Gila
River Grove
May 11,
12, 15 - 75-88
degrees
-
Henry Detwiler
Suzanne, Jeff Coker, and I spent a couple of hours in the mornings
surveying this wonderful cottonwood and willow grove next to the Gila
River.
55
species (list for 11 May follows at end
of page)
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.
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Bird bathing area
Suzanne at the grove
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This young
grove of cottonwoods and willows really took off following the Gila River
flood of 1993. It has already hosted numerous migrants and
several rarities. Last year Dave Taylor had an Eastern Phoebe, and
the week prior to our visit he had a Greater Pewee. Dave has seen
breeding Yellow Warblers there for two years running. Our best birds
over the 11th, 12th, and 15th of May were Pine Siskin, Olive-sided
Flycatcher, and two Willow Flycatchers.
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The first thing we noticed on our trips here were
the numerous Yellow Warblers; they'd moved in to replace the
abundant Wilson's. Scores of them were hanging from the
branches and bathing in the drainage ditch.
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Yellow Warber
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Female Bullock's
Oriole
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Bullock's Orioles were feeding actively on the
cottonwoods, and several times I had beautiful scope views of the
brilliant orange males. Townsend's Warblers were also very
common; we also saw quite a few Hermits.
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Female Hermit Warbler
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Western Tanager (female)
The showiest birds by
far were the Western Tanagers, and over the course of several mornings we
saw close to a hundred individual birds.
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Western Tanager (male
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Yellow Warber
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A trail led through the grove, and one side path went down to the
drain with nice shallow edges. Above the beaver dam, dozens
of Yellow, Townsend's, Wilson's, and one MacGillivray's Warbler
came down to bathe. Tanagers and Song Sparrows also joined
in for good measure.
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The north side of the levee was planted in wheat,
and we saw Lazuli Buntings, several Blue Grosbeaks, and hundreds
of White-winged & Mourning Doves. The ditch on the east
side of the field provided cover for Cinnamon Teal and a variety
of waders.
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Lazuli Bunting in wheat field
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This location can be reached from Yuma by driving east
on Hwy 95 to Ave 7E. Turn north on Ave 7E and drive about 1.6
miles to the Gila River. Drive across the bridge and immediately
turn right on the levee road. Drive east 1.4 miles to the
grove. A trail drops down off the south side of the levee and
wanders through the grove. Birding from the levee is just as good!
(See the map and a comprehensive bird list at: Gila
River Grove.)
White-faced Ibis |
On the way back home on Saturday, along Ave 7E, we
spotted a flock of Whimbrels and these breeding-plumaged
White-faced Ibis.
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