Birding the 202

It's Monday morning rush hour and your inching along the Red Mountain Freeway at 5 mph.  What's a birder to do?  Start birding!  With caution of course. 

Right away you will see swarms of swallows - Cliff Swallows and maybe Northern Rough-winged  coming out from their mud-nests under the freeway, flitting about catching their buggy breakfast, yum!

In the skies to the north Cormorants can often be seen in flight to their morning dining spot of choice along the Salt River.

Great Egret in reeds along the Salt River. Photo by Peggy Thomas

If you take a quick peek at the river under the 101 - 202 interchange. you'll likely see a Great Egret or two along the reeds in the "accidental wetlands" that have formed here.

As you approach the McClintock bridge, keep a lookout for the American Brown Pelicans flying low right over the freeway, its quite a sight to see!

American Brown Pelicans in flight near the 202 freeway.  Photo by Jeff Stemshorn

As your poking along in the stop-and-go traffic, don't forget to take a look up at the top of the freeway median lights, there's a good chance you'll spot an Osprey dining on his morning catch!

Osprey perched on 202 freeway median lights. Photo by Peggy Thomas.

If traffic is still jammed up after you pass the Scottsdale Road exit, look to your right.  The tree-tops that you see here arise out of the Lo Piano Bosque Habitat.  Depending upon the time of year, who knows what migrants you might see hopping from snag to snag.

Now for your eastbound journey home on the 202 during evening rush hour: Near the Priest exit keep your eye out for the Northern Harrier hunting in the riparian area below the Tempe Town Lake west dam.

Northern Harrier on the lookout for dinner at the wetlands below the Tempe Town Lake west dam.
Photo by Peggy Thomas.

After passing the lighted Mill Avenue bridge spanning the lake, look for the lone dead tree at Papago Stables, it is a favorite perch of the Bald Eagle.  This time of year the adult eagles are a bit weary from feeding their eaglets and are looking for a quick meal, so they wait for the Osprey to catch a fish from Tempe Town Lake, then steal it!

Bald Eagle at Tempe Town Lake.  Photo by Jeff Stemshorn

Once you pass McClintock you might feel as though you are being watched, and you are.  Scores of Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Neotropic Cormorants are often seen catching the last few rays of sun in the tops of cottonwoods and willows of the Tempe Marketplace Marsh.

'Somebody's watchin' you...' Great Egrets at sunset watching traffic whiz by on the 202
from the tree-tops at Tempe Marketplace Marsh. Photo by Peggy Thomas

As you drive home wondering what you'll have for dinner, and you pass over the "accidental wetlands" at the 101 - 202 interchange, take comfort in knowing that below you the Black-crowned Night Herons are coming out looking for their dinner.

Black-crowned Night Herons at dusk in the "accidental wetlands" under the 101 - 202 interchange.
Photo by Peggy Thomas

NOTE : None of these photos were taken while driving.  I am NOT an advocate of birding while you drive.  I'm suggesting what you might see while stuck in traffic during rush hour on the 202 Red Mountain Freeway.  Always keep your eyes on the road when your vehicle is in motion.

Tempe Town Lake Aquatic Bird Survey 2013

Logan and Anita search for ducks at the marsh near Curry and Miller roads,
while I sit with my high powered scope grimacing at the thought of having
single digit species totals.  January 19th, 2013.   Photo by Jeff Stemshorn

We set out on Saturday with high hopes of counting flock after flock of cormorants, egrets, and ducks.  After all, its the Greater Phoenix Area Waterbird Census, surely all the birds would want to make their presence known.  Well, they must not have received the memo, because the cormorants and egrets were few and far between, and the ruddy ducks had all but disappeared.  Even the habitat below the west dam was nearly barren, and views from the pedestrian bridge looking out on the lake revealed very little.  Gone were the usual cluster of Ruddy Ducks mixed with Western, Eared, and Pied-billed Grebes.

Brown Pelicans at Tempe Town Lake, making sure they are added to the waterbird census,
January 19th, 2013.   Photo by Jeff Stemshorn

Our hopes for an exciting count were renewed further down the south shoreline, when seven of the lake's Brown Pelican's appeared and flew in formation circling low right over our heads, lifting our spirits tremendously.

At the small marsh at Miller and Curry roads, where we had hoped to venture deep into the reeds and discover who knows what, we encountered a small army of city workers tearing out the invasive tamarisk surrounding the ponds.  Our chances of seeing any shy Cinnamon Teals or Buffelheads were now obliterated.  But we did manage to see a Blue-winged Teal and a few Canvasbacks.

A typically shy Blue-winged Teal popped out from the reeds
at the marsh near Miller and Curry not wanting to
be left out of the waterbird census!
January 19th, 2013.   Photo by Jeff Stemshorn

Tempe Town Lake 2013

Canvasbacks 5

Gadwalls 4

Mallards10

Blue-winged Teal 1

Green-winged Teal 9

Northern Shovelers 9

Ring-necked Ducks 3

Ruddy Ducks 8

Buffleheads 1

Pied-billed Grebes 5

Eared Grebes 19

Western Grebes 4

Neotropic Cormorants 26

Double-crested Cormorants 21

Great Blue Herons 2

Great Egrets 1

Snowy Egrets 4

Green Herons 2

American Coots 25
Killdeer 3
Black-necked Stilts 1
Least Sandpipers 3
Osprey 1

Brown Pelican 7

We had a total of 24 species (24 in 2012) and a total # birds counted 174 (629 in 2012).  So we had the same number of species at the previous year, but much, much fewer numbers for each species.

The Greater Phoenix Area Waterbird Census is held each year on the third Saturday of January.  The survey includes ducks, geese, herons, egrets, coots, cormorants and shorebirds and covers all the urban lakes, ponds (including golf course ponds), and canals throughout the greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area.  That's a lot of  area to cover!  Volunteers are always needed, so if you don't get your fill of counting birds for the Christmas Bird Counts, then here's your chance.  To volunteer for next year's waterbird census, contact Troy Corman, Arizona Game and Fish Department at tcorman@azgfd.gov .

Special thanks to Anita, Logan, Ethan, and Jeff for their great help
again with this year's census at Tempe Town Lake! 
 

Also, many thanks to Don, Joyce and Gay for conducting the census at Tempe Marketplace Marsh. Their census count is listed below.
(now you can see where all the cormorants, coots, and egrets were at!)  

Tempe Marsh 2013

Photo by Jeff Stemshorn, January 19, 2013.

Canada Geese 4

Gadwalls 9

Mallards 3

Green-winged Teal 2

Northern Shovelers 68
Lesser Scaup 1

Ruddy Ducks 7

Buffleheads 1
Common Mergansers 13
Red-breasted Mergansers 2 

Pied-billed Grebes 10

Western Grebes 5
Clark's Grebes 1

Neotropic Cormorants 8

Double-crested Cormorants 126

Great Blue Herons 5

Great Egrets 2

Snowy Egrets 35

Green Herons 2
Black-crowned Night Herons 1
Sora 1

American Coots 74
Killdeer 3
Spotted Sandpipers1
Ring-billed Gull 1
Osprey 2
Belted Kingfisher 2

Total Species : 28 (23 in 2012)

Total individual birds counted : 397 (659 in 2012)

Tempe Marketplace Marsh Aquatic Bird Survey 2012

Cormorants and Egrets hanging out in the reeds just east of the
east dam at Tempe Town Lake.



One of the perks of doing some of the Urban Aquatic Bird Surveys is gaining temporary access to prime birding areas that are normally off limits.  West valley birder and photographer Jeff Ritz had the enviable opportunity to survey the vast Tres Rios Wetlands area that is not open to the public yet.  His team had 42 species, and 3,699 individual birds!



Don Witter scouting out the area east of Tempe Town Lake.
(Photo by Jeff Stemshorn.)

The opportunity to survey Tempe Marketplace went to three very experienced birders from Desert Botanical Garden's Monday morning bird walks - Don Witter, Joyce Goodman and Gay Christensen.  Their area included the lush riparian area behind Tempe Marketplace and the area between McClintock and the east dam of Tempe Town Lake.  They were hoping to see the Eurasian Green-winged Teal that had been spotted there recently, but he was a no-show.  They did manage though to see a Sora, a Common Moorhen, and the Belted Kingfisher!



Survey Results:

Green Heron at Tempe Marketplace Marsh. 
(Photo by Jeff Stemshorn.)

Canada Goose 5

Gadwall 31

American Wigeon 4

Mallard 14

Northern Shoveler 51

Green-winged Teal 8

Ruddy Duck 62

Pied-billed Grebe 11

Neotropic Cormorant 140

Double-crested Cormorant 129

Great Blue Heron 5

Great Egret 8

Snowy Egret 42
Green Herons 1

Black-crowned Night Heron 1

Sora 1

Common Moorhen 1

American Coot 137

Black-necked Stilt 2

Greater Yellowlegs 1 

Spotted Sandpiper 2

Osprey 2

Belted Kingfisher 1

Total Species: 23   Total Ind.: 659

 

Area Surveyed - Tempe Marketplace Marsh

 Other areas included in the Phoenix Area Urban Aquatic Bird Survey are the gazillion golf course ponds across the valley, the many urban park ponds and residential ponds, Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Site, Glendale Recharge Ponds, Tres Rios Hayfield Site, the ponds at the Phoenix Zoo and Papago Park, Gilbert Water Ranch, ASU Research Park, and Fountain Hills Lake.  So there are plenty of opportunities for volunteers!  If you are interested in joining next year's survey, contact Troy Corman at Arizona Game and Fish Department - tcorman@azgfd.gov .



Lessons Learned in the Field

Hoping to get a photo of the Osprey taking off...

looks like he's thinking about it...

Okay, great, he's leaning forward...

any second now he'll take off...

finally I'll get a shot of an Osprey in flight...

Aaaacckkkk!!!  He threw up instead.

This is what landed below the light pole,

indigestible fish parts.

And also on the nice shiny red truck

parked underneath the light pole.

Eeeeewwwww!!!

Lessons Learned: 

1.  Owls aren't the only bird of prey that regurgitate the indigestible parts of their prey.

2.  Be careful where you park when birding at Tempe Marketplace.

Eurasian Teal Takes a Wrong Turn

Eurasian Teal at Tempe Marsh, Jan. 14th, 2011

We can't all be good at directions, but it sure helps, especially if you're a duck!  Somewhere along the way during migration this Eurasian Teal turned right when he should have turned left, or visa versa.  Either way, lucky for us birders he's decided to mix it up with a small group of Green-winged Teals at Tempe Marsh (Tempe Marketplace).  What distinguishes him from the Green-winged Teals is his lack of a vertical white shoulder bar, and that he has a more prominent horizontal white scapular-stripe.  Photo below shows the comparison.




Green-winged Teal on left, Eurasian Teal second from right, at Tempe Marsh, Jan. 14th, 2011.

 

Tempe Town Lake Disappears

Tempe Town Lake, 8 AM, July 21st, 2010

Okay, maybe not completely, but it has been reduced to a big stinky mud puddle.  It blew a bladder last night around 10PM, sending nearly 1 billion gallons down through the Rio Salado.  Later today Tempe city officials deflated the remaining 3 bladders that make up the dam, allowing the rest of the water to drain out.
Sadly, the flood has left hundreds of fish, stranded and dying, in 2 or 3 inch deep pools of water.  The usual set of birds that hang out on the lake were strangely absent, only a few scavenger birds - Grackles and Doves - remained.  So, I ventured to the habitat east of the lake (the Tempe Marsh), and tada! 

Cormorants and Egrets huddled together, seemingly befuddled,

likely wondering where in the hell their lake disappeared to.

Cormorants and Egrets crowd together at the Tempe Marsh

 riparian habitat upstream from the now empty Tempe Town Lake.

Double-click on image below for an enlarged slide-show.

City officials say the lake will be empty likely until Novemvber.  It will then take 2 weeks to re-fill the lake.  To see a video of the empty lake, see this YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOXHt-APoY4

Desert Rivers Audubon Society Bird Walk at Tempe Marketplace

Even better than a cup of Joe in the morning is a Bird Walk, especially when its led by expert birder Kathe Anderson from Desert Rivers Audubon. It was a cool foggy morning along the path at Tempe Marketplace overlooking the Tempe Marsh - a lush riparian zone of the Salt River (Rio Salado). Water levels are still high, but not at flood stage, so the usual cast of characters has returned; Killdeer, Least Sandpipers, various Sparrows, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Blue Herons, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Cormorants, Coots, Mallards, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Pied-billed Grebe, Wilsons Snipe, Grackles, Hummingbirds, and Warblers. Kudos to Desert Rivers Audubon for organizing the walk, and to Kathe Anderson for leading the walk (and for being endlessly patient with those of us who can't tell one sparrow from another.)

Birding at the Mall?!!

There's a hidden treasure at Tempe Marketplace (Rio Salado Parkway & McClintock) - a wheelchair accessible riparian preserve! Park in the northwestern-most parking lot, and head toward the wide, hard packed gravel ramp leading up to a long fenced path. The path offers great views of the Tempe Marsh Riparian area east of Tempe Town Lake. Be sure to bring your binocs to get a good look at the egrets, blue heron, cormorants, shore birds, ducks, coots and occasional osprey or hawk. Don't forget to look up at the billboards along the path - you may see a hawk looking back at you.

***UPDATE*** See NEW Photos taken after record rainfall, and Salt River Project releases along the upper Salt River, flooded the Tempe Marsh area. Last 3 images in slide show are photos taken on Jan 23, 2010.