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

Hummingbird Feeders

Hummingbirds, those amazing little winged marvels that seem to burn more energy than they consume, are pushovers when it comes to attracting birds to your yard.  Flowers are the simplest way to draw them, especially bright tubular ones like salvia … Continue reading

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Big Bird Holiday at Rooster Cogburn’s

If you’re looking for a bird-oriented holiday outing designed for kids, grandkids and adults, too, there’s a great option about an hour from Tucson.  The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch is a 600-acre tract on the south side of Picacho Peak … Continue reading

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The Hummingbirds of Colombia

Arizona draws a lot of retirees for a lot of reasons, but if you love birds that could be reason enough. More than 600 species have been recorded here, including 16 different hummingbirds. If you moved to Arizona from an … Continue reading

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Birding Postcard from Colombia

Colombia is smaller than 25 other countries, and just two-thirds the size of Alaska, and yet it holds the world’s record for most species of birds. Nearly 2,000 species have been documented to date, or nearly 20 percent of the … Continue reading

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Birding Sonora’s Free Zone

Having hundreds of species never seen in the U.S. and a border just an hour from Tucson, Mexico is a natural magnet for Arizona birders.  But birding by car in Mexico is a little more complicated than birding in Arizona. … Continue reading

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The Wren from Sinaloa

Sinaloa, the Mexican state that lies along Sonora’s southern border, is well known for the popular beach-front tourist destination, Mazatlán. You might also associate it with a major drug cartel, but if you’re a birder you’ll probably think first of … Continue reading

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Best Places to Bird near SaddleBrooke

Compared with other outdoor activities like pickleball or biking, birding requires less equipment and burns fewer calories.  And, unless you’re on a quest to see all of the world’s 10,000 species, it’s also a lot cheaper.  In fact, with clear … Continue reading

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Water Birds in the Desert

As anyone who has seen the movie ‘The Big Year’ knows, unusual weather can lead to unusual birding, and on April 10 we had both.  An abnormal monsoon-like storm front swept into the Tucson area from the southwest, and it … Continue reading

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Rare Birds in Catalina State Park

Catalina State Park is one of Arizona’s state park gems, and remarkably the nearest one to a major population center.  The park was established in 1983, and consists of 5,493 acres of high desert/lower Sonoran Life Zone. The park entrance … Continue reading

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Baja’s Birds, Boojums and Behemoths

Mexico’s peninsula state, aptly named Baja (lower) California, is always a delightful destination, but February might be the best time to visit. Amazing birds are seen at any time of the year, as are wondrous boojum trees, but the gray … Continue reading

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