We have finally made it back home from our winter migration to Arizona. This was a first for us this year as we usually make our way to south Texas. Not our most memorable trip by any means as the cold decided to chase us all the way there and then quickly caught back up to us on our way back. Not sure I can blame that on Arizona, although for two years in a row Linda has caught Covid in the week heading into a planned trip out there. We have decided it cursed! Not all disappointing. Hiking the Arizona mountains was a lot of fun, new birds added to the life list, a new RV for Linda and I had the opportunity to spend my birthday in Vegas. Suspect back to Texas next winter, but we’ll possibly take another trip out to Arizona later in the year to give it a fair chance. Oh, worst part is I managed to catch some wicked crud in Las Cruces on the way back and now having to deal with that crap.
Before getting into today’s featured feathered friend, a quick self-pat on the back. January officially kicked off my 17th year of blogging here at Intrigued.
Time has certainly flown by along with all the features we try and bring you each and every month. A big thank you to Brad and his staff (Jan and Allyson) that have shared their stories these last couple of years bringing new sights and wildlife species to the Intrigued story. Will continue to have more posts coming from that team. Extending our appreciation to the behind the scenes Intrigued staff that make this machine hum and especially to all our readers who make this effort so enjoyable. Raise your glasses to an exciting 17th year and beyond!
Okay, enough of the self-praising, let’s get to today’s featured feathered friend.
Hit the jump to read more about our yellow-eyed friend.
Brad is continuing to hold down the Intrigued HQ back home while we are officially on our way back from or winter migration (much to the chagrin of our nefarious legal department). Honestly, I am not sure it was a true “migration” in the sense the cold weather followed us nearly the entire way and now, still days from home, we are once again in freezing temps. I suspect Linda will quickly put an end to any future discussion of going back to Arizona in the Winter. The good news is there is plenty of new birds in the tin for future posts. I am also excited about getting back so I can officially kick off the ’24 running season – legs getting lazy. While we calculate the best timeframe to slip back in IL, Brad is going to take us along on another of his Colorado adventures.
Take it away Brad…
Normally these pages are filled with rare, exotic, or extremely colorful birds. This time I decided to focus (pun intended) on a bird we probably all overlook. You’ve probably seen them hopping around everywhere you go, but like me, you probably just ignore them.
Jan and I had just left the lofty Rockies (above 9,000 feet) and the freezing temps (check out that story here) for the rather warm plains of eastern Colorado (6,000 feet and nearly 80F) and the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge (RFNWR). Did you catch the irony in the name? Usually the word “Rocky” conjures up images of snow-covered peaks soaring towards the stratosphere. The word “rocky” isn’t usually associated with the word “flat”. But that’s just what the organizers decided to do for this particular location. Sort of like “jumbo shrimp” or “military intelligence”, “Rocky Flats” seems to be an oxymoron itself.
On the same day we encountered the Western Meadowlark (link here), this sinister looking character was hanging around the parking lot.
If that look hasn’t scared you, hit the jump to read more about this “commoner”.
Well, I can officially say this has been one … let’s go with “intriguing” snowbird migration. It started with dragging the Midwest winter temps with us all the way to Arizona. We were finally able to de-winterize in Tucson making for some very cold walks to the bathroom/shower houses practically all the way down. Finally got a day when I could shed the coat and walk around in a t-shirt and then the rains came in – so frustrating. Decided to head up to Vegas and spend my birthday in style. There were a number of my favorite birding places in the area and worst case we could seek shelter from the wet stuff in the casinos. All was going quite swimmingly until the day after my celebration Linda made a declaration “I’m done with taking sitting showers!”. For context, we own a Class-B Pleasureway – been living the van life for many years. The parent company of the dealership we bought our two models happens to be based in Vegas. I think this was all a clever plan by Linda crafted long before we ever left home. Remember that “stranded in Vegas with good issues” comment in a previous post, the “own” a Class-B is officially “owned” and replaced with a B+/C- with a full shower. Linda has spoken ha! This ended up extending our stay in Vegas several days to get all the t’s crossed and then opted to stay more days to get familiar with it while being close to the dealership if something needed to be addressed. I am currently relaxing in a recliner typing this post as we drive down US 10. At some point I will have to confess to her she made the right decision (if my current smile doesn’t give it away first), but for now I think I’ll leverage it by guilting her into extra birding trips and fuel supporting this year’s ultra races. Birding has been pretty good, although not nearly as productive as our Texas trips. Currently at 127 which is over 50 birds down from last year at this point. Hoping to make that back up when we head down there in the Spring. Being that we are currently driving through Arizona, decided to go with a bird most of my readers are very familiar with.
Hit the jump to read more about the birding world’s Flash.
A big howdy from Vegas my friends! It has been an exhausting month of birding (so far) full of new lifers that are sure to make their way to you once .. or should I say if we ever make it home. We were supposed to be on our way back already, but unfortunately, we are stuck in Las Vegas.. who am I kidding, there are worse places to be held up than the Sin City. For the record, the Sphere is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. I’ll give more details on our unexpected situation in a later post when we get everything straightened out – we might have to find a Conestoga wagon to get back home. Meanwhile, Brad is going to jump in and entertain you with another one of his Cali adventures.
Take it away Brad…
When wandering through a forest of Giant Sequoia trees it’s best to keep looking . . . down. Yes, that’s right. Down. Oh, I get it. These trees are magnificent. And very, very, very tall. However, they don’t move, except for a tiny bit near the tops. Have you ever heard the stories about penguins tipping over looking up at airplanes as they flew over? Probably pure bunk, but that’s what I felt like trying to see the tops of the Giant Sequoia from near their base. Even though the trees are unquestionably tall, the real action is down below, on the forest floor. This is a birding blog after all.
Having said that, photographing birds on the ground isn’t always exciting. Unless you come across a new species, or variant, you have not seen before. That’s exactly what happened to Jan and I at Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. As I mentioned earlier, we did go to see the trees, all 250+ feet of them. But when something small and greyish/brownish catches your eye, birders are obligated to take photos, normally a lot of photos.
Near every path Jan and I hiked through the Giant Sequoia forests, this little bird was hopping in the undergrowth.
Hit the jump to learn more about this hooded feathered find.
By the time you read this post I will officially be another year older, another year’s worth of wear on the body (actually more like 3 years based on the long injury tab) and hopefully another year wiser. All in all, I can’t complain. No longer in the corporate grinder, get to spend each day with someone who deserves better and my days are filled with activities that make me want to get up the next morning and do them all again. Life is good. This is also the first year I have been able to celebrate my special day in Vegas! Going to get a head start on that wear and tear for the year ha. Being in the city of lights, thought I would go with a fitting neon colored specimen from the birding world for today’s featured feathered friend.
How is that for an orange Lite-Brite peg (if anyone remembers what that toy was).
Hit the jump to see a few more shots and learn a bit more about our Halloween inspired bird.
I need a word with the individual who turned off the heat in Arizona – we are NOT amused. We expect to get snow at home (and they ARE), but Ron and I have already birded in a snow shower down here and now 12 days into our migration, yet to wear a T-shirt much less a pair of shorts. The bright spot is we are getting looks at some good birds. Ron is at 106, I am at 100 species in the young year, which includes 6 lifers for me and 12 for my brother. That is plenty of great fodder for future posts. Meanwhile, Brad is going to take over while we get ready to move to our next basecamp (please be warmer, please be warmer!!). Take care everyone and for those stuck back at Intrigued HQ…throw and extra log on the fire (high is looking like 2 degrees (F) BELOW zero next week).
Take it away Brad…
It is Day One of our Southwest National Park Tour. Jan and I flew into Las Vegas and rented a car to drive to SoCal to experience a few National Parks. After all, we have the National Parks Annual Pass and want to wring every cent out of it. Truthfully, there isn’t much to see between Las Vegas and where we stayed in Fresno, CA. Unless you like desert scenes, Joshua trees, and gigantic citrus orchards as far as the eye can see. Anyone ever enjoyed Cuties or Halos? They are called mandarin oranges, or clementines, depending on where you live. The orchards where they are grown, and the “factory” that packages them, went on for miles. While those are enjoyable, for a few miles, we travelled to see mountains and trees and wildlife.
After a restful night, Jan and I drove to see Kings Canyon National Park at nearly first light. I was prepared for some very twisty-turny roads on the way to the park, and I wasn’t disappointed. However, the entrance was near the beginning of the curvy roads so I didn’t have to endure very many switchbacks. We arrived at Kings Canyon very early. How early was it? (remember the show Match Game from the 1970’s?) It was so early, the ranger stations at the entrance weren’t staffed yet. I still flashed our National Parks Annual Pass just in case there was a camera inside checking out cars and license plates on the way in. Kings Canyon is known for, well, a canyon. A very nice canyon to be sure. It is also known for some of the largest trees (by volume) in the world, the Giant Sequoia. Coastal Redwoods are certainly taller, by almost 100 feet, but are spindly in comparison to the Giant Sequoia trees.
On our way to see the General Grant Tree (268 feet tall), something caught our eye. As Jan and I wandered down the trail to see the General, there was a brilliant flash of yellow in the undergrowth. Keep in mind, we are just outside the parking lot where Giant Sequoia “seedlings” were towering over us (see Notes below). I had a hard time wrapping my mind around something so large when I’m used to oak or maple trees topping out at 50-75 feet tall after a hundred years or more; a Giant Sequoia is just getting started at that age. I also realized that by days end my neck would be stuck in the “looking straight up” position. Or normally what happens to me when we fly discounted seats and the headrest only hits the middle of my neck.
There was the flash again, hiding in a bunch of brambles near the base of a Sequoia, the tree not an SUV of the same name. Jan had the medium length zoom on her camera while I only had the short range zoom in hopes of being able to capture an entire tree in one photo. My camera setup was useless for something so small. Jan started snapping away and was able to capture the bright yellow flash.
Hit the jump to reveal the source of the bright yellow flash!
UPDATE: Thanks to the keen eye and birding expertise of Ted Jennings (link here), I’ve learned something new as a result of this post. My original identification of this post’s featured feathered friend was an immature Little Blue Heron. This was based on the overall white coloring, dark legs and the two toned bill…and not seeing the markers for the other options pointed out in the original post. Ted brought up the possibility of something I had not considered, the much rarer white morph of the Reddish Egret. They have very similar markings to the immature Little Blue, but are a bit larger and more distinctly have, a “shaggy” feathering on their head and neck. That fits my specimen perfectly! Updated my post accordingly – THANK YOU TED!! It is a good day whenever I can grow my birding knowledge.
Greetings everyone! I have been a bit out of pocket since we started or migration south just before the start of the New Year. Always a hassle to get from overnight camp to the next stop and then the connectivity can be sketchy, although, admittedly I must admit, Internet access via phone or local Wi-Fi is much better than just a few years ago. Guessing a surprise benefit of the Covid years. From the trip perspective, we have been lucky enough to meet up with some friends of ours who moved out to Benson, AZ. Always good to catch up on the latest activities in person – novel idea eh? (for the record, I am NOT a Facebook user). Birding has also been good, now up 67 birds for our Average Year ’24 which includes 5 lifers so far – that means 5 more posts coming out say sometime in late 2027 hehehe. Some of us at Intrigued have an embarrassing large backlog. There has been one glaring negative to this point (and likely to carry well into next week)…IT’S COLD! I know, shocking to hear someone from the Midwest say that in January, but remember we travel south to get away from the heartland tundra. We are not ruling out that we were voodoo cursed while in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl back in 2002. Ever since then, we have brought unseasonably cold weather to whatever destination we vacation – just ask Texas about the ice storm they had a few years back. So far we have just missed snow in New Mexico and bracing for freezing temps the next couple of nights here in Arizona ugh. It is what it is, but the birds have still been active and my brother Ron is flying down here today to add to his checklist – writing this post as we wait for his flight to arrive.
To warm up a bit, thought I would feature an encounter from last year’s human migration.
Hit the jump to see a few more shots of this “Electric Blue”.
January is the time when the word Midwest becomes Latin for “find your mittens”. Lucky for us, some Mesopotamian genius in the 4th millennium solved this problem by strategically placing a sturdy stick between two cylindrical objects and soon after, “Snowbirds” was being etched on cave walls. Of course, now we have fancy glamping portable homes sitting on those rolling contraptions making this human migration far more pleasant. Pleasant being a relative word as our annual trek hasn’t exactly gone as planned. We go south to shed the layers of clothing, this year we are adding them thanks to a band of frigid air riding shotgun to Arizona – and now we might be greeted with the fluffy white crap looming near week’s end. Damn you Mr. Snow Miser (link here)! While we get this setback sorted out, Brad is going to jump in and bring us his first post of the new year. Let’s hope he found his mittens.
Welcome to 2024 Brad, take it away…
As birders all know, the little birds are the hardest to catch successfully. They blend into the trees. Little birds tend to be spastic. But they have some great calls and fantastic colors. Little birds are also very rewarding if you are able to capture photographs of them sitting still for a millisecond, or 1/1000th of a second for those thinking in photographic terms.
Todays’ three subjects have similar calls, but they are different enough to get your attention and all come from different parts of the country
Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) have a three- or four-toned call with different notes. The three-note call (Chick-a-dee) has the first note being the highest, the second a fifth lower and the third up a half-tone from the first (sounds like the last three notes from Close Encounters). Their four-note call (Chick-a-dee-dee) is a series of two notes repeated, but about a half octave apart. Most of the Black-caps near us use the three-note version, and this one from our back yard in central Illinois is no exception. This is the first bird call our daughter Allyson learned to recognize and tried to imitate when she was about four years old.
Hit the jump to learn more about the Black-capped’s kinfolk.
Best Wishes for a very happy New Year Everyone! This morning I was thinking to myself how overjoyed I was to finally close the door on this current year. According to a site I was reading regarding Chinese astrology, the year 2023 was supposed to be the “worst luck” for anyone born in the year of the Rooster, Horse, Rat or Rabbit. Immediate assumption – I was a Rabbit. Looking back on it, this past year lived up to that prediction. Up to this point in my running career, I had made it to every single starting line. Banged up at times, feeling under the weather, sure, but my ass was on that line to let the chips fall as they may. That streak was ended thanks to the “root of all evil” (as Tim over at Off Center & Not Even has accurately coined it) and a devilspawn tree. The 50K ultra trail race lost and still doing nightly therapy to try and get the broken elbow back to something closer to pre-break mobility. Then managed to blow my back out the day before the 50 mile ultra race. More recently, for the second year in the row we planned to head out to Arizona only to have Linda come down sick the day before. Canceled it last December and had to delay our departure this year. As I began to mentally list all the shortfalls for the year I started visualizing giant ears, button nose and those monster feet of the Nevada Jackrabbit.
Then I stopped and smiled – because that is EXACTLY what you do when you encounter one of those absolutely adorable creatures. My outlook changed immediately and a flood of counter offers came flooding in.
Hit the jump if you need a shot of cuteness to right any frowns.
Life Intrigued 