A positive side to this is we have been able to find and look through old photos, crafts and schoolwork the kids did through the years, and other fond memories. One of the things I was able to find and have fond memories of is our trip to Tucson, Arizona.
Friends of ours live there and we went to visit them. Tucson is a growing place, that still has deep roots to the wild west. They market it shamelessly, and many still live the cowboy lifestyle. While parts are growing with supermarkets and shopping centers, new roads and Starbuck's popping up like saguaro cactus, there is still plenty of wide open spaces. Lots of wildlife, too.
Our friends live on a nice golf course in a very nice housing development. Around them is a wash that works as a kind of hazard for golfers and pathway for wildlife such as bobcats, javelina, snakes, lizards and birds. Their younger children and I hit it off when we walked around and found the largest horned toad I have ever seen, and we were able to capture it. Then it was a variety of lizards, and some huge toads that came out in the evening. They would literally make a loud booming noise by jumping into the aluminum garage door. We went to investigate the noise and saw several two or three pounders jumping into the door. It was suggested they were knocking for the bottled water stored in the garage, but I am doubtful.
Southeast Arizona, is a wonderful place to bird as well. The greatest numbers of hummingbirds in the U.S. appear in this area. Also, the Trogons, both the Eared and Elegant, appear in this area. Also Cardinals and their cousin the Pyrruloxia. I was determined to find one of these, if not all. My wife, a determined non-birder, agreed to accompany me on an outing or two to find such creatures.
So it was that we found ourselves with several of our friends kids, in our friends car,(an SUV to hold all the people), driving to see some of the tourist spots like Tombstone and the western town they filmed the movie Tombstone in, as well as many other westerns. This was where I found myself feeling very old. None of the children we took with us had any idea who John Wayne was. Nor did they really care. While this was near sacrilege to me, I swallowed my pride and we ended up having a wonderful day enjoying the live skits that the kids were able to participate in, and the gunfight shows and and stunt shows. The kids had a good time even though they still don't know who John Wayne was.
After our day in the wild west, where it was overcast and slightly breezy, a nice cool day for the desert, we started for home. I had my binoculars and camera case at my feet in the passenger seat,(my wife drives when we go anywhere together, once or twice nearly running off the roadway trying to get a better look at a bird convinced her this was safest). Then, as we passed through a portion of Saguaro National Forest, I saw it.
I began to shout for Andi to "stop, stop" and quickly began putting the telephoto lens on my camera. She was confused and considering traffic and a narrow two lane roadway we were on, with a narrow shoulder, she was near panic. She couldn't see any danger approaching, and had no idea why I was shouting for her to stop. I was too busy getting my gear and opening the door to an unfamiliar vehicle in order to explain. By now the kids were surprised and shouting their queries, adding to the confusion.
Andi found a wider spot off the roadway and skidded to a stop. Before the SUV had completed its' stop I had the door open and in a fluid motion that would make a Navy Seal proud was out of the truck and running back to where I saw it. The kids were staring and asking my wife where I was going and what was happening. Due to traffic concerns Andi drove down the road some ways before she was able to turn around and come back to an actual pullout nearby. I had by then wandered into the desert and snapped a couple photos of my prize. A pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalus sinuatus) sitting on top of a saguaro cactus. Ooooh! (It was a lifer!).
I have gotten into the habit some years ago of taking pictures of my targets as I approach guaranteeing I have at least one photo, albeit small, of my prey before it flees. I used this tactic in this instance as well, and kept trying to get closer to snap an even better picture. I have stacks of pictures, (now that we are digital, megabytes of pixels), of green or tan backgrounds with a dot in the middle, that I usually can tell you what it is, but most have no idea.
At any rate, by the time the kids had disembarked and caught up with me, the little bird had flown. I had my prize though and showed them on the little screen of my camera. They were not impressed. We spent some time chasing lizards and snakes, and I saw my pyrrhuloxia a couple more times as it flashed through a ravine, or from cactus to cactus. I marked it as a successful stop when we returned to Andi and the SUV.
Andi, on the other hand, was still a little shaken from the ordeal and we had a discussion of giving warnings and explanations before we allow the adrenaline rush to take over.
Back at the house we were able to use this magnificent digital technology to put my pyrrhuloxia on their big screen t.v. and then Andi was able to see my excitement. She is still a determined non-birder, but she is understanding. It was a fun story to tell those who were left behind, kind of like a Lucy episode.
This is the first view I had of the pyrrhuloxia, a sentinel sitting on its' perch.
This is the closest shot I got of the little bird. As I hope you can tell it is similar in size and shape to a Northern Cardinal, but is mostly gray with highlights of red, and the one feather sticking up like Alfalfa's cowlick.
So, you might be a birdnerd if...you frighten the passengers in your car by shouting to stop to see a life-bird.
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