From a small town to a big city...
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A Birding Blog
By Jared Conaway
From a small town to a big city...
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Hello all! I gone without blog-posting for 6 days now, but 2 days ago, Dec. 10th, I saw a gorgeous and very cute bird, one that has come all his way from the east! From the start of the trip, I expected to see 3 warblers, all lifers, all from the east, and all expected as fall or spring migrants annually or near-annually. 2 of which, the Chestnut-sided Warbler and Black and White Warbler, I did not obtain, but at least I saw a ........ ......! (This time I have the as many dots as there are letters in the bird's name, and with a space inserted to help a bit) So, while you're reading, you can get a hang-man session in as well! Anyways, we pull into the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch (no. 1 hotspot in Maricopa), get out of the car and, the place is alive with lots of people, more than I thought, and lots of trees. Appearently there was supposed to be a party there after dark, hence the high numbers of Homo sapiens. The first birs to be spotted were Mallards, Coots, BLACK-NECKED STILTS, and a PIED-BILLED GREBE. The Pied-billed Grebe definitely remain a "nostalgia bird," as it's the very first rarity I've ever chased, and was very successful (that happened last year in AK). I smiled as I observed him through the binoculars, and took pics of him. Soon thereafter, a TURKEY VULTURE flew overhead, maybe only 5 feet above us! As we walked, uncountable numbers of Audubon's Warblers and White-crowned Sparrows sang, chirped, and foraged in many bushes. American Coots and AVOCETS showed themselves everywhere, also American Wigeon, Northern Shovelers, NORTHERN PINTAILS, and GREEN-WINGED TEAL were the waterfowl present. For a while a lot of the same birds were present, including; Great Egrets, Great Blue Heron, Abert's Towhees, Orange-crowned Warblers, Great-tailed Grackles, Curve-billed Thrashers, Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, and Least Sandpipers. Some highlights were; SNOWY EGRETS, a GREEN HERON, GAMBEL'S QUAIL, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, a RUDDY DUCK, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, INCA DOVES, an AMERICAN KESTREL, and towards the end, a NASHVILLE WARBLER, a VERY late migrant! There was also lots of Cottontail Rabbits all over. Eventually, I lost all hope that we would see any of the 3 rare warblers, causing some frustration to arise. I thought, we came all this way, just as all other birders had, but unlike them, had not seen any of the warblers, while they saw all 3 and even photographed them! But this wasn't the end. As it turned out, the Mason Bly Bench- the location of all 3 warblers- was not that far from the entrance, so had we gone that way, I would have seen my lifer, or even the other 2, a whole lot sooner! We sat and stood, and searched for the warblers under the cottonwoods. Then, after I lost hope in those cottonwoods, since nothing was showing up, I regained hope as I saw a single cottonwood nearby. I quickly walked that way, and eventually Mom and Dad caught up as well. While they searched, and craned their necks, I decided to take a break from neck craning by walking over to a birder to ask if she knew about the eastern vagrants. Unfortunately, every birder, about 3 or 4 of them, that I encountered didn't know about them, and I could tell these were just casual birdwatchers. I prefer to meet the more elite and serious birders, because they know all the good hotspots and have an amazing amount of information about them, so I can plan birding trips to those places in the future. They are also very serious about it, and know a lot of birds by ear and by eye, which believe me, is EXTREMELY USEFUL! Anyways, she pointed me to an Anna's Hummingbird in a bush, when my Dad hollered for me. He pointed to a bird that was flitting about and foraging in the lowest branches. I was about to label it as another Verdin, but I saw all the field marks- a yellow throat and lower breast with an orange breast-band, blue-purple back, and white wing-bars, that I knew exactly what it was- Triumphantly, I announced it to be a (drum role, please) NORTHERN PARULA!!!!!!!!!!!!(!!!!!!!!!) Dad and I immediately turned the cameras on, and clicked away! Mine wasn't being coorperative, it takes WAY TOO LONG for it to focus or zoom in, and unlike a canon, every time you move it, it blurs. With such a jumpy bird, I had to swivel around a lot, which also meant a lot of blur. I also had to zoom out to widen my view, to relocate him, and zoom in to get close ups of him. Because every time I zoomed in he moved to another branch, I gave up on mine and asked Dad for his. Again, I had to have my neck craned 24-7, ready to see which branch he would flutter on over to next. Luckily, I got a few good snapshots of him after about 30 minutes of standing under that tree. I still tried for the other 2 warblers, but didn't find them anyway. Well, in a way I got what I wanted, after all, the Parula was the warbler sp. I wanted most, and additionally I obtained photos! So, it was a successful day, and it was fun to go out and explore a new hotspot! Check out pics below. the Northern Parula! Gambel's Quail Northern Pintail Snowy Egret Long-billed Dowitcher Pied-billed Grebe! Red-winged Blackbird (Juv.) American Kestrel Desert Cottontail Rabbit Interestingly, I've never seen a bird as colorful as the Northern Parula in the winter, ever! Just so you know, it was this time of year- from Dec. 12 to March 30- that there was HOARY REDPOLLS in my yard last winter, almost every day between those dates! Up in Alaska of course. What was cool is that, because It was an eruption year for the state, I didn't see just one, I would see up to 3 in a lot of the Common Redpoll flocks near my home, and on March 30th, counted 15 Hoary Redpolls! Most of which were flyovers. Now, I have told the ebird reviewer for Mat-Su that I was able to identify flyovers because their voices are slightly different. After a lot of trudging through the snow, I figured out that the Hoary Redpoll has a sharper, clearer voice, that doesn't have a buzzy sound to it. I thought I'd mention this because it's the 1 year anniversary for the species, (I actually didn't know that till I checked ebird just now) and, it brings back memories of trudging through 8 inch snowfall, listening for the call that, for only last winter, echoed through the towering White Spruces burdened with snow. That was only 1 of 2 winters I obtained a lifer, both were within my neighborhood! Good times. Also, today, I pet the Costa's Hummingbirdbird today! I simply looked out through our screen door, and I saw him sitting on the feeder, not sipping the "nectar" I slid it open, and walked up to him. He was clearly wide awake, because he looked down at my hand as soon as I lifted it up to pet him. Then, a gently put my hand on his back and stroked him! He didn't budge for a few moments. Once those precious moments were up, he flew off, zooming directly past my ear! WOW! Always amazing to pet him! Lastly, you guys are probably wondering how he is, as I haven't pet him a month, until today. He's now an Adult, he's fully grown into his spectacular violet gorget! He's a stunning, adorable little bird! I wish him luck on finding a mate, and hopefully I can obtain a photo of him in his adult plumage!
TTBs: 42 species! Overall, quite the adventure, the Northern Parula really brightened my day! Can you all wish me luck on finding the other 2 warblers? I'm Jared Conaway, and stay tuned for my next post!
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December 2019
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