Wood Duck Magic

Great photo taken by Christina

I get ebird alerts sent to me via my email. Last week there was an alert for a Wood Duck at a park near us. My husband pack up his camera and Christina and I got our birding things together and off we went. He had already been there for over a week, so we were hoping he hadn't decided to take off for places unknown.


Christina arrived about 5 minutes ahead of us. She went immediately to the lake and the first bird she saw was the Wood Duck! What a beautiful bird! I know this is an ordinary bird to see in many parts of the country, but not here in Tucson, Arizona.

There was just the one Wood Duck, but he looked like he was having a great time swimming with the Mallards. He did everything they did. When they took off across the pond, he did too. When they got out of the water the preen themselves, he followed right along. I know this is being anthropomorphic, but he seemed to enjoy spending time with the big boys.

The Unexpected Discoveries While Birding

One thing I have discovered about my new hobby of birding is that not only do we discover these wonderful jewels that have always been around us but not noticed, we also have many wonderful nature encounters. Last Sunday my husband, daughter and I went to Madera Canyon south of Tucson to look for the Elegant Trogan. Not only did we see one of these beautiful birds, but we also got to watch a black bear walk along the hillside above us. Actually, it watched us while we watched it.

Today, my daughter and I went back to Sabino Canyon in the northeastern part of the Tucson valley to bird.  One of the first things that caught our eye was the Saguaro blossoms! I'm always amazed at the beauty of cactus flowers. The prickly pear were also blooming, even though I think they are nearing the end of their blooming season.

Giant Saguaro towering above us

         

We were very excited when we came upon a desert tortoise. It is only the second time we have seen one in the wild in the 30 years we have lived here.

Rattlesnake Season and Birding

Today my daughter, Christina, and I woke up early to do a little birding at Sweetwater Wetlands here in Tucson, Arizona. It was quite an exciting morning as we were entertained by the wildlife.

First, we watched a Cooper's Hawk carry small branches to its nest. Then suddenly it swooped after a pair of Mallard Ducks just up the trail from us. The ducks took off very quickly across the pond and disappeared into the reeds. Then as we walked by a marshy area I saw what I thought was a dead animal, when it suddenly jumped up and ran into the reeds. It was a coyote. I think we were as startled as he was.

As we continued we came across a snake spotted by my daughter.  Right along our path was a large rattlesnake stretched out in the cottonwood seed fluff. It was about 3 1/2 - 4 feet in length. We watched as it ate a cotton rat (name given to us by a naturalist).

The rattlesnake didn't show any interest in this large frog nearby.

Our next bit of wildlife was another coyote walking along a path parallel to ours. All at once he charged across our path in front of us and ran into the brush after something only he could see. It amazed me how fast both the hawk and coyote moved when after prey. Made us happy we didn't have any predators after us.

The next few photos were taken by Christina of some of the shore birds and a Common Moorhen.

Black-Necked Stilt and White-Faced Ibis

Long-Billed Dowitchers and White-Faced Ibis

Common Moorhen renamed the Common Gallinule

Our final reward for a great morning of birding was to see the nest of  the Great Horned Owl with 3 owlets. A couple of birders had large binoculars set up on a tripod so we could see the owlets up close. Wow, they were beautiful and so big! I'm not sure how they all fit in the nest. The babies were still covered in their fluffy feathers. I wish we had a photo. We needed my husband with his big lens!

Birding at Reid Park

Great Egret

Walking around Reid Park a couple of weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of birds to be seen. These are just a few. I went with my daughter and between the two of us we got a few good photos.

No matter which way you look at this Black-crowned Night Heron he has a very interesting face! These birds are easy to find. They even go into the zoo to raid the food of the zoo animals.

American Coot

Great-tailed Grackle

 I never knew that there were so many different kinds of sparrows. Actually, this little bird belongs in a family called the weaver-finches.

  

House Sparrow

Birding at Sweetwater Wetlands

Yellow-headed Blackbirds

Red-winged Blackbird

Solitary Sandpiper

My husband and I went on a bird outing with a group to the Sweetwater Wetlands in Northwest Tuscon. We had 2 birding experts with the group.This is the first time I have been here. As soon as we stepped out of our car we could hear birds everywhere! I saw 19 new birds. My daughter and I went again today and I added a Harris Hawk and European Starling to my list. These bird photos were taken by my husband.

The Joy of Birding

I've taken up the wonderful new hobby of birding. My daughter, Christina, got me interested after she watched a fun movie called The Big Year. My husband loves to come along to take some of the photos of the birds we see. I live in the desert city of Tucson, Arizona. We love to hike and birding makes hiking even more enjoyable. We are always on the lookout for these little treasures hiding in bushes, trees, on cactus and flying through the air. The photo below is the road to Sabino Canyon used by walkers and  bicyclists. 

There are many trails to take along the way that go up into the mountains or down to the Sabino Creek. And of course there are many birds to see along the way. 

The Gila Woodpecker  (pronounced hela with a long e)  

The Cactus Wren is our state bird.

Making Pasties with the Grandchildren

One of the things I found out about my husband's family when I started going out with him many years ago was that they loved pasties. It was always a special meal for them. I had never heard of pasties, but I loved them the first time I ate them. As time went on my mother-in-law taught me how to make pasties and I have taught my children to make them.

These photos show me teaching my grandson how to make pasties along with the help of my daughter and granddaughter.

One time I asked my mother-in-law how she made such great crust. She said she had a secret...then she took out a box of Betty Crocker pie crust mix. I had to laugh and thought great!! I hated making my own crust.

Pasties are basically a meat, potato, and onion pie that the early miners took down to the mines for their lunches. You can read about the history of the pastie here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty.

In our family pasties are a special meal. To make them you cut into cubes your choice of meat. We have used veal, pork, various cuts of beef or chicken. Save any fat to make a broth. Dice up potatoes, and onion and add to the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Make a pie crust dough. Take a small ball of dough and roll it out into a circle about 6-7 or so inches in diameter. Put a cup full of the meat mixture onto half of the dough and fold the other half over and pinch the edges closed. Some people put a pat of butter on top of the mixture before closing. Place on a cookie tray.  Bake at 350 for about an hour. I'm not giving amounts. Just put in what you like. While the pasties bake, add water, salt and pepper to the fat to make your broth. Throw the fat away when done. When we eat our pasties, we chop the top with our fork, pour a little broth on top and follow with ketchup. I'm getting hungry just telling you about them. The aroma is wonderful and your house will still smell great the next day.

There are many variations to what you put inside a pastie. My husband and I taught school in Australia for a couple of years right after we were married. Pasties were served at school for lunch. I can remember that they had carrots and other types of vegetables in theirs. They may think it is funny that pasties are such a special meal for us.