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The first part of March was very birdy for us. Returning from running errands one afternoon we noticed some odd shapes in the desert scrub of an abandoned field. Intrigued, we turned around and drove slowly by the spot again. We were thrilled when we realized our funny shapes were actually Burrowing Owls. The next day we drove by, only this time we brought a camera. As its name implies this owl nests in the ground and not being good diggers they rely on pre-dug holes. In an odd relationship, Burrowing Owls often take over holes dug by ground squirrels, which the owl generally does not to eat. They were our first Burrowing Owls ever, and even better, we discovered them ourselves!

We followed our owl photo-op up with a quick tour around Sweetwater Wetlands. We didn’t spot any new species but we were treated to some interesting Cactus Wren behavior. One was determinedly trying to dislodge an American Kestrel who had taken up watch on a nearby power pole. The wren squawked, flapped, darted, hissed and made a general fool of itself, but to no avail. The kestrel hardly even blinked. Undeterred the wren continued its barrage of insults and obnoxious behavior, finally hopping close enough to the kestrel’s tail to make the larger bird move. Obviously annoyed by the wren the kestrel cast a wary eye in our direction before flying off in disgust. Score one for the wren!

Our time at Sweetwater paled in comparison to our trip to Madera Canyon. Lance and I had been to Madera once before but it wasn’t to bird, it was to hike. It was so long ago that we were just dating at the time! Since then we have picked up the contagious disease known as birding. I even know where we became infected—it was Texas, the winter of 2006-2007. We were on Galveston Island visiting our fellow RVer friends, Karen and Rich. Between the bird life on the island and a trip to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, we were hooked. A few weeks later we camped at Goose Island State Park and that’s where we met Nancy and Denny. They took us to see our first heron fly-out (while diurnal herons and egrets were flying in to the marshy area to roost, night-herons were rousing themselves for their evening of foraging).

The Gulf Coast of Texas would get anyone hooked on birding—there are exotic-looking birds on every shoreline. Some big, some small, of all colors of the rainbow—including even some pink ones—and many of them are easy to spot. Since then we’ve been fortunate to visit quite a few refuges and other birding hotspots. Ironically, one of those hotspots, Madera Canyon, happens to be just 40 miles south of our home of many years, Tucson. When we lived here we didn’t have the time nor inclination to go birding—but now we have a little more of both.

We headed down to Madera Canyon at the urging of our birding friends, Denny and Nancy. They are spending the winter in Green Valley and will head back to western Massachusetts only after all the snow melts. They are both avid birders and they spend quite a bit of time up in the canyon, so we were thrilled to have them as our guides for the day. Located on the north side of the Santa Rita Mountains the Madera Canyon Recreational Area is a riparian ribbon that attracts not only humans but a wide range of animal life. The diversity of the flora (from arid grasslands to mesquite to juniper to oak to pine) along with the presence of water explains why so many species find the ravine enticing. Well over 200 avian species have been recorded in Madera including the Elegant Trogon (which we hoped to see).

Since we arrived at our meeting spot early, Lance and I had a few minutes to admire our surroundings. Looking west our eyes followed the rolling, grass-covered foothills down to the line of green that marks the path of the once-flowing Santa Cruz River. Continuing west, the valley was dominated by a flat-topped, man-made mountain (the tailings pile from the Sierrita Mine) until the Baboquivari Mountains came into view.

Turning around, the Santa Ritas towered overhead; Mt. Wrightson is the highest point in all of Tucson’s five mountain ranges with an elevation of 9,453’. (Briefly about names, madera means wood in Spanish. Apparently the canyon earned the name since it provided material needed to build the fledgling town of Tucson. As for Wrightson, it was named in honor of William Wrightson, an early resident of the area who was killed by Apaches in 1860.)

Nancy and Denny arrived right on time and our birding adventure began without delay. Grabbing our bins (and my camera) we headed first to the water’s edge. The canyon was filled with bird chatter and we quickly identified quite a few of the area’s more common feathered residents; Verdin, Orange-crowned Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Canyon Towhee, Bewick’s Wren, Black Phoebe, and Northern Cardinal. A small flycatcher defied identification, though we all hoped it was a Gray. Especially Nancy, since it would have been a “lifer” for her. (Later my low-quality photos did provide enough evidence that it was indeed a Gray Flycatcher.)

Most avid birders (the preferred term since it includes using other senses than just sight as implied by the label birdwatcher) keep what’s called a life list, carefully documenting every avian species they have ever encountered. Some birders are content to note what they see in their backyards while others actively seek out birding hotspots and still others, called twitchers, travel the globe at the drop of a hat to pick up a Mega (a very rare species). It is estimated that there are close to 10,000 bird species in the world and only a handful of people have marked off over 7,000 from their life lists. I found it interesting that several of them died tragic deaths while in pursuit of lifers. It helps put our life list in perspective, if we happen to see a new species great, if not, it’s not worth dying over.

Continuing upstream we came upon a small group of fellow “bird brains” carefully watching the feeders at one of the privately-owned lodges in the canyon. Within moments we spotted Dark-eyed Juncos, Mexican Blue Jays, Pine Siskins, Lesser Goldfinches, Acorn Woodpeckers, Painted Redstarts, a Magnificent Hummingbird, an Anna’s Hummingbird, a Broad-billed Hummingbird, a Bridled Titmouse, a White-breasted Nuthatch, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow! By lunchtime we added Wild Turkeys, a Red-naped Sapsucker, Chipping Sparrows and a White-tailed Deer to our species list.

Our picnic table talk mostly centered on birds with Nancy explaining that the best is yet to come: in April migration will start in earnest and Madera will host many new species, if only briefly. Lunch over, we picked another location to bird. This time we found both a male and a female Arizona Woodpecker (our first). The male, with his red head, was barely visible off in the distance but the female was working on a sycamore nearby. We watched as she pushed her beak under the loose outer bark of the tree, flicking off chunks in search of bugs. Distinctly plumaged Arizona Woodpeckers, which are native to their namesake state and northern Sonora, are the only brown woodpeckers in the U.S.

It was mid-afternoon by the time we drove north on our way home. It had been a beautiful and productive day in the canyon; we spotted some interesting birds and enjoyed our visit with Nancy and Denny. A few days later we were again in the car heading south to bird. This time we were accompanied by Will, a respected birder who has led birding tours worldwide. Just as we do whenever we are in the presence of birders with far more skill and experience (such as Will, Nancy, and Denny), we pay special attention to their techniques and explanations. These are the times when the information in our field guide pales in comparison.

The trip to Patagonia with Will was of special interest to us since we recently birded there by ourselves. What a difference! Will could identify birds by their plumage, their shape, their food source, their calls, and their actions. Beyond that he could not only tell the sex but also the age of many of the birds—amazing! He was clearly an expert. From the time he was six years old he knew what he wanted to do with his life: study birds. Thankfully, Will was patient with us amateurs, taking the time to explain field marks and other telling characteristics.

Will confirmed our guesses from our earlier visit of both a Gray and an Ash-throated Flycatcher. They were in the same trees and were, in all likelihood, the same birds. Will picked out a Lesser Scaup on the lake and pointed out a Northern Beardless-tyrannulet, Plumbeous Vireo, Bushtit, and Wilson’s Snipe. During our tramp around the lake we were treated to the in-mid-air mating display of a Cooper’s Hawk and the low, coo-coo mating call of the Greater Roadrunner. Spring was in the air. We also noticed a Garter Snake, an Ornate Tree Lizard, and several (non-native and ecosystem disrupting) Bullfrogs. Frog legs anyone?

On our way back through the small community of Patagonia Will took us to Paton’s. The Patons have been feeding birds for years and they generously open up their backyard so fellow birders can appreciate their feathered friends. The seed feeders weren’t overly busy, mostly goldfinches and siskins, and the hummingbird feeders were also mostly empty. Of the several hummingbirds zipping around there was one standout: our first Violet-crowned. He was so showy, his all-white breast and bright headdress. Wow! What a spectacular note to end the day on.

Towards the end of the week we were again wandering the paths at Sweetwater, this time in the presence of Nancy and Denny. They were in Tucson for an appointment so we met up for a bit o’ birding. Since it was close to mid-day most of the birds were quiet. The excitement of the afternoon was provided by a Peregrine Falcon who circled high overhead, perhaps looking for a morsel of duck. Somewhere in the middle of all this birdy-ness we found time to work and visit with family. Good times, good times…

Photos: View the accompanying photographs to We Love You, Birdy.