Thursday, March 3…Hummingbird (Leslie Odom Jr.)

 On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at about 9:15 p.m., our family got a little bigger with the early appearance of Juniper Drew Trupiano.  Juniper wasn’t due until March 25th, but Anna’s blood pressure had been getting higher over several OB appointments so the decision was made to induce labor, which worked until it didn’t; after more hours of non-productive contractions and much consideration of the situation, a C-section was performed. Juniper clocked in at 5 lbs. 6 ozs., and 19 inches long and while all the professionals are amazed at how good she is doing despite being early, Ezra and Anna are simply amazed at her.  Welcome to the family, Juniper! 

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    The number of hummingbirds at the campground has always been astounding.  At home I put up a feeder and we usually will see two or three flitting around.  Our first time here I was mesmerized by the amount of hummingbirds; I had never seen so many in one place.  Frankie had 8 to 10 feeders positioned around the clubhouse along with some benches strategically placed for people like me to just plop down and enjoy the show.  One time I counted 12 hummingbirds feeding between two feeders with more hovering.

   The past three or four years we’ve put a feeder up in our campsite and the hummers have never disappointed. They always find our feeder.  This year is no different; we put a feeder out on the tree when we first arrived and since I noticed that the clubhouse doesn’t have as many as in the past, today we put up two more.  And both have already gotten some attention from the little flyers. 

   As I sat and watched them I wondered why there are so many in this particular spot.  Were theyalready in the area so Frankie put up feeders for them or did she put up feeders hoping to attract them and it worked?  A variation of the ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg’ question.  I googled ‘why are there so many hummingbirds in Arizona’ and found out that it can be summed up in one word: migration. The site hummingbirdcentral.com offered the most concise explanation: Many hummingbirds spend the winter in Central America or Mexico, and migrate north to their breeding grounds in the southern United States as early as February, and to areas further north later in the spring.  So it would appear that the time of year we choose to escape Michigan happens to coincide with the hummingbird migration pattern, although I found that there are some species which are considered to be year round residents of Arizona.

   Now I know that the feeders we put up are as much for the hummers to load up for the big trip north as they are for our viewing pleasure.

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   Returned from my walk a bit hot and sweaty, so I waited to cool down before putting on jeans, boots, and a helmet  to go for a ride.  The sheep are back in a field on Hwy 87 on the way to Coolidge…they weren’t there yesterday and now they are. And it looks like they’ve had their summer haircut already too.  I haven’t been able to find any information on who rents out the sheep but I’ve seen them moving between fields for the past couple of years.  They come, they graze and then they go…I’ve named them the Traveling Sheep. I’m going to keep a watch on how long they’re in that field.

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   Since we were successful last year with our improvised trail cam set-up we wanted to do it again. Kim brought two trail cameras this year: one for stills and one for video.  Last year we mounted the camera on a clunky piece of wood so it could be moved around easily if necessary.  This year he constructed mounting stakes…pound them into the ground, attach the camera and let the fun begin. Last year we set up the camera in the bushes just down the road by the culverts which was a very walkable distance.  This year he found a new game trail near tree cover several miles down Picacho Hwy; we’ll need to take the truck because of the distance.      

   Today we put the trail cameras out at the new spot to see what we can see.  But first we had to make sure we weren’t seen.  The truck was on the side of the road which is no big deal in that area and we were in the trees which would only be a problem if someone cared that the trees were beyond a fence.  The biggest issue with being seen is that I was wearing a neon orange shirt so the few times vehicles approached I crouched down in the brush and Kim stood in front of me so hopefully if anybody was curious enough to look our way they wouldn’t see me or maybe just think my shirt was a wayward piece of trash.  Next time I’ll wear something that blends a little better.  And it must be said that this was not the easier place to access. 

   Got the cameras positioned, put out some apples and meat, and now we wait.  Kim is feeling really good about this spot…lots of javelina tracks in the dried mud.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

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    A lone javelina ran across the road in front of us on our way back from setting up the trail cams. It wandered out from the ditch then stopped in the middle of the road to look at the side-by-side that was approaching from the other direction. It stood there a couple of seconds before it took off running…running too fast for me to get a picture.  Oh, well, hopefully we’ll get to see one on the trail cam.

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   No imaging for Kim last night or tonight because of clouds.  Even wispy clouds can be a problem.  Tomorrow night is predicted to be cloudy also; however beyond that the prediction is clear skies for a week.  We’ll see.

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Bike miles today: 68

Total miles: 308   

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