Birds, not bikes

My bicycling still remains limited to commuting to and from work on the singlespeed beast of burden. The recent water main failure at Grant and Silverbell here on the west side temporarily complicated my route home, but it has been otherwise uneventful. A little warm, I suppose. Oh, and I entered a Bike to Work Week raffle at the beginning of April and ended up winning a $25 gift certificate at a LBS. Can't beat that.

I'm aware that I've probably wasted the last of the truly nice spring cycling weather but the in-town birdwatching has been so productive that I just haven't felt the urge to cleat up and bike down. I also lifted the hell out of my weights during April, so all was not lost, physically speaking.

But about that birding...

The list of what I consider "cool birds" that I posted back on tax day expanded by several species. Two more warblers, a yellow and a Wilson's (Dendroica petechia Linn. and Wilsonia pusilla Wilson, respectively) flitted through the front yard, gleaning within the ocotillo and paloverde blossoms. The black-throated gray warbler left the scene and was replaced the next weekend by another impressive-looking member of the virens superspecies complex, the Townsend's warbler (D. townsendi Townsend). A trio of Lazuli buntings (Passerina amoena Say) made the rounds as well. A western tanager made its annual appearance.

Last month's zone-tailed hawk returned this past weekend, this time unmolested by the red-tailed hawk, and I was fortunate enough to see it take a small passerine from a neighbor's yard. I doubt that the songbird prey item considered it a fortunate occasion. The zone-tailed hawk may be a resident, and this species' nesting within or even on the periphery of an urban area would seem to be somewhat novel.

Its about 6:30pm and I see that the sun is about to settle beyond the Tucson Mountains. The long shadows crossing the backyard tell me its time to stop keyboarding and get to lifting.

Oh, and one of the zone-tailed hawk's potential nest sites would be best accessed by mountain bike. Could birding actually be cause for some real-live biking? Perhaps, and singlespeeds are pretty sneaky. And yes, I know not to get too close to the nest - that's what my fancy binocs are for.