April 25

I added 5 more species to my list on Saturday: This Spotted Sandpiper, which was feeding on the beach of Pond 1, a Wilson's Phalarope on Pond 9, and in the trees around the visitors' center, I found a Wilson's Warbler, a Nashville Warbler, and a couple of House Sparrows. (It's kind of funny that it took me this long to see a House Sparrow, but you don't see them that often at the Bird Preserve.) That brings my year-to-date total at the Bird Preserve to 90. And I have to admit that I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Usually you can identify phalaropes because they spin while they swim. But since this one was wading and not swimming, it took me a few seconds to realize that I was looking at a Wilson's Phalarope.
This male Ruddy Duck was taking a nap on the edge of Pond 9. I thought he might be hurt so I approached him to check (I wasn't as close as it looks, that picture is still zoomed in). Anyway, he was just annoyed that I was disturbing his nap. He hissed at me a couple of times and then swam away. When I came back around the pond he was resting in the same spot.

I also saw a couple of Great Egrets in breeding plumage on Pond 9. Check out his feathers!

The Crissal Thrashers were teed up and singing. If you look closely you can see his down-curved bill. The first time I heard one sing, I did a double take because I was so suprised that such a beautiful song could come out of that bill!

The cacti are blooming and I couldn't resist this yellow blossom against the purple and green of the pad. I love the macro setting on my camera. Speaking of my camera, I posted this later than usual because I couldn't find the USB cable for my camera; my husband was cleaning up after me.

April 18

Black-crowned Night Heron on Pond 4.

It was not a good day for birds. Well, I suppose that the birds had a good day, because it was sunny and about 80 degrees. But the only new bird I saw was a Brown-headed Cowbird (I know, I know -- scourge of the songbirds) and the bird I missed was a Eurasian Collared Dove (I know, I know -- it's introduced). But I had a fun day anyway. I saw the largest group of Black-Crowned Night Herons that I've seen so far this year. There were about a dozen of them that came in to roost in the tamarisk on Pond 4.

A Queen butterfly on quail brush.

It's a good thing my friend Lupe was around Saturday. She's actually the one who found the cowbird, and then she identified this butterfly for me (a Queen butterfly) and then she found this cool snake. If she hadn't been there, you'd be looking at pictures of coots!

Red Racer in front of the visitors' center.

I'm not a snake girl, but I believe this is a young red racer (Western Coachwhip). If you know differently leave me a comment. Actually, if anyone besides my mom is reading this, leave me a comment! Happy birding -- even on the days you end up looking at butterflies and snakes!

April 11

Wow! Look at that cinnamon underwing! I was lucky enough to catch this Marbled Godwit just as it stretched its wings. That peachy color is one of the diagnostic characteristics of this bird. I think it is just stunning. There were three Marbled Godwits on Pond 9 on Saturday. I had to pass by the pond a couple of times before I caught them feeding and not just resting with their bills under their wings. It was worth the effort, I got a great look, and added another species to my list of "new" birds for the year. Besides the Marbled Godwits, I added 3 other "new" species.

There were 2 Bonaparte's Gulls on Pond 1. Gull ID is difficult and I am definitely not an expert at it, but there were several other experienced birders there and the other gull had an obvious dark ear spot, and this one seems to be transitioning into first summer plumage. It also has a slender, straight and pointed mandible, whereas a young Franklin's would have a stockier, less pointed mandible.

I found several Cliff Swallows on the lines near the visitors center, but it was a hazy day and the light was so bad I wasn't able to photograph anything but silhouettes.

I also saw my first Black-necked Stilts of the year. There were several on Pond 9, and they have been observed several times at the preserve over the last few weeks. I think they are very appropriately named.
The first of the cactus blossoms were open Saturday. If you look closely you can see a pollen-covered bee busily working away. Blossoms are beginning to appear on the Palo Verde trees, Red Yucca plants and penstemons.

April 6

Oh, I had fun today! Today was the first day of Spring Break, and the first chance I've had to bird for a couple of weeks. Our whole family was waylaid by a really nasty cold, and between taking care of sick babies and then catching the cold from them I just haven't been able to get out for about three weeks. But today I saw some really exciting "new" birds.

My friend called me last week to tell me she had seen a Long-tailed Duck at the Bird Preserve. Unfortunately, I couldn't go out and since I hadn't heard any more I assumed that it had left. But today another, or possibly the same, Long-tailed Duck was seen on Pond 6. It took a couple of tries to find it, but I eventually did and even got a picture. (I did have to blow it up on the computer, though.) I was especially excited because it is rarely seen at the Bird Preserve. It's only the second one I've seen at the Bird Preserve in 8 years. This male was kind of difficult to observe because he kept diving, but he is really stunning. They don't show well in my photo, but he has a long black feathers that come out of his tale.

And as if one rare bird wasn't enough, I saw a juvenile Golden Eagle! It has been several years since I saw one at the Bird Preserve. I was so surprised that I forgot to even try to take a picture and before I knew it he was gone. I also saw two other "new" birds: a Turkey Vulture, and a Black-chinned Hummingbird.

I also saw this family of Canada Geese, there were 5 goslings. It looked like they were walking down the road and then the goslings needed to take a break. I had mixed feelings at seeing these little ones; geese have started nesting at the Bird Preserve just in the last few years, and the goslings usually don't survive. Geese are vegetarian grazers, and while the adults can get by on the tough desert plants, the goslings haven't been as fortunate. While I wouldn't want to see the Bird Preserve taken over by geese, my mom instincts were kicking in and I wanted to go over and gather them up and find them a nice green lawn. (Of course their parents probably would have pecked my head off if I had done that.)

I saw several Mallards with babies in tow. This little guy was teeny. His mother had her babies foraging near the beach on Pond 1 and they were so tiny that they must have hatched very recently. They are so cute, and it always amazes me how tough they are. They just hatch and a few hours later they are swimming around, foraging for their own dinner.

March 14

I saw 35 species total and three "new" species Saturday: a Yellow-headed Blackbird on Pond 9, several groups of Savannah Sparrows, and a very scruffy juvenile Barn Swallow on the wires above the visitor's center. It was a beautiful sunny day and spring was in the air. All around the preserve you can see nest building and birds trying to attract a mate or pairing off.

This is the scruffiest looking Barn Swallow that I've ever seen. But I was excited to see it, because it was my first of the year. From the length of the tail, I'd say it is a juvenile.

A Tree Swallow. Kind of funny that it is sitting on wire and not in a tree.

This American Coot was precariously perched in a tree about 10 feet above the water. I watched it for a few moments hoping that, coots being coots, it might fall into the pond. No luck there.

The male Cinnamon Teals are absolutely brilliant. I caught this guy mid-splash.

March 7

A male Ruddy Duck on Pond 1.

I did not have a lot of time to bird on Saturday, literally just minutes. So I didn't find any new species or even keep track of how many species I saw (too bad, because I heard people were seeing snipe and spotted sandpipers). But I did see my first blue-billed Ruddy Duck of the season. He was even displaying and slapping his chin on the water. Duck love is in the air.

Verdin's nest near visitor's center after 3 weeks of construction.

I also checked on the Verdin's nest and it looks like they've done some more building. I didn't see any Verdin working on the nest.

February 28

An American Avocet in Pond 7.

It's funny that you never really know what to expect when you go bird watching. I was thinking that I'd have a hard time adding any new species today after the last couple of weeks, but I had a great day, and I saw 39 species and had 6 "new" species: American Avocets, a Semipalmated Sandpiper, a Long-billed Dowitcher, a Common Raven, Violet-green Swallows, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows. The avocets were the first recorded this year at the Bird Preserve, and it is still early enough in the year that one of them had a white and gray head, instead of the peachy head that we usually see at the preserve. (The other one was just turning peachy. That's a very technical term for their breeding plumage, ha ha.) In the afternoon, the avocets, the dowitcher, and the semipalmated sandpiper were all feeding on the shallow end of Pond 7. (I have to say thanks to my friends Randy and Babette and Randy's big camera, because without them the sandpiper would have gone down as an unidentified peep. He didn't stick around long enough for me to get more than one look.)

A Violet-green Swallow taking a break.

I also got my best looks ever at Violet-green Swallows. About a half dozen of them were flying around the visitors center and landing on the wires. (It's much easier to see them when they are holding still!) This isn't a great angle on my photo, but you can see the white above the eye, and the green on his back.

This big old turtle was hauled out on a rock in Pond 7 enjoying the sunshine.

Three male Great-tailed Grackles displaying.

Great-tailed Grackles displaying.

Spring must have been in the air. The Marsh Wrens were singing and chasing each other around and the Great-tailed Grackles were displaying and making a huge racket on Pond 9. Great-tailed Grackles are really kind of considered pests, but I think the males can be very pretty, and they have interesting behaviors to watch. When the males show off for the females they stretch their necks out and point their bills up in the air. There was a large group displaying Saturday on Pond 9. I think this photo is hilarious, those five males are just doing their best, and the female they were performing for is like, "that's nice, boys" and walks off and ignores them.