Day 13--Sonoran Desert Museum, Catalina State Park

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

At 7:00 AZ time, (9:00 OK time), I called Jeff Millerd, my State Farm Insurance agent. He was very kind, assured me that I was covered for rental cars, and set me up with a body shop only a mile or so away. I had told him that I'd heard that body shops would not do an estimate on a rental car, but Jeff  found a State Farm participating body shop that would  estimate the damages. Jeff urged me to be first in line and told me that they would give me a fair estimate of the damage to the rental car. So, Deb and I prepared for another birding day but first drove to the body shop. Half an hour later both we and Jeff M. had a copy of the estimate: $541.28, less my $250 deductible.The $250 deductible was less than the $420 I would have paid for the Thrifty $30-per-day insurance.

After leaving the body shop, Deb and I drove to the Sonoran Desert Museum and spent the morning there. By this time you must be tired of cactus pix . . . so I will throw in a few of the animals we saw also.

Oops! This pic of a gorgeous flower in the butterfly garden sneaked in.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck in the shade of the aviary

White winged dove with a semi-bald head near where I was sitting

Gambel's Quail taken from some distance

All of the above of the same five-lined skink, an interloper in the Aviary

Fox curled up and sleeping

Fox rolling in the sand like a dog

Desert Spiny Lizard at the Tucson Botanical Gardens

Cell phone pic of a tiny hummer on her nest in the museum's
Hummingbird and Orchid House; I'm not sure of the species

After a morning at the Desert Museum, we drove to Catalina State Park and walked its Birding Trail Loop on the opposite side of Sutherland Wash. It was a cool day--60s and 70s, and the birding trail was shady in spots and wonderful, the park uncrowded, and its bathrooms clean and nice. At the trailhead, there were even dispensers of sunscreen, the first I'd ever encountered at a park. We found a Lucy's Warbler and Brown-crested Flycatcher as well as the usual suspects. The park closed at 5:00, and about that time we were far down the birding trail, so we hustled back and did not finish walking the loop. We also did not get to the picnic area where we hoped to pick up Western Scrub Jay.

Brown-crested Flycatcher (left) and Lucy's Warbler (Internet)

I loved this barrel cactus that looked like a beach ball thrown into the rocks.Look closely at this photo. Doesn't the brown rock on the right look like a crouching satyr or Pan?

Several times I asked the name of this tree with the shaggy bark . . .
but now cannot remember it

Waaaah! Our last day of birding and there were so many other birding hotspots that we had not gotten to or wanted to return to. Deb has vowed to return next year with some friends.

This evening we were invited to relax around the hosts' fire pit, which we did and had drinks and a fun evening with them and Mabel and June. Tomorrow morning we will visit Nate's Desert Survivor Plant nursery before leaving for the airport.