It was a warm day, up near 90 F., so I decided to check Valentine Well for bat activity. It still is cooling down at night a little too much for good insect and bat activity, but at Valentine Well, there were lots of bats shortly after sunset. It is probably the only source of water for miles in any direction, since all of the ponds and natural tanks are dry. This is what I need, lots of bats, so I get lots of shots and then hope for a few good ones. Bats tripped the laser trigger 33 times and I got at least two very good images.
Unknown species of Myotis. Another pretty good shot but not quite sharp. Almost, but not quite. Yuma Myotis.From a few nights ago, M106, in Ursa Major. First time shooting this galaxy now that I’m guiding. M13, the Great Cluster in Hercules. Imaged with the C8 and guiding.
This turned out about perfect for photography. The moon was rising over the Batamote Mountains but the sun was still up in the west. No bracketing, HDR, or other usual methods of combining overexposed and underexposed images were needed. Just the standard photoshop routine and this is what I got. Something I’d like to try is shooting the Andromeda Galaxy in a similar setting. If we could actually see the Andromeda Galaxy in its actual size, it would be 4 or 5 times wider than the full moon. It is too faint for our eyes but if I can photograph it setting behind the mountains here, it might be a nice image. I may be able to do that tomorrow night if I can find the right location. Timing and location will be important! Right now the galaxy is setting in the west from 9-10 PM but the moon comes up about 9:30 PM.
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. Probing for earthworms.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
McCown’s Longspur (now called the Thick-billed Longspur) in winter plumage. A very rare bird in this part of the world. My annual photo of a Black-throated Sparrow, this one on an Ocotillo stem. Gilded Flicker. This bird was feeding on palm berries and landed on this branch with soft light and the sun behind me, very close, which makes for a nice image. Probably the best photo I have of this species. Here it is again, on the palm. Male Mountain Bluebird on the golf course green at sunrise. It was 32 F. this morning, kind of chilly. I can add Western Bluebird to my list of birds photographed eating palm berries. An out of season Hepatic Tanager at the golf course. Very unusual this late in the fall. One of six Long-eared Owls I found in The Thicket a few days ago. Another coyote that I got very close to.
With astrophotography going away for awhile it is time to start focusing the camera on wildlife again.
A Cedar Waxwing feeding on palm berries. Another Summer Tanager. In all the time I have spent in Ajo I’ve never seen a Summer Tanager here until this fall. This fall I have seen three different Summer Tanagers. A Townsend’s Solitaire in Bud Walker Park. One of my favorite birds, I can never pass up a good shot, although the light was not very good in this situation, Photoshop saved the day. A Variegated Meadowhawk on a nice perch. It let me get very close too.
For the past several days, I’ve been lugging the 500 f4 with a 1.4 teleconverter (700mm focal length) on a tripod. Why? It is so heavy that I don’t like to carry it much, like I used to do. But, I wanted some better images of the Varied Thrush and the Rufous-backed Robin and 400mm focal length just isn’t enough. I’ve had some luck with the Varied Thrush but the Rufous-backed Robin has been hard to find. While carrying that combo around, I’ve had some other good photo opportunities and the results are so good, I will probably keep using the 500 f4, for awhile at least.
I now have lots of nice images of the Varied Thrush. Eastern Phoebe getting a drink. Female Red-shafted Flicker feeding on palm berries. And a male doing the same. This coyote has been eating palm berries too, off the ground. It spends a lot of time around the pond at the golf course. Here it is again, looking for trouble or maybe just looking something to eat beside palm berries.The coyote would find this a tasty meal if it could catch it. This is a Botta’s Pocket Gopher, the only species of pocket gopher found here. I just happened to see it pushing dirt out of its burrow. A hybrid Red-naped/Red-Breasted Sapsucker. A typical Red-naped Sapsucker would have a black band under the red throat, while a Red-breasted would much more red on the head and breast. Female Cassin’s Finch getting a drink from a puddle.
All of the photos shown above were taken with the Canon 500 f4 lens with a 1.4 teleconverter. As always, right click on an image to open in a new tab for a larger image.
