PHAINOPEPLAS


  Tom's Phainopepla Drawing Ugh.jpg

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Dr. Walsberg,                    August 9, 2011  10:18 AM

This is Tom Cole speaking. I'm Jerry Cole's son, and I took your Natural History of Arizona class years ago.

I've written a bird book about my 1063 trips to the corner of Elliot and Cooper Roads in Gilbert and the 13,318 birds I recorded there over 17 years.

I had a question that I hoped you could be kind enough to help me with. It's quite simple. 

I recall in the class that when the Phainopepla left a mistletoe seed on the bark of a mesquite tree, the tree excreted sap to protect itself by raising the seed. The seed set forth a shoot, and the tree excreted more sap to raise the seed and the race was on. If it rained before the shoot rooted itself in the bark, the tree won. If not, the mistletoe would begin to grow on the limb.

A couple of months ago, I threw out my notes. I wondered if my recollection of this curious drama was correct.

Thanks very much,

Tom Cole

The Intersection

From: Glenn Walsberg
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 2:23 PM
To: Thomas Cole
Subject: RE: Phainopepla and Mesquite Tree

Hi Tom,

Yep...you recall the story correctly.  It's based upon observations by the late Raymond Cowles.

My apologies for the delay in replying; I've been up in our place in the northern part of the state and e-mail - or anything relying upon Qwest - is fairly problematic.

Cheers,

glenn

Glenn E. Walsberg
Professor Emeritus
School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University

phainopepla somewhere.jpeg

1. Phainopepla    5/16/1971    Verde River
2. Phainopepla    11/27/1971    Verde River
3. Phainopepla    12/24/1971    Verde River
4. Phainopepla    11/18/1973    Verde River
5. Phainopepla    12/29/1973    Roosevelt Lake
6. Phainopepla    11/16/1974    Organ Pipe National Monument     At organ pipe a big bull kangaroo rat jumped on us while we slept. Phainopeplas and loggerhead shrike.
7. Phainopepla    1/8/1998    Pima Canyon
8. Phainopepla    1/11/1998    Pima Canyon
9. Phainopepla    3/2/1998    Boyce Thompson Arboretum    Saw male and female and got a particularly nice view of the female.
10. Phainopepla    3/21/1998    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
11. Phainopepla    4/3/1998    Superstitions    Only zillions of them.
12. Phainopepla    4/3/1998    Verde River
13. Phainopepla    5/9/1998    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
14. Phainopepla    5/17/1998    Pima Canyon
15. Phainopepla    8/9/1998    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
16. Phainopepla    11/15/1998    Pima Canyon
17. Phainopepla    12/23/1998    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
18. Phainopepla    12/28/1998    Superstitions
19. Phainopepla    3/7/1999    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
20. Phainopepla    3/28/1999    Verde River
21. Phainopepla    4/18/1999    Hassayampa River
22. Phainopepla    04/24/1999    Gilbert and Riggs Roads
23. Phainopepla    11/21/1999    Pima Canyon
24. Phainopepla    5/7/2000    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
25. Phainopepla    5/20/2000    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
26. Phainopepla    6/25/2000    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
27. Phainopepla    7/30/2000    Patagonia
28. Phainopepla    10/6/2000    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
29. Phainopepla    03/11/2001    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
30. Phainopepla    5/11/2001    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
31. Phainopepla    02/24/2002    Pima Canyon
32. Phainopepla    03/01/2002    Pima Canyon
33. Phainopepla    03/29/2002    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
34. Phainopepla    05/05/2002    Elliot and Cooper Roads    This was a life lister for this place. Steve spotted this bird on the east end of the area. It was in a tree and Steve tossed a clod in there and it flew out whirling. A male. Black. White wing patches.
35. Phainopepla    05/11/2002    Elliot and Cooper Roads    He was back! Yes and in the same place as last week. He was flying around the trees.
36. Phainopepla    05/17/2002    Verde River at Ft. McDowell    Just driving over the "bridge" again on the way back.
37. Phainopepla    07/20/2002    Patagonia    Absolutely EVERYWHERE!
38. Phainopepla    09/15/2002    Pima Canyon
39. Phainopepla    02/09/2003    Boyce Thompson Arboretum    To this date this is the only sighting of the Phainopepla in FEBRUARY.
40. Phainopepla    02/22/2003    Generic Place Anywhere    This was at SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT. Oh what a regal bird. Red eye. Shiny black. Crested. One of the most beautiful birds in the world.
41. Phainopepla    02/22/2003    Madera Canyon    Fairly common.
42. Phainopepla    03/09/2003    Superstitions
43. Phainopepla    03/17/2003    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
44. Phainopepla    04/21/2003    Generic Place Anywhere
45. Phainopepla    04/24/2003    Generic Place Anywhere    males and females along a canal near firebird lake on the way to the Chandler Sewage Ponds.
46. Phainopepla    05/23/2003    Boyce Thompson Arboretum    Oh was I sick of seeing these. They were everywhere. Males and females.
47. Phainopepla    08/03/2003    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
48. Phainopepla    08/24/2003    Pima Canyon    female flying over
49. Phainopepla    09/07/2003    Usery Mountain Park
50. Phainopepla    09/14/2003    Superstitions    male and female and several sightings
51. Phainopepla    10/10/2003    Superstitions
52. Phainopepla    11/10/2003    Organ Pipe National Monument    One male on the left side of the road as I drove home. He was high on a mesquite. A little later another doing the same thing on the right.
53. Phainopepla    11/16/2003    Pima Canyon
54. Phainopepla    11/23/2003    Pima Canyon
55. Phainopepla    12/07/2003    Pima Canyon    A male in a tree and it was quite tame for a peppie. I took its picture.
56. Phainopepla    02/28/2004    Usery Mountain Park
57. Phainopepla    05/13/2004    Generic Place Anywhere    A female whirling above the parking lot getting an insect. This was at the Tempe Historical Museum final dinner party. I went down a path and security came and said it was a restricted area.
58. Phainopepla    05/30/2004    Generic Place Anywhere    kind of a lot of them at MESQUITE WASH.
59. Phainopepla    5/30/2004    Mount Ord
60. Phainopepla    07/04/2004    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
61. Phainopepla    09/23/2004    Peace Park    Up in the tree over the Lutheran church.  Gary the minister came out to talk to me.
62. Phainopepla    11/19/2004    Tucson Arizona    Sonoran Desert Museum
63. Phainopepla    01/22/2005    Generic Place Anywhere    On the way to CAVE CREEK where I saw Pete Huttlinger.
64. Phainopepla    03/12/2005    Superstitions
65. Phainopepla    03/18/2005    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
66. Phainopepla    04/02/2005    Pima Canyon
67. Phainopepla    05/01/2005    Usery Mountain Park
68. Phainopepla    05/17/2005    Patagonia
69. Phainopepla    05/19/2005    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
70. Phainopepla    05/28/2005    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
71. Phainopepla    06/11/2005    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
72. Phainopepla    07/02/2005    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
73. Phainopepla    07/08/2005    Sedona
74. Phainopepla    11/26/2005    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
75. Phainopepla    12/28/2005    Superstitions
76. Phainopepla    01/05/2006    Superstitions
77. Phainopepla    01/27/2006    Superstitions
78. Phainopepla    02/11/2006    Tucson Arizona
79. Phainopepla    04/29/2006    Generic Place Anywhere    Nice Male at Mysterious Pond.
80. Phainopepla    05/25/2006    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
81. Phainopepla    08/11/2006    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
82. Phainopepla    09/02/2006    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
83. Phainopepla    11/11/2006    Superstitions
84. Phainopepla    11/18/2006    Superstitions
85. Phainopepla    11/24/2006    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
86. Phainopepla    01/05/2007    Superstitions    Lots on the highway up and plenty on the trail. One came into camp saying: dereeep! dereeep! Tame.
87. Phainopepla    04/13/2007    Canyon Lake
88. Phainopepla    05/10/2007    Generic Place Anywhere    The Farm at South Mountain AECP Graduation sii07.
89. Phainopepla    05/13/2007    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
90. Phainopepla    08/07/2007    Patagonia
91. Phainopepla    08/11/2007    Boyce Thompson Arboretum    Males and females and plenty o' them.
92. Phainopepla    11/11/2007    Superstitions
93. Phainopepla    12/16/2007    Superstitions
94. Phainopepla    02/09/2008    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
95. Phainopepla    03/08/2008    Superstitions    Nice male.
96. Phainopepla    03/15/2008    Superstitions
97. Phainopepla    05/26/2008    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
98. Phainopepla    12/28/2008    Ajo Arizona
99. Phainopepla    01/17/2009    Generic Highway
100. Phainopepla    02/26/2009    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
101. Phainopepla    03/16/2009    Generic Highway
102. Phainopepla    05/27/2009    Payson Arizona    Clutch Broke
103. Phainopepla    07/11/2009    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
104. Phainopepla    10/16/2009    Superstitions
105. Phainopepla    11/07/2009    Superstitions    on the road in. and out! Male and female. Several of them.
106. Phainopepla    4/17/2010    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
107. Phainopepla    5/8/2010    Superstitions
108. Phainopepla    6/4/2010    Mesquite Wash
109. Phainopepla    1/13/2011    Sabino Canyon    lots of them. a lot of females. Jeff coined the phrase phainster so we have yet another name for the peppie the phain the phaino the phainopep the pepla the phainorama etc.
110. Phainopepla    1/14/2011    Sabino Canyon    Jeff called them PHAINSTERS.
111. Phainopepla    2/4/2011    Boyce Thompson Arboretum    MALE
112. Phainopepla    3/14/2011    Superstitions
113. Phainopepla    3/26/2011    Superstitions
114. Phainopepla    4/2/2011    Superstitions
115. Phainopepla    4/24/2011    Pima Canyon
116. Phainopepla    4/30/2011    Boyce Thompson Arboretum
117. Phainopepla    6/16/2011    Elliot and Cooper Roads    FIRST SEEN SINCE 2OO2 WHEN I SAW ONE TWO DAYS IN A ROW. This is the what? 1087th trip? Three in 17 years or just two if you count the first one as the same bird.
118. Phainopepla    11/11/2011    Superstitions    Saw them several times. ALL MALES.
119. Phainopepla    11/23/2011    Pima Canyon
120. Phainopepla    1/7/2012    Sabino Canyon    Male and female on different occasions.
121. Phainopepla    1/8/2012    Rillito    male
122. Phainopepla    4/7/2012    Superstitions
123. Phainopepla    10/19/2012    Superstitions
124. Phainopepla    3/6/2013    Superstitions
125. Phainopepla    4/6/2013    Superstitions    Zillions of them. They make an almost human whistle. Sounds like someone's calling you.
126. Phainopepla    1/13/2014    Superstitions    Ditsworth saw a lot of these out of the window of the car. I never got a good look as I was in the back seat.
127. Phainopepla    3/12/2015    Superstitions
128. Phainopepla    2/25/2017    Superstitions    on the road
129. Phainopepla    7/9/2017    Patagonia    coming out of our ears. Trash bird. One female had white outer tail feathers with a thin black stripe up the middle of the tail like a trogan
130. Phainopepla    4/22/2018    Greenfield and Guadalupe Roads    male
131. Phainopepla    5/3/2019    Superstitions    only saw two females
132. Phainopepla    4/25/2021    Wendy's House in Tucson    several of them
133. Phainopepla    7/8/2021    Boyce Thompson Arboretum    Male and Female seen
134. Phainopepla    1/14/2022    Usery Mountain Park    One male in a tree. Only I saw it.
135. Phainopepla    3/30/2022    Boyce Thompson Arboretum    near Ayer Lake