Wrens are among my favorite groups of songbirds. Easy to see, but you still have to put some work into it sometimes, very tiny and cute (aside from the beefy Cactus Wren), brown but often with intricate speckles and streaks and many, many variations. It's like the best thing about chickadees mixed with the best things about sparrows. And any time you enter a new habitat it's like "Oh I'm in a canyon, time to go find the canyon wren. Oh I'm in a marsh, time to find the marsh wren."
Here's a photo of my most recent Wren sighting, a Rock Wren I saw at Navajo Bridge, a historical bridge that stretches over the Grand Canyon. I couldn't see him at first, but I could hear him. But I did some pishing and he came out onto this rock, looking for the pisher. Here's a picture:
Then I backed away a bit and he followed me up onto the rail! That's what's in that first picture.
Oh! I also saw fucking CONDORS.
The drive to Navajo Bridge is gorgeous. It looks like this:
Navajo Bridge itself looks like this:
And so my cousin from Flagstaff, Teanna, who drove me (thanks Teanna!) and I started looking for the famous Condors that roost underneath. We found one, but it was kind of far away and was looking away from us:
But then it looked right at us:
Then we saw it fly up and away. It's wingspan was incredible. I did not get a photo in flight. Condors are the largest bird in North America. Bald eagles have up to a 7.5 ft wingspan. California Condors can have an over 9.8 ft wingspan.
So it landed on a cliff on the other side of the opposite bridge. We made our way over (being careful of highway traffic D:) and got an incredible view. TWO condors perched on the cliffside of the canyon:
What a sight. Truly one of the great moments in my birding career of checks watch six months.
After this we went to a beach at the place where the grand canyon first begins. Here's my cousin on the beach:
It was an incredible view. We also saw an orchard that was I think first planted by Mormon settlers or some shit? I grew up in Southern Indiana and we had an orchard in my hometown. It did not look like this weird desert thing. Cool it can grow fruit though!
Here's another beach pic because I didn't take a photo of the orchard.
I always like to try to take photos of the scenery and remember that part of birding is just an excuse to get out and appreciate nature.
Til next time,
Saraberry North