Dana and I took Monday off the bikes to go to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) and Lost Dutchman State Park (LDSP). Birding was our goal and birds is what we found. BTA was not as birdy as we would have liked but we did add a couple of birds to our year to date list. It is such a wonderfully diverse park. I think I may have said this before but if you are in this area and want a desert experience that includes birds, plants and interesting terrain, BTA would be an excellent choice. A highlight of our visit this day was Dana's discovery of an Anna's Hummingbird building a nest. Very cool....
After we left BTA we went to LDSP. This would be our second visit to LDSP in as many days. The reason we went back the second day was to get a correct identification of a pair of Gnatcatchers that we had seen the day before and reported on eBird.org as Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. The regional eBird coordinator questioned our identification which prompted us to return to the park. We considered our second visit as our "citizen science" visit. eBird.org is used by casual birds to record findings but it is also used by researchers and ornithologists. It is important to ensure that data input into eBird is accurate and complete. Thus our return visit. After 1 hour of walking the washes in the park we found the birds in question. We were able to correctly identify them as Black-tailed Gnatcatchers, not Blue-gray. The big find of the visit, again by Dana, was the nest these two birds were building. Very, very cool...
Dana and I spent Tuesday morning going to the driving range so Barry could work on his golf game. We then went to our favourite running store in Tempe where Dana bought new runners. In the afternoon we played our weekly Bocce Ball league match (lost...again!). Enjoyed the social aspect and happy hour with Tony and Gail afterwards.
On Wednesday Dana, Steve and I rode to Saguaro Lake for the first time this winter. The additional 12k's meant we logged about 67k's for the ride. Of note for this ride is that Dana and I paced Steve up Usery Pass Hill in 16 minutes and 22 seconds, a personal best for Dana and Steve. Our rides are starting earlier now with the warmer weather upon us. We roll out at 0830. Wednesday afternoon we attended the block party on our street. It is great to have these block parties so we can socialize with our neighbours and friends from the block. It seems that everyone is so busy that we often go weeks without talking to neighbours 5 or 6 doors up the block.
Thursday morning I golfed with the guys, our weekly 9 and dine (breakfast). It is great fun even though my golf game seems to be quite erratic. The company is always terrific and the setting is fantastic. Absolutely nothing to complain about although I continue to dream of the day I shoot even par for the day. I did say "dream" didn't I?
Friday was a birding day and what a great day it was. Dana and I teamed with friends Dale and Ellen to bird on Mt. Ord. Mt Ord is north of the Valley of the Sun on the Beeline Highway, towards Payson, Az. Access to Mt. Ord is by a US Forrest Service Road. It is a narrow, rough and winding road. The elevation at the turnoff to Mt. Ord is about 4,500 feet. The elevation at the top of the mountain is 7,000 feet. Birding was slow this day owing to high winds. From Mt Ord we travelled to Sunflower in search of a few species that we could add to our year to date list. We did not observe a high number of species this day but of the 24 species we observed, a stunning 12 were new this year, and 3 were life birds for both Dana and I. Here is a list of these birds:
Cassin's Finch (Life Bird)
Cedar Waxwing
Band-tailed Pigeon (Life Bird)
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Olive Warbler (Life Bird)
Acorn Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Bewick's Wren
Chipping Sparrow
Western Scrub-jay
Red Crossbill
We missed the Evening Grosbeak at Sunflower. We will go back soon to get them.
We rode our bikes Saturday morning with friend Steve. Social pace this time. I think everyone enjoyed the pace ;-)
Sunday morning I golfed my regular 9 holes at Sunland Village. Stunningly beautiful weather. No other way of describing it. Some even complained that it was a bit too warm.
On Sunday afternoon Dana and I went to the Gilbert Riparian Preserve to take in "Family Day". This event was run by the City of Gilbert. Although we normally avoid the busy events, we wanted to visit the Desert Rivers Audubon exhibit. While at the Preserve we ran into our friend and fellow birder Marcus and his wife Diane. We spotted them the Liberty Wildlife booth. Liberty Wildlife is a non-profit located in Scottsdale, Az. Among other things they care for injured wildlife. This day they had 3 birds on hand, a Great Horned Owl, a Peregrine Falcon and a Red-tailed Hawk. While I normally only take photos of birds in the wild I could not restrain myself. I took several shots of the Great Horned Owl. I hope you like the photos as much as I do.
Well, that wraps the week. Oh wait. The beer is cold, the gasoline is still cheap at around $2.00/US gallon and the Tillamook ice-cream is delicious.
In closing, I should tell you that we have been told by our landlord that this is definitely our last winter at 1402 here in the resort. However, as luck would have it we have found another rental for January, February and March 2016. This one is at 1413. This is like 99% a sure thing. Are we happy? You betcha we're happy!
Here are few photos from the week and a bonus photo too....
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| Great Horned Owl - Rescued and cared for by Liberty Wildlife. |
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| Same Owl as above. If you have ever wondered how the catch their prey, just look at the size of her feet/claws! |
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| Anna's Hummingbird at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve. I call this photo "Anna, Jewel of Gilbert" |
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| Dana on our ride this morning (February 16). Note her big smile, her tan and the race wheels on her bike.... |
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| I took this photo in September. Dana, Erica and I were hiking the Ptarmigan Trail in the Mt. Baker area. |
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