Sunday, February 12, 2012

Recharging in Glendale

Pops and I headed down to the Glendale Recharge Ponds today, with no particular aims or goals beyond having a nice morning full of birds (one of the best sorts of mornings). The ponds have been very low the last few times I visited, but today they were quite full and teaming with waterfowl.

Although the ducks were far out on the ponds and very shy, there was an excellent array of species. We saw Wigeons, all three Teal, Shovelers, Ring-Necks, Pintails, Eared Grebes, and my first Buffleheads. Some Canada Geese stopped by later in the morning, and they had several Snow Geese tagging along, or so we thought.

The ponds are all enclosed by canals and spillways, and it was along some adjacent telephone wires that my first photographic quarry made its appearance. This Belted Kingfisher was sitting rather contentedly with a crawfish in her beak. She seemed determined not to try and swallow it until after we had gone. Since we were determined to wait and see, she eventually took off in search of a more private dining area.


There were many waders along the pond shorelines. The Greater Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers were the most abundant, but there were also Black-Necked Stilts, Egrets, Dowitchers, and a few Great Blue Herons. We also stumbled across a homicide scene of sorts, where scattered feathers of increasing size and blueness led us to some grisly remains.


We set up our police tape and began to investigate, wondering if this was the same perpetrator as in the infamous Wellington Massacre in Florida last year (in fact, some of the similarities, like seeing a Kingfisher just before, were uncanny!). Coyote tracks led down the muddy shoreline, and we followed until the identity of the victim was certain.


But it was not an afternoon to be dominated by the macabre. The Canada Geese and Snow Geese had drifted into camera range, so we took the rare opportunity to better examine the Glendale waterfowl. Good thing too, for that group of Snow Geese had among them two Ross's Geese, another new bird for the Butler team!


The Canada Geese tried their best to shield their conspicuous companions, but when two of the white geese swam side by side they made for a very nice, if still distant, comparison.

Although its plumage is nearly indistinguishable from the Snow Goose, the Ross's Goose is noticeably smaller and lacks the black lips (for lack of the proper word) along the beak. I doubt I could pick a Ross's out of a whole flock of Snow Geese, so it was very fortunate to have such a nice control group, as it were. 


With the sun rising high and winter still refusing to happen, Pops and I returned to the car and headed back into Phoenix proper, stopping by Grenada Park to see if the Redhead drake was still around. 


He was indeed, and what was a new bird for me on Wednesday became a new bird for Pops on Saturday. It's been a wonderful winter for ducks, and this is definitely one of the most beautiful I've seen so far.


Another first for Grenada Park was this female Lesser Scaup. As I've mentioned before, the Lesser Scaup are not nearly as common in Phoenix as many other migrants, and she brought the total number of different waterfowl species at Grenada to seven--pretty good for a pond that's about the size of a large swimming pool.

Some frolicking, off-screen Mallards provided the fun little splash in this picture, and if you enlarge the image you can see the Scaup has her nictating membrane shielding her eyes.

20 comments:

  1. Very nice photos. What is the Butler Team list up to? Is it a buddy list?

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    1. Thanks Tim. One of my 2012 resolutions was to get my List up to 300 species, and I think Pops is sitting around 350. It worked out great on Saturday in that we both got 2 new species a piece.
      What are some of your birding goals this year? How's your list growing?

      Thanks for stopping Tim, always a pleasure.

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  2. Looks like you two had a marvelous day Laurence. I've only seen Ross's and Snow Geese a couple of times and never in good shooting distance. My books call the "black lips" a "grin patch" which makes me grin just to say it. My favorite photo is the one with all the geese, it just feels so peaceful!

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    1. A "grin patch", that's charming!
      I guess being situated in Utah, lots of those Geese just fly right over y'all both heading south and then back up north. It was nice to get some discernible comparisons, but I'm definitely itching to get some more/better photo opps with the Goosies.
      Thanks for your comment.

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    2. Laurence, some areas get to see the snow geese regularly, some don't. I could go down to Delta and see them this month and I might just do that after seeing your photos. Always a pleasure to view your blog.

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    3. Cheers! I look forward to your photos, as always.

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  3. Nice birding morning. I love the kingfisher shot, and the redhead too. Sad to see the homicide victim. The food chain isn't always pretty.

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    1. Thanks Carole. I guess between the Kingfisher and the Heron carcass it was a somewhat carnivorous morning. These things can be very grisly, but I also find them comforting in way (does that sound weird?) in that the little life cycles and natural relationships are as they should be in these fragile areas.

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. Sounds like a spectacular morning, minus the crime scene:( Great capture of the Kingfisher with some prey! I really like the close up of Ross vs Snow, definitely would be hard to see the difference from afar!

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    1. Thanks Tammy. We felt for the Heron, but it did add some intrigue to the morning. They were some sneaky Geese there trying to smuggle that Ross's by.
      Do either species turn up in Florida in the winter? I noticed that the migratory maps in several bird books, as well as on Cornell, don't show them dependably in Arizona or Florida, but hey we get at least a couple!

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    2. Laurence, I have not spotted either of these species here. I did a very quick check on ebird for reported sightings and 2009 is the last I saw one reported. I wish one would pop up, would be nice to see:)

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    3. I'll try to flush a few your way. I'll trade them for Ibises and Storks.

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  5. Wow~what a great day.Great photos. Love the Kingfisher with the crayfish.

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    1. Thanks dAwN,
      It was a indeed a great day. Near birds and far birds and new birds and old birds and live birds and dead birds and beautiful birds and...less beautiful birds. It had all the elements and was a smashing Saturday. Thanks for stopping by and letting me share.

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  6. Great post! That sounds like a really terrific mix of birds, many of which I envy you for. We had never seen Buffleheads either until we moved to Georgia, and now they're one of the most abundant ducks we see... and one of my favorites. The way they pop up when they surface is pretty adorable.

    Thanks for the shout out to the Wellington Massacre! The link above wasn't set up, but I think you intended this one? http://hipsterbirders.blogspot.com/2011/11/avian-csi.html
    Those bird crime scenes are gruesome stuff, but compelling nonetheless. Thanks for sharing yours!

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    1. Thanks Nicholas--Sorry I goofed up the link.

      It was a great treat to see some Buffleheads. They were very active and I'd love to get a closer view. I agree about the crime scenes. They can be gruesome or unsettling, but are also compelling, as you say. Seeing a raptor in pursuit of prey or a cheetah crouched down low and ready to spring (not that I've seen that firsthand) is seeing nature at it's finest, seeing creatures stretching their form and function to its limit.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting, always a pleasure.

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  7. Beautiful pictures and a wonderful post. I find Kingfishers difficult to approach. You did a great job there.

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    1. Thanks Bill. I've often found them to be very skittish as well. I guess it's a good distraction if they've got a face full of crayfish. At least, I know that slows me down...

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Sounds like you had a glorious day of birding (with the exception of the unfortunate heron). Terrific post filled with fantastic photographs! Love the close-ups of the Redhead Drake and the Snow Goose/Ross's Goose comparison. Fantastic Belted Kingfisher with crayfish capture! I have yet to get a good shot of these skittish birds. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thank you Julie. Sometimes the photos work out well, and needless to say often they do not. Kingfishers are so cool, but they're one of those birds I'll probably have to make my peace with never getting a close up.

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