Flush with our success at finding the Lustrous Copper, Alan, Noel and I embark on a daytrip into the Elk Mountains, in the hope of encountering something new and extraordinary, and also with the intention of visiting our friends, Mary Price and Nick Waser, who … Continue readingGothic Moods
To find the Grail, that quarry of legend, a quest is essential. And Noel and I have quested, for years. (For Alan, it is more of a diversion from ice cream, not so much a quest.) We have sought our Grail––the Lustrous Copper––at Slate Peak in the … Continue readingQuest for the Grail
Last week Alan and I set off for Lake City in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, on a butterfly expedition with our good friend Noel Snyder. For two years, Noel has been daydreaming of Tailed Coppers, ever since I found them along Henson Creek on … Continue readingCopper Tales
Have you ever tried hunting for scorpions at night using an ultraviolet light? They fluoresce! Here is a scorpion near Portal, at night under the “normal” illumination of a camera flash: (Photos by Narca) And here is the same beast under a UV light: Quite … Continue readingScuttling Scorpions!
Our technique on the Short-tailed Hawk vigils has been to split up and watch from different vantage points. Helen and Noel have stayed in contact with handheld radios. We’ve each had marvelous encounters with wildlife. Yesterday, the hours passed quickly for Helen, who found no … Continue readingWhile Helen Waited
Yes! What a wonderful sight.
A wait can be most engrossing. Today I returned to the Barfoot ridges in the Chiricahuas with Cathie Sandell, Christopher Rustay, and Noel and Helen Snyder, again watching for those two young Short-tailed Hawks and their parents. (Incorrigible, you say?) At the very start of … Continue readingWaiting for the Short-tails
Yesterday Alan and I joined Helen and Noel Snyder for a Short-tailed Hawk vigil above Barfoot Park in the Chiricahua Mountains, and along the way we were distracted by a splendidly-colored Colorado Hairstreak, just emerged from its chrysalis and attempting to expand its wings. Emerging … Continue readingEmergence
On Tuesday, July 6, Alan discovered a summering female scaup (!) at Willow Tank near Portal. Scaup identification is often challenging, and in this case we have an additional handicap: she is mostly flightless, probably due to wing molt, so we can’t flush her. Therefore, … Continue readingA Lingering Scaup
Normally Hooded and Scott’s Orioles nest at our house. Bullock’s Orioles come and go, but usually nest elsewhere in the Portal area––until this year. I’ve been really pleased in recent days to see a male Bullock’s here at the house, carrying food. Then this morning, … Continue readingOf Orioles and Cowbirds