Phoenix, once known as the Valley of the Three Rivers, lost that distinction after the dam was built along the Salt River to provide water to area farmers. Now known as the Valley of the Sun, Tres Rios Wetlands lived up to that moniker so early this spring with a high of 87° F by 10:30 a.m. [The confluence of the Salt, Gila and Agua Fria Rivers is in the immediate vicinity including the Base & Meridian birding spot.]
After three hours, Marsha Wiles and I got out of the increasing heat to head elsewhere. We had already enjoyed a remarkable number of 57 good bird species.
Reeds and cattails were too high for me to see over into the big ponds behind the fences at Tres Rios and they even interfered with scoping from the higher berm. Waterfowl count is low because I couldn’t see into the nooks and crannies.
RED-WINGED and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS dominated the first stretch of roadway (beyond the fenced area). SORA, VIRGINIA and RIDGWAY’S RAIL were each heard clearly but not seen.
Over our heads, a mature BALD EAGLE carrying a fish eastward caught Marsha’s attention while I was packing up my scope, so I also managed to see, but not photograph it. We would see a second BALD EAGLE about an hour later.
Below are some of the birds, I did manage to photograph.
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| RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (above & below) |
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| GREAT BLUE HERON (above and below) |
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| COMMON GALLINULE (Moorhen) |
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| BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER (above & below) |
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| BLACK VULTURE |
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| GREEN HERON |
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| SWAINSON'S HAWK (above and below) |
Leaving Tres Rios Overbank Wetlands (permit required), I decided to check out the old pond at 87th Avenue and Mobile Street. (Lindsay Story had just reported that the pond at the end of an agricultural field had returned.)
This was a little bonanza! CATTLE EGRET were in the pasture with the cows.
And, these sweet BURROWING OWLS (2) were hanging out close to the roadway. Marsha used my camera to take the photos of these two species out the passenger seat window.
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| BURROWING OWL (above and below) |
When we reached the pond, it, too, contained birds we had not yet seen today. Links to our two bird lists follow; just click on each one if you want to know all 66 bird species we saw this morning.
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View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44343556
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44342568
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