The day started out cloudy and when Mary Trupiano called at about 10 a.m., it was in the low 50s. She said it was cloudy/sunny in Tucson but 65o already. What’s up with that? Tucson and Picacho aren’t that far apart. But then we did see it snowing in Tucson but warmer and raining in Picacho last week. Mother Nature is getting weird.
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Last
night we talked about going to Whitewater Draw today to see the sandhill cranes
again. It’s about a 2-hour drive so I checked the webcam…no crane chatter and nothing
but ducks visible. The cranes appear to have left already; this observation was
verified on the Arizona Birding page. So, we decided to go to Sweetwater Wetlands
Park, located on the outer edge of Tucson.
Found this information on birdinghotspots.org:
The Sweetwater Wetlands is a
water treatment facility, an urban wildlife habitat, and an outdoor classroom.
As a water treatment facility, it is one of the most important facets of the
City’s Reclaimed Water System. Treated water filters through sediments beneath
recharged basins and replenishes the local aquifer. This reclaimed wastewater
is recovered by extraction wells during periods of high water demand and
distributed for reuse in Tucson’s golf courses, parks, schools, and other large
turf irrigation areas.
As an urban wildlife habitat, the Sweetwater Wetlands is a tranquil park
where visitors can view native wildlife in an urban setting. This water-rich
streamside riparian zone supports a huge variety of wildlife including
dragonflies, raccoons, hawks, bobcats, and dozens of other species that make
the wetlands their full- or part-time home.
As an outdoor classroom, the Sweetwater Wetlands provides an
environmental, educational experience in natural laboratory settings for
teaching about ecology and water resource management. The wetlands help
establish and enhance the wildlife population in harmony with Tucson’s urban
environment.
We saw turtles, rodents, quail, hummers, raccoon
tracks and an assortment of ducks. What I found to be interesting is that this
little wildlife oasis is about a ½ mile from I-10; the sound of traffic is
constant but provided a lulling background noise to our walk.
I
dressed according to our weather, meaning I had two layers on. Watched the temperature rise as we drove
toward Tucson and by the time we stopped at the park, the long-sleeved shirt
had to come off. It was sunny, we were
walking out in the open, I didn’t have sunscreen on and I’m sure I’ll be
feeling the burn before too long.
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This
morning before we left, I played around with my camera’s technology. I put the
camera on the picnic table, focused on one of the hummingbird
feeders. Then I connected it to my phone via the camera’s wi-fi which allows
the phone to activate the camera shutter; the pictures are crisp and clear
camera quality. Put it on high-speed consecutive shoot and I was ready to play.
Went back in the camper to eat breakfast and take pictures of hummingbirds. A
couple of them came to the feeder, I got pictures from inside the camper and
called my experiment a success. I can only see what the camera lens sees but
not the resulting pictures; must check the camera for that.
Standing
outside, taking my camera off the tripod, I saw an orange blur. I waited, it
happened again…I grabbed my camera, it was gone. Kim, there’s an orange hummingbird
flitting around here. That is so cool…I hope I can get a picture of it. I’m
going to have to sit outside more often.
One
of the feistiest hummingbirds in North America. The brilliant orange male and
the green-and-orange female Rufous Hummingbird are relentless attackers at
flowers and feeders, going after (if not always defeating) even the large
hummingbirds of the Southwest, which can be double their weight.
Cool Facts:
*The Rufous
Hummingbird makes one of the longest migratory journeys of any bird in the
world, as measured by body size. At just over 3 inches long, its roughly
3,900-mile movement (one-way) from Alaska to Mexico is equivalent to 78,470,000
body lengths. In comparison, the 13-inch-long Arctic Tern's one-way flight of about
11,185 miles is only 51,430,000 body lengths.
*Hummingbirds are hard to
catch, but there are records of Rufous Hummingbirds being caught by a large
flycatcher (Brown-crested Flycatcher) and by a frog. Interesting tidbit about
the frog. Would I have liked to see that? Yes but probably not really.
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There’s been a lot of jack rabbit action on
the Nutt Rd. camera…also have seen a dog, raccoon and coyote passing through, (separately,
of course) but no javelinas. Thought the watermelon rind would lure them in but
apparently not. Observation: The jack
rabbit’s legs seem to be as long as its ears. 😎
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No bike ride today. We got back at about 4:30 but hadn’t eaten
since breakfast so a late lunch/early supper was in order before I thought
about doing anything else. It was
cooling down by that time and I’d be racing against the setting sun anyway, so
I passed on a ride.
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40 Days of Lent challenge: (Family and Individual Activity) *Pray for awareness of bitterness, complaining, and judgement in your life. **Set up a family jar to put $$ in every time you experience bitterness, you complain or you judge. We decided to put a quarter in the jar every time we’re guilty of complaining or judging out loud. Bitterness was more of a stumper in this context. I know resentment that’s held onto can cause bitterness, but I really don’t know how to apply it here. I think complaining and judging will be responsible for most of the money that I put in the jar. In full disclosure, the jar already has money in it. 😕
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