Category: Birding

Timpas

I left Bosque del Apache yesterday morning and drove straight through to Timpas, near La Junta, CO. I’ve stayed at Timpas before, it is a Forest Service picnic area/campsite in the Comanche National Grassland, no cell phone service and therefore no internet for me. There is usually no one there and that’s what I found when I got there last night. It was windy and cloudy, but I was still able to find a Cassin’s Sparrow. This morning, the weather was much better, the Cassin’s Sparrows were easy and I got some nice photos. That accomplished, I drove north to Rocky Ford where I picked up a Mississippi Kite (I saw them there last spring too), then north to the Pawnee National Grassland where I was hoping for Thick-billed Longspur (McCown’s Longspur) and Mountain Plover. I got the longspurs but saw no plovers. With a few other new birds for the year, I’m now up to 250 species. Tonight, I’m in the Cabelas RV park in Sidney, NE.

Cassin’s Sparrow on cholla. Early morning light and a nice background, I like it!

A closer look at a Cassin’s Sparrow. They aren’t much to look at but they make up for it with their song, given in flight.

Timpas is right by a railroad, but there are few trains. The only trains I’ve seen are the Amtrak. One went by last night and another this morning. I was out birding when this one came by so I got a photo with the Scamp in front.

Birding Herps

Bosque del Apache NWR

I’m in the Bosque del Apache Birders RV park again. I paid for two nights. I’m doing pretty good on the birds I wanted to get here. I investigated a new place, Water Canyon in the Cibola National Forest about 15 miles west of Socorro. I’ve always wanted to check it out but I’m always towing the camper when I go by and I never want to explore strange Forest Service roads with the Scamp following me. It is actually OK for small campers, there is a campground and there are several dispersed camping sites. Located fairly high in the Magdalena Mountains (almost 7000 ft. elevation), it would be cool place to spend the summer sometime. It is pine forest with some spruce, and lower down juniper and pinyon pine. A small stream runs in the canyon.

Here’s a bird I’ve been hunting for, a Rufous-crowned Sparrow. I found two in The Box Recreation Area, west of Socorro.

I got several Mountain Chickadees in Water Canyon.

Also in The Box, a colorful Greater Earless Lizard. I haven’t seen one this vivid since my trip to Big Bend National Park.

I got a Whimbrel at Bosque del Apache, along with a lot of other birds. Here’s my eBird checklist with more photos. I’ve added 13 species to my year list since arriving here. Now at 245, compared to 154 at this time last year. My best birds were White-tailed Kites and this Whimbrel, both are species I’m not too likely to see again this year.

A 1st spring male Bullock’s Oriole at the visitor center.

Also at the visitor center, a Twin-spotted Spiny Lizard. I saw one of these last spring at Valley of Fire, but this is a much better photo.

I found this female Painted Bunting just across the highway from the visitor center. Not the best photo but good enough for eBird, which declares it rare here.

A flock of Phalaropes, there are two Red-necked Phalarope in the
bunch, can you pick them out? The answer is in my eBird checklist media notes.

Aurora Borealis Birding

Last Day at Granite Gap

I’m getting ready to head north today. I’m not sure how far I will get but I plan to be in South Dakota by the end of the week, or sooner. I suppose everyone reading this has seen the news coverage of the huge solar storm on Friday night and saw the outbreak of Northern Lights. I could even see it here at latitude 32 degrees. I took a few photos, it was not very spectacular but still, to be able to see it here was extraordinary. According to Spaceweather.com, it was one of the greatest solar storms in the last 500 years.

I drove north a few miles, because a mountain blocks my view of the north from camp. The lights on the horizon are from I-10, about 8 miles north. At times a few rays of the aurora were visible but mostly it was just a bright glow. The camera captures far more color than I could see.

Another image, I watched for several hours, but this is about as good as it got.

On my morning hike yesterday, I got quite close to this Olive-sided Flycatcher, in nice light. I really like this one!

I saw quite a few migrating MacGillivray’s Warblers too. All of them were difficult to photograph, this is the best I got.

A Common Ground Dove, the first one I’ve seen in the Granite Gap area. It is not a new bird for the year though, still at 234 species.

Astrophotography Birding

Pinery Canyon, Abell 35 and ?

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date May 10, 2024
1 Comment on Pinery Canyon, Abell 35 and ?

I got up at 4 AM, had my coffee and a sandwich and started the long, slow drive to Pinery Canyon, on the west side of the Chiricahua Mountains. A Crescent-chested Warbler had been seen and photographed yesterday, so I thought I better go look for it. I’ve seen this species before, also in the Chiricahua Mountains so I wasn’t too disappointed not to find it today. I had a great morning! Here’s my eBird checklist. I added seven species to my year list, now at 232 species.

My best bird of the day, a Mexican Spotted Owl. It has been many years since I’ve seen one. It won’t show up on my eBird list because it is considered a sensitive species.

A pretty bad photo of a Hermit Warbler, but I was glad to see it!

I finally caught up to some Red-faced Warblers too. Photography was not very good for most birds, this is the best I could get.

Buff-breasted Flycatcher. Another species I haven’t seen for a long time.

Here’s the astro project I’ve been working on. Abell 35 was thought to be an ancient planetary nebula, located about 500 light years away in the constellation Hydra. It was eventually determined that Abell 35 was formed from a binary pair of stars and that the wind from those stars formed the bow-shock feature that can be seen in this image. Abell 35 is moving through space at 10 times the speed of sound giving rise to a shock wave that created the nebula.

There were several things working against me, it is very faint, it stays low on the horizon, and it is small. The C8 would have worked better for size, but at f6.3 and with no duoband filter for that scope, it would haven take many more hours of exposure and even then I don’t think it would be very good. As it was, with the 500 f4 and the IDAS Nebula Booster filter, I have more then 6 hours on this. I think it turned out quite well.

The night of May 9, I noticed a glow in a place where there should be no glow. In between Arcturus and Spica, I could see it with the unaided eye. I set up a tripod and camera (I wish I had taken the time to set up the tracker too but didn’t) and got this. I posted it on Spaceweather.com and it wasn’t long before other folks were posting it too. It turns out it was probably a satellite fuel dump, illuminated by the sun. If so, this was at very high altitude. Others who saw it reported from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Missouri, and New York state. The sighting from Chile is pretty incredible, it must have been at a very high altitude.

Birding Herps Insects

Some More Photos

I’m still at Granite Gap. I’ve been making trips down to Cave Creek and the Paradise area. My bird list for 2024 keeps growing, now at 225, compared to 155 at this time last year. I’ve been doing some astro too, I’m working on a very faint planetary nebula called Abell 35. It is not ready to show just yet.

An Elegant Trogon I found in the South Fork of Cave Creek. I could hear it calling in a grove of oaks but couldn’t see it. Suddenly it flew out and landed right in front of me.

A female Arizona Woodpecker at the George Walker House in Paradise. I also got a Juniper Titmouse and a Band-tailed Pigeon, both of which were new for the year.

An Olive-sided Flycatcher that I got on my walk this morning, also new for the year. This was at Granite Gap.

Also from my walk this morning, a Round-tailed Horned Lizard. I’m still looking for the Texas Horned Lizard. I got pretty excited at first when I found this one, but it turned out to be a Round-tailed.

A Striped Plateau Lizard. These are common in the Chiricahua Mountains and Peloncillo Mountains, but are not found anywhere else in the United States.

Butterflies have been hard to find, other than the usual Checkered Whites and a few other species. This morning I got this Elada Checkerspot, I haven’t seen this species for a long time.

Astrophotography Birding Blacklighting Flowers and Plants

Granite Gap

I’m still here, the weather is great and I’m having a good time. I’ve made a few trips to Cave Creek and one trip up to Rustler Park. At Rustler Park, nearly 10,000 ft. elevation, there is still snow in the gullies. I’ve been picking up birds that I haven’t seen for years, only because I haven’t looked for them. I’m at 220 species now, compared to 151 at this time last year.

Grace’s Warbler. These are fairly common in the pines but difficult to get a photo of.

I found a nice flock of Mexican Chickadees. In the same area, I got two Olive Warblers, but the photos are not worth showing.

On the road down from Rustler Park, I got two Montezuma Quail. Here’s one of them.

I have now seen three Gila Monsters in the Granite Gap area. Here’s the third one, just this morning.

I put out the black light one night while doing astro. I got some interesting insects. This one is *Lineostriastiria hachita*, an owlet moth that is rarely reported and almost nothing is known about it. Records are from southeast Arizona, southern New Mexico, west Texas and down into Mexico.

Theodore Carpenterworm Moth, Givira theodori. Larvae of this interesting looking moth are wood borers. It has a distribution similar to *Lineostriastiria hachita*.

Catclaw Mimosa, very common around Granite Gap and now in flower. This shrub has recurved spines that catch on clothing when walking through it.

Fendler’s Hedgehog Cactus, *Echinocereus fendleri ssp. fendleri*. There are quite a few in flower now.

Caldwell 45, also catalogued as NGC5248. Sixty million light years out there, in the direction of the constellation Bootes.

NGC 4414, 62 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is a flocculent spiral galaxy, without the well-defined spiral arms of a grand design spiral galaxy. I should have spent more time on this one but this is what I have. There are lots of small background galaxies in this image.

Birding Flowers and Plants Herps

On the Road Again

I left Ajo last Monday and drove to the Empire Ranch, also known as Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. It has been several years since I’ve stopped there. I spent 3 days birding in the Empire Gulch, Box Canyon, Madera Canyon, and the Patagonia area. I picked up a lot of birds that I haven’t seen for years, but the photography wasn’t very good. Some of the best birds were Thick-billed Kingbird, Berylline Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, many Gray Hawks, several Zone-tailed Hawks, and an Arizona Woodpecker, among many other species. Here are a few eBird checklists: Box Canyon, Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon, Madera Kubo Lodge, Patagonia Blue Haven Rd., Pattons, and Empire Gulch. I’m trying to live up to my New Year’s Resolution, to pick up as many species as I can this year. So far, I’m at 191 species, compared to 145 at this time last year. Now, I’m at Granite Gap. I plan to continue birding in as many places as I can get to for the next few days, then focus on astrophotography.

Just before leaving Ajo, I got this photo of a pair of Western Screech-Owls, one with a Western Banded Gecko.

A Sidewinder I found by my camper one night after returning from owling, still in Ajo.

A male Wilson’s Warbler in Empire Gulch.

A Chihuahuan Meadowlark at Empire Ranch. Formerly considered a race of the Eastern Meadowlark, now it is a full species.

Cliff Fendlerbush, *Fendlera rupicola*. Whole hillsides displayed this shrub in flower in Box Canyon.

I had just drove though the gate into Granite Gap when this Gila Monster crossed the road in front of me. My first one this spring.

Birding Herps

More Elf Owls and a Mohave Rattlesnake

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 16, 2024
1 Comment on More Elf Owls and a Mohave Rattlesnake

Last night, Vikki and Mark went out looking for owls with me. It sure helps to have someone along who can hear! They can hear Elf Owls far beyond my range of hearing. We ended up hearing four and seeing three. I got perhaps one of my best photos ever of an Elf Owl. Sometimes I think maybe my favorite is simply the most recent, it is hard to pick. At any rate, I’m already thinking about next years photo show here in Ajo!

Here’s the best one I got. These little owls aren’t really that difficult to photograph if one uses a good flash on manual exposure. They usually sit still long enough to get focus and shoot. They are only about 6 inches long. We located one pair that appear to be using a cavity in a Saguaro.

A Mohave Rattlesnake I saw on the road near my camper this morning. First Mohave I’ve seen this spring.

Although very similar to a Western Diamondback, Mohaves are generally more greenish yellow in color. The supraoculars (the large uplifted scale over each eye) are separated by two scales, diagnostic of Mohave Rattlesnakes. This species has large venom yields and very potent neurotoxins, making it one of the more dangerous rattlesnakes.

Astrophotography Birding Flowers and Plants Insects

Mid April Update

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 15, 2024

I am still in Ajo. As long as it doesn’t get too hot, I’m not inclined to leave. I had a few good nights for astro but now the moon is getting bright again. Although the new dual band filter allows me to image nebulas in moonlight, it does not work for galaxies. Light pollution and moonlight are galaxies killers! Dark skies are needed. Birding has remained slow. I do have a few photos to show though.

This is a new one for me, a hybrid Blue-winged Teal X Cinnamon Teal. One can see a partial facial crescent, the white flank mark and spotting of a Blue-winged Teal on the hybrid. The top of the head is greenish on both birds shown here. I never noticed that on a male Cinnamon Teal before but it is there. Not the best of photos, the Ajo sewage ponds are a terrible place for photography. The birds are too far away and shooting is through a chain link fence, not a good combination.

I haven’t seen an Elf Owl for several years now, only because I haven’t looked. Last night I decided to go owling and found this Elf Owl. These owls are migratory, I’ve seen them as early as late March, they will get easier to find as the weather warms.

A crane fly on a fiddleneck plant. Nothing too special about either one, I just like the photo.

M94, sometimes called the Croc’s Eye Galaxy. I tried this years ago before I was guiding, the results were not very good. I also remember seeing that faint nebulosity surrounding the inner galaxy and thinking it must be some kind of processing artifact that I needed to get rid of. It is not, that is real. Rather than repeat everything known about this galaxy, you can read all about it HERE.

This is M109, a galaxy not far from M94, in Ursa Major. The most distant identifiable object in the image is the luminous galaxy SDSS J115722.65+531644.3, annotated in white. Its redshift indicates a distance of nearly 3.5 billion light years.

Known as the Umbrella Galaxy, NGC 4651 is in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. The name is due to the umbrella-shaped structure that extends from its disk. It is composed of stellar streams, the remnants of a much smaller galaxy that has been torn apart by NGC 4651’s tidal forces. I really had to push the processing to make that show up!

Astrophotography Birding Flowers and Plants Herps Photography

April in the Sonoran Desert

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 6, 2024
2 Comments on April in the Sonoran Desert

It has been a very cool spring. I actually had frost on the truck this morning! Normally by now we would be seeing highs in the low 90’s. It looks like that will be coming next week. The Ajo area got another inch of rain too. Birding is starting to pick up, just in the last few days, Franklin’s Gulls, Vaux’s Swift, Swainson’s Hawk, and lots of White-faced Ibis have been showing up. I have a lot of new photos to post.