Nature Lover and friends keep in touch

[maki2]

Cool, wet day here in Williams AZ. At least the sun was out until noon when the thunderstorm rolled in. It will likely be Sunday before the rain stops.

 

[maki2]

Naturelover, there is a raven in my camp telling me to say hello to you.

There is more wildlife at thiscamp near the South entry of the Grand Canyon than I saw at my previous 2 campsites in Northern AZ high country.

Early this morning I looked out the window and saw the largest coyote I have ever before seen! Very long, thick coat on it. The fence line for the National park boundary is visible out my window so no hunting is allowed over there.

Lots of large and small butterflies and moths and plenty of large hawks and such are overhead. Another camp visitor this morning was a lizard.

Yesterday evening a half dozen or so vehicles pulled in on this small dirt road off the bigger, graveled Forest Service road. There are a few campsites back in here. The big rental motorhome and a few others did not like what they found and left but some others stayed the night. They all left after breakfast, I would imagine to go and spend the day in the park. I relocated a little bit further into a larger clearing this morning as where I was did not get enough early morning sun on my solar panel. It has been nice having the place all to myself today. But no doubt most evenings will be much the same with people coming in just for the night.

The last two summers I was here there were horses here from a riding stable. But this year that operation seems to have discontinued their business. All the signs are gone and the driveway in is blocked off as well. That is too bad, I really enjoyed seeing the horses and having them come by my campsite doing some free range grazing. But it could be I will have some elk or deer come by. If not I will no doubt see plenty of Elk and deer when I go into the National Park which I will do a number of times during my stay here.

 

[nature lover]

Hello friend, nice to hear you’re seeing so much nature. I have a lot of birds here at the pond I have a warbling, Verio, Orchard orioles, Baltimore orioles, and a common yellowthroat, and a lot of the other common birds around. I love to hear the red wing blackbirds sang. I’m glad you got to see a lizard. I’m just putting on a picture of a lizard. I got last year in Florida. He’s not a bad lizard because he’s eating a spotted lantern fly. We Want to get rid of them. At least I think it’s a spotted lantern fly. God bless the nomads and thank God we don’t have to eat lantern flies. —-yet

 

[maki2]

Hopefully my lizard is eating up the pesky little ants to keep the ants from eating me.

 

[vanbrat]

Since you are getting some birds around are we going to get to see more pictures?

 

[nature lover]

Hello van Brett, for the last 25 years I’ve taken at least 1000 pictures a week sometimes 10,000 a week. Secret to getting good bird pictures or any kind of pictures to take hundreds and find the best one because they move in the light changes, etc.

unfortunately since I fell on August 3 and broke my shoulder I’ve been in and out of the hospital since August 3. I’ve spent 2 1/2 months approximately in the hospital. First for the shoulder and rehab for it and then just recently for the platelet issue. It makes me extremely sad to say that I have not taken a picture since August 3. It’s my goal to get back to it but???. My van is a mess. Everything is disorganized things are piled up. You can hard to get in and out of it. That’s my first priority. As I was getting sick since December, I just left things go and then when I was gone for five weeks at the hospital why I told friends that had stuff “just put it in the van just put it in the van”. That’s first priority and then when everything set up and the desk is cleaned off and then the camera comes out again. I went in for a therapy session today, and I had to force myself , Cause I can barely walk and my balance is bad. But I know the therapies what I need so I went in and did it.

God bless the nomads, especially those with cameras.

 

[maki2]

^^ it is hard enough to keep a van organized when you are in reasonable health. Being unsteady and having other energy zapping issues makes it hard to even get up and do the simple stuff like get a drink of water or go for medical appointments.

I was very tired today, it was a real slog just to hitch up and reposition my trailer to a better solar site not that far from where I parked yesterday. Likely a combination of change in elevation, a bit of dehydration and waking up too early. Plus maybe dust bothering my airways or maybe the sage and juniper which have strong aromatic oils. So I just stayed in camp today instead of running errands and sightseeing. It is a mental drag being just a very few miles from one of the most spectacular sights in the world and feeling a little too tired to go look at it.

 

[maki2]

Wildlife count at my campsite increased by 3 mule deer does. Very sharp eyed creatures, I made a slight movement and they bolted over the fence into the National Park.

 

[nature lover]

Maki2, does your raven do aerobatics for you? They are the neatest flyers ,upside down and barrel rolls and all sorts of tricks. They are obviously playing there’s no other explanation for it, but it is fascinating. One of my campsites up in Perry County has a nest nearby and when I’m over at the Hawk rock in Lebanon County, I often see them. Very intelligent, bird, capable of making tools and playing, Not just a “birdbrain”.

 

[vanbrat]

And they can see who you are and will follow, for awhile, anyone they find as a friend. My son has some in his neighborhood that come when called and bring him 'gifts' a couple times a week. They each know their own names and are so much fun to play with.

 

[maki2]

The ravens I see are always too busy hunting for food to stop and play games.

 

[nature lover]

Maki2 - I understand that. that’s what I do too. Got your priorities, right if you’re thinking about eating.

God bless to nomads and keep them well fed.

 

[vanbrat]

The ravens I see are always too busy hunting for food to stop and play games.

Son keeps them well fed. And they keep his yard cleared from his old not yummy cherry tree.

 

[maki2]

Wildlife update from my Grand Canyon country campsite. Two new visitors, a very large Jack Rabbit and I caught a glimpse of two dark slender, tall legs moving among the trees . They were further identified as to species by the traditional horse’s whinny noise.

I went for a walk further away but not a really long ways from my camp and found two lighting struck trees about 20 feet apart from each other. One was downed decades earlier than the other. Neither was struck in the last few years. This is definitely lightening strike territory, one of the most active lightening strike areas in the country during monsoon season. No upcoming storms in the 10 day forecast! Just mostly sunny days in the 70s for a high temp. I am a happy camper

 

[maki2]

Naturelover a bird photo for you. Of course not up to your photo quality standards as I used my phone for the image capture

A nesting pair of brown headed cowbirds who live right by the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. They certainly have a great view when they take flight. Of course they have nothing else to compare it to as they are not migratory birds.

 

[races]

I am animal lover and nature is very beautiful

 

[nature lover]

Maki2. I’m glad you’re seeing birds but I don’t think you’re seeing the right ones. Unless you have a western species of cow bird that has a yellow eye. I’ve never seen one With a yellow eye, they usually are dark. And by the way, cowbirds do not nest. She lays her eggs in another birds nest, and that’s that bird raise her young. Bad bird.

 

[maki2]

Maki2. I’m glad you’re seeing birds but I don’t think you’re seeing the right ones. Unless you have a western species of cow bird that has a yellow eye. I’ve never seen one With a yellow eye, they usually are dark. And by the way, cowbirds do not nest. She lays her eggs in another birds nest, and that’s that bird raise her young. Bad bird.

Looks like you are correct. I looked up
Black birds in Arizona, it might be a “Brewer’s Black Bird” the males are dark black with a yellow eye and the female does not have yellow eyes and has more of a brown color than the male. That looks like a match to that pair.

Well I at least I have provided you with some avian bird watching entertainment today! I am hoping to spot some bluebirds as I know they are around but I have been inside my trailer doing work stuff than this week more often than I have been outside.

 

[nature lover]

Maki2 - I cheated and looked it up on the Cornell bird ID app, and I think brewers blackbirds is right I just didn’t wanna put it on here and act like I knew everything because I didn’t, I had to check it out.

there’s a real way to cheat with birds or to learn with birds if you want. Cornell university bird lab has a free app you can download that you can listen to birds and it will tell you what bird it is and you can actually put the picture of the bird on there and it will tell you which kind it is. Sometimes it gives you several choices if it’s not certain, but the thing is very accurate most of the time. So yes, I cheated and identified it and thought it was a brewers blackbird.

God bless the nomads, especially those of us who are “for the birds”

 

[maki2]

I can identify birds from photos on my iPhone camera r which is of course an app. It will give me links to websites such as Cornell.

I frequently use my cameras built in app to identify wild flowers, trees and shrubs. I have never checked to see if the audio recording feature on my phone will link to a bird sound identifier as I rarely use sound recording.

There is a website for birds of Arizona and they have a search by color feature.