The Waiting Game, Part 2

Stupid robin.

We never did find that bird, despite spending hours hanging out and waiting, although we did convince the entire neighborhood we are insane, stalkers, or both. And did you know, you can purchase a nice 3 bed, 2 bath house in Ajo, AZ on a 1/3 acre lot for less than $100,000? Or that Ajo is the home to Arizona's first copper mine? These are the things one investigates when one is bored out of one's mind.

Our next destination was the San Rafael Grasslands in Southern Arizona, a beautiful valley of gently rolling hills located about 50 miles southeast of Tucson (although given the road layout, driving there from Tucson takes nearly two hours). Our goal is to find exactly two target birds at this place: Baird's Sparrow, a secretive little pest that we spent hours trying to find in North Dakota, and Short-eared Owl, which isn't secretive but is somewhat scarce and elusive.

We arrived late last night at a relatively nearby campground, Patagonia Lake State Park, which happens to be one of our favorite parks in Arizona for its scenery and proximity to birdy locations. This morning, the alarm went off around 5am local time, and after blearily making coffee, we headed for the hills.

A tip from the local birding email list suggested we start looking for the bird just after entering the grasslands. So, we pulled over about 100 yards past the intersection, and played our recording of a Baird's Sparrow.

After, oh, maybe five seconds, sparrow jumps out of the grass and flies to a nearby bush to give the invader a piece of his mind. A quick glance through the binos showed this:

Check! And this moment goes down in history as the fastest we've ever found a target bird.

But, now, we need an owl. They're usually only seen around dawn and dusk, and we didn't find one during the two hours we drove around the valley. Although we did see five cowboys rounding up their cattle into a pen. Grass-fed beef, anyone?

So, now it's mid-afternoon, and we're waiting. Again.

We'll try for the owl one more time tonight, and then on to Florida tomorrow.

For some reason, I think I want a hamburger for dinner,
Me