Recently Sited Birds

Tres Rios Trip Report
Sunday, February 20, 2008
Submitted by Rich Schooler

Eleven birders ventured to the Tres Rios Wetlands for a very nice morning of birding. In attendance were: Gail and George Krasean, Marshall Esty, Ian Jeffery, Chuck Kangas, Marilyn McMahon, Barb Meding, Carolyn Modeen and Carol and Rich Schooler (Leader). 50 species of birds were seen.

The highlight of the day was a male BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD!! A good variety of ducks were present including male Ruddy Ducks with bright cinnamon plumage and blue bills. Another highlight was a Crissal Thrasher. Birds seen included: American Widgeon, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Redhead, Ring-necked duck, Ruddy Duck, Gambel’s Quail, Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs (Heard only), Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Anna’s Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Black Phoebe, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Verdin, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, Crissal Thrasher, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Abert’s Towhee, Lincoln’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tres Rios Trip Report
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Submitted by Randall Mains

Morning birding at the 91st Ave site produced the following 45 species:

Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Snowy Egret,
Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, White-faced Ibis, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Greater Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitcher, Least Sandpiper (50+), Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Costa's Hummingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Northern Flicker (Red-shafted),
Black Phoebe, Phainopepla, Crissal Thrasher, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow
Abert's Towhee, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tres Rios Trip Report
Thursday, September 19, 2007
Submitted by George Wall

It was a very pleasant morning when 12 of us (Barbara Bean, Eleanor Campbell, Marshall Esty, Shirley Fackelman, Dick Fogle, Dean and Joan Luehrs, Andrea Nesbitt, Chuck Richard, Rich Schooler, Sam Stearman and George Wall – leader) met at the Hayfield Site at the Tres Rios Wetlands to do some birding.

Andrea Nesbitt, from Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center, had brought an immature Snowy Egret she was going to release. We all headed down to the first pond and found a likely spot and there as we all looked on the young bird was released. After the release, we started doing some serious birding.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds were all over the place and probably gathering for their migration. A pair of Ospreys circled over us at the larger pond and just as we were ready to leave Tres Rios, a flight of White-faced Ibis flew by.

The 29 species seen were Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Pied-billed Grebe, Eared Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Neotropic Cormorant, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, American Coot, Common Moorhen, White-faced Ibis, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Turkey Vulture, Greater Roadrunner, Morning Dove, Abert’s Towhee, Green-tailed Towhee, Anna’s Hummingbird, possible Rufous Hummingbird, Verdin, Red-winged Blackbird and Yellow-headed Blackbird.

See the photo of the Snowy Egret I took after it was released.

Tres Rios Trip Report
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Submitted by George Wall

It was a beautiful morning when seven of us arrived at Tres Rios. We first birded the swampy area on the right as you enter the parking area road. As usual, it was loaded with birds. Within 20 minutes, we had seen 25 species with the most prominent being the Double-crested and Neotropic Cormorants.

We then went on down to the end, parked our cars and started birding. We walked the two ponds and the cottonwoods areas. At the far pond we were treated to a family of Mallards with eleven young in tow. We heard Yellow Warblers several times but never got a look as they were hiding high in the cottonwoods.

We saw or heard a total of 48 species which were: Double-crested Cormorant, Neotropic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Gambel’s Quail, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, Lesser Nighthawk, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Phainopepla, Verdin, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler (h), Common Yellowthroat (h), Wilson’s Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Abert’s Towhee, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-head Cowbird, Bullock’s Oriole and a couple of unidentified hummers.

The seven attendees were Dan Bowman, Gladyne Douglas, Cherie Lude, Vera Markham, Marilyn McMahon, Sam Stearman and George Wall (leader).

Tres Rios Trip Report - 3/29/07
Submitted by Donna Smith

Even though there were only three of us (Dick Fogle, Marcia Johnson and Donna Smith leader), it was a beautiful day for birding at Tres Rios. Along the river we observed several hundred White-Faced Ibis roosting in the trees. They flew off as the sun warmed them. There were quite a few ducks still along the river on the way in - lots of Shovelers and Ruddy Ducks. All in all we had a good day as we saw or heard 52 species.

Birds seen: Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, American Wigeon, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Clapper Rail(H), Common Moorhen, American Coot, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Verdin, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Northern Mockingbird, Curved-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Abert's Towhee, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Lesser Goldfinch.

Christmas Bird Count

On December 19, 2006, more than 50 volunteers helped with the sixth year of the Christmas Bird Count. This year, Sonoran Audubon Society member, Daniela Yellan, worked hand in hand with fellow member, Dave Powell, who graciously agreed to take over as chief compiler. The predicted rain never arrived, providing good birding conditions for most of the day. Following the count, a compilation dinner was held at Arturo’s in Goodyear. In spite of the recent, enormous urban development within the Count Circle, 147 different species were identified and counted, about the same as in previous years. Rarities included a Rufous- backed Robin, Black-and-white Warbler, a possible MacGillivray’s Warbler, and Rough-legged Hawk. Raptors were abound and included Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon, Merlin, and White-tailed Kite. One of the groups actually counted 15 Greater Roadrunners; another group saw four Ferruginous Hawks sitting in one field only a few hundred feet apart. All of the data will be entered into National Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count database and available to interested parties shortly.

Submit your photos

To find out about future field trips, click on a link below:
Maricopa Audubon Society
Sonoran Audubon Society

Docent Information

If you would like to lead tours, contact Debbi Radford at 602-495-7927 or debbi.radford@phoenix.gov