Tuesday, January 15, 2013

When Life Gives You Lemmons (or nothing but Junc)...

The pursuit of birds takes people to a variety of places. Whether it's on the lush mountainsides of Costa Rica, the Florida Everglades, Oregon's Crater Lake, or even local parks, there are many opportunities to see beautiful birds in beautiful places. There are also those less desirable spots, the garbage dumps and the water treatment facilities, where we chase after rare gulls or elusive waterfowl. 
Not that it's a rare bird by any means, but I saw my first Western Bluebird perched on a port-o-potty seat in San Jose, California. Seeing great birds can largely mediate unpleasant circumstances. To a lesser extent, pleasant circumstances can mediate a lack of good birding. 
A few weeks ago I set off on a lovely scenic trip up Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, hoping to see some Red Crossbills and maybe even some Owls in the high elevation pines. Mt. Lemmon is a well-known birding site in Arizona, but on this occasion is turned out to be quite the...err hem...lemon. After six or so hours of driving, hiking, and birding, I recorded all of fifteen species for the day, setting a lamentable new record for an all time low on a weekend birding outing. However, this did not detract from the mountain's beauty.


With a fresh layer of crunchy snow, clear skies, and an elevated position above the valley smog, Mt. Lemmon provided some breath-taking views, too great to keep to oneself (thus I made a buddy).


Despite all my complaining, there were some highlights to the trip. I got to see more Yellow-eyed Juncos than I ever had before. It was almost like they had vigilantly driven away all the other birds on the mountain. They'd forage along the road, perch on the guard rails, and shuffle along all of the different trails on Mt. Lemmon, provided they were above four or five thousand feet in elevation.


I spent most of the day's pedestrian exploration on the Willow Spring trail, around seven thousand feet elevation. This site had the most recently reported Crossbills on eBird, and looped nicely into the nearby Rose Canyon Lake. The first birds to break the Yellow-eyed Junco monotony were small in stature but conspicuously noisy and bouncy in the ponderosa pines.


Shame on me; my focus on the Red Crossbills made me forget all about some of the other charming Mt. Lemmon residents, like these Pygmy Nuthatches. Now, if only there were Pygmy Owls around...


While I crunched through the snow, rejoicing in the invention and perpetuation of wool socks, as the frigid water permeated my shoes, the Yellow-eyed Juncos continued to dominate the landscape. On the ground, up in trees...they were everywhere, looking down their noses as I bumbled along the trail.



The Juncos weren't the only birds around, and while the Pygmy Nuthatches disappeared pretty quickly, the larger White-breasted Nuthatches abounded in the mid-day sun. Something about this bird's plumage has always struck me as incomplete. I think it's the white on the sides of its face and head, going into its neck (Nuthatch version of a neck anyway). It feels like there should be some other coloration there two. All the white seems like interim plumage to me, like the bird isn't fully mature yet.
I've never had this sort of feeling about any other fully plumed adult bird, so maybe there's just something about the Nuthatch that bugs me in general.


On the other hand, I love their little red spandex shorts.


At one point along the trail I thought I heard finch-like chatter. Turning to follow the noise, I saw a distant silhouette atop one of the pine trees. It could've been a Crossbill. It could've been something else too. After several hours of searching, this was as close as I would come. At this point the Juncos were really starting to pity me, so their flashiest, most be-jeweled representatives came out to say hello.


It made me feel a little better. This last guy seemed to be the king of the mountain, or at least chief of the Juncos. I sat near the gaudy Junco for a while, but was slowly unnerved by the sensation that someone was watching me, some sort of skulking slinking character. Turns out it was a total Creep.


So, in terms of birds, the Mt. Lemmon trip was a relative bust. It was nice to spend so much time with the Juncos, a specialty species I now appreciate a little more, but when those weekend trips seem to come so few and far between...fifteen species stings. These sorts of dud trips are just as much a part of the birding experience though, and they make those goods days all the sweeter. I guess as long as you see one bird you're birding, and birding is always fun.

18 comments:

  1. I know when you see so many of a single species they become common, like for me "Oh just another flock of Snow Buntings", but those Yellow-eyed Juncos would be a real prize for me. Beautiful photos of birds and landscape!

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    1. Hehe regional variety is everything. I'd trade you 50 Juncos for a Snow Bunting :)

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  2. "little red spandex shorts" - nice! Great images of those Yellow-eyed Juncos. Pygmy Nuthatches are always cool to see. My Mt. Lemmon experience back in August was magical. Cool post Laurence! Happy Birding.

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    1. Thanks Robert,

      I certainly need to return in the summer too. Band-tailed Pigeons still elude me, and then there are the Owls...

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    2. Robert,

      You mean there are feeder birds other than Pygmies? But then I also think that all woodpeckers have white heads. Why I even heard a rumor the other day that some people think that water is a clear liquid rather than a white crystal. Seriously though, Is'nt the regional diversity of our great country amazing.

      Laurence,

      I Need to get back to your wonderful state one of these days. Love those bright eyed juncos.

      Mike

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    3. Sounds like you're in a land far away Mike.
      I agree, you should return to Arizona soon. There aren't any volcanoes unfortunately, but it's hot as lava sometimes.

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  3. I love your new buddy!!! Cracked me up. Glad the juncos kept you company... One time last summer I counted ELEVEN species at Ridgefield. Shit happens. Nice bejeweled junco too. Good to know they're keeping it fancy up there.

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    1. Yes, I think the underlying theme here is that maybe I'm just a bad birder, but hey I'd prefer to just be complainy about the the state of the universe and its injustices, etc.

      My winter buddy is just a substitute until the Trogons come back in the summer.

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  4. Well, at least you were able to get some great shots of the species you did see:) That Creep did look a bit shady...

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    1. Totally shady. He even had a hooked bill, and said something about collecting dolls...

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  5. Nice images of some birds I still need to see when I visit Arizona. I love your creative perspective and the play on words always brings a smile to my face. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I hope you make it down soon and we can fit some birding in Jeff. Thanks for stopping by.

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  6. I ventured out today and had a dud of a day too. It happens to us all. That said, I love viewing the wonderful photographs of the Yellow-eyed Juncos and Pygmy Nuthatches. I have yet to see either, so it's a nice treat. Cute creeper! Did I spot bird binoculars around that snowman's neck? Birding is indeed fun and so are your super posts, Laurence!

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    1. Cheers Julie! I always enjoy your posts and photos too, especially since you've got different regional birds (WArblers!).

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  7. Love it - have you submitted the band combination to the banding lab yet? Would love a guest post at ifoundabandedbird.blogspot.com if you feel the urge =)

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    1. Thanks Heidi

      I emailed the info to one of the U of A people I met on the mountain and was doing some sort of YEJU survey at different sites on the mountain, but I haven't heard back from him. I'll be more diligent and try to work something up. I'd love to share over at ifoundabandedbird.com :)

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