Mad AZ Monk

Hotting Up

Long time since the last entry. Not too much birding, as I was working hard prior to our election and I've been catatonic for this last week. Today I read that the polar ice cap's melting even more and I'm told, "Look on the bright side. There'll be more drilling opportunities and it'll be easier to ship the crude." And then I read that our military destroyed a hospital and invaded another in Fallujah because last time they reported the number of civilian casualties. For those of you reading from overseas, I'm deeply sorry. We really tried our best. We're as shocked as you are. We're so tempted to flee, but we'll stay and fight. OK. Enough of that.

The only bright spot this week is a planned trip down to mythic southeast Arizona this coming weekend seeming to coincide with excellent birds. On sod farms east of Phoenix, folks are finding Chestnut-collared, McCown's and Lapland Longspurs. The latter two would be lifers. And at the Avra Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant west of Tucson lurks an American Bittern, a really good state bird.

But that's merely icing. In order to cope with recent events, I'm giving myself marching orders to go see the thousands of Sandhill Cranes that winter near Willcox. I've never seen the cranes and I'm dying to. But I can't look at cranes all weekend. So the plan is to bird around the Sulphur Springs Valley south of Willcox and into the western slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains. Many more lifers are likely: Chihuahuan Raven, Scaled Quail, Long-billed Curlew, Yellow-eyed Junco and Mexican Chickadee, with Hail Maries on Short-eared Owl and Mountain Plover.

I've never been to the far southeast, even though everyone raves about the Chiricahuas (I'll have to return there in season for Buff-bellied Flycatcher and Short-tailed Hawk). Full report when I return.