Yellow-eyed Juncos and a few more in Maricopa County

 Following the high amount of time that I spent birding in Mohave and La Paz Counties, I've had to stick closer to home during this last month of May within Maricopa County.  Although I wished several times that I could go back west, I've been glad to get some fun birding reps in in my home county.  The reps were targeted at rare eastern passerines for the most part, as well as the possibilities of Mississippi Kite.  I wasn't able to score on any of those, but I did get a new county bird in the high country.  The bird was surprising and not surprising.

On May 8th, it was Global Big Day, a day when birders from all over the world go out and try their best to find as many bird species as possible.  Some of my friends went all out and traveled as much of Arizona as they could and had an impressive birding day.  Others contributed a few checklists to eBird, and more people did the best they could in one given area or birding location.  There was me too, who had to work.  The me didn't want to bird when work was over.  There is a lazy person at work who doesn't do anything.  It requires me to go to work with two brains, even though I only have one.  When I utilize my one as if I have two, it makes me tired and I'm pretty sure I went home to sit around and watch basketball.  Then I got a few eBird alerts about Yellow-eyed Juncos being reported at the upper elevations of Mt. Ord.  The reports came in from young birder Jacob Bagley who was with a big group of birders up on Mt. Ord for Global Big Day.  This species is one that has had 3 records in Maricopa County in the past: 1 from Seven Springs in 1971, 1 from the high elevations of the Superstition Mountains in 1974, and 1 from this mentioned Mt. Ord place in a similar time frame in 2002.  "No way", I said.  Up at Mount Ord and near it's summit, was where Jacob and his birding group discovered Yellow-eyed Juncos.  They told several other birders about the birds.  Jacob reported 4 YEJU's, and others reported 1-2 birds in the hours and day following the discovery by the group.  With a loaded work schedule ahead of me for the next four days, I wasn't sure how I was going to proceed with seeking out the Yellow-eyed Junco, which was to be a highly wanted Maricopa County life bird.  On Sunday, May 9th, things got crazy again when someone reported a Cape May Warbler at Desert Botanical Garden.  They wrote a perfect description of an adult male of such, but it turned out to be a combination of writing a perfect report by looking over a field guide illustration while wishfully thinking.  When many birders followed up on the report, they all saw a ratty young-looking Hermit Warbler.  Sure enough, the reporter was convinced at first that it was a Cape May.  I didn't make the chase for it, but I did make plans with Caleb Strand, Ronnie Reed, and Jared Conaway to chase the Yellow-eyed Juncos on Mt. Ord on the afternoon of May 10th when I would get off of work.  And "this Mt. Ord place" was sarcastically written, it's one of my favorite birding places and it has been featured on this blog a lot.

My birding party made good timing and got to Mt. Ord right about 4 P.M. on May 10th.  We walked up to the summit of Mt. Ord, which is in both Maricopa and Gila Counties.  There were many active migrants along the way that provided brief distractions.  As we got to the summit of over 7100', we walked between the fire and communication towers and ended up on the north side of the buildings.  Caleb walked ahead of Ronnie, Jared, and I, and right away, he found one of the Yellow-eyed Juncos feeding and foraging on the ground by the buildings.  Well, that's what you call fast!  The bird fed in front of us for some time, and then flushed a few times too.  At one point, it landed in a juniper and sang very quietly for a few minutes.  Caleb quickly pointed out that it lacked rufous on the tertials and wing coverts, a trait that is generally uncommon within the species and that most birds have a strong amount of rufous in those areas.  However, birds in more northerly locations in Arizona will more often show the lack of rufous than the ones in southeastern Arizona.  Our observations of the Yellow-eyed Junco were fairly brief, and further searching didn't produce any more birds.  A few Gray-headed Dark-eyed Juncos were also nearby.  The Yellow-eyed Junco we saw flew in both counties, as the line of both was very close to the observation area at all times.  Our time concluded with birding the summit area of Mount Ord, as well as the beginning stretch of Forest Road 1688.  We had a variety of birds, and it was fun to hang out with Ronnie, Jared, and Caleb.  

Another sighting I really enjoyed in Maricopa County in this past month was when I was birding at the Verde River via the Box Bar Recreation Site.  There were many species present that day, and migrants were moving through.  My highlight came when I saw what appeared to be a small buteo flush from a cottonwood stand and fly a short distance to another set of cottonwoods.  I suspected it was the rare-in-Arizona Broad-winged Hawk, and when I carefully got a clean look at the bird, my suspicion was correct.  It was epic to get a good view of this small raptor through my binoculars and get a few documentation shots before it took flight and flew off further.  It was only my third Broad-winged for Arizona, all of which have been in Maricopa County.  I haven't made it up to the Grand Canyon hawk watch yet, where Broad-winged Hawks are annual in small numbers during their migration.  If I was in the east, I'd be seeing thousands of them in migration, where they form massive kettles.

 

When I was birding Box Bar further and several hours later, I was stationed out in a cottonwood and willow grove where I usually have good migrant activity, particularly with warblers and vireos.  Standing stationary can have it's positive results, and a shadow over my head turned into the Broad-winged coming in for a landing and perching about 20 feet away from me!  I had a great look with my naked eye, but it didn't take long for the bird to notice me standing there, and as I started to raise my camera it took flight and went a short distance.  From the new distance, I had great looks at the hawk for one more minute before it would fly off and I wouldn't be able to see it again.  

This Whimbrel was fun to see at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, only my 2nd one ever in Arizona and Maricopa County.

 

A Rufous-backed Robin has been at the Hassayampa River Preserve for some time now, and it has been continuing well into this time frame.  At times, it has been observed singing.  This species tends to be secretive, and I managed to cross paths with it during one of my several visits to the Preserve.  Like Mt. Ord, the Hassayampa River corridor near Wickenburg is one of my favorite locations to bird in Maricopa County.

 

A very unexpected sighting for not only Maricopa but for Arizona came when a Brant was found by Tina Bickel and Bob McCormick at Rio Salado Restoration Area in downtown Phoenix.  This bird appeared to be in good shape, but frequented the ponds of the area for about a week.  Many birders got to see this Brant, including myself.  It was a long way from it's usual coastal haunts, and it was the second one I've seen in Arizona (both in Maricopa County).  The location and time of year seemed a little odd, but I did see someone mention that this has happened with Brants before at similar time frames and within a drastic vagrant range. 

Here are a few more sightings I have enjoyed recently.

Summer Tanager

Townsend's Warbler

Western Tanager

Great Horned Owl

 

A few days after the initial Yellow-eyed Junco chase, I went back to Mt. Ord on May 13th to investigate the Yellow-eyed Junco further.  I went to the summit area again after trying to see two calling Northern Pygmy-Owls visually without success, and after some time, located a Yellow-eyed singing.  He was joined by another Yellow-eyed Junco (possibly a female), who fed with him for about a minute.  The two Gray-headed Dark-eyed Juncos joined them too.  I ended up losing the second Yellow-eyed Junco, while the first one stayed put.  It loosely associated with the Dark-eyed Juncos, and I made this written observation:  "Continuing. First located by hearing the bird in song north and just downslope of the towers, not far below the line of white tanks that are on the north side of towers. The ridge and west slope just below this point seem to be a good spot to look. Once I found the bird, it flew down a short distance and landed in a grassy area. Another YEJU joined this bird (male and female possibly), and the two birds interacted by almost touching bodies before foraging and feeding on the ground. Immediately after they were joined by the Gray-headed Juncos who fed too. The Gray-headeds were much more skittish of me, but the original YEJU remained feeding very close to me while I lost sight of the other one. The YEJU and 2 DEJUs moved up and south, where they fed on the north side of the towers by the white tanks, where the 2 species seemed to be loosely associating with each other for feeding purposes. The DEJUs were skittish again and flew off pretty far downslope while the YEJU remained. It eventually moved into a juniper where it sang for some time before moving downslope again. As noted from earlier list, the YEJU (both YEJUs today actually) lacked rufous in coverts and tertials. I saw from pictures that YEJUs from both the Catalina and Pinal Mountains have shown this some too, as opposed to the much larger percentage of birds that have rufous in these areas. The singing bird (who I watched most of the time), sang more loudly the first time I saw it in song, and the second time around it sang more quietly. In the 5-6 times it flew away when I was within close distance, it called once in flight with a few notes as opposed to the DEJUs who called alot every time they took flight. If the YEJU called, it almost always came when it was foraging on the ground. I wasn't able to refind the second YEJU after seeing it briefly".

Maybe we'll have Yellow-eyed Juncos breeding on Mt. Ord, time will tell and follow-ups will be needed later in the summer.  This is a species that I has been on my radar for birds to find in Maricopa County.  It hasn't been a strong suspect, but it hasn't been a weak suspect either.  Yellow-eyed Juncos appear to be expanding their range, how cool.

During my Mt. Ord trips, I also got to know the summit area better, as well as some of the surrounding area.  I made up my own route to take in the future, and maybe it will lead to more Maricopa lifers that I want for the Mazatzals such as Downy Woodpecker.  When I did this hike, it was fun to see a Zone-tailed Hawk cruising along.  It even zipped by me at a very close distance to where I could hear it's wings flap.

 

Love birding my home county!

Arizona County Birding: 200 in La Paz

 When I recently reached 200 species for Mohave County, it was official that La Paz County would be the last Arizona County for me to reach 200 species in.  The journey has been a fun one, and it is still far from over.  Each Arizona county has many areas I want to explore and more species I want to see in each.  I've always said that getting 200 species in a county requires a birder to explore the region pretty well.  For me to reach 200 in La Paz County, I would have to hold to that saying. 

 

Like Yuma County, La Paz County is one that has a strong lack of high elevation habitat.  The highest elevation comes at the majestic 5,681' Harquahala Peak in the remote Harquahala Mountains.  Chaparral and juniper slopes represent the highest habitats, and upland Sonoran desert is found in lower habitats.  La Paz County is in midst of a lot of desert habitat, which includes the Mohave and Sonoran desert.  The Lower Colorado River Valley is found in the western part of the county, which attracts an array of different species, and includes the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge.  The Bill Williams River is a very important riparian source for many species.  South of the Valley and in western La Paz is Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.  It is known for attracting thousands of geese and Sandhill Cranes annually in it's fields, and the refuge also has incredible riparian habitat.  Agricultural and farm lands in Vicksburg and Wendon bring more birding opportunity to the county, and attract species such as shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptors.  Another great place in La Paz County is Alamo Lake, which is in Mohave County as well.  The lake itself attracts a wonderful diversity of waterbirds.  At the northeastern side of Alamo Lake is Brown's Crossing, where the Bill Williams River flows into the lake.  Water levels are variable here, but when low, this location may have a large diversity of birds.

As I started birding Arizona's western counties this year in 2021, I often traded off with La Paz and Mohave Counties by birding one county one week, and the other county the next, and what fun it has been.  And before this 2021, I had very rarely stepped foot into La Paz County during my birding career.  As I write now, I'll say it's a county I've really enjoyed birding in so far now that I've spent more time there.

Highlights of my path to 200 in La Paz County:

The first time I went birding in La Paz County was on January 2nd, 2012, at the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge.  Jim Kopitzke and I chased a code 5 ABA rarity in a Nutting's Flycatcher, which was found by Lauren Harter and David Vander Pluym.  As we listened in the riparian forest along with many other birders who'd traveled from many different places in the United States, we heard the distinctive 'weep' call from the bird.  Not long after hearing the initial call, we got to watch the bird for some time while it was vocalizing.  We also scanned the wide water bodies along the Lower Colorado River, and we had Arizona rarities such as Barrow's Goldeneye, Mew Gull, Greater Scaup, and Pacific Loon.  57 species, including that code 5, ABA rarity, headlined my first time of birding La Paz. 

Barrow's Goldeneye at Bill Williams NWR

 

The next time I would bird La Paz would be September 7th, 2013 on the way back from a successful Brown Booby chase with Laurence Butler and Magill Webber.  The Booby was up in Mohave County at Lake Havasu, and on the way back home we stopped at the migrant trap and extensive Ahakhav Tribal Preserve.  It was here that I brought my county list up to 81 species, and some of the migrants we found included Willow Flycatcher, Western Tanager, Nashville Warbler, and MacGillivray's Warbler.

A few months later, on December 1st, 2013, I went with Mark Ochs and Gordon Karre to the Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge to bird the refuge headquarters to view the waterbirds, as well as Planet Ranch Road to look for what turned out to be the remarkable continuing Nutting's Flycatcher.  Even though I had the bird previously, this time turned out to be much better as the Nutting's ended up landing at a very close range to us and almost roadside.  Other highlights from Bill Williams included a Blue-footed Booby that was previously found by David and Lauren, as well as White-winged and Surf Scoters.  During this trip, my La Paz list got up to 97 species.

Nutting's Flycatcher at Bill Williams NWR

 

After four years of not birding in La Paz County at all, I finally made it back on January 28th, 2017.  I went birding with Caleb Strand, Mark Ochs, and Felipe Guerrero to Alamo Lake State Park.  A variety of both common land and water birds made their way onto my list, and it was awesome to see Alamo Lake for the first time.  South of Alamo Lake, we stopped in some desert habitat to look for LeConte's Thrasher without any luck.  However, on the way home we stopped to bird in an area with many farm and agricultural fields near the town of Wendon.  Among the birds found were Vesper Sparrow, Mountain Bluebird, Sage Thrasher, and a big surprise in a count of 45 Mountain Plovers.  This day was an awesome one, and it brought my La Paz list up to 124 species.

Mountain Plover in fields near Wenden

 

2021:

It was about 4 years that went by that I had last stepped foot into La Paz County on the Alamo Lake State Park trip with Caleb, Mark, and Felipe.  My list of only 124 species said to me that my explorations were way down for the county, and that I needed to get my butt out there to explore it.  Along with Yuma and Mohave Counties, I made La Paz County a big goal of mine for this year.  As I switched back and fourth between Mohave and La Paz Counties, I realized that La Paz was going to take a bigger effort.  I liked the challenge, and I wanted to reach 200 species in these two counties before the month of May if I could.  As I said earlier, it didn't take too long to get there for Mohave, but La Paz felt like it would take longer due to the habitat diversity that wasn't as variable as Mohave.

My La Paz County birding started on January 22nd this year.  Ronnie Reed and I left Phoenix early and headed out to Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, which has some of the highest concentrations of wintering birds in the state.  After traveling into California briefly, we went back into Arizona after crossing the Colorado River and toward Cibola.  From the start, Ronnie and I were blown away by the numbers of birds.  Thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese were present from the start in the area's fields, and there were also good numbers of Canada Geese, mid-size numbers of Greater White-fronted and Ross's Geese, and several Cackling Geese.  We were blown away by the numbers, and loved the refuge.  Other birds during the day included Peregrine Falcon, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Bell's Sparrow, and White-throated Swift.  Cibola is one that is underbirded by Arizona birders, and it has great potential.  There are also incredible stands of cottonwood, willow, and mesquite which has drawn in abundant migrants, from common to rare.  I added 14 county birds that day on January 22nd to bring my La Paz list to 138.

Bobcat greeting on Cornfield Nature Loop, Cibola

Sandhill Cranes flying over Cibola

Greater White-fronted and Canada Geese with Yellow-headed Blackbirds

Cackling Goose

Cackling Goose with Sandhills

Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese at Cibola

Snow and Ross's Geese spectacular numbers

The Goose Loop Auto Tour at Cibola doesn't disappoint

 

 

Hart Mine Marsh, Cibola

On February 12th, I headed to explore the Lower Colorado River Valley in both La Paz and Mohave Counties.  I began my day exploring the extensively planted cottonwood and willow stands at the Ahakhav Tribal Preserve, as well as along the river near the preserve.  There were many birds present, and highlights included Least Bittern, Common Ground-Dove, and an out-of-place Northern Cardinal.  Later on in the day, I went north to the Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, where I continued north up to Lake Havasu City to scan locations in Mohave County.  On the way back and near Parker, a Ferruginous Hawk flew over my truck to bring my La Paz total to 148.

Northern Cardinal at Ahakhav

On March 4th, I went to Alamo Lake for only the 2nd time ever.  My goal was to bird not only the lake, but in the deserts south of the lake too.  I had targets of LeConte's and Bendire's Thrashers, as well as other desert species.  And of course I wanted to find birds on the water and in the riparian area at the north side of Alamo Lake, which is called Brown's Crossing.  My day started off with a Gilded Flicker, my first for La Paz as I hiked out to some more barren desert while listening for LeConte's Thrasher.  I didn't have luck with finding thrashers, and went northward to the lake.  While birding the lake and Brown's Crossing, I had a good variety of birds.  One new addition I had for the county at Alamo Lake was an adult California Gull.  On my way back home, I stopped in the deserts again just south of the lake to look for LeConte's Thrashers.  After some hiking I heard a thrasher sing.  I tracked it down for some distance to find out that it was a Crissal Thrasher.  After switching positions and going a little further south, I searched more desert flats.  It took awhile, but I heard another thrasher singing, and I managed to track it down.  This time, I was stoked to see that it was a LeConte's Thrasher!  I had great looks at it as it gave me a show for about 20 minutes.  It put me over 150 for La Paz, and it is no doubt a harder species to find in the county.  

LeConte's Thrasher south of Alamo Lake

 

On March 19th, I went back to Ahakhav Tribal Preserve, Parker Dam, Bill Williams Headquarters, and Vicksburg Farms.  My biggest highlight of the day came from the Bill Williams Headquarters overlook, where I successfully chased a Long-tailed Duck that was reported by Bobby Wilcox the day before.  When I got there, I ran into Nilesh Korde who pointed out the bird to be almost immediately upon my arrival.  The duck was awesome to watch, and I got lucky as it swam right by the fishing dock that I decided to walk down to.  It was only my 3rd time ever of seeing this species in Arizona, and the first two were at Glendale Recharge Ponds.  On my way homeward, I stopped at the Vicksburg Farms for the first time.  This location is money, and has 3 sets of ponds.  There is one pond that is straightforward to get to.  During my first stop I got lucky, and found a Black-bellied Plover.  In another pond I added Sora and Virginia Rail.  11 county birds brought my total to 162 species.

Long-tailed Duck at Bill Williams NWR

Black-bellied Plover at Vicksburg

 

On March 26th, I went back up to Alamo Lake, where I started my day off very early be exploring Brown's Crossing.  This visit was a very fun time for me, and I realized that Brown's Crossing is a location that can have fantastic bird diversity depending on water levels.  During the visit the water levels of the Bill Williams River was low, which exposed all of the riparian habitat at it's actual levels.  The wide part of the river had mudflats.  During this visit I had over 70 species, and Yellow Warbler, Hooded Oriole, Belted Kingfisher, Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Black-chinned Hummingbird, and Prairie Falcon were La Paz firsts for me among a great selection of both land and waterbirds.  When I went to scan Alamo Lake, a flock of Long-billed Curlews flying around the lake was a nice surprise and they represented my 200th bird for Mohave County.  The Curlews were also my 170th for La Paz.  

Long-billed Curlews at Alamo Lake

Belted Kingfisher at Alamo Lake

American White Pelican at Alamo Lake

 

Ever since I started birding in the county more this year, one of the biggest goals I had was to get to the county's highest elevations, which are the Harquahala Mountains.  At 5,681', Harquahala Peak is not only the highest point in La Paz County, but is also the highest point in southwestern Arizona.  In my mind I was planning to go up to the higher elevations of the Harquahalas, which have chaparral and juniper slopes and a selection of birds there that are hard to find elsewhere in the county.  I did have a big problem though as the road up to Harquahala Peak is one I'm not familiar with.  After reading it was a very rough road, I consulted some of my friends who have been up on the mountain.  They told me the road is extremely rough, and one that keeps getting worse.  Based on those conversations, I decided that I wouldn't risk taking my truck up that road.  As I looked into the Harquahala Mountains further, I found out about a hiking trail that climbs up the northern slope of the mountains and up to the peak.  This trail, called the Harquahala Pack Trail, is a 5.5 mile hike that is very steep and goes from 2,000' at the base to the 5,681' at the summit of Harquahala Peak.  It seemed much more convenient for what I own, and I didn't feel like spending money on renting a jeep to take up the southern slopes of the mountain range.  On April 1st, I decided to drive a 2 mile dirt road to the trailhead for the Harquahala Pack Trail.  Once I got there, I decided to attempt the entire hike to the summit of the mountain range.  After all, I did come prepared with plenty of snacks, 8 bottles of water crammed into my backpack, and 3 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I also had a big breakfast before I started the hike.  After starting early, my hike was confirmed a success about 3 hours later when I reached the summit and about a 3,500' elevation gain in over 5 miles.  I was happy that I was able to do the hike, and I was exhausted.  During much of the hike I'd have to stop and catch my breath before proceeding a short distance and stopping again.  it was that steep.  The scenery was incredible, and it was great to see the habitat transition from upland Sonoran desert to chaparral and juniper slopes in the higher elevations.  Out of six target species I had for my La Paz life list, I succeeded with Canyon Towhee, Black-chinned Sparrow, Scott's Oriole, and Rufous-crowned Sparrow.  I dipped on Bushtit and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay.  A great surprise I had to celebrate with at the summit of Harquahala Peak was a flyover male Broad-tailed Hummingbird-one I didn't anticipate and one that wasn't an April's Fools Joke.  The hike down was challenging too.  Throughout the hike, I took a ton of scenic pictures of this awesome range, and I also took a few pictures of the birds.  A spot I hope to go back to, especially in winter when it's much cooler!  On April 1st, I added three more La Paz birds at Vicksburg with Least and Western Sandpipers as well as Western Kingbird to bring my total to 178.  

Canyon Wren in Harquahalas

Gilded Flicker and odd cactus

Rufous-crowned Sparrow, very limited in La Paz

Canyon Towhee

Black-chinned Sparrow, Harquahalas

 

Lunch is legendary on Harquahala Peak

On April 8th, I went back to Alamo Lake where I began again at Brown's Crossing.  I continued to get to know the awesome place more, as I had 75 species at Brown's Crossing alone, and it gave me county additions of Brown-headed Cowbird, Bullock's Oriole, Hammond's Flycatcher, and Wilson's Snipe.  When scanning Alamo Lake, a Franklin's Gull covering a wide range of the lake gave me a county bird for both La Paz and Mohave.  It was also my first Franklin's Gull of the year, a species I enjoy seeing.  Once finishing at Alamo Lake, I had a Suns game to catch later in the day that I wanted to watch, so I decided to come homeward earlier than usual.  I decided to devote my time into looking for Bendire's Thrashers east of Wenden, where there is great habitat and where I saw on eBird that Caleb reported them at before.  As I was still in the Alamo Lake vicinity, I got lucky when a Bendire's Thrasher flew right ahead of me and crossed the road.  I got out and found the bird perched and was able to enjoy it for a few minutes.  It also had a mate with it.  As I write now, I also don't have Curve-billed Thrasher for the county, and it seemed strange to have both LeConte's and Bendire's in a county without a Curve-billed.  It's not that La Paz lacks Curve-billed habitat, it's getting a bit west of their core range.  County lifers of Barn Swallow and White-winged Dove gave me 8 for the day to bring my total to 186.

Mule Deer at Brown's Crossing

Bullock's Oriole at Brown's Crossing

Solitary Sandpiper at Brown's Crossing

Bendire's Thrasher near Alamo Lake

On April 15th and 16th, I decided to take an two day trip to La Paz, where I would camp out overnight somewhere.  I began the 15th by driving way out west to Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.  As I arrived, there was a big contrast from my January visit as all of the waterfowl and Sandhill Cranes had migrated out.  Spring was evident, and I figured I would have a good time of searching through migrants.  The Cornfield Nature Trail didn't disappoint.  In the dense cottonwood, willow, and mesquite woodland over a rather short loop trail was filled with migrants.  A count of over 30 Nashville Warblers was spectacular to see.  Every tree had birds in it, and the route gave me La Paz firsts of Hermit Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Warbling Vireo, and Cassin's Vireo.  A drive through the fields didn't produce the Burrowing Owl I was hoping for.  I headed south to Hart Mine Marsh, still in the refuge.  It was awesome to add county birds of calling Ridgway's Rails and a migrant Willet.  Least Bitterns sang and called, as did plenty of Marsh Wrens and Common Yellowthroats.  Heading north of the Refuge took me to the Cibola Valley Conservation Area, where there are extensive cottonwood, willow, and mesquite plantings.  Migrants were in good numbers here too, and it was good to add Dusky Flycatcher and Inca Dove as La Paz firsts.  Cibola gave me 8 county birds to bring me to 194.

Cassin's Vireo, Cibola

One of many Nashville Warblers, Cibola

Willet, Hart Mine Marsh, Cibola

Great and Cattle Egrets, Cibola

 

I headed back east toward Alamo Lake, where I would decide to camp out and spend the night.  En route to Alamo, I stopped at Vicksburg Farms and birded at a few of the ponds and surrounding fields.  I had a great time there, and luck really hit me with 5 more county birds: Bank Swallow, Swainson's Hawk, Baird's Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, and Vaux's Swift.  

 

Wilson's Phalaropes, Vicksburg

Cattle Egret

Swainson's Hawk

Baird's Sandpiper

As I headed to Alamo Lake, I couldn't believe that I had reached 199, something I didn't think would happen as quickly as it did.  But I loved my chances of getting to 200 La Paz birds that night.  After all, I had targets of Elf Owl, Western Screech-Owl, and Common Poorwill.  I did some hiking in the evening light through Sonoran desert before it would get dark out, and I kept Curve-billed Thrasher in mind.  Once it got dark, I was about 25 miles south of Alamo Lake and it good habitat for all 3 of my target species.  It was dark, and I was anxious to reach the goal, and it was also very quiet.  I walked and walked, and was getting...nothing.  I speculated that I would hear Common Poorwills and Western Screech-Owls as it got dark.  Nope.  As the night went on, I remained quiet and patient and kept going.  After two hours of darkness later than when I first started and when it first got dark, I walked up and down a wooded wash with mesquite and ironwood.  I played the calls of a Western Screech-Owl.  As I stood there quietly, I head something land behind me, and as I got the light on the sound, I got the tail-end of a bird flying away.  I had no shot of identifying it with the ghostly glimpse that I got, but I figured it had to be a Western Screech-Owl.  After it left, I waited and then a bird called.  Of all times for something to sound weird, this would be the freaking time.  I loved it!  The sound was of an owl, but it had an odd pitch to it, and I couldn't discern whether or not that it was a Western Screech-Owl or an Elf Owl.  After the initial confusion of listening to the call a few times, I paused and listened to the pattern.  It was a Western Screech-Owl, and it sounded like it's voice box had something wrong with it.  I went toward the calls and found the bird, who was perched memorably on an ocotillo branch!  My quest to reach 200 in every Arizona county was now complete, and it was cool to reach the goal with an owl species.  After getting the Western Screech, I realized that Elf Owl is present in the area, but also scarce and not so easy to find.  I was also tired, and wanted to get to a place to set up camp.  As I walked out of the desert, I was able to watch the ending of a good Suns game that ended in a Suns victory to cap off the fun. 

Western Screech-Owl, my 200th for La Paz and the bird to complete my goal with

I headed toward Alamo Lake, and camped out at Brown's Crossing, where I would bird at the following morning.  3 Great Horned Owls serenaded the entire area as I went to sleep.  When I woke up early and pre-dawn on the 16th, I was glad to hear a Common Poorwill finally sound off.  Once it was light outside and after breakfast, I explored Brown's Crossing much further than I did in previous visits and had close to 90 species.  It kept getting better and better, and this time the mix of birds continued to have an incredible diversity of land and water birds.  When scanning Alamo Lake, my 202nd La Paz bird became a Marbled Godwit.

Marbled Godwit, Alamo Lake

 

After a week break of birding Arizona's western counties, I made plans to do another big Mohave County trip on April 29th and 30th.  I had planned it for over two months, and it was a time frame I could really find a lot of birds in in the areas of the Big Sandy River, the Signal area, and the Hualapai Mountains.  I was especially excited to see what I could find in the Hualapais, and a mind-catching aspect was to look for Red-faced Warbler.  In the Hualapais, the Red-faced Warbler has found it's northwestern-most breeding range.  Just 4 days before I would take that trip, the Hualapais had a bad fire start, and there was no way I could do the trip.  To this day the fire is still burning, but from the sounds of it there is still going to be great habitat left (thankfully!).

On April 29th, I did decide to go back to Brown's Crossing and Alamo Lake.  Brown's Crossing has become an obsession of mine, and it has kept getting better and better.  At a late-April time where migration is in a great swing, I went to Brown's Crossing at a good time.  The bird diversity was incredible, and I had 98 species in about 5 hours, and it was over a distance of a little over a mile from east to west.  Both land and water birds were everywhere, and six La Paz editions of Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, Forster's Tern, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, and Blue-winged Teal brought my La Paz list to 208.  I never would've guessed that Brown's Crossing would be as good as a location as it turned out to be for me.  I look forward to the next time I'm able to go back.

American White Pelicans and Blue-winged Teal, Brown's Crossing

Eared Grebes, Brown's Crossing

Semipalmated Plovers, Brown's Crossing

Semipalmated Sandpiper, Brown's Crossing

Alamo Lake has plenty of Wild Asses

Long-billed Curlew, Brown's Crossing

 

As upcoming expenses and bigger trips are on the horizon, my trips to other counties in Arizona were put on hold after my Brown's Crossing trek on April 29th.  As I've reached 200 for every Arizona county, it's fun to know that I've explored each county in Arizona pretty well to see birds.  It has increased my personal knowledge a lot and it makes further goals more straightforward.  And of course, I still have a lot more exploring to do and knowledge to gain in my epic home state.  Gosh it's fun!