I left Pierre yesterday and drove out to my “quiet spot” a few miles southwest of Jewel Cave National Monument. It is certainly quiet compared to Pierre! There is a large expanse of native prairie to the south and west and after the recent rains the prairie flowers are blooming in abundance. The most abundant right now is Death Camas but there are many other species, too many to list and photograph them all. I will show a few in this post and more later.
I’m back in Pierre. Actually, I’ve been here over a week now. The first few days were cold and wet but pretty good for birding, as lots of migrants were forced to land. As it was in Arizona, rain is needed here too. On the way up here, I stopped in a BLM campground near Datil, New Mexico. It is the Datil Well Campground and I plan to spend more time there on the way back to Arizona. Very nice area for astrophotography and the birding is pretty good too. I had read about this campground before but the reviews all said there was no phone service/internet. However, I found that some campsites do have service, good enough for email, news and weather, anyway.
It is sure good to see lots of birds again! I’ve been at Patton’s Hummingbird Center in Patagonia three times now and today is the first time I saw any Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. Apparently the numbers are down. I discovered that there are three feeders on the property (in the northwest corner) that do have Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. I never saw any on the rest of the property. The place is alive with other birds, too many species to list here. Lots of birders too.
I think I will leave tomorrow and drive to Silver City. I could stay here a long time but it is time to head north. Had a nice rain yesterday and the plant response to it was rapid, things are greening up. There was a dusting of snow on the Santa Ritas but it didn’t last long.
I left Ajo on Sunday morning and drove to the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, near Sonoita. I’ve stayed here many times, it is free, quiet, and usually good birding. Like most everywhere else in Arizona, it is very dry. There is still water in the spring though and the cottonwoods are leafed out and green. The uplands are dry and brown. Had a nice rain this afternoon and now the forecast is for a low of 35F tonight! I would not be surprised to see some snow on the mountains in the morning.
Today Mark Otnes and I birded around Patagonia Lake where we had some good luck with a Least Tern.
A couple of days ago, while birding in my warbler hotspot, I came around a bend and suddenly caught the eyes of a Bobcat looking at me from a big mesquite tree. It was close but it just stayed there and watched me. I took some photos and backed away. Later I came back and it was gone.
At the ponds, the latest excitement has been two Semipalmated Sandpipers, a Red-breasted Merganser and two Red-necked Phalaropes.
The weather has been a little on the hot side but not too bad. My opportunities for astrophotography have been limited due to clouds and wind. Still no rain at all. The few areas that have got some water (mostly due to being watered or from runoff from paved streets) have been producing some birds. Tomorrow I have an appointment at Jones Ford in Buckeye to see what I need to do about the check engine light. I hope that doesn’t take too long.
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 been going out to Valentine Well every night. Last night it was very slow so I guess I hit a peak period for awhile. Bats only tripped the trigger 5 times, on my best night the trigger was tripped 68 times. I will try again in a few days, tonight I’m going snake hunting.
I saw fresh Mountain Lion tracks at the well yesterday, they weren’t there the day before! I was hoping it would come back for a drink but I didn’t see it.
I went back to Valentine Well last night. I got set up for an evening of bat photography and tried a little different arrangement, hoping to get shots of bats flying straight toward the camera. I had little idea that this would be the best night of bat shooting I’ve ever had! I got at least three species and maybe four. Best of all, I finally got a good shot of a Townsend’s Big-eared Bat. I got one last spring but it was out of focus just enough to make it a photo I didn’t really want to show anyone. Anyway, it was fun and I will back out there tonight. I have some ideas on how improve and will see if they work.
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!
