Robyn

Activity 2: Roger Rd. vs. Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, AZ I know this area of Pima County well having lived there for over a decade.  Mt. Lemmon's peak is around 9,000 feet.  Switch-backing up the mountain, one begins in a lush riparian ecosystem called Sabino Canyon filled with seasonal waters from spring snow melt on the mountain.  Roger Road is in the arid, flat lands of the Sonoran Desert.  The Pima, who call themselves Tohono O'odham people, were early engineers channeling run off from the mountain and annual monsoon rains for agriculture whilst also utilizing desert native plans such as prickly pear cactus fruit and mesquite beans for flour.  These two location, as one would expect, are as geographically different as night and day--literally alpine forest vs. desert floor and the bird diversity or lack thereof is evidence of that.  Roger Rd. has no bird sightings yet for May on eBird and only a few bird sightings (2 doves, 1 vireo, 1 flycatcher) in April.  Contrast that with the bird diversity and abundance on Mt. Lemmon which had, in May so far, more than 10 each of:  yellow-eyed junco; house wren; violet-green swallow; stellar's jay; as well as a wide-array of other birds including robin, warblers, thrush, and hummingbird. Activity 1:  My neighborhood (Los Gatos, CA) vs. Los Gatos Creek/Vasona Lake My neighborhood has lots of both native (California Buckeye, Coast Live Oak, Redwood, Sycamore) and imported (Chinese Elm, Magnolia, etc.) and flowering bushes of lots of varieties (bottlebrush, oleander, etc.), so it attracts a wide-array of tree/shrub dwellers year round:  red tailed hawk; tree swallows; hummingbirds; wrens; oak titmouse; sparrows; etc.  At the end of my street is the entrance to the Los Gatos Creek trail.  The trail is fed bay Vasona Lake which is fed by the Lexington Resevoir in the hills.  The Creek is set about with willow, oak, and other native trees.  On the creek you'll find coots, mallards, egrets, herons, and Canada geese.

1. Compare Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Rufous Hummingbird:  Ruby migrates up the East Coast of the US while Rufous migrates up the West Coast of the US. 2. In my area, year-round residents include an array of finches, sparrows, Robins, California Towhee, Dark-eye Junco, wrens, and Oak Titmouse.  Spring visitors include an array of warblers. 3.  Male American Goldfinches:  Summer--bright yellow plumage.  Winter--duller brownish/yellow plumage. 4.  My favorite birding spot is Los Gatos Creek trail.  I expect to find warbles and orioles right now in the trees at the end of April.  Early in the morning I would see Snowy Egrets and Black-crowned Night Herons, California Gulls, and Mallard Ducks on the Vasona Lake.  On the Vasona Park lawns, there are usually Canada Geese.  This time of year, I would anticipate seeing ducklings and goslings, too.  Due to the pandemic, I've been avoiding the trail--and hence the Lake park--because it gets very crowded . . . with everyone home--there has been more foot, bike, and scooter traffic on this narrow path.  Egrets, Night Herons, California Gulls, Mallards, and Canada Geese are year-round residents in our mild climate.

There is a nesting pair of Bewick's wrens who have been building a nest in a nesting box on the wall adjacent to my patio across from my kitchen window.  For a few weeks, I had enjoyed listening to the quick, staccato communication of the pair as they carefully selected nesting materials--gathering bits of fluff and tiny twigs to build their nest.  I like this bird because it keeps its jaunty tail at a 45-degree angle pointed skyward as it hops from the tree to the roof to the fence to the nesting box.  Fearing the pair had abandoned the nest, I grew concerned that I hadn't seen the couple in a week.  This morning--April 23--I heard the female's song, saw her land on the nesting box, and then heard the pipping of chicks from within! On my back patio, early in the morning, a chestnut backed chickadee has been bathing in our bird bath.  Later in the afternoon, dark eyed juncos visit to collect seeds from around the base of plant pots. California towhees frequent the green common areas in the community.  Above the shady sidewalks, I've observed tree swallows with that distinctive boomerang-shape profile, glide wings akimbo between the second story rafters and the trees. A lone red tailed hawk has set up house in a very tall sycamore between our neighborhood and Los Gatos creek.  She has a distinctive call and sometimes visits the redwood behind my back patio. Even in a small townhome community, bird activity is all around!