Gila Valley, Buckeye, &
Yuma Territorial Prison 
Feb 24, 2001, Cold morning, nice afternoon, 40-65 degrees
Paul Sherrell, Henry Detwiler

A trip to find both LeConte's & Bendire's Thrashers for Paul, which we did!  And on the way, we found lots of others.
83 species total

We arrived east of Tacna around 7:15, and was it ever COLD for this Yuma boy.  Our first stop turned up two Loggerhead Shrikes and a bird faintly singing off in the distance.  We worked our way over towards it, but finally concluded it was a Northern Mockingbird at the distant farm house.  

LeConte's Thrasher	So off we went another half mile down the road.  With gloves and hat we braved the frigid morning air and tried again.  This time we were greeted by two LeConte's Thrashers singing on top of a bush.
I hustled back to the truck to get my scope and camera, but by the time I returned there was only one bird still up in the bush.	LeConte's Thrasher
LeConte's Thrasher	We watched the bird for a while, and I was able to approach it quite closely, before it finally decided that I had taken enough photos.

LeConte's Thrasher

Bendire's Thrasher	Since it was still early, we decided to drive north of Gila Bend to go for the Bendire's, too.
As luck would have it, we found three accommodating Bendire's Thrashers at the intersection of Buckeye Road and the Salome Highway.	Bendire's Thrasher

White-faced Ibis at Territorial Prison	We birded our way back home, with a final stop at the pond next to the Yuma Territorial Prison, where thousands of White-faced Ibis were wheeling around.
Paul and I watched the Ibis through our binoculars and scopes, as they landed, took off, wheeled around, and landed again.  It was a fantastic sight!	Paul Sherril at Territorial Marsh
Hooded Merganser	An extra treat was the small flock of Hooded Mergansers, a very rare bird in our parts!  A wonderful ending to a fantastic day.