…flows, does not push, moves with grace to meet a goal
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
More than 2.5 years ago my best friend was dying. We both knew death was inevitable. We just were not sure how long the dying would take. My friend had a challenging last couple of years. She fought cancer through rounds of chemo, found extra bursts of energy when spending time with family and friends, and never seemed to feel sorry about herself while talking with others. I, on the other hand, was angry, sad, and not ready to lose my best friend for any reason, especially for one as permanent as death.
She and I talked often and about everything through our 40 shared years. Her divorce and our friendship were misconstrued by some. Her belief was: if anyone truly knew her, they knew the truth. She moved on with her law school acceptance and graduation and me with my various administrative school positions; we celebrated it all. Our travel opportunities, hikes searching for loons, and time at my Adirondack cabin were enjoyed by us. We discovered some people never knew/understood a deep love could exist between friends. At those times, we wished we were family instead. Apparently it was more acceptable to say “I love you” to a family member than anyone outside of that circle.
We both knew we had things to talk about at as her energy and time dwindled. I think I was more heart-broken about this all than her. She seemed to be in a better place understanding the finality of life than me. It may have been her final two years that forced her to look at life through a different lens than mine. I was always wishing for the next moment we would share, and yet knew it would probably not be.
And so when I spent the last weeks of her life with her, I knew it was time to talk. I wanted to know her latest feelings about some of the things I had been wondering about and would no doubt continue to wonder beyond her death. Our discussions involved close looks at the environment, family, friends, religion and whatever else came to us as we talked. Who, what, why and where? Respect, trust, love, likes and dislikes. Life seemed so complicated and so did our end-of-life discussion. How appreciative I was of having time to talk with my best friend just before she died.
As I move on without my friend, I must realize how fortunate I was to have such a wonderful friend in my life … and that will always bring a smile to my face, a warmth in my heart, and tears in my eyes. I tell myself: life goes on … as she said it should. Remembering her birthday this month with fond memories, such as our pursuit of loons!
Practice has always been key in my life. Whether training for a 5k, 10k, mountain climb or long-distance bicycle ride, it was important to get moving and doing the activity over and over. Build physical and mental strength; know that quitting can only be an option after I really have put my best effort in. Now with my new watercolor painting challenge, I have tried to pursue the same practice mentality.
How many times do I need to paint the same kingfisher? Apparently a few more times and to make more changes to get a slightly different and hopefully better result! I have painted this bird so many times! Now it is time to take a break from this bird since I am not making enough of a change between paintings. As they say, if you continue to do the same, you’ll get the same result. Hopefully in giving myself a break from painting this bird, I will have fresh eyes when I return to it in time. I’ll keep you posted, I am not giving up on creating the look I really want for this bird!
The natural world is one step beyond your front door. Do you notice any living thing within your first footsteps? Is there a flower, an insect or something else living that you notice?
If you snap a photo, share it at the iNaturalist app, you have just joined the other citizen scientists around the world. What does this mean?
With the minute you took to observe the natural world, photograph a living thing and share it within the iNaturalist app, you are providing information where others note your observation. Once it has been accepted, through their very easy process, other people, especially scientists see the entry. What’s interesting about this? Some people around the world have actually photographed, unknowingly, rare plants and/or animals! Or maybe it is a plant or animal not observed in decades at your location.
Scientists cannot travel the world, year after year as they do their research. Instead, they can comb through what others are sharing, such as through this app, iNaturalist, along with their first-hand observations.
I submitted this photo on the app:
Recorded the date, location and looked at the suggestions listed. Then chose what I thought was what this lizard would be identified as. Submitted it all easily through the app. Once a couple of other people agreed with my assessment or I changed to agree with them, then research grade allows my information to be used by anyone in the world! (I think it is a desert spiny lizard. Awaiting others to agree or not so I can go from there.)
So, you have the iNaturalist app and use it? Kudos to you! Keep at it! If you do not have the app, and wish to, then download it on your smart phone at the app store, for free, iNaturalist. Or, check out the website for iNaturalist. Either way, get involved and become a citizen scientist.
Nature journaling can be done however you wish and whenever you wish. My initial thought was to return with my nature journal to Agua Caliente Park in Tucson in the fall. However, my recent walk allowed me to see three brown-crested flycatchers.
Brown-crested flycatchers are here in southern Arizona in the summer. I heard their call, believing I knew their call, and kept looking for them. Finally I saw the butt-ends of them on a branch! Crazily I am asking them to turn around so I can be sure of my observation and identification. No quick accommodation was provided me! Interestingly they were holding their wings out to be in a cooling pose. Here I was wishing I had brought my camera to photograph this scene … and then, the larger bird, dove for something and returned to the branch. Ah yes, it was what I thought … brown-crested flycatcher!
With a small young one present I wondered if I could find their nest. I did not. All birds in the mid-summer, mid-day heat were not moving fast so I had plenty of time to observe the 2 on the branch and another one flying in the area. I sketched and added some colored ink to the drawings. Nothing is accurate, but a reminder that the birds were here in August.
Another bird, cactus wren, I wanted to include here since I had not seen it last month. Supposedly here during the year, I don’t always catch sight of them. This month though, I did! The usual vermilion flycatchers were enjoying the hot day, but others not so much. As a result, I had to look into grassed-over wetland areas and thickets. By the time I was done I saw 15 different species! Will be back in the fall and see what I observe then. Till then, stay cool and hydrated … humans and birds!
Bird festivals are all over the USA and some in Europe. If you have never attended a bird festival, here are some of the reasons I enjoy attending them:
Overall, I have really enjoyed attending various bird festivals. If you have never attended one, give one a try. Maybe it’s one closest to your hometown. You’ll be amazed how many birds you will see in a day with the help a guide and everyone else in your group even if it is your hometown!
Will you see this bird? Don’t know till you show up … check out a bird festival within the next year.
Women’s safety must be a priority every minute of every day, especially when I read the dismal statistic: 1 in 3 women in the United States assaulted in her lifetime. Fear is not the emotion any woman wants when attempting to enjoy an activity; yet, it does cause some to hesitate or not accomplish what she wished to do. That’s not the world we want to live in!
Women can now carry a non-violent self-defense tool, a Birdie. The goal is to deter attackers while creating a distraction thus drawing attention to the woman in need of help. See the photo below:
With a pull of the top circle, referred to as the “pin”, an ear-piercing siren happens along with a flashing strobe light, especially helpful at night. To stop the ear-piercing sound, return the pin into the Birdie. This personal safety alarm can travel everywhere, unlike tasers and pepper spray, which are not TSA-friendly. It also can be hooked onto bags, put into pockets, or hung on your keychain. Make it as accessible as you wish.
This self-defense tool was shared at a local bird festival workshop. You may wonder why there. Woman can be hesitant to hike and go bird watching alone, especially if hearing any statistics of assaults, etc. Therefore, this self-defense tool was offered as part of a workshop at the bird festival.
There is a new “Birdie 3.0” which has a rechargeable battery. When you visit the website you’ll see 2 other available products. One is a disc and the other a box for hotel room. Check those tools out as they may be of interest to you beyond this Birdie. My Birdie is not a 3.0, so a battery will need to be replaced in time. Women’s safety is important … share this info with others … gift someone … and have your own.
A wash is more obviously a riparian area when water is in it. However, in the desert that doesn’t happen often enough! Actually when the monsoon is truly heavy with rain water, the wash overflows and floods the local road. I love when that happens. The desert needs the rain. But on this day, we are walking in a very dry, sandy wash! It’s an early morning birding adventure. Our goal is to observe birds before the air temperatures climb to a triple digit! Let’s get out of the wash before then!
I love birding with other people and a guide who almost always knows more than the rest of the group. So many human eyeballs looking for birds! The birds were smartly hiding within the tree leaves as the crazy humans looked for them while standing in sun or shade, yeah, when available.
When you first look at a wash, such as the one we were at, one can wonder if we will see any bird. Yet we did see! Twenty-eight different species of birds were seen, 106 individual birds! I was fortunate too to have observed a bird new to me, a rufous-winged sparrow! A new bird for my life list!
I loved having access to our guide’s viewing scope to get a great look at a blue grosbeak, lark sparrow and bullock’s oriole. While I have very good binoculars, these observations went to the next level. Plus having the guide’s expertise in knowing exactly what the bird was that we were viewing in the scope.
We had a productive 2 hour morning and then on our way to air-conditioning and cool drinks! Heat exhaustion and dehydration are real concerns with our latest hot weather, so 2 hours was plenty for us. The birds seem to find places to escape the heat and enjoy water features since our monsoon has not provided rain for wildlife. Hope it rains soon!
Final note: we don’t only observe birds. Some of us check out plants. Often we’ll see lizards and on this day there was a king snake crawling across the trail:
