Back South through Utah and Nevada

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

It was still early enough to have time for a quick loop around Bear River NWR, but nothing really notable presented itself. I ended up sleeping in a WalMart parking lot, which some allow, but I've noticed that more are forbidding this simple hospitality, even when the stores are open all night. And I always go in and spend some money.

Wednesday, May 19

Since it was still winter in the Uintas, and I still couldn't hook up with my friend in Park City, I just decided to head directly back into Nevada and hit some of the eastern and southern sites that had been skipped on the first pass. Quick means five or six hours of driving on secondary highways, which aren't really direct routes. Goal was Great Basin National Park, and I started at the south end along Snake Creek Road. Added quite a few tics, I show 71 species (not all new) for the 19th and 20th. Excellent birding there and more when I got to the campground.

The upper reaches were still snow-bound, but the lower campground was open. When I'd finished with Snake Creek, I went to the Visitor's Center, passing a property with a yurt and a distinct UFO theme, the space-suited guy on skis was a clue. Grabbed a map and paid for camping, only $6, since the water wasn't working yet. Met John B Free and his wife Melissa, serious birders and owners of the yurt. They invited me to sit with them, I did, and added another 5 tics including Pinyon Jays. Great folks. I stayed at the park, walked around the woods and roads, it was a beautiful place, filled with snow-melt rushing streams and gorgeous weather.

Thursday, May 20

Got up early and lucked into open restroom at the VC, so I could service my head, that is, shave and brush teeth with running water. I stopped at the Moore Sanctuary just down the hill from the park, spent almost two hours, kinda foothills scrub habitat, not a lot of birds but good variety and seriously worth poking around in. By then it was late enough for a little restaurant in Baker to be open. I little pricey for me, but good fresh food and I was the only customer so the waitress/cook was willing to talk. That's a rare luxury for my travels. Found a couple of copies of Granta that interested me for sale used as well.

I drove into Ely, got cellular service and made a couple of calls to renew registration and insurance while getting a load of laundry done. Then took off on a long drive south, introduced by a "no gas for 130 miles" sign. Not a good sign. It was pretty desolate and few birds, mostly ravens. Got to Pahrangat NWR, which was un-birdy as well, I guess the winter waterfowl had already moved out. Strange place, obviously run by someone obsessed with organization, lots of signs about what's allowed and not, how many vehicles in a space, etc. Well, at least they're staying busy.

I took a side route toward Moapa, since there was a refuge along there, but I couldn't find it and figured out finally that it was a protected space for Desert Tortoises. Maybe keep a few ORV off their backs. Then it was dismal Las Vegas traffic and vibe until I had looped around to the Mountains to the Northwest of the city and was close to the Corn Creek Field Station in Desert NWR. Slept in a National Forest off the side of a side road.

Friday, May 21

Once again, up way too early. I ended up driving about thirty miles past the Corn Creek entrance before finding a truck stop with coffee, then back to a very satisfying morning of birding. The Field Station has trails running through a good variety of habitats, and it's managed for maximum oasis attractiveness to things flying by. I picked up around 10 new tics, and saw several times that. Two of my favorite obscure southwestern species were there, Verdin and Lucy's Warbler. I lucked into a local birder, no name, who pointed out several critters that had escaped my attention, which helped.

There had been reports of some more desirable species at Ash Meadows NWR, which didn't look too far, but when a state as big as Nevada takes up but one page in the atlas, I always get in trouble. It was a long drive up there, a large refuge, and it turned out the birds were in places where I would have to spend a lot of time to reach, if I could even figure out how to get to them. A situation where I should have arranged with the reporting birder to meet up and get some guidance, after dedicating the whole morning and getting started early from a nearby overnight. I messed up on every count, only found two new tics when it could have been a half dozen.

And then it was a long way back to Las Vegas, which was necessary since Arizona was on the other side, and the route was two-lanes through small towns. It was after noon when I got to Sunset Park, and way too hot. Problem with Nevada that time of year is each good site should be first. By then it was close to a hundred degrees. Sunset Park could have been very good if anything was out playing in the mid-day sun. Not. So I went to WalMart for an overdue oil change, and then tried to find the birdy wetland the city keeps by a water treatment plant, but I arrived too late or the wrong day. It was closed.

Fall-back was to try Lake Mead which seemed really low, I guessed maybe 40 feet down. Tried several places recommended in the ABA Metro bird-finder, and got one tic, a Bonaparte's Gull at the marina, which had retreated about a half mile from the laid out parking areas. When I stopped at the Visitor's Center for a bird list and AC relief, the desk ranger said the lake was down 125 feet, and I got the impression that it would probably never return to full. Victim of Global Warming and Population Growth. By then I was fed up with urban Nevada and crossed Hoover Dam, armed and paranoid, into Arizona. Drove as far as Kingman before dark where I was rewarded with a Popeye's in a truck stop, beans and rice, and a decent parking place for a decent night's sleep.

Arizona again, with success

Saturday, May 22, 2010

After running the truck's AC in Las Vegas, it had developed a ragged idle, but I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. Mostly I just wanted to get to Tucson and see my ex brother-in-law David and his wife Romenia, There were birds possible in Tucson as well, and up Mount Lemmon also.



Out of Kingman and drive pretty directly to Tucson, just stopping for food. Once there it was gonna be a while before the folks got home so I went by the Broadway-Shannon Dessert to look for Rufous-winged Sparrow. But the place had been covered with condos. Very little undisturbed habitat, so no luck. I found David's house and took a big nap, a hot soaker bath, a fine meal by Romenia with lots of fresh salad, and wifi. It was terribly like civilization. David is a lawyer for the Salt River Reservation and Romenia has worked for the airlines for years and loves her work. The house was a new acquisition, and fairly new, nice stucco with good space in a subdivision on the west edge of town. Had a great backyard, with plantings from the previous owner to attract hummers and other critters. After I got home I sent them a nice Hummer ID book. I took it easy and indulged for a day.

Sunday, May 23

Great breakfast omelet, and sitting on the back ramada watching birds in the plantings and on the roofs of the surrounding houses. I took a ride all the way up Mount Lemmon to Summerhaven, making some of the free stops, and furtively poking into a couple of campgrounds, which cost $8 just to park and walk around. Scouted out the Flammulated Owl area in Bear Canyon, a campground and three picnic areas all close together. Went back into town for supper and good talk, and then as dusk approached went back up the mountain to work the area I'd scouted earlier. I tried walking the area as it got dark driving the short hops from one to the next, and then when it was full dark tried the tapes, but it was a big and disappointing dip (that's brit for a miss). So back down in the dark and south on the Interstate to Madera Canyon, actually the parking area at Florida Wash, which is right at the trailhead and blessedly free, also dark and quiet. It was pretty late when I got to sleep

Monday, May 24

I was up the wash before the sun and hiked up to the burn area where The Rufous-capped Warbler had been seen. The bottom of the wash is narrow with short sight-lines, so I climbed up the east side so I'd have a good view of the opposite side as the sun got into the valley. No trail, not even a cattle track, bad footing and pots of hazardous rocks. And I have just a tiny bit of dizziness sometimes after real effort, so when I finally found a flat surface sitting spot it was relief. It took over an hour after sunrise before the bright light actually got to the bottom of the wash, but what a mellow morning, just sitting and looking around, watching sky and occasional critters, until the target bird showed up. Good thing I'd taken up a good viewpoint since it only called briefly once or twice. If I'd been down in there it's unlikely I would have found it, but from up high I got a few decent albeit not close looks. I drove up into Madera Canyon proper to the Kubo B&B, where there had been a Berylline Hummer, but after an hour I gave up.

I drove down the Interstate to the turnoff for California Gulch, some chance of the Owl, but mainly to find a Five-striped Sparrow. The road is decent but narrow and winding as far back as Arivaca. Made a short stop at the cienega, then continued on a rapidly worsening dirt county road for miles and miles until the turnoff onto a Forest Road to the gulch. It was three or four times worse, extremely rough, deep waterlogged spots, and I was getting worried that if the engine, which had noticeable problems, should give out, it might be a day or two before somebody found me, and God Knows how we could tow it out. I chickened, and was genuinely relieved to get back to the Interstate.

Drove south to Nogales, then back north up to Sierra Vista, and from there south again to Miller Canyon. Met both of the Toms at Beatty's and, after some small talk, the elder invited me up to the guest-house hummer viewing place, very nice small open building with good seats and lots of feeders. Got a great look at a Berylline Hummer, and also a White-eared, which I'd seen before in Texas, but still a damned good bird. At that point I had two lifers for the day, and sleeping easy at the little parking area at bottom of the entrance road was easy, after the obligatory paranoia about being surrounded by drug smugglers. They and the ordinary refugees from Mexico are a regular occurrence there, and Tom Beatty told me of the troubles they caused, mostly disconnecting the irrigation to take baths. There are regular rescue missions by the Federales too, to save thirst or accident damaged folks.

Tuesday, May 25

In the morning I drove up to Benson and found the Sewage Ponds, which had some new tics, and it was even better when I headed further east to the Willcox Playa. Had the good fortune to meet a couple of local women birders who turned me on to some details in the surrounding country club, and I was having such a good time that I drove off leaving my spotting scope set up in the middle of the road. Fortunately they caught up with me as I came off a side road and sent me back to where it stood unmolested. Wilcox Playa is a "don't miss" any time of year since it's such an obvious wetland in otherwise hard dessert.

The next stage was amazing. I had intended to go to Glenwood and back to Beth's again, and took an innocuous looking road, on the map, that headed north from Clifton and Morenci through Apache National Forest to Alpine. I had mentioned my intent to go that way to the folks at Wilcox, and they had sorta rolled their eyes and cautioned me about it taking a while. I found out that road was the old US 666, called the Devil's Backbone. It started out in Clifton looking sorta southwestern mining habitat, great multi-colored cliffs and lots of machinery, and then morphed in Morenci into the most amazing industrial landscape I've ever seen. And I have lived in Silver City and that area, which some locals call Mordor. The road went on for miles and miles as the ten mph highway twisted and climbed through and under and over tracks and great pipes and haul roads along the edge of immense pits, until I passed the last almost dried-up reservoir and broke into th forest at about 8000 feet. Made several of stops in there, playing my "crack-for-birds owl tape", getting great results, but never could get any Grey Jays or Clark's Nutcrackers, which should have been find-able at that altitude and habitat. As I was finally on the last run into Alpine, a Clark's flew across the road ahead of me. I want to spend a couple of days camping and birding along that whole area. Got to Glenwood later than I'd expected, but still light, found Beth's house, and stayed there in the truck.

I was done with Arizona for this trip, starting at 148 tics and adding 65 more made 213 at the end of the trip. On a later trip in September I added another 17 and made it to 42%.

New Mexico, then on to Texas

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I hung around at Beth's in the morning, trying to be helpful while she figured out a sculpture for a show in Silver, then went in there with some stuff she wanted delivered to the gallery. Drove into Gila National Forest, north of Pinos Altos to check out some sites and camp. I made a stop at Lake Roberts, then stopped by the Hummer Lady's house to see what was new. Drove up Signal Peak to the locked gate, then walked a trail and made a few stops on the way down trying to call up a Clark's Nutcracker. No luck. Finally ended up staying the night at Cherry Creek Campground, where I continued my losing streak with the Flammulated Owl. Still it wasn't an awful day birding, just 30 species, but mellow after a late start.

Thursday, May 27

The only birding I did was at the Little Walnut Picnic Area, and a little walk on the Gomez Trails. Otherwise it was all gallery hanging, two lunches, napping and a good shower. Did get in a good visit with old buddy Pat Mulligan, master curmudgeon.

Friday, May 28

More gallery stuff, help set up a show. Mat Eric Renner, who I'll give a separate post to below. The opening of the doll art show went well. Drove up to Pinos Altos to the remodeled Buckhorn, one of the oldest bars in the state, great music by a one man band, name lost, and hang out with friend Laura and her friend Deb, an environmental ed teacher, good talk and a little dancing. Then up to McMillan Campground, with lots of stops to listen for and play owl calls. Flammulated losing streak continues.

Saturday, May 29

Back to town, gather up stuff and laundry, hang out with friend Diana who, with her husband Bob, owns the gallery. Drove on east to Bosque del Apache, got there late on a hot afternoon. Lucky to get a few new tics. Then up Water Canyon again, before dark and no rain. Owl prowling but still no Flammulated. This is starting to feel like defeat, at least for this trip.

Sunday, May 30

Back to BdA in the morning, then into El Paso. Made a couple of stops on the outskirts for exploration, still in NM, and got a Cave Swallow colony under a bridge over an irrigation canal. Very few of them in NM, CASW that is. Good bird anytime. Then it was a long hot drive on the interstate and up to Fort Davis, TX.

Fort Davis, Louisiana birding, Mississippi

Sunday, May 30, 2010

When I got to Ft Davis State Park in the rain, it was full up. Fortunately, I knew of a picnic area about twenty miles further north, past McDonald Observatory, which abuts a Nature Conservancy holding that's been good birding every time I go there. One problem was that I was getting an intermittent battery warning light, and that kind of stuff always upsets me. There were a lot of RV-ers there at the roadside park, but they were leaving in the morning. Got a good nights sleep and the weather cleared off.

Monday, May 31



Great dawn chorus. Looked at the engine but nothing obvious showed, so I took a hike. Back into the TNC area (which is redundantly called Madera Canyon) as far as a small pond. Then drove back into town and found a coffee wifi place that even had used books for sale. Had lunch there too, then up to the State Park, which had cleared out from the Memorial Day weekend crowd. There was a sweet woman at the office who knew some birding, and she checked me into a site that was very good for that purpose, right across from the area where they feed the Montezuma Quail.


The Montezuma Quail feeding area

Now I'd seen one or two before, but they were flying away in a blur, so not very satisfying. Supposedly this park was one of the most reliable places in the Southwest to see them, so I was highly motivated. But the evening stakeout failed although I did get some pictures of other birds. Met a very nice woman at the feeder from San Francisco also, who was wandering around in an RV, Sharon B, some good conversation waiting on the birds. I managed to get photos off the cameras onto the computer, caught up the journal, and ended up feeling mellow after being sort of depressed in the morning, worn from heat and vehicle worries.

Tuesday, June 1


Dung beetles in action near the quail viewing ramada

Sharon was back in the morning for another try at MOQU, but again they failed to show. Maybe we were making too much noise talking, who they were spooked by some camera sound effects. Whatever. I set out for the long drive across Texas, all the way in one day. The truck was shifting a little strangely too, which was bad for my paranoia, but there wasn't much choice but to carry on. I made it into Louisiana after dark and crashed at Peveto Woods, where there had been a report on the Louisiana listserv of a Yellow-green Vireo.

Wednesday, June 2

I birded that place really thoroughly for over two hours for two acres, but no YGVI. Did get several new LA tics, so it was worth the stop for sure. I could have stopped at Grande Isle on the way to New Orleans, but it was under sever oil attack thanks to BP. Beaches were closed and it was just plain depressing to think about. The day was gray, rain threatening all day, and it was a relief to get to my friend Lindy's in Mandeville for some civilization. That meant good wifi, great food (she's a pro cook), shower and real bed, we watched TV, she played me the first episode of "Treme", a New Orleans post Katrina apocalypse series. Full of realistic characters in the unrealistic NOLA style. I'll see more someday.

Thursday, June 3

Birded on the north shore at Big Branch Marsh NWR, then down through Slidell to Bayou Sauvage NWR for more poking around, mostly on Recovery Road. Got some good tics, but got caught in the rain. Met up with my friend Christine Horne for lunch a little after noon. We went to this very cool and funky place out on the east side of the Ninth Ward, and the I got her computer working so she could get on-line. Back to Mandeville.

Friday, June 4

My notes are weak here, think I went to the Northshore nature trails, must have got a replacement alternator, maybe some shopping. Lindy had gone over to the Gulf Coast in MS, but I stayed there. Sorta blurred.

Saturday, June 5

Changed the alternator and got my refund. God bless the O'Reilly lifetime guarantee, that was the third exchange over the years. Big Branch Marsh again, then a stop at the unused interchange on I-10 that I'd been introduced to by Dan Purrington on the New Orleans CBC back in December. Got a Painted Bunting for the LA list. then a little more Bayou Sauvage and a run into Mississippi by the back way over the Rigolets. Crossing the Pearl River there was lot of oil spill action at the bridge, boats and equipment staging, sheen on the water, smell of oil. When I got to Barbara's on the Gulf Coast in Pass Christian, the day was hot, the mood was normal, crazed, and Sean had made some great BBQ. I ended up sleeping on the upstairs porch, but not well, too hot and humid.

Sunday, June 6

No birding at all, just talk and geek and figure out the hot-tub wiring.

Monday, June 7

Got the wiring done, PITA job crawling in the sand under the porch. Advising Sean and his son Justin on their work projects. Got away around noon, and drove northwest through St Francisville. Stopped at the John James Audubon State Park, another TNC sanctuary near there, where I found my 50% bird for LA, a Louisiana Waterthrush of all things. It was another hot fried day, I couldn't get wifi nor phone service, but did get nailed in a speed trap for an $80 ticket. Swore to never pass through that part of the state again, which will be easy since there's not one good reason to go there. I was only there this time so I could crash in Tensas River NWR. Got in there right around dark, found a place to park off the road, and came under severe bug attack, which fortunately lightened up later in the night so I could open up the shell and get a little breeze.

Tuesday, June 7

Birded in the refuge in the morning, got a few more tics, and was feeling pretty secure on my count, but at the end of the year when the ABA list report form showed up they had added about ten species for the state that weren't in Avisys. So I dropped back just below the threshold by one species. Anyway. Another reason I'd come that way was to make a stop at Poverty Point, which I'd visited once before many years ago. But I'd read a book about it in the meantime, and was curious to see it again with more informed eyes. Really enjoyed it, since I lucked into a solo tour with a young ranger named Eric who I was able to quiz relentlessly. Crossed back into MS at Greenville and drove on up to Memphis to hang with the amazing Feraldi women, Mother Nancy, daughters Shiloh and Holly, and little Lydia, maybe the world's smartest kid. Got there about 4pm, spent the evening talking and geeking, with a break for great catfish compliments of Nancy. Crashed n Holly's room while she spent an all-nighter making an amazing dress (Facebook link).





Wednesday, June 8

Mellow morning with the women and back on the road about eleven. Home in Madison County around six, neighbor had mowed the driveway just enough, house wasn't too cobwebby, opened the windows and stuck pins in the wall map.

Eric Renner and the Chalk Dolls

I met Eric Renner at the doll art show in Silver City. I had already been attracted to his object collage pieces, some of the objects being old obscure things from the twenties and thirties, maybe earlier. Cute little porcelain seven deadly sins and such. There was one of the female popes, several small dolls each with a bottle of two marbles, very much like gonads. He also had a fascinating book on display of chalk dolls and such, the sorts of things folks would win as prizes at carnivals, broken down into sections on various iconic figures, some folk-lorish, some cinematic, some cartoonish, or patriotic, even domestic. He had other books of pin-hole photographs, which I think can be found on Amazon, but not the chalk doll book, which I think you have to get from him directly.

Somewhere in the prep for the show Eric needed to service one of the popess's ball bottles and somehow managed to drop a marble down the sink, where it fortunately hung up on the drain stopper mechanism. Getting it back out was a challenge, but after a few tries with makeshift tools I managed to save his ball. He was grateful, we had gotten a bit acquainted over the struggle with gravity and geometry, and he offered me a copy of the big book. It's very well produced, mostly color images on almost every page, hard-cover, good paper, and a very limited edition. Worth the fifty buck price, which I couldn't spare at the time. I was thrilled, since getting it required stopping at his house where the collection of dolls lived, the actual dolls, far more than were shown in the book. It wasn't far off my route out of town, but it was way out in the dessert.

So on the way out of Silver for yet another pass at Bosque del Apache, I turned south near Mimbres and spent a few hours yakking and having lunch and being blown away by the collection.


Eric and the museum



Classics including Chaplin and Ghandi


On left are original carvings used to make the molds, and finished dolls on the right


Contact information