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.
