2008's Top Five "Birdy" Moments

As has become sort of a tradition, I'm choosing to do a "Top 5" list to close out 2008. As has ALSO become sort of a tradition, I will be copying Patrick's idea.

So, here are my top five "birdy" moments of 2008.

5. 2008 Christmas Bird Count
I had been planning on posting a report of my experience with the '08 CBC, but I got a little distracted. So I figured this would be as good a place as any to put it. Even though the day was wet...very, very wet (it rained the entire time), I still had a great experience. I love participating in the CBC. Not only does it give me an excuse to go out birding (as if anyone needs an excuse), but the camaraderie of gathering together with other birders and tallying the day's count is always exciting. There's such a sense of anticipation and delight at learning what everyone saw during their count.

As I mentioned, my count was very wet. I volunteered for a 7.9 mile route down the Going to the Sun Road, starting at the Lake McDonald Lodge, then turning off toward Kelly Camp around the northeast end of the lake. The snowshoeing wasn't necessarily that difficult, but I still got drenched from the outside (rain) as well as the inside (sweat).

The most anticipated spot along my route was the bridge at the head of the lake over McDonald Creek. Sonja had been spotting dozens of eagles here a month ago, all feasting on the spawning kokanee salmon. I saw four, plus about a half-dozen Chestnut-backed Chickadees, some Pine Siskins and a Steller's Jay.

But the highlight of the entire day was spotting the little American Dipper happily diving into the creek in search of aquatic invertebrates. These little birds absolutely amaze me every time I see them. They have a tremendous range (from interior Alaska to Arizona) and are completely non-migratory (given that there is an open stream available year round). It's hard to believe that the little birds toughing it out all winter north of Fairbanks and those chillin' in the warm perennial streams of southern Arizona are the same species. This bird is why Sunday's CBC is on my top five list.

4. Any morning spent enjoying Montezuma Well
As much as I love living at Glacier National Park, I really miss Montezuma Well. There are very few places I have ever been where you can actually feel the spirit of the place. Montezuma Well is one of them. The sense of timeless magic and peacefulness is palpable. Each season has a different sort of magic, too. In the winter, my favorite thing to do is walk slowly up to the rim from the parking lot. As you crest the ridge you are suddenly bombarded with the adorable squeaking of dozens of American Wigeons. Hearing that sound brought a smile to my face every single time. In the summer, the place to be is in the little oasis at the end of the trail where the water emerges from the cliff face into the prehistoric irrigation canal, the Outlet. Sitting comfortably under the dense forest canopy with your feet soaking in the 74 degree water, while the Arizona sun scorches everything not in shade, is an experience you'll never forget. And the birds know this, too. Even in the heat of the afternoon I never failed to see/hear all manner of birdlife: Summer Tanagers, Hooded Orioles, Bridled Titmice, Canyon Wren, Rock Wren...

3. Madera Canyon
What more can be said about Madera Canyon? Any visit to that birding paradise deserves a spot on your top 5 list!

2. Madera Canyon
And if you go more than once, it deserves TWO spots on your list!

1. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Even my trips to Madera don't trump this little gem of an experience. It was my last official day working at Montezuma Well, and I decided to take a video camera to document my commute to work along the prehistoric irrigation canal that ran behind our house. I had assumed that I had seen all the new species that I would see in Arizona, considering we would be moving to Montana within a few days. Imagine my surprise when I heard a bird I had been dreaming of seeing for nearly 20 years during my morning walk. And I had the video camera along to document the moment! So here it is, my top "birdy" moment of 2008:


Happy New Year to all of my faithful readers. Here's hoping that 2009 lives up to it's promise:

Top Nature Moments of 2007

Well, it's that time of year, again. The day western civilization arbitrarily chose to mark the passing of another trip around our little star. New Years Day doesn't really mean that much to me anymore. Well, aside from it being my mom's birthday, of course. I used to get all revved up and excited about watching the obscenely wasteful tradition of spending millions of dollars and thousands of tons of carbon to light up a big ball on top of a building in the most obnoxiously well-lit city on earth. But it really doesn't do much for me anymore. Neither does going to parties and ringing in the New Year with tons of people. Personally, I was much more excited to just just stay home and watch a movie with Sonja than anything else this year.

I am finally getting around to responding to Patrick's meme tag, though. So, here they are. The top nature moments for 2007 (in chronological order):

10. Wood Bison on the Alaska Highway, Yukon Territory (or was it British Columbia?), January 01, 2007:


Exactly one year ago today, Sonja and I were driving down the very lonely Alaska Highway on our way to Arizona. Along the way, we encountered a herd of wood bison hanging out along the road. We slowed down to give Harvey a chance to say hi.

9. Javelina in our backyard, January 21, 2007:


Your first encounter with a new species is always the most exciting. This was our first experience watching javelina out our bedroom window. They have since become rather regular guests in our neighborhood, which we don't really mind unless one of the stinky males decides to flavor our yard with his pungent oder.

8. Hiking in Sedona, March, 2007: Our first real hike among the red rocks of Sedona is still one of my favorites.

7. Catching my first rattlesnake, April 1, 2007: I was actually pretty paranoid about encountering a rattlesnake when we first moved here. However, after getting a chance to capture several rattlesnakes at the park this year, my paranoia has turned into cautious excitement at the prospect of encountering one while hiking (something we still haven't experienced, yet).

6. The Painted Redstart, Oak Creek Canyon, April 18, 2007: Obviously, I'm going to be picking some birding moments for my list. And my first encounter with a Painted Redstart certainly deserves a mention.

5. Black Widow Spider, May 16, 2007: Out of all the assorted creepy crawly things we've found in and around our little house in the desert, none of them can come close to the cool-factor exhibited by one of our prettiest eight-legged neighbors this year, the Black Widow.

4. The Arizona Heat, all summer long, 2007: The climate here in Arizona deserves a mention, too. I lost track of the number of 100+ days we experienced. At first it was pretty awful, but then you just sort of figure out how to avoid the worst of it. It was pretty frustrating to look outside at a beautifully sunny day and know that there was no way to really enjoy it, though.

3. Hummingbird Swarms, all summer long, 2007:


One of my favorite experiences this year without a doubt was the incredibly number of hummingbirds visiting our feeders. A the height of the season we had five feeders up, and had to refill all of them every day and a half. We would go through about seven gallons of sugar-water every week.

2. Condors in the Canyon, August 17, 2007: Every opportunity to encounter an endangered species is pretty special. Getting to see a critically endangered species with a nine and a half foot wingspan is just freakin' awesome.

I had a really hard time choosing the last of my top ten nature moments. I could have gone with the tarantula I finally saw in our backyard, or the Northern Jacana we saw during a 340+ mile twitch. But when it comes down to it, I had to go with all of the experiences I had out in nature as a result of getting our brand new camera. So, to end the list, here's one of my favorite posts featuring some of what I believe are the best photographs I've ever taken.

1. Becoming a better nature photographer, September - December, 2007.

So, there you have it. My top nature moments of 2007. Happy New Year, everyone. And thanks for reading my blog!