Paton House

Yesterday morning I visited Paton House at Patagonia, Arizona. 

Many years ago, Wally & Marion Paton set up feeders to attract more and more of the many bird species they saw at their Patagonia home.  They also welcomed visiting birders into their yard to view.  Both Patons have since passed away, but their home and bird feeders are still going strong, welcoming birds and birders alike.  The place is managed by Larry Morgan, Ambassador to the Birds. 

A bright red Northern Cardinal male was singing in the trees at the entrance to Paton House.  There is parking for a few vehicles at the gate, I pulled into the last open spot and wandered over to the feeder area behind the house.  Larry was there to issue a warm, friendly welcome.  Several other birders and photographers were sitting under the sun-canopy - many benches and chairs are set out - waiting for the small birds to return after a Cooper's Hawk had flown through and cleared the area.

Pretty soon there was the familiar buzz of a hummingbird flying close. 

Paton House is the best place in the US to see the Violet-crowned Hummingbird  (Amazilia violiceps).   While I have seen this species in Costa Rica; this is my first North American sighting! 

Larry filled up the many seed feeders and the birds flocked in.....Abert's Towhee (a Lifer for me), Green-tailed Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia, White-winged Doves, a Lazuli Bunting female, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Am. Tree Sparrow, and many Lesser Goldfinches (Spinus psaltria) (below)

And more Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii).  I just love these birds and can't pass up a photo opportunity.

Or two.

There were Rufous Hummingbirds (pair) and also a Broad-billed Hummingbird  (Cynanthus latirostris) (pair).  This is the male Broad-billed.

Patagonia is a tiny place and full of character.  Several art and artisan galleries with a sort of, oh, let's say a back-to-the-earth hippy air about it.  I liked it.  I'm planning to stop in again on my way back to Tucson.   The Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve (a Nature Conservancy property) wasn't open (closed on Monday & Tuesday).  So, I'll return, perhaps make another try at the Elegant Trogon at Patagonia Lake as well. 

Curve-billed Thrasher

There is a pair of Curve-billed Thrashers (Toxostoma curvirostre) frequently hanging around the patio feeders here at my sister & brother-in-law's place in Tucson. 
This is the most adaptable, and thus most widespread thrasher. (Last year, there was a much-photographed Curve-billed Thrasher in Saskatoon, SK, Canada.)  (Update:  how to tell I'm getting old...the years are flying by and I'm getting them all mixed up...I am advised the Curve-billed Thrasher in the Saskatoon area, nicknamed Conrad, wasn't there last year or even the year before that!  No, it was in 2006.  Really?).

From Wikipedia:

It is commonly found throughout the deserts and brush-filled areas of the south-western United States, from about the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and across New Mexico to west Texas, as well as most of Mexico, from the Sonoran-Chihuahuan Deserts and south through the Mexican Plateau to regions south of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in south-central Mexico.

The Curve-billed Thrasher feeds on ground-dwelling insects, as well as seeds, and berries. It often pushes out Cactus Wrens in its area. This thrasher's voice is a sharp, liquid, whistle wit-WEET!, or wit-WEET-wit, as well as a warbling, squeaky, hurried song.

This thrasher often roosts in a tall tree or spiny vegetation, preferring a cactus. The nest is a loosely woven cup made of thorny twigs. The female lays 2 to 4 eggs, which are bluish-green and speckled with brown. The eggs are incubated by both sexes, and hatch after about thirteen days. The young will leave the nest after 14 to 18 days after hatching.

More information at All About Birds

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Curve-billed_Thrasher/id/ac

Above quotes and more info from Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curve-billed_Thrasher

More Desert

The Sonoran Desert is a beautiful place.

An assortment of cacti and other vegetation.  Every saguaro seems to have a bird or two perched on top in the early morning sun.

A closer look at the top of one particular saguaro....yes, a Gilded Flicker pair  (Colaptes chrysoides)

The trail ahead....

More photos to come.

Info about Gilded Flickers at
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gilded_Flicker/id/ac

Nogales, MX

We went across the border at Nogales, MX today...just to do a little shopping, a little looking around.  Parked the car on the US side and walked across.

One comes through the Customs & Immigration to this big plaza lined with stores, mostly pharmacies and dentist offices.

Oh yes, the police were patrolling.

We picked this little restaurant to eat lunch at....there was no one in the place at first, but a few minutes later, the place was full and we were the only non-locals.  Obviously a good choice - and our tacos and cervesas were mighty tasty.

Another street

A little alley of shops

Gambel's Quail

To my great delight, there is a small covey of Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii) frequenting the feeders at my sister's place here in Tucson.  Similar to the California Quail, the Gambel's is less scaled, lighter coloured overall, with a rich ruddy crown. 

Gene & I came across several groups on our desert hike yesterday.  This male flew to the top of a saguaro (pronounced sa-wha'-ro, by the way) cactus skeleton - giving me an opportunity to snap a couple of pix - while his little family scurried off.

The Gambel's is a New World Quail, Family Odontophoridae, all of which have chunky bodies (although the ones I've seen here have been rather svelte) and crests or head plumes.  

 
The Gambel's Quail is named in honour of William Gambel, a 19th century naturalist from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and explorer of the Southwestern United States.  He reported seeing these birds while collecting plants and animals along the Santa Fe Trail in 1841.  (exerpt from Birds of the American Southwest by Lynn Hassler Kaufman)

More information at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gambels_Quail/id/ac
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambel's_Quail

Sonoran Desert

These photos are of an area of desert on the western edge of Tucson in Pima County.    I just love it here.

About Saguaros....from Wikipedia

Saguaros  (Carnegiea gigantea)   have a relatively long life span. They take up to 75 years to develop a side arm. A saguaro without arms is called a spear.

The arms are grown to increase the plant's reproductive capacity (more apices lead to more flowers and fruit). The growth rate of saguaros is strongly dependent on precipitation; saguaros in drier western Arizona grow only half as fast as those in and around Tucson, Arizona.

Some specimens may live for more than 150 years; the largest known saguaro is the Champion Saguaro. It grows in Maricopa County, Arizona, and is 13.8 meters (45.3 ft) tall with a girth of 3.1 meters (10 ft). These cacti can grow anywhere from 15 to 50 feet. They grow slowly from seed, and not at all from cuttings. Whenever it rains, saguaros soak up the rainwater. The cactus will visibly expand, holding in the rainwater. It conserves the water and slowly consumes it.

Harming a saguaro in any manner, including cactus plugging, is illegal by state law in Arizona, and when houses or highways are built, special permits must be obtained to move or destroy any saguaro affected

All info from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro
 

Ooops

Sorry about my cat Freddie's post making its way onto this blog (just removed).  Guess I wasn't quite rested up from my wild drive down to Tucson.  Three days of pretty much being on the run from storm systems moving through the US.  No problems, just very, very strong west winds and dust blowing from Wyoming to Arizona.  Bitterly cold wind as well.

Anyway, I'm in Tucson for a little while.  Will post photos shortly.

K

Driving Around Today

A Holiday Monday here in Saskatchewan.  Also the last day of the Great Backyard Bird Count weekend.  I left the house as the sun was rising, which isn't as early as it sounds - sunrise was at 7:52 this morning.

I hoped to get out to the warm water bays at Boundary before the fishermen arrived.  I beat the fishermen but a seismic crew got there before me and scared the birds off the water closest to the road.  Bah.  Oh well, I scoped the birds on the far shore and found a Hooded Merganser diving for its breakfast.

Then I drove into the area where the hot water (from the power plant) runs into the reservoir. 

A little bit of steam rising.  In very cold weather, the fence is covered in ice and the trail extremely treacherous.  

You can see a coal seam at the water line (under small the ice shelf).

A Snowy Owl on a new power pole - Shot #1

Shot #2.  See Ya!

I just love this bridge and its bit of road.  It's near Torquay, SK. 

I added two species to my 2012 List:  Mourning Dove and Gray Partridges.   The Mourning Dove is unusual - every Fall, a few stay around and try to survive the northern Winter, most don't win that game.  But this year has been particularly mild, so this particular little dove has managed to stay alive. 

A Couple of Mulies

We've had a mild Winter.  There's very little snow.  I see few deer during my drives around the country.  They haven't needed to band together in herds; they have ample grazing.  These two Mule Deer look healthy, as did the rest of this small herd near Rafferty Dam.

A few other of my Mule Deer posts, some with more information are here and here.

Canada Geese in the Morning

I have a like/dislike attitude toward our huge coal-fired power generating station.  It is dirty and polluting (although, to be fair, a lot of emission controls have been put in place).  But, happily for a birder....water from the adjacent reservoir is used for cooling, and the returning hot water keeps part of the reservoir ice-free all Winter.  Believe me, it makes birding in the frozen prairies a lot more interesting during the cold, short days from December to April!

My 'usual' birding route takes me down Fisherman's Road and over to the hot water outflow and the bays and channels nearby.

This is the flood channel between Boundary and Rafferty reservoir.

On the other side...more geese, and a couple Mallards flying

There was quite a racket of honking going on.

There are 10,000-15,000 Canadas on Boundary during the winter, along with 5,000 or more Mallards  (low estimates).

Sometimes I see Hooded Mergansers, usually Common Goldeneyes, a Lesser Scaup or two, Ring-necked Ducks and the occasional Redhead.  There's a Ruddy Duck staying the winter this year as well.