December 14, 2018. Going home for the holidays can be quite challenging for some. It doesn’t happen often enough for me, so I was thrilled when my family invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them in California, my home state. Not only would it be a joy to catch up with loved ones, but there was the additional excitement of birding in a different location and the possibility of adding new birds to my life list.

September 14, 2018. I’m totally smitten with owls. I love everything about them: their piercing yellow eyes, those terrifying talons and soft, bark-colored feathers that camouflage them perfectly and help them fly nearly silently in pursuit of prey.

June 29, 2018. Our campsite on the Quail Loop section of Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, Arizona was nearly empty, the heat, rain and humidity leaving most campers seeking cooler climes. Gone were the wintering ducks we saw when we visited the park in January, but there were still plenty of other birds around to feed my obsession.

July 23, 2018. When my birding buddies, Susan and Brian, came up with the idea of a four-day, 1,400+ mile birding odyssey across Arizona, targeting nine VSBs (Very Special Birds), I didn’t bat an eye. I didn’t even hesitate. Did we get our birds, you ask? Read on to find out….

May 10, 2018. Life’s circle is defined as the series of stages through which a living thing passes from the beginning of its life until its death and in my ‘hood, I’ve seen it all. The drama of courtship and territorial squabbles. The industrious nest-building and the miracle of new life. The awkwardness of young fledglings, the sorrow of death. It’s one thing to see birds in these various stages; it is quite another to watch a specific bird and witness its circle of life first hand. Take my resident Great Horned Owls, for instance….

April 30, 2018. I’ve written about the Chiricahua Mountains before, about how this mountain range rises suddenly out of the southeast Arizona desert like an island and is, in fact, the largest of what are known as Sky Islands. I’ve talked about the birds, animals and plants that thrive nowhere else in the U.S. But with each visit to this unique area, I feel, hear and see something new that adds to my love of the place. It’s like hanging another jeweled charm from a favorite bracelet with cherished memories of special trips.

March 25, 2018. I am not an avid birder. I’m a rabid birder. My deep dive into serious birding last year propelled me into the orbit of two dedicated and knowledgeable birders, who think nothing of driving halfway across the state of Arizona in pursuit of an uncommon bird.

February 20, 2018. Even with its mild winters, the Phoenix area can get dreary as the months pass while waiting for spring. Throw in a little cold snap, courtesy of Mother Nature, and the onset of a winter chest cold that kept me housebound for over a week, and I’ve got a bad case of the Winter Blues. However, a clear day and a little birding can work miracles…