Mike in the Wild

After eight months away from the mountains of northern Arizona, I was eager to visit Watson Woods as soon as I settled back in my summer home in Prescott in late May.  The riparian preserve has always promised sightings of migratory birds like tanagers, grosbeaks, and occasionally even orioles.  Just as exciting have been the nesting great horned owls that I have witnessed.  However I wasn't expecting the posters along the park's trails alerting me to nesting bald eagles in the vicinity.  After scouring the landscape over the course of two visits, I was thrilled to observe both a fledged eagle and at least one of its dedicated parents.   Several summers ago while kayaking, I watched a bald eagle as it perched within the Dells, an expansive range of boulders and rock formations that border the northern end of Granite Lake.  Watson Woods lie at the southern end of the manmade lake, where Granite Creek normally fills the reservoir.  (A dry winter has...

On rare occasions a visit to Watson Woods is a disappointment: not a singe blue grosbeak, summer tanager, great horned owl, wood duck, or bobcat in sight.  Of course there are always some birds - you can certainly bet on seeing lesser goldfinches.  However the preserve has accustomed me to regularly being wowed by a brand-new discovery and an exciting story to recount, like on a single outing to the park in June when I encountered a whopping three of the four tanagers and grosbeaks that call the area their summer home.  Yet two weeks ago I almost called it a day and left after only finding blue grosbeaks, beautiful but not out-of-the-ordinary subjects lately.  But then there was a sign from above when I looked up and saw a flock of over two dozen ibises soaring overhead. I had actually ended up at the northern end of Watson Woods, crossing under Prescott Lakes Parkway where Granite Creek was a mere trickle despite the recent rains.  Not usually exploring that a...

A visit to Watson Woods in Prescott usually brings an exciting surprise or two; on a very few rare occasions, it's a disappointing day.   I've had a lot of luck finding interesting birds in the park over the years, especially colorful migratory species like western tanagers and blue grosbeaks.  And last year I encountered some spectacular year-round residents: a nesting great horned owl with her owlets.  But every once in a while I "strike out," seeing only more commonplace birds - ones I see on EVERY visit - like American robins and violet-green swallows. So I was hopeful to find a tanager or two on Monday's visit, along with maybe some nesting owls.  While I'm happy to find any critter to photograph, I like to have an ambitious objective in mind when I set off for  this riparian preserve along Granite Creek just south of Watson Lake.   My digital pictures are a useful tool for my goals because of their automatic date stamps.  And my na...

Spring's arrival in the Arizona desert shows itself in many ways: temperatures flirting with the nineties, innumerable cactus flowers, blooming palo verde trees, and nesting birds.   The colors of the flora are a visual delight while the warm and dry climate is usually pleasant enough for lots of outdoor activities.  But sometimes our avian friends are an affront to our hearing, especially when it interrupts our sleep. Northern mockingbirds are one of the most common birds in Phoenix's neighborhoods.  Normally their endless varieties of calls are a beautiful and melodious soundtrack to the outdoor landscape.  But in the spring their tweets seem to take on a frantic, incessant rhythm as they try to attract mates.  At one point, their songs start to puncture the calm of night, seeming to invite doves and grackles to the sleep-depriving cacophony. Nevertheless the noisy season is a celebration of life as many birds breed throughout the area.  In time ...

My first trip to Watson Woods in Prescott was almost a year ago.  It seems that every one of my visits since to this restored native preserve along Granite Creek and adjacent Watson Lake has guaranteed a breakthrough moment in my birding adventures.    The list of exciting new encounters is still growing as attested in my finding my first western tanager in the park over the weekend.  But a year's time has brought many other firsts, including bald eagles, wood ducks, white-faced ibises, violet green swallows, summer tanagers and blue grosbeaks.    And as the following collection of photos from Sunday demonstrate, any walk in these woods is a feast for the nature lover.  Male Wilson's warbler. Female Wilson's warbler. Blue grosbeak. Yellow warbler. Male Bullock's oriole. Red-tailed hawk. A type of flycatcher, probably a western wood pee-wee.  One of several deer crossing the trail. Violet-green swallo...

The biological family anatidae includes ducks, geese and swans.   Anyone familiar with the fairy tale, "The Ugly Duckling," knows that the title character ultimately grows not into a duck at all but into a swan, "the most beautiful bird of all."  Of course, there are in fact quite a few equally beautiful ducks as swans in their large family, in which the wood duck might be the fairest. Arizona isn't the breeding ground for the wood duck, however some do winter here, while others migrate through.   As their name implies, they tend to live on small lakes and swamps in heavily wooded locations.  But most of this state's precious water resources are managed through a network of rivers, canals and reservoirs, all vast engineering endeavors.  However we're lucky to have some restored and quiet riparian areas like Watson Woods in Prescott.  Late last century, the local community and state recognized the value of a healthy watershed along Granite Cre...