The BirdingPI.com Regional Desert Southwest (BiRDS) field station outside Tucson, Arizona has been largely shuttered, unfortunately, since the start of the COVID pandemic. The discomfort of air travel notwithstanding, however, it was time to pay a brief visit for clearing out the packrat nests and other yearly maintenance. (Conditions in Tucson: sunny with highs in the mid-70s deg F; no snow.)
Due to budget constraints, the field station’s co-located with an HVAC scrap yard. Not much to look at, but all you need is a workspace for the ol’ laptop and a place to hang a hummingbird feeder or two. Most of the time it’s hitting the outdoors for scoping out what exotics the desert SW has to offer. Like jets and doves:
In all seriousness, Arizona is wonderful for birding. No better way to start off a few posts of interesting snapshots than with the state bird of Arizona, the Cactus Wren:
This is from an earlier trip, but easier to see when de-enmeshed from the cactus aspect:
Meanwhile, on a nearby sidewalk…
Stay tuned for more great birds! And jets!