Valentine's Day Love

 We spent the morning birding Santa Rita lodge and Madera Canyon before bidding it farewell for this trip. I always had to leave but I know that I will go back a few times this year.  While enjoying all of the birds at the feeder's we added hepatic Tanager and olive warbler to the year list somewhat unexpectedly. 

We headed north in the midday sun toward Phoenix. We stopped for gas and while the tank was filling I looked up recent sightings nearby. There was one bird in particular that this populated seemed to have quite a few of and it would be a life bird if I could find one. We drive around the city parks and streets listening and looking for signs of the birds. It wasn't long before we saw a small green bird with a bright blue tail fly into a large palm. We parked and checked the tree but could not find a bird  in the 30 foot tall tree. Then the bird dove out of the backside and plummeted down into the adjacent neighborhood and disappeared behind some roofs. I drive down the street in this modest neighborhood and found a house with a feeder out front that was mobbed with our target. Rosy-faced Lovebirds were feeding and calling right in front of the homeowner who was relaxing in a chair on her porch. I asked if I could take a few pictures of her birds and she laughed and said of course.  

For many reasons I hate residential birding. Slowly driving around a neighborhood or God forbid walking around with binoculars in front of people's houses always makes me feel like I'm doing something very wrong but the nice lady here had no problem with it at all. In fact she was happy to share her love of the birds. Definitely fun to find love birds on Valentine's Day and always fun to add a life bird. 

The decision for our next stop was easy at the time. We would go to the intersection of Baseline Road and Salome Highway to look for thrasher. Bendire's, Le Conte's and Crissal thrashers are all found regularly in this general area in the mornings. Well we wouldn't arrive until 4:39 in the afternoon making it more difficult. It's a vast, wide open area of dessert scrub habitat that these birds love. Apparently it is fine to just park and walk around this area wherever you please. For anyone who has never been there a few words of warning, for those of you that have been there shame on you for not warning the rest of us idiots.  First, when walking around watch your step. The ground is riddled with burrows that collapse underfoot if you hit them just right. This could easily lead to a twisted ankle out there in the dust. But the second, and drastically more important thing that everyone should know going in is that this place, if the wind is coming from the southeast, smells like utter, undeniable , complete and total death. Well shit to be more exact.  Chicken shit. There is a chicken "farm" just down the road and the smell of one of these places is enough to endure vomiting without warning, your eyes to water, your lungs to collapse and possibly a total blackout. Not to mention whatever lasting effects it may have. Add that to the broken ankle from tripping in a boobytrap hole while running from the stench and I can imagine this would make many folks not want to return.  It worked for me. I was done and had no desire to return the following morning. Or ever for that matter. But I will most likely try this one more time but never when the wind is from the south. To anyone who goes in the future:  You have been warned.   

Not a great way to end the day for sure. But Bendire's thrasher was new for the year so all wasn't lost. And the lovebirds definitely saved the day anyway.