Be the Roadrunner - an update on my Little Big Year

Greater Roadrunner

The past four months have been very exciting and rewarding, and I know there's more to come!  Actually, ever since I started birding just a few years ago my world changed - it gave me wings and I'm flying high.  Being out in nature discovering and learning about birds brings me so much joy that sometimes I feel like I'm about to burst.  Yes, I LOVE birding!

My Little Big Year at the Glendale Recharge Ponds is coming along better than I expected.  More seasoned birders would be well beyond where I'm at, but I'm very happy with what I've accomplished so for.  Besides, this isn't a competition with others - it's my own personal goal.  I talked about it briefly in a previous post and more info is in the tab titled "My Little Big Year - Birding GRP 2016", but I'll expand a little more here.

For non-birders who are wondering what the heck am I doing, and what is a "Big Year", here's the short version.  Obviously birders love birds, and we are constantly working on our Life List (basically a record of how many species seen in our lifetime).  A Big Year (BY) is simply an informal competition to identify the most species in a calendar year.  There are different types of BY's, but they're all done by geographical location.  For instance you can do a BY by country, state, county, hotspot, backyard, etc.  So for this year I chose the Glendale Recharge Ponds (GRP) - an excellent birding hotspot.

Because I'm not able to bird as much as I want (at this time), I set my little goal for 150 species, which is very doable at the GRP.  I hope to exceed that goal, but will be completely satisfied with whatever I end up with.  As of today, I have 107 species - only 43 more to go!  I won't be able to work on it hardly at all during the summer, so I'm trying to get in what I can until our lovely heat kicks in and then resume in the Fall.

Yesterday I saw the Greater Roadrunner (above pic) at the GRP, as well as many other species, plus two more lifers!  I love and admire this bird.  Do you know that the roadrunner can outrun a human? Wile E. Coyote never had a chance!  And if you're into this kind of thing (I am) the roadrunner symbolizes courage, strength and endurance.

Be the Roadrunner.

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki

Birding is my Disneyland - and My Little Big Year

Birding at the Glendale Recharge Ponds is like being a kid going to Disneyland for the very first time - and you want to go there again and again and...



Semipalimated Plover

Last Sunday it was back to the Glendale Recharge Ponds, my favorite birding place - and I FINALLY found the reported Semipalimated Plover!  I think I smiled for hours on end :)  

I'll let the photos do most of the talking this time, but want to mention that I decided to add another tab to my blog titled: 2016 Birding at Glendale Recharge Ponds.  In short, I'm sharing My Little Big Year adventure and that section explains more - if you're interested.     

Red-winged Blackbird Display

The Red-winged Blackbird is in hubby's top five (mine too) and he was pretty stoked to see over 100 of them all singing to him.

Red-winged Blackbird in field

Black-necked Stilt and Wilson's Phalarope

 

The Black-necked Stilts were plentiful and this one hung out with a Wilson's Phalarope.

 



Great Horned Owl - Peek-a-boo!

The young Great Horned Owl and I had fun playing peek-a-boo.

Snowy Egrets

The wind picked up pretty good as you can tell by the Snowy Egrets wild hairdo.

Western and Least Sandpipers

There were more Western Sandpipers than I had seen before, and of course tons of Least Sandpipers.

Wilson's Phalarope

Happy to see the ongoing Wilson's Phalaropes (8 this time) - and were riding the waves.

Long-billed Dowitchers

Gorgeous breeding plumage on these Long-billed dowitchers who were busy foraging.

Birds at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

There were a variety of species as usual, which is one reason I love this place.  In this not so great shot are just a few of the species seen that day:  American Coots, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Cinnamon Teals, Eared Grebes, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers and Snowy Egrets. 

If given the choice between Disneyland or birding, I would choose birding every single time.  In fact, if I had the ability to bird daily, I would.  Okay, maybe every other day... nope, daily for sure.  I tell hubby all the time: birding gives me wings - and I'm flying high!

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki

Another GREAT birding day at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

Great Horned Owlet

Yesterday morning I went back out to the Glendale Recharge Ponds to hopefully see the Franklin's Gull that was on the eBird email alert (I love eBird!).  And I was bound and determined to find the Great Horned Owls that have also been reported.

I parked on the bridge and walked over to pond 4, which was still full of water as was pond 3 (1 & 6 had shallow water and 2 & 5 still dry as a bone).  Anyway, it was 9:00 am and I was just getting started when another birder walked up and we chatted for a bit.  I mentioned how I was looking for the Great Horned Owl and he directed me to where they were.  I was very thankful and then had to laugh at myself because I literally passed them by each time I was there! 

So I headed in that direction and sure enough, there were two owlets in the nest!  The adults were not present, most likely off getting breakfast for everyone.  I stood there in awe as this was the very first time seeing a Great Horned Owl in nature - a lifer!  To say I was giddy would be an understatement.  It was time to move on and find the Franklin's Gull.

Pair of Franklin's Gulls

I didn't find a Franklin's Gull... I found 2!  They were in pond 1 on the opposite side.  It was a bit of a stretch to get a quality shot with my Canon Powershot SX50, but at least I was able to get a few good enough shots to ID. (can hardly wait to get my DSLR... next year) 

Franklin's Gull



Another birder who joined in let me look through his scope (I don't carry mine when I'm on my own as it's too much for me to carry with everything else).  It was a beautiful sight - another lifer!

Wilson's Phalarope and American Coot

The continuing Wilson's Palaropes were in pond 4, but this time there were 7 (saw 4 on Saturday).  They are such busy birds and it was a pleasure to see them again. 

Red-winged Blackbird

Listening to the Red-winged Blackbirds upon arrival and throughout several areas of the recharge ponds is absolutely delightful.  This is my hubby's second favorite bird (Bald Eagle is his #1) and what made him fall in love with birding.

Great Egret

I spent 2 hours there and saw hundreds of birds that consisted of a variety of 41 species, which included 3 lifers: Great Horned Owl, Franklin's Gull and a Horned Lark.  Here's the rest of them:
Gadwall, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Gambel's Quail, Pied-billed Grebe, Eared Grebe, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Northern Harrier, American Coot, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, American Kestrel, Black Phoebe, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow, American Pipet, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, House Finch and House Sparrow.

This location is such a fun place to bird, but not during summer (for me at least) which seems to be creeping in.  Hopefully I can get a few more trips in before the heat kicks in.

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki

Wilson's Phalarope - Rare Bird at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

Wilson's Phalarope in breeding plumage

Yes, long time no blog.  I've simply been quite busy with work and trying to keep up with all my other social media sites, plus birding, and volunteering at a rescue & rehabilitation facility for wild and exotic birds... anyway, you get the idea. I'm going to try real hard to blog at least a couple times a month or more.  I have much to catch up on here.

Yesterday morning I went to the Glendale Recharge Ponds, one of my top favorite birding spots, and wasn't disappointed!  Besides many of my favorites, like the Bald Eagle (adult and juvenile), Killdeer, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Ducks, Belted Kingfisher, Red-winged Blackbird (the list goes on) I also saw another rarity!  This location is known for rare birds and that is just one reason I love this place!

Above is the Wilson's Phalarope and I saw 4 of these rare birds.  They were absolutely gorgeous in their breeding plumage and enjoyable to watch.  This was another lifer for me!

Western Grebe Couple in breeding plumage

This adorable Western Grebe couple was also there looking so elegant in their breeding plumage.  Don't you just love their red eyes!

American Avocets in breeding plumage

And the American Avocets were another treat to watch.  When I was there last week I saw only 1, but yesterday there were several.  Among these beauties I also saw Western Sandpipers along side the Least Sandpipers, a couple Lesser Yellowlegs, 4 Ring-billed Gulls and many more. 

Mallard with his ducklings



The main highlights of the day was seeing the rare Wilson's Phalarope, watching the Bald Eagle soaring above pond 4, and watching the adorable Mallard family.  The ducklings were just way too cute!  Wish my photos came out better, but I was off my photo taking game.  I'm obviously not a professional photographer, but I do try my best.  Besides, my main objective here are the birds - great photos are a bonus. 

 

Peace and happy birding!

Rocki

Birding at the Glendale Recharge Ponds II

Black Phoebe

If you think you won't see a variety of birds at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, trust me you will.  Although the adorable Black Phoebe has reclaimed the area, don't worry - he'll let you pass.

Black-necked Stilt

The past two weekends Mark and I ventured out there in the early morning to do a little birding before the heat kicked in.  Watching the shorebirds enjoy the water made me want to jump in.  Okay, not really, but gosh I can hardly wait until it cools off here... makes me itch like crazy not birding.  Anyway, here's a few photos I took from both Saturday adventures there.  

Great Egret

This is the Great Egret that I was taking photos of when I noticed a large bird in the background in the dry area.  After closer inspection, I realized it was a falcon - which we later identified as a Peregrine Falcon.  You can see him and his parent in my previous post here.

Green Heron

 

This inconspicuous Green Heron tried to be sneaky and camouflage himself, but I found him.  Then he decided to have a stare down contest with me.  Not sure who won, but it was fun while it lasted.



Green Heron

 

To back up a little, we parked on the bridge near the riparian area.  I was eager to walk over to the basins, but decided to look into the riparian while getting our birding gear out.  There he was, standing tall and proud.  That was the first time I've seen this bird's neck all stretched out.  I've only seen him crouched, so it was a pretty cool sight! 

Killdeer

One of my favorite birds is the Killdeer.  They are entertaining, a joy to watch so cute!

Osprey

This is the same Osprey from my Eagle post.  He was such a massive sized bird and this shot does not do him justice, but it's okay. 

Snowy Egret

To some it up, in the two days we went (3 hours total) we identified 35 species, saw over 260 birds, and added 11 lifers.  Not too shabby for 3 hours of fun birding.

Looking forward to our Prescott trip in October, but in the meantime I still have more birding adventures to share.  And I'm sure we'll be making regular trips to the Glendale Recharge Ponds.

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki

Birding at the Glendale Recharge Ponds - Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

Following up from my last post about our birding adventure at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, here's the Peregrine Falcon that we saw.  A lifer for us!

Peregrine Falcon at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

Okay, so I know they are raptors, but look at that adorable face!  More like those eyes - he's just too cute!  I'm just glad that this juvenile didn't have any prey with him.  I'm squeamish.  Big time!  So in other words, you'll never see any photos of birds with prey or the likes on here my blog, Flickr, Instagram, Twitter...

Peregrine Falcon at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

We stood there watching the juvenile for quite some time and then he took flight.  We followed his path and he landed close to another bird, which we later discovered was an adult Peregrine Falcon.  Perhaps mom or dad were teaching him how to hunt. 

Oh and please excuse the photo quality as they're not the best, but I'm sharing them anyway.  I'm a birder first and hobby photographer second.  However, I'm trying VERY hard in hopes of taking much better photos.  Lots and lots of practice.

Peregrine Falcons at the Glendale Recharge Ponds

I have several other photos of a variety of species that we saw over the past two weekends at this birding hotspot.  I'll share them as I can over the next couple weeks.  In October we're going on another birding adventure in Prescott.

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki

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