Babs' Birding Experiences : Birding a loop around Chandler, Maricopa County, AZ

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Joining Hinde S. for a loop around three birding sites in Chandler, I was not disappointed! Starting at the Higley/Ocotillo ponds (east side of Higley prior to reaching Ocotillo but need to do a turn there to return north to the parking lot), our birding attention was subverted by a hot-air balloon quickly filling, then lifting off from an empty field on the south side of the ponds. Weather was finally warm; it felt great to not be weighted down with layers to deal with changing temperatures.

With a layout of four large ponds, we discovered only the front two carried enough water for the waterfowl that we managed to see there. White dots you might see in the water are "cotton" falling from the cottonwood trees.

Female MALLARD with 12 ducklings

LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER

ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (male)

KILLDEER

AMERICAN AVOCET (female, that has a very distinctive up angle at end of bill; male's is less so)

GREEN-WINGED TEAL (male)

LESSER GOLDFINCH- Male

Two pair, CINNAMON TEAL

Pair of AMERICAN WIGEON

You can view our eBird report at the link below.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S84267032

Our second stop was a new location to me at a housing area where Hinde has friends. Although we didn't cover all of the connected ponds, we counted eleven species in about thirty minutes. When I saw my "spirit bird" (the one that got me started birding), I took its photo even though it was huddled in a corner below a concrete walking bridge.

GREEN HERON

I chose not to take photos of the 105 AMERICAN COOT that were both in and out of the water, nor did I take the RUDDY DUCKs that were distant. CLIFF SWALLOWs were feeding young in their mud homes beneath the pedestrian bridge.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S84270186

Although I like the third site we visited, it's a bit distant for a quick bird outing and it has been a while since I birded VETERANS OASIS PARK. We managed to spot 34 species there with a combination of several water birds and many birds flitting among the trees. The COMMON GALLINULE and BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD are the only two photos from this site.