Birding in Arizona Part II, and On to Pennsylvania Botanizing

One of the more rigorous, vigorous outings on our visit to Arizona was a Tucson Audubon Society trip to nearby Chino Canyon. Close to Madera Canyon, it was nonetheless rather difficult to access by car. We all doubled up in the all-wheel drives and carpooled across the desert to the beginning of the trail. This was only a few short weeks after my knee surgery, so I wrapped it tightly and took one of my preciously hoarded prescription pain pills, grabbed my binoculars, field guide and camera and off we went. Trip leader Mike Bissontz was yet another of the wonderfully knowledgeable guides we were fortunate to hook up with. Who knows how we would have floundered in our birding adventures if not for such as he!


We walked about six miles in Chino Canyon. Although the footing along the trail was rocky and uneven at times, the knee held up and the birds hid well. I was not successful at bird photography that day. But I was fascinated by the changing shapes of Elephant Head, which we hiked along and around. There was a fissure cutting diagonally across it that drew me like a moth to a flame. But for my rabid fear of heights, I might have tried a rock climb! Yeah right…believe that and I’ll tell you another!



Some of the new birds we saw that day were Ash-throated Flycatcher, Gambel’s Quail, Canyon Wren, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch.

And just a few of the other birding areas yielded:
Douglas Ranch: Violet-green Swallow, Blue Mockingbird and Ruddy Ground Dove
Florida Canyon: Rufous-capped Warbler, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Spotted Towhee, Black-chinned Sparrow
Patagonia Lake: Elegant Trogon, Bridled Titmouse

Backyard in Tucson: Violet-crowned Humingbird

For a complete album of photos from the Arizona trek, visit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeann-charlie/sets/72157615684878680/
and you’ll find the jewel-like birds, the mysterious plantlife and the mind-boggling geologic features of another world!

Fairy Duster

We loved birding (and the bit of botanizing I was able to fit into our schedule) in Arizona. Each day became a new adventure, and the weather was so much nicer than back home in Pennsylvania!

Now, exit Arizona…..





Bye-bye birdie


…and enter Pennsylvania.



It’s May in Pennsylvania! Which leads me back home in my narrative and on to our newest adventures in search of the elusive spring migrant warblers and wonderfully stationary wildflowers.

This past week brought a warm spell with temperatures in the sunny 80s some days. Canoeing, birding and finally, botanizing! We went out birding nearly every day, and Thursday morning while we worked on the briar clearing on the Tidioute Riverside Rec-Trek Trail, the wildflowers actually came out of hiding. Red Trilliums, White Trilliums, Pepperroot (Dentaria diphylla), Kidneyleaf Buttercup (Ranunculus arborvitus) and Cuckoo-flower (Cardamine pratensis) decided to open today.

Probably the most exciting spring wildflower, to me, the one which signifies It’s Spring!, is the White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum). It seems that no sooner has it emerged than it’s popping up a green bud and the next day, that Grand Flora! What was merely leaf duff last week is today a stately grouping of the princess of spring wildflowers.

I remember 35 years ago when I discovered that a woman had pulled over to the side of the road by our neighbor’s property. She took her children into the woodland there and they all picked the trilliums, every one of them. Did she know that by doing this, they killed them all? I don’t know; they clambered into the car and took off before I could talk to them about what they’d done. The Trillium plant needs its leaves to feed the bulbs for the next year’s bloom/seed cycle. As with other bulbed plants, if you pick the leaves, the bulbs have no way of building nourishment to stay alive. The Trillium flower grows on a very short stem about the 3-part leaf, so when they are picked, most people in their ignorance pick the entire plant.


The Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) is also known as Wake Robin. It has a foul odor, but the beauty contradicts the offensive qualities. A deep russet color, this flower might easily be overlooked in the dim shadows of the forest floor.


I did not see any today, but the Trout Lilies have been blooming for over a week in our area in northwest Pennsylvania. I learned of a patch of rare white Trout Lilies in bloom north of Warren that I wasn’t able to find yesterday on a walk. And Spring Beauties along the roads and trails in the Erie National Wildlife Refuge as well as various violets (enough for an entire article, just themselves), Bloodroot, Wild Ginger...like a candy store!

If you take a walk on the Muddy Creek Holly Trail on the Refuge, east of Cambridge Springs, you might find the delicate and beautiful Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum).


I could go on in my enthusiasm, but it is time for “Young and the Restless,” which means my dog Maggie is waiting on the couch for some quality spud time. Till we meet again...
(Shadbush)


...happy botanizing!

Birding in Arizona Part I

Spring is here! As I look out upon the snow, I think back to just a few months ago and the warm temperatures in Arizona: swimming in the heated outdoor pool, walking Maggie in the mornings to the sound of the singing birds, walking to restaurants instead of bundling into a cold car and driving. Oh, if only spring weren’t so rambunctious and disorderly in Pennsylvania!

But speaking of birdsong…. Our first morning in Green Valley, AZ, I took Maggie for a walk through the community that was our temporary home. Many House Finches and Cardinals flew out of the pomegranate as we strolled by, the Cactus Wrens chattered their scolding cries and the Curve-billed Thrashers hopped from branch to feeders in the condo patios. That first morning brought many familiar songs, but even more that were unfamiliar to us. At one point, Maggie stopped to sniff some strange new smells and I stood listening. There was a very soft “who cooks for you” call. I was amazed, thinking perhaps Arizona had a small version of the Barred Owl there. But try as I might, I could not locate any owls. After checking my books and my Palm One National Geographic bird program, I discovered that it wasn’t an owl at all, but a White-winged Dove. But a few nights later, I heard a very soft “who-who-who” call, and this time it was an owl—Great-horned! I learned from neighbors that a pair had been nesting in the condo neighborhood for years.

One condo had several hummingbird feeders and we were able to watch many Anna’s Hummingbirds—that prompted us to head out and buy a feeder of our own to hang. (Recipe for hummer juice: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water...and do NOT add any food coloring, which is detrimental to their health--the birds will find it without that.) We had Broad-billed, Anna’s and even Costa’s visiting, and the tiny Verdins were also attracted to the hum-juice. And we bought a cheap $5 plastic feeder for the seed-eaters: House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, Cactus Wrens, Gila Woodpeckers, to name a few.

One thing I learned in my travels is that if you want to find birds, but aren’t a very good birder (that’s me!), hook up with the local chapter of the Audubon Society and sign onto the state online birding email list. A few months before our trip, I joined the Arizona-New Mexico birding list, Birdwg05. By reading their discussions, rare bird alerts, field trip reports and locations, I had a leg up on planning our birding excursions. And we connected with the Tucson Audubon Society and attended many of their field trips. Their trip leaders are wonderful birders and all were eager to share their knowledge of the birds.

Our first field trip with TAS was at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson. A water reclamation area, this birds’ oasis in the city is a wonderful place to bird and we returned several times on our own. The trip leader, Cynthia Barstad, handed out a checklist of the birds that we might encounter there in winter which included a map of the wetlands and a resource list. We saw many Yellow-rumped Warblers at Sweetwater and most other birding areas, but during this and our other visits there, we also found a pair of nesting Harris’s Hawks, a covey of Gambel’s Quails, Abert’s Towhees, Northern Pintails, Marsh Wrens, Sora, Cinnamon Teal, Pied-billed grebes, Great-tailed Grackles, Black-crowned Night Heron, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Plumbeous Vireo, Ruddy Ducks and so many more. What a wonderful “first time out” walk! I think we added about 25 birds to our life lists that first field trip.

Santa Rita Mountains and Elephant Head

from Madera Canyon entrance

A few days later we were on our own for our first visit to Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. Now, if you want a combination of good hiking, excellent birding, wildflowers, trees and wildlife, this is the place to go. We returned there many times: hiking the trails where we saw a bobcat up close and mountain lion tracks; sitting at the Santa Rita Lodge feeders to watch the Acorn Woodpeckers, various juncos and Wild Turkeys; standing at Madera Kubo where we found Magnificent, Anna’s, Blue-throated, Rufous and Broad-billed Hummingbirds, Hepatic Tanagers, Painted Redstart, and of course, the ubiquitous Acorn Woodpeckers; magnificent views and close-ups for photography; and the Amphitheater where we found our first Townsend’s Warblers.

The next day we headed to Agua Caliente Park for their weekly nature walk. Another gem at the edge of Tucson, this is where I saw my first Bewick’s Wrens. Notice the odd partially webbed feet of this Coot.

And we continued our nature observations later at Saguaro National Park East: Gilded Flickers were a delight to see as they flashed from one cactus to another. The "forest" of cacti was an astonishing sight.

Fishhook Barrel

Not only the saguaros, but also fishhook barrels, Opuntias, chollas and more.

Fishhook Barrel amidst Opuntis

On Thursday, January 8^th, we drove south to Kino Springs, a golf course with a catch-water pond where we found our first Vermilion Flycatchers

and Say’s Phoebes. At the pond we found another Cinnamon Teal sparkling in the morning sunlight.

And on the 9^th

we returned to Saguaro National Park East for a field trip led by park volunteers.

That leads us to Saturday, January 10^th, and the TAS field trip to Chino Canyon. The Test of the Knee Trip and Elephant Head……..to be continued.

On to the subject of Pennsylvania Wildflowers! Charlie and I went up to the Tanbark Trail in the Allegheny National Forest last week and I found trailing arbutus in bloom. Such a dainty flower it is. Delicate pink blossoms with a cotton-candy-sweet fragrance, it blooms as early as coltsfoot and hints at springtime to come.

Back from Arizona!

Charlie and I spent the last few months birding in Arizona. We left on Christmas day, stopped for 3-4 days at Charlie's sister's in North Carolina, and arrived in Green Valley, AZ, on New Year's day.

We took Maggie and Kali along. For anyone who still believes that dogs and cats don't get along, the two of them traveled together in the crate in the back seat. For most of the trip they cuddled and used each other as a cushion for their heads. Occasionally, Maggie even groomed Kali--Maggie is sometimes more catlike than doglike.

I was surprised that these two little senior citizens traveled so well. Maggie, 13, usually pants and whines when I take her on short trips in the car around home. And I had no idea how Kali, at least 14, would react to being in the car at all. She had never traveled more than the 40 miles from where I used to live to where we live now when we moved. But they both settled right in and accepted whatever fate awaited them. I learned to try to get as much food and water into Kali as possible in the mornings before we set out each day. She refused to eat, drink or even use her litter box while on the road, even when we stopped for Maggie's walks and I let Kali out on a leash to walk about. But she made up for it all overnight at our motels.

We stayed in a rented condo in Green Valley. Maggie often went along on our birding forays, she hiked a total of 23.5 miles--a lot for a tiny little Chihuahua. She was everyone's darling, petted and fawned over by all. On one of our first bird walks in Madera Canyon, Charlie spotted a bobcat resting on a rock alongside the trail and scooped Maggie up, removing any possible temptation that big kitty might have felt.


Luckily Maggie didn't spot the bobcat--she'd have wanted to challenge it, as tiny dogs are wont to do with any furry critters larger than they!

She loves to lead our hikes. On the Super Trail in Madera Canyon, she stayed as far in the lead as her leash allowed. It's just too bad that she's too small to assist me up the hills....

During our trip we mostly birded, but I did get in a bit of botanizing too. I'll get into that further in a future article. I should be able to write many about this trip. From Sweetwater Wetlands and Tohono Chul Park in downtown Tucson, to Arivaca Cienega and Patagonia Lake near the Mexican border; from the roadrunner at the Biosphere to the Blue Mockingbird at Slaughter Ranch; and from Tanque Verde Greenhouse to Saguaro National Park...we spent a very busy two months. Elegant Trogon, Rufous-capped Warbler, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Blue-chinned Hummingbird; chollas, barrel cacti, Arizona oaks, fairy dusters. So many new and wonderful things to see, so little time!