I did it!

Saturday, March 19

Those of you who know me well, know how hard it is for me to get up early in the morning and to get places on time. Well, I...did...both! I arose at 5am to my cell phone alarm and got on the road at precisely our target time of 6am. We cheered when we arrived early for the guided bird walk at Arivaca Ciénega (marsh), a part of the Buenos Aires NWR (BANWR). I suggested Duffy remember my victory for posterity, and while he promised, I guess this blog is the closest my being on time will be to a record in history.

We walked around the wash for over two hours and saw both familiar and new species of birds. All in all, it was a successful morning. One guide and another volunteer accompanied us. Someone tell me – how is it that these guides can identify a bird through binoculars, when I can barely see them through mine; how they can so confidently recognize bird songs and know the owner of the song is around the next bend (and sure enough, yep, there it is); and how they can be so sure of what they are seeing even when colors are muted against the sky. I'm sure it's experience tested in the fields over many days, months, and years. I'm just having a hard time imagining ever being able to tell all the LBBs and LGBs apart. (That's bird-speak for “little brown birds” and “little gray birds.”)

From the wash, we drove the additional miles to the NWR Visitor's Center on the west and opposite side of the refuge. On the way in we saw a Loggerhead Shrike, a beautiful black and white bird that we saw once or twice before in our campground in years past. However, we learned that this bird is on the endangered species list as of late and the few remaining are primarily within the BANWR.

It was quite pleasant to sit on the bench outside the visitor's center and watch the sparrows coming to the fountain to drink. Still, no matter how long we looked, described for one another, checked our resources, and compared notes, we still could not identify these little birds. The closest I could come was Grasshopper Sparrow, which does occur here, but I was not confident enough in my assessment to log it in our birding journal. Duffy did see his first Green-Tailed Towhee in this courtyard, however, enabling him to put that bird on his life list at last.

From the visitor's center we drove the short distance over graded dirt roads to Aguirre Lake, a pond that, from what one other visitor shared, is a mystery as to why there is any water in it at all. The little lake was originally filled created as a watering hole for the cattle on this one-time cattle ranch. The Southern Arizona area has been experiencing a drought over the last three or more years, and many ponds, creeks and rivers are dry. Aguirre Lake, though, has water that attracts ducks and shore birds alike. We may be a little early for the migrants that frequent this pond, but we did see Shovelers, Killdeer, and possibly some Common Sandpipers.

Hungry and tired, we drove to the Casino of the Sun on the Pacua Yaqui Indian Reservation where we ate lunch. Too much cigarette smoke fogged the casino for us to stay even a short while for our usual penny tournament. Before we left the restaurant, we noticed our waiter left...walked out, and no one else came to our table to bring the check or replenish our drinks. So, initiating contact by standing up and walking to the cash register, we learned the waiter was sent home because he had pink eye. Hopefully, no diners that day contracted the ailment from him!

It took little persuasion for us to hit the pillows early. I do believe this was my best night's sleep in the trailer so far this trip. Exhaustion pays off!

Until next time,

Pam