Last night, Dave Jasper and I joined Gerry, Peter, and their friends from the West Midland and West Sussex bird clubs in Britain, in search of two of the special owls of Cave Creek Canyon––the Whiskered Screech Owl (a denizen of Mexico’s oak-pine forests, which … Continue readingOwls, Tiny and Merely Small
The last couple of weeks have been very full, all days afield with friends and clients. A few days ago on the road to Barfoot Park, high in the Chiricahuas, a faint buzzing like an angry bee announced the presence of a tiny Twin-spotted Rattlesnake … Continue readingSnakes!
We have just finished another winter stay in the bunkhouse at the headquarters of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, courtesy of the refuge manager Tom Melanson and our good friend Rod Drewien, who goes each year to count geese for the refuge. This year’s … Continue readingA Bitter Day
When you’ve birded for more than 40 years, the thrill of finding a species you’ve never seen before becomes a rare event indeed, unless you venture far from home into rainforest or remote oceanic islands. Yet most of the time we are right here, at … Continue readingA Lifer
Yes! What a wonderful sight.
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
Yes, he was only here briefly, and yes, he only allowed for one quick photo through a hazy window… but Alan and I were thrilled to see this male Varied Bunting at our bird feeder on Wednesday! When we lived in Guadalupe Canyon, they were … Continue reading20-Minute Wonder
I returned home from Flagstaff to welcome news: the Horseshoe Fire is virtually extinguished! The Forest Service’s fly-overs with infrared cameras have shown some remaining hotspots in smoldering tree stumps, but no live flames and no areas of concern. The final tallies: fire size 3,386 … Continue readingSouth Fork Reopens!
Well, maybe jubilation is overstating it… but a wetting rain did fall on the Horseshoe Fire last night, 0.12″ at our house! Lightning started two new fires, one in Pinery Canyon and one in Brushy Canyon, and the Forest Service is flying over the area … Continue readingJubilation