flies

Birds of Arizona: Glendale Recharge Ponds – Pt. 2

Jeff

Note – If you missed part 1 of this story, you can find it here:

Birds of Arizona: Glendale Recharge Ponds – Pt. 1

As we continued our walk and circled around the pond, we came across several Cormorants sunning themselves. I usually associate these birds with shorelines, but they were probably just passing through.

cormorants

closer view of cormorants

As we returned to the parking area where our car was located, this Black Phoebe was sitting on top of a no fishing sign. It didn’t say he couldn’t catch flies!

Black Phoebe

The southern boundary of the recharge pond park, had a nice wide path for walkers and bikers.

walking path near parking area

Having had enough gnats and/or flies, we headed back to our car. We did not anticipate that a good number of the annoying recharge pond denizens would want to hitch a ride with use, but pack into the car they did.

The morning was moving on and the prime bird watching window was closing, so we decided to head to the Tres Rios Base & Meridian Wildlife Area which often attracts a variety of birds. Our GPS led us a bit off course, but we finally made it.

It is located very near the ISM Raceway, South Phoenix.

ISM Raceway, Phoenix

There was no event at the racetrack so parking was wide open. We parked along the side of the road and walked through the gate toward the river inlet.

Tres Rios Sign

While the water was not “raging,” it was moving well. Several people were fishing as we walked along the riverbank looking for birds.

Wide area of the river

We could see movement in the trees and we knew there were birds in the distance, but I am not skilled enough to be able to identify them by song. I would need a relatively good visual sighting to confidently ID a bird.

As we walked under the roadway overpass, we could see the Swallow nests

Swallow nests under the bridge

swallow nests under the bridge

I did spot another Phoebe waiting in the tall, dried grasses.

Phoebe waiting on a reed

Not having much success finding birds to identify, we decided to leave. As we made our way to the parking area, we spotted a Cormorant sunning on a partially submerged log.

Sunning Cormorant

He wasn’t alone long as a “buddy” also thought this would be a good location for sunning.

Second Cormorant heading for the perch

Two Cormorants sitting on the log

What is it they say about “birds of a feather?”

It was an interesting day and we enjoyed finally visiting the areas to see what they had to offer.

The Tres Rios Base & Meridian Wildlife Area hosts a number of events including nature awareness and bird watching opportunities. You can follow the along on their Facebook page to see what the upcoming functions offer.

See previous JBRish posts about birds HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018


Birds of Arizona: Glendale Recharge Ponds – Pt. 1

Jeff

We had heard about the Glendale Recharge Ponds and the variety of birds they attract. As hikers and explorers, we decided we would head out that way to see what birds we could find. We started our jaunt early to have the best chance at seeing the most birds and while we thought it might be a bit tricky to find, the directions were actually quite good (see Part 2 for directions).

Right away we saw the discharge for which the ponds were named.


water being reclaimed

The facility is located west of and in a direct line with the University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals football team.


University of Phoenix Stadium

Along the access road leading to the ponds and along the sides of the waterways, there was a variety of farms and stables.


Small farms and ranches abut the ponds


Very quickly we noticed something very, very annoying – – flies. Loads and loads of flies. Perhaps gnats would be more accurate! This might be very good for the birds, but not so pleasant for us.


Gnats were abundant and annoying

Can you see all those light brown specs in the picture above? Those are some of the flies that were flitting around as soon as we left the confines of our car. Let me circle (in red) a couple for you.


Gnats circled for reference
Only five were circled, but there were hundreds upon hundreds!

We traveled for about an hour to get to our destination so we were not be deterred. A move perhaps we would later regret.

Only a few short steps along the pathways we saw what I identified as a Cattle Egret. If you look closely on the neck you can see flies on the bird. Other gnats are also clearly visible on the bird.


Gnats on the Egret

We hadn’t planned on most of the wildlife to be so far away. As we walked, the waterbirds swam to the far side of the large pond to seek safety and therefore escape our gaze. While I had three cameras with me, the only camera that was useful was the Canon SX50 HS with a large zoom lens.


As we walked, most birds fled
Those specks in the distance are numerous waterbirds

A more intrepid pair of birds, Black-necked Stilts, weren’t as quick to run away. They were busy searching the shallow depths for food. These are very interesting birds not only because of their somewhat whimsical black and white coloration…


Black-necked Stilts looking for food

but because of their long legs! Now we know how they got their name!


Long legs of the Black-necked Stilts

Lurking farther down the path and around the bend was an alert and somewhat wary Great Blue Heron.


A wary Great Blue Heron keeping an eye on us

In several locations there were warnings about no fishing! I have since learned that people do fish there even with the signs posted.


No Fishing sign

There were many, many Coots in the ponds, but also in the group were several other water birds. The male Northern Shoveler Duck was quite handsome.


Northern Shoveler Duck among the Coots

A Killdeer looked on with interest probably wondering what we were doing out-and-about with all these bugs in the air.


Watchfull Killdeer

To read the other JBRish posts about our Killdeer visitors:

Birds of Arizona – Killdeer ( Charadrius vociferus )

Killdeer Eggs in Our Yard; Oh My!

Killdeer’s Empty Nest in our Front Yard

For more information about the Killdeer’s rearing process, you can read The Precocious Killdeer.

Unfortunately, wherever people go, there are bound to be traces that they were there. Whether intentional or not, we found a floating flip-flop and this football.


Floating lost football left behind at the ponds

Overall, however, there wasn’t too much debris. We continued to walk a while longer to complete the circuit around the one large pond nearest our car. We were becoming a bit uncomfortable trying to “chase down” the birds with all the bugs buzzing around.

Read Birds of Arizona: Glendale Recharge Ponds – Pt. 2

See previous JBRish posts about birds HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018