Author Archives: Bob

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About Bob

A lifelong naturalist, Bob's avocation is birding, including field observation, study, photography and writing. He spent a career in computers and consulting, but his free time has been spent outdoors backpacking, fishing and enjoying nature firsthand. Bob has traveled extensively, exploring and photographing above and underwater in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Egypt and throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America. Now retired, as an amateur ornithologist Bob studies, photographs and writes primarily about birds of the Western Hemisphere. Formerly the Feature Writer for Latin America and Caribbean Travel at Suite101.com, he has been Suite101's Feature Writer for Birds and Birding since January, 2010, and has received seven Editor's Choice awards, which are listed below. Bob also writes a monthly birding column for a newspaper in Arizona, and his work appears in the travel magazine, Another Day in Paradise, published in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. His blog, Birding the 'Brooke and Beyond, discusses birding, travel and other topics in Southeast Arizona and beyond. Bob is a member of the National and Tucson Audubon Societies, Western Field Ornithologists, Arizona Field Ornithologists, the American Birding Association and other birding and conservation organizations. Bob and his wife, Prudy, live in the Santa Catalina Mountain foothills near Tucson, Arizona. To date, Bob has received Suite101 Editor's Choice awards for the following articles: • Birding by Cruise Ship in the Caribbean • The Xantus' Hummingbird, Baja California's Only Endemic Hummer • Birding the White Mountains in and Around Greer, Arizona • The Greater Roadrunner, New Mexico's State Bird • Where to Find Steelhead on the Lower Deschutes River in Oregon • Birding La Bajada near San Blas, Mexico • The 2008 Christmas Bird Count at Estero del Yugo in Mazatlan

Summit County’s Summer Hummers

The eastern half of the U.S. rarely sees but a single hummingbird, the Ruby-throated.  This Mexican resident comes north to nest, braving the Gulf of Mexico during both its spring arrival and fall return.  Similarly, Summit County is home to … Continue reading

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How to Get Rid of Pack Rats in Arizona

A lot of folks live in Arizona for a lot of reasons.  Many people who retire here, like most of us in SaddleBrooke, came from somewhere else, often somewhere dramatically different.  Like, almost everywhere else.  We move here to escape … Continue reading

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The Under-birded Mountains of Cochise County, Arizona

Southeastern Arizona is a magnet for birders, drawing them from every state in the Union, as well as from just about everywhere else in the world.  And more than a few residents, myself included, moved here at least in part … Continue reading

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Bird Nests 101

When most people think of bird nests, they picture a tea-cup-sized structure built of grass and twigs.  Many nests, in fact, do resemble grassy cups, but the full range of bird nests embraces everything from casita-sized palaces built out of … Continue reading

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Desert Beauty, the Black-throated Sparrow

Living in the Arizona Upland part of the Sonoran Desert has advantages for bird lovers. We regularly see birds that people across the U.S. travel great distances to find. One of these, and my favorite sparrow, is the beautiful Black-throated … Continue reading

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Arizona’s Towhees

Try as you might, you won’t find all of Arizona’s warblers, woodpeckers or sparrows in your SaddleBrooke yard, but it is possible to spot all four of Arizona’s towhees.  I know this is true, because I’ve seen them in my … Continue reading

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Birds and Other Reasons to Visit San Carlos, Mexico

  SaddleBrooke residents who haven’t discovered San Carlos yet are in for a treat.  This destination in the Mexican state of Sonora offers sunny skies, sandy beaches and lots of ocean.  Not to mention authentic Margaritas and delicious shrimp.  It’s … Continue reading

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Birding in Costa Rica

  Costa Rica has always been a desirable destination for travelers, as well as vacation and permanent home buyers.  There are good reasons for this popularity:  the scenery is beautiful, the people are friendly and the climate near-ideal.  More money … Continue reading

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Choosing the Right Binoculars for Birding

  When I first realized how much I enjoyed birding, I knew I needed some new binoculars.  I owned a pair of Bushnell porro prism binoculars at the time.  Porro prisms are the ones that have a ‘z-shaped’ optical path, … Continue reading

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Male Hummingbirds: Playboys of the Bird World

Many of our birds, like the Curve-billed Thrasher, are monogamous.  Happily mated for life, these birds work together.  They build their nests jointly, hang out together and share parental responsibilities, like incubating, feeding and fledging their young.  They don’t flirt, … Continue reading

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