Saguaro Lake El Norte, Maricopa County, AZ

Sunday, January 14, 2018
This morning I got out of bed reminding myself that a PRAIRIE WARBLER had eluded me at Saguaro Lake on Friday. So, off I went for another try, much earlier this time, starting at 7:40 a.m. Because the trail up the hill is quite rocky and fairly steep for my slightly ailing back, I stuck to the roadway near the posted sign for the trail but other birders headed up the hill.

Not known for my patience, I stayed focused for a very long time without finding the bird. 

On Friday, I had birded the portions of the Lake close to where I birded. Some birds out on the Lake:

RING-BILLED GULL(s)

LESSER SCAUP (above and below)

Not all birds had been on the water. A pair of Southwestern RED-TAILED HAWK (fuertesi) appeared to be gathering material for nest building. Photos below are of the same very pale bird in different lighting.

My patience today was running thin looking at the same 10-12 ironwood trees over and over to no avail. After taking a break in the restroom, I gave the ironwood trees near there one more go-over. I also started doing a "chip" sound, which I mention only because the bird suddenly showed up in a palo verde tree. Wow! Its yellow was unmistakeable but it didn't stay still. The bird headed into the dense center of an ironwood tree directly in front of me.

Trying to find the bird, I had just located a VERDIN, when Steve Boyack and Jaylyn arrived. They had done the high trail and returned. I told them I had seen the PRAIRIE WARBLER fly into the tree in front of us but it hadn't shown well yet. We followed movement, we caught glimpses of bright yellow. The bird is a small gem with a grayish spectacle.

Finally, it showed in the ironwood directly up the hill from the large restrooms.

PRAIRIE WARBLER at Saguaro Lake-North.

PRAIRIE WARBLER taking a short flight to the other side of the same ironwood tree

Then, it flew across the street, closer to the bathrooms.

Then, it took off again lower down and closer to the rest rooms.

Feeling grateful that my patience had lasted long enough to see the bird, I felt incredibly fortunate to get photos of this PRAIRIE WARBLER, most often found east of the Mississippi. Getting outside in any aspect of the natural world tends to rejuvenate me. When I see and photograph and rare bird like this, ecstatic!

Until next time.

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