Catalina Mountains behind Agua Caliente Park 1-9-2013
On the morning of January 9 Chris Rohrer called me up to tell me he was going birding at Agua Caliente Park. I was planning on staying home and taking a rest from birding but he tempted me with the hope of finding the Northern Beardless Tyrannulet. I have never seen a Northern Beardless Tyrannulet and so I relented and went along.
Agua Caliente Park is located on the northeast side of Tucson and is an eBird Hotspot. We met in the parking lot and immediately started counting birds. The day was sparkling clear but a brisk wind was blowing and we were not seeing or hearing many birds.
Ring-necked Duck
We walked around the pond first and though there were a few mallards and ring-necked ducks, there were no where near the amount of ducks I was use to seeing at Agua Caliente in the wintertime.
Eventually we headed around back to the spot where Chris had seen the Northern Beardless Tyrannulet before, but no luck. The bird was not there. All we found was a Black Phoebe. In the end we were at the park for about 2 hours and we saw 15 species of birds.
As we were leaving I spotted this Sun Dog in the sky. Perhaps it was a promise of better things to come?
Birds seen at Agua Caliente Park on January 9, 2013:
- American widgeon-2
- Mallard-24
- Northern Shoveler-4
- Ring-necked Duck-1
- Pied-billed Grebe-1
- Red-tailed Hawk-1
- American Coot-1
- Gila Woodpecker-12
- Black Phoebe-1
- Common Raven-1
- Verdin-1
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet-1
- Phainopepla-1
- Yellow-rumped Warbler-4
- House Finch-2
What a stunning landscape!
ReplyDeleteSandy, it is a true desert oasis!
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