Arizona - New Mexico Border

We are presently staying at Rusty’s RV Ranch near Rodeo New Mexico just on the Arizona and New Mexico Border. One of the roads that is popular for birding here is state line road which, as the name implies, is the dividing line between the two states. This is close to Portal, Arizona, a very well-known birding area in the eastern edge of the Chiricahua Mountains which you see in the image above. Where we are staying is about 4,100 foot elevation out in the flat desert land to the east of Portal. The weather has been great since we have been here.

Here we have two old friends, Common Ravens, just chatting in the morning sun. We are looking for an image or two of some Chihuahuan Ravens that can be found around here. They are smaller than common ravens, have a slightly different call, and other subtle different field marks. We will keep looking.

There is a Forest Service information station just up the road from Portal. They have several hummingbird feeders. This Blue-throat Hummingbird was in feeding. I am hoping to get there in better light. At the campsite we had a single female Anna’s come into the feeder. We were really surprised and did not think that the desert country, with it’s void of trees, would have any hummingbirds.

Rusty, the lady for whom the RV park is named, and whom owns and runs the park has a variety of exotic birds. She sells them. Most are in cages but these are in a little pond on the south side of the RV Park. I have no idea as to why they don’t fly away. There were also five wood ducks and two black swans in the same pond.

Here is what I would call a standard looking Red-tail Hawk. You can see the band on the belly and the reddish color on part of the tail that gives the hawk its name. Many of the Red-tail here in the southwest have very faint belly bands.  

I was taking a picture of this Red-tail Hawk sitting in a tree. He then started to shake himself and so I got this image. Many of the Red-tail hawks, up north, fly away if you stop to take their picture but many of them here just sit tight and look at you. That is great for getting some images.

Red-tail Hawks can come in a variety of color patterns, they are called Morphs. Morph is not a good term in that once the bird is a certain color pattern it will not change. This Hawk is called a Rufous Red-tail for the obvious reddish overall coloration.

This Swainson’s Hawk has been the most surprising bird to me of the entire trip thus far. It was totally unexpected. I thought they would all be south in Argentina for the winter, as they mostly migrate there returning in the spring to spend the Summers in North America. Apparently not, guess nobody told this bird. Beautiful rufous morph Swainson’s Hawk.

You can find these Yellow-eyed Junco here in southern Arizona. They don’t range very far into the United States from Mexico. This bird is appropriately named “Yellow-eyed” because it does have a Yellow eye. The bird naming folks sometimes name birds and you ask yourself, where the heck did that name come from. Here it is obvious. There several different species of Junco to be found in Southern Arizona.  

The Lark Bunting is a fascinating bird in that during the spring and summer, the male in their breeding plumage, has a very strong overall black coloration. Here they have molted or changed into their winter coloration. It is quite different from the breeding plumage. We found a flock of about 76 birds while out one day, in past years there have been flocks of hundreds of these Lark Buntings around here.

This is a Savannah Sparrow. I am always surprised when we see them here in the south west. They are a very common sparrow, what surprises me is that they are much darker in overall coloration than we are used to seeing further north.

Here is just a fun picture. This bird is a Pyrrhuloxia, (where the heck did that name come from?), sometimes called the desert cardinal since he is part red and looks a bit like a Cardinal. He is standing on a small branch in the wind. It really did not seem that windy when we took the picture but it sure looks like he thought it was. He is doing quite a balancing act.

Catalina State Park

We stayed at Catalina State Park for a few days. It is in a place called Oro Valley just on the north side of Tucson. There are lots of campsites here in the campground and miles of hiking trails. The trails are multiuse, meaning that hikers, bike rides, and horse riders all use the trails. When you are in the campground you have the feeling of being somewhat remote but right across from the entry off the highway is a huge shopping complex with all the large city shopping and amenities you could want. It is a great park.

When we got to our campsite and started setting up this Greater Roadrunner came into camp. It appeared to us that he had been fed by previous campers. He wasn’t skittish or shy at all. He stayed close by for quite some time. I guess he finally figured we would not provide any handouts and moved on to greener pastures.

One of the sparrows, yes those little brown birds, which are common here, is the Rufous-winged Sparrow. You can identify it in this picture by the reddish line running behind the eye and the black lines on the chin or what are called, malar stripes. There actually are lots of them here in Catalina.

The color on this Northern Cardinal has always seemed strange to me. Such a bright color for the drab colors often found in the desert environment. They do not molt or change color with the season with the male remaining this bright red all year long.  

We had an image of the Ladderback Woodpecker in an earlier post. They are a somewhat common desert woodpecker. As you can see they are primarily colored black and white, with a barred pattern on its back and wings resembling the rungs of a ladder, hence the name Ladderback.

We had gone to get some groceries and upon returning this Coyote was in the campsite next to ours. You can see our trailer in the background. The people staying there had just left and he figured they must have left something to eat lying around. He was pretty brazen. We were a little apprehensive after that with our two small dogs that I am sure the coyote would love to invite home for dinner. Perhaps the coyote is part of the campground clean-up crew.

I call this bird “The Campground Coopers”, it is a Cooper's Hawk. You can often see them around your home feeders trying to pick off a smaller bird for a meal. I saw her several times in the campground and it was not at all afraid or shy of people. You could walk up almost directly underneath the hawk and she wouldn’t get very nervous at all. There were a lot of pocket gophers and ground squirrels in the campground that I am sure she used for food.

Here is a Hermit Thrush.This bird is similar to the American Robin only chunkier in stature. They are a short-distance migrant. They are among the last to migrate in the winter and first to return in the spring. They stay all year round in North America and many will stay in the United States all year. They have a wonderful song..  

Anna’s Hummingbirds are everywhere here in Arizona. This one took possession of the hummingbird feeder we had out and would not let any others in to feed. This hummingbird was very protective of the food source. You can see more or less of the red on the hummingbirds head depending on the light and how the bird fluffs it feathers.

We showed a sparrow earlier. Here is an image of two sparrows. The one in the foreground is a Lark Sparrow. Quite distinctive and identifiable by it’s facial pattern. The one in the background is a Vesper Sparrow. The markings that identify it are a little more subtle and cause many people to classify all the little sparrows as LBB (little brown birds) or LBJ (Little Brown Job). We will see more sparrows later.

Wandering Around Lost Dutchman State Park

What you see here is a sundial. It is a clock that tells time by the movement of the sun. These devices are the main reason that Arizona does not acknowledge Daylight Savings time changes. All these sundials would be inaccurate if they did. The sundial is great for us retired folks, if you can see the shadow, in this case from the Coyote on the left, then it is day and if you can’t see the coyote it is night. Pretty simple and really accurate.

We went down to the entrance station here at Lost Dutchman to get an Ice Cream. Yes the State Park sells Ice Cream. We were standing out front and noticed this unusual cactus. We stuck our head back inside and asked about it. No one seemed to know the name but finally one of the park employees came out and told us the story. It was an African Something-or-other. She did not know the exact name but it was a cactus from Africa. It seems when the building was constructed the landscapers were told to put in plants from the desert and so they did. There are plants from Africa, Australia, and various other world desert locations. They should have been told to use local or native desert plants that can be found in this area but were not. Hence we have an African Something-or-other.

There are a lot of Lesser Goldfinch here. Between them, Cactus Wrens, Abert’s Towhee, and other assorted critters attacking the niger sock we are having to fill it about every day and a half. A lot gets dropped on the ground and the Gambel’s Quail and mourning Doves are in feeding on the ground. There is a lot of activity.  

In an earlier post we showed a Gilded Flicker with it’s wings outstretched. Here is a Gilded Flicker much closer for better inspection. It has a brown cap on its head and a white rump patch. You can see the gilding in lines on the folded wings.

It rained hard for an hour and a half one night. It was 3:00 AM when it started with lots of thunder and lightning. When we went for a walk the next day we saw several rocks with lime green lichen. The rain had brought out this color. It was quite a contrast to the drab browns and grays of the desert.

When I first saw these steps on the back of a camper I was hoping it was an escalator but such was not the case. I would have a lot of trouble navigating this entry and exit several times every day. It would be an accident just waiting to happen or one that just had.

The picnic table that you see in the foreground is “Hiker/Biker Campground Site #1”. It is not very far in from the road so you don’t have to hike or bike far to get here. The view is quite nice from your table sitting quietly having breakfast. Enjoy the view.

There are several Gnatcatcher species here in Arizona. This is a Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. They are very common, little gray birds that move around rather hurridly looking for insects to eat in the trees. The move their tail in a circular motion, have a white eye-ring and the underside of their tail is mostly black. The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, another species here, has mostly white on the under tail.  

The Gila Woodpekers and Flickers create nest cavities in the Saguaro. Many other species will uses thes cavities once the woodpeckers have finished with them. This appears to an interesting complex of homes and would be great to visit and watch in the spring breeding season.

There are a lot of Mourning Dove here. The park bird list also indicates Eurasian Collared Doves but we have not seen on here at the park as of yet. The dead tree type structure they are sitting on is a dead Cholla Cactus. The wood has become very hard with a fascinating structure.

A lot of species visit utilize the hummingbird feeder, not just hummingbirds. Here is a Verdin. A small drab desert bird with a partially yellow head. They will come in and drink from the feeder though we are not sure exactly how. We have seen them at our feeder and many locations throughout Arizona.

Looking for Something to Eat

We are presently staying at Lost Dutchman State Park in Arizona. It is near Apache Junction on the east side of Phoenix. There are a lot of great birds here and wonderful hiking trails. The mountains are the Superstition Mountains where the legend of the Lost Dutchman Gold lives. We will not be looking for the gold this trip. In this blog we will show you some birds, some in conventional poses and habitats and some in non-conventional situations.

This is a Brewers Sparrow, a little brown bird of the desert. They are very common here in Arizona, though not so much at Lost Dutchman this time of year. The white back ground was from a pool that the park has put in place to provide water for wildlife.

Here is an Anna’s hummingbird. We had shown one in an earlier post. We have a hummingbird feeder up and we are having a tremendous amount of activity. Lots of birds are getting nourishment from the feeder.

This is a Female Costa’s Hummingbird. The male has quite different coloration and we will try to get an image of them as we travel about. The Anna’s has become a bully at the feeder and is chasing any other hummingbird that tries to get some nectar. This Costa snuck in briefly.

Not every bird that comes to the feeder is a hummingbird. This is a pair of Gila Woodpeckers, denizens of the sugar water as it were. The male has the red cap. They can take the feeder down really fast. Amazingly the bully Anna’s did not try to chase the pair off the feeder. We guess that discretion is the better part of valor even in the bird world.

This is just a fun image. I tried to get a picture of the Anna’s while he was sitting in the Palo Verde tree. He was way back in and hiding, obscured through the branches.

I apologize for the quality of this image. The bird was a long ways off. It is a Gilded Flicker so named for the gilded color or yellow under his wings. I just wanted to show you the under wings that you don’t often see. They are very similar in other markings to the Northern Flicker up at home.

We also have a Niger (thistle seed) feeder hanging. The finches really like the Niger seed. Here is a male Lesser Gold Finch that is on the sack. There were house finches and a lot of Lesser Goldfinches eating the Niger seed.

Unfortunately there are also other birds that will latch onto the hanging sack and feed. Here is an Abert’s Towhee that is normally a ground feeder. Guess it is best to eat where you can find the food.

Not to be left out of the party, the Cactus Wren decided not to pass up a free and easy meal. Not sure how the sack will hold up with all this non finch activity.

Since we mentioned Cactus Wren, here is an image of a Cactus Wren in the cactus. This is prickly pear cactus and he seemed perfectly at home flitting about in and amongst all the thorns.

Here is a Black-throated Sparrow on a Cholla Cactus. They really are a beautiful patterned bird and extremely common in this part of the desert.

Ajo Images - A look around Ajo

In this Blog we will show you some of the various sights that we found around Ajo. We had included other things to see in Ajo in an earlier post so we will not duplicate those here. There is an artist community here and a lot of Murals painted on various structures. There is not a lot of verbiage in this blog so if you have any questions post a comment or send us an e-mail.

On each end of town along the highway there is this "Welcome to Ajo Sign". It is very colorful, simple and eye catching. The back side of the sign is equally elaborate.

And since we mentioned the back of the sign here is that image. Seems to have a bit more detail and several bird images. Both sides are equally impressive. And no the "Do not Enter" sign in the back ground does not mean do not enter Ajo, it is for a side street, you should come on down. <

This Welcome sign was along the street in front of the local Telephone Company. Many Snowbirds who are staying here for 5 months will get phone service.

This Mural is on the side of a Building adjacent to the Shell Station. In case you can't read the fine print, one sign says "End of the world 10 miles" the other one says "Ajo 12 miles". Neat Mural.

There is a Saturday Farmers Market held in the Center Plaza. There were a lot of arts and craft items, many of the local artists were selling their wares. It is early in the Snowbird Season as many folks from the north won't get here until after Christmas. Many of the activities really gear up starting in January.

The Market had the standard fare of items. Lots of local craft items, clay pieces, jewelry, and some albeit limited food items.

Here is Deanna and the boys walking through the market. It was fairly crowded and there were lots of dogs all seemed friendly, both people and their canine friends.

Around the corner from the Plaza and the Farmers Market is the Artists Alley. It is an area where people have painted murals on the building walls. Some of them are really well done.

This mural took up most of the end of the building and extended onto the large door opening. Very nicely done.

Not sure who this lady represents but the vibrant colors and composition of the mural caught our eye.

There are various Yoga classes offered in Ajo and health healing and different spiritual adventures. I would guess this mural, as do many others, represent and support that theme.

On the opposite side of the building from the Wall of Murals is another wall that is painted with Murals. Here are some of them. It is not clear as to the overall theme if there was one.

This was a nicely done desert scene on the end of the building. Different compared to the other colorful images. A nice peaceful depiction of the desert area.

We are now away from the Artist's Alley. This is the building that houses the "Copper Times" the local newspaper. The first issue of the newspaper was published in 1916. It has been in operation since then and has been through some tough and trying times along the way.

This was a mural painter on a local residence. It appeared to be a plain house, nothing fancy but it had this wonderful mural on the end for all to see.

Wandering the streets in a residential area we saw this mailbox. It appears that all the creativity is not just Murals.

One of our many vices is finding Ice Cream Stores and trying their merchandise. We never could determine when this store was open, even on a Saturday afternoon it was closed. The mural was fun none the less.

As we travel around the country we sometimes notice the names on the Port-o-Potties. Our previous favorite was several years back found in Canada and named "Le Pew" after Pepe Le Pew the Warner Brothers Skunk cartoon character. We thought this name was at least it's equal.

Sitting about 30 feet away from "Royal Flush" was the earlier version of a building that served the same purpose. It had been replace by technological advances and was now locked and retired from service.

In looking through the neighbor hoods we found several of these collections of three statues standing together. They were in front of various homes and we were told that one of the local artists made them. They are all a little different but of equal quality and charactrer.

We always put up a hummingbird feeder where we camp. In Arizona we have seen many hummingbirds but not a wide variety of species yet. I was curious as to the identification of this hummingbird and a friend of mine, who is a great birder, helped with the identification. This appears to be an Anna's Hummingbird as opposed to a Black-chinned. This Hummingbird has a really green chest and sides and is dark under the tail. Black-chinned don’t share these features. In addition, there is a separate spot of color coming in on the side of the neck, separate from the throat. This is fine for Anna’s as their color is not confined to the throat as it is on a black-chinned.

As we get further along in our travels we will find other species of Hummingbirds.

We hope you have enjoyed this pictorial tour around Ajo. It is a fun place to visit in the winter months. Summer will find the temperatures approaching 120 degrees and that is a little too warm for us and our two small Westies.