Bald Eagle - Birding at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

Bald Eagle at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

I have lots to blog about, but haven't had the extra time lately.  So for now I want to share something from our birding adventure on Saturday at the Glendale Recharge Ponds.  As you can see, we saw an amazing bird!

This was our second trip there - first time was last weekend in which we added 8 lifers!  Basin 5 was filled to the brim with a variety of species that day, but I'll go back to that adventure in another post.

Bald Eagle at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

We arrived at 7am and while it was a bit "cooler" than it has been, the sun was pretty bright and a bit harsh in the wide open area, making it a rather warm 1 1/2 hour morning.  Considering what all we saw, it was well worth the sweat.

This time we parked on the parking bridge by the riparian area.  We were actually the only ones there, besides bicyclists.  Basin 5 was quite full of water and was in the process of filling while we were there.  Basin 2 had a little water and basin 1 a little more.  The others were dry.

Bald Eagle at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

There were not nearly as many birds as last weekend, but plenty enough.  Added 3 more lifers, identified 19 species and saw over 140 birds. 

I must admit, the most exciting part of the morning was seeing the Bald Eagle!  While walking in between the long stretch of the basins towards basin 1, Mark spotted the eagle in flight heading into the basin.  We stopped in our tracks and watched.  He then flew up to the utility post and sat there.  We continued to walk closer to basin 1 and then all the way to the end where we just stood there admiring him.  And taking lots and lots of pictures.

Osprey at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

Last weekend we had many highlights, like the Osprey above.  Apologies for the poor quality, but this was a far off shot and I'm simply an amateur hobby photographer.  Anyway... no, he did not catch the duck.  He actually landed about 5 feet past to catch a fish.  Osprey's feed almost exclusively on fish.  It was an awesome sight!

To sum up the major highlight of this weekends birding adventure... it rocked!  I'll have more to share about both our trips to the Glendale Recharge Ponds as soon as I can.  This location is noted as a birding hotspot and indeed it is.

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki