A Chase to Lead off 2020's Gila Birding

I've always wanted to find a Red-necked Grebe in Gila County during my long scans at Roosevelt Lake.  The species is one that has been documented in the county awhile back and only once.  It was an Arizona Bird Committee accepted record from a bird at that Roosevelt Lake.  I believe the record was from the 80s or 90s, I'll have to dig it up again.  In the meantime years, Troy Corman conducts waterbird surveys from a boat for Arizona Game and Fish Department at a handful of central Arizona reservoirs.  At Roosevelt Lake, Troy has found a number of rare species such as Long-tailed Duck and Red-throated Loon, but shockingly, not a Red-necked Grebe.  At nearby Maricopa County reservoirs shortly to the west such as Saguaro, Canyon, and Apache Lakes, he has found Red-necked Grebes multiple times.  During recent surveys, Troy has had Ryan O'Donnell with him.  Ryan found a Red-throated Loon on Roosevelt Lake lake year, a bird that I chased and missed.  During the surveys in January 2020, Ryan and Troy found a Red-necked Grebe on the northeastern side of Apache Lake.  At this section of the lake, the northern half of the lake is in Gila County and the southern half is in Maricopa County.  Although Ryan reported it from Maricopa County on his initial report, he then realized that it was on the Gila side of the lake too.  I had birded this stretch of Apache Lake in the past, which is very narrow and is pretty much the Salt River that creates the lakes.  Ryan gave GPS coordinates of where the bird was, and I knew that I had a fun chase ahead of me.  And it would be my first birding in Gila County for 2020 that came on January 22nd.

Because waterbirds have a strong tendency to remain stationary throughout the coarse of a day, I decided to bird the highly un-explored Rye Creek to start the day off.   The 22nd was very foggy, and it gave the morning a neat hazy look to it.  A view of the valley that harbors Rye Creek was memorable.

I feel like Rye Creek has potential for a few incredible birds according to a Gila County scale (if there was one).  One of those such birds I have in mind is Louisiana Waterthrush.  Rye Creek would be a perfect place to find one, as it has a healthy water flow that goes for quite a distance continuously.  When I got down to the creek, I realized the flow was much higher and stronger than usual, and is one that I didn't have the right shoes or boots for.  I wanted to wade down the creek just like this young deer was.

A better Louisiana Waterthrush search will have to wait.  Bird life at Rye Creek was in decent abundance for numbers of birds.  The cottonwood, mesquite, and juniper stands that I birded through had pockets of activity.  Bewick's Wren is a bird I don't photograph much, but this one was cooperative.  It was immediately followed up by a photogenic Rock Wren.

After Rye Creek, it was that time to chase a Red-necked Grebe.  To get to Apache Lake, I would take Highway 188 along Roosevelt Lake, and then the start of the east side of the scenic Apache Trail.  This stretch of the Apache Trail parallels the Salt River/Apache Lake, where looking north into the water reveals the southern half of the flow Maricopa and northern half Gila.  I've always thought that this route was awesome, and I drove near to the coordinates that Ryan gave for the Red-necked Grebe.  From the get-go, there were a number of birds on the water.  Western Grebes, two rafts of Common Goldeneye, and Eared Grebe to name a few.  A thought that crossed my mind for the future was that someday there will be a Barrow's Goldeneye mixed in with the Common Goldeneye numbers.  I parked my truck and walked along the Apache Trail while looking at the water to the northwest and ahead of me.  Western Grebes were congregated on the Gila County side of the lake, and one grebe that was a little smaller stood out.  I realized that my chase was an easy one and was successful!

The Red-necked Grebe became my first new Gila life bird of 2020 and of the new decade.  It was a worthy chase and I'm stoked I have this bird for Gila County.  Thanks Ryan and Troy!  I loved chasing this bird, and I don't get to chase birds much in Gila County.  I watched the grebe for about an hour, and it had it's times when it came closer to the road, and crossed into Maricopa County a few times too.

Here's a few scene shots from the Red-necked Grebe location.