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.

How We Spent International Migratory Bird Day

This article is my contibution to I and the Bird #75 hosted by Gallisica in Sri Lanka. Please visit to view other interesting articles about birding.

April 26, 2008 marked the one year anniversary of us moving to Sycamore Canyon. Since that day I have been waiting to take Gus out into the big wash of the canyon. This morning I woke up so excited for it was finally going to happen.

We headed up the street around 8 a.m. under the perpetual sunny skies of May in Arizona. Already the sun felt warm, but I didn’t really care, we are hiking to the canyon! We hiked up through the neighborhood to the newly developed section south of our house. I have been avoiding this section as heavy machinery tore up the desert and laid down the asphalt of new roads. This section of the development will be a gated community with acre lots and huge homes. From the future entrance we can see the former Helvetia mine shining white on the rocky slopes of the Santa Rita Mountains. We hike up the new roads until we reached the point where we access the trail that will take us down into the wash.

Here on the dirt trail we walk among blooming staghorn cholla and prickly pear cacti.

Ash-throated flycatchers cling to an ocotillo searching the sky for insects to dine on. A gilded flicker calls from atop a towering saguaro which looks like a giant prickly pickle thrust into the azure blue sky. Gus is captivated with the beauty of the desert and stops to photograph the spines of a teddy bear cholla. White-winged doves are thick as fleas this time of year and I see them perched on the blooming saguaros and flying overhead from one rim of the canyon to the other. Then, to my surprise, a lesser nighthawk flutters overhead and disappears in the distance in its final search for insects before bedding down for the day.

We finally reach the steep path that cuts down the canyon rim into the wash below. Loose stones and gravel are underfoot with the thorny shrubs of the desert alongside the trail. We descend slowly taking care not to grab the brush to steady ourselves. I feel the loose gravel slip beneath my feet at one point on the path but I am able to regain my balance and continue down the slope. I have brought Gus this way so that when we are in the canyon the sun will be at our backs, which will make photographing and viewing wildlife much easier.

(Looking south)

Finally we are down on the canyon bottom and we head for the sandy open area of the wash in order to enhance our chances of seeing any rattlesnakes before we step on them. As I stand in the thick, dry sand of the wash I try to imagine this canyon full of a rush of water powerful enough to carve out these steep banks and cliffs. The evidence is all around me, but in the year I have lived here I have never seen the wash full of water. Of course, that’s partly due to the fact that when the monsoon comes and it rains, it is also lightening and I prefer not to be a target for the lightning strikes. Perhaps this year I will be brave enough to venture out and see the torrent flow.

(Looking North towards home)

For today, however, it is peaceful and warm here in the canyon and we start the mile or more hike back towards our house. Saguaros tower over us on the canyon rims, but here in the wash I mostly see mesquite scrub, acacia, desert hackberry, wolf berry bushes, wild cotton, and prickly pear cacti. A few cholla cacti are scattered about as well as a few ocotillo, but most of them are up on higher ground. The first bird I see and hear is a single sparrow species hiding in the brush but I am unable to identify it, so we press onward. I glance upwards and see a turkey vulture tilting in the cloudless desert sky. I hear the cackle of a cactus wren and the laughing call of a Gila woodpecker. We see yet another flicker and another ash-throated flycatcher in a mesquite tree.

Gus is snapping pictures of whatever captures his fancy, including this Empress Leilia butterfly.

( Empress Leilia Butterfly ID courtesy of Doug Tauron at Gossemer Tapestry)

We hike past towering red clay cliffs with the huge twisted roots of mesquite trees exposed by erosion. I ask Gus how he likes it and he responds that it is so peaceful and quiet here. And it is. Down here between the canyon rims the civilized world seems ages away and I get a sense of a more primitive time.

We are not seeing as many birds as I thought we would. On my last hike into the wash with my IBA team we saw sparrows, warblers and towhees. Now I am seeing flycatchers, nighthawks and white-winged doves. I really want to see at least one new species today. Gus wants to see a snake. We hike farther down the canyon and as we round a corner I see a flash of color on the limb of a dead tree. A quick glance through my bins reveals a western tanager! This is a new species for Sycamore Canyon, and my first time seeing it in Arizona also. However, I have seen this bird in Colorado and Utah before. Then, I spot a second bird in the same tree. We are quite far away but Gus tries to get a shot anyway. The birds fly farther off to the next tree and we try to creep quietly closer but the sandy gravel beneath our feet crunches and gives us away. While we both get a good view of the birds we never get close enough for a detailed shot though, with cropping and enlarging you can see the red head, yellow body and black wings.

We continue to see nighthawks as we travel, as well as Gambel’s quail. I finally spot two canyon towhees skulking through the underbrush. Then we spot a pair of Pyrrhuloxias in a tree. I see the roof tops of our neighborhood before me, and the final red cliff we pass before we exit the wash. Here the wash breaks up into grassy banks, boulder piles and scrub.

We head through a narrow sandy channel still looking for birds. Suddenly I hear a buzzy rattle and instinctively leap backwards. There on the open sand before me a rattlesnake is coiled in a striking posture. About 3 feet long its thick tan body is patterned with diamond-shaped spots leading me to susspect it is most likely a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. The tail is banded black and white and the tongue flicks in and out sensing our presence. The head is pulled back and elevated while the tail continues to rattle so rapidly it sounds more like a buzz until the end when it slows enough to sound like a rattle.

I walk backwards, heart pounding to a safe distance. Gus gets in front of me and starts snapping. He keeps his distance also and the rattler slithers off to the shade and safety of a nearby bush. Gus is disappointed because he wants a better shot. I want to head home because my bladder, which was already wanting relief, is now about to burst from the encounter. I walk up another small bank and around the area where the snake is. Gus finally follows me, but he is still searching for a better shot. As we come down on the other side of the snake, he tries again. I know that home is only a short distance away but I am reluctant to leave this crazy photographer alone in the wash with this snake. I urge him onwards and we hike out the last few steps to home.

My final count of birds is 24 species but 4 are unidentified. I heard the high buzzy whistling flight of a hummer species but never saw the bird to positively identify it. We have 3 hummer species here whose wings produce that sound. I heard and saw a gnatcatcher but once again, it eluded my attempts to positively identify it. A chunky short-tailed blackbird flew overhead that I suspect was a bronzed cowbird, but, once again, I wasn't confident enough to call it. And though I saw the one sparrow at the beginning of the hike, I never saw another on the rest of the hike. My one mystery bird is this little brown job that I think is a female brown-headed cowbird, but it could be a female indigo bunting as well.

I am going with the brown-headed cowbird as a flock of 5 showed up at my feeders for the first time this year this morning before we left. All in all, I would say it was a great way to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day. I was able to add a new species to my Sycamore Canyon list, and Gus got his rattlesnake photo. I hope we will be doing this again for there is so much more to explore here in Sycamore Canyon.

(Today's photgraphy courtesy of Gus)

Final Count: 1.Gilded flicker, 2.Ash-throated flycatcher, 3.Cactus wren, 4.Curved-billed thrasher, 5.Gambel's quail, 6.gila woodpecker, 7. White-winged dove, 8. Mourning dove, 9.Turkey Vulture, 10. verdin, 11.Lesser Nighthawk, 12. Western Tanager, 13.Common raven, 14. Chihuahuan Raven, 15. Wison's warbler, 16.brown-headed cowbird, 17.Pyrrhuloxia, 18.Canyon towhee, 19.House finch, 20. Phainopepla, 21.Hummer species, 22. gnatcatcher sp. 23. sparrow sp., 24.blackbird sp.

Skywatch Friday: Fiery Sunset

This photo was taken by Kathie on May 6, 2008 at 7:07 p.m. with a Nikon D80 in Sycamore Canyon. To see other Skywatch Friday photos click on the link.

Snakes, Doves, and a Black-crowned Night Heron

It’s definitely Spring here in Sycamore Canyon for the snakes are on the move. Gus and I saw a beautiful salmon-colored snake about 4-feet long as it crossed the road in front of our vehicle here in Corona de Tucson on Monday. We stopped our car to watch it pass as it was taking its own sweet time. Once again, I was without my camera! Soon we saw other vehicles approaching from the opposite direction and Gus flashed his lights to warn them to slow down, but that must not be a universally accepted signal here in Arizona for no one did. I was about to jump out of the car and stand in the road to protect the snake, but apparently it felt the vibrations and picked up the pace, for it slithered quickly off into the desert.

We’ve been busy for the past 10 days with grandchildren visiting from Maine. At ages 3 and 5 it was the first time my grandchildren have flown on a plane or left New England. How much fun it was to see the desert through their young eyes. At their ages they were more interested in playgrounds than anything else, but we did manage to get to the Sonoran Desert Museum and the Reid Park Zoo. Brooklyn, the 5-year old was captivated by all the animals and spent much of her time trying to pet birds and squirrels. She wasn’t successful but she gave it her best effort. Trey loved playgrounds the most and we visited one almost every day.

Last night was their last night here and for the first time we discovered a snake in our backyard. At about 2 feet long the slender body had a narrow head and no rattles on its tail. Still, the pattern was reminiscent of a rattlesnake, so we were cautious. My oldest son, G, was visiting from Coolidge and he captured the snake in a bucket with some barbeque tongs. We simply dumped it over the wall back into the desert but I had to know what kind of snake it was. So, though supper was ready, I turned on the computer and searched for Snakes in Arizona. I found this great web site with the snake patterns indicated next to the species names. You just look for the pattern and click on the link and it takes you to a complete description of the reptile you are searching for. In this way I discovered my backyard snake was a Gopher snake and non-venomous. I believe the long salmon colored snake was a Coachwhip snake. Finding the snake in the yard is one more encouragement to get a piece of screening to put over the drainage hole in the block wall. After that the yard will be pretty much sealed up and a snake will have to climb the walls to get in. I really don’t want to find any rattlers in my back yard!

On Tuesday, May 6, we visited Reid Park and Reid Park Zoo. It was our first time visiting the zoo, which, though small, is nicely laid out with many impressive animals. The kids also loved a small splash area near the otters called “Kenya Get Wet”. It didn’t matter that they were fully clothed, they splashed away anyway. With the dry Tucson air it wasn’t long before their clothes dried either. Along with all the zoo animals there are two walk through aviaries with exotic birds from around the world, but the artificial habitat created by the lush trees and artificial streams also draws many of our native birds to the zoo. As a result, we saw a Black-crowned Night Heron in a wooded area near some water, and an Inca dove feeding on the ground beneath a bird feeder suspended from a tree. The Inca dove was feeding with a flock of house sparrows and you can really get a good idea of their size in relation to that common bird. Inca doves are quite small. You can see their all over scaly pattern in this picture.

Well, in another area I found these two small doves with a somewhat scaly pattern roosting on the ground. I thought at first they might be more Inca doves but they had the spots of mourning doves. So, then I thought they might be Common Ground Doves, but after consulting my field guides I realized these were simply juvenile mourning doves. Ground doves would be ruddy colored underneath their wings, and these weren’t, plus, ground doves also have a pinkish or orange-ish base to their bills and these clearly don’t.

Gus took all the pictures at the zoo and I have to confess, this one is my favorite. I’m including it here, simply because I love the feathers. Can you guess what bird it is? Enjoy!

Virga Sky Over Sabino on Tuesday's Bird Survey

(Sky Watch Friday)

It is survey time again in Sabino Canyon. On Tuesday, April 29th, I arrive at 6:30 a.m. under blue skies with clouds that look like wispy kites. The weather man tells me these are virga, or rain that doesn’t reach the ground. I just enjoy them for the ephemeral beauty they offer. It’s a kite flying sort of day, with light winds and sunny skies.

White-winged doves are everywhere in the canyon today. As we start up the trail I see one perched atop a blooming saguaro alongside the tram road. Jean, Pam and I hike the mile and a quarter in to our starting point. We pass people already heading out of the canyon from their morning walk. Many people arrive at 5 a.m. to hike before work. Sabino is such a beautiful place to be.

We stop alongside the road when we see a Cooper’s hawk perched in a mesquite tree. As we creep closer we realize it is eating prey. Whatever the hawk clutches in its talons is already too ripped up to identify, but this Coopers is certainly enjoying a hearty breakfast today. This is good as Jean informs me they have 2 nesting pairs of Cooper’s hawks here at this end of the canyon. Well, this bird doesn’t appear to be sharing as it gulps down bit after bit of torn flesh. It is undisturbed by our presence as we stand and watch, and I snap of shot after shot of the feeding bird.
We finally arrive at our starting point for our survey. Here under the tree canopy a few Sacred Daturas are blooming with huge white bell-shaped flowers. I am told these flowers are hallucinogenic if I were to eat one. No chance of that happening with me! I’ll just enjoy looking at them, thank you! Since it is peak migration we hope to see some new birds today. It hasn’t rained in quite awhile and I can tell the creek level has definitely fallen since the last time we were here. It is rattlesnake season, however, and we keep a close lookout for where we place our feet as we head down the transect route along the riparian area. While we don't find any rattlesnakes, we do find this cone shaped depression in the sand which indicates the presence of an antlion larva's den.

We hear and see lesser goldfinches everywhere. Hummingbirds whizz by our heads, sometimes landing in the trees long enough for us to identify them. We count broad-bills, black-chins and one Costa’s. To our surprise we spot a black-headed grosbeak, though it is well hidden in the thick of the trees and I am unable to get a good shot of it. White-winged doves call out from both side of the creek and wing their way over our heads. The Gamble’s quail are calling to us also, first from one side of the canyon, then the other. Jean identifies the tumbling notes of a Canyon Wren. We never get to see it, but we do hear another farther down the survey route.

As we scramble over rocks and boulders Jean points out a beautiful rock that is indicative of the geology of Sabino Canyon. This rock is called gneiss and is composed of feldspar, quartz, garnet, mica, and magnetite.

We round a corner in the creek and discover a male mallard in a quiet pool of the creek. Then we spot the female up on a sand bar blending in perfectly with the sand and rock backdrop. As we look through our binoculars at the ducks a discussion develops about whether these are Mexican mallard hybrids. Here in the southwest the two species interbreed frequently and most mallards are hybridized. The male Mexican mallard looks similar to female mallards but according to Sibley’s Bird Guide they are 10% smaller and darker overall. This male has an olive colored bill as compared to the true yellow bills of pure northern mallards. The female we see has an olive-orange bill and it is decided that these two are Mexican-mallard crosses.

Since the water in the creek is frequently too high for us to follow its course along the bank we walk as far as we can, then backtrack to the road where we hike down to the bluff trail and take up the survey again. At the point where we reconnect with the road is a restroom where we often take a rest stop. It is in this restroom that I have had frogs fall out of the toilet paper roll or leap out of the sink on suction toes that cling to the side of the sink only to crawl back in to the wet center once I am done washing my hands. Today there are no frogs but right outside the rest room Jean and Pam call me over quickly to see a Gila Monster that is slowly lumbering across the ground. Finally I have my camera with me! I hastily start snapping photos as the creature crawls off into the cacti and scrub. I want to get a good picture of him of course, but he is heading away from me and most shots are of its backside!

With such a thick tail, it’s almost hard to tell which end is which, but you can clearly see the eyes in this head shot. I have been told that seeing a Gila monster in the wild is a rare occurrence but though I have only lived here a year, I have seen three of them in the wild!

As we head down the dusty Bluff Trail we pass a graythorn bush ripe with its blue berries. The berries are eaten by white-winged doves, Gamble's quail and other bird species. The bush also provides nesting sites for birds.

Farther down the trail we spot a yellow warbler in the top of an ash tree. It performs feats of high acrobatics in the top of the tree as it gleans insects from the new green leaves. Once down along the creek again we find more hummingbirds and some Wilson’s Warblers. A female black-chinned hummingbird alights briefly on her spider-web woven nest beneath a large tree that holds a Cooper’s Hawk nest. Research by the hummingbird survey group has revealed that Black-chinned hummingbirds are 50% more successful in raising their broods when they nest beneath a Cooper’s hawk nest. The interplay of species never ceases to amaze me.

It was still a bit cool when we first started our survey, but the rising sun has raised the temperature considerably. I shed my light sweater and sip water from my camel pack on a regular basis. Our dew points have been running in the single digits lately with a few dips in the negative category. Yes, I have seen dew points of -9 degrees posted on the local evening news. This means our air is extremely dry which makes the fire danger extreme also. According to the news, we are experiencing the highest fire danger in 26 years!

By the time we finish the survey we have counted 29 species of bird, though my personal count is higher since I count birds all the way into and out of the canyon. I end up with 31 species of birds on this day. As we walk out of the canyon Jean takes us by a thrasher’s nest deep in a cholla cactus. The bird and nest blend in so well that most people would never notice them. We pass a couple of women as we near the parking lot. They excitedly tell us that they have seen a Gila monster today in the canyon. One woman has lived here for 15 years and has never seen one in the wild before. As we stand there talking I notice some movement alongside the path. A little round-tailed ground squirrel gazes cautiously up at us from behind a bush, its dark eyes questioning and liquid soft.