environment Archives

Tipping Point Bird Species 2026

March 29, 2026March 19, 2026Posted in Animals, Birds, blogging, environment, wildlife, writingTagged birds, conservation, environment, Nature, wildlifeLeave a comment

“Tipping point bird species” are those birds having lost more than half their population in the last 50 years. Reading so many reports about the decline of bird populations is simply depressing since the environmental threats affecting birds are also warning signs for our own health. (Remember the canary in the coal mine?) Simply put, we do breathe the same air as the birds! Beyond that their habitats are being destroyed and also areas to land, rest and feed during their migration. Fortunately some conservation groups, ranchers, farmers and others are addressing some of the issues.

While I knew the California condor and burrowing owls were, and have been for a while, on the “tipping point” list with more than a hundred birds on it, I recently learned the Lewis’s woodpecker and piping plover are on it. So I just wish to share some of my observations about these two tipping point birds: Lewis’s woodpecker and piping plover.

First, the piping plover:

Piping plover are small, move fast and a challenge to find!

The piping plover is a bird of major concern. A friend was part of helping protect a nesting area in California. I saw other protected nest areas in Indiana Dunes National Park in Indiana and also at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in Michigan. I was fortunate to observe this bird in April 2022 in Middletown, Rhode Island and in May 2023 at Jones Beach in New York State. They are not the easiest bird to spot! I had no luck photographing one. This bird is endangered and I can only hope the nesting sites continue to be protected so future human generations will see this bird.

Notice the very small orange and blue areas where the birds might be!!

About Lewis’s woodpecker:

It was May 2021 and I was almost finished with a hike in Flagstaff, Arizona. I saw a large-sized woodpecker with a purplish-pink belly in a tree; unlike other woodpeckers I had ever seen! It was beautiful and I regret never getting a photograph. The greenish-black feathers, gray collar, red face and pinkish belly are most striking when you see it. I had no idea this bird is only spending time in a few western states in the USA.

Notice the winter and summer locations for this bird.

I didn’t realize when I saw the Lewis’s woodpecker again how fortunate I was. May 2022 again in Arizona and December 2023 at Death Valley National Park in California, there was the bird! Now I am worried about this near-threatened bird since I have not seen it in the past 3 years! By the way, the bird was discovered on the Lewis and Clark 1804-1806 expedition and named for the expedition’s co-leader.

If you are interested in knowing more about birds, download the free Audubon Bird Guide app at the app store. There is plenty of information about every bird. Give it a try! In the meantime, please be aware of the importance in caring about birds, thanks!

These are only 2 of hundreds of endangered and near threatened birds.

Donate Your Clothing or…. Whatever …

March 22, 2026March 3, 2026Posted in blogging, environment, non-profit organization, writingTagged donations, environment, Goodwill, Habitat for HumanityLeave a comment

I wear my clothing forever because I am not a shopper and do not enjoy looking for new clothing. However, there are some pieces of clothing I no longer wear for a variety of reasons, yet in good shape for someone else to make use of. Time for my donation.

The other day I was walking by a Goodwill donation center and I wondered if I had anything to donate. A woman was emptying the trunk of her car with what she wished to donate. Interestingly, another woman was driving by and yelled out her window asking if the woman was donating the the cat carrier. Wow, amazing. The cat carrier never even made it into the donation center! Win, win!

Look around your community for bins to donate clothing, etc. Some places even accept furniture and appliances. The important thing is if an item is still clean and usable, allow someone else an opportunity to use it. There are a variety of places to drop items to donate. Don’t send reusable things to the landfill! Your donated item may be another’s treasure! Case in point, the cat carrier!

Clothes and shoes here; for furniture find another donation center such as Habitat for Humanity or Goodwill.

Solar Plus Habitat for Humanity

March 15, 2026February 28, 2026Posted in blogging, environment, housing, writingTagged environment, housing, solar, TucsonLeave a comment

It is exciting to know Tucson’s Habitat for Humanity will have a new 30 home neighborhood with one major step forward. As they build sustainable, affordable homes, these will be the first ones built with solar power! This will be the new standard: installing solar panels on future builds. Thanks to the partnership of Tucson ElectricPower and Solar Gain working with Habitat for Humanity!

It’s Hawk Watch Time in Tubac, Arizona!

March 12, 2026February 28, 2026Posted in Animals, Birds, blogging, environment, wildlife, writingTagged Arizona, birds, environment, Nature, travel, wildlifeLeave a comment

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 …

Ever Been On a Snipe Hunt?

March 5, 2026February 28, 2026Posted in Animals, Birds, blogging, environment, wildlife, writingTagged Arizona, birds, environment, wildlife2 Comments

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.

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.

This bird is enjoying the area by itself as we look on!

Bicycling and Wildlife: Eye-Level Adventures

February 22, 2026February 4, 2026Posted in Animals, bicycling, Birds, blogging, environment, wildlifeTagged bicycling, birds, environment, wildlife2 Comments

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 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!

The Importance of Wildlife Conservation and Kindness

February 15, 2026February 10, 2026Posted in Animals, Birds, blogging, environment, writingTagged birds, environment, love, Nature, wildlifeLeave a comment

I love this frog! Will I kiss the frog, no … but it got me thinking ….

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!

Time With Roadrunners on the Trail!

February 12, 2026February 4, 2026Posted in Animals, Birds, blogging, environment, photography, wildlife, writingTagged birds, environment, Nature, photography, wildlife4 Comments

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 ….

Actually it came running towards me! What!?!

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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?

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!

What To Sketch/Paint Next?

February 8, 2026January 27, 2026Posted in Animals, Artwork, blogging, environment, wildlife, writingTagged Arizona, environment, paint, sketch, wildlifeLeave a comment

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!

Walk past this sculpture often; time to sketch and paint it!

Is It Fall or Winter in AZ?

February 5, 2026January 27, 2026Posted in blogging, environment, wildlife, writingTagged environment, Nature, Tucson, wildlife1 Comment

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.

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!