Saturday Morning Surprise

It is Saturday morning and we are up early. We've eaten our breakfast and packed the car. I am excited because we are heading down to Rio Rico before the temperature rises for the day. I give one quick glance out the back door as I lock it when I stop in my tracks and exclaim out loud, "oh NO!"

Outside I see some kind of insect buzzing all around my mesquite tree. At first I fear it is bees and I will have to take my hummingbird feeders in again, but then I notice that something is dropping like snowflakes to the ground. I unlock the door and slide it open. I step out into the blinding eastern sun. My jaw goes slack with disbelief as I see hundreds of beetles on my tree devouring leaves that float softly to the ground.

Gus joins me outside and grabs the hose. he starts to blast the insects off the tree. they cling tenaciously. Those that fall quickly climb the block wall. I scurry inside as fast as a bug and grab my gloves and a bucket. I fill the bucket with steaming hot water and vinegar. With gloved hands and a trowel I start flicking insects into the bucket. I will defend my tree at all costs.

Last year when this happened I did not know what what happening. That time the beetles ate the leaves off my tree also. Someone had commented the insects might be blister beetles and that they secret a toxin that can irritate the skin. Although these insects are differently colored, they act the same, so I am taking no chances. I do not touch them without gloves. However, It wasn't long before I run back inside for my hat!

Gus keeps on spraying away but it isn't doing much good, so, although it is only 7:15 he takes off for Ace Hardware to see if he can find something more effective than water to save our tree. Meanwhile, I keep on plucking away, depositing beetles in the hot water solution. One by one I pick them off and plop them into their doom. Soemtyimes the beetles start to crwal up my legs. Yuk! I feel like my skin is crawling but I keep on plucking. I have worked to hard to get this tree to this point. It is grwong so nicely and providing us with shade and privacy. I do not want to loose it now!

This is the first bucket I filled with beetles. I flush these down the toilet and refill the bucket again. Gus calls to say the store is not open yet, so he drives into to town to try someplace else, but this early on a Saturday none of the stores are open. He heads back home to our local Ace Hardware instead, which is open by the time he gets back.

The insects tried to hide behind the new cherry berry pyracantha I planted but I sprayed them out of there. Slowly their numbers diminished. I even see some flying off. Then, a bigger bug flies in. I do not hate all bugs.

This beauty is an Arizona June bug. Much more colorful than the ugly brown ones I grew up with in Connecticut. However, it still freaked me out as it buzzed around. I did not want it to land in my hair! After it landed on the tree I stepped outside to photograph it. Just look at the rainbow of colors it has!

Here you see the damage done by these Striped Blister Beetles.

The yard beneath the Velvet Mesquite tree is littered with the new green leaves they cut off. I researched the insects on the Internet and from what I could discern they may be Striped Blister beetles, the most poisonous of all the blister beetles. Though their larva are beneficial because they eat grasshopper eggs, if these beetles get into alfalfa and are eaten by horses they can cause severe colic, diarrhea and even death. Apparently they swarm like this when they are mating. Well, far be it for me to interrupt anyone's reproductive cycle, but if that ritual involves destruction of my tree, well, you have a battle on your hands! Go mate and feast someplace else you bugs you!

Gus did come home with an insecticide that the salesperson told him was environmentally safe, but with further reading of the package label it said to wear gloves and that it was toxic to birds. Needless to say, we did NOT apply it to our trees! We will be returning it to the store and I may try the organic oil that Nature Girl suggested last year when this happened. Though, if this follows last year's pattern, they are probably gone until the next orgy.

We are not going to Rio Rico after all. By the time Gus came back and the crisis was over it was already too hot. We are staying home and our son is on his way down with our grandson, whom I have not seen since before I left for Connecticut. We will seek refuge from the heat in our air conditioned house. Typically it is at least 5 degrees cooler here in Sycamore Canyon than it is in Tucson and 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the Phoenix area. The birds in Rio Rico will have to wait for another day.

If anyone has any more insight about these insects or has a different interpretation of what species they are, feel free to tell me in the comments section! I am still not sure!

Skywatch Friday: Welcome Home Sky

Sycamore Canyon Sunset 7-2-09

In last week's Skywatch post I mentioned that I hoped to see a beautiful sunset upon returning from the rainy east coast. Well, I was sitting in my livingroom Thursday evening when I noticed a lovely golden light being cast on the new house that is going up behind me. I grabbed my camera, ran out the door and started snapping. This is the sunset that greeted me....

...and this is the golden light it cast.

I have not doctored these photos at all. This is truly the way it looked, from the new house across the wash...

...to golden Mount Fagan above. It was my "welcome home" sunset, and the next night...

...I got my welcome home toad!

This is a Sonoran Desert Toad, and the first I have seen this year. These toads only emerge during the Monsoon to mate and reproduce before disappearing in to the dry desert soil once again. The large watery bubble you see behind the ears are really parotoid glands that emit a protective poison. This prevents the toad from being eaten by predators, but it will also be absorbed through your skin, so you don't want to handle one of these creatures. You also don't want your dog to pick one up in its mouth or you will find yourself on the way to the vet's! Caution! This poison can kill a full grown dog!

I gently guided this creature out through the gap in the drainage block of the block wall, then foolishly blocked its return by placing a couple of bricks in front of the holes. It was all well and good until another thunderstorm rolled though during the night and I found myself outside at 1 a.m. ankle deep in water removing the bricks so the run off could drain out!

Happy Skywatch Friday!

Happy Monsoon Arizona!

Our temps are headed into the 112 degree range this weekend.
I may be longing for some of those east coast rains before too long!

My World: Birds Are Everywhwere

Green Heron on the Airline Trail 6-29-09

Colchester, CT

In My World Birds are Everywhere and I am always counting them. It's a strange hobby for a person who has always hated math and numbers to be so obsessed with counting birds, but I have always loved birds. From my earliest memories I was aware of birds. Robins, blue jays and Baltimore Orioles are part of my childhood memories. I can remember looking up bird species in my grandfather's bird guide or in the pages of our family encyclopedia.

Gambel's Quail chicks 6-15-09 Sycamore Canyon

On the morning before I left for Connecticut this family of newly hatched Gambel's quail scurried into my yard. They had to be the smallest babies I had ever seen for they were little bigger than the pea gravel they scampered over and they seem more interested in sitting down and taking a nap than trying to feed with their parents. To me they looked like marbles with legs, or living popcorn. There were so many of them that I could barely keep track of them but my best guess is that there were at least 14 of them!

Chipping Sparrow 6-17-09 Lake Hayward, CT

One of the first birds I saw upon awakening in Connecticut was this cute little chipping sparrow beneath the feeder at my brother's cottage in the woods around Lake Hayward.

Blue jay at feeder 6-17-09

I think he was eating the spillage from this greedy guy!

Worm Eating Warbler 6-17-09 Lake Hayward, CT

A walk towards the lake revealed a worm eating warbler, my first for CT and my second since first seeing one in West Virginia at the New River Birding Festival earlier this year.

Downy Woodpecker 6-17-09

Down along the beach I found this cute little Downy clinging to a weathered fence.

Barn Swallow 6-17-09 Bacon Academy fields.

I also watched birds while my siblings and nephew practiced for the Adams Road Race on the track at Bacon Academy in Colchester. I counted 16 species of birds in and around the fields there, because Birds Are Everywhere.

Female Towhee with nesting material in Inwood Hill Park,

New York, NY 6-21-09.

Even in New York City there are birds. Central park is now well known for the many species of birds that pass through during migration or live there year round, but at the far north end of the city lies a little known place called Inwood Hill Park. Though the day was mostly gray with showers, we were able to find this female Eastern towhee building a nest near the ground at the edge of a clearing.

Geese and Garbage in the Hudson River 6-21-09

Down by the Hudson River at the Dyckman St. Pier we watched a family of Canada geese swimming with tires, the refuse from our human lives. Geese get a bad rap for the droppings they leave behind that can pollute our lakes and beaches but what about the pollution they have to live with every day? I suspect their dropping will be gone long before this tire is.

An Ovenbird throwing its voice at the sky 6-22-09

Back in Colchester I found this little ovenbird sitting on the wires outside my sister's house. It sang for all it was worth and I enjoyed its song.

Great Blue heron 6-24-09 Lion's Pond, Colchester, CT

The morning after the Adams Road Race I was up early counting birds again. I drove up to the Lion's Pond on Hall's Hill Road. This area has always been a successful place for me to count birds. When I was young we called it Steg's pond and we ice skated here in the winter. When I showed these pictures to my mother she told me that my Grandfather was in the Lion's Club and he was part of the group that developed this pond as a park for the town. He probably never imagined I would be here so many years later watching birds. Neither did I for that matter, but here I am, because Birds are Everywhere.

Song sparrow 6-24-09 Lake Hayward

I left the Lion's Pond and stopped by Dunkin Donuts for some hazelnut coffee and donuts to go. From there I drove out to Lake Hayward and stopped at the boat launch to drink my coffee, eat my donuts, and watch birds. (I quickly discovered that it's awfully hard to focus your binoculars when you have coffe of a donut in hand!) Here I found another blue heron, some woodpeckers, blue jays and song sparrows. I hoped to find something new and wonderful but I saw the same old birds I had already seen, but I didn't mind, because I love the birds. Though much of the lake is private, I believe the boat launch is a public place and you can watch birds here. There is a porta-pottie, should the need arise.

From the boat launch I continued around the lake stopping at all three beaches. Since my brother owns a cottage out here, my mother has a parking pass, which I used. This cardinal mother and chick barely even noticed me as she fed her young on a wire by the beach.

Double-crested cormorant 6-24-09 Lake Hayward

While out on the water this cormorant tried to dry its wings. With a steady drizzle falling, I did not give it much hope of that happening!

Cedar Waxwings 6-22-09 Colchester, CT

It seems that everywhere I went this year there were cedar waxwings. I counted them in the center of town. I counted them at Bacon Academy. I counted them at Lake Hayward and at my sister's house. Just about every bird count I submitted to eBird on this trip had cedar waxwings on it. I counted them at the rest area in New Hampshire and at various locations in Maine. It will be interesting to see if this is part of an irruption, for I have seen more cedar waxwings in these two weeks than I have ever seen in my whole life!

Birds in Maine

Hairy Woodpecker at Mantle Lake Park, Presque Isle, ME 6-26-09

Yellow warbler at Bicentennial Park along the Presque Isle Stream

6-26-09

Herring Gull at Falmouth Town Landing 6-29-09

Black duck on driftwood, Mackworth Island Causeway 6-29-09

Scarlett Tanager Windham Rd, Colchester, CT 6-30-09

On the next to my last day in Colchester I drove up a country road I know and stopped by yet another pond I used to ice skate on. It was privately owned then and it is privately owned now. We knew it as Gregory's pond, though that owner is long since gone. Here in the thick woods I found a few species of birds I had not seen anywhere else, including a scarlet tanager, and 5 American Redstarts. I thought these were the final icing on my Connecticut list for this year until the next day when I was sitting on the veranda at my mother's house. I kept hearing this funny sounding crow outside. I had heard it the day before and in other locations. I finally decided to investigate the sound and after researching it on the All About Birds web page I discovered I was listening to a fish crow! The only way to tell the difference between an American crow and a fish crow is by voice, so, with its ID confirmed, I added my final bird to my Connecticut list for the year. And, since birds are everywhere, I counted birds all along the highway while my mother drove me to the airport for a late afternoon flight. It was after 10 PM when I finally arrived home in Sycamore Canyon and Gus and I fell right into bed exhausted. So much had happened so fast that I felt like it was all a dream, especially when I opened the shutters the next morning to discover...

Gambel's Quail chicks 7-2-09!

(Did I really ever leave?)

All photos click to enlarge. Please be sure to visit MY World Tuesday's website to visit other parts of this wonderful world and who knows, you might even find some other birds, because....

Birds Are Everywhere!

In the end I counted 62 species of birds in Connecticut this year, 49 species in Maine and 29 species in New York. The constant rain put a severe damper on bird watching and bird photography but I was able to get a few decent shots.

Skywatch Friday: Sycamore Sunset

Sunset in Sycamore Canyon June 14, 2009

I took this picture right before I left for Connecticut. Little did I know it would be one of the last sunsets I would see for the next 2 weeks. Of the 14 days I spent on the east coast, it rained for 13 of them. Most days it rained all day long. The best and sunniest day was June 30, which also happens to be my Nana's birthday, though she passed away many years ago. I spent nearly 3 hours that morning watching birds at a new place in Colchester that my mother told me about. I took hundreds of photos and I have many stories to tell, but for today I am unpacking and refilling bird feeders and cleaning bird baths, all sorely neglected while I was gone. I thought the birds would all be gone when I returned but to my utter surprise I have already seen Gambel's quail, a Gila woodpecker, lesser goldfinches, house finches, a cardinal, mourning doves and the usual house sparrows since I got up this morning. A couple of black-throated sparrows have stopped by the dwindling seed blocks and over the wash the purple martins fly and twitter as they exercise their young for the long migration to come.

If I thought I was coming back to sunshine, I was sorely mistaken. As we stepped though the doors of the airport late last night I was greeted by the humid air of the monsoon fragrant with the scent of creosote bush. In the distance a flash of chain lightening crackled over the City of Tucson. this morning the air is still damp and heavy under gray skies thick with 69% humidity. Will we have a thundershower today? I don't know, but I am hoping for a fantastic sunset here in Sycamore Canyon tonight. It would be the perfect "Welcome Home."

Skywatch Friday

Adams Family Road Race 2009

Yes, the Adams Family Road Race happened last night. After a mostly clear day the rain started as we were at the starting line. It rained the whole time we were running and stopped when we were done. Does the sky have a vendetta against us? I don't know.

As for me, I did my usual walk/jog thing and tried to focus on the race. All along the route I could hear birdsong. I had to try to ignore it and I did keep on running, walking, and thinking. As usual I was last and two of my brothers came and found me and accompanied me to the finish line. It's nice to be loved, isn't it!

Thanks Stephen and Chris!

For full race results and photos click here: Adams Road Race

I'm off to Maine next and won't have Internet access so it may be awhile before you hear from me. It's a good 9 hour drive to Presque Isle. I hope to do some birding inbetween visiting family and sometimes with family!

Peace in the City

Birdwatching at Inwood Hill 6-21-09 by Chris

A cool breeze is wafting through the open window early Sunday morning. I arise quickly, scarf a banana, and get dressed. The gray skies of yesterday have continued and a cool blast brushes our face as Chris and I exit the apartment building and head for the metro. I have my backpack and other gear. We have a long way to go and I need to be prepared. With binoculars, camera and rain poncho we hop on the subway and ride the rails to Inwood Hill in northern Manhattan. We exit the train on a raised platform on quiet but dirty streets. Overhead the pigeons fly and I start counting right away. In the one mile hike to Inwood Hill I count over 80 of these winged rats. But they are not the only birds on the streets of New York. The robins and starlings are everywhere fighting for their place in the world.

Believe it or not, we are still on Broadway, but oh how the scenery has changed. Garbage seems to be spilling out of everywhere with every trash can overflowing into the streets. As we draw near our destination the towering trees cascade over the sidewalk, a green relief from all that cement and brick. Wet roads and dripping shrubs are testaments to the recent rains. We dodge puddles until we find the entrance we seek. Gray stone steps lead us through a green tunnel of foliage to Isham park. Here the robins dot this grassy knoll like sprinkles on cake. A few barn swallows swoop low over the ground while starlings waddle and squawk. Chris waits patiently while I count the birds as the sky darkens and a fine mist fills the air. The drizzle drives me to put away my camera and pop up the umbrella. I amhoping this will be a brief sprinkle and I will not need my rain poncho. We head on down stone steps to the baseball fields at Inwood Hill Park. Here we stop at the only restrooms in the park. It is a necessary stop before we adventure any further. Before us the wide fields spread. We follow the path to the salt marsh where the Hudson and Harlem Rivers meet. Here we find Canada geese and mallards. A lone red-winged blackbird clings to a waving reed. The rain intensifies and I give in. Out comes the poncho to protect both camera and bins. It helps to keep my skin dry also.

We leave the flatlands and head up the hill. Tulip trees tower over our heads. I hear the familiar call of a red-eyed vireo and crane my neck to find it. These little insects eaters are so curious and soon it makes its way from twig to twig getting ever closer to us. Chris gets to see the sweet little bird before we head further up the path. At this part of the trail we are walking across the face of the hill. Trees dominate the landscape and grow above and below us. To our right the hill is a drop off to the fields and salt marsh below. As Chris is looking through the brush he spots a large white bird flying over the marsh below. Excitedly he asks me what it is, so I squat down with bins in hand. It lands in the reeds beyond a bend but then another person walks by and the egret flushes to a more open location. The large yellow beak reveals it to be a Great Egret and not a snowy. It is the first time Chris has seen one and I take pleasure in his delight. I explain to him that if it was a Snowy Egret, it would be a bit smaller with a black bill, black legs and yellow feet. A good way to remember the field marks of a snowy egret are to think of it as always having on its yellow galoshes because it is so snowy.

The trials of Inwood Hill wind through a deciduous forest. Tulip trees, oaks and maples are mixed with mulberry and cherry trees. In places the paths are wet with crushed berries as well as the recent rain. We capture views of the rivers as we walk the paved trail. A flash of brilliants orange flies by and we fine a Baltimore oriole in the tree canopy. I feel as if I am walking through an emerald forest with a world of birds around me.

While I am watching and counting birds, Chris is more impressed with the architecture of the bridges and the details of texture and pattern. It isn't long before I hand my camera over to him and we are both lost in our own little worlds. He finds a lovely bird nest in the crotch of a tree, remnents of life and witness to hope. Did the bird family from this nest survive? I only have questions for answers. There is only architecture in the trees.

We follow the path beneath a bridge that crosses beneath the the southbound lanes of the Henry Hudson Parkway. It emerges in the median divider where flowers, trees and ivy grow. We find the iron lampposts of another era rusting in the woods. Moss and mushrooms are everywhere in this transitional world. As we enter the tunnel beneath the northbound lanes of the highway a surprise waits for us. Someone has started a mosaic of tiles and bottles and broken things on the tunnel walls. I am fond of saying that "birds are everywhere," but here in New York city, so is art. Like the bird nest in the forest, these silent pieces of human life stand witness to the human spirit and the desire to create and express. Did the person who created this want it to be seen? Is it a work in progress or is it done? Is the artist still around, or has the the artist moved on to new territories like the birds.

Forest Floor by Chris 6-21-09

Inwood Hill is a birder's paradise. If you are looking for peace in the City, you will find it here. Though there are paved paths in some locations, much of the park is left wild with rambling dirt paths that cross and criss-cross the hill. At 200 feet in elevation, it is perhaps the highest point on the whole island of Manhattan. We had such a good morning on Inwood Hill with birds and birdsong everywhere and a little art to boot!

To learn more about Inwood Hill Park click on the link.

Bird seen at Inwood Hill Park on 6-21-09:

1. Canada Goose
2. mallard
3. great egret
4. Rock pigeon
5. Mourning dove
6. red-bellied woodpecker
7. Red-eyed vireo
8. blue jay
9. barn swallow
10. tufted titmouse
11. white-breasted nuthatch
12. wood thrush
13. catbird
14. starling
15. eastern towhee
16. northern cardinal
17. common grackle
18. Baltimore oriole
19. red-winged blackbird
20. House finch
21. House sparrow

New York Bird Watching News

High Line Trail Photo by Tony 6-20-09

It is sunny, muggy, and warm as we drive south on the Merritt Parkway Friday. The air inside the car is full of conversation flying back and forth between my youngest brother and I. It has been over 10 years since I have been to New York City. Last time I was here the World Trade Center was here also and my two youngest children were in middle school. Now Chris and I fill the time with our plans for the weekend as the greenery rolls by out the windows. As always I am scanning the sides of the highway for birds and I luck out by seeing a lone female turkey in one spot and a family of geese in another.

Once in the city it takes a while to find a parking space for the car but soon we are unloaded and out the door, headed for Central Park. I am surprised by the tree-lined street as we walk a half a block to Central Park West. Before we even entered the park a blue jay swoops overhead and lands in the upper story of a nearby tree. The park is alive with people and birds. The birds are the common kind. We see pigeons, of course, and house sparrows, along with starlings and robins. In the lake we see mallards, in The Ramble Chris spots a red-bellied woodpecker. I spot a distant pair of flickers flying with their white rumps exposed in flight. A male cardinal scolds a cat on a leash while in the same tree a common grackle looks on warily. Muddy paths are everywhere, evident of the recent rains. We walk on in our meandering way, following whatever inner whim calls to us. The time is passing quickly and we head home to prepare for our evening commitments.

The night falls soft and cool around us. People pass by in the street. A girl in a black dress with a red flower in her hair flashes a smile at me. I’m in the vibrant heart of the city with good friends and family around. I’m in the vibrant heart of the city, pulsing with vibrant life.

Night passes slowly with shadows dancing on the ceiling. Outside the open window the city noises punctuate my attempt at sleep. The night is restless within me. I awake at dawn to bird song and roll over and try to sleep. The sound of a bird like an untrained phoebe weaves in and out of my dreams. In the mornings the eastern phoebe will repeat his rapid call, phee-BEE, phee-BEE, phee-BEE. But whatever this bird is, it only says, “...phee, ...phee, ...phee.”

After breakfast we take the subway to the newly opened High Line Trail. Developed by the City of New York, the High Line is an elevated trail that runs from Washington and Gansevoort to 10^th Ave. and 19^th Street. All along the way grasses, flowers and tree are growing. Overhead I see barn swallows fly. With a view down to the Hudson River, I spot a cormorant on the pier. It is a rainy day and I’m dressed in my usual rain gear. However, my camouflage rain poncho does not hide me in the city, but rather I stick out like Roseate spoonbill in the boreal forest would. The variety of birds I see is limited, but I am happy with each one I see. They are all new for my New York City list that I am only starting to build.

The rest of the day remains rainy. We wander through art galleries in Chelsea and dine in an Italian restaurant for lunch. We choose a table outside under an awning with rain drizzling soft music in our ears.

These are the birds I have seen in New York City so far:

Mallard, cormorant, seagull, pigeon, mourning dove, Northern flicker, Red-bellied woodpecker, barn swallow, Blue jay, robin, Northern cardinal, common grackle, red-winged black-bird, house sparrow, catbird.

Kathiesbirds photo by Tony 6-20-09