Laughlin

After work on Friday 19th February my wife and I drove to Laughlin Nevada and checked into the Edgewater Hotel and Casino. I had taken advantage of a package giving us two nights at the hotel, river view, with coupons for coffee and pastries, and pizza and sodas. After heating up some food i the room we were hit with a power cut - which lasted 4 hours - and we did not get our planned stroll along the river that evening!

On Saturday February 20th we spent the morning on the river at Davis Dam and at Katherine's Landing and the late morning at a supposed Bell's Sparrow spot and at Pintail Slough.

Papago Park, Buckeye and Glendale

My wife and I had tickets to see Arizona Opera's performance of Carmen on Saturday February 6th and we spent an hour or so wandering Papago Park en route. I found several Common Gallinules on the usual back pond...

On Sunday February 7th we went to the famous Buckeye Thrasher spot and were lucky enought o find 1 singing Crissal, 1 Le Conte's and 2 Bendire's as well as a few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers,...

We stopped by the Glendale Recharge Ponds on the way home and saw many ducks but fewer waders than expected. Only Western sandpiper was new for the year.

Coyote Valley

On Sunday January 31st we drove from Monterey to San Jose International Airport stopping for an hour and a half in Coyote Valley. The main target was Yellow-billed Magpie, a species that I had not seen for many years and we found this, guided by eBird flags on Laguna Avenue. We also had a Golden Eagle at that spot and were lucky to ran into a birder who mentioned Tricolor Blackbirds. Looking carefully we found a couple in a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds feeding on the ground. We had just half an hour to visit Calero County Park where we found a flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows and a singing California Thrasher.

Monterey Bay

After work on Friday January 29th I flew from Flagstaff to San Jose, California to meet my wife who had been there on business. On Saturday January 30th we drove to Moss Landing, Carmel and Monterey.

Martin Luther King Weekend trip to Phoenix and Tucson

After work on Friday January 15th my wife and I drove south to spend the night in Casa Grande. I had gone to Prescott Valley on NAU business and had been caught in a nasty snowstorm on the way back, arriving home safely at about 3 o'clock. The stretch of I-17 between Kelly Canyon Road and the airport was gab and many vehicles were off the road, one upside down in the median. But by 4:30 the storm had passed and we had an uneventful drive south!

On Saturday January 16th we drove across the Santa Cruz Flats to Tucson and made quick stops to add year birds at Madera Canyon, Reid Park and Sweetwater. We ended the day back in Casa Grande.



On Sunday January 17th we headed home stopping first at Kiwani's Park in Tempe hoping for a ?? but only adding Brown-headed Cowbird for the year! And then at Encanto Park where we easily found the target, Rosy-faced Lovebird as well as a female Lesser Scaup.

Out and about

I headed to Snowflake on NAU business on Tuesday January 12th and stopped and the Holbrook Gold Course on the way back, adding an expected Say's Phoebe and a Rock Wren.

On Wednsday January 13th I went to Chino Valley, again on NAU business, and stopped by Willow Lake for just a few minutes adding Lincoln's Sparrow and Western Meadowlark, and then finally finding a Tundra Swan opposite Heritage Park Zoo. This was one of two targets - the other, a Red-shouldered Hawk eluded me.

On Thursday January 14th I had two Birdingpal visitors from the Washington DC area and we chased a few birds for their life lists. A Lewis's Woodpecker at Walnut Canyon National Mounment was a highlight of their trip - I added Sharp-shinned Hawk while there. We then went to Picture Canyon where I added Marsh Wren for the year, and they enjoyed good views of a Townsend's Solitaire.