17. Northern Cardinal
18. Pyrrhuloxia
19. Pine siskin
20. Lesser Goldfinch
21. House finch
22. House sparrow
23. Vesper sparrow
    
    

Note: All of today's photos were taken by Kathie on March 20, 2009 with the Nikon D80.

Skywatch Friday: Spring

Blue Passion Vine by Kathiesbirds 300mm 1/80 sec-F/22 Aperature Priority

Spring

To what purpose, April, do you return again?

Beauty is not enough.

You can no longer quiet me with the redness

Palo Verde Bud by Kathiesbirds w/Nikon D80 18-70mm lens; 70mm 1/160 sec-F/8 Close-up mode

Of little leaves opening stickily.

I know what I know.

The sun is hot on my neck as I observe

Cape Honeysuckle by Kathie 210mm 1/640 sec-F5.3 Programmed Auto

The spikes of the crocus

The smell of the earth is good.

It is apparent that there is no death.

But what does that signify?

Not only underground are the brains of men

Eaten by maggots.

Life in itself

Is nothing,

An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.

Bee on Blossom by Kathie w/Nikon D80 18-70mm lens; 70mm 1/120 sec-F/4.5 Close-up mode

Is it not enough that yearly, down this hill

April

Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

by Edna St. Vincent Millay 1921

I remember the first time I read this poem how shocked I was by the line about men's brains being "eaten by maggots" and the surprise of the final line about "April, comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers," but now it seems to me that spring is often like this, and I like the image. I think of this line every year when spring arrives.

Spring arrives for us tomorrow morning at 4:44 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. Arizona is the only state in the Union NOT to observe Daylight Savings Time. So, while everyone else is adjusting their clocks and their sleep patterns, we just go merrily on our way, kind of like spring!

All of today's photos are of the plants in our backyard. While the Palo Verde tree has been in since last year, the rest are new. I couldn't resist taking them and I am practicing using the Aperture Priority setting on my camera, thanks to some encouragement by Troy from Ramblings Around Texas. I have mentioned before that I used to know how to do all of this stuff with my Nikon FG 35mm camera, but I have yet to transfer all that knowledge to the digital age. Since I am an impatient person, I am just happy to get out there an take photos to illustrate my stories. I haven't bothered to sit down and read the 200 page book that tells me how to operate my camera. Well, a simple phone call from Troy told me how to adjust the aperture and now I am happy as can be. I hope to provide better depth of field in my shots now that I know how to adjust my F-stops! Thanks Troy!

Thanks Skywatch Team!

Click on button to observe more skies.
Click on any photo to enlarge for the best view.

The Birds of Sycamore Canyon

Another scandal rocks the nation
The New York governor is going down
But here in Sycamore Canyon
The birds don’t hear a sound.
They’re feeding, breeding and singing,
Because spring is in the air,
And every individual bird
Wants to become a pair!
With nests all under construction,
And birds returning by scores,
The birds in Sycamore Canyon
Don’t care about the governor’s mores!

~kathiesbirds (March 11, 2008)

The above poem was inspired by waking up this morning, contemplating turning on the news, then realizing it would just be a media frenzy as they dissected every detail o the life of Governor Spitzer. But when I looked out my window at the birds merrily feeding I realized I don’t have to turn on the tube and listen. I can watch these unconcerned birds instead.

Spring is definitely in the air around here. I was not living here in Sycamore Canyon at this time last year. I’m still getting to know the rhythms of life in this new place. While the turkey vultures are returning, I’m seeing fewer and fewer hummingbirds. I watched birds all day long yesterday and never saw one. The white-winged doves have yet to return, as well as the nighthawks and purple martins. It’ll be interesting to see what other species are purely spring and summer residents here at the base of Mt. Fagan.

I’m heading off to the Phoenix Art Museum with my daughter-in-law Trish today. She is married to my oldest son, G, and they are expecting their first baby in April. Since they live an hour north of me I’ll be spending the night because tomorrow I’m going to start a mural on the wall of the nursery. They both love nature and want to have a nature themed nursery. Since they are both from the east coast, they want an ocean scene. I told them I can do scene they want, but they do realize it will have birds in it! So, you won’t be hearing from me for a few days, but when I come back, I’ll have all kinds of stories to tell!