Archive for May, 2007
Huachuca Mountain Specialties
Posted by: | CommentsA flat tire got us off to what we thought was a bad start yesterday morning, but by the end of the day, Diane and I were in full agreement that there was nothing about our excursion to the Huachucas we would change, missed birds or not.
We started out with another “target” bird on the Fort Huachuca grasslands, Scaled Quail perched up in a little bush; this species is fairly common out there, but I don’t actually see it there even 50% of the time.
We continued up Garden Canyon, pausing to admire noisy Elegant Trogons a couple of places; this male was on his way to a nest exchange with the female, and gave us, if not necessarily the camera, excellent looks.
Scheelite Canyon was as beautiful as ever, and though we (and everyone else we spoke with) failed to find Spotted Owls, the birding was very good by Scheelite standards, with Black-throated Gray Warblers and Painted Redstarts singing everywhere and Black-headed Grosbeaks and Hepatic Tanagers adding color. A pair of Golden Eagles soared over the mountains, and Canyon Wrens were feeding importunate fledglings on the slopes.
It was late, and at first quiet, when we finally got up to Sawmill Canyon. Our luck held, however, and we found Yellow-eyed Junco, Steller’s Jay, and a vocal and confiding Buff-breasted Flycatcher not far up the trail at all. Western Wood-Pewees were attending a nest, and Cassin’s Kingbirds were carrying food to what must surely have been a well-hidden home of their own.
Apart from Grace’s Warblers, it seemed birdless higher up on the trail. Just as we were about to turn around, a male Hepatic Tanager chased an Arizona Woodpecker into view. Another pair of Buff-breasted Flycatchers gave perfect views in perfect light.
We were satisfied. While I was waiting at the car for Diane, the Cassin’s Kingbirds suddenly exploded into shrieking, and I looked up to see them chasing a juvenile Northern Goshawk right over my head. Fortunately, the big bird decided to evade them by climbing, and it was still circling at close range when Diane and a couple of other birders caught up with me. This bird shows obvious damage to the inner primaries on one wing, and I’ll be interested to hear if others see it or have seen it up there.
With still a little daylight left, we went to Mary Jo’s feeders in Ash Canyon. The Whiskered Screech-Owl poked out of its box for a few moments, and a female Lucifer Hummingbird shared the sugarwater with a good variety of other trochilids, including both male and female Costa’s Hummingbirds, not a species I expect that far east and that far up in early summer. I’ve always been jealous of the birds and the beauty of Mary Jo’s yard (not to mention fond of those incredibly comfortable chairs!), and the fact that she has a family of Arizona Woodpeckers coming in to suet and seed made it only more incredible yesterday.
Thanks to Diane for a couple of great days out and about!
California Gulch Specialties
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s nothing like a summer’s morning in the Gulch, especially when it produces birds! Diane and I set out early from Tucson, and arrived at California Gulch just as the sun was penetrating the deepest shadows of the canyon. Our way in was punctuated by quail, Montezuma Quail, a first pair on the roadside just above the dam and another just below the parking lot at the end of the rough and rocky road.
Characteristically, I forgot I had a camera around my neck until this fine male had moved behind a branch; but I think the picture is still good enough to tantalize! (Hint: the bird is facing right.)
Down into the canyon then, listening to Bewick’s, Rock, and Canyon Wrens on the way. The dominant voice was of another California Gulch specialty, Varied Bunting, males in energetic song and chase everywhere we looked.
The prize of the Gulch did not behave as generously. Finally, though, after a pretty thorough scan of the ocotillos and a long patient wait in the shade, we heard a Five-striped Sparrow and eventually found it perched up, not far away, in the lower branches of a mesquite. Much easier when they sing, but a beautiful Aimophila in any circumstances: as if that didn’t go without saying.
Panamammals
Posted by: | CommentsI confess to being a little single-minded when I’m birding, but even my ornitho-obsession gives way briefly when a mammal appears, particularly one I haven’t seen before.
Though we were on the Panama La Verde birding circuit, new and interesting creatures of fur appeared regularly all week long. I was especially delighted to see 3 species of monkeys. Howlers were noisy and visible at many lowland sites, and we saw rufous-naped tamarins several times. Most abundant of all, though, were the elegant white-faced capuchins, moving noisily through the trees in groups, staring disconcertingly back when we admired their grace.
There were squirrels in the trees, too. Large ones included red-tailed squirrel and variegated squirrel, while pygmy squirrels munched happily away at the bird feeders at Los Quetzales, looking like, well, squirrel pygmies.
But the strangest sight of all up in the canopy was the occasional unkempt ball of scraggly fur, moving slowly or not at all. Sloths! We ran into both two-toed and three-toed sloths several times, and couldn’t help staring at these thoroughly foreign creatures. Gradually I came to like them a lot, a sympathy founded, no doubt, in our shared love of long naps in the shade.
This guy was a little more active than average.
One of our cutest mammals was also one of the most mysterious. At the upper cabins of Los Quetzales, we saw a fist-sized rodent peeking out from under one of the patio benches, waiting patiently for its turn at the seed.
I’ll send this photo on to Luiz for identification, but any suggestions meanwhile?
Panama: The Finches of Los Quetzales
Posted by: | CommentsWonderful as the birding is around the Los Quetzales Lodge itself, it gets only better as you climb the short but rocky road to the upper cabins. When the truck can go no farther, the trail winds through a spectacularly beautiful forest full of birds.
Naturally we had to admire the Resplendant Quetzals, which nest right along the trail and can be seen easily: once, that is, you have your eye in and no longer overlook the males’ long trains as waving fronds!
The cabins themselves host innumerable hummingbirds at the feeders, including Magnificent Hummingbird, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, Violet Sabrewing, White-throated Mountain-Gem, and a real specialty, Green-fronted Lancebill, which actually nests under the eaves of one of the cabins.  That’s the one I’m going to stay in on my next visit.
For all the sparkle and color of the quetzals and the hummingbirds, I most enjoyed the granivores on the patio, shy at first, gradually more trusting as we ate our lunch and watched them consuming theirs. Most common and most easily seen were the Yellow-thighed Finches, friendly and comical little fellows wearing chartreuse pants.
Rufous-capped Brush-Finches were feeding young, or rather teaching them to feed themselves.
And every once in a while, a shy little Slaty Finch, another hard-to-find specialty that is more or less guaranteed at Los Quetzales, would wander in and scoop up a little grain.
Most fascinating of all, though, was a bird I’d expected to be just clunky and dull, a bit like its awkward name. But the Large-footed Finch, its name and the lousy illustration in the field guide to the contrary, turned out to be one of my favorite birds of the entire trip. The patterns are intricate and lovely, with orange scalloping on the breast and a discreet black-on-gray on the crown. The feet are big, I admit. But then again, so are mine.
Two-dollar Beaks, I mean Bills
Posted by: | CommentsThe economic footprint of birding is enormous. Trouble is, it seems that in most parts of North America, only birders know it. Sure, the liquor store on Jackson Street in Cape May knows which side its brandy is buttered on, and the motels in Mio await the return of their famous winged neighbors as eagerly as the birders do. But what about Malta, Montana? Roswell, New Mexico? Pella, Iowa? Or a thousand other lesser known but equally important sites across the continent?
In recent years, many of us have started to make special efforts when we are traveling to let local services and businesses know why we’ve come to their part of the world.
I don’t like wearing my binoculars in restaurants (the tables are always too small to start with, and there’s nothing like a nice dollop of mustard to make the afternoon’s birds look, well, unusually warm through your bins). But I do often engage the help in conversation, or leave a card. The Georgia Ornithological Society passes out attractive and informative cards when it visits Jekyll Island; increasingly, bird-finding guides to popular areas include a page or two of perforated cards in the back, a practice greatly to be encouraged and imitated. And for five bucks or so, you can make your own at vistaprint.com.
Now comes Richard Guthrie with a great new idea. He stocks up on two-dollar bills when he goes to a new birding site, giving him an easy and memorable conversation starter in restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, and all those other places birders have to stop. Next time I’m on the road, I’m going to make sure that the tips I leave contain at least one picture of Thomas Jefferson–and it won’t be on a nickel.
I just hope Richard didn’t get any three-dollar bills in his change when he was in Brinkely last month.
