Date: 7/13/26 9:36 pm From: henry detwiler (via aznmbirds Mailing List) <aznmbirds...> Subject: [AZNMbirds] SWAZ: Mittry Lake
Greetings Birders,
With my California Breeding Bird Atlas surveys tapering off, I made a run out to Mittry Lake this morning. I was happy to find a couple of BLUE GROSBEAKS, a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, several YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, and a BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER at Betty's Kitchen, but disappointed that I missed both Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Summer Tanager.
This was my first visit since the May 24 fire along Mittry Lake; it burned 184 acres from the Mittry Lake overlook north 1.5 miles to the old dredge launch/camping area. Apparently teenagers shooting off fireworks started the blaze. The cattails and phragmites are already re-established; the cottonwoods and mesquites will take much longer to come back. The marsh beneath the overlook is quite patchy and open now, and it is a novel experience to look down on the egrets and GREEN HERONS feeding in the shallows. I heard three LEAST BITTERNS, but they still managed to find concealment. At the dredge launch I heard another LEAST BITTERN and a growling BLACK RAIL.
With a fly-over Black-crowned Night Heron last week, our 2026 Yuma yard list is up to 89 species.
eBird reports with some photos form this morning:https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/9eEkCjAWEjfZ1EmKOsWfKfmfBkZ?<domain...>
Good Birding!Henry D. <Detwilerhenry_detwiler...>, AZ
Finding Birds in Southwest Arizonahttps://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/65NjCk6WGkCo3lB8wSVh5fGZUls?<domain...> Birds at the Salton Sea and in Imperial County, https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/nVo1Cl8WJlt6qGE0MuyiGfzmlbl?<domain...>
