August 2009
August 5th, 2009: Birding the amazing Glendale Recharge Ponds
Hello Everybody,
I've birded at the Glendale Recharge Ponds the last three days and its
been amazing. Today I birded with Melanie Herring and Gary Nunn (fun
birding with you guys; thanks again for giving me looks through the
scopes!). Please remember to keep in mind full consideration that SRP
owns these ponds as Melanie and Troy noted earlier. They have been
extremely nice and cooperative to us birders, so lets give that back to
them in return by not interfering when they are really busy, and by
listening and cooperating with anything they ask us to do. This place is
incredible and it would be awesome if we could have this place to bird at
now and in the future!
Today I found a Snowy Plover which was a lifer for me, which made up for
not seeing the recent Red Egret or Black-bellied Plover. But the main
highlight is always the Least Terns out here, especially seeing the young
juvenille and getting to experience the first ever nesting record of Least
Terns in Arizona. This year in AZ has had MANY great finds and sightings,
and this is one of the best for sure in my opinion. The juvenille Tern is
amazing to see and watch. Other than the Terns the last three days, other
birds of note that I have enjoyed includes Snowy Plover, Greater
Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Bank Swallow, Peregrine Falcon, Willet,
Marbled Godwit, Barn Owl, Wilson's Phalaropes, and literally tons of
Stilts. I have attached a video link of some of the birds I've seen which
includes the Least Terns (including footage today of an adult and the
juvenille, and also of an adult feeding the young one awhile back). It
also includes Marbled Godwit, Willet, the Snowy Plover I had today (I
apologize for the camera being shaky on this one!), and also a clip
showing the Black-necked Stilt abundance. Hope you enjoy the video!
Video Link-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD_hUVSpCR4
(also remember the High Quality -HQ- buttton to view the video in High
Quality
Good birding,
Tommy DeBardeleben (Glendale, Arizona)
August 7th, 2009: Gilbert Water Ranch and Glendale Recharge Ponds-a Red Knot
Hey everyone,
Tonight at about 7:30 I refound the Red Knot earlier seen by Charles
Babbit. The bird was in the middle south pond at the southern edge. This
basin is full of water. It flew back and fourth to the other side of the
pond several times when I was watching it, it seemed pretty skittish. I
got to a point where I was able to film it good. When I got really close
to the bird, unfortunetely my battery died, but I'm thankful with what I
got! The juvenille Least Tern was still present, and I had at least 5
Semipalmated Plovers.
Video link-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlFEjB-NxYs
This morning, I birded at Gilbert Water Ranch. Highlights among 51
species included a Black Tern who perched on a mud flat on Pond 5 and then
flew around Pond 7 in pursuit of prey, a Black-bellied Whistling Duck,
Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Wilson's Phalaropes, and Peach-
faced Lovebirds.
Good birding,
Tommy DeBardeleben
(Glendale, Arizona)
August 9th, 2009: Birding Videos
Hey everyone,
I really haven't had too much time to post alot of the video I have shot,
so I am including a few videos in this post.
LEAST TERNS-I haven't had a chance to post this footage yet, but it is the
best I got of the Terns over at Glendale Recharge Ponds. I took this
footage on August 6th. Great views of the juvenille!
Tern video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho7ueN1ugbU
GILBERT WATER RANCH-Video of Wilson's Phalarope, Black Tern, and Greater
Yellowlegs.
GWR video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEk9zauhiys
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER-seen at GLendale Recharge Ponds as well on August 7th,
same day the Red Knot had been seen.
Semi Plov vid-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uTAGynDYeo
LEAST BITTERN-an extremely close view at Baseline and Meridian Wildlife
Area
Bittern vid-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJp5h5oT_hk
GREAT HORNED OWL PAIR-on the bleachers of the PIR Racetrack. They were
calling back and forth alot. Unfortunetely the camera didn't catch the
sound as well, but by listening closely, its possible to hear them.
Owl vid-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjIxYdL4rIM
WHITE MOUNTAIN BIRDS-and last, this video shows a variety of birds from my
trip to the WHite Mountains from July 12th-20th. I saw a total of 124
species all together, and didn't video as much as I liked, but I got some
decent footage.
White Mtns vid-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRJwFrugi8A
Hope you enjoy!
Good birding,
Tommy DeBardeleben
August 17th, 2009: Gilbert Water Ranch-finding my first good rarity in Arizona, a Wood Stork!
Hey Everyone,
Here is the video I shot of the Wood Stork this morning. I can't say
enough about how much I enjoyed seeing this bird!
Video Link-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTQOxOG77mE
Now is a good time to visit Gilbert Water Ranch. Not just because of the
Stork, but also, many different Sandpipers and Warblers are migrating
through, as well as other species.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Hermit Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-bellied WHisling-Duck
Peach-faced Lovebirds
Solitary Sandpiper
Lazuli Buntings
White-faced Ibis
Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs
51 species total
Good birding,
Tommy DeBardeleben (Glendale, Arizona)
August 23rd, 2009: Morgan City Wash and Gilbert Water Ranch
Hey Everyone,
I had an awesome weekend of birding (22-23 August) where I visited Morgan
City Wash (which is very close to Lake Pleasant, just south) and Gilbert
Water Ranch.
Yesterday (22 August), I went to Morgan City Wash with Troy Corman, who
gave me a great tour of this area, and we saw a great mix of birds.
Birding with Troy is awesome. 3 Western Screech Owls responded to his
whistle calls in attempts to bring in the smaller birds, which was very
cool! We had 9 Warbler species, including 50 Wilson's (I've never seen so
many!) and a Northern Waterthrush, which was the first time I've ever seen
one. Good looks at MacGillivray's and Nashville's also. A few Coopers
Hawks were present, as well as 3 Great Horned Owls. I was also very happy
that we found a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, also new for me. House, Rock,
and Canyon Wrens were all present as well. A small pond supported a Green
Heron and a Coot. One of my favorite birds of the morning was a Virginia
Rail that Troy spied, who came out at the edge of a cattail. I was able
to film this bird for the first time (see video link below if you wish to
see the Rail footage). This area is incredible, I was very impressed at
the amount of migrants that can show up at a place in the desert, with
this being a perfect example. Thanks to Troy for everything!
Virginia Rail video link-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRGC4GHb6Hc
And then, this morning, I went to Gilbert Water Ranch to do some birding.
The main highlight for me was of course the Wood Stork, who was still
present, first in pond 2, I saw it flying over for a few minutes and close
to when I was leaving around 9, it was present in pond 3. When I first
got here, an Osprey was flying around. At the edge of pond 4 in the
cottonwood where the Cormorants roost, a Great Horned Owl sat. However,
no Cormorants sat in the tree this time. Many Wilsons and Orange-crowned
Warblers were present, as well as a few Nashville and MacGillivray's, and
one Black-throated Gray. A single Black-bellied Whistling-Duck was
present as well. Shorebirds included Western and Least Sandpipers, as
well as Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. I was also very happy to see a
female Rufous Hummingbird, which another birder saw at the same time as me
(I didn't get a name). Many Anna's are present, and I had a nice male
Black-chinned. I was able to get ok footage of the Wood Stork in flight,
which the video link is provided as well.
Wood Stork in flight video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m30DTD5bvT0
Good birding,
Tommy DeBardeleben (Glendale, Arizona)
August 29th, 2009: Baseline and Meridian Wildlife Area
Hello Everyone,
Sorry for the late post, but yesterday I birded at the Baseline and Meridian Wildlife Area in Southwest Phoenix, and I came across what I believe is still the same female Broad-billed Hummingbird I've seen in a few of my recent trips there. I have seen her two other times, at the beginning and the end of July, and now as of yesterday (28 August), at the end of August. If you want to look for this Hummer, it has been in relatively the same area. Once you reach the parking lot and go down the paved road that runs through the wildlife area for maybe 1/2 a mile, on the left side of the road, you'll come upon a sign that gives a map and info on the wildlife area. Follow the trail by this sign and you'll notice it goes towards the big bridge. I have seen the bird right when the trail gets under the bridge, she likes this area alot.
Other birds I saw and heard included Clapper Rails, Least Bitterns, Crissal Thrashers,?Roadrunners, and a good Warbler mix: Nashville, Wilson's, Hermit, and MacGillivray's.
Good Birding,
Tommy DeBardeleben (Glendale, Arizona)
August 31st, 2009: Glendale Recharge Ponds
Hey everyone,
I saw this Gull when birding at the Glendale Recharge Ponds. I think its
a Ring-billed Gull, but I wanna be sure. I'm not experienced with Gulls
much at all, so opinions will be appreciated! The video link is below to
view the Gull (I also apologize for the shaky parts of the video, they fly
too fast!)
video link-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubMtxs_jyqM
And there were many other birds out at the Glendale Recharge Ponds tonight
including:
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitcher
many Stilts and Avocets
White-faced Ibis
Eared Grebe
Bank Swallow
Good birding,
Tommy DeBardeleben (Glendale, Arizona)
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