Lake
Havasu & Parker Dam
Mar
3, 2002
-
45-68
degrees
-
Henry Detwiler
A road trip to see some fine northern specialties along the Colorado
River: Barrow's Goldeneye, Long-tailed Duck, and the Yellow-billed
Loon.
79
species (list follows at end
of page)
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.
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Bruce, Vic, Bob, & Henry
The sun was already up as we left on the long drive
north. Bob rode with Jeff in his Jeep, while Suzanne and the
two girls (Adriana and Gaby) were in my Pathfinder. Our first stop was close to
Cibola NWR, where we picked up a Sandhill Cranes, a Vermillion
Flycatcher, and several sparrow species. At the lake
in Palo Verde we saw our first Violet-Green Swallows and a
few ducks, and a short distance north we saw a beautiful
Ferruginous Hawk.
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| We pulled up to Parker Dam shortly after noon, and
before long Bob spotted the female Long-tailed Duck flying in from
the South. But try as we might, there were no Barrow's
Goldeneyes to be found. After waiting for Bruce, we decided
to check out a flock of ducks about half a mile downstream |
Common Goldeneye
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Parker Dam
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A convenient pull-off south of the Dam gave us a
chance to closely observe a large flock of Violet-Green Swallows,
White-throated Swifts, and a few more ducks.
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I heard a
thrasher singing not too far away, and before too long we had
spotted two Sage Thrashers. On the way back north, Bob
suggested we ask the birders at the dam if they'd found the
Barrow's. Surprise, surprise! Bruce, Vic, and Lou had
arrived, and brought with them two female Barrow's Goldeneyes.
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After a welcome fast-food stop, we continued on to Site Six, the
new favored haunt for our loon. Aside from fishermen, the initial offerings were
two Common Loons, one of which had an elongated lower mandible
(dubbed the Crossbill Loon). |
Lake Havasu, Site 6
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Yellow-billed Loon
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Soon after though, a larger
loon (11.5 lbs. to be exact) with a massive bill came bearing down
on us from around the point. It was our guy!
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For the next hour, the Yellow-billed Loon would
swim under and around the fishing pier, snacking on the large
population of shad. We got fantastic close-up looks, and
several wonderful photos, too. The photo above is through my
digital camera sans scope. Hopefully Suzanne got some nice
photos using my Canon 300mm lens.
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Clark's Grebe
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Osprey
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Other birds in the immediate area included seven Clark's Grebes,
four Pied-billed Grebes, and this Osprey glued to a sailboat mast.
We celebrated the bird with a round of beers courtesy of Bruce, and then said
our goodbyes as Vic & Lou and Bruce headed back to Orange
County.
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On the way home we looked out over the Bill Williams
river delta in several spots and located both Common and
Red-breasted Mergansers.
-- a long but fantastic day of
birding. |
Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge
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Adriana at Lake Havasu
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