I visited Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge in early December, 2015. I had visited a couple of years ago, but was unsuccessful in getting many decent recordings (see Bosque del Apache). This time my goal was to get some recordings of the tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese that winter at the […]
The language of Sandhill Cranes Read More »
I love the transition in sounds as day fades into dusk and then evening, especially in late summer when the chorus of crickets and tree crickets creates a repetitious and soothing melody. I find recording at this time of day challenging, though, as man-made sounds, particularly vehicle traffic, are still quite loud. The early evening
Night falls on the Carson River Read More »
The Upper Gila River ecosystem occupies a good chunk of southwestern New Mexico. It includes the first federally-designated wilderness area, 2.7 million acres of national forest, and is home to mountain lions, black bears, elk, eagles, and Mexican wolves. It’s been occupied by humans as long as almost any place in the country, but because
Back to the Gila River Read More »
My kitchen remodeling effort is finally complete, so a couple of weeks ago I packed up the car with camping gear and headed to Turkey Creek. It seems as if most of the mountain ranges in the southwest US have a “Turkey Creek.” I imagine this says something about the ubiquity of wild turkeys at
I haven’t had the opportunity to get out much this spring, caught up in renovating my kitchen and other assorted household chores. But I managed to break away last week to take the dog for a walk in a nearby wash. This wash drains the nearby Rincon Mountains, and although dry most of the year,
Along a desert wash Read More »
My last stop on my summer journey from Carson City to Tucson, after a brief stay in Pinetop, Arizona, was the San Francisco River in New Mexico. There is a designated birding area south of Glenwood that provides a parking lot and access to the river. It was mid-day and sweltering when the dog and
Bird Conversations Read More »
Close to the US-Mexico border, where New Mexico and Arizona meet Chihuahua and Sonora, lies one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. More than a dozen small mountain ranges rise from the surrounding desert, and are often referred to as “Sky Islands”, as their forested slopes appear to be islands in a sea of grassland and
Just east of Tucson, a collection of small creeks come together to form Pantano Wash, which winds its way through Tucson before eventually joining the Gila River, which flows across the state to the Colorado River. Most of these little creeks only flow during summer floods or occasionally during a wet winter. However, one of
Where the water ends Read More »
I’ve been hearing about Bosque del Apache for years: this wondrous wildlife refuge in the center of New Mexico that hosts thousands of wintering snow geese, sandhill cranes, other waterfowl, and even a few dozen whooping cranes. The sight and sounds of tens of thousands of snow geese taking off at dawn as they leave
Soundscapes are constantly changing, from moment to moment, season to season. In the temperate zones, winters are much quieter than summers, as many of the birds have disappeared to their wintering areas and the insects have stopped singing. The leaves of the deciduous trees have fallen off, quieting the ever-present rustling that we don’t even
A couple of weeks ago, I took Shadow for a hike in the Huachuca Mountains, down near the Mexico border, see some fall color. It was a gorgeous fall day, warm and sunny with a light breeze. And the colors did not disappoint, with the maples and sycamores putting on a dazzling display of yellows,
Whispers of Autumn Read More »
On my recent stop at the Gila River Bird Area (see Nighttime Visitors), I was reminded again what a dynamic, ever-changing place it was. The Gila River was still receding from a significant flood just 2 weeks prior, in which up to 10 inches of rain dumped in the heart of the Gila Wilderness during
Of Fire and Flood: Dynamics of the Upper Gila River Ecosystem Read More »
