Greetings Birders,
On 24 Feb I started at 0515 at Betty's Kitchen, and before long had my first bird, a tooting Western Screech-Owl. As I pulled into a dirt patch to park, I noticed a small object on the ground in front of me--another Western Screech-Owl! I left the lights on and the car running, and snapped a few photos of it before it flew off. The marsh was alive, and before long I had added Sora, Ridgway's and Virginia's Rails, and Common Gallinules. From there I headed north to the old dredge launch, and heard a Black Rail calling. At the large marsh along Imperial Dam Road were numerous Virginia Rails, another Black Rail, and a Great Horned Owl hooting in the distance. As the sun rose, I started adding the typical winter assortment of birds, plus a trio of three Western Bluebirds. Another treat was seeing a young bighorn and its mother silouhetted on a ridge overlooking Hidden Shores. At Martinez Lake I found many of the waterfowl have already departed--they'll be in for a chilly surprise if they go too far north. A mewing Green-tailed Towhee was the best bird in this area. Dome Valley and the Gila River produced a small flock of Mountain Bluebirds and the continuing Little Blue Heron from yesterday. In the ag fields south of town were the expected Ferruginous Hawks and Long-billed Curlews, but the Mountain Plovers have been hiding well for the past month. At the Yuma West Wetlands I added Rufous Hummingbird, White-winged Dove, and Crissal Thrasher. My final birds, #100 for the day, 12 hours after I had began, was unfortunately a huge flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds seen from the Salinity Canal Levee.
On 26 Feb I got another early start and drove up to the Hart Mine Marsh at Cibola NWR. Burros greeted me on the road going in, and later coyote howls mixed with the hoots of Great Horned Owls to add to the marsh symphony. Marsh Wrens predominated, but Ridgway's Rails weren't far behind. I was hoping for American Bittern, but they didn't flush or make a sound (if they were even there). At the Island Unit, a couple of flooded fields provided prime habitat for numerous ducks and waterfowl, including 43 Long-billed Dowitchers, 39 Least Sandpipers, and 1 Western Sandpiper. Sandhill Cranes were flying north to the feeding fields in numerous small flocks and their trumpeting was a treat to hear. A pair of California Gulls were new birds for the year. The Island Unit proved to be a real haven for the birds--I recorded 60 species here in just over two hours. At the Cornfield Nature Trail a majority of the wintering birds appear to have departed, but some of the remaining Ruby-crowned Kinglets were singing, something we don't hear too much in southwest Arizona. The loafing pond was dominated by hundreds of Mallards. Along the goose loop auto trail it was really neat to watch a Mountain Bluebird swoop down on a cricket, take it back to its wire perch, and then gobble it down.
On the last day of February I spent a couple of hours at Robbins Butte Wildlife Area in search of Bell's Sparrow. It was chilly when I arrived, and the birding was slow. But as the morning heated up, I added Vesper, Lark, Brewer's, and White-crowned Sparrows. Raptors were also quite evident, and I watched several Cooper's Hawks, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Northern Harrier, and a Red-tailed Hawk. At the far parking lot I turned around and re-visited some of the parking areas. I finally spotted a single Sagebrush Sparrow, and then in one of the large saltbush flats I saw several birds running along the ground. Chasing these, I saw it was a large flock of "Sage" sparrows, and further scrutiny revealed two Bell's Sparrows among the flock of mostly Sagebrush Sparrows.
Today, we had our first-of-season Hooded Oriole in our yard, so my 2025 AZ species total now stands at 249.
A few eBird reports with photos:https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/LnrWCZZEkxi7q5wqNtzfoUBBHEr?<domain...>
Good Birding!Henry D. <Detwilerhenry_detwiler...>, AZ
Finding Birds in Southwest Arizonahttps://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/BJOxC1VkgOf6AM0AYSGhNUVUwIF?<domain...> Birds at the Salton Sea and in Imperial County, https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/tm7yC2GljPcV2p42wUBiYU5ZLbg?<domain...>
