Another Hummer

Here is another humming bird feeding on another flower.  This is an Anna’s Hummingbird and he is feeding on the blossoms of a Creosote Bush.  I see him daily on his perch atop a Mesquite tree staking out his territory, but this morning was the first time I observed him feeding on this nearby bush.   

Back to Blogging

My goal is to try and post to my blog daily, but that doesn’t always happen as you can see I’ve missed a couple of days again.  Sometimes it’s for lack of material, a short time ago it was because of computer viruses, and this time it was due to human virus. Flu like symptoms have kept me out of commission for a couple of days.  Here is a photo taken on my last healthy day, Thursday, of a  Costa’s Hummingbird feeding on flowers of a Fremont Thornbush. 

Michael, Melissa & Jessie

Friends from Elkton, Michael and Melissa Garguilo and their dog Jessie, stopped by for a visit on their way home from Texas. Yesterday afternoon we took them on a tour of the park and a bird walk. This morning we got in an early morning hike on some of the trails of Buckskin Mountain State Park before Jeanette and I had to report to work. We will have dinner together tonight and then tomorrow they will be on their way.  It’s been great to see them and share a little of what goes on with us in the winter here in Arizona.

Monday's Bird Walk

I had 9 birders on yesterday’s Bird Walk and we identified a record 27 different species.  A brand new one to me was an American Pipit.  This is a small sparrow sized bird that is listed as an unusual winter visitor here and nests in the tundra of the north.  We also saw, what we assumed from a distance to be a Turkey Vulture, but with a closer look with binoculars proved to be an immature American Bald Eagle.     The most astonishing site of the day was a Pied-billed Grebe, like the ones shown in the photo above, swallowing a crayfish.  I would not have thought it would be possible for such a small bird to swallow such a large crustacean. My guess would be it was the last thing he ate for the day.  

A Typical Day

Ken Ash took this photo of Jeanette and me last Friday, and it sort of represents a typical day for us here in our volunteer positions at Buckskin Mountain State Park.  On this day I am off to lead a Nature Hike on some of the trails in the park, talking about various trees, shrubs, and cacti found along the trail.  I also will talk a little about the history and geology here on the lower Colorado River.  Jeanette is working in the Registration Office at the front gate and will be doing her best to keep campers happy by providing them with the perfect camping  site, while answering the phone, handling reservations, collecting fees, and at the same time serving as a one person chamber of commerce.   

Red Mountains Hike

I took friends Roman Dust and Ken Ash hiking into the Red Mountains today. We had hopes of finding a way to the top, but settled for finding this old mine and scaling a ridge.  We spent some fun time figuring out how this equipment worked at this mine site. I also got to show them an unofficial route into the back country that involves climbing through a culvert and a hike up a wide wash. We had a great morning. 

Hike to the Mines

On today’s Nature Hike everyone in the group was fit and we were able to maintain a good pace allowing us to take the Abandoned Mines Trail.  There are a good number of exploratory holes that were dug many years ago in search of copper here within the boundaries of Buckskin Mountain State Park. I am shown here explaining a little bit about the mines. Photo by Ken Ash