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.

 

 

 

 

 



Canal Birding in Arizona

Recently I have taken to get some hiking exercise along one of our neighborhood canals.  This canal is a border between the cities of Mesa and Chandler and it has been greatly improved with a nice concrete walkway on the south edge of the canal and pedestrian traffic lights installed where it crosses the major heavy traffic streets.  Not sure how far east it goes, but I know that one can walk all the way to parts of
Tempe to the west.  I had a Facebook friend suggest I check it out as there seemed to be plenty of bird life all along the length.  And she was right!   (Thanks Tina!) 

I have discovered this has been the best place for me to see and photograph the Greater Yellowlegs.  On my last visit, I found 3 of these birds within just the first mile and they have been quite accommodating.  What fun it is to watch them bob up and down while watching me as I take photos.  Here is a variety of photos in different poses.  Notice the black toenails in the photos.  Also note the bi-colored bill and the very slight upturn of the bill.  These are key identifications of this species compared to the Lesser Yellowlegs. 

 Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

 Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

This last visit I was graced with an elegant Black-necked Stilt.  Such a lovely and very photogenic wading bird and when I can capture the red eye clearly of this species, then I am happy with my photo.

Black-necked Stilt

Another bird that I see on almost every visit is the Green Heron.  Quite often they fly away before I can get close enough for a shot, but finally one of them stayed put as I walked past.  Just wish it could have chosen a better back drop!  On one other occasion, another one attempted to hide behind a stick.

Green Heron

Green Heron

The Belted Kingfisher has always been one of my nemesis birds as far as photographs, but along this canal, I had a nice male finally allow me to approach and get some decent photos.  Usually this bird is quite skittish and can be difficult to approach for a good photo.

 Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

Of course this is not about water birds only, there are usually a few predators in the vicinity as well and this handsome American Kestrel was another of those obliging avian friends.

 American Kestrel

 American Kestrel

A couple of ducks also presented themselves for photos; a Ring-necked Duck female and a very handsome Mallard drake.  The Mallard is probably the most common and recognizable duck in the United States, but one cannot help but marvel at the iridescent green head on this bird. 

Ring-necked Duck-female

Mallard

Of course a blog would not be complete without a mammal of some kind.  Saw a couple of Harris's Antelope Ground Squirrels on the opposite bank running and hiding, so I just stopped and got myself and my camera ready and waited for them and sure enough one of them had to come up and check on me to see if I was still around and what I was up to.  

Harris's Antelope Ground Squirrel

Don't be surprised to see more future blogs about this wonderful spot for getting some great exercise and observing some very enjoyable wildlife as well.

Gilbert Riparian Water Preserve - 9 January 2013

Another post on another regular spot and an easy place to visit.  The Gilbert Riparian Water Preserve, (aka GWR or Gilbert Water Ranch) is a birding spot one should not miss when visiting Arizona.  Always has a lot of the regular in-season, local birds, but many times some rarities decide to pay a visit, such as the Winter Wren from a few posts back (and to my knowledge is still there, but being a bit more discreet).  The latest bird that decided to camp out here was a Northern Parula.  This is a bird of eastern United States, but just about every year a few wander to the west for the fall and winter.  Many birders got great views of it and many also got some great photos, but for many reasons I was not able to get there and look for it until about a week ago before the cold temps kicked in.  It was pretty well known what area it was hanging out, so of course that was my priority location when I arrived and sure enough it made its regular appearance where I got great looks at it.  It definitely made me work for my photos (as most warblers do), and although it did not come to the front of a tree and pose in full sunlight for me, the photos are adequate enough for a positive ID.

 Northern Parula

Northern Parula

Along with the Northern Parula there was another visitor in the same area that should not have been there.  A male Yellow Warbler has been hanging out in the same vicinity.  This bird should have been much further south, like maybe Mexico, not in Arizona for the winter.  The Yellow Warbler was even more difficult to photograph for the simple fact it did not stay in the area for a very long time.  So I had to settle for a photo with a lot of branches in front of the bird.

Yellow Warbler

After seeing these two wonderful warblers, my wanderings then veered to some of the ponds to find a couple of specialty waterfowl; a Common Merganser female and a Hooded Merganser female.  Neither species is considered rare in Arizona, but they are a bit uncommon compared to some of the ducks, which includes Mallards which is probably the most common duck throughout the entire United States.  

 Common Merganser-female

 Hooded Merganser-female

Mallard

Also could not help but taking a couple of photos of some birds in the trees; a male Anna's Hummingbird and a female Red-winged Blackbird.  The later bird has stymied more than one novice birder in trying to identify it as it looks so much different than the male of this species.

 Anna's Hummingbird

 Red-winged Blackbird-female

Gilbert Riparian Water Perserve - 21 Oct 2012

With my car in the shop for repair, I stayed close to home this weekend with a birding excursion on Sunday only, and I opted for the Gilbert Riparian Water Preserve which is probably the best place for racking up a lot of species of birds in one spot in the suburban area around Phoenix.  It is easy access for just about anyone and with the constant changing of water levels in the 7 ponds, you never know what you might encounter when paying a visit.  Many rarities have been seen here throughout the years and this spot is well known to just about every birder in the state of Arizona.  When I arrived at about 6:30 in the morning I quickly found another birding friend, Bernie Howe, so we then completed our adventure together.  And in the process of our birding together we did find a bit of a rarity in the birding world.  We had found a fairly large flock of Inca Doves in the plowed under sod of Pond 5 and while scanning the many doves, I discovered one that stood out as being a bit different. We had found a Ruddy Ground-Dove which is not a new bird to either of us, nor the state of Arizona, but they are quite uncommon.  Their normal breeding range is much further south in Mexico, but occasionally a stray shows up in the American southwest.  When checking on the eBird web site, for the year 2012, there has been a sighting in Texas and about a half dozen in the state of Arizona, all of them in the early part of the year.  To many people it is not a dramatic bird to view, but for those that are listing birds, it is always a nice bird to add for the year.  Below is a photo of the Ruddy Ground-Dove and also a photo of an Inca Dove, which often gets ignored (but shouldn't) by many birders.

 

Ruddy Ground-Dove



Inca Dove

 

This area of upturned sod in the south part of Pond 5 must have been a great place for feeding for the birds.  Even while we were checking out the doves, we had various sparrows flying in for visits and scavenging in the dirt for seeds and maybe even some insects.  We had a huge number of White-crowned Sparrows along with a Song Sparrow, some Savannah Sparrows, a Dark-eyed Junco, and some Abert's Towhees.  (Yes, the Junco and the Towhee belong to the Sparrow family!)  The Junco seemed a bit out of place as I normally see them in higher altitudes in pine forests.  All the birds were having a merry ole time feeding until a Northern Harrier flew over and then they all took cover in the nearby trees.

 

 White-crowned Sparrow

 

 Song Sparrow

 

 Savannah Sparrow

 

 Dark-eyed Junco

 

Abert's Towhee

 

Now on to some of the water birds that we found.  Needless to say, I saw many more birds than the number of photos I have, but that is usually the case.  While we were scanning the many ducks a Black Phoebe flew onto a sign in the pond right in front of us and posed for a couple of shots before it realized that there were people close by and then off it went!  So along with the phoebe's photo we also have photos of an American Wigeon, a Mallard drake, and an American Coot.  OK, so the Mallard is probably one of the most common ducks in the US, but that green head in the right light is still stunning.  And the coot is quite handsome when you get to see them up close.

 

 Black Phoebe

 

 American Wigeon

 

 Mallard

 

American Coot



The final photo is one of the many Anna's Hummingbirds found in this location.  It is a resident all year in parts of Arizona and is probably the most common hummer in Arizona.  What a feisty little hummer and quite amusing to watch.   They have no fear and if one is wearing red, it is not uncommon for one of these little hummers to fly to within a couple of feet of your head and check you out from several different angles.  It can be quite an experience.

 



Anna's Hummingbird