Roseate Spoonbllls and American White Pelicans in Maricopa County, AZ

ROSEATE SPOONBILL

Two days after returning from the White Mountains, I invited Hinde Silver to join me in some "target" birding--no guns, just cameras!  Target birding is not my favorite way of going out into nature and spending time with creatures, but when three (3) unusual birds arrived in Maricopa County, I really wanted to see them.  

Starting at dawn at Glendale Ponds (Phoenix West Valley) on Sunday, September 30th, we were fortunate to have the COMMON TERN fly into the space over Pond 5 within thirty minutes. Most often seen at coastal ponds and over the ocean, I'm always intrigued when such a bird shows up in the desert. With a few very distant and un-noteworthy but identifiable photos, we continued birding for a while to see what else might be foraging in the shallows at Pond 1, the only pond with some water on this date. 

Already, my mind was set to go search for target #2 at a more distant West Valley location, the Arlington Wildlife Area. How do birds find these tiny pieces of water? When I had been there two weeks' ago with Pam, the ponds were full but there was no ROSEATE SPOONBILL in sight. Today, several other birders were already there and assured us that our target species was still around.

Hanging around the now very shrunken eastern pond, we watched WHITE-FACED IBIS circle overhead and land to preen on the dry part of the pond. 

Hinde had talked with Anne Leight, one of the other birders, who suggested we keep a close eye on the Ibis as the Spoonbill often flew with them. Hmmm. Not this time. That colorful bird can hardly hide out here in drab desert. I scanned snag trees to the east. Nada. 

Then, there it was - coming in right over our heads, circling, circling...but never landing while we were present.

Beautiful in every way: ROSEATE SPOONBILL -- a Life Bird for Hinde - and just a rare wonderful sighting of a Florida and Texas bird I had seen many times. 

One more bird to accomplish a 3 out of 3 target species: will we make it??  Having strong doubts and feeling a bit done in by the growing heat, we drove back to our East Valley of Phoenix to check out the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch. We didn't doubt its presence. I doubted we'd see the bird; it's a skulker.

Scanning my binoculars over the south end of Pond 6 thoroughly without result, I continued scanning the west side of the pond. Its markings provide the bird with great camouflage in reeds and bushes.

"Hinde! Look over there on that little limb!"

"That's it!" she exclaimed.

AMERICAN BITTERN  [internet photo]  Too distant for my camera

What a day! 

Not only did we see three birds seldom seen so close to where we live, we enjoyed the "rush" of success.

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Link to eBird lists:

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48848425

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48869937

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48849060

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48849277

Remnants of Tropical Storm Rosa brought us some much-needed rain the next two days. We've been in a prolonged years-drought and even the wet monsoon season this summer did not refill the aquifers. This storm should help.

After a storm, though, a birder always thinks: "What got blown in?"  On Wednesday, October 3rd, I saw a report of AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS at Fountain Hills Lake, about an hour's drive through back country (for me). Storm related? I have no idea.

Still quite cloudy with potential for more rain, I set out to see the pelicans on this limited lake for such large birds. But sure enough, my first sight was "gobs" of them hanging close to the shore at the northern end of the pond.

AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS hugging the shore of one of the islands in Fountain Hills Lake, AZ

View of lake and beautiful surroundings as pelican flies over

Mallards and American Coot looking at the parade of intruders

Relative size between DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (foreground) and the AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN

“A wonderful bird is the Pelican.

His beak can hold more than his belly can.

He can hold in his beak

Enough food for a week!

But I'll be darned if I know how the hellican?”

― Dixon Lanier Merritt

Friends on Facebook reminded me of this little poem after I posted the above photo.

As I saw the pelicans from shore at one spot.

Preening on shore

Stabilizing itself as it swims out of the water onto land

Difficult to count as the AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS stuck tightly together most of the time (36-my count)

Single AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN (separated from group by my camera)

AWPE would fly short distances from time to time at Fountain Hills Lake

Final photo of hundreds that I took!

It was a good antidote to my target birding on Sunday to the distant West Valley. I just hung out and enjoyed the many people taking photos with their smart phones, the dog walkers, joggers but mostly, those incredible AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS!

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View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48911810

On my way home from Fountain Hills, I stopped at Saguaro Lake to check the birds. The sky was much more threatening here than at F.H. where there was occasional sun. So, I focused on the cloud scene - a rarity in the dry desert.

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