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 …
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!
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’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!
I went for a walk to bird watch, stretch my legs, and see if any other interesting animals were at Agua Caliente Park this month. As I approached my usual walking path, I decided to change things up. Often walking the same direction, why not change it; I’ll walk in the reverse direction in the park.
My brain is wired in a particular way, no doubt reinforcing my habits. So I got thinking about myself as a right-handed person and how different it feels when I use my left hand for simple tasks. Now how would I feel to walk in the direction opposite from my usual path?
Birds seen!
Walking in the opposite direction on the paths I have walked a hundred times at this park was at first strange. My brain prompted me to stop every so often and determine where exactly I was on the trail and to assess some of my usual birding opportunities from the different angle. It was an interesting time to realize how simply changing the direction of my walk offered me a different perspective on my outing. I enjoyed the walk and will continue to change things up as my walks continue here in the coming months.
Have you ever changed things up? Were there any advantages or disadvantages to the change up? Maybe you were forced to do things differently from your normal routine, share if you wish.
Nature abounds in our backyard as I watch almost 100 Western honeybees at one of 2 Baja fairy duster plants! Look closely to see a bee:
So many Western honey bees!
We are also very excited when we see hummingbirds stopping at our desert willow trees and Baja fairy duster plants. Especially when they rest on a tree branch since one rarely sees a hummingbird not moving. The javelina continue to walk past my bedroom window and coyotes are in the neighborhood, as are bobcats. I’m soon off on another adventure so I will return with backyard 2026 nature journals.
Bicycle riding is great fun! I have been slow in getting going. In July I was watching the Tour de France on television. Unfortunately Peacock streaming service was needed to view each day’s ride. Cable television only had 4 of the 21 riding days broadcasted.
I love watching the Tour de France each year. It gets those cycling juices in me going and brings back memories of when I was in France. Was it 2007 or 2014, not sure, but been in France both those years. We were on a bicycle tour and happened to be near Mount Ventoux. Mount Ventoux has been ridden by cyclists in various Tour de France from each side.
We decided to bicycle up one side of Mount Ventoux … because it was there and just seemed like it was worth a try. Okay, we are not professionals. We pedaled uphill for about an hour, a fraction of the uphill distance, and flew down to our starting point in 10 minutes. The uphill journey was with some switch-backs we created on the road, but the downhill ride was STRAIGHT down! To this day, I am not a fan when I am over 33 mph on my bicycle. That experience has remained a memory every time, and especially when I watch the Tour de France each July.
Hangs on my bulletin board.
Had to buy myself a shirt for my tiny ride!
Now many cyclists are readying for the El Tour de Tucson. Yup, that’s right here in Tucson Arizona and the neighboring towns! Maybe you are signed up for the November 22 tour. It’s a popular event. People must register ahead for either the 102 mile Century, or the 63 mile Metric Century, or the 32 mile Half Metric Century. Someday I should ride this tour. I think about it. Would be more impressive if I actually cycled it … to bicycle ride again … a tour here in my hometown.
If you are riding the El Tour de Tucson, I wish you a great ride!!
Our backyard has had a couple of different lizards scurrying around and an occasional butterfly. I wish I could capture a photo of a butterfly! Red-tailed hawks have flown overhead, as do common ravens. The usual birds are at the feeders or in the trees. My October nature journal:
Three high school students were peering into the water’s edge and calling out to each other, “There’s long neck. Look how large he is. This is the second day seeing him.” I frequent this park and could not imagine what they were observing. And to name an animal, “long neck”? So I went to where they were standing and asked what they were looking at in the water.
It was a turtle with a long neck! Yup, good name! I mentioned I had never seen one in all the years frequenting this park. Many red-eared sliders were in the water too. They were the usual, and most numerous, turtles for us to see. This long-necked turtle was new to me!
I immediately used the Inaturalist app with a photo of the turtle to determine what it was we were looking at in this water. We discover it is a spiny softshell turtle. These students, who were visiting from New Hampshire, saw the turtle the previous day too. Yes, this was a new turtle for me too! The students also now aware of the Inaturalist app.
I enjoyed talking with the students. They would only be in Tucson another day but had hopes of seeing a javelina. Unfortunately they missed the parade of javelinas through our yard last month. And they will not see javelinas at the Grand Canyon where they will visit next. But they are having an educational Arizona visit in towns and parks around the state.
As I walked the park’s paths this month, I saw my first phainopepla. Of course the Gila woodpeckers were busy and noisy as usual. The vermilion flycatchers with their bright red color is easy to see, just as a northern cardinal that also tried to hide itself in some shrubs. Off in a distance on an electrical power pole I saw what first looked like a black vulture. I did not have my camera that day, but after talking with another birder, I decided it was a juvenile turkey vulture. Few wading ducks, only a couple of ring-necked ducks. About 17 different bird species are usually seen. Now I can keep my eyes open for the spiny softshell turtle too!
The harvest moon and hunter’s moon, the rain and rainbows, and migrating wildlife this month has been fascinating to observe. Here’s my October nature journal for Agua Caliente Park:
One never knows what the birding day will be like till having spent the time. I hoped to see as many birds as I could this October day. Soon I found myself in the middle of a Gila woodpecker festival. They seemed to be all around me and busy collecting food. Here are some photos of those observations.
Gila woodpecker with something in its beak.
Male Gila woodpeckers seem to be busy today.
Here’s another Gila woodpecker at another place in the park on a Saguaro cactus.
I listen to various birds and am still learning their calls. I wonder if one call I hear is a phainopepla. Is that squeaky call a phainopepla? It is most helpful when I finally see the bird while calling! Yeah!
A female phainopepla calling!
I hear the call of a bird I know! Most every time I will find this bird scratching around on the ground, so that is where my eyes search for sight of an Abert’s towhee. I follow the call. No bird is around on the ground as I walk the trail, but I know it is here because I hear its call. I could not believe it as I look up in a tree and see the Abert’s towhee!
An Abert’s towhee in a tree and not on the ground!
A favorite bird of mine is a curve-billed thrasher. It is a challenge to find this bird, but the call helps me head in a correct direction. Then, will the bird be on the ground or in a tree? It hides so well in the shrubbery. Finding it today was easier than usual as I see it on a tree branch!
Easier to see a curve-billed thrasher when in a tree and not in the shrubbery.
It’s important to not distract yourself while birding with other thoughts, things to do, or whatever. Can you? Sure! But I find it more relaxing and believe I see more birds when I tune into the sounds and sights around me in nature. Being in the moment today provided me with seeing 17 different species of birds at this one park. I pointed a couple of birds out to people who were simply walking by. They appreciated the info, and there is a northern cardinal to point out so easily with its red color!
Northern cardinal almost missed by people passing by.
