Local Birding, Maricopa County, AZ

September 25 & 30, 2018
Birding too often right now to maintain my blog, I'll do a quick show of some nifty birds that can be seen within easy traveling distance.

This first group were observed at the Chart House grounds -- yes, that tony seafood restaurant in Scottsdale on McCormick Parkway. Leaving before dawn to miss commuter traffic, it was a beautiful morning.

EGYPTIAN GOOSE - it's wild, but considered an exotic. It shows up here and there from time to time.

EGYPTIAN GOOSE hanging out with the CANADA GEESE.

Walking the edge of the pond, I came across a Black-crowned Night Heron that, when I went to photograph it, was incredibly hard to discern among the rocks. It seemed really well camouflaged.

Note the bird's colors among the rocks: BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON

It felt good to see the BELTED KINGFISHER. They smartly leave for the summer!

BELTED KINGFISHER  (male)

A quick run south on the 101 took me to the Gilbert Civic Center area where a flock of MONK PARAKEET have nested in the median palm trees of the shopping center across from the Civic Center. Parking near Gilbert Road in the S.C. lot in front of some restaurants should give you a good view of these unusual birds in the wild.

MONK PARAKEET, across from Gilbert Civic Center

Who would have guessed that sewage treatment ponds (water settlement basins or whatever name is used for these filtration water systems) would attract so many interesting birds?

Hinde Silver and I drove out to Glendale Ponds on Sunday, 9/30/18, to catch a glimpse of a COMMON TERN if it was still visiting the ponds. It was!  Again, we arrived early. Jeff Ritz was already there at dawn and other birders soon arrived. The COMMON TERN showed up but my camera is not always up to the distance I needed to cover to catch the bird in action....the only way we saw it.

COMMON TERN - more of a shorebird than an inland bird

Then, driving farther west and south, we visited Arlington Wildlife Area to catch a glimpse of another rare bird! A ROSEATE SPOONBILL had been stopping by the ponds there. It's a gorgeous bird seen more frequently in Texas and Florida than here in the desert.

While we waited for the bird to show, flocks of WHITE-FACED IBIS landed at the remnant of the eastern-most lake. 

WHITE-FACED IBIS - basic plumage

A few weeks ago, the sandy part of this pond was filled with water. Today WFIB were preening.

Finally, overhead: WOW!  And, WOW!  Sometimes birds just blow my mind.

ROSEATE SPOONBILL in ARIZONA!

Same ROSEATE SPOONBILL, a bit closer in flight

Although we had one more stop for a "target" bird (rarity to add to our Arizona Bird List for this year), I didn't manage a photo. It was fully across a pond at Gilbert Water Ranch, but I was delighted we found it.  AMERICAN BITTERN are stealthy with highly camouflaged feathering and are exceptionally difficult to spot - especially in the brushy area where  it had previously been reported. But it was almost mid-day and heat was building; this would be the only spot we would check. 

What are the chances?  I'm usually an upbeat optimistic person, but I know this bird; I didn't give us the odds. As I scanned the shrubs and limbs, though, I stopped short. 

"Hinde! Take a look!  Over there--on that tiny curved limb."
She said, "That's it!!" 
And, sure enough, we were looking at an AMERICAN BITTERN ever so slightly beyond the brush on a snag branch! In the past this bird has taken my breath away with its full persona -- it's secretive, furtive behavior; its 28" of beauty when fully stretched out with bold soft brown stripes running from its throat to belly so that it blends in with reeds; its small head with a beady yellow eye and narrow pointed yellow bill ready for the kill. I tried to find it in my viewfinder, but couldn't.

Hinde said, "It disappeared." 

That's what this bird does best!

We were thrilled with a day of target birding: three for three! Not often that happens. Frankly, I don't enjoy target birding but these rarities were too good to pass up. When you miss the target bird, there is nothing quite like the feeling you get either...more than a bummer; it seems like a real downer. And, it's just a bird. But it is a quest; and missing is not the object!

My objective to make this the best personal birding year of my life continues to materialize very well. With my pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay, I exceeded my hope of reaching a goal of seeing 500 species in the USA. (AZ, CO, TX, CA, AK)  
Thanks to eBird that does all the calculations, my count now stands at 517 species. 
Must not have aimed high enough; I'll move forward a step at a time: 

New Goal: 525 species.

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