March 1-April 4 -- Marching Into Spring, And Faranuf Is Visited By A Rare Hummingbird

It's been over a month since my last blog entry, and as it's windy out today -- 20 to 30mph, with possible 40mph gusts -- this is as good of a time to get caught up on things as any.

There's a visual phenomenon the locals call "The Red Glow; it's when the rising sun hits Silver Peak and the light gives it, well, a red glow. It doesn't happen often, but it's quite striking when it does, and I have a great view of it from my back yard -- 

Things are starting to "green up" here in March. And the birds are starting to pop up and be more conspicuous, singing from exposed perches. This l'il Verdin, usually a quiet, secretive bird, sang for me out in the open -- 

State Line Road, which runs along the Arizona/New Mexico border between the towns of Portal and Rodeo, is a good place to see raptors. In the past month I've seen Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Northern Harrier, and Red-tailed Hawk along the road. Here's a juvenile Red-tail giving something he sees on the ground a laserlike stare -- 

The sunrises for the most part have been cloudless, but there are those occasional dawns that are spectacular -- 

There were still lingering patches of snow up in the high Chiricahuas until late March, and we even had a few times of (for the lack of a better term) weather instability that left here-and-gone-in-a-minute white stuff above Portal. 

We'll be having a celebration of the restoration of Willow Tank on Earth Day, April 22. Willow Tank is one of the few permanent water impoundments on the east side of the Chiricahuas, and is therefore an important stop for birds to rest and feed before heading on out. It can also be a good spot to see birds not commonly seen in the area, too. Here's a scenic of Willow Tank. It's not large, only about an acre or so, but it's a welcome sight to tired birds -- 

Willow Tank is one of the only -- if not THE only -- place here when you can see water birds such as ducks. Here's a male Cinnamon Teal on flyby. 

One of the signs that spring is here is the return of the Turkey Vultures to Cave Creek Canyon. My friend Winston Lewis, who along with his wife Jackie are the proprietors of The George Walker House in the tiny (try a population of 4) community of Paradise, calls the TVs "The Paradise Air Force", as they can sometimes look like a fleet of bombers coming into view. They're usually seen here starting March 15. I saw this one a day earlier -- 

One of the many social occasions we have here in Portal is the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. Parade participants range from Border Patrol on horses and ATVs to a hometown kazoo band.

And Portal's honorary mayor goes down the parade route in a classic Porsche. This year's mayor is Jackie Lewis,  who I mentioned runs Paradise's George Walker House. Jackie is giving her best queenly wave, a la Queen Elizabeth -- 

Here's yet another sign of spring -- the return of the birds from their south-of-the-border wintering grounds. Foremost among them are the hummingbirds. There are a few who overwinter here, but the overwhelming majority will be returning to a feeder near you in the coming weeks. I have a few returning friends, too, including this beautiful male Broad-billed -- 

Male and female birds become Mr. and Mrs. again, like these Northern Cardinals. Here's the Mrs -- 

And the Mr., both in my back yard. 

I may have mentioned her before, but I have a female Coues (White-tailed) deer and her young "son" who visit my yard daily. I'm a sucker for single moms, so I accommodate her as best I can. She now seems to be quite relaxed here. 

See? I'd say that's the epitome of relaxed; she's lounging in the shade of my RV canopy. 

But there are now signs of deadlier critters afoot. I found this Black Widow near my trailer. Unfortunately expired -- and I had nothing to do with it. 

I have a few "to do" projects around the house this year; the major one is re-finishing the wood decks. I have three, and they probably haven't had work done on them since they were first put in around 10 years ago. And that's a lot of harsh Arizona weather.  So I'm sanding, both by hand and with a belt sander, followed by filling in cracks and missing pieces with wood filler, then sanding again, spraying with deck cleaner, then rolling on redwood stain. The wood is very dry, so it's been taking 3 coats of stain before the wood soaks it up. 

Before --

After. 

I've done the front and side porches, and now it's time to do the LONG back porch deck...

And here's yet another sign of spring here -- poppies!  It's been a fairly dry winter, so they're hard to find. I came upon these while driving along State Line Road.

 The weather in March has been alternating between clear and cold, clear and warm, cloudy and threatening rain that almost invariably doesn't happen. And wind -- lots of it.  The results of the unpredictable weather can be spectacular, as in this rainbow over Faranuf -- 

or damaging, as in these struts in the RV canopy. The canopy is supposed to withstand 90mph-plus winds -- it's an Arizona law or buildings -- but, as you can see, it's been battered.  The struts are bending; you can see the crease in the center  -- 

or have been ripped entirely out of their screws. There's no warranty on the canopy -- "damage by inclement weather" is not covered. Though what other kind of weather would do this? Some friends suggested a few fixes, so along with the porches this is another of my "Tool Time" projects. 

I have a Magnificent hummingbird at my feeders for the first time since I moved here. They're probably my favorite hummingbird as they're the most colorful just so long as you get them in the right light. This is a portrait of one, though it was taken at Jackie Lewis's bird garden -- an Important Bird Area -- in Paradise. 

But this one WAS taken in my back yard; it shows a Magnificent next to a female Black-chinned. Notice the size difference. It's why I call the "Mag" the Mack Truck of the hummingbird world. It's second only to the Blue-throated as the largest hummingbird in the United States. A Mag is 5.1" long; a Black-chinned 3.75". 

Yet another sign of spring are nesting birds. Here's a female Great Horned Owl nesting in a cavity created by an Arizona Sycamore's fallen tree limb. She's right near the Portal Store and doesn't seem to be bothered by admiring birders. 

But most of the nesting birds aren't quite as public as Mrs. GHO.  This female Blue-throated hummingbird has her nest under the eaves of a house between two outdoor light fixtures; her location will remain a secret. 

Meanwhile, the raucous and entertaining Acrorn Woodpeckers continue to investigate old stumps for possible stashes for their acorns. It sure looks like they're striking a pose here. Voguing? 

And now we come to the "Rare Hummingbird" mentioned in this post title. On the morning of March 28 I was watching the backyard birds when I saw this hummingbird come to a feeder. It took me a few seconds before I realized it was a Violet-crowned hummingbird, an "uncommon to rare" bird that, except for really rare occasions,  is only seen in SE Arizona. It's the best Yard Bird I've had so far.  And it's now April 4, and I've seen it every day at the same feeder.  Here's hoping VC stays a spell!  

So spring is here! And I leave you with a Silver Peak sunset. 

February 13-28 -- Cloudscapes And Willow Tank Birds : Celebrating "Refired, Not Retired Day"

After the visit to LaLaLand -- not the movie, though sometimes it seems like one -- I settled back into life here and the daily routine -- get up at 2am (sleep issues), work on my blog and photos until the light of dawn when I'd check out the coming sunrise, take the critter cam card out and feed the birds, have breakfast, then do -- whatever. There's a "celebration" coming up today March 1, which is called "Refired, Not Retired Day". At first I interpreted it as getting fired after being retired, but that didn't make much sense unless you're working again -- then what's the point of being retired? But "Refired" in this case means being refired the passion to live out your dreams that may have been put off by being a working stiff for, in my case, 34 years. I'm lucky to still have my health and be enough in-shape to do the things I want, and not have to squeeze them into a weekend or before or after a 9 to 5 job. And I can't think of a better place to be refired than here, on the east side of the Chiricahuas. So -- a few sunrises --

Yes, the dawn really did look like this -- 

The rising sun colors the high Chiricahuas, as seen with my 100-400 lens from by side porch. 

Willow Tank is a water impoundment about an acre in size that's being restored through cooperation with the landowner and Friends of Cave Creek Canyon , a non-profit group (of which I am proud to be a member -- another part of being Refired) dedicated to "inspiring appreciation and understanding of the beauty, biodiversity and legacy of Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains of Southeastern Arizona." Solar panels regulating water flow to Willow Tank were donated, blinds were installed to view wildlife without disturbing them, walkways were improved, and the habitat restored by revegetation. It's a great project, and one of the signs things are improving is the wildlife that's returning, particularly the birds. Here are a few avian friends I've seen during my visits to Willow Tank. All of these photos were taken using my 500mm lens. Sure it's a bit on the heavy side, but the image quality makes all that heavy lifting worthwhile. 

Juvenile male Northern Harrier (a raptor expert on Facebook ID'd it. Young males resemble adult females except for a few slight differences. 

Young Mr. Harrier on the wing. 

White-crowned Sparrows are ubiquitous here this time of the year. They're gregarious and it's always a joy to hear their song. 

A Lincoln's Sparrow with a "bobbed" tail --

A Black Phoebe at the end of a branch, looking for breakfast -- 

A Red-tail scans the surrounding area while perched on a field sprinkler system near Willow Tank -- 

-- then takes off when he feels I've taken enough time looking at him. 

Mr. Yellow-headed Blackbird pays a momentary visit --

Stateline Road, which as its name suggests runs along the border of two states, in this case Arizona and New Mexico, can be good for raptors. Here's a ramrod-straight Red-tail at an old windmill --

An adult Cooper's Hawk perches on a power pole -- 

Now this was a surprise to see -- a female Merlin. There were actually two; a male was on the other side of the pole, out of the frame. It's one of the small drawbacks to using the 500mm lens, with in this case a 1.4x teleconverter added; I was too close to get them both. But the detail here on Mrs. Merlin made up for that. 

This was a special treat to see; a Prairie Falcon, also along Stateline Road. 

An Eastern Meadowlark back at Willow Tank. We get both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks here, and besides the song one of the differences between the two are the color of the "submoustachial" area -- below the brown eyeline. On the Eastern, it's whitish, which on the Western it's yellow. 

During my visits to Willow Tank I've been on the lookout for Bendire's Thrasher, a fairly rare bird that's reportable. At first glance, Curve-billed Thrashers can be mistaken for them, especially when you know Bendire's are in the area. So when I saw this next bird -- there was actually a flock of about 5 in a neighboring field -- I was thinking Bendire's, but no -- it's a Sage Thrasher. Still, a good bird for here. 

Then the other day I finally found a Bendire's. And the smaller bill is unmistakeable; the Curve-billed is, like its name says, has a pronounced curved bill. It was another Lifer Bird for me. Success!  And one of the reasons why I love returning to Willow Tank. You never know what you'll see...

I'm endlessly fascinated by the cloudscapes here. It seems to be the same kind of phenomenon that occurs in the Owens Valley of the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada; there it's called "The Sierra Wave".  When a weather front from the west comes over the mountains, the clouds take on some pretty amazing shapes and sizes. Some are small and add a texture to the landscape, such as this slightly-curved cloud over Cochise Head, one of the landmarks here -- 

A dry weather front coming from the west; that's Cave Creek Canyon in the distance on the right. 

Horses give the landscape a quintessential "Western" look. You can almost see Rex Allen, 'The Arizona Cowboy" (he's a local boy, born in Willcox) riding across the plain with his wonder horse Koko. 

On February 28th I looked at the sky to the west and I knew we'd be in for something...different. This is over Cave Creek Canyon.

And boy, did we get something. It was a dust storm, near "haboob" in intensity. They can be so bad here on the east side of the Chiricahuas that they'll close Interstate 10, 25 miles to the north. As it turned out, I-10 was closed for a time today -- and was also closed the past 2 days. When there's a closure, to get home on a paved route you have to go up to Safford, over to Lordsburg, New Mexico, then back west to Portal -- a distance of 160 miles. 

Ok, after that we need to end this post with a calming scene. And what better than a colorful sunset over a silhouette of a wall of Cave Creek Canyon --

So -- Refired, Not Retired Day. I think that's one day I can celebrate -- year 'round.