Photos courtesy of me!
(With the cooperation of a few butterflies at
Desert Botanical Garden's Butterfly Pavilion.)
(With the cooperation of a few butterflies at
Desert Botanical Garden's Butterfly Pavilion.)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Tres Rios Rocks!
450 acre wetland at the confluence of the Salt, Gila, and Agua Fria Rivers.
Yellow-headed Blackbirds were in the thousands!
"More Birding" with Cynthia Donald Field Trip (one of DBG's wonderful birding classes).
Lincoln's Sparrow posing on reeds in one of the ponds at Tres Rios.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
Black-bellied Whistling Duck coming in for a visit with the Great Egret.
Great Egret surmising the incoming flocks of White-faced Ibis.
Three to four hundred White-faced Ibis' flew in for a dunk and a drink!
I still have yet to see the 'white face' of the White-faced Ibis.
Nesting is in full swing at the Great Blue Heron rookery.
Returning to the nest.
What the heck? Where did these jokers come from?
Fishing in the treatment ponds at Tres Rios? Sure hope
they're not going to eat what they caught.
Fishing in the treatment ponds at Tres Rios? Sure hope
they're not going to eat what they caught.
This was a rare view of the Tres Rios Flow Regulating Wetlands which is closed to the public. Just to the south of this fenced-in area lies the Tres Rios Overbanks Wetlands which is open to birders who have obtained a permit.
To obtain a permit to bird in the Tres Rios Overbanks Wetlands, contact :
Debbi Radford
Tres Rios Project Coordinator
200 West Washington St., 9th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85007
602-495-7927
Fax 602-495-5843
debbi.radford@phoenix.gov
http://phoenix.gov/waterservices/tresrios/index.html
For more extensive details about birding the Overbanks Wetlands at Tres Rios, see Tommy Debardeleben's excellent coverage of the area at his awesome site "Birder From Maricopa".
The recent Tres Rios Festival was held at the nearby Base and Meridian Wildlife Area. For details about birding this area (which so far is not too wheelchair friendly :-( ), see Tommy's review HERE.
The old Hayfield Site at Tres Rios is closed permanently.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Dragonfly Day at Rio Salado
The rain is gone, the sun is out, and now is an excellent time to get out and learn about our own urban riparian areas and how to save extra money by harvesting rainwater! Come on out to Dragonfly Day on Saturday, February 23rd from 10:00am to 3:00pm.
The event will incorporate science, art and recreation into a fun-filled event for families. Educational booths, wildlife demonstrations, food trucks, face painting and natural art will be showcased around the trailhead at 2439 S. Central Ave., Phoenix, and at the Rio Salado Audubon Center at 3131 S. Central Ave., Phoenix. A brand-new walking path will connect the two sites.
Experts will lead walks to the demonstration wetlands, where participants can identify dragonflies, view the new butterfly habitat and participate in water-quality testing activities.
This is the first major event at the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area since the 2006 grand opening. It also marks the first collaboration among the Arizona SciTech Festival, the Maricopa County Master Watershed Stewards, the City of Phoenix and Audubon Arizona.
For more info go to: http://azscitechfest.org/events/dragonfly-day-rio-salado
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Salt River Cleanup on Saturday Feb. 16th
Have you ever spent the day at the lower Salt River taking what you thought were magnificent photos of snowy egrets hiding among the trees, only to get home and download them and discover the "egrets" were white plastic grocery bags flapping in the breeze? Or had the perfect shot of the wild horses posing majestically along the river's edge, then realize the shot is ruined by soda cans and trash accumulated at the shoreline?
Well now is your chance to get out to your favorite spot along the Salt River and clean it up!
The Mesa Ranger District Office is holding a cleanup this Saturday from 8am to 12pm. Registration is from 8 to 9 am at Blue Point Recreation area (see directions below). Participants will sign-in and receive directions to trash pick-up locations. The trash pick-up begins immediately after sign-in and will continue until about noon when lunch will be provided at no cost to volunteers
Tonto Daily Passes are not required for participation in this event. The Tonto National Forest will provide trash bags. The majority of the clean-up will occur in the river bed near water so participants must wear closed-toe, rubber-soled shoes that can be worn in rocky terrain. We urge you to wear sunscreen, hats, gloves, and bring trash pickers if available. Participants are also urged to bring plenty of water as bottled water may not be provided. Thank you for helping keep our waterways clean!
Directions to Volunteer Sign-In Location: The Blue Point Recreation Site is located 20 miles northeast of Mesa. From Mesa, travel east on the Superstition Freeway (US 60) to Power Road/Bush Highway and turn north. Follow Power Road which will turn into Bush Highway for 15 miles to the Blue Point Recreation site. The entire route is paved.
Amy Racki, Volunteer Coordinator
aracki@fs.fed.us
Its also a perfect time to gather up discarded fishing line before the birds start using the dangerous mono filament in their nests this spring. Remember the "Roadrunner Rescue" at Desert Botanical Garden last spring? Momma roadrunner was hanging upside down hopelessly entangled in fishing line from her nest and would have died had she not been discovered by photographers and carefully cut free.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The Running of the Gourds
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| Red-tailed Hawk by Phyliss Sickles |
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| Carved gourd by gourd artist Phyliss Sickles |
You can make a whole day of it by continuing on down I-10 to Santa Cruz Flats. There you will see many birds not commonly found in Phoenix. Recent notable sightings include Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Western Meadowlarks, Lark Buntings, Bendire's Thrashers, Crested Caracara, Black Vultures, Mountain Plovers, Long-billed Curlews, and Greater White-fronted Geese. The recent Santa Cruz Flats Raptor Count included 30 Crested Caracara, 48 Black Vultures, 7 Cooper's Hawks, 165 Red-tailed Hawks, 34 American Kestrels, 4 Ferruginous Hawks, and 25 Northern Harriers. Of note were 28 Red-tailed Hawks on the ground feeding in the freshly tilled fields, and one HARLAN'S Red-tailed Hawk was reported at the corner of Tweedy and Greene Reservoir Rds..
Directions to "The Running of the Gourds": Take I-10 south to Casa Grande, take the Florence Blvd. exit left (east) to S.Eleven Mile Corner Rd., turn right (south) and the Pinal Fairgrounds will be on your right at 512 S. Eleven Mile Corner.
Directions to Santa Cruz Flats: Go back to I-10 and head south, take the S. Sunland Gin Rd. exit south for about 13 miles to Pretzer Rd and turn left. Or continue down to Greene Reservoir Rd., turn left and travel east. There are miles of dirt farm roads to bird along. Be sure to bring a scope!
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| Cardinals in Aspen by gourd artist Bonnie Gibson |
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| Cactus Wren in Cholla and Prickly Pear by gourd artist Bonnie Gibson |
Monday, January 28, 2013
Coots Gone Wild!
On a recent visit to Papago Ponds, Arizona bird photographer Kathy Gonzales
came across some highly combative coots! Kathy was able to expertly
capture key highlights of the fast-action fight:
A two-footed stranglehold combined with a sharp left-winged smack!
The referee calls "fowl", someone is swinging below the belt!
Will both fighters take a dive?
They're back on their feet!
Final smack-down!
Special thanks to bird photographer Kathy Gonzales
for capturing and sharing these awesome photos!
for capturing and sharing these awesome photos!
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