Thursday, June 23, 2011

Dirt Means Fun!


No, I didn't go nuts with instant tanning cream, it's DIRT!

 


It seems I had a little too much fun recently at Granite Reef Rec. Site on the Salt River.  Meandering down the trail towards the dam I kept getting stuck in the sand and the more I tried to spin myself on to more solid ground, the farther away from the trail I got. Before I knew it I was on some sort of critter trail, best suited for animals under 2 feet tall (hey, I'm at least 3 1/2 or 4 feet tall sitting down).  Then I got hopelessly mired down in spidery ant-filled plant debris.  Eventually my friend Tammy realized that the odd chirping sound she kept hearing wasn't some rare bird, but me setting off my car alert signaling for help. 
 
When we finally emerged from all the bushwhacking we ran into Marcus Watson from Desert Rivers Audubon and UrbanBirder.com , who, unlike me, had seen quite a few birds that morning.  Notable birds seen included a possible Caspian Tern!, three Greater Roadrunners, Bullock's Orioles, the continuously calling Common Yellowthroat, Gray Flycatcher, Western Kingbirds, Gilded Flicker, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Gila Woodpeckers, and Lucy's Warblers.  Later in the week Marcus saw a Summer Tanager and a possible female Blue Grosbeak!

Gray Flycatcher way up high in mesquite tree.

First year male Bullock's Oriole high in mesquite tree.

Caspian Tern at Granite Reef Rec. site, photo by Marcus Watson, June 14th, 2011

Greater Roadrunner, Granite Reef  Rec. site, June 14th, photo by Marcus Watson

The latest member of the Thomas family, Paco.  He's hot-on-the-trail
in search of the smelliest stuff he can possibly find to roll in!  Go Paco!


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