Saguaro Lake: A Huge Oasis in the Desert

Recently, I decided to head out to Saguaro Lake on the Salt River to take in a much needed hike for exercise and of course do some birding in the process.  Now that fall has arrived in the Sonoran Desert, the temperatures are so much more inviting for long hikes.  Saguaro Lake is a man-made lake on the Salt River and is surrounded by some incredible scenery.  On the north side of Saguaro Lake is a picnic/campsite known as Butcher Jones Beach and from this site is probably one of the most scenic hiking trails in Maricopa County, at least in my opinion, but then, I have not hiked every trail in the county, so I could be wrong.  This trail was the focus of my hike and it surely did not disappoint.  I started my hike early in the morning and apparently was the first person of the day to set out on this trail as I did not run into any other hikers until on my return. Here are some photos from various points along the trail.   

Birding was actually pretty good along with many of the expected species such as Black-tailed Gnatcatchers and Black-throated Sparrows.

 Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Black-throated Sparrow

One bird that I was not expecting at this location was the Sagebrush Sparrow.  It is not a rarity by any means, but the habitat just did not seem quite right for this species.  It is a wintering bird in Maricopa County and I have observed this species in many other spots in the county.  But on the other hand, this habitat is not that too far off, so maybe they are around, but have just gone undetected in the past.  (Once I returned home, I checked eBird and found that they had not been reported there in the past, at least in eBird.  So I got to add a new species to eBird for this location.)

Sagebrush Sparrow

Near my turn-around point, I discovered a gorgeous female Belted Kingfisher.  They can be a very shy bird and this one was no different, quickly flying across a small inlet when I flushed it.  Considering the distance, I was kind of surprised I got a photo that was recognizable.

Belted Kingfisher - Female

By the time I returned to the beach area, the waterfowl were much more active than when I started, so I sat myself down on a rock along the shoreline and noticed that mixed in with the hundreds of American Coots was a Redhead duck.  This was my first of the fall sighting of this handsome drake and he looked a bit out of place with all those coots and a few Pied-billed Grebes.

 Redhead

Pied-billed Grebe

Not sure what was going on with the coots that morning, but many of them were flying high over the water.  Usually, when I see a coot in-flight, it is low and near the surface of the water and quickly sets down in the water at a different location.  With them flying over my head, I asked myself, 'Why not?' in reference to taking a photo of one in-flight.  Really gives a different perspective on this oh-so-common bird.  

 American Coot

One last walk through the picnic area before heading home, in the search for a Gray Flycatcher.  The past couple of winters have had one or two residing in this location.  And sure enough, I found it, or maybe I should say, it found me, as it flew into a tree right above me.

Gray Flycatcher

A great overall hike of about 4½ miles with some incredible scenery and some great birds along the way.  Even some of the flora along the trail is pretty amazing.  I am always amazed at how some of the cacti dispersed seeds can germinate and survive in and among the rocks.

 My hike, from my GPS app,

 Some type of a fishhook cactus.

 Cholla cactus

    

  

Rosseau Sod Farms

On Sunday, January 25, birding buddy, Chris Rohrer, drove up from Tucson and we ventured out to the Rosseau Sod Farms north of Mesa and east of Scottsdale.  This is place that I had not been to in a long time.  There have been some really special birds spotted there in the past and now that I have a scope, I felt it might be worthwhile to check out the fields.  While we did not find anything rare, we most definitely found some good birds and really had a great time.  I even explored more roads than I ever did in the past.

 

As the sun was rising, we started scanning the sod fields and although we tried, we could not come up with anything rare, but we had hundreds of American Pipits, and they alone entertained us as we watched them foraging in the grass.  A flock would fly up into the air and then land a few yards away from where they took off.  Maybe the grass is greener on the other side of the irrigation pipes.  Some even ventured out onto the roads and along the sides of the roads. 

 

 American Pipit

 

American Pipit

 

As we drove the roads, we found canals and small ponds of water and one Common Merganser female allowed for a photo on the water and then when it took flight (they tend to be very skittish), if flew over us instead of away from us giving me my first attempt at capturing one of these birds in flight. 

 

 Common Merganser

 

Common Merganser

 

Some Mallards appeared to be playing a game of hide 'n seek in the tall green grass.  Almost a bit comical to see them stretch their heads up above the grass to take a peek at us.

 

 

Probably the coolest bird we saw in such an unusual habitat was an adult Bald Eagle perched on a dead tree in some desert habitat.  One photo which shows the habitat and then a close up photo that shows this bird in its majestic beauty.

 

 Bald Eagle

 

Bald Eagle

 

Next we ventured to the lower Salt River and stopped at Butcher Jones Beach on Saguaro Lake, a place Chris had not yet been to and we got to see many of the regular birds to be found there.  The Gray Flycatcher has been a resident in this location since before Christmas and at one of my visits I found two of them here.  Great place to get decent photos of this tail pumping bird 'empid'.  A Red-naped Sapsucker was also present and is definitely the most expected species in this area in the winter.  But one always has to check them out closely to rule out a much rarer species, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  No luck on the YBSA on this day, but RNSA is always a good bird to find and watch.

 

 Gray Flycatcher

 

Red-naped Sapsucker

 

One last stop on the way home was a small pond along a golf course in a residential neighborhood where the locals apparently enjoy feeding the ducks.  And these ducks are spoiled and are easy to photograph.  I already photographed a couple Redhead males a few post ago in January, so this time I focused on the lady Redheads, and they obliged.  (Yes, I am guilty as charged, had to get another photo of a drake as well! I am a sucker for that irresistible red head!)

 

 Redhead - Female

 

 Redhead - Female

 

Redhead - Male

 

It was a great day of birding once again with another avid birder.  Chris is almost obsessed with birding and he might even agree with that description.

 

 

 

 

 



Birding With Jim - Day 2

On Monday we decided to head up to the Seven Springs Recreation Area which is a totally different habitat than where we did our birding on Sunday. This spot is located north and east of the Phoenix metro area and is at a higher elevation.  It consists of a stream of running water surrounded by low desert mountains. Temperature at this location is much colder and often has ice in many places in the winter. On the road up to Seven Springs right about sunrise, we found a couple of Harris's Hawks in a tree by Blue Wash.  Nothing that is normally newsworthy.  However, remember this small bit of information, as the day is not yet over.

 

Within a few minutes of stopping we already had 2 new life birds for Jim; Bridled Titmouse and a Mountain Chickadee.  And about 15 minutes after that we got bird number 3, a Sage Thrasher.  As it turns out, they were fairly common in this location.  They can be found at the Thrasher Spot where we had visited the day before, but I think this location is a bit better for finding them consistently. 

 

Sage Thrasher

 

Another bird that I was hoping to find for Jim was the Mountain Bluebird.  This is a good spot for them in the winter and we were finding a lot of Western Bluebirds and no Mountain Bluebirds.  Must have had a little luck as we headed back towards the car, a pair of Mountain Bluebirds appeared in the tree above us.  Success and one more new life bird for Jim.

 

 Mountain Bluebird

 

Mountain Bluebird

 

From here, we decided to head for the various spots along the Salt River. On our way back towards Scottsdale, and while Jim was checking out his smart phone and the notices, I made a fairly sudden stop and pulled off the road and told him to look in the tree a bit behind us and on his side of the road.  We had a family of 5 more Harris's Hawks.  At least this time I was able to get a photo of one of them before they all took flight to the west.  That brought our tally of Harris's Hawks up to 7 for the day.  I have never seen that many in one day before, so this was quite exciting.  (No, it is not over yet.  You will have to keep reading!)

 

Harris's Hawk

 

After lunch in Scottsdale and a brief visit to Fountain Lake, we then set out for the north end of Bush Highway to explore the Salt River from the north.  Once we turned off the Beeline Highway and started south on the Bush Highway towards Saguaro Lake and Butcher Jones Beach and as we were driving through desert scrub populated by many Saguaro Cactus and just before the turn off to Butcher Jones Beach, we found another 2 more Harris's Hawks perched on a Saguaro Cactus off the road a ways.  That brings our total of Harris's Hawks up to 9 for the day!!!  Incredible?  Yes, but nope, still not done; read on.

 

At Butcher Jones Beach, and as we were studying the various ducks one of the resident Ring-billed Gulls made a few passes over the water and it is always fun to try capturing photos of them in-flight.

 

 Ring-billed Gull

 

 Ring-billed Gull

 

Ring-billed Gull

 

We then headed back to the picnic area as I had another bird in mind that I wanted to find as I knew it would probably be another new bird for Jim, but I had not mentioned it yet.  Jim spied one first and knew immediately that it was a flycatcher, but since it belongs to a family of flycatchers that can be hard to identify, the species, might be difficult.  I quickly pointed out to him to notice a behavior of this bird as it perched; it was frequently dipping its tail downward like a phoebe.  This is a great thing to know for this group of flycatchers as the Gray Flycatcher has this behavior.  Some birds can be vary difficult to identify by what they look like alone and knowing behavior and calls can often make that ID a bit easier.  One of my photos shows a morsel (insect) that it had just captured from near the ground.

 

 Gray Flycatcher

 

Gray Flycatcher

 

A Black-tailed Gnatcatcher also made an appearance in the area and I almost never pass up a chance to photograph these busy little birds.  They can be so curious and will allow fairly close viewing even though they are very busy and do not sit still very long.

 

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

 

From here we headed south on Bush Highway once more with the next destination being Coon Bluff.  Guess what?  Right on the highway we found an electrical pole with 2 crossbars and lo and behold, 2 more Harris's Hawks!  What an incredible day with 11 Harris's Hawks in various locations.  (OK, for those readers that have been following along just for the Harris's Hawk saga, you can now leave if you wish as that is the end of them for this day!  But, if you leave now, you are going to miss the most colorful bird of the day.) 

 

The stop at Coon Bluff was not as productive as I had hoped it would be with Phainopepla and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers being the easiest to photograph.  Was hoping for something else, but it was not found at Coon Bluff on this day.

 

 Ladder-backed Woodpecker - Female

 

Phainopepla - Female

 

Phainopepla - Male

 

The final stop was at Granite Reef and finally we found a bird that Jim was wanting to see in Arizona, the Vermilion Flycatcher.  His only other sighting of one, was a vagrant rare one on the east coast of the US.  So it was high time to finally see one where they belong.

 

Vermilion Flycatcher

 

In the two days that we spent birding in Maricopa County, I believe I was able to help Jim add 12 new life birds to his list.  He continued bird for the rest of the week while I had to return to work and he added a few more on his own.  It as a lot of fun spending these two days birding, and want to thank Jim for the good times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!