Category: Birding

It’s Getting Hot!

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 5, 2021

I would like to leave pretty soon, it has been getting up near 100F yesterday and today. It should cool down now for a few days and that’s good because the truck has developed a problem, the check engine light came on. At NAPA they did a diagnostic that said it was an O2 sensor. NAPA can’t do it till week and I called the Ford dealer in Buckeye and they can’t do it till next Tuesday. So, I’m stuck. I can drive it to town and around the area, but if it gets worse I will have to park it and have it towed in, so I’m limiting the driving. No more driving around at night, that’s for sure!

I’ve managed a little astrophotography, but most nights I’ve been out photographing bats or looking for snakes. Here’s the Sombrero Galaxy with the C8, first time with guiding.

The Silver Streak Galaxy and neighbors. These galaxies are in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.

A very sharp shot of a Yuma Myotis getting a drink. The bat activity at Valentine Well has really dropped off but there are still quite a few of the smaller bats.

One of the few bat photos I’ve taken with the wings down.

The Great Horned Owls at the golf course are successfully raising their young. Light was pretty bad but it turned out OK.

Another angle on the nest with better light.

Vermilion Flycatcher. It is hard to pass up a good shot!

Birding Photography

New Birds and Some Old Birds

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date March 24, 2021

The numbers of birds isn’t going up much but it seems there is something new almost everyday now. A big windy storm system is moving through tomorrow and I am hopeful that will really pick things up. It looks like a big warm up for next week so maybe the herps will finally start to move too. I just hope it doesn’t get so hot I have to leave!

My first Western Kingbird of the spring.

A Townsend’s Solitaire at Bud Walker Park.

Male Northern Harrier at the golf course. This was a terrible photo, taken in very poor light, but a little Photoshop work and it looks presentable.

A pair of ravens are building a new nest at the golf course.

A Bendire’s Thrasher at Bud Walker Park. A pretty rare bird in this part of Arizona.

Well, I said in my last post that there was nothing I could do about the background in this photo, but I messed around with it in Photoshop and I guess there is something I can do about it. Anyway, that ugly metal rim is gone!

Astrophotography Birding

Wilson’s Warbler

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date March 13, 2021

It must have been a pretty boring birding winter if a Wilson’s Warbler seems exciting. Yesterday, I actually saw around a dozen of them in a wooded area behind the Ajo tennis courts. They were very busy feeding and not paying much attention to me, so were easy to photograph. The weather has been pretty bad for astrophotography, so it appears that most of this new moon period is not going to be productive. At least we finally got some rain, about .15 inch according to the Ajo weather station. It is cold and windy today.

I got my covid vaccine on Thursday here at the local clinic. They just got a supply of the Johnson and Johnson one shot vaccine, so I’m done with that. I didn’t notice much for side effects, I felt a little tired and achy, but that went away by the next day. I am sure glad to have that done!

Male Wilson’s Warbler. I was pretty excited to see so many yesterday.

Here’s a side view of another one on a Palo Verde branch. They were very actively feeding and easy to approach.

Here’s another galaxy from a few nights ago. M95 is found in the constellation Leo and is about 33 million light years from Earth. Unlike most galaxies, it seems to harbor more yellow stars in the outer limits of the system.

Birding Herps Photography

Full Moon Days

Nothing going on here for astrophotography, the moon is too bright. Birding is still very slow and in my walks around the desert I’m not finding many flowers or butterflies. All in all, not much going on. At least the weather is nice. Many of the campers have left now, the campground is very quiet again.

While hiking out by Valentine Well I came across this homemade grave marker. I’m not sure what Quate means, it could be cuate, which can mean brother or friend in Spanish. I suppose Francisco was another immigrant looking for a better life.

A Harris’s Antelope Ground Squirrel feeding on something. Like chipmunks and Red Squirrels, hard to pass up.

It is hard to find anything new to photograph, so here’s another Common Side-blotched Lizard in breeding colors.

I found this Wilson’s Snipe this morning, at the golf course. It was probing in the soft soil around a leaking pipe. It let me get pretty close. Not very often one can find one of these out in the open like this.

Birding Photography

Catching Up With Some Photos

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date February 10, 2021

I haven’t been taking many photos other than astrophography for a couple of weeks now. So, the new ones have just been sitting in the camera until today. It looks like I might have one or two more good nights for astrophotography then it is back to looking for birds or anything else that is interesting. It is beginning to feel like spring and apparently ducks feel the same way as some new species showed up today at the pond, including some Northern Pintails, Cinnamon Teal, and Gadwall. The question is: are they moving back north or moving south from the bitter cold? Looking at the weather back in South Dakota, I’m sure glad I’m here! Some of the desert vegetation is starting to green up now, but more rain is needed.

A Cactus Wren that hopped up on a rock, too close to even get the whole bird in the frame.

I was at Gillespie Dam about a week ago. It was nice to see some new water (besides the Ajo sewage ponds) and some new birds. I liked how this Green Heron is framed in the opening in the wall.

While hiking along Ten-mile Wash, I came across this rock pile and started noticing petroglyphs. This one is apparently snakes and maybe indicates that this rock pile was a snake den. Who knows?

Another petroglyph, obviously a Saguaro.

Birding Photography

Red Phalarope at Ajo

The big excitement of the past few days has been a Red Phalarope that showed up on the Ajo Sewage Ponds. I found it late Tuesday afternoon and got the word out, but it was too late for birders from the Tucson area to come over. The following morning was cold, 28 degrees at my campsite. I got to the pond before sunrise. Roger Clark and Linda Birkel were already there and Brian Nicholas showed up right after I got there. It finally got light enough to see, but no Red Phalarope could be found. Discouraged, we decided to go check on the Long-eared Owls in the thicket. There were still a few there and a Barn Owl too. Then back to the pond but still no phalarope. About then Roger checked his messages. Quite amazingly, another Red Phalarope had been found at Canoa, south of Tucson. They all piled into their cars and took off. And they all got that one.

Red Phalarope in winter plumage. Quite rare inland and especially in the Sonoran Desert. This is the first record of the species at Ajo.

There are lots of White-throated Swifts at the pond. I keep trying to get good photos of them but it is hard.

Western Meadowlark at the golf course. This was one of the rare times when I could get close to them with the sun behind me.

Birding Photography

Finally, Some Rain!

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date January 21, 2021

It started yesterday as forecasted and last night it rained fairly steady for several hours. Although the weather station in Ajo said only .21 inches, I’m sure more rain than that fell where I am. It is pretty soggy out there. I went to the golf course and there was standing water in many places. The forecast is for even more rain next week. I watched the rain develop on radar and it appears that Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument got a good drenching as did most of the Sonoran Desert. So far, the rain has made no difference for birding, there still isn’t much to see.

I haven’t seen many Sage Thrashers this winter and this is the first one I could get a good photo of since I left Granite Gap last fall. I followed it around for awhile till it hopped up on this branch.

A juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk that was on the hunt and ruining my birding at the golf course.

Astrophotography Birding Photography

A Little Rain and More Photos

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date December 10, 2020

Finally, some rain. Last night a thundershower moved through and it rained hard for about 30 seconds. There was a little more rain overnight but altogether it didn’t add up to much, I suspect about .1 inch. I need to get a rain gauge, I guess. There is a weather station in town but it has been offline for a few days now, so it is not very reliable. Not much for new birds in the area. I have been getting some very nice photos at the golf course.

My favorite new photo, a Cedar Waxwing displaying the red, waxy tips of the secondary feathers. Here’s a link to good article about those red waxy feather tips.

Another Western Bluebird feeding in the palms. They let me get very close.

A Long-eared Owl in The Thicket. This would be a very nice photo if it weren’t for that stick in front of the owl’s face. It is very difficult to get any clear shots, or for that matter any shots at all. They are like ghosts in the trees. It is impossible to sneak up on them, they know I’m there, it is just a matter of seeing them before they fly. They have excellent camouflage and are masters at finding a roost where I can’t see them.

Another shot of the Hepatic Tanager, probably the best photo I have so far. Notice the notched tanager bill, diagnostic.

I saw this Sharp-shinned Hawk soaking its feet in the community pool at Bud Walker Park. I was able to get very close but had to shoot through a woven wire fence. It still came out pretty good.

M77, Cetus A, a galaxy in the constellation Cetus. This galaxy has a very bright core surrounded by a very faint layer of stars and dust. This adds up to a difficult exposure job. Charles Messier and William Herschel described this galaxy as a star cluster in 1780, but now we know M77 is a galaxy.

I’d like to put more time on this, maybe tonight. On the other hand, I’m about ready to put to 500 f4 on the mount and shoot some nebulas for a change.

Birding Photography

Ajo Update

Nothing much new here. The big excitement lately has been a McCown’s Longspur at the golf course. Mark Otnes saw it first, yesterday morning, just before I got there. We had planned to go to Alamo Canyon later, but he found this longspur first and we spent more time on it than planned. Alamo Canyon turned out to be dry and not very birdy anyway. This is the first record of McCown’s Longspur in the Ajo area and for the most part, the entire Sonoran Desert. There are more records in Arizona east of Tuscon and in northern Arizona.

The full moon is finally fading and I should be doing astro again, probably starting tomorrow night. Looks like a series of clear nights coming up too.