Finally…the SEA!

 West Bowles Road 11-23-12

It was long after dark when we returned to the motel on Thanksgiving night. Gus settled in to watch the last bit of football while I got out my laptop and settled in at the desk to do research. I made up my mind that tomorrow I would get to the sea…no matters what! I pulled up the official websites for the Salton Sea but none offered me any info on how to access it! So, I tried something else. I remembered when I was in Yuma that I had consulted a website sent to me by a friend called Southwest Birders. I recalled seeing a link to the Salton Sea on their webpage. Since I found their site so useful for finding birding locations in Yuma I hoped it would be equally helpful in finding places to bird along the Salton Sea. Bingo! It had the most useful information of all. I also consulted eBird and wrote down a few of their birding hotspots as well. Then, after submitting my counts for the night to eBird, I climbed into bed and tried to sleep.

Greater Yellowlegs and Killdeer in fields

We hit the road early the next morning and this time we headed up the east side of the sea. Our first stop was a location mentioned on the Southwest Birders website called Bowles Road-west end. Gus threw caution to the wind and we drove down the dirt road searching for birds and counting as we went. Finally the sea opened before us and we stopped.

There were flooded fields and marshland to the south

 

To the north we saw hundreds of coots!

 

Gus set up the spotting scope and we took turns looking at the birds.

 

We couldn’t go as far as we wanted as we found our way blocked.

 

This is just a small fraction of the birds on the mud flats but most were coots.

 

Coots and dowitchers feeding.

 

At the moment this rookery was abandoned but I imagine it was full of birds in the spring and summer! It lay beyond the “No Trespassing” sign.

 

I found this lone American Avocet feeding in a little pool of water visible only through a break in the bushes along a steep bank. There was some kind of small bird in the bushes twittering up a storm but no ever made an appearance and I did not recognize their songs or calls so I don’t know what they were.

 

So, I went back to counting coots!

 

Then, we got in the car and headed east back towards Gentry Road which is the main paved road up the southeast side. I now knew it would finally lead us to the  Salton Sea Visitor’s Center. But first we had a couple other stops to make! Yes, there will be more birds!

 

Not just rocks…there’s a Burrowing owl down there!

(Seen along the embankment of West Bowles Road)

Birds Seen along 1.5 miles of West Bowles Road:

1. Great Egret 1
2. Snowy Egret 2
3. Northern Harrier 1
4. Sora 1
5. American Coots 220
6. Killdeer 6
7. Black-necked Stilt 6
8. American Avocet 1
9. Greater Yellowlegs 1
10. Lesser Yellowlegs 1
11. Long-billed Dowitcher 12
12. Wilson’s Snipe 2
13. Rock Pigeon 6
14. Mourning dove 18
15. Burrowing Owl 1
16. American Kestrel 2
17. Black Phoebe 1
18. Say’s Phoebe 1
19. Loggerhead Shrike 1
20. Vesper Sparrow 6
21. Red-winged Blackbird 25
22. Western Meadowlark 6
23. Great-tailed Grackle 6

I also saw hundreds of unidentified gulls and some unidentified peep species. There were many more birds too far out to count but I knew I would be getting a closer look in a different area, so I did not worry about it but just did my best and moved on.

Links:

• Southwest Birders
• Salton Sea Birding-Southwest Birder’s Link
• Salton Sea State Recreation Area
• Salton Sea Joint Authority
• The Salton Sea Stories (click this link to see all the stories in this series)

Gilbert Water Ranch

 Great Egret 11-12-12

When Chris Rohrer and I arrived at Gilbert Water Ranch early on the morning of November 12 we started seeing birds before we even parked the car. While I have been to Gilbert Water Ranch near Phoenix when I lived here before this was Chris’ first time to visit and my first time being here since my return to Arizona in August. The excitement only mounted as we loaded up our gear and Chris started snapping away at birds before we even left the parking lot.

As I mentioned before, Chris has got me started with “chasing” birds, which means we he keeps track of the Rare Bird Alert and calls me up to go see if we can spot the rarity while it is in town. I, on the other hand, am more of a lister and I submit my lists to eBird. I have gotten Chris interested in eBirding, so now he is starting to carry a pen and a pad like I do and keep track of all the birds he sees. However, it isn’t long before that pad goes away and he is taking pictures!

 As we headed down one of the trails we were greeted by a Northern Mockingbird warming itself in the early rays of sunshine.

 We headed for the eastern ponds where we found blackbirds taking an early morning bath!

 Northern Pintails were the main species of ducks we saw but if you look closely you will see a few Green-winged teal as well.

 Near the napping ducks we found our first long-billed dowitcher.

 Soon we found more!

In the first 20 minutes of being here we saw 20 species of birds. There were more than that but we couldn’t look and count fast enough!

 I think the male Northern Pintail is one of the handsomest ducks around.

 Snowy Egrets put on quite the show as well!

 Black-necked Stilts were everywhere,

 But this Osprey eating a fish was most impressive!

 Osprey at Gilbert Water Ranch 11-12-12

 You can pretty much count on seeing a Great Blue Heron here.

We saw several.

 While the Snowy Egrets are pretty easy for me to identify, it’s identifying peeps that always gets my feathers in a fluff! And there were plenty of them! Peeps are the generic name for small shore birds that pick through the shallows hunting for prey. In winter plumage they are even more challenging and I will be the first to admit that I am a novice at shorebird ID!

 Peeps,

 peeps,

 and more peeps!

I was able to identify a few spotted sandpipers, a few snipes, and some yellowlegs, but the rest are a mystery to me! I know there were probably Least Sandpipers out there as well as a possible Dunlin or two, but I need more practice to be sure.

 So, on to easier species, like this male Anna’s Hummingbird we found in a thicket along one of the paths.

 We also found a roosting Black-crowned Night Heron…

 …and a hunting Green Heron!

 On the edge of the same pond where we saw the green heron we found these footprints in the mud. It looks like someone else was hunting here too!

 White-crowned Sparrow showing off his crown.

We saw and heard White-crowned sparrows everywhere!

 This little mouse was not at all shy about coming out on the path.

Chris and I were both pleased to find an Inca Dove. They are much smaller than the Mourning dove and have an overall scaly appearance. While juvenile mourning doves can look a bit scaly as well, they will always have those black spots on their wings. And, when a Inca Dove flies it shows its rufous under-wings!

 One of these ducks is not like the others! Can you tell which one?

More on that tomorrow!

 American Coot

We also saw coots everywhere.

Camouflaged Wilson’s Snipe

Before we left we checked out the mudflats again. We spent about 4 hours at Gilbert Water Ranch but saw the majority of the birds during the first hour of our arrival. After that we added species sporadically, sometimes wandering down paths without seeing anything and then, Bingo, a new bird species would show up. In the end I counted 53 species of birds here on this day. Chris counted 55 since he saw 2 species that I didn’t, a Say’s Phoebe and an Orange-crowned warbler.

 Near the parking lot again I found this Eurasian Collared Dove.

 When it flew away I knew it was time for me to fly as well.

By now it was early afternoon and Chris and I were both hungry. We got back on the road and headed south before the evening rush hour began. We finally stopped in Casa Grande to grab a bite to eat. There were blackbirds and doves everywhere and we counted birds in the parking lot of the restaurant we ate at, as well as at a gas station where we stopped to refuel. We wanted to see if we could find the monk parakeets that use to be seen in Casa Grande and Chris thought he heard them behind the gas station. So, while I finished pumping gas he rushed  off to find them. To our amazement he found an African Gray Parrot and another parrot species on the rooftop of an abandoned building! He said he could hear the monk parakeets but we never saw them. We took a drive on the road past the front of the house and it looked like some kind of wildlife sanctuary. Perhaps the parrots had escaped form there. Either way, we never counted any parrots or parakeets on our eBird count.

 Before we left town I drove Chris over to the Dave White Golf course which is another eBird Hotspot. In past years a Northern Jacana has showed up here at one of the ponds. It was one of the first birds Gus and I photographed with our new camera in 2008. I was just new to eBirding then. the sun was just setting as we arrived. There were a few mallards in the ponds, a few Yellow-rumped warblers in the trees, and mourning doves everywhere! We saw a red-tailed hawk land on a snag, and then the coyotes started to howl very close to us. Chris and I turned our heads towards the sound and stood transfixed as first one and then another coyote ambled across the green golf lawn to join the pack on the other side!

Sunset at Dave White Golf Course in Casa Grande, AZ 11-12-12

Links:

• Northern Jacana (2008 blogpost from Sycamore Canyon)
• Gilbert Water Ranch Diaries (Las Adventuras blog)
• Peep Show (Chris’ story)
• Scauping Around (Chris’ story)

Birds seen at Gilbert Water Ranch on November 12, 2012

American Widgeon 6	Cinnamon Teal 2	Green-winged Teal 75
Mallard 50	Northern Pintail 100	Ring-necked Duck 10
Northern Shoveler  100	Lesser Scaup 2	Gambel’s Quail 8
Pied-billed Grebe 2	Neotropic cormorant 1	Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 6	Snowy Egret 10	Green Heron 3
Black-crowned Night Heron 1	Turkey Vulture 3	Osprey 2
Northern Harrier 1	Cooper’s Hawk 1	Sora 1
American Coot 40	Killdeer 10	Black-necked Stilt 20
Greater Yellowlegs 1	Least Sandpiper 100	Long-billed dowitcher 50
Wilson’s Snipe 6	Eurasian collared-dove 18	White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 12	Inca Dove 6	Anna’s Hummingbird 10
Costa’s Hummingbird 2	Belted Kingfisher 1	Gila woodpecker 6
Northern Flicker 1	American Kestrel 3	Prairie Falcon 1
Black Phoebe 3	Northern Rough-winged swallow 6	Verdin 25
Northern Mockingbird 8	Curve-billed thrasher 6	European Starling 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 24	Abert’s Towhee 12	White-crowned Sparrow 50
Red-winged Blackbird 6	Great-tailed Grackle 36	House Finch 20
Lesser Goldfinch 4	House Sparrow 50

Don’t get your Feathers in a Fluff!

 Black-necked Stilts at Gilbert Water Ranch 11-12-12

A couple of weeks ago Chris Rohrer and I went birding at Gilbert Water Ranch near Phoenix, AZ.

 While we were there we searched everywhere for birds.

We found so many! And we kept on birding!

We chased birds in Tucson and found a Western Grebe at Lakeside Park on November 14, and a Common Loon at the Silverbell recharge basins on November 16th! If I am turning Chris into an eBirder, he is turning me into a chaser! What can I say? It’s keeping me young, but I don’t get much else done!

 Great Blue heron at Gilbert Water Ranch 11-12-12

Then, over the Thanksgiving Holiday Gus and I flew off to the Salton Sea.

(Actually, we drove and I counted birds all the way there and back again!)

However, this has left little time for blogging!

 Snowy Egret at Gilbert Water Ranch 11-12-12

But, don’t get your feathers in a fluff! I’m working on new blog posts right now! and There Will be Birds! (and stories too!)

Ring-necked Duck at Gilbert Water Ranch 11-12-12

So, relax and take a little paddle around the pond. I’ll be back soon!