My World: Desert Summer Morning

Gray Dawn 7-29-09

I awake this morning before the sun to a gray world of haze. It’s 5:30 a.m. and a quick glance at my thermometer tells me the temperature here in Sycamore Canyon is 74 degrees Fahrenheit. In the next few minutes the temperature momentarily drops to 73 degrees, but down in Tucson they are into the 20th day of record high low temperatures with overnight lows averaging 75 degrees or higher. As for me, I am tired of the heat. I am longing for a cool breeze. The heat drives me inside and makes me grumpy. I just want to be outside!

Tucson city lights 7-29-09

I step out the back door into the gray dawn. I hear the rumble of some big truck coming up the canyon. Across the wash I see there are workers already on the lot of the next house being built. This one is directly behind me and soon the roof line will totally block any remaining view I have of the Rincon Mountains. As I putter about watering plants I gaze off into the distance where the Catalinas and Rincons are lost in the smoky haze of summer heat. In a peek-a-boo view between houses I can still see the lights of Tucson glimmer before the sun rises and outshines them.

Foundation Pour 7-29-09

The rumble has grown louder as the huge truck lumbers into the neighborhood. I see the large insect like boom carried on its back and I know that today they will pour the foundation. As the truck maneuvers itself into place and extends its supports like the legs of some giant grasshopper the sun slowly rises from behind the eastern row of houses and with it the temperature rises to 75 degrees.

Prickly pears 7-29-09

I have so many things to do, but I hurry inside and grab my gear and head out the door for the desert. It has been so long since I have walked in the wash and I know I need to take advantage of these cool temperatures while I can. As I amble along the desert trail I hear the raucous call of a brown-crested flycatcher. A covey of Gamble’s quail scurries out of my way as golden sunlight falls on prickly pear fruit deepening its garnet blush. As I travel along the desert wash the gravel crunches beneath my feet. I find a partially eaten prickly pear lying on the ground in the middle of the path and wonder who or what left it there. I know the birds have been eating this ripe fruit, for they appear at my feeders stained with the juice. Perhaps a ground squirrel left it here, or a woodpecker dropped it in flight.

Santa Ritas 7-29-09

The shadows fall silent and soft across my path. The Santa Rita’s tower in front of me invitingly. Around me the desert is full of bird song with curve-billed thrashers calling, black-throated sparrows singing, purple martins twittering and cactus wrens cackling. The brown-crested flycatchers continue their chorus while Gila woodpeckers whinny and gilded flickers shriek. Yeah, it’s loud out here in the morning! The birds are calling me awake!

Skeleton 7-29-09

In the distance I can still hear the roar of the cement truck, but beyond that I hear a hammer’s ring. I glance to the south towards the sound trying to locate it. High on the canyon’s rim I see the skeleton of a house rising from the mesquite in the new Sombra neighborhood. This will be the first house to go in this exclusive neighborhood with lots sizes over an acre or more and homes to match. Higher up the mountainside, these “Estate Lots” will have the best views of the canyon in a gated community. Me, I am just a commoner down here in the neighborhood with an uncommon enjoyment of where I live.

Purple martin sillouette 7-29-09

I have been all over Arizona lately with trips to Coolidge, Superior, Miami and Globe. Yes, there is a town named Miami in Arizona, but it’s nothing like a beach. Located high in the Pinal Mountains, it is a mining town located deep in the canyons where copper is king. From there I have been to Maricopa, a small cow town in the west desert that is quickly growing up. I have been hot and weary and watching birds. Finally I am home.

Dirt Berm Hill 7-29-09

Home in my Sycamore Canyon. Home in the Sonoran Desert. All around me saguaros tower, mesquite trees rustle in the desert wind. Palo Verde trees provides thick cover for the birds. Cholla cacti provide homes and food for birds and mammals. The many tentacled ocotillos are thick with leaves at the moment, in spite of the fact that our monsoon has been mostly a no show this year. So far it has not rained often enough to even fill the retention basin next to my house. I have not seen a Sonoran desert toad in days. I have not heard their violent mating cries about the steady drone of rain. If it does not rain, will they not mate? I don’t know the answer to that. And come to think of it, where do they lay their eggs, and how do the babies hatch? These are desert questions that I need to find answers to.

Sycamore Canyon Desert 7-29-09

With the rising sun I feel the sweat starting to trickle down the center of my back. I hurry along the canyon’s west rim now and up and over the bermed hill created by leftover dirt from the construction sites. I stay in the shadow of these dirt mounds as much as I can until I have no choice. All in all it is still a pleasant walk back home again as birds sing me all the way back. It has not warmed up enough yet for the lizards to be out. I have not seen any snakes, but as I cross the dirt bermmed hill I meet the morning dog walkers and joggers. Others are emerging from their homes while I am heading back to mine. It was 108 degrees yesterday and we should get close to that again today. By the time I am home at 7:20 it is already 81 up here, but down in Tucson the weather girl reports they are already at 86 degrees!

In My World today at home...

...a butterfly has found the asclepia...


...mesquite bugs are everywhere...


...a single pomegrante is growing in my garden...



...while the oranges grow fat and green on my dwarf orange tree!


Here in the heat of a desert summer morning this is My World.



(All photos were taken by Kathie. Please click to enlarge)

Saturday Morning Surprise

It is Saturday morning and we are up early. We've eaten our breakfast and packed the car. I am excited because we are heading down to Rio Rico before the temperature rises for the day. I give one quick glance out the back door as I lock it when I stop in my tracks and exclaim out loud, "oh NO!"

Outside I see some kind of insect buzzing all around my mesquite tree. At first I fear it is bees and I will have to take my hummingbird feeders in again, but then I notice that something is dropping like snowflakes to the ground. I unlock the door and slide it open. I step out into the blinding eastern sun. My jaw goes slack with disbelief as I see hundreds of beetles on my tree devouring leaves that float softly to the ground.

Gus joins me outside and grabs the hose. he starts to blast the insects off the tree. they cling tenaciously. Those that fall quickly climb the block wall. I scurry inside as fast as a bug and grab my gloves and a bucket. I fill the bucket with steaming hot water and vinegar. With gloved hands and a trowel I start flicking insects into the bucket. I will defend my tree at all costs.

Last year when this happened I did not know what what happening. That time the beetles ate the leaves off my tree also. Someone had commented the insects might be blister beetles and that they secret a toxin that can irritate the skin. Although these insects are differently colored, they act the same, so I am taking no chances. I do not touch them without gloves. However, It wasn't long before I run back inside for my hat!

Gus keeps on spraying away but it isn't doing much good, so, although it is only 7:15 he takes off for Ace Hardware to see if he can find something more effective than water to save our tree. Meanwhile, I keep on plucking away, depositing beetles in the hot water solution. One by one I pick them off and plop them into their doom. Soemtyimes the beetles start to crwal up my legs. Yuk! I feel like my skin is crawling but I keep on plucking. I have worked to hard to get this tree to this point. It is grwong so nicely and providing us with shade and privacy. I do not want to loose it now!

This is the first bucket I filled with beetles. I flush these down the toilet and refill the bucket again. Gus calls to say the store is not open yet, so he drives into to town to try someplace else, but this early on a Saturday none of the stores are open. He heads back home to our local Ace Hardware instead, which is open by the time he gets back.

The insects tried to hide behind the new cherry berry pyracantha I planted but I sprayed them out of there. Slowly their numbers diminished. I even see some flying off. Then, a bigger bug flies in. I do not hate all bugs.

This beauty is an Arizona June bug. Much more colorful than the ugly brown ones I grew up with in Connecticut. However, it still freaked me out as it buzzed around. I did not want it to land in my hair! After it landed on the tree I stepped outside to photograph it. Just look at the rainbow of colors it has!

Here you see the damage done by these Striped Blister Beetles.

The yard beneath the Velvet Mesquite tree is littered with the new green leaves they cut off. I researched the insects on the Internet and from what I could discern they may be Striped Blister beetles, the most poisonous of all the blister beetles. Though their larva are beneficial because they eat grasshopper eggs, if these beetles get into alfalfa and are eaten by horses they can cause severe colic, diarrhea and even death. Apparently they swarm like this when they are mating. Well, far be it for me to interrupt anyone's reproductive cycle, but if that ritual involves destruction of my tree, well, you have a battle on your hands! Go mate and feast someplace else you bugs you!

Gus did come home with an insecticide that the salesperson told him was environmentally safe, but with further reading of the package label it said to wear gloves and that it was toxic to birds. Needless to say, we did NOT apply it to our trees! We will be returning it to the store and I may try the organic oil that Nature Girl suggested last year when this happened. Though, if this follows last year's pattern, they are probably gone until the next orgy.

We are not going to Rio Rico after all. By the time Gus came back and the crisis was over it was already too hot. We are staying home and our son is on his way down with our grandson, whom I have not seen since before I left for Connecticut. We will seek refuge from the heat in our air conditioned house. Typically it is at least 5 degrees cooler here in Sycamore Canyon than it is in Tucson and 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the Phoenix area. The birds in Rio Rico will have to wait for another day.

If anyone has any more insight about these insects or has a different interpretation of what species they are, feel free to tell me in the comments section! I am still not sure!

Skywatch Friday: Sweet Acacia Sky

Sweet Acacia blossoms with bee 3-2-09 by kathiesbirds with 300mm lens

In my front yard two Sweet Acacia trees grow with thorns as long as sewing needles. I am not so sure I like them, until the springtime comes. Then the trees burst into bloom with showers of these yellow puff balls about the size of Kix cereal. Their fragrance fills the air around them and the trees seem to hum with the happy buzzing of honey bees gleaning pollen from their blossoms.

I love the contrast of the bright yellow balls against our vivid blue Arizona sky. It seems so happy to me, so full of promise with spring just around the corner and new life about to begin again.

Happy Skywatch Friday Everyone!

Click on any photo to enlarge for the best view!

My World is a Yellow Promise

Yellow bee on yellow Acacia Blossoms 3-2-09 by kathiesbirds

My World is a yellow promise of spring. A sunny golden wave that is moving slowly northward with the days to a waiting white world where winter is making it's last desperate gasp.

In My Yellow World the Dandelions play in glorious sunshine during the day...

And desert marigolds laugh at the blue sky vaulted above them...


...with a lesser goldfinch perched on the bare branched mesquite tree...

...and front yard bushes bursting with the golden promise of spring.

All of these photos were taken by Kathie on *Monday with the 35mm lens as the snow storm raged in the east. I couldn't help but wonder at the contrast of our weather and I well remember that feeling; like spring would never come. Well, here is the promise of spring. It is coming. By the time it reaches all of you up North, we will be into our "Dry Summer" in Arizona. It was amazing to me to learn after I moved here that Arizona actually has 5 seasons with Winter, Spring, Dry Summer, Monsoon and Autumn. We are entering the springtime now, but dry summer starts in May. June will be our hottest month and then, the Monsoon excitement will begin. For now I will enjoy these perfect days of spring with cool nights, warm days, and spring migration about to begin. It's going to get exciting around here really fast!

Click on the link to see more of MY World!

*desert marigold taken 2-14-09 by Kathiesbirds

Skywatch Friday: Egg Case

Preying Mantis Egg Case 1-29-09 by Kathie Brown

Last Thursday I took a walk with some new birding friends in Sycamore Canyon where we found several of these preying mantis egg cases suspended like a promise from numerous twigs. The early morning sun made them shine like gold and I love the way it looks against the bright blue sky. For more sky views click on the button below.

My World: Sycamore Canyon

My World is Sycamore Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains of Southern Arizona. I have only to step out my door on a chill January morning with my new friends Carolyn and Daniel. We hike up the mountainside trying to find the path down into the canyon. Steep cliffs and cactus greet us everywhere. A stiff wind blows through our bones. A pair of Red-tail hawks fly up from below the cliff as I search for the path we need to take. Finally I find it and we head down, down, down into the gravelly wash.

Daniel and Carolyn have recently completed their training to be volunteer naturalists at Sabino Canyon. Down in the wash Daniel points out to me this twig of a mesquite tree that's been girdled by an insect. Though it looks like someone has neatly cut it, an insect actually did this. It lays its eggs in the cut on top where the sap no longer runs. Soon the larvae will hatch and eat their way through until the thin branch drops to the ground as if cut with pruning shears.

Though we are looking for birds there are signs of insect life all around us. A preying mantis egg case glows golden in the early morning light. Though it appears dry, it is really a promise of spring time, with new life growing inside.

Above us we hear the croaking of ravens and crane our heads to watch their powerful flight.

They perform a black ballet in a sea of blue and fly off over the rim and out of sight.

Another egg case hangs on a twig peppered with holes from a wasp. She has laid her eggs on this food source for her young. No preying mantises will emerge from this egg case in the spring. I do not know when the wasps will appear. All is life, death and beauty out here in the desert.

We turn north down the wash with silver sand beneath our feet. Down here in the Canyon we are somewhat protected from the biting wind. The sun has risen higher now and finally starts to warm us. It has coaxed the birds out also and the verdins sing from the trees. Sparrows flit about furtively and dive out of sight before we can identify them. We find a few Brewer's sparrows, and I hear the black-throats sing. A pair of canyon towhees pops up on a bush for one brief moment, then ducks for cover again. Beyond them a Pyrrhuloxia appears back-lit by the rising sun. When it flies to a different bush the sunlight bathes its feathers in light revealing the red eye mask and stubby beak.

I am amazed how tree-like some cactus seem. This prickly pear is so old and heavy its trunk looks like it has bark.

And in a silver teddy bear cholla two cactus wren nests wait for springtime warmth and romance.

Daniel and Carolyn ask me if I know how to tell a Teddy Bear cholla from the other varieties. Daniel demonstrates by removing the sheath from a cactus spine. "Doesn't that hurt," I ask? But Daniel says no. Then he explains that the silvery spines of the cholla cactus are really modified leaves. They help to shade and cool the plant as well as protect it from damage. You can actually grasp the pointed end and slip it off the spine as easily as removing a satin glove. The hard inner spine is left behind, but the sheath is soft as silk. Their flaxen color reflects the sun's harsh rays away from the tender flesh, thus cooling the cactus. So, if you see a silvery cactus shining like silken fuzz in the desert you know it is a Teddy bear cholla.

Farther down the wash the remnants of last summers Monsoon are piled up against the base of this small tree. How it withstood the onslaught of water and debris I'll never know. It stands here now a silent witness to the nature's former fury.

As we near the end of our hike a Black-throated sparrow finally flies up to sing in the sunlight atop yet another Teddybear cholla. I have never figured out how they can stand on one of these cacti and not come away with bleeding feet, but many of the birds do it and many use this species of cactus as a safe nesting place. For now the desert waits as I do, for the healing warmth and renewing rains of spring.

Today's photography comes to you courtesy of Kathie Brown with the 70 -300mm lens. Click on any photo to enlarge.

Sunday in Rio Rico

On Sunday we took a drive to Rio Rico, which means "rich river" in Spanish. The Santa Cruz flows through Rio Rico dividing it into east and west halves. This "rich river' now flows with treated sewage effluent and it is not safe to wade in. However, the wildlife has found a rich habitat along its shores. We exit on Palo Parado Road and cross the river to Pendelton Dr. I feel so wild and western driving our vehicle, which we have affectionately named "Birdy" through the shallow water. Crossing here saves five or more miles in back-tracking. Beyond the river to the east the San Cayentano Mountains are framed by trees in this lush riparian area. This is also open range and fat cattle barely glanced at us as they contentedly chewed their cuds alongside the road.

We drive up the side of the San Cayentano Mountains to a place I call "Hawk Hill." High on the shoulders of these mountains, I never fail to see a hawk everytime I am here. We first came down on Labor Day, and a red-tailed hawk was perched atop a utility pole tearing some small rodent to shreds then. Today, a far more peaceful scene awaits me as I watch another red-tail circling overhead to the northwest with the Tumacacori mountains beyond.

These mountain slopes are covered with sparse grass, numerous weeds, and a few scrubby mesquite trees. With the lack of tall trees, the birds tend to use the utility poles and wires for lookout perches. Another bird species that frequents these mountains slopes is the Western Kingbird. While I have seen Western Kingbirds before, I have never seen them in such great numbers. Since I am new to this area, I do not know if this is just an autumn phenomenon, or a regular occurrence, but it is not unusual for me to see 8 to 10 Western Kingbirds together down here in Rio Rico.

As Gus and I walk about on the mountain slopes a few swallows swoop and dive around us. I watch amazed as these magnificent fliers flash past me. I see white rump patches and clean white breasts. I think of violet-green swallows but I don't know if this is within their range. Three of the swallows land on a nearby wire and start to preen themselves. In the overcast light they appear black and white and I am confused as to their identification, so I snap off a few photos and walk back to the car to consult my bird guides where I discover that this is, indeed, their range and only the violet-green swallows have the white patches that almost meet over their rumps and their clean white breast with the white coming up over the eyes. These little birds continue to preen for a long while before flying off again. When the sun finally came out form behind the clouds I could finally see a bit of the greenish color in their shoulders and wings.

I have noticed that the humidity is higher in Rio Rico than it is near Tucson. It seems there are more mosquitoes here also, as well as other insects. As I walk around on Hawk Hill I see a flash of motion out of the corner of my eye. I pause and turn to see this ginourmous spider spinning up its morning breakfast! The grasshopper is still alive and struggling. I walk carefully away, glad that I did not walk into the web myself. When I look back the grasshopper is gone and the web has a huge hole in it. Score one for the grasshopper.

Horned lizard on the slopes of the San Cayentano Mountains 10-5-08 by Kathie Adams Brown

Not long afterwards I discover this little guy crawling about in the weeds near my feet. He is not much bigger than the grasshopper that just escaped from the spider. He is lucky he didn't get stepped on. Let's hope he stays away from that web!

I glance up at the peaks of the San Cayentano mountains. I feel drawn to these peaks for some reason. I feel good here in their shadow. I like their shape and the play of light and shadow on these gray-green slopes. But there is something else that draws me, a connection that I can't explain.




We head farther up the mountain and I discover this brilliant orange butterfly on some wildflowers. I am amazed by its coloration for it is black and orange above, but when it closes its wings the strikingly beautiful orange and white body and under-wings are revealed. Nature is full of delightful surprises and hidden secrets, like treasures, waiting to be discovered.



As we head down the mountain I see a large gathering of some raptor-like birds circling over the agricultural fields of Rio Rico. I ask Gus to stop the car so I can identify what I am looking at. We are on a side road with little to no traffic, so I jump out and stand in the middle of the road gazing skyward with my binoculars. However, a man is working outside in his yard right near where I am standing. He starts to walk towards me with a questioning look on his face. I hastily jump back in the car and we continue down the hill to Pendleton Dr. Here the road follows the valley floor and as we round the bend the swirling flock is revealed before us. Gus takes advantage of a dirt road and pulls off to park. I jump from the car with my bins in hand and call to him to grab the camera. As I focus in I search for field marks to identify what I am looking at. The light colored body, dark hood, and dark flight feathers make me think that I am seeing Swainson's hawks. I have read about them gathering in massive flocks during the fall migration period but I have never seen this behavior for myself. Now, standing here on a dirt road in Rio Rico I watch dumbfounded as masses of raptors circle overhead. Then, I notice the dark shapes on the ground in the thick alfalfa. There, walking about like chickens, are more hawks! As we draw near the fence line the birds nervously take to the air. Some continue to circle, but many come to roost on the ground once again, or in the nearby trees that line the far side of the field. Gus snaps away while I search the flock for any aberrant birds. While I do see a few turkey vultures and I hear a distant raven, the majority of birds are Swainson's hawks, adults and juveniles, dark and light morphs. I estimated the flock to be 110 strong. I am underestimating, I am sure, for I counted 50 birds on the ground, and at least as many in the air.

Adult Swainson's hawk in Rio Rico 10-5-08 photo by Gus

Coming at you! Photo by Gus

Swainson's hawks dropping from the sky over Rio Rico 10-5-08 by Gus

Adult Swainson's Hawk in Rio Rico, AZ 10-5-08 photo by Gus

Juvenile Swainson's hawk in Rio Rico, AZ 10-5-08 photo by Gus

All the while we are watching hawks this little vermilion flycathcer is watching us from the trees that edge the field on our side. We finally tear ourselves away from the scene and head on down the road. A little more than a mile south I spot a gray shape on top of a dead snag. Once again Gus stops the car and backs up for me to see, but this is a busy road with lots of traffic. He pulls off onto the grassy shoulder and I jump out of the car.

Gray Hawk in Rio Rico on Pendleton Rd. 10-5-08 Photo by Kathie

This Gray Hawk watches me warily as I slip a bit closer and snap off a few shots. I am so excited but I don't want to disturb the bird. I also have my sunglasses on, so it isn't until I get home that I realize with frustration the photos are not as clear as I hoped. Still, we had a great time in the outdoors. We saw so many new things today, and I have discovered what I am sure many others already know, that Rio Rico is a very birdy place!

Come back tomorrow to see Gus' best photo posted here for Skywatch Friday!