A stop along Highway 83, south of Vail, produced Purple Martin, Violet-green, Tree, and Barn Swallow, a Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, a small group of Cactus Wrens, and Orange-crowned and Yellow Warbler. Southwest of Phoenix, a flock of over a hundred White-faced Ibis were seen along the Route 202 Loop near Laveen Village.
When we reached the ponds at 309th Avenue along the Buckeye Canal, the Roseate Spoonbill was nowhere to be found. Birds that were there included Eurasian Collared-Dove, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, numerous Snowy Egrets and White-faced Ibis, Black and Say's Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, and Great-tailed Grackle.
Two other ponds just east of there held much of the same but also held Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal, Mallard, American Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, Red-winged Blackbird, Nashville Warbler, and a nearby Bald Eagle and Greater Roadrunner.
It was a short drive west to the "Thrasher Spot" at the intersection of Baseline Road and the Salome Highway. It was just after noon in the heat of the day when we took a walk out into the sagebrush with scattered stands of mesquite, so expectations of seeing any birds were low. Surprisingly, we found three LeConte's Thrashers. Even more surprising was that I actually got some photos of them, too!
We drove to our 'Motel 6' in Chandler, which happened to have some feeders up in front of the office. Birds there and around the motel included Eurasian Collared-Dove, Killdeer, Curve-billed Thrasher, Northern Mockingbird, Great-tailed Grackle, and a few Rosy-faced Lovebirds.
We had dinner across the boulevard at Rudy's Bar-BQ where Jason's cousin and his wife, who live out there, met us. As mentioned, we spent the night at the 'Motel 6'.
No comments:
Post a Comment