Valley of the Sun 2016: A day of "full-on" birding

Today we travelled to the famous "Thrasher Spot" which is at the end of Baseline Road to the west of Phoenix. We left the house at 7:30 a.m. We arrived at the Thrasher Spot at around 8:45. Four other couples were already on location looking for the 4 species of Thrashers that can often be found at this spot. It was sunny but cool when we arrived. As soon as we got out of the truck we heard the beautiful melodic singing of a Bendire's Thrasher. We found it not far from the parking lot.

The Thrasher Spot is actually an undefined piece of desert. It is flat. There is a lot of Creosote shrubs, Grease-wood and Brittle-bush covering the desert. The birds can usually be found in the Mesquite trees that grow in the shallow washes. If you drove by the area you would never think it was a famous birding hotspot.

We birded the area for about 2 1/2 hours. At the end of our effort we had observed 4 of the 5 species we had come to see. They were: Thrashers - Bendire's, Crissal and Sage; and Sagebrush Sparrow.

After a quick lunch in our gorgeous 2015 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition (shameless brand promotion....), we headed east through the farmland towards our next birding location, Tres Rios Wetlands. Of course the trip from A to B was not just travel as we birded the entire trip. With frequent stops to observe birds it took us about 1 hour to cover 15 miles. During this trip across the farmlands we observed about 15 species of birds. Of this 6 were new for this year (Western Meadowlark, Horned Lark, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, White-faced Ibis and Burrowing Owl). The highlight of the trip across the farmland, and probably the entire day, was the sighting of the Burrowing Owl. Dana, we call her "eagle-eyes", picked out this bird as we were traveling down one of the rural roads. How she saw the bird I have no idea. I didn't and I wasn't even driving! I have included a photo of the Owl in this post. What and amazing little bird. It's body is only about 10" in length. It is most seen standing on the ground. This one was perched on a cement cistern. It is possible that the cistern is it's winter home.

At the Tres Rios Wetlands, located on 91st Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road, we identified 29 species and added another 6 species to our yearly list. New birds were: Yellow-headed Blackbird, Merlin, White Pelican, Marsh Wren, Least Bittern and Canvasback Duck.

We rolled into the resort around 4:15. A full day of birding and 16 new species for our 2016 list. Here are a couple of photos from the day. Burrowing Owl and Bendire's Thrasher.

Happy birding everyone!