Gus

December 7, 2014: Today is Gus’ birthday. I’ve been married to this man for 37 years and I have never appreciated him more. He doesn’t like birthday cards and I can’t bake him a cake or buy him a present this year, because Thursday night as I was walking across the yard I heard my knee pop and my leg gave out. I managed to walk into the house just fine but as the night wore on my knee got worse and by morning I could not walk. Gus took me to the emergency room at 5:30 AM where they x-rayed my knee and told me I have arthritis. The doctor thinks I may have torn a ligament and I am currently hobbling around on crutches while we wait for my next doctor’s appointment.  This means I cannot fill my bird feeders. But, my husband has graciously taken up the task, even though I know it is more work than he wants to do. I have about 8 feeders in my yard, not counting suet feeders. One of them holds meal worms, which the chickadees just love. Of course, the woodpeckers love the suet and I am getting Downys, Hairys, and a single female Red-headed Woodpecker now.

I am sure that after today he thinks I am nuts, but he knows that if he doesn’t do it, I will be out in the snow with my crutches trying to do it myself! Still, one of my feeders really had him stumped, but he finally figured it out!

We are quite the pair, the two of us. And we have had lots of adventures together. Because of Gus, I have had the opportunity to travel all over the United States. This has allowed me to see so many birds in so many different places. Gus is not into birds like I am, but he does love nature and he does love adventure and he does love me. Gus use to love photography as well, and so, while I was photographing birds, he use to photograph whatever interested him. But a few years ago his vision started to deteriorate and he can no longer see the fine details enough to make photography fun for him. So, today’s post is a tribute to my husband and his patience with me and my birds. It is my way of thinking him. It is my online birthday card for him. Almost all the following photographs were taken by him when he could see better. It is his view of the world and of me. And yes, there are birds!

Phoenix January 2010

In January of 2010 Gus and I drove into Phoenix to see a performance of Riverdance, which was a Christmas Gift from my son and his wife. After the matinee we drove to the Rio Saludo Project just a few miles south where Gus and I took a walk and counted and photographed birds. I just realized I never posted these photos as my computer crashed at that time. These are Gus’ pictures from that day.

Me on the trail at the Rio Saludo Project along the Salt River

Coot Toes

Trail along the river

 

Tree trunks and grasses

 

Verdin 

Black and White Warbler

This is the one that got away from me. Gus kept telling me he saw a different warbler, but I ignored him, thinking it was yet another yellow-rumped warbler. It wasn’t until we offloaded his photos that I saw the bird he was talking about. By then it was too late and I missed my opportunity to see and record a Back and White Warbler in Maricopa County!

Double-crested Cormorants

 

The Salt River 

 

Oklahoma, March 2010 

Harris Sparrow

Bosque del Apache, NM March 2010 

 

 Great Blue Heron

Western Bluebird

 

Greater Roadrunner

 

 Great Blue Heron

Roosevelt Lake, AZ June 2010

 Looking through the bridge

Bridge over Roosevelt Lake

Cochise County, Arizona, August 2010 

 Texas Canyon

Lake Cochise sunset

 

 Lake Cochise

Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts, January 2011

 

 

 

The Salton Sea, November 2012

In November of 2012 Gus surprised me by planning a trip to the Salton Sea for Thanksgiving. We had just moved back to Tucson and I was looking forward to spending the holiday with our oldest son, but who could pass up a trip to the Salton Sea? Neither one of us knew what to expect, except we envisioned something a little more sophisticated. The Salton Sea is actually very remote and rural in a very depressed part of California. But oh, the BIRDS! There were so many and we had one of the best adventures of our lives! While I have posted my pictures and photos of this trip before, I just recently offloaded Gus’ pictures. All of these are his.

Me trying out my new spotting scope at the Salton Sea

 

 

 

 Too many birds to count!

Happy Birthday Gus!

He’s a wonderful grandpa!

 

…and an old Maine-iac!

 

He loves his old dog, Blossom.

 

And, we still have so many roads to travel…

…before we sail off into the sunset!

  Pelicans at the Salton Sea, November 23, 2012

Did I find a Life Bird in Cave Creek Canyon?

 What Warbler is this?

I saw this warbler in Cave Creek Canyon on October 4, 2013 near the Sunny Flats Campground Area. It was high in the trees alongside the road so most of these photos are blurry or my view of the bird is obstructed in one way or another. I really hope it is a Hermit Warbler in fall plumage but fear it is simply a Townsend’s. I only have one clear shot of the bird’s head as it flew from one branch to another. Otherwise it simply crept along the branches and my only views of it are of its underbelly or sides.

 

 

Are those cheek patches or shadows?

 

There appears to be a few fine streaks on the sides.

 

But there isn’t any yellow on the breast.

 

View from below.

 

Back and side view.

 

Full on side view.

Besides the fall plumage issue, these two species do interbreed and produce hybrids. While a Hermit Warbler would be a Life Bird for me, I don’t want to claim it if I haven’t seen it. All of these photos were taken within a 60 to 90 second time frame.

So…is it a Hermit Warbler or a Townsend's Warbler?

What say you?

Notes: By the time this publishes Gus and I will be on the road and headed east. I will check in whenever I can, but we are travelling with 2 cats and a dog and trying to out maneuver the winter storms! We’ll see how THAT goes!

You can read all the posts from Cave Creek Canyon by clicking the link below.

• Cave Creek Canyon

Cave Creek Canyon in the Afternoon

A deer darts behind my car in Cave Creek Canyon 10-4-13

Last Autumn I took a trip to Cave Creek Canyon to go birding with some friends. I only spent a little over 24 hours there. I arrived on the 23rd and after the other women left the next morning, Donna and I ate lunch, then decided to squeeze in a little more birding in the afternoon before we had to leave. It was during the time of the government shutdown, so all the camping areas were closed and there was no one on the roads except us and the deer!

Donna in the road.

 

Doe in the road.

 

Young buck in the road!

 

We soon were seeing birds all over, but most were high in the trees and surrounded by leaves and twigs and greenery, making photography quite difficult. However, it wasn’t too hard to indentify this Arizona Woodpecker.

But most of our bird views were like this one of a Bridled Titmouse looking straight up its tail. soon we both had warbler neck!

All the while the cliffs of Cave creek Canyon towered over us!

I found a plumbeous vireo munching on a big fat worm!

 

Has this white-breasted nuthatch got an insect or a seed?

 

The Red-naped Sapsucker was a nice find!

 

And this was the only shot of a Pacific Slope Flycatcher that I got for Donna. This was a Life Bird for her, but would I get one?

Which warbler is this? Come back soon to find out!

After we reached the bridge where the road turns from pavement to dirt we both decided we had gone far enough. We each had a long drive before us, so we called it a day and we both headed home. However, I couldn’t resist one more stop in Rodeo, NM to count birds! I needed and wanted at least one count in that state!

I found a ladder-backed woodpecker right in town!

 

And a late-lingering Cassin’s Kingbird!

But I did not have time to check out this art gallery. Maybe next time!

In the end I counted 19 species in the Canyon with Donna, but only 5 species on the Main Street of Rodeo.