Wow! The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ was great! Gorgeous plants, birds, and scenery, the botanical gardens had it all! There were several pathways highlighting different habitats. All were manageable and the botanical gardens can be covered in a few hours. We purchased an annual membership and visited a few times over the week (and still didn't cover everything) because my tendency to move slowly when I am birding and seeing new things. If lots of walking is a problem, there are plenty of places to sit and take in the scenery. The gardens offered two restaurants, one at the entrance (Gertrude's Restaurant) and one at the back (Patio Cafe). We only ate at the patio cafe. The food was good quality and they offered sandwiches, salads, wraps, and snacks. There were also cold water stations and restrooms located throughout the gardens. At the entrance of the botanical gardens is a beautiful Chihuly installment from when he had an exhibit here. The exhibit was a few years ago, but I wish we had been able to see it. I bet it was spectacular! As you enter the gardens, there are beautiful views with a large variety of cacti and plants. We were hoping to be there when the cacti were blooming, but we were told that they need heat to bloom and will do so during the summer. Nonetheless, several types of cacti had blooms starting or were blooming while we were there and were just beautiful. Among the many species of birds that nest at the Botanical Gardens, there is a nesting pair of Greater Roadrunners! The first day that we visited was apparently the day that the eggs hatched and we got to see one of the parents feeding a chick. I saw at least 20 species of birds and got a few lifers. Hummingbirds (I saw Anna's, Costa's, and Black-chinned), Gila Woodpeckers, flickers, Cactus Wrens, Verdins, and Curve-billed Thrashers were plentiful, and back by the Patio Cafe Gambel's Quail were running around everywhere. In addition to the birds, there was plenty of other wildlife including lizards, Rock Squirrels, and ground squirrels. The squirrels were my favorite, having never seen these species before my trip to Arizona. While we were there, they also had a seasonal butterfly exhibit. It was an extra charge unless you were a member. The exhibit was filled with lots of butterflies, information, and knowledgeable guides who were ready to answer questions. My favorite was the Zebra Longwing Butterfly. All in all, we had a great time and we can't wait to visit again!
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I wasn't able to get a picture of either, but I also saw Round-tailed Ground Squirrels and Rock Squirrels. There is plenty to see besides birds here and there were lizards scurrying around everywhere. This was a beautiful place to bird in northwest Tuscon, AZ. It was recommended to me by several people as their favorite place to bird in Tuscon, and I can understand why. I birded around 3 hours here and found 38 species, but probably could have done better if I had not gotten stuck on a warbler for 30 minutes! Even in early March, the day heated up quickly, so the earlier the better. There were not many waterfowl left in the ponds, but there was plenty to see and birds sang around me the entire time. Of the birds I saw, my favorites were Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Verdins, a Lesser Goldfinch, a Black Phoebe, Cooper's Hawks, Gambel's Quail, an Albert's Towhee, Cinnamon Teal, and 2 Soras. I am sure the exciting species will be different for everyone, but I don't get to see these every day! I ended up walking the outer trail across both groups of ponds and sped through the last 3/4 of it because I had spent so long on the first part. You can spend any amount of time here, but to see the whole thing, plan for at least a few hours. There are restrooms and water by the parking area, but nothing after that, so plan accordingly.
This was our first visit to Bosque del Apache, but this is one of my favorite areas within the United States. Every view is a picture. The wildlife refuge was beautiful and the staff was helpful and friendly. The refuge has a north and south auto tour loop. We joined the Sunday morning birding tour, which covered the north loop, and after lunch we travelled the south loop. This site is well known for the large population of Sandhill Cranes, Ross' Geese, and Snow Geese that overwinter here. The Rio Grande flows through the refuge and the area is now managed to support the wildlife populations. When we arrived in early March, there were only a few of each of these species left, but there was still plenty to see. You could easily spend a few hours birding the area around the Visitor's Center (and I did!). As soon as we arrived we saw a group of Gambel's Quail, my target species at the refuge. Since the refuge I have seen one individual at a time at other locations in New Mexico and Arizona, but there were large numbers of them here and they were just about everywhere around the Visitor's Center. The refuge was great for birding and we saw at least 50 species. I saw my first Gambel's Quail, Cinnamon Teal, a Peregrine Falcon, a white morph Ferruginous Hawk, and Black and Say's Phoebes. In addition to the birds, we saw Striped Skunks, Javelina, Rock Squirrels, elk, raccoons, rabbits, and Long-tailed Weasels! This refuge quickly became one of our favorites and we will definitely be back. Just a reminder that there are wildlife in this area! Be on the lookout for mountain lions, coyotes (which we hoped to see, but did not), javelina, and snakes. Be mindful of your surroundings and pay attention to posted signs. Here's a link to their website:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Bosque_del_Apache/ and to the Friends of Bosque del Apache website: http://www.friendsofthebosque.org On our way to Caprock Canyons State Park last Saturday, we came across a group of about 15 turkeys. The males were displaying with their tail feathers splayed, something that I had never seen before, except in pictures. On the way back, the number had increased to over 50 turkeys spread out in three groups!
Yes, west Texas may be windy and dusty sometimes, but it can also be beautiful with seasonal bodies of water (we call them playas) filled with birds, wide-open skies, and stunning views, which include canyons. Most of Texas is private land, but a few of the canyons are protected by state parks for everyone to enjoy. One of these is Caprock Canyons State Park located just outside of Quitaque, TX. This park offers an extensive trail system that includes a a former portion of the railroad, which is home to a colony of Brazilian Free-tailed bats (also knows as Mexican Free-tailed bats). The visitor's center is nice and has a fantastic arrangement of metal bats "flying across the room" as they come out of a replica of the park's trailway tunnel. They also have plenty of souvenirs, t-shirts, and a nice collection of guide books for purchase. The main park is home to a herd of bison, which freely roam the park's grounds. Shortly after leaving the visitor's center, if you take the road to the left, it will take you to Lake Theo. In the spring we have seen dragonflies and Bluet damselflies here. At the end of the road is a bird blind with a view looking out over a portion of the lake. Portions of the park can be driven and the scenery along the way is beautiful. The parking areas offer scenic overlooks and creative bison sculptures. While there are several trails within the main park, we have only hiked a small portion of the Upper Canyon Trail in the South Prong area. The views from just this small portion of trail are incredible. Where trail intersects a stream bed, which is usually dry, is one of my favorite views with towering rock and gypsum striated canyon walls. Use caution if rain is predicted. Looking up at the vegetation around the stream bed, you can see how quickly water has risen in the past. The weather can change extremely quickly in west Texas and it is typically very dry here. Be sure to bring plenty of water, pay attention to forecasted changes in the weather, and keep an eye out for thunderstorms or increased winds. There is not much cell phone coverage in the park, so arrive prepared for the activity you have planned. The other portion of the park is a trailway that covers 64 miles. Between the South Plains Terminal and Monk's Crossing is Clarity Tunnel. The railroad tracks have been removed from the trail, but Clarity Tunnel was a former railroad tunnel and is now occupied by a colony of Brazilian Free-tailed bats. The evening emergences in the summer are well worth the hike and the view from the south entrance to the tunnel is very pretty, especially during non-drought summers. You may see hawks, Great Horned Owls, Northern Flickers, turkeys, deer, feral hogs, foxes, and other wildlife along the trail. There are a few things to remember when you are on this trail: Do not pick up any bat, or other wildlife, you may come across, alive or dead. Do not disturb the bats in the tunnel, make any loud noises, or walk through the tunnel during the bats' emergence. Do not wander off the trail. The land to either side of the trail and running over the tunnel is private. Do not start any fires or discard cigarettes. This is typically a very dry area and fires start easily. This includes not starting fires in the tunnel. Potable water is not available along the trail, so be sure to bring plenty. There is all kinds of wildlife to be seen from birds to mammals to reptiles, so keep your eyes open! This is a beautiful park with lots to offer and well worth the trip if you are in the area!
The park's website has maps and lots of other information for planning a trip: http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caprock-canyons It was a cold and windy day (that has to be the opening line to something!)...We were traveling from Chicago, IL to TN and since we were as far north as we were probably going to be this winter, I was determined to try to find a Snowy Owl. I had spend as much of the previous Thursday as I could searching Chicago for one, but luck was not with me and the high of 22 degrees and the early nightfall forced me to end my search earlier than I had hoped. We started out from Chicago and made it to Miller Beach, IN by early afternoon. After a decent walk along Lake Michigan (which was a beautiful greenish-blue) we saw Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, a Great Black-backed Gull, a female Common Goldeneye, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers, and Eared and Horned Grebes, but no Snowy Owl. We decided to head on to Michigan City, IN to try to beat nightfall, which was occurring around 4:30pm. We got to the harbor as it was starting to get dark. I grabbed my scope and made for the lighthouse, where the a Snowy Owl had been seen a few days earlier. As I scanned the rocks jutting out from the lighthouse, I couldn't believe it, it looked like there was an owl out there. I headed down the icy walkway towards the lighthouse as quickly as I could, trying to beat quickly fading light. I was still a good ways from the lighthouse jetty, but I had cut my distance in half. I set the scope up again and scanned the rocks...success!!! There was the Snowy Owl, quietly perched on the rocks! Between the distance and the darkness, the pictures are not the best, but the owl is discernible. The area was beautiful and exposed surfaces had thick layers of ice like I have never seen before. I can't imagine what it looks like by the end of winter! After the thrill of finding the owl, we stayed to look at the incredible Christmas light display at Washington Park. The parks association did a great job with everything from Christmas and winter themed displays to dinosaurs and even a lighthouse.
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September 2022
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