This was another early morning, as I met a van-load of
birders at 5 a.m. to go on the “Sky Islands Naturalist Saunter" field trip through
the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival.
Our trip leader was Vincent Pinto, whom we met at his Raven’s Nest
Nature Sanctuary.
We spent a good share of the morning walking the
sanctuary grounds and wash.
Vincent is an Ethnobotanist, Naturalist and Wildlife
Biologist, and provides classes and teaches Sustainable Living and Earth
Stewardship at the Sanctuary.
Together
with his wife Claudia, Vincent owns two southeast Arizona nature and wildlife
sanctuaries: the 50+ acre “Raven’s Mountain” in the Chiricahuas and the 42-acre
Raven’s Nest by Patagonia Lake. Based at
Raven’s Nest, Vincent’s mission is to educate and inspire people about the
wonders of the natural world.
I believe that some of the participants on the trip were
expecting more of a “birding” tour, rather than a “naturalist” tour, and were
somewhat disappointed.
But I really enjoyed the walk, and the minutiae that Vincent
provided regarding all the plants and animals that we saw on the walk around
the sanctuary.
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| Native fire ants . . . |
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| A Sprig of Acacia |
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| Caterpillar of the Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) |
It was neat seeing an Antelope Jackrabbit on the Center's "Jackrabbit Trail"
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| Lepus alleni |
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| Tarantula Hawk |
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Sotol - Dasylirion wheeleri
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“Dipping” on
the Kingbird, and finding our only Montezuma Quail of the day as road-kill, we
arrived at Paton’s. The Paton Center for Hummingbirds had its origins when
Marion and Wally Paton moved into a cement block home in the small desert town
of Patagonia, a town had a current
population of 900 residents.
Bird lovers themselves, they put out feeders around their house, which
became magnets for resident and migratory birds. There were sapsuckers and
tanagers, redstarts and jays - and, of course, hummingbirds.
Our target bird today was the Violet-crowned Hummingbird,
which finally showed up at one of the feeders for about 10 minutes.
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| Crappy photo of a "Lifer" . . . |
This was my ABA Life Bird No. 638. Then, the bird left for cover just as a major thunderstorm hit, and
our group made a dash for the Gathering Grounds Coffee Shop.
It rained pretty hard for about a half-hour, during which
time we had coffees and ate lunch. Then,
we started to drive out of town up Harshaw Creek Canyon. We crossed one wash with a little water
coming across the road. Then, we crossed
another wash with about 4 or 5 inches of water.
Ultimately, we came to a wash with water that would have been over the hubcaps
of the van. Here, discretion proved the
best policy, and we turned around.
Unfortunately, when we got back to the second wash, it also was running
about 16 inches deep.
Flash floods can
be dangerous to life and property, so we waited for an hour or so until the flood
began to abate before returning to the Sanctuary, dropping off Vincent, and
returning to Tucson, making a quick stop along the road into the Bureau of Land
Management's Las Cienegas National Conservation Area.
This evening, we were treated to a banquet and program,
where the Keynote Speaker was Laura Erickson.
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| Can't have a supper without a Mariachi Band . . . |
Laura gave a very enjoyable talk on “The Best Bird Ever!” which pretty
much summarizes the concept that every bird can be the “best bird ever”.
Raven’s Nest Nature Sanctuary eBird Checklist
is Here
Overlook of Patagonia Lake eBird Checklist is Here
Patagonia Roadside Rest Area eBird Checklist is Here
Paton Center for Hummingbirds eBird Checklist is Here
Las Cienegas National Conservation Area eBird Checklist is Here
As I write this in November from the lower Rio Grande Valley, it is the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"Mr. Trump: TEAR DOWN THIS WALL"
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