We Shall Flight Them on the Beaches!

So there aren't really beaches in Phoenix and it's not too much of a fight, except to get photos at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, but at any rate there's some decent migration type stuff happening around the sewage basins these days, plenty of year birds and sexy breeding plumage birds and some awkward in-between birds. Since Sunday afternoon was still holding the blessed effects of a rainy Saturday (I barely got sweaty!) it was the perfect time to see who was passing through and what all was going on where my waste, and others', ended up.

This Western Sandpiper above is in-between boring and sexy pluamge. Not terrible, but not as good looking as some of the other Westerns around, like Flashdance Western Sandpiper below. 

Most of the Long-billed Dowitchers are well into their breeding plumage. They would be better appreciated for their intricate, subtle good looks if they weren't common and always occurring in groups of 6 or more. The LBDO is not an ambitious bird. It keeps its nose to the grindstone.

Of course, the Killdeer population has once again doubled in size, and now there are these disgusting adolescents running around only 2/3 the size of an adult Killdeer and half as vividly colored, so from a distance they give the excitement of something bigger than a Least or Western Sandpiper that's not a Killdeer or Dowitcher...but actually is. Little turds.

The center of the basins are still holding enough water to retain some of the Phoenix winterfowl. All three species of Teal were still present, as well as some Wigeons, and they were joined by two transient Franklin's Gulls, a gorgeous gull that I still always wish was something else.

Both species of Yellowlegs were present in small numbers, as well as a solitary Solitary Sandpiper. Some were feeding actively, while others stood to watch the sun set.



Perhaps the most exemplary displays of breeding plumage are exhibited by the numerous American Avocets right now. Not only are they big and conspicuous with their rusty heads, but they lumber awkwardly through the air squeaking and squawking with left over pent up sexual frustration. Nice.

Avocets look pretty out of their element in flight, at least most of the time. They're pretty specifically adapted for a life of picking through mud and reed flats, but every once in a while they turn on the dazzle and simply walk through the air like the secret badasses they really are.

Many of the birds still have some ripening to do, but that hasn't stopped a lot of them from going at it already, or at least just practicing their balance.



The main draw at the Glendale Basins, at least for this trip, was not the Avocets or other common migrants, but a pair of Dunlin that had been over-wintering. I had forgotten that these birds were around, or rather had assumed they moved on at some point. A recent listserv post mentioned they were still at the ponds, which meant that by now they'd be well into their breeding molt.



Such is the paucity of shore birding in Phoenix that I've never actually seen Dunlin in breeding plumage, only as larger droopy-nose Western Sandpipers in late autumn, so there was some special intrigue and excitement here. Of course, the Glendale Basins didn't really afford great photo opportunities, but I could appreciate the colors through a scope, and the continual strafing runs of Killdeer with my ears.



Alright well they're not the the most color birds, even in breeding plumage, plus they're the most common shorebird in North America (even over Least Sandpiper?) and they're named after the color gray (Dun), but all in all I appreciated this new look: Magnum.

The Glendale listserv posts mentioned Forster's Terns and a Least. In addition to these sleek sternidae, there were Caspian Terns circling and eventually plunge-diving in the deepest (southeast) basin.

It's funny how the landscape changes food-chain dynamics. In the absence of Osprey, the Caspian Terns were the largest, meanest, most intimidating birds around the ponds, but near the coasts, where they'd more be in their element, they would be very mediocre. That being the case, I don't blame them for coming inland and strutting their stuff to the shock and awe of Phoenix's awedience.

Birding the Arizona Beach

It seems like spring only lasted for a couple weeks, and now we're already into summer. Perhaps that explains the recent beach posts on lots of birding websites. As the sun climbs higher and stays longer in the sky, we start to pine for the breezy shores and salty air. Chris Rohrer over at Las Aventuras, Gordon Karre over at Birding Adventures, and Seagull Steve at BB&B have all had some excellent recent posts revolving around beach birding, and they've got me yearning for the shore. Alas, central Phoenix is a far cry from the Pacific Ocean, but to try and keep myself sane these last few weeks, I shall endeavor to deceive!

These accounts and photos are from the Glendale Recharge Ponds, a bleak, ugly place in northwest Phoenix that offers surprisingly good birding around the holding lakes. This is my place for shoreline birding. So take a whiff of saltwater, hold some seashells to your ears, close your eyes, and pretend you're now at the beach (don't really close your eyes; then you wouldn't be able to read the post).....


So, here we are at the beach. It must be low tide, for there are no waves and the water is rather shallow. Thinking little of the low water level in the ocean or the faint smell of distant sewage, we unfold our rickety beach chairs, stick an umbrella in the ground, and soak in the scenery.

Upon closer inspection, we see that the shoreline is dotted with Semi-palmated Plovers, an uncommon bird in Arizona but a predictable sighting for us here on the Pacific coast...



While the Plovers scurry around the tide pools, we notice some shadows from above. Looking up, we see some Cliff Swallows catching bugs with exceeding delight.

They dip and turn and bank with impressive agility. Clearly, this a bird designed to fly and fly, to spend its life in the sky.

A larger, lumpier shadow moves across the beach. Again looking up, we see an American Avocet coming in to land. Beautiful and graceful though these birds are, they do not look so comfortable in the air. The upturned beak makes perfect sense for skimming through the shallow mud and muck, but now makes the Avocet look like it crashed into a window.

There's a lot of traffic in the sky today. Several Caspian Terns fly overhead, reveling in the knowledge that they're one of the largest and sleekest aviators in these skies.

This too, would be an unusual and exciting sighting in Arizona, but since we're on the Pacific Coast we won't get too energized...

We've been studying the sky for a while now and our necks begin to hurt. After reaching for a cool beverage and leaning back in our creaky chairs, we again scan the shoreline for adventurous peeps, such as this Spotted Sandpiper popping in and out along the rocky wharf.

The Spotted Sandpiper seems determined to keep its feet dry, but eventually the allure of tasty treasures draws him into the water. Come to think of it, that sounds pretty good!



As we make the short walk down the beach, a startling cry echos from the right. Of course! It is a Killdeer, the common and noisy Plover near and dear to our hearts. He's standing along a rocky outcropping, blending in very nicely. Since this is the Pacific beach and not an Arizona sewage pond, we marvel at this unusual and refreshing sighting!

Ahh...a quick dip, some picnic lunching, some more cold beverages and it's time to pass out. What a lovely trip to the beach this was!