More new birds!

I added a few more new birds today to my "life list":
• Gilded flicker (I would love to find this one again and see it in full light)
• Red-naped sapsucker
• Hammond's flycatcher
• Phainopepla (I only saw the female so far)
• Gray-headed subspecies of the Dark-eyed junco
• Greater roadrunner (finally, finally on my 4th trip to Arizona!)

No, the roadrunner does not say "beep, beep"! The call, which we did hear on Wednesday, is actually more dove-like, although loud enough to be heard in a canyon when it cannot be found and in a tone that almost suggests moaning.

Yes, we did see a coyote today, too. I have actually seen one right in the neighborhood where I live, but I preferred seeing one where it really belonged.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring? That is the beauty of bird-watching. Every day is a new day. Birds fly (!!) so you truly never know what you will see when you keep your eyes open. :-)

I missed the Farmers' Market in the small town (it was yesterday instead of Saturday - darn). However, the owner of the B&B where I am staying has never eaten kale and did not really know what it was. She was sure surprised when I pulled some beautiful red-leaf kale out of the little refrigerator in my room. I purchased it at Whole Foods Market in Tucson before heading south into the mountains for my birding and have been eating it raw in sandwiches and salads. I gave her some to taste and I believe there is now one more "kale fan" in this country.

My bird list has been expanded and her food list has been expanded - how do you spell 'satisfaction'? :-)

Diana Dyer, MS, RD