Birding with Caleb

On February 7th, I had the good fortune to spend a day birding with Caleb Strand.  This young man is an extraordinary birder for his age and birding with him is really something special.  He has keen ears and eyes and has many chip notes memorized.  Only makes me regret that I did not pursue this hobby much younger in life when I had the chance.  We met in central Phoenix and we had left the day open without a concrete destination in mind.  Two days before, he went birding with good friend and excellent birder, Tommy DeBardeleben, and picked up two new life birds.  So the pressure was on to see if I could help him add another bird or two for the week.  I knew that I could find at least one new bird, that was pretty easy, but we headed east instead to the Salt River area, and specifically Coon Bluff.  Tommy and Caleb had dipped on this bird, (although, not for the lack of trying), on Thursday.  Might have been the time of the day though, as they searched in mid afternoon when the birds are less active.  I had found this bird myself a week before, but in the morning hours. 

 

We arrived around sunrise and decided to check out the river area first to allow the sparrows in the mesquite Bosque to warm up and wake up.  In the process we got to see a lot of cool but common birds such as the Vermilion Flycatcher, Gila Woodpecker, and Phainopepla.  Coon Bluff is the Phainopepla capital of Maricopa County. This is probably the best spot in Maricopa County to find this bird.  Sometimes they even photobomb other photos such as one of the Gila Woodpecker shots.

 

 Vermilion Flycatcher

 

 Gila Woopecker - Photobombed by a Phainopepla

 

 Gila Woodpecker

 

Phainopepla - Male

 

Finally after the sun had risen and the temps started warming up, we headed to the land of the mesquites to look for the target bird, the Harris's Sparrow.  We knew it was hanging out with a small flock of White-crowned Sparrows, so we concentrated on finding them first.  While doing so, a few flocks of Cedar Waxwings flew in and this is just one cool and sleek looking bird and they just beg for a camera to be pointed at them. 

 

Cedar Wawwings

 

We spent a lot of time looking for the sparrow and sifted through about 3 small flocks of them, even checked the other side of the road to see if it moved over there, but alas, we were not having much luck.  Finally went back to the original area and we split up to cover more ground and I heard Caleb shout that he had it.  I hastily joined him and we followed it as it kept moving further away from us and did not want to pose for photos.  Both of us finally got photos, and Caleb was just fascinated to watch this handsome looking sparrow.  SUCCESS!  Caleb had found his first new life bird of the day.

 

  Harris's Sparrow

 

  We then headed back west and our next stop was at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe to try and locate a Chestnut-sided Warbler that someone had a discovered in a lone cottonwood tree a few days prior.  It is not a new bird for either of us, but one that is not that common in Arizona, so they are always a pleasure to see.  Within 2 minutes, Caleb had already found it in the cottonwood.  Typical of most warblers, they do not sit still and pose for photos, so any photo is better than none and I never expect too much.  However, I think I lucked out on one of my shots on this day and caught this cutie with part of its chestnut colored side showing.

 

Chestnut-sided Warbler

 

Our next target was the Eurasian Wigeon located at Dos Lagos Park in Glendale.  This is the bird that I figured should be pretty easy to find for Caleb and it was.  This bird has been reported here for the last couple of years and can be found in the flock of American Wigeons that spend their winters in Arizona.  Did not take long to find the wigeons and all the other waterbirds in the pond because on the opposite side, some of the local people were feeding the ducks.  I quickly found the Eurasian in the water and pointed it out to Caleb.  so we headed around to the opposite side of the pond and we both got photos.  Caleb just informed me today that this was his 300th bird species that he has photographed. 

 

Eurasian Wigeon

 

Decided to take a photo of the feet of an American Coot while they were there since they were fairly tame and used to humans.  These feet are just fascinating to look at.

 

 

Our last stop was the Rio Salado, just south of downtown Phoenix right off Central Avenue.  No, we did not discover anything rare at this location, but I did manage a photo of an Orange-crowned Warbler. 

 

Orange-crowned Warbler

 

As we headed back to the car, Caleb followed the river bed area while I went up on the path on the bank above the river.  It was there that I met up with a pair of Greater Roadrunners that were in courtship display.  Most people are surprised to find out that these birds are members of the cuckoo family.  They can be quite entertaining to watch and these 2 did not disappoint. 

 

 Pair of Greater Roadrunners - Running, imagine that!

 



 Caleb - Photobombed by Roadrunner (the blur in the front)

 

Greater Roadrunner - Caleb, blurred in the background

 Greater Roadrunner

 

  Greater Roadrunner

 

We covered a lot of miles that day, but in the end it was all worth it as we had a great time and found and observed some incredible birds.  Caleb is a phenomenal birder and is a joy to have around on birding field trips.  Thank you Caleb for a great day!

 

 



Buckeye/Arlington for the Third Time!

On the last day of January I had planned on taking part in a birding field trip that was being led by an extraordinary young man to some spots in the west valley in and around Buckeye and Arlington.  I have been out west twice already in January, but knowing Caleb Strand and birding with him before, I knew how good he was and I wanted to join him and support him.  Friday the rains hit Arizona and the decision was made to postpone that birding outing because of the many roads that were not paved and would be muddy.  I had already made plans to ride with 3 other familiar and great birders; Susan Fishburn, Babs Buck, and Barb Meding.  Once the four of us heard of the cancelation, we got together and decided we would go out anyway and at least try to do some birding from the paved roads and I contacted Caleb to see if he would like to join us.  He was happy to join us and with the threat of possible rain showers on Saturday, the 5 of us headed out to see what we could find. 

 

With dark clouds and an overcast sky, we started out at the infamous Thrasher Spot.  First thrasher we heard and saw was Bendire's Thrasher, but our focus was the more difficult species, the Le Conte's Thrasher.  After a bit of walking around on the northeast side, we heard a Le Conte's singing in the distance.  Eventually we found it on top of a bush singing away.  While my photos on this day did not compare to the one a couple of weeks earlier, it is still a bird I will photograph anytime I can find it. We also had sparrows in the shrubs, but they were very reluctant to show themselves very well.  Of course the most common sparrow was the White-crowned Sparrow, but we also had Sagebrush Sparrows and Bell's Sparrows.  At least on this trip, I was able to get a photo of a Bell's Sparrow, which I missed last fall when I got my first view of them.

 

Le Conte's Thrasher



Bell's Sparrow

 

 The muddy roads definitely kept us away from many places that we have like to drive to so we were definitely put at a disadvantage.  A trip down Arlington School Road presented us with a few Vesper Sparrows and one that really fits the description of 'LBJ', Little Brown Job.  Many new birders are less intrigued with sparrows due to the difficulties of identifying some of them.  Yes, it takes a lot of exposure to them to start learning how to ID them, but they are definitely worth learning and getting to know.   

 Vesper Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

 

Also along the paved roads we did spy a few raptors, including a very wet Osprey and a handsome Peregrine Falcon.

 

 Osprey

 Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

 

The bird that presented us the best photo op was a Burrowing Owl.  We were all looking on the left side of the car for this bird when I turned around and there it was by the car on the right side.  The windows went down and the cameras started clicking. 

 

 Burrowing Owl

 Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl

 

The most exciting bird of the day, at least for me, was a bird that Caleb had discovered about a week before in his neighborhood.  The Greater Pewee is a summer resident in Arizona, so just being in Arizona this time of the year is rare.  When it is a resident, it is found in higher elevations, so this lower elevation added a bit more intrigue to the find.  I have seen this bird elsewhere in Arizona several times, but had never seen it in Maricopa County and figured that I would have to find it on Mt Ord sometime in the summer.  Caleb's find was definitely a great find and nice to add to my Maricopa list.

 

 Greater Pewee

 Greater Pewee

Greater Pewee

 

This may not be the most colorful blog post, but nonetheless, there are some great birds that we got to observe on a dark and dreary day in Arizona.  Thanks to Caleb for showing us around and thanks to Susan, Babs, and Barb for joining forces and making this a great day of birding.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 



You Win Some & You Lose Some

This hobby of birding is not always what it seems.  Once a person gets addicted to birding and listing, then every week and every day, one is always thinking what should I chase on my next day off?  Currently for me, that is pretty much weekends only, but if everything falls into place, next year at this time I will be able to head out any day I feel like it.  So it was, when the fourth weekend in January rolled around.  I wanted to add some of the rarer birds being reported to my Arizona list and my Maricopa County list for the new year.  So I headed for Lake Pleasant to see if I could locate some of the rarer birds being seen at that location.  What I did not plan on, was the wind.  It was brisk, and cold coming in off the water of the lake.  White caps in the water were not conducive to finding birds as they were most likely hiding in some sheltered coves on the opposite side.  Next time I decide to go to this place, I am going to check on the weather first. 

 

Since I was that far north, I figured I might as well hit a couple of other spots on the way home where I might have better luck.  Next closest spot to Lake Pleasant was Dos Lagos Park in Glendale to locate the continuing Eurasian Wigeon.  This is the second year in a row that this bird has wintered in this park and one of the easiest birds to add to one's list for the year at this location.  But from where I live it is quite a drive just for this one species, so being in the neighborhood gave it more credence.

 

 Eurasian Wigeon

 

Eurasian Wigeon

 

Next stop on the list?  Tempe Town Lake to add the Brown Pelican to my list.  This spot has been a consistent place for a small population of these birds to reside.  Most generally it consists of juveniles, but this time I found one in adult plumage.  Even though it was not easy to get close enough for killer photos, it was fun to watch it glide in from the west with a flock of cormorants and see the noticeable size difference between these two species.  Here is the Brown Pelican with its entourage of cormorants. 

 

Brown Pelican & Cormorants

 

Final destination for the day was the Gilbert Water Ranch.  Arriving late in the morning, took a little excitement out of the hunt as this place is so popular with joggers, dog-walkers, human strollers, and of course families with kids!  Oh yes, there is also always a plethora of photographers taking photos of some of the great birds that are there and are usually easier to photograph here than at most locations.  On this day, one could say that I must have joined ranks with the photographers because I started photographing ducks.  A drake Green-winged Teal and a drake Northern Pintail are always nice; the teal with its blaze green on the head and the pintail showing off its elegance and it is quite easy to see how it got the name pintail. 

 

 Green-winged Teal

 

Northern Pintail

 

Then I visited the fishing pond that has quite a flotilla of Ring-necked Ducks.  Most non-birders do not understand why they are called ring-necked instead of ring-billed ducks.  And to be quite honest it would seem that ring-billed is more apropos with that ring around the bill.  However, they do have a ring around the neck which is most generally not visible, but on this day, the drakes were stretching their necks and the rufous/cinnamon colored ring around the neck was visible.  Always nice to get photos of this duck with the visible rings.

 

 Ring-necked Ducks

 

 Ring-necked Ducks

 

Ring-necked Ducks

 

And as an added bonus, I wanted to add a photo of a Yellow-rumped Warbler just to let everyone know that I was checking out other birds, not just ducks.  This the Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler subspecies, and this photo leaves no doubt on how it got its name with that bright yellow patch on its rump.

 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

 

Although my original goal was a bust in the beginning, it ended up still being a good day of birding.

 

And if one is interested in mammals, this location has an abundant population of Cotton Rats.  They were great food for the Coyotes when they were there and are still a draw for several raptors that tend to visit this location.

 

  Cotton Rat