Look to the sky, is there a bird? Is it a hawk? You have no idea what that bird is in the sky? Perfect time to join others as we look to the sky in Tubac, AZ for birds and especially hawks. It is hawk-watching time this entire month of March; however, a group will be at the Ron Morriss Park in Tubac on March 13 – 17, 8AM – 5PM each day. There are vendors with scopes and binoculars to take a peek through and plenty of knowledgeable people letting you know what bird is in the sky.
Hopefully we’ll see plenty of birds and learn new things about birds. Recently this is what I learned…
American kestrel is not a hawk, it is a falcon.
Hawks and kestrels are raptors, but kestrels have pointed wings and hawks have rounded wings. Kestrels have the beautiful facial “whiskers” and hover while hunting. I think American kestrels are quite good-looking. Now I know, they are a falcon and not a hawk … but I might see them while I am at the Hawk Watch in Tubac. Come … join in …
Thank you … there are times I appreciate hearing “thank you”. Other times it is appropriate to send a written, through snail mail, thank you card to another who deserves a thoughtful thank you. In my opinion, I feel it is worse when discovering some people never acknowledge anyone with thanks. I believe this tells you something about a person. I am just saying it matters to me.
Trail etiquette … when hiking a trail and another hiker is coming toward you. Whoever is hiking uphill has the right of way and the other person steps aside. It does happen, at times, when the uphill hiker wants to take a breather and waves you on; it is their choice. Trail etiquette is simple courtesy and that matters to me!
Traffic signs exist for a reason. I get it; many people drive 5-7 miles per hour above a speed limit sign. But why does one drive in a lane clearly marked with a red “X” on a bridge? The driver I saw doing this was speeding also! I prayed no construction person was working further down the lane with their little work sign up. I think this mattered to others on the highway as we saw that vehicle in a closed lane.
Honesty, truth, science, telling it like it is really … do not lie, embellish, or make something up. I am most happy to talk with anyone, even if our beliefs are not aligned, as long as he/she can be respectfully honest to have a productive conversation. We may part still not on the same page; however, each of us had been heard as we shared our thoughts/points of view. This matters to me especially as this nation is polarized. We, all as Americans, can work to solve issues so our country moves forward in the 21st century … that matters to me.
Respect… you are you, I am me. What makes anyone think we should all be the same? We are not. Don’t dictate the cookie cutter of your choice. The reason I travel the world is to view the differences around the world. Culture, religion, politics, environment, music, food, art, personalities, beliefs … with no expectation of others being like me or thinking like me. Respect for another’s choice for their life within the government they live. The USA is not the only country in the world. We must all learn how to work and play together so as not to destroy our planet and ways of life. This matters a whole bunch to me, especially as I travel the world. I wish everyone good health, safety and joy.
Snipes were birds we told our young campers to look for on a hike. We wanted to motivate children to look closely for things in a wetland. They would be shown a photo of a snipe and off they would go! Often we discovered many other things, never a snipe.
If you truly wish to find a snipe, know where the bird is during different parts of the year. In winter, mid to southern USA at marshy wetland areas would be the place to look for the bird. Otherwise, it is in northern USA, Canada and Alaska for the summer.
They are birds you need to look closely for in grassy, muddy stubble of freshwater pond edges. They camouflage so easily into that environment. Often times after looking for birds across a pond, or in nearby trees, I look at the water’s edge. The muck and algae … the decaying leaves and dead shrubbery … are places where a Wilson’s snipe will be if in the area.
A recent outing found me looking into a muddy area and I thought I saw a snipe. Lo and behold, a few seconds more, I saw a Wilson’s snipe probing the water’s edge. It was so well camouflaged! I spent time photographing the bird while pointing it out to another person who did not see it.
Can you see the head of the snipe?
Wilson’s snipe busy probing for food.
An hour later I was talking with other people. We were sharing our bird sightings. I happened to mention I observed a Wilson’s snipe. The woman said her family used to call them a “mud hen” where she grew up. While doing some of my research, a Wilson’s snipe’s species name is Gallinago. In Latin “Gallina” means hen and “-ago” means resembling. So this bird hanging around in the mud resembling a hen would prompt others to refer to it as a mud hen. Okay, makes sense!
Some day I hope to see the bird flying. Again though my research, I learned the bird’s “aerial winnowing display” has its outer tail feathers producing a hollow whistle sound. Hmm… in time maybe I can witness that. In the meantime, it is nice to see this bird here in AZ in the wintertime.
Wilson’s snipe …usually a loner.
This bird is enjoying the area by itself as we look on!
Bicycling is great fun … and more so when I notice new things while trying to get those cycling miles done. Recently I learned not to look too high in the sky at flying birds while I’m bicycling … were there 2 red-tailed hawks flying up there? Geez, and need to keep my eyes on the road!
So I have been thrilled with wildlife sightings at eye level or below. I’ve seen lizards run across the road and make it successfully … and others not so successful. Coyotes often walk across the road from their usual trails. Wished I had my camera available when a bobcat walked across the road! It casually looked at me and moved on. The most fun sighting was watching a mother quail step onto the road, then turn back and indicate something to her chicks, and they all followed her as she crossed the road. Wow!
What will I see when weather warms?
What wildlife have you observed on your bicycle rides? I know some of you are under snow at the moment, but share what you have seen even in the past! You’ll be on your bicycle again in a few months!
I know a few songbirds. A verdin’s call, its bright yellow head, chestnut-colored shoulder patch and spherical nest with an entry point near the bottom are the features helping me to identify this bird. It often flies around quickly and I see it many times upside-down as it eats insects and seeds.
Recently I was at Tucson’s El Rio Preserve. I saw what looked like a nest and thought I heard a verdin call. Hoping I was correct, I knew with some patience I would eventually locate the bird.
As you can see in the photo below, the nest was well hidden in the sweet acacia shrub.
Nest right there!
I moved a distance away from the nest and waited. Another birder happened to walk by and wondered what I was waiting for. As we talked the bird flew to the nest and darted inside. I caught a photo while it sat on the branch before leaving the nest.
Verdin about to leave the nest.
Of course, I had to try my sketching and watercolor painting ability with this little bird… why not ? … here it is:
I love this frog! Will I kiss the frog, no … but it got me thinking ….
An American bullfrog
Here’s this frog in the middle of a parking lot. A distance from where I believe it should be! I would love to know where it is going. I will never know. Unfortunately I left the frog for a couple of minutes … plenty of time, obviously, for it to go its own way. Darn! I even looked for it. No success!
I love healthy wildlife. Wildlife is to be wild. This means the animal survives on its own without mankind sheltering or feeding it. Healthy wildlife will move and take care, ignoring mankind … and we get to enjoy wildlife at a distance. Those constructed wildlife bridges have been very helpful for wildlife to get across roads, for example.
I do feed birds at my feeders. Seed is out during the winter and when the birds migrate. Both are times when the birds can use the extra nutrition. Just as important is when people turn off their outdoor lights during bird migration time. I love seeing humans take action and care about a life, even a bird’s life!
I love humankind when kindness is actually in action. I believe people who care for wildlife care for humans too. Humans are not wild animals. They need shelter and food. With kindness we can help those in need. There are local agencies available to help those in need.Let’s be sure people who are in need do know what help is available. Sometimes it simply a kind, helping hand or providing guidance to an available agency. Services are available for veterans, youth, homeless and many needs … let’s connect people with what they need, just as we do when protecting wildlife!
There were two roadrunners running across my trail, but one seemed to have taken off and the other stayed with me. For a split second ….
Here one second, gone the next …
Actually it came running towards me! What!?!
Roadrunner running towards me…
I thought it strange for it to be heading right at me … then past me. My finger clicked away on my camera to capture the action. A 100-400 mm camera lens though was a disadvantage with this close-encounter.
Bird on a mission!
The Pima tribe believe it is a sign of good luck to see a roadrunner. Good to know. I always want to see the bird’s X-shaped footprints. But once again the ground did not capture the foot’s imprint. Pueblo tribes consider the footprint sacred symbols. The X-shape footprint hides the direction the bird is moving and thus confuses evil spirits. The next second I knew where this bird was heading …
into the tree….
The bird flew into a nearby tree. Rarely do I see Greater roadrunners, their official name, in a tree. So I decided to spend some time with the bird. It was making a sound similar to drumming on wood. I thought it was pecking into the tree, but it was not. All sound was coming from its vocal cords.
Bird is not making this photo easy.
The bird climbed higher into the tree. Photographing it was a challenge so I slowly walked around the tree. My goal was to capture a photo of the bird with less tree branches in the way. Slowly I stepped and clicked away, until I finally had some decent photos.
Thank you for the pose!
Jumps around for a different pose, thank you!
With tail and head almost parallel to the ground, the roadrunner was out of the tree and running to an open area. I am not sure if it caught up with the other roadrunner it was with earlier. They are usually solitary birds, but who knows?
And it is off to somewhere…
In our backyard, a roadrunner can often be seen running through. Our hope is it enjoys eating lizards and snakes it may find there. While doing some research for this post, I learned a baby roadrunner is an “alleywalker”. A flock of roadrunners, a “marathon” or “race”. Very interesting!
I’m having difficulty deciding where I want to put my art energies. Should I spend more time sketching and using an ink pen? Or should I watercolor paint with an aqua brush or regular paint brushes?
Most days I take a walk outdoors. On this day I noticed a horse being readied by a man for a trail ride. There is not usually a horse in our neighborhood, so I took a photo of it. I continued my walk and passed a sculpture of a horse. That set my decision to sketch and paint horses today!And so I did, as you will soon see.
I also decided my real art interest is simply taking on a challenge … on this day horses. I tell myself also: with each sketch I learn something new … and that’s a good thing! Some of my best work is yet to come? Maybe so, but only if I keep at it all!
Ready for a trail ride.
Walk past this sculpture often; time to sketch and paint it!
Arizona weather, especially in southern Arizona, does not provide many clues to what season we are in. Happily though we planted some pistache trees on our property. At times, these trees can provide some colorful leaves. Its deciduous leaves turn beautiful red and orange colors.
Colorful leaves!
Being from northeastern USA though, I equate colorful tree leaves with the fall season. When living there, quite often we would take a road trip to visit areas with beautiful fall colors! Yet here I am in Arizona, in January and February, with these colorful tree leaves! The calendar indicates winter … we are currently after December 21. The weather though, and reality here … I’m enjoying fall! I don’t care what month it is; hope you enjoy the colors too!
Fall in January and February in southern Arizona, according to our leaves!
Travel involves so much energy that at the end of the day I never seem to accomplish all I wish. Sketching happened to be one of the activities not done while on the road during this last trip. However, after each trip or major event, I like to sketch in my “events book”. So I did that for this trip. Plus I loved the look of the “boina” or “Gaucho hat” on the guys; I’ll sketch them too! At Rapa Nui, we had our trip guide and a local guide, so they are included in my sketch book too. Not the best sketches, but a way to keep memories and a final look at my Argentina and Chile trip. Now to travel on in 2026!
