Sunday, February 4, 2018

Dirty Work

Feedlots have some amazing birds.  Keep out of the way of workers and look for great birds in the Santa Cruz Flats!
This week's addition of Arizona birding is strictly for the birds.  I don't often visit certain places around the state because they are gross and smell like %&^!.  But I had a friend who needed some state birds for his list and we made the trek to several international AZ birding hotspots where people can find unique and specific birds.  I swore that once I had found my LeConte's Thrasher, I'd never go back to that spot again, but I was wrong. Several years later, I found myself back at this Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome location. "Two men enter, one man leaves!"  Thankfully that wasn't the case this time. Let's begin with our first stop, the infamous Thrasher Spot near the town of Buckeye outside of the Phoenix area. 


The nuclear wasteland known as the Thrasher Spot
Sure.  You're saying to yourself, That's pretty. Nope.  That's just the artist in me trying to make the location pretty:)  The thrasher spot is truly a unique experience.  BUT.  It's the one place in the US, you can get all your thrashers at one stop.  Well, most of them.  Here you can find the beautiful LeConte's Thrasher, near threatened Bendire's Thrasher, Crissal Thrasher, Sage Thrasher and even Curve-billed Thrasher. 


The first and last time I've gone after a LeConte's Thrasher.  Beautiful bird in a very ugly habitat. 
Two of these thrasher species, the LeConte's and Crissal, are often very secretive and difficult to observe.  During our visit, Steve needed the LeConte's Thrasher for his AZ list.  Most of the time, a birder can just drive to the spot and easily add Crissal and Bendire's Thrasher to their lists. Well, not on that day. 


A "secretive" Crissal Thrasher
The best time to visit this location is towards the end of February until the first or second week of April when the thrashers are actively calling during their breeding season.  The important part is that you arrive early. Sometimes they are singing and other times, they need a little time to get going. 


the near threatened Bendire's Thrasher
We walked through broken sink fixtures and torn up bed mattresses like you'd see in the movie, Mad Max.  This location is also known for many Sagebrush Sparrows and a few Bell's Sparrows.  Sparrows are my specialty so we were able to find both species to add to Steve's state list.  Thrashers on the other hand were difficult!  We had to work for our Bendire's Thrashers.  It would have been embarrassing to leave the "Thrasher Spot" without a Thrasher.  We had both Bendire's and Sage but NO Crissal or LeConte's!  The Thrasher group can be a tough one.  Patience.  Lots and lots of patience is needed for these birds. Often, a return trip is required. I had that experience this past week with my Streak-backed Oriole in my neighborhood.  It took 11 attempts before I saw that blasted bird!


Burros are commonplace in the Lake Pleasant.  Be careful driving the highways there
Our next stop was another place I hadn't visited in a long time.  In fact, the last time I went was during my 2014 Big Year in the US. I needed several scoters for the state and one for my national list, the White-winged Scoter.  This location is known for lots of great ocean birds during the winter months. In fact, the one and only time I was there, I was able to capture a White-winged Scoter in flight.  The pic was published in the Birds of Phoenix and Maricopa County by Janet Witzeman, Troy Corman and Tommy D. It's a great guide for birding in Maricopa county.  And this Pima County birder was able to help:) I should mention that if you're looking for a human bird guide, there's a great guy by the name of Gordon Karre who does a lot of these treks to the spots I'm writing about today. He's situated in Maricopa and knows this county best.  I think his spirit bird is the Gray Vireo which he has a knack for finding.  In fact, he's often asked for assistance with Rosy-faced Lovebirds, LeConte's Thrashers, Gray Vireos and Black-chinned Sparrows along with the many other AZ birds. He's on Facebook and he's an excellent bird guide.  So if you're in the area and need a guide, look him up.  



Back to our challenge at hand.  So we went to this Lake Pleasant to find the Barrow's Goldeneye.  If you are new to this hotspot, I'd recommend a scope. Many of the birds are often far out in the lake and require a scope to find them. There are several points all around the park for a person to bird.  There's even burros:)


female Common Goldeneye
There were quite a number of goldeneyes in the area.  The ONLY male Barrow's Goldeneye was near the shore. 

Barrow's Goldeneyes are common in winter further north of the state.  To have one in the Phoenix area was nice

It was an easy add and a new bird for my Maricopa list and a state bird for Steve. 

Easiest Barrow's Goldeneye ever near Scorpion Point at Lake Pleasant
Then it was more gross birding in poop.  Nasty, gross poop. So we headed to the feedlot. I dreaded lowering my window. But sometimes you gotta bite the bullet. Our noses were assaulted with the stench of fecal matter. I think I need to buy breathing masks for these treks:) Doves.  They are beautiful but they do like poopy areas. 

Inca Dove

Steve needed Ruddy Ground-Doves which are very common in Mexico but rare for Arizona.  They can show up anywhere but they seem to like garbage areas around the state that don't have the most "scenic" habitat. We made an educated guess and found the doves hanging out with cattle. 


Ruddy Ground-Dove
We drove off with the lingering smells trapped inside our noses. 



So for every dirty stinky birding trek, I have to balance it out with some beautiful and scenic Arizona scenery.  And that's just what I did.  Either way, it was a fun bird outing with Steve. Until next time....

16 comments:

  1. I am always amazed at how little I know when I read your posts! I had no idea there were so many thrashers, and in one area, even! Loved the photos of them, and that burro is adorable! Cute shot of you with the bird book. Hope all is going well! Have a great week.

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    1. You do the same. Hope you are enjoying your time up north. It's so beautiful up there.

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  2. Why is it that some of the most beautiful birds like digusting things (manure, carrion, rotting fruit, rotting wood, etc.)? It's the same with beetles; many of the most beautiful spp. live in the most unprepossessing of habitats (manure, rotting fungi, carrion, and so forth).

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    1. I know. The birds are cool but after our outing, I had a headache looking into the sun and manure. Still. A good day out!

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  3. What a wonderful day out - love the last photo in particular :) Gosh you have so many species of bird over there - Thrashers are completely new to me - I don't think there is anything like that over here!

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    1. They are cool birds. I don't think there are any european thrasher species over there. If you ever visit, we'll look for a few:)

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  4. You succeeded in making the area look beautiful. Enjoyed seeing the birds. Glad you braved the stench so you could share. :)

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    1. Thanks Betty:) I might complain about the smell, but the birds certainly make up for the trek:)

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  5. Hi Kreesh! Long time no hear, no visit. I am not so keen with birds because i don't have lenses for them, but butterflies have taken my fancy. I visit long places here too to document them. This Saturday i will join my batchmates in College for the alumni meeting as we are jubilarians this year, and also join the birders while i am looking for butterflies. I love that last one pic, very positive.

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    1. How are you?!?!! So good to hear from you. You've always taken amazing pics of butterflies......you have so many beautiful ones in your area. I hope both groups find lots of wonderful butterflies and birds. I want to join you! hugs from Tucson! Chris

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  6. Hello Chris!:) Lovely photos of the Thrasher birds, ducks, doves, and donkey. Shame it was a smelly experience, but you got some great shots for your trouble.

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    1. The birds and critters make the journey worthwhile. Hope you are having a great week! And thanks for stopping by:)

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  7. Okay, I would travel with you to those stinky areas to see a Leconte's or a Sage Thrasher as well as a Ruddy Ground Dove! All 3 would be Life Birds for me! What a fun and funny post. I love the final scenery shot with the sunlight through the trees. I want to kiss that burro. And you are a hoot hiding behind that book with the fake bird on your shoulder! (Is a fake bird like fake news?)

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    1. That's not a fake bird! That's a Whooping Crane! Real:)When you come out, you'll have to plan for the month of March for these birds as they are actively seen. I do like the thrashers but wait until you see that dismal hotspot :)

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  8. Thanks for another fun birding adventure without the stench.

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    1. Thanks Janice:) That's the best part of reading the post....no smell. I'll let you imagine:)

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