By the numbers.....

Almost forgot that this year February has 29 days.  Tuesday is March 1st.  31 days in March, still, and that is the number days we will have left in our 2016 Adventure in the Valley of the Sun., on March 1.  Lots of numbers so far in this post.  Want some more?  Of course you do.

143.  The number of bird species we now have on our year to date list having added 9 yesterday while birding on Mt. Ord which is 50 miles, or 80 Canadian, northeast of Mesa.  Mt. Ord has an elevation of around 7,100 feet.  We spent about 4 hours birding our way up to the summit of Mt. Ord. The 6 miles of gravel road was very rough and dusty, except for the small patch of ice near the top.

Mt. Ord, above 5,000 feet, is a pine forest.  These desert ecosystems are called "sky islands" and support a variety of flora and fauna.  Pine, Live Oak and Juniper are abundant.  Wild flowers dot the landscape.  Snow patches on the north side of the mountain provide some needed water.  The birds were quiet first thing in the morning but once the air warmed up to 50F they started moving around and feeding on seeds, insects and sap from the trees.

As I mentioned we picked up 9 new species on Mt. Ord.  They are:

Williamson's Sapsucker, Bridled Titmouse, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Olive Warbler, Violet-green Swallow, Acorn Woodpecker and Western Bluebird.

Photos were tough to get this day given the fast moving birds and the poor light in the forest.  I did however manage to get a couple to share in this post.  In addition to the sharing the bird photos I am  going to share with you a little insight into my style of bird photography.  There are times when I can photograph birds from the 4Runner (note the photo of the Crested Caracara from a previous post).  There are other times when skulking in the woods by myself can yield outstanding photos.  This is one of my favourite methods as I think it takes me back to my childhood on the farm where we ran free in the 10 acres of woods that made up half of the family "farm".   Yesterday Carl surprised me by  taking a couple of photos of me while I was busy at "work".  These I have included in this post.

I leave you with a couple of other numbers.  Today I golfed 18 holes at Sunland Village Golf Course. It was a gorgeous morning (most are...).  In the 4some was brother Mike.  Always great to golf with Mike.  He tends to bring out the best in me.  Today was no exception, in fact today was exceptional.  I shot 7 over par.  The best round I have had since, well, the last century.  1999 to be exact.  Golf being "golf", the next time out may be completely different.

Well, that's about it for today.  I am already thinking about my next post.  March 1st is "Super Tuesday" on the U.S. political scene.  Oh goody-goody!  There will be scads of great material for my next post.

Enjoy the pics!

Dark-eyed Junco on snow.

Olive Warbler in a Pine tree

Western Bluebird

Williamson's Sapsucker

Skulking in the woods.....

Intent on the subject, ready to pounce, er..., shoot.  No birds were harmed in this  "shoot".

Exciting end to Bocce Ball league.

Today we played our final league game.  We entered the contest with a record of 3 and 3.  A .500 record.  Could we go to 4 and 3?  I have to tell you that expectations were low as our opponents today were arguably the best team in all the Bocce League divisions here in the resort.  There are well over 500 members in the league and competition is stiff.  The all male team that we met today plays together as a team 4 or 5 days a week in various divisions.  At the Awards ceremonies in a couple of weeks they will, as they usually do, walk away with many of the top honours.  And today, we beat them!!!  The final score was 15 to 4.  Now we have been on the loosing end of a 15 to 4 score but I can tell you without hesitation that being on the winning end is a lot more fun.  What a great way to end the year.

Another Bocce Ball season is over for our team, "The Northern Lights".  To say it has been an up and down season would be an understatement.  After we won today we were all looking forward to next year.  A month go I think we were all looking forward to the end of the season.  Nothing like a big win to turn things around.

Oh, if anyone was wondering, no we are not in the playoffs.  After the win today I started telling everyone that we were "the best team NOT in the playoffs".  Makes me think of the Vancouver Canucks.....but I digress.....

Here is an iPhone photo that was taken after our big win today.  4 very happy Bocce Ball players!

Barry, Dana, Gayle and Tony.  Score 15 to 4

The Sunday Wrap

I got up around 7 this morning feeling fresh and energized.  No political hangover!  Thankfully!  After a nutritious breakfast I headed out for Sunday morning golf at Sunland Village Golf Course.  On Sunday mornings I normally play 9 holes with the "Royal Canadians", friends from Mesa Regal Resort.  Today I joined in for the back 9 as well.  It was a glorious morning. Just a breath of wind.  The temperature at the start of the day was around 65F.  By the time we walked off the 18th it was hovering around 75F.  It doesn't get any better than that.  Oh, the golf was pretty good too....

It's been a great week here in the Valley of the Sun.  On Monday we spent the day on Santa Cruz flats with Carl and Marcus.  I posted about our day there so I'll skip on to Tuesday.  We played our 6th league game in Bocce Ball.  We entered the game with a 2 and 3 record.  We had a great team effort on Tuesday against a good team and we won fairly handily.  It was good to bounce back from the defeat in the previous game.  We go into the final week of the season with a .500 record.  This week we play the top team in the league.  Expectations are low, and we just plan on having fun and seeing how the balls roll.

On Wednesday we rode with Steve, Joanne and Peter.  It was a stunningly beautiful day.  Maybe a bit hot at the end (80F), but none the less, near perfect conditions.

On Thursday I golfed 9 holes at Superstition Springs Golf Course in the morning.  Approaching the green on number 13 I noticed 2 large birds circling the green.  Turns out to be Zone-tailed Hawks.  This species of hawk is rare here for this time of year.

When I got home I entered the birds into eBird so that the observation would be recorded for others to see.  That is one of the great features of eBird.  Your observations are recorded and anyone searching eBird for information on what species are being observed in any particular geographic area has access to the data you submit.  eBird also sorts data by country, state, province, county, etc.  There is feature where you can see how your yearly species count compares to other birders who are submitting data.  Okay, this is where things get a bit competitive.  Yes, there is such a thing as competitive birding.

Year to date we are 103rd in the state of Arizona for total species count.  For Maricopa County, which is most of the Valley of the Sun, we are 30th overall.  Keep in mind there are literally hundreds of birders submitting data into eBird.  Our (read - Barry's) goal is to surpass last years placing which was 63rd in the state.  We are pretty much on track and will find many more species before we leave Arizona in April.

On Friday Dana and I had an awesome ride.  We took advantage of light winds and relatively cool temps.  Cool being under 75F.  We completed our 50k ride in 1 hr 49 minutes at an average speed of 27.2 kph.  We were pretty thrashed after the ride and rested for rest of the day.

On Saturday we started the day with some shopping at Trader Joe's where we bought a case of mixed wine for $36.00.  $3 bucks a bottle for decent Cab, Sav Blanc and Pinot Grigio.  In the afternoon we did some late afternoon birding at Coon Bluff where we picked up a new species for the year, Lark Sparrow.

Our year to date bird list now includes 132 having added 4 new species this week (Lesser Yellowlegs, Harris's Hawk which was seen earlier but not recorded, Lark Sparrow and Zone-tailed Hawk).

Well, that was the week that was.  Lots of the same stuff but loads of fun.  The week ahead is already shaping up to be another week of biking, birding, bocce, golfing and socializing.  Fun times!

Here are a couple of photos from this week.

Lark Sparrow at Coon Bluff

Lesser Yellowlegs at Gilbert Riparian Preserve




Surprise!  Hi everyone!!!

Trouble ahead, trouble behind - Dead heads unite.

Trouble ahead

Trouble behind

and you know that notion

just crossed my mind

Dead heads, for those who missed the '70's, Grateful Dead fans, will immediately recognize these lyrics from the song "Casey Jones", which first appeared on the Dead's 1970 album entitled "Workingman's Dead".   I am borrowing these words, not to describe Casey-Jones and his navigating the rails while under the influence of an illicit substance, but to describe my thoughts of the current Republican race for the nomination of the Grand Old Party's 2016 Presidential candidate.  

I get a nagging pain right in the middle of my forehead when I think about the prospects of Donald Trump winning the GOP nomination and going head to head with either Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton, because that race is far from over even with Hillary's win this evening in Nevada.  To use a sports metaphor, anything can happen, it's why they play the game.  That my friends is why I am humming the Dead lyrics....."trouble ahead, trouble behind, and you know that notion just crossed my mind".  Then I take 2 Advil and the headache slips slowly away...but I know it lurks just below the surface.....

In case you missed it, The Donald won the Republican primary in South Carolina tonight.  Jeb Bush, the Bush who in the end was just one Bush too many, finished a distant 4th and has "suspended" his campaign.  In other words he's done and has gone back home to Florida, the state with more handguns than residents.  The state where one can declare bankruptcy without future liability for debt incurred.  The state where being able to vote is a challenge for a large percentage of people of colour who lack required, or should I say imposed, identification.  No tears from me for Jeb.

The Republican race is now down to 3 combatants.  Yes, combatants.  The level of nastiness is somewhere between an 8.5 on the Richter scale and a Category 5 hurricane.  The level of vitriol and mud slinging has reached new heights, or rather, lows.  This week The Donald goes toe to toe with the entire Bush Family, calls out George W for being responsible for 911 and the Iraq mess, then gets into it with the Pope by calling him "disgraceful", just because the Pontif said that anyone who would build walls instead of bridges is not Christian.    Can you image.  The nerve - Go Donald!  He also got into it with Cruz and Rubio, calling them liars.  He called Cruz the worst liar he has ever seen.  Then he handily wins the South Carolina primary while Rubio and Cruz split what is left of the vote.  Holy smokes!  What the Sam Hell is going on?  That headache is coming back......

Calm down everyone.  Take a deep breath.....  Ahhhh....  Okay, what's up next?  Bernie and Hillary continue to wage a dull, boring war of niceties over each others awesome credentials, policy proposals and vision for the future.  Next stop for them is South Carolina next Saturday.  Hillary should handily win that one, if there are any sane people left in the Palmetto State.  And this is no reflection on Bernie, but my God, Trump wins in South Carolina?  Holy Smokes....!!!

I have been saying for months that The Donald will fade or flare out as really, no one likes a bully or a bigot, which he is both.  A check of the calendar, it is February 20 and The Donald is gaining delegates and maintaining his lead over the rest of the GOP hopefuls.  Why? Why, why, why???  Time to look at his combatants.  Ted "I'm not a Canadian" Cruz.  I can't get past thinking of him as a Tele-evangelist.  I think he could con a rattlesnake out of its' rattle.  When he speaks I want to run to the bathroom.  He speaks freely of restoring "religious freedom in America".  Whose religious freedom is he restoring?  If you restore something, someone is on the other end of that restoration.  Also, what about all those who live a peaceful, compassionate life outside of organized religion?  Teddy boy, get a grip.  It's 2016, not 1716.

Then there is Marco Rubio.  He's from Florida and thinks Jeb Bush was Florida's greatest Governor - ever.  Florida's greatest?  Sure.  He wants to "restore the Constitution" to it's true meaning.  

This is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

"Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended twenty-seven times.[2] In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government.[3][4] The majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights."

So Marco, which of the 17 amendments expanding individual civil rights to you want removed in order to restore the Constitution?  Also, what restriction on government do you want removed?  What a very troubling notion.

My headache is returning....  In closing this post I can tell you that I am very troubled with the direction of one of the two major parties in this, the United States of America.  The GOP (Republican) process to nominate a Presidential candidate is my friends, a train wreck waiting to happen.  The more I watch it the more I feel like an ambulance chaser, which admittedly I did when I was a teenager, but I digress.  As a visitor in this country I am thankful for the freedoms we enjoy here and for the many wonderful people we have met, some who are now good friends.  While mindful of my visitors status,  I will continue to provide my political commentary on what is, in my opinion, a pivotal point in the politics of this nation.  Finally, and I don't often wave my flag, but damn, I'm glad to be Canadian.

Bring it Dead Heads:

Trouble ahead

Trouble behind

and you know that notion

just crossed my mind

Chasing birds on Santa Cruz Flats

Crested Caracara - rare to southern Arizona

Yesterday we ventured south in search of Crested Caracara, Mountain Plover, Sprague's Pipit and any other birds that we could find.  We found 20 plus Crested Caracara but none of the other target species.  Let me tell you a little of how the day went:

5:30 a.m.  - The alarm sounded and we lept out of bed - slowly.....  Raisin Bran for breakfast, tea, coffee, pack the cooler, gather all the equipment (camera, binoculars, scope, iPhone), Jet Boil for tea and coffee on the road, water, water, water..... load everything into the 4Runner.  Don't forget the sunscreen....  

6:10 a.m  -  We're off.....  First stop is the Sacaton Rest Area on Interstate 10.  This is about 80 kms south of Mesa.  Once on I-10 the speed limit was 75 mph which means everyone goes close to 80 mph.  

7:00 a.m.  We arrive at the Rest Area.  This is where we arranged to meet our friends Marcus and Carl.  At 7:20 we get a text from Marcus to say that he overslept and is just leaving his home to pick up Carl.  His ETA is 8:00 a.m.  He calls and suggest we head to Santa Cruz Flats, an additional 60 kms from the rest area.

8:00 a.m.  -  Dana and I arrive at the junction of Sunland-Gin and Harmon Roads to begin our day of birding.  

Right off the bat we see a Red-tailed Hawk, then another, and another.  Fitting as this day we will see about 20 Red-tailed Hawks.  Then, hey, there goes a Prairie Falcon swooping low over the desert.  Definitely hunting for breakfast.  Then we spot a flock of Western Meadowlarks, some sitting in sage brush in the bright morning sun, singing their melodic song.  Wow, this is going to be a great day.  So far all the birds are either to far away for photographs or just too fast to be caught with the camera.  That will change.

8:45 - Marcus and Carl finally catch up with us.  Marcus is a local Mesa resident, although he hails from Arkansas.  He is a tremendous birder.  He knows so many bird calls.  He also has great vision, an asset when birding.  

For the rest of the day we travel the gravel roads of Santa Cruz Flats.  Did someone say dust?  It was bad.  Real bad.  We took turns leading, and following (eating dust.)  Luckily the light wind was from the east and on the north/south roads one of us was able to drive on the right hand side of the road and the vehicle following could drive on the left side of the road thereby avoiding much of the dust.  There was virtually no other vehicles on the road so at no time were we in danger of running into anyone.  East/west, and west/east travel was a challenge.    

We drove about 30 miles, criss-crossing the Santa Cruz Flats area.  We did take a lunch break but for the most part we were on the move all day.

Red-tailed Hawks were numerous.  Birders know that Red-tailed Hawks are not only the most common of the "Buteo" family, but also the most varied in appearance.  Even experienced birders are sometimes frustrated by the many varied appearances of the Red-tailed Hawk.  We are very lucky to be in what is called an "intergrade zone".  Red-tailed Hawk subspecies "calurus" and "fuertesi" can be observed here.  In addition, there are some variants of these subspecies that can also be observed.  Today we observed both subspecies plus a "dark-morph" calurus.  This dark-morph hawk was very dark, almost black, but had a red tail.  It is enough to drive birders nuts.  Maybe this is why some of our friends think we are nuts.....

Other species of birds observed were several large flocks of Lark Buntings, many Vesper's Sparrows, Killdeer and 6 Roadrunners.  The highlight had to be seeing approximately 20 Crested Caracara in one field.  20!  For a "rare to southern Arizona" species, 20 is quite special.  Their range is Mexico and Central America.  They also range north into south Texas and can be seen in Southern California and Louisiana.

Photography when birding by vehicle is tough.  I got the photo of the Caracara while standing in the 4Runner, head, shoulders and arms out the sunroof (safari style) while Dana navigated the gravel road.  I think it must have looked outrageously funny but really, it was the only way I was going to get a decent photo of the bird.  The whole scene makes me think back to when we bought the new 4Runner.  The sales person asked us if we needed a sunroof.  I replied "absolutely.  How else am I going to take photos on the go"?  He looked at me like I was nuts....  Hey, there is that "nuts" thing again.

2:00 p.m. - We were all about cooked, thirsty, tired and birded-out.  Marcus and Carl had to head back to the city.  Just after we bid them farewell we spotted a beautiful Ferruginous Hawk soaring overhead.  I got a couple of shots off, one which is posted in this blog.  Dana and I continued birding for another hour or so, long enough to spot a field of sheep, and lambs.  In amongst the sheep were 5 more Crested Caracara using our total for the day to 25.  Icing on the cake.

3:30 p.m.  Time to head for Mesa.

4:30 p.m. - Time to stop at the car wash to rinse off the dust.  The inside would have to wait until tomorrow.

Well, that is my accounting for the day of birding the Santa Cruz Flats.  What a great part of the state, one that sees few visitors, except the odd nutty birder or two.

(Click on the photos for a larger image.)

Ferruginous Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk (subspecies fuertesi)

Too cute to leave out......

Photo of the week!

I slipped out of the resort first thing Tuesday morning with a specific goal to shoot hawks in flight. When on our morning bikes rides we will often see hawks flying or sitting on utility poles or Saguaro cactus.  Tuesday morning I drove our bike route in hopes of spotting a bird or two.  Damn.  I scored big with this Harris's Hawk.  I was driving the Bush Highway between Granite Reef and Coon Bluff recreation areas when I spotted 2 Harris's Hawks.  One was perched on a Saguaro cactus and the one in the photo was perched on a utility pole.  The one on the cactus would have made for an awesome photo but the bird was a bit too far away.  The one on the pole was right beside the road.

The secret, well not so much of a secret as a requirement to a good action photo is light and proximity to the subject.  With these two requirements in mind I parked well off the road with the sun on the left of the bird.  I know from experience that birds in general, and this species in particular will allow you to observe them at fairly close range but as soon as you encroach in their "bubble", or comfort zone, they depart.  I had parked outside of what I thought was this birds bubble.  I got out of the 4Runner and stood quietly as to not startle the bird.  With the sun on my left I had a 50-50 chance for some kind of shot.  If the bird fly off to the left and into the sun I would have no chance for a shot.  If the bird went right I might get a shot, provided the bird flew by me and not away from me.

Okay, here are another couple of secrets to getting a good shot of a bird in flight; having the right camera settings, knowing a bit about bird behaviour, and most of all - LUCK.  Today I would have everything working for me.  I took a couple of steps towards the bird.  The second I entered the bubble the hawk launched off the pole - to the right.  It dropped a few feet in elevation and flew right by me so the sun was directly behind me and illuminating the hawk.  I locked onto the hawk and kept my shutter depressed until the hawk was well out of range.  Then I exhaled and took a couple of deep breaths.  Wow! Timing, light, proximity, settings and yes, luck.

I posted this photo on my Flickr site and added it to several "bird" groups that I often post too.  Since posting the photo it has received 7,000 views and 246 "Favs", surpassing any of my photos to date.  This Harris's Hawk it a star!

All for now.  More information on what we are up in the next post.  Enjoy your day!

Barry

Heaven on Verrado Way

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  As an amateur photographer I have often said just that.  You will of course have already clicked on this photo so that you can see a larger, and perhaps clearer version of this photo.  Now that you have, what do you see?  Can you weave a 1,000 word story of what you see?  What about a couple hundred words on how you feel when you look at this photo?  Surely a few dozen on description alone.  Look at the eye.  The concentration.  The feathers, called primaries, at the tip of the wings.  What about the legs tucked up to increase aerodynamics.  The bird appears to be hovering, about to dive on its' prey.  See how the light is catching the bird, illuminating the underside of the wing and the body.  See how easy this is?  Maybe a few hundred words on description would be pretty easy.  What you cannot include in your story is the moment when this Northern Harrier glided across the flooded alfalfa field that is covered (easily hundreds of birds) with White-face Ibis, Long-billed Curlew, Greater Yellowlegs, Kildeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, Great-tailed Grackle and Least Sandpipers, turning into the afternoon sun and gliding right towards our location (inside our 4Runner) and flared, almost hovering 40 feet from our location before drifting casually off to our left leaving a field of very nervous birds to continue feeding in the recently harvested alfalfa field.

Add all that to the excitement of the photographer (me) who has had this hawk in his viewfinder for 20 seconds prior to this particular shot, and has already shot 10 to 20 frames, focus locked on to the approaching bird hoping that the hawk would flare and expose its' underside.  Silly as it sounds my heart rate was elevated shooting this particular sequence of shots.  I knew at the time that I had probably captured a few decent "bird in flight" shots of this hawk.  I always have high expectations which, sadly, are often not achieved.  In this case, things turned out pretty well and I am happy with this one good shot.

The shoot on Verrado Way, in the farm fields west of Phoenix about 90km from our home in Mesa was actually the last stop on what was a busy day of birding.  Dana, Carl, Marcus and I hit the Thrasher Spot early in the morning.  It was not as productive as it was the last time we were there but we did observe 2 Le Conte's Thrashers which were new species for this year.  We also picked up a Brewer's Sparrow, also new for this year.  We also had a quick walk at Tres Rios Wetlands which was also not very "birdy".   This was likely due to the time of day as opposed to any other reason.  Carl and Marcus had to return to Phoenix after our stop at Tres Rios so Dana and I head back to Verrado Way, where we had briefly stopped earlier in the day.  The number and variety of species in that one field was incredible.  We parked on the side of the road and watched for over 1 1/2 hours.  It was like watching a nature show on TV.  Simply amazing.  We are already planning our return.....

Here are a couple of other photos from Verrado Way.  I hope you enjoy them.

Long-billed Curlew and Greater Yellowlegs

Long-billed Curlew

Long-billed Dowitcher

White-faced Ibis

Carl, Barry and Marcus at the Thrasher Spot.  Yes, I am wearing gloves.  Don't laugh, it was cold.  It may be 80F in the afternoon, what was your temperature today? but it is coolish overnight......

Marcus with Carl's 600mm prime lens..... Damn, I want one!!!!!

U.S. political circus. A gift that keeps on giving.....

A comedian once claimed that President George W. Bush was a "gift that kept on giving".  Comedians during the Bush presidency had so much great material to work with it just hardly seemed fair.  Well, welcome to the 2016 Republican party Presidential race.  In the immortal words of that great American linguist, Yogi Berra, "it's deja-vu all over again".

Holy-moly, these are the halcyon days of satirical political commentary.  Really, most of this stuff you just can't make up.  Take the Iowa Caucuses.  To Canadians the entire process of Primaries and Caucuses is a complete mystery.  Sadly, to many Americans it is also a complete mystery.  I have followed many of the comments submitted by readers in articles in the National Public Radio (NPR) website and it is astounding how many people do not have a clue as to what a Caucus is, how it works and what the results mean.  I have always assumed that NPR readers were a bit more sophisticated and knowledgeable.  Leaves me breathless to think about those who get their news from anything "FOX".  But I digress....

So, the Iowa caucuses were held on Monday evening.  The big news of the evening being not that Ted, I am not Canadian, Cruz won, but that "The Donald" Trump lost.  Excuse me, I have to wash my hands.  Cruz and Trump in the same sentence... Eeoww...  After the results were in, Trump made what some called a low key acknowledgement that Cruz had actually won.  Well, I was shocked that he didn't come out, guns a' blazing.  Tuesday morning I got up and checked the web for the Trumpster's tirade.  Nothing.  Disappointing.....  Well, here it is Wednesday evening and finally he did it.  He coughed up some more great material.  Cruz called it a "Trumpertantrum".  Best line from Cruz this year.  Seems the Donald is accusing Cruz of "cheating" and "stealing Iowa".  He said that Cruz committed "fraud"and should be disqualified.  Atta-boy.  That's more like the Donald were have seen this entire "race to the nomination" as the Republican Presidential nominee.  Yep, you just can't make this stuff up.  What's next?  Sky is the limit.  I know I will be keeping up with the "race to the White House".

Of course, the Democrats had their own drama on Caucus night.  The vote went right down to the wire.  Hillary and Bernie were neck and neck right up to the last count of the votes.  Hillary won by .3%.  Boring.......  These two need to spice it up a bit.  No good material there.

What's next?  Well, The Donald will continue to make news over the next few days, weeks and likely months.  Me, I can't wait for the next "Trumpertantrum".

To bring us all back down to earth I'm gonna leave you with a couple of bird photos.  It has been a slow start to the week, bird wise.  I went out to Electric Park yesterday morning for an hour.  I picked up a new species for 2016, White-winged Dove.  When I came home and told Dana her eyes kinda glazed over.  She doesn't much care for Doves.  For me, it is another species for the year.  Plus, they were kind of pretty.  Too bad I did not get a good photo.  I did get a photo of a Gambel's Quail and Eurasian-collared Dove.  We are planning another trip to the Thrasher Spot this Saturday.  Hope for good success on that trip.

Take care all.

Gambel's Quail on a Cholla Cactus skelton

Eurasian-collared Dove