Exploring Tempe Town Lake Trail (7) miles long, Maricopa County, AZ

 Thursday, January 27, 2022

    Lois L. and I decided to explore the Lake's concrete trail starting about where our Community Birders stopped the previous day. To see the sidewalk extended so far blew my mind. It runs all the way into Mesa to the Riverview area.

    Walking only 1.5 miles east before turning back, we saw plenty of birds in the hot spot Marsh area.

GREAT BLUE HERON

OSPREY - two above

Mixed Flock of egret and cormorant in Salt River marsh area

    After returning to our starting point, shedding outer warm jackets, we continued on to Tempe Town Lake.

    OSPREY were active there, too, but sometimes watched from high above the water.

    Although we missed the rafts of mergansers the previous day, we were thrilled to see two large gatherings of COMMON MERGANSER. One raft had predominantly female ducks; the other, farther west and north, were predominantly male.Mostly female COMMON MERGANSER but note several males toward the front (white body, black hood, neck & back plus red bill). Above photo.All females (hens) with younger ones (above)

Two Drake; Six hen COMMON MERGANSER

    One Coyote and two Javelina were spotted at separate places along the north bank of the Lake, too distant for photos. I always like to see the wildlife subsisting in urban areas.

    Leaving the Lake, we stopped by Selleh Park in Tempe. In past years, a pair of WOOD DUCK could be found swimming there with mostly MALLARDs and Domestic Ducks (mutt-ducks). Then, a couple years ago, I took a small group of birders there to see the drake and hen Wood Duck, but they weren't there.  

    True, they have wings, but they had been so reliable, I was quite disappointed.  Thus, the reason for stopping today: has it or both returned?  We did see the Drake WOOD DUCK swim out for some treats when a woman arrived with her child, who was tossing corn to the waterfowl. Apparently, the hen was not in residence there today.  How beautiful!

    Leaving the park, we spotted INCA DOVE and a VERMILLION FLYCATCHER (adolescent male).

    Altogether, we walked four (4) miles on another beautiful day in the company of some beautiful birds.

As usual, click on the eBird reports below to see the entire list of species we reported.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101530824

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101532652

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101537084

Salt River - Phon D. Sutton Recreation Area, Mesa, Maricopa County, AZ

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

    Five of us Pueblo Birders explored the banks and mudflats of the Salt River to the east of where the Verde River flows into the Salt at Phon D. Sutton rec area with a chilly (41°F) start that warmed up considerably under a clear sunny sky.

    Along the shoreline, our first sighting was a GREAT BLUE HERON. We would see more of them during the morning perched and flying from one spot to another.

    One of our best sightings was a single WILSON'S PHALAROPE that I accidentally flushed as I tried to get close enough (still pretty far away) for a decent camera shot.  Since it flew toward the Verde River (we weren't far from the confluence of the two rivers), I thought the rest of its species was likely there. WILSON'S PHALAROPE (above) in basic (winter) plumage    from my file

    The narrow east-bound dirt trail along the Salt is at times high above the water giving us great looks but too far for my camera lens. Happy, still, to see a half-dozen WILSON'S SNIPE, a couple KILLDEER, and a juvenile SORA that I caught on camera, they were but a small portion of all the birds we saw that morning. Some of the photos below are, again, from my files

WILSON'S SNIPE        from my files

KILLDEER   at Phon D Sutton Rec Area

Wilson's Snipe in left foreground; juvenile SORA center rear - mudflats, Phon D. Sutton

 

    After spending almost two hours along the Salt River, we walked up the bank to the parking lot. With the temperature rising, we left our early-morning outerwear in the car before embarking on the Nature Trail west of the parking area.

    Raptors observed were SHARP-SHINNED and COOPER'S HAWK, plus a good look at a BALD EAGLE overhead.

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD  

PHAINOPEPLA (male) note its red eye

    

     GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE outnumbered RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 51 to 45. We caught sight of just two (2) BREWER'S BLACKBIRD. 

    We're always thrilled to track down the chip of a NORTHERN CARDINAL, below.

    Thanks to Gloria, Hinde, Ellen, and Chardi for their quick sightings and some tough identifications, we had a memorable visit to Phon D. Sutton on a very beautiful day.

    Click on eBird Report below to see the list of all the birds we saw.

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View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101486045

Thrasher Corner, Salome & Baseline Roads, Phoenix West Valley, Maricopa County, Arizona

 Sunday, January 23, 2022

    For birders in Phoenix's East Valley to visit some of the great sites in the West Valley, the favored time to do that is on a weekend day to avoid the creep of commuter traffic. We chose a Sunday when the driving was stress-free. 

    At 9 a.m., five of us ambled out into the sandy salt-bush fields at Birding Hotspot, Thrasher Corner. It was really really quiet. Having been greeted by a few WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, we expected more birds to be popping up here and there. Having walked out farther than usual, I finally heard one of our target birds, the uncommon LECONTE'S THRASHER. Other birders found it on a top limb of a very distant tree. Walking forward, I started taking photos while still far back to avoid missing a shot altogether. But the bird was relatively calm with our approach to about 50 feet. A very plain-looking 10" bird with a strongly curved bill, its song almost always leads me to it. We ended up seeing two of these very pale, slender thrashers.

    Birders working on Life Lists sometimes come from Europe and other distant countries to be able to see this species. Among us, it was a LIFER for both Judy and Karen.

    Still on our target list for today were the CRISSAL THRASHER, SAGEBRUSH and BELL'S SPARROW.

    Walking back and forth over the wide expanse of bush, we found WESTERN MEADOWLARK, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, and one (1) SAGEBRUSH SPARROW. I caught a photo of the sparrow, very plain for blending into the desert sand and brush.

    LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE tended to perch on the tippy top of different trees. It, too, was singing its short squeaky song.

    After seeing NORTHERN HARRIER and COOPER'S HAWK fly over the field, we finally found a singing CRISSAL THRASHER, our final species at Thrasher Corner. It, too, is uncommon and wears grayish-brown-colored feathers. Note its white iris and very long tail. Its under-tail coverts (feathers beneath where the tail begins) are dark rufous. Judy and Karen's second LIFER for the morning! 

    Instead of heading home on I-10 immediately, we took a little tour of the agricultural fields in Arlington and/or Buckeye.

    Our first stop was LOWER RIVER ROAD PONDS. Thanks to Glenda's scope, we were able to discern the floating white feathers as two (2) SNOW GOOSE.

Note what is called the dark "grin line" on the bill of the SNOW GOOSE above. 

Photo from my files.

      Flying over the pond during our visit were NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.

    Lots of other species were hanging out at and on the water: 1 WHITE-FACED IBIS flew in and perched on a mud bank across the pond; a couple GREAT EGRET; lots of NORTHERN SHOVELER, some doing their close-circle fishing. Looking into the sun was no help, but we logged in at least one (1) GADWALL; 1 MALLARD; 12 AMERICAN COOT; and 75 RUDDY DUCK.  

RUDDY DUCK

    Rounding out our visit with a stop at the Buckeye Canal & 309th Avenue ponds/fields, we added more NORTHERN SHOVELER (98), BLACK-NECKED STILT (6), and LEAST SANDPIPER (27).

        Proceeding south on 309th Avenue, we took a quick look at the fields. We were overjoyed at finding a field full of LONG-BILLED CURLEW and more WHITE-FACED IBIS.

LONG-BILLED CUIRLEW above - my file photos

Missing their white breeding feathers at the base of their bill this time of year. Note red iris.

Photo from my files above.

    We felt it was a superbly successful day. Sunny, clear blue sky day with calm wind. Can't beat that.

    As usual, the link to our reports submitted to eBird is below.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101286953

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101293353

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101297310

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Two Recreation Areas along the Lower Salt River, Bush Highway, Maricopa County, AZ

 Thursday, January 30, 2022

     For whatever reason, I seldom visit the two rec areas after the bridge over the Salt River (going east). Perhaps it's due to the number of cars/people that are there when I pass by after birding elsewhere.

    Lois L. and I arrived around 8 a.m. and found it deserted. Yay!  Birding the mesquite bosques on both sides of the parking lot, the ground beside the north-flowing river, and up onto the sheep trail, I'm posting photos for Blue Point Rec Area below:

male 

GREAT-TAILED GRACKLEs were cleaning up the parking area and surrounding grounds. female GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE

    Two GREAT-BLUE HERON stood or walked in the water near the Point near where one fisherman in waders was casting his line.

Later, we would see a single Great Blue up on Blue Point Ridge of Stewart Mountain on the Northwest side of the Salt. It blended in spectacularly.

    Having never spotted a GREATER YELLOWLEGS in this section of the Salt River; it surprised me.

    Perched up in a tree on the west shore of the river was a male BELTED KINGFISHER.

    Soon after we had arrived, PHAINOPEPLA moved from their nests to the surrounding trees to soak up early sun rays and, it seems, to chase the females.

    When we walked the sheep trail at the lower end of Blue Point Ridge, a BALD EAGLE landed on an outcrop of rocks ahead of us. 

    Thank you, BALD EAGLE!

    After finishing up at Blue Point, we drove across Bush Highway to park and walk the trails in the Salt's Pebble Beach Recreation and RV camping area.

    The most exciting bird I was able to photograph there was a WILSON'S SNIPE. On the west side of the River, south of the bridge, was a WILSON'S SNIPE tucked beneath some bushes at river's edge.

    We continued to follow trails and dip down to the river several times but marsh grasses prevented photographs. However, it looked great seeing so many marsh reeds that serve as bank preservation while providing food and shelter for birds.

Lois L. at a Buckhorn Cholla along the east trail at Pebble Beach Recreation area.

    Our more or less trail looped through the mesquite forest where we caught sight of a fair number of birds. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was the predominant songbird.

    Another great day in the field.

    As always, you may check out the eBird lists below for more details.

 https://ebird.org/checklist/S101083740

 https://ebird.org/checklist/S101090381

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