2015 - A New Year

It feels like I have deserted my blog site, but that is far from the truth.  Due to an unplanned and unforeseen visit by an influenza virus, I virtually have not been able to get out birding since Christmas.  This past weekend was the first time I have been able to get out and about and this was after the gift of Mother Nature dropping in and giving Arizona a taste of winter.  Truly not as serious as other parts of the country, but to Arizona standards, it was cold.  Saturday morning, I bundled up and headed for the Lake Pleasant area, just to see what I could find on my own.  While I did not come away with any photos, being able to add the Common Loon to my Maricopa County list was long overdue and I actually got to see 2 of them.

 

So Sunday morning, I headed out to a couple of spots in the east valley along the lower Salt River.  A stop at the Granite Reef Recreation Site, gave me my first thrasher for the year and surprisingly, it was not a Curve-billed Thrasher which is the most common species of thrasher in Arizona.  I was serenaded by a Crissal Thrasher singing high from the top of a salt cedar.  Not a bird to always give great views or photo ops, but maybe it is a good omen for another good year of birding.

 

Crissal Thrasher

 

From the bitter cold of Granite Reef, I then headed to Butcher Jones Beach on Saguaro Lake.  Secretly, I was hoping that the Surf Scoter might still be present, but alas, this was not the case.  That's not to say it was not on Saguaro Lake as it could have been far out into the main part of the lake.  So I spent my time observing the water birds and trying to get some photos of one of my favorite ducks, the Bufflehead which is the smallest duck in the U.S.  The males are stunning and when the light hits the iridescent feathers on the head, you get to see a rainbow of colors.  Being diving ducks, they were constantly diving and photos at times proved to be a bit of a challenge.  Just as you are ready to trip the shutter they would dive, so here is a series of photos showing the various moments.

 

 Bufflehead - Male

 

 Bufflehead - Male

 

 Bufflehead - Male

 

 Bufflehead - Male

Bufflehead - Male

 

 Bufflehead - Female

 

Bufflehead - Female

 

Had a few Eared Grebes also playing diving games.  Usually the Bufflehead and Eared Grebes do not linger close to shore and allow people to approach very close, but on this day they seemed to be a bit more accommodating to me and my camera.

 

 Eared Grebe

 

 Eared Grebe

 

Eared Grebe

 

This has recently always been a good place to find a Common Gallinule.  They are a bit more interesting than the dozens of American Coots that are located here.

 

Common Gallinule

 

As a walked part of the trail a couple of female Northern Cardinals kept me entertained on some cholla cactus.

 

Northern Cardinal

 

Of course a couple of Ring-billed Gulls were making the rounds as well.

 

Rig-billed Gull

 

Before I left the area, I did a quick walk around the picnic area to see what might show up.  A Gray Flycatcher and a Gilded Flicker were nice additions to my daily list.

 

 Gilded Flicker

 

 Gilded Flicker

 

Gray Flycatcher

 

Probably the most enjoyable experience in the picnic area was my encounter with a Greater Roadrunner.  Not a rare bird by any means, but this one was quite the character for me.  I first saw it strolling through the grass about 30 yards away,  So I snuggled up close to one of the mesquite trees and watched it and was taking some not-so-great photos since it was so far away.  As I stood perfectly still, it turned in my direction and slowly made its way toward me.  Of course it knew I was there as it could here the clicking of the camera.  It finally got to within 10 feet of me, eyeing me and it was so close, I could not fit the entire bird into my camera frame.  I talked softly to it as it checked me out and once I felt that I had intruded enough on its turf, I slowly turned around and walked slowly away.  In checking back, it was not at all alarmed and did not take off running.  As I was driving out of the lot, it stopped one more time on a mound of earth for one last photo.  It is moments like this that I feel sometimes that I have connected with nature and a memory that I will never forget.

 

 Greater Roadrunner

 

 Greater Roadrunner

 

 Greater Roadrunner

 

 Greater Roadrunner

 

Greater Roadrunner

 

Might not have been any of the rarest or uncommon birds, but just getting out and connecting with nature was very uplifting.  Definitely not a wasted day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  



Way Out West

On Friday November 29th, birding friend, Chris Rohrer ventured up from Tucson to the Phoenix area to spend a day of birding in the far western reaches of the 'West Valley' near Phoenix.  The area is a vast area that extends from the infamous 'Thrasher Spot' to the agricultural fields of Arlington and Buckeye.  In the winter this can be very productive for finding many migrant birds as well as some resident birds.  Our first stop was the Thrasher Spot which is famous for being probably the most reliable spot to find the fairly uncommon Le Conte's Thrasher.  We came to this spot in the hopes of finding both the 2 new sparrow species which were a result of the AOU making a split on the old 'Sage' Sparrow.  The 2 new birds from this split are the Sagebrush Sparrow and the Bell's Sparrow.  While we struck out on the Bell's Sparrow, we did find and observe several of the Sagebrush Sparrows which are most likely the most common of these 2 species to be found here.

 

Sagebrush Sparrow

 

We also dipped on the Le Conte's Thrasher this time, but will try again maybe when breeding season approaches.  As a consolation, we did see a few Bendire's Thrashers and one of 2 Crissal Thrashers put on a singing show for us and allowed us some great looks.  Most thrasher species can be quite secretive and elusive, so when one does land at the top of a tree and starts singing, it can be quite moving as most of their songs are quite melodic. 

 

Crissal Thrasher



Crissal Thrasher

 

From the Thrasher Spot, we hit the roads by first heading down towards Arlington.  Had intentions of taking Chris to the Arlington Ponds, but the road was very muddy and rutted, and we though better of that idea.  But we had many birds along the road including the American Kestrel.  We counted over 20 of these birds along the road.  This bird is our smallest and most common falcon in the United States and in the winter they can be found in high numbers in Arizona.

 

American Kestrel

 

We also had the great fortune of finding 2 Ferruginous Hawks along the roadways which is another winter visitor to our area and one that many birders love to find in Arizona.

 

Ferruginous Hawk

 

Other birds included a Greater Roadrunner, (no photos), a few Savannah Sparrows, a few Western Meadowlarks, and at one farms with a corral, a huge flock of Red-winged Blackbirds with some Brown-headed Cowbirds in the mix.

 

Savannah Sparrow



Western Meadowlark



Flock of Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds

 

 Finally we arrived at the Lower River Ponds which Chris had never seen and we were amazed by the sheer number of American White Pelicans that were there.  We counted over 140 and a week later another person counted over 250.  This photo only shows a small portion of these magnificent birds that were located there and if one looks closely you will see 2 Snow Geese in the middle.  Looks like midgets among the giants!

 

American White Pelicans and Snow Geese

 

Snow Geese

 

 American White Pelican

 

American White Pelican

 

While we were astounded by the number of pelicans, we also noticed large numbers for Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons on the banks on the opposite sides and in the fields back behind and to the south of the ponds and mixed in with those Great Blue Herons was a sprinkling of Sandhill Cranes.  There is a small contingent of these magnificent birds that spend their winters in the vicinity of Maricopa County.  While they were quite a distance from us for photos, they eventually took flight and when seen flying, they do not even resemble the herons.  Very easy distinction.

 

Sandhill Cranes

 

The ponds were also visited by a juvenile Bald Eagle flying over the ponds that made many of the waterfowl take flight.  While the sun was in the wrong place for photos, it was still quite interesting to see a Great Egret and the Bald Eagle in the same frame.  No, the eagle or the Egret were chasing each other; they just happened to be in the same frame at the same time.

 

 Bald Eagle and Great Egret

 

 Bald Eagle and Great Egret

 

Bald Eagle and Great Egret

 

What a wonderful place to visit for birds in especially in the wintertime in Arizona.  With the milder weather this state has to offer, we get the opportunity to see many wonderful birds that like to make their winter homes in Arizona.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Superior CBC - 26 Dec 2012

On Wednesday, 26 Dec, I took part in the Superior CBC (Christmas Bird Count) and was assigned to area 4 which included the Oak Flats Campground.  Thanks to our great team leader, Cynthia, along with Grant, Tyler, Ellen and Vic, we had a great day.  Since the focus of this excursion was about 'counting' birds, I spent much less time photographing birds.  (Also to add to that, I had a minor malfunction with my photography gear, teleconverter was out of commission, which really hindered the photography portion during this all day event.) 

 

Probably the funnest and cutest bird that day was a Bridled Titmouse.  These little birds make their appearance in the United States in Arizona and New Mexico.  And like many very small birds, they are very active in gleaning insects from the foliage of trees.  Had one spend some time in the sun for me and allowed me to capture some photos of it in various poses. 

 

 Bridled Titmouse

 

 Bridled Titmouse

 Bridled Titmouse

 

Bridled Titmouse

 

Another unique bird that is not as common as the Curve-billed Thrasher is the Crissal Thrasher, another bird of the American Southwest.  It has a long, slender curved bill that almost appears like a lethal weapon.  This bird is known for its rich chestnut colored undertail patch, which is unlike other thrashers.  Most thrashers are great singers and this one was not an exception, singing from the top of a small shrub.

 

 Crissal Thrasher

 

Crissal Thrasher

 

Other birds found at Oak Flats CG, were the Canyon Towhee, Northern Cardinal, and Dark-eyed Juncos.

 

 Canyon Towhee

 

 Northern Cardinal-male

 

Dark-eyed Junco

 

Late in the afternoon, we all met at Boyce Thompson Arboretum for a wrap-up of our counts.  I also used the bit of free time to capture a couple other photos.  Had to capture an equally beautiful female Northern Cardinal as well since I already had the male from earlier in the day.  After having counted endless numbers of White-crowned Sparrows, I figured a photo or two of them might be nice.  And I found the lingering White-winged Dove at BTA that must have decided to spend its winter a bit further north than usual. 

 

 

 Northern Cardinal-female

 

 White-crowned Sparrow-juvenile

 

 White-crowned Sparrow-adult

 

White-winged Dove