Burning Exploding Sound

Gray-crowned Rosy-finches are common in the Aleutian Islands.  This one mingled with auklets and puffins on Buldir's Main Talus.

Huh.  When was the last time I posted a picture of a passerine on here?  I don't even remember.  How embarrassing!

Verdins.  The Jedi of nest-builders.  This one was at Patagonia Lake State Park in southeastern Arizona.

Whenever working on a (field) particular project, you often meet people who have a narrow view of what they would like to be working with.  Some people are way into raptors, some are way into seabirds, some are only into songbirds.  Seriously though, whats up with that?  I love all those birds.  Why limit yourself?  Perhaps when people take their first field job they just keep going with whatever group of birds they were originally working with......which is understandable, but also pretty lame.  I mean, this is BB&B, and honesty is our policy.

One of the many Pacific Wrens that hung out inside our sleeping cabin on Buldir.

And therein lies one of the fundamental differences between biologists and birders.  Birders, in their lust to see as much as possible (be it on a local or global scale), are interested in anything with wings and feathers.  Biologists are less likely to be so open-hearted in their bird love, preferring a particular group of birds.  But they share many of the same basic elements.  Both groups are badly dressed, are catatonically awkward, are overwhelmingly nerdy, have an absurd obsession with wildlife, and are stunningly unsavvy in any given situation that may require anything resembling "people skills".  Consider yourself warned, lest you be foolish enough to attempt a coversation with one of these people.

In other news, Ive been pretty sick.  A cocktail of whiskey, tea, excedrin, ibprofin, nyquil, sudafed and multivitamins has been deployed, but to little avail so far.  Ive also updated my ABA list, which now stands at a healthy 620.  For those who dont know the ABA (American Birding Association), its one of the bigger organizations that lords over the mainland United States and Canada, for whatever reason ignoring Hawaii and other islands under U.S. jurisdiction.  Seeing 620 species in these parts is not the biggest of accomplishments, but considering that I'm not exactly wealthy and I don't spend all my time tracking down new birds, its a pretty good number.

Right.  Time to go drain some more snot.  Have a positive day.

A Dusky-capped Flycatcher.  A common and depressing breeder in southeast Arizona.  This bird was photographed in the Chiricahua Mountains.

No Sex, No Drugs, No Sir, Not Me

Here is the Ringtail Cat that lives in our attic.  Best roommate ever.

Ok, now that I've got all that "white guilt" off my chest (well, half of my chest), we can get back to the matter at hand.  I spent the weekend in the Chiricahuas, doing a lot of birding and a lot of hiding from the weekend.  Jesus, the weather this spring has been nothing but a fat disappointment.  Anyways.....I got my lifer Montezuma Quail, which caused me to poop a little.  For those unfamiliar, this is a common reaction upon seeing a Montezuma Quail, for they wield the curse of Montezuma's Revenge as a defense mechanism.  Take a quail by surprise, and they will take your intestines for a ride.  There are a few legends of huge groups of birders running into large coveys of Montezuma Quail, and you can bet that they would have wished they were wearing diapers if they weren't already (they were very old, you see).  Anyhow, consider yourself Warned.

Other quality birds included a Short-tailed Hawk, lots of Blue-throated Hummingbirds, Juniper Titmouse, Western Wood-Pewee, White-eared Hummingbird (in Miller Canyon), and of course Elegant Trogons.  That's not a bad bunch of birds, eh?  

Surfbirds and Ruddy Turnstones lurk brightly at Pelican Point, next to Puerto Penasco, MEX.

I've only got about a week left here before it's back to California for hot minute.  Unfortunately, there will be no San Francisco or Arcata trip, sorry lovers, but I do plan on consuming every drop of alcohol in Ventura County before I head up to the Aleutians for the summer, as it's going to be several dry months, if you know what I'm saying.

There's so much more to say.  Some kind of condemning, yet eloquent synopsis on the region and its birdlife feels like it should be in order....but I don't think I've had enough caffeine to tackle that kind of monstrous idea.  The Fear And Loathing that I've been fighting off lately is being replaced with the beautiful realization that I will be Free soon, if only for a short time.......it's also a bummer (and kind of ironic) to be leaving right when the complete suite of birds actually gets here.....there's still a lot of summer birds that I haven't seen yet this year.....

Which is neither here nor there.  Tomorrow morning, around 4:30 AM, I will set out on my last death march up to the top of Madera Canyon, down Josephine Canyon, back to Josephine Saddle, up to Mt. Wrightson, then down to Florida Saddle and finally Florida Canyon Wednesday afternoon.  The snow should be at a humane depth at least.  

Ok.  I've got a world to save.  See you later.

Verdins are ever-present in desert habitats in the area.  They remind me of Bushtits on steroids.