Category — Birds

While it was sad to say goodbye to our friends, Steve and Kathy, we were excited to be back on the road again. Sara’s prescriptions were finally ready, so we spent the morning picking those up, delivering them to Walgreens, picking up a couple of items from our storage shed and getting packed up and ready to go. We hit the road at 12:30 pm and instead of taking I-10 westward, we dropped down towards El Paso and took NM-9 west, thus bypassing another large hill outside of Las Cruces.

We arrived in Rodeo around 6 pm and we are staying at Rusty’s RV Ranch with an incredible view of the Chiricahuas outside our windows. Just after we settled in and hooked everything up, the storm we saw brewing for the last hour finally hit. Well, maybe not hit, but it did graze us. Further up in the mountains the lightning was blazing away, but all we received was about 20 minutes worth of rain.

Now I’m sitting here writing this post with the window screen wide pulled open to let all of the fresh air in and to give me an unobstructed view of the mountains. There are Cassin’s Sparrows singing away, as happy for the monsoon rains as I am. Although the temperature was close to 90 in Las Cruces, it is only 70 right now and feels delicious.

We will leave fairly early tomorrow to get over Mule Pass in Bisbee before the day’s heat makes it too difficult. After that, we should not have to deal with any more potentially overheating climbs. And best of all, by the end of the day we should be back home in Arivaca after a 9-month absence.

Dedrick and Kasie left this morning and it was a sad farewell. Kasie has been here for a month and we loved having her here. We had so much fun together and grew even closer. I understand why she needs to go back to Minnesota and I hope she comes back soon!

Dedrick was down for about a week and a half, mostly to bird together, but also to just enjoy the company. We made one trip to Arizona together, but I got sick the next morning and he had to drive me all the way back home again. We did get the Northern Jacana, which was a lifer for both of us. I also got two more lifers, the Rufous-backed Robin and the Long-tailed Duck. The next morning, Dedrick had a chance to get his lifer Scott’s Oriole before driving me back home. Matt Brown, a guide from the Patagonia area, was very helpful and kind and brought Dedrick to a place where the Scott’s Oriole had been seen several times. Matt really went out of his way to help and didn’t ask for any compensation. If you are ever in need of a great guide, look Matt up.

A few days later, Dedrick drove back to Madera Canyon where he got his lifer Aztec Thrush. The day after he got back, Dedrick, Kasie and I drove to the White Mountain Wilderness which is almost three hours northeast of here, just north of Ruidoso, NM. Nearby was Sierra Blanca Peak which is just over 12,000 feet, so we were pretty high up. We had a beautiful 2-mile hike through the snow and pines and were glad there wasn’t 6 feet of snow which that area has been known to get. The biggest surprise was when we were leaving and Dedrick saw his lifer Montezuma Quail. He’s been chasing that bird for years and every time he comes down here we spend some time looking for that bird. Matt Brown told him to just stop looking for it and that’s when it would show up. Sure enough, less than a week later, there it was!

Here are a few pictures. The first one is of the Northern Jacana and the rest are from our visit to the White Mountain Wilderness.

In September 2007, Dedrick Benz and myself walked about two miles down Sycamore Canyon which is located about halfway down Ruby Road in southeastern Arizona.

A couple of days ago, a male Broad-billed Hummingbird got into our house and was trying desperately to get out through the window screen. I was in another room and did not see it right away and by the time I saw its plight it was starting to get worn out. I walked quietly up to it and slowly put my hands out. It didn’t move, so I continued to move my hands closer and very gently cupped them around the bird. It still didn’t move and just lay there quietly in my hands as I walked outside with it. I was so worried that I was going to hurt it, but I also wanted to keep it from escaping and flying into the window again. Man, that beak looked long and sharp! I got it outside with no major puncture wounds and when I opened my hands it just lay there for a few moments before suddenly darting off to the nearby mesquite. It was so light, I wasn’t even sure I was holding it. What an incredible, ephemeral experience.