Tres Rios Goodies

Hi everyone,

Today on October 9th, 2013, I spent a pleasant morning at the Tres Rios Overbank Wetlands.  A permit is required to bird this awesome place.  I covered the entire area in the four hours I spent there starting at 7: 45 A.M.  Lengthwise, it is 2.5 miles one way, so 5 miles of hiking all together.

Tres Rios was very birdy today, and I tallied 71 species in my time spent there.  From the start, the birding was good, as when I just got out of my vehicle to start birding I had a young BROWN PELICAN flying over the entrance area.  Later in the day, I saw two Brown Pelicans together, so there were at least two.  Jeff Ritz recently reported three, so three are probably still present.  While I got close looks at the Brown Pelicans, the AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN flock was very distant and was resting on cement alongside the ponds.  Regardless, these giants easily stand out, even if they are distant.  

Waterfowl are on the increase, and I noted a GADWALL, two female BLUE-WINGED TEAL, and a lone NORTHERN PINTAIL.  3 LEAST BITTERNS called in the thick reeds.  

Raptors were a nice highlight today.  OSPREYS seemed to be everywhere, and I came across 2-3 young BALD EAGLES.  The eagles flew over me at very close range-very cool!  There was also a NORTHERN HARRIER, COOPER'S HAWK, at least 5 RED-TAILED HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTREL, a flyover PRAIRIE FALCON, and also the continuing RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.  I encountered the Red-shouldered Hawk twice during my hike.  The first time was at the westernmost end of the Wetlands, where I heard it only.  This is the usual place to observe it.  And then, very ironically, when I was 2.5 miles east of where I first heard it and was almost back to the entrance, I looked up and saw the hawk soaring right over my head!  I found this bird last October, when it was still a juvenile.  It is now a very sharp adult Red-shouldered Hawk, and it was a treat seeing it up close.  I finally managed some decent pictures of it!  

VIRGINIA RAILS and SORAS were vocal in the marshes, and I got very good views of one of the Soras.  Another good highlight were two VAUX'S SWIFTS flying overhead.  I actually managed a decent picture of one of them, a species I have never photographed prior to this morning.  

Other highlights among the 71 species this morning at included ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, WESTERN KINGBIRDS, 4 BARN SWALLOWS, ROCK WREN, 2 CRISSAL THRASHERS, BREWER'S and VESPER SPARROWS, the always awesome YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS, and my First-of-fall LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH.

Vaux's Swift

 Yellow-headed Blackbird

 Brown Pelican

Belted Kingfisher female

Young Bald Eagle

This Osprey trespassed onto Grackle Land

 young Common Gallinule

 adult Common Gallinule

 Sora

 Great Blue Heron with a weird stance

 Red-tailed Hawk "rufous"

 Red-shouldered Hawk

The Local Birding Channel

Most birders have a local hotspot they visit more than often.  I sure do.  It's like our local television stations in a way!  In this case, it's Tres Rios Wetlands and Glendale Recharge Ponds for me.

Let's start with a few highlights I've had at Tres Rios as of late!  Here's the latest from my "Local Birding Channel".

Northern Harriers are starting to increase in numbers...

Despite it's name, this Night-Heron is flying during the day.  Would that make him a hypocrite?

The most amazing show of sight are the Yellow-headed Blackbird flocks.  Come extra early so you won't miss it!

Ospreys have increased in numbers also.  Watch for them where there are any bodies of water.

A Greater Roadrunner was seen perched on a fence.  How odd is that?

Casual at Tres Rios, this Rock Wren was found at Tres Rios's only formation of rocks.  You can't miss the rock peninsula!

The Peregrine Falcons are cool as ever.  Keep your eyes peeled overhead!

Black Vultures are abound in large numbers!  Keep an eye out for them in the farm area just northeast of Tres Rios.  

To change the channel from 3.1 to 3.2, we now stop at the Glendale Recharge Ponds..a rather ugly but mecca of a birding location.  Large bird numbers congregate whenever these large basins carry water.

The Least Sandpipers are lining the ponds right now.  Despite it's name, the Sandpiper itself doesn't feel like it's the Least.  It's the smallest sandpiper in the world, and they are certainly one of the most common in Arizona.

A lone Western Grebe has been chillin at the ponds.  He is bigger than most.  Here, he is joined by a female Cinnamon Teal. 

Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets are both around---you can't miss em!

The Avocets are especially cool!

Don't forget to tune into your Local Birding Channel!  In other words, don't forget to go birding at the awesome locations near you.  Tommy D..out.

Returning to Prescott

It had been awhile since I had been to Prescott last.  But last week, that all changed, and I made two trips to Prescott.  On one of the trips, I was joined by my birder friend Steve Hosmer.  I went there based around trying to relocate a Mississippi Kite that was lingering in Chino Valley both times, without success.  Oh well!  But the Prescott area held awesome birding experiences.  I added 7 new birds to my Yavapai County list also.  This isn't a long post, more of one to show a few picture highlights that I was able to capture.

This is Watson Lake, neat looking huh?  It is a location where I find a lot of goodies whenever I visit the Prescott area.

This Cassin's Vireo likes Watson Lake too, and there are a lot of things in the lakes riparian area to keep the curious vireo busy.

I then spied a male Red-naped Sapsucker, who gave me good binocular views and no pictures for the camera.  This Bewick's Wren however was somewhat cooperative....

The marsh of Watson Lake was full of birds.  Yellowthroats, Soras, you name it.  This young Cooper's Hawk was hoping to show off his hunting skills..

He then spied something in the marsh and failed at his attempt.  He's still young and has a lot to learn.

This dull Yellow-rumped Warbler had a very dull but somewhat funny sense of humor.  He flew out of the marsh and right up to me.  Perhaps he was the young Coop's miss..

Western Meadowlarks also sang in the nearby open fields.  Meadowlarks are always a treat, and they don't come close often.  Perhaps these meadowlarks that line Watson Lake are pretty used to people walking the Peavine Trail?

The majestic Bald Eagle took a soar overhead Watson.....

Also present was a late migrant, the well known Mr. Vermilion..

Immediately neighboring Watson is the equally birdy and attractive Willow Lake.  These two lakes provide some of the best birding in the state of Arizona based on bird abundance.  When I got to Willow, a Caspian Tern flew over the lake.  He had a line of Northern Pintails to stare down at..

When Caspian landed, he landed with two other Caspians, and a handful of other birds, including the obvious American White Pelican.  How many species can you identify from this picture?

Besides water, Willow has great surrounding land habitat.  Any day when a Crissal Thrasher pops up in front of you is a good one!

This young Red-tailed Hawk was one of many Red-tails in the immediate area..

When Steve and I were walking through the "Cottonwood Peninsula" at Willow Lake (true to it's name, it has many large cottonwoods), we spied a neat shape in the trees.

It was the awesome Great Horned Owl!  It was very tolerant of our presence!

While Willow and Watson Lakes are a mile high in elevation, I still retreat to higher elevations when I am finished birding them.

Gorgeous huh?  If anyone disagrees, shame on you!  This is the southern stretch of Walker Road, between mile markers 8 through 11.  This is one of my favorite high elevation areas to bird in Arizona, and this peaceful getaway is very birdy, especially in spring and summer.  This Acorn Woodpecker lives here year round and was having the time of his life gathering acorns for the upcoming winter.

This young Hermit Warbler was along the path.  It was a new Yavapai bird for me.  There was also a male Townsend's Warbler present and several Olive Warblers.

Western Bluebirds were very common, and as always, very awesome!

The most-common bird was the Mountain Chickadee.  These little guys were everywhere, and they proudly proclaimed they were the tiny but mighty individuals in a large city in the trees of Walker.

On Walker Road, all three Nuthatches were present to make things as nutty as possible.  Seeing all three nuthatches at once is something I always enjoy!

As I phished away, these bird flew in and quickly came into the rescue.  Mountain Chickadees, the three nuthatches, as well as the warblers, it was fun to watch.  I won't ignore the signs to Mountain Chickadee City ever again, cause these guys were ferocious.  But luckily for me, I'm a human and not a Pygmy-Owl.  The chickadees would've ransacked an owl.

Winter is approaching us fast, and it is an awesome season for birding.  Don't forget to store up food in your hidden holes and shelves to keep yourself from starving to death when the Phoenicians and other Arizonians get snowed in.  Heck, even the Acorn Woodpecker knows that.  He may look like a doofis, but he's really pretty smart.

This concludes my Prescott post.  I hope to return to Prescott again soon.  Prescott summed up:  "Where seldom is heard, a discouraging word, and the birding is awesome all day".