Calm before the storm

The approach of Irma, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane in history, struck fear as she moved directly towards our south Florida home. During the previous week the weather had been normal for late summer.

The view of our local wetlands before sunrise while the storm was still far away:



Fair skies in mid-morning:



At first we planned to shutter our home and ride out the storm, windowless in the dark, as we are 8 feet above sea level and 18 miles inland. Our anxiety increased as we saw neighbors preparing to drive north or book flights out of state. 

Earlier, the storm had been projected to hit on Friday, but we saw long lines at gas stations and grocery store shelves going bare. On Tuesday Mary Lou and I visited nearby Chapel Trail Nature Preserve and as we walked along the fenced boardwalk we spent more time discussing our options than looking for birds. The morning was clear and calm:



We suddenly decided to evacuate to someplace high and dry, so on Wednesday morning we flew to New Mexico. The only connecting flight available took us through Kansas City, and we arrived on Wednesday afternoon and occupied visitors' quarters at mile-high Kirtland Air Force Base. 

The sun rose over the Manzanita Mountains east of Albuquerque:



The next morning we observed the famous "Bird Log" at the Capulin Spring picnic area in Cibola National Forest in the Sandia Mountains. For me this was a homecoming of sorts, as in the early 1990s I had worked with a crew of US Forest Service volunteers to rehabilitate and restore water to an old hollow log which had served as a wildlife drinker.

The pipe from the spring had frozen and cracked and the stone wall which enclosed it had to be reassembled and cemented. The log had a large hole which we covered with a rubber sheet. (Les Hawkins was the volunteer who energized the rehabilitation of the log. Here is a  2002 article about him. Les celebrated his 100th birthday in 2014 but I have since lost contact with him.)

Until we moved from New Mexico to Florida in 2004, Mary Lou and I led weekly US Forest Service bird walks in the Sandia Mountains, often visiting this site. It became popular with birders from many countries. 


This is the original log as it appeared in 2008:



The old log finally fell apart and last year a new generation of volunteers used chain saws to carve out a new log to replace the original. They did a great job and restored the flow of water. 

Since this is the only constant water source in a large expanse of mountainous forest, one should expect to see just about every species of bird and mammal which inhabits this area. 

The new Bird Log (click on photo and scroll right and left to see many more enlarged views of the log and its visitors):





I left my DSLR behind and traveled with my new light weight mirrorless camera (Olympus E-M10 Mark II). The photos are mostly of poor quality, but they document the very engaging hours of just sitting and clicking as the show went on before our eyes. Among the avian visitors, nearly none of which I could expect to find in Florida were...

Western Tanager...



...photo-bombed by a Townsend's Warbler:



A (not much) better view of the Townsend's Warbler:



Mountain Chickadee:



Hermit Thrush:



Green-tailed Towhee:



Cassin's Finch (male):



Cassin's Finch (female):



Plumbeous Vireo:



Western race of Orange-crowned Warbler, more colorful than the drab Tiaga subspecies which visits south Florida in winter:



Enjoying a bath in "The Bird Log:"



Audubon subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler. It has a yellow throat in contrast to the white throat of the eastern Myrtle subspecies which migrates into Florida:



Wilson's Warbler:





Spotted Towhee:



A Chipmunk:



A Mule Deer doe crashed the party but fled when she sensed my presence:



The hurricane arrived on Saturday, a bit late, and had major impact on the west (Gulf) coast of Florida rather than delivering the predicted direct hit on our neighborhood. It was so large that major damaging effects were felt over the entire Florida peninsula as it moved northward. 

We flew back on Tuesday to a home which had gone without electricity for 48 hours, but power was restored during our flight.  The house suffered no structural damage, although tree limbs and palm lfronds cluttered our yard. Thanks, not only to Irma's decision to veer off to the west coast, but also to so many of you who expressed concern and good wishes. As it turned out, the storm forced us into an unexpected and very pleasant vacation!

= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to FENCES AROUND THE WORLD by Gosia

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display


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Arizona wrap-up: Grand Canyon and Lake Powell

After three nights at the Grand Canyon, our motor home was on the move eastward and northward to Lake Powell. Just before we exited Grand Canyon National Park we stopped to enjoy one of the most majestic views on the South Rim-- Desert View overlook.



Watch Tower at Desert View



As we got out of the RV at the parking lot, I immediately spotted a Western Tanager in living color. It disappeared before I could reach for the camera and failed to reappear as I lingered behind the rest of the family. My first (and only) photo of this species was an out-of-focus snapshot I took at "The Log" at Capulin Spring in New Mexico over 15 years ago. Wish I'd discovered the fun of DSLR a bit earlier!



A Rufous-crowned Sparrow lurked in the shrubs next to the path to the overlook. This is only the second time I have been able to photograph this large sparrow. It remained in sight for only a few seconds. Though far from perfect, this shot was an improvement over my earlier attempts.





I had never before photographed a Black-chinned Sparrow, and have only seen them on a couple of occasions when we lived in New Mexico. This bird was even more adept at remaining unseen, yet betrayed its presence by vigorously disturbing the twigs and leaves of its hiding places.





The final three days of our Arizona RV vacation were spent at Lake Powell, on the Utah border. We rented a day-use houseboat for two days and enjoyed swimming and fishing, at first deep in Navajo Canyon, a narrow extension on the south shore of the lake.

Here I am at the helm of the 36 foot "Weekender"...



...entering Navajo Canyon.



Far in the canyon there are unusual "Angel Wing" rock formations.



We spent the second day swimming and fishing with the houseboat anchored on a beach opposite the Antelope Point Marina. This was a special time for fun and getting wet, so I did not bring my long lens. In fact, I took my photos with a pocket-sized Canon A1100 IS point-and-shoot. 



I caught two Striped Bass, which we cooked over charcoal that evening. Interestingly, this species normally lives in salt water and returns to the fresh water of rivers and inlets only to spawn. They have been introduced into many larger inland lakes for recreational fishing and control of invasive Gizzard Shad but usually fail to reproduce and must be periodically re-stocked. However they successfully breed in some lakes, notably Lake Powell, where they are now abundant and out-compete native game fish. Because they are considered pests, there is no size or catch limit.



The only bird of note was this Western Grebe, shot with my son-in-law's DSLR, a Canon EOS 5D Mk II zoomed all the way up to 105mm.



The rather long drive back to Phoenix encountered a major detour due to a landslide, and slow trucks climbing the 3% grades on Interstate 17.  After a night back at Desert Shadows RV Resort, we returned the vehicle with over 1,300 (not 13,000-- thanks to Phil for pointing out my extra zero!) new miles added to the 4,000 already on the odometer when we started out.

We used our frequent-flyer miles to book a First Class flight back to Illinois, as there were no economy seats available. Very nice! This was the first time we ever traveled "in class."

Back home in Illinois, seeming quite oblivious to all the construction activity, a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a lamp post next to our condo.