Moonlight Hike at McDowell Mountain Park



Hikers on the trail at sunset hoping to hear or see nighthawks, bats, or maybe even an owl.



Sonoran Desert Toad



Ahhh, a hike at night!  No sun beating down on you, no hurrying from one bit of shade to the next, with turkey vultures circling overhead waiting for you to drop from heat stroke.  The sun was nearly set as we started out at 7:30 pm, the sky already filling with pink and purple ripples of clouds.  The Nursery Tank Trail is short (1/2 mile to the pond), but still a challenge to anyone in a manual wheelchair or using crutches.  What's nice is at the end of the trail  you are rewarded with a bench to sit on, shade, a rail to lean on, and a view down into the pond / tank. 

There's always something interesting either chirping, buzzing, or croaking down by the pond.  Ranger Amy Ford didn't even hesitate to go down and muck around in the mud to find us a few frogs and toads to ogle over.  Meanwhile there was just enough light to see lesser nighthawks swooping around eating up the bugs swarming over the pond.  Fellow hikers broke out their black light flashlights to illuminate a variety of scorpions along the trail, some big enough to scare the living bee-gee-wees out of me.  We never did see or hear any owls, but before heading back we enjoyed awesome views of a great orange moonrise.  Ranger Amy has promised that there will be another ADA accessible hike in September, so check the McDowell Mountain Park website or my After Dark page for updates.

Night view of the pond / tank at Nursery Tank Trail

Here's a great video clip by Greg Joder of what we might have seen, but didn't - Western Screech Owls...

Click on image below to view video:



Western Screech Owls calling in the Sonoran Dessert.  Copyright g. joder 2011







Digiscoping Harris Hawk Fledglings



Are you SURE that's how you take off???

  

Ranger Amy at McDowell Mountain Park showing
 me the digiscope images on my iPhone


On Friday, June 3rd, expert birder and naturalist at McDowell Mountain Park, Ranger Amy, set up scopes so we could see their three fledgling Harris Hawks.  Two were out of the nest in a nearby clump of mistletoe, the third was still in the nest, and all three were crying to be fed. Mom was off hunting for food while Dad observed the noisy wing flapping fledglings from afar.  The young hawks are already as big or bigger than their parents.  We kept our distance and tried getting closeup photos with just my SonyCybershot 12x but it wasn't powerful enough.  So we tried using the iPhone with the viewing scope.

Digiscoping isn't quite as easy as you would think, with an iPhone anyway.  Amy tried with my iPhone and it was difficult to position the phone's lens at just the right angle and distance, keep it centered, zoom in, and tap the screen to take the picture, whew, all without jiggling the camera!  To successfully digiscope using an iPhone, you really need some sort of mount to steady and position the phone.  Rich Hoyer of Tucson has some tips on digiscoping with an iPhone posted here.  If you'd like to try digiscoping with your point-and-shoot digital camera, check out this video on how to make your own digiscope adapter out of a soda bottle, duct tape, a hose clamp, and some rubber!  If any of you can figure out how to make a similar adapter for the iPhone, please contact me at birdbloglady@gmail.com .  I'd love to give it a try!

Harris Hawk male adult watching the fledgling's antics from a distance.

McDowell Mountain Park Bird Walk

Phainopepla and Northern Mockingbird sharing the mistletoe berries.

I finally made it out to McDowell Mountain Park for one of their Bird Walks led by Ranger Amy Ford (a long time birder with a great ear for identifying bird calls).   To my surprise, no one else showed up for the walk, so it was just the two of us on the ADA accessible Nursery Tank Trail.  It was a great opportunity for me to really listen to the bird calls, with Amy there telling me who was talking to who. 

Park Ranger Amy Ford

I was amazed that someone could differentiate between so many similar calls!  (Don't tell anyone, but I think she might be part-bird, I think I saw what looked like a flight feather poking out of one sleeve.)  The highlight of the walk was when a Cooper's Hawk swooped down in front of us when we reached the tank, which was quite full from all the recent storms.  Birds seen included: Phainopepla, Northern mockingbird, Black-throated sparrow, Canyon towhee, Cooper’s hawk, Gambel’s quail, Common Raven, Mourning Dove, House finch, Turkey vulture, and Curve-billed thrasher.  Birds heard included:  Verdin, White-throated sparrow, Northern Flicker, Gila Woodpecker, Cardinal, Black-tailed gnatcatcher, and Ladder-backed woodpecker.  Critters seen:  Lesser Earless lizard, Spiny lizard, Whiptail lizard, and Harris’ antelope ground squirrel.

Scarlett chowing down on a strawberry.

If you go to McDowell Mountain Park, be sure to check out the Nature Center, and the great new Desert Tortoise Habitat out back and meet the three dames of the desert - Lady, Scarlett, and Lily.  The Phoenix Herpetological Society has over 300 Arizona Desert Tortoises that need homes and are up for adoption.  If you're interested, carefully read their Arizona Desert Tortoise Adoption Packet and see what the requirements are.

Yours truly on the ADA accessible Nursery Tank Trail

 

The next ADA accessible walk at McDowell Mountain Park is Friday, October 29th, 9 AM to 10 AM, and will meet at Nursery Tank Trailhead.  Ranger Amy will be showing us which desert plants are edible, and I'm sure you'll see a few birds along the way!

 

Northern Cardinal checking out
the new Desert Tortoise Habitat



Lady, the habitat's Grand Dame, is rumored to be over 50 years
old, but shhhhh!  A Lady never tells her true age!



For more photos and details about Nursery Tank Trail's wheelchair accessibility, see my July 16th. 2010 post .

Desert Tortoise Habitat Grand Opening

Desert Tortoise poster above is available from AZ Game and Fish in limited quantities.

So maybe they don't fly, but you just can't help but love this great denizen of the desert.  On October 1st at McDowell Mountain Regional Park it is the Grand Opening of the Tortoise Habitat along with a Tortoise Adoption Awareness Event. Join other tortoise lovers in celebrating the opening of this beautiful, huge tortoise exhibit and meet Scarlett, Lady, and Lily who will move into their brand new ‘digs’ at McDowell Mountain Park. Due to the many foreclosures and people moving in Phoenix, there are many tortoises in the care of the Phoenix Herpetological Society that need new homes. Find out how you could adopt a tortoise into your family—a lifelong commitment.  10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Friday, October 1st at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park Visitor Center. No registration required, park entry fee is $6 per car.  For more info Contact: amyford@mail.maricopa.gov 480-471-0173 x201.

Why We Live in the Desert

The overnight low was 95 degrees, and today's forecast is 115 degrees with high humidity. Now is the time that we all begin to question our sanity.  Why, why, why on earth do we choose to live in this god-forsaken hellacious inferno?  Here is a gentle reminder...

During the winter, when others are dealing with this...


We desert dwellers are out enjoying ourselves, and admiring the snow off on the horizon, not piled up in our driveways.

Its February, and I'm out on the scenic and wheelchair accessible Nursery Tank Trail in McDowell Mountain Regional Park, and yes, that's SNOW on Four Peaks!   Nursery Tank Trail is a great trail with panoramic views of the McDowell Mountains, and the Four Peaks Wilderness Area in the Mazatzal (pronounced Mat-a-zel, not Matzaball!) Mountains.  The trail ends at a wildlife watering hole (tank) so you'll see a nice variety of birds, and at dusk and dawn possibly a few javelina, deer, coyotes, or cottontail rabbits stopping by for a drink.  Many of the mesquite and palo verde trees are loaded with desert mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum) which Phainopepla love to eat.  We saw a number of male and female Phainopepla feeding on and nesting in the big dark clumps of mistletoe high in the palo verdes. 

We also saw Gila Woodpeckers, White-crowned Sparrows, Abert's Towhees, Gambels Quail, a few Raven, and a kettle or two of Turkey Vultures soaring high overhead.  Other birds that frequent this area of high Sonoran Desert are Northern Cardinals, Cactus Wrens, Curve-billed Thrashers, Harris Hawks, American Kestrels, Flickers, Hooded Orioles, Wilsons Warblers, Mockingbirds, Annas and Costas Hummingbirds, and Verdins.

Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens)

The surface of the trail was smooth, wide, and hardpacked.  Its 1.2 miles roundtrip, dotted with benches, informational signs, and one shade kiosk.  Recent heavy rains had caused a saguaro and a few barrel cactii to become uprooted and topple over.  If you go, check the weather ahead of time, as this is a flash flood area.  Dust dry desert washes (gullies) can fill quickly and run forcefully enough to carry away entire vehicles! 

So, lets try to maintain our sanity for the next 2 months, hope for a good monsoon season, and try not to get cabin fever...

Grandma (a.k.a. Shotgun-Shirley) in a desperate attempt to get to Walmart, holds grandpa at gunpoint so he'll shovel the driveway.

See more photos of Nursery Tank Trail and McDowell Mountain Regional Park by double-clicking on the photo below.

Owling in the Desert

Usery Mountain Regional Park - All About Owls - Location: Nature Center. Date: 6/12/2010 Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM  What makes owls so different from other birds? Which owls live in our area? How do they survive and thrive in our desert? If you would like to know the answers to these questions, or any questions you may have about owls, then this one-hour presentation is for you! Bring your sandwich to the “Brown-Bag It” series inside our Nature Center as Ranger B shares some amazing facts about these rockin’ raptors. Entry Fee:  $6 / car

McDowell Mountain Park - Owl’s Eye View 
Date: 6/19/2010  Time:  6:30 PM to 9:30 (1 hour lecture followed by a 1.5 hour hike)  How much do you know about Owls? Learn all about the strategies these animals employ that make them such successful predators. After the program, stick around for an owl prowl at the Nursery Tank!  Go on the Owl Prowl with Ranger Amy - a moonlit hike to experience the desert like an owl. Look for owls and enjoy the cooler night air. Meet at the Nursery Tank Trailhead. This night walk is less than 2 miles total in length, and is on flat terrain on a wheelchair accessible trail.