Fall migration along the Eastern Tanque Verde Sept 1

My friend Kirk and I surveyed the far east end of the Tanque Verde Wash today.   Almost the entire first half of the survey was relatively quiet except for the constant calls of Purple Martins overhead, for which over 3 dozen were about.   An interesting find were raptor feathers strewn about one section of the wash.   The edges were frayed which would indicate an owl, and a google search on "barn owl feather identification" shows similar feathers (showing more white than a Great Horned Owl flight feather ).  What do you think?  Here is another link to a feather ID site http://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas

Barn Owl Feather?

The birds were so quiet compared to other excursions.   As we neared the halfway point a large brownish snake

A home for Rufous-wings? Aug 1 2012





Rufous-winged Sparrow March 2011

 

Rufous-winged Sparrow March 2012
          


On the ride from the bus stop to work I lamented on a lot that was just cleared of vegetation opposite my workplace.   It wasn't the best habitat in the world, but had attracted many good birds over the years. Recently it even had nesting Black-throated Sparrows, a rarity in mid Tucson..  I remember seeing Northern Harriers hunting its boundaries in winter, and Lesser Nighthawks hawking insects in daylight hours during the monsoon season.   This spring I had also heard my first Rufous-crowned Sparrow within its borders.   As I sadly pondered the fact that these birds were losing their home a distant and repetitive sound tapped at my thoughts.  I realized it was not my imagination but the real call of a Rufous-winged Sparrow, almost in answer to my pondering questions.   I turned back to appreciate its sweet "ping pong ball," call and silently invited him to our neighborhood if he needed a place to stay for a while. 

As I rode on I remembered the lyrics to a old favorite tune, "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got till its gone....

Question:  If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound. 

Answer:  A tree is never alone in the forest, and we would be all alone without trees.               

Author.  myself Aug 1 2012