Lots of adventurers and spelunkers and entrepreneurs struck out west in the mid and late 1800s in search of gold. This past week I made some trips northwest for a Golden-crowned Sparrow, a bird which I briefly saw on Monday, and then failed to relocate and photograph on Tuesday or Friday. In that sense, it was a good ol' fashion gold bust. It was great to see the bird in the first place but what a lamentable thing it is to have no photos at all. To those of you thinking, "Why not just go back once more?" I can only say this: you know not the great horror of driving into Sun City on Grand Avenue during rush hour. YOU KNOW NOT! Traffic on that scale, for that long, is something the human soul can only stand once or twice a month. Even the incorrigible Mockingbird balks at the prospect and repeated trips up and down Grand Ave.
"..Balk!"
While I couldn't strike gold again, I did enjoy plenty of other pretty, if also common birds around the Desert Springs as I ambled and ogled. Say's Phoebes had all the good perches and patches under surveillance, be they decapitated bushes or golf carts.
Realizing that searching in solitude was not fruitful, I enlisted a few young White-crowned Sparrows, like the fellow below, to help me find the longer, rarer Golden-crowned that was supposed to be hanging out with them. They were great sports about it, calling and feeding in as gregarious a manner as possible so as to attract any lonely vagrants in the area.
They even jumped up into the bushes to call out anybody that was hiding out below. It failed to produce a rarity, but did flush out a handsome Lincoln's Sparrow, 16th Sparrow of the United States.
As far as golf course ponds go, Desert Springs does pretty well. It had the predictable hordes of Coots and Wigeon, but also a half dozen Bufflehead and some Common Mergansers, which give a certain extra aesthetic and vindication to any artificial property that satisfies their needs.
Even over Sun City, in fact, especially over Sun City (which is a large retirement community), the sun still sets. As the glowing orb drooped in the sky and my Golden-crowned prospects similarly dropped towards zero, I was graced with a first-of-the-year White-winged Dove. Coming on February 26th, this was my earliest personal record for these birds, so at least there was something new to list.
Well, the Golden-crowned didn't get to see or photograph me again either, so he loses too! Right?...right?...right?
I'm drooling over the desert birds I will be seeing next weekend. I'm heading back to the LCR for another field season and hopefully we'll cross paths this time!
ReplyDeleteAh Man! You're getting to go from one sweet spot to another. I've been envying your Long-tailed Ducks and Gulls all winter. I'm hoping to help with the La Paz county migration count in mid May, and will make a trip to Havasu before that. See ya round'.
Delete"16th Sparrow of the United States!" --made me laugh! Great birds, even without the gold.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelly : ::sniffle:: : maybe you're right.
DeleteWho needs Golden-crowned Sparrow...oh life lessons and broken hearts
It drives me nuts as well Laurence. I leave after work without the camera to find the "one" Golden Sparrow at Catalina State Park. I have not had any luck finding this one even though everyone else has!:) I can't go in the morning because of the work situation for both Crissal and Golden-crowned so I have to wait for the weekend....and then I've usually booked some epic adventure in the lower part of the state. Mountain Plover, Rufous-capped, Crissal, etc etc....all early morning viewings! Frustrating! I laughed at this post....it happens all the time. This week, for example, the Black and White Warbler. Saw it but didn't get the shot. Frustrated me that I didn't have the shot and went back to get evidence and found the bird. The same thing with the Virginia Rail. I hear them and see them cleverly hiding but it wasn't until this weekend I was able to get decent shots of the bird!
ReplyDeleteI also feel your pain with Sun City...ugh! I so remember those days when I lived in Phoenix. A few choice words come to mind during "rush" hour:)
Well looks like you've got lots to do and see!
DeleteI'm glad your words were choice. I feel like I become a mindless, involuntary ball/tower of rage in that traffic : )
If you want traffic jams, come visit east coast rush hour. We're really fond of merging multiple highways into one when crossing into new states.... I'm pretty sure I sat in a traffic jam years ago that stretched across the entire portion of that highway that was Delaware. But occasionally we do get some nice birds while driving, and some not so nice ones!
ReplyDeleteWoah! In a post several weeks ago I lamented that very thing. I have driven in Chicago and New York and Dallas an Los Angeles, but everything truly went to hell when driving in Delaware.
DeleteThat being being said, I think I would trade any of them for Sun City Grand driving. It wasn't just that is was bad, it was that I had to cover 11 miles of it on surface streets, and there is literally no other road one can take.
Stupid Sparrow...
Chicago is pretty bad as well! I've only driven through twice and both times were miserable. I was stuck in traffic at midnight.
DeleteI remember a truck spilling on the highway between Phoenix and Tucson - I think the drive ended up taking over four hours. Another place lacking in roads.
Teleportation would be nice.
Yes! Or...Wings!
DeleteThough would I trade wings for arms with hands and opposable thumbs...I guess not.
LOL, Laurence! Chris and I could not find the golden crowned in Catalina State park either, even though it had been seen only 20 minutes earlier, but I suppose that was before all the noisy kids ran down the trail as well as the greenhorns from God-knows-where tromping all over the place and yelling across the creek to each other. I guess you can find traffic jams wherever you are! Love the Say's Phoebe shot!
ReplyDeleteOh those Golden-crowns...
DeleteAs you mention, at least there are other pretty birds and and about whenever one chases and dips on a rarity.
Just keep your eye on the gold Laurence and you'll achieve it.
ReplyDeleteTouche' Mia!
DeleteIt's very comforting to hear all of you having the same frustrations I do--plus the challenge of getting a good shot when I do remember the camera. Maybe this amounts to a birding support group? Hello, my name is . . .
ReplyDeletehehe birding support group...I thought that's what bird-blogging was all about : )
Delete