Cocoa for Cuckoo Puffs

Hey Readers,

On June 24th, I met up with good friend and skilled birder, Caleb Strand at the Base and Meridian Wildlife Area south of Phoenix.  Barb Meding and Susan Fishburn accompanied us.  My top priority at the B and M was to find a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.  They are the ninjas of the bird world - lithe and sneaky.  Luckily, cuckoos are also very vocal birds!  They make odd knocking sounds and also give their distinctive "k-kowlp kowlp kowlp" song.  Early on this year, I decided that my 3 top priority species to find in Maricopa County this summer were 1. Mexican Spotted Owl  2. Yellow-billed Cuckoo  3. Scott's Oriole.  At this point, I had found a Spottie and a Scotty.

My Dad drove me to the Phoenix International Raceway - our meet up spot.  Soon, Susan Fishburn drove up and I was finally able to meet her!  Later, we were joined by Barb Meding, whom I also hadn't met before.  She brought Caleb with her.  At 5 am, we started out; listening intently for any rails or cuckoos.  We detected several Lesser Nighthawks as we walked on.  Caleb heard a Crissal Thrasher which I missed.  We stopped at one of the many ponds at the B and M in order to listen for Ridgway's Rails...    

As we were intently listening, a fisherman dragged his aluminum boat across the gravel, dashing our hopes of hearing a rail to pieces.  Oh well.

We were now seeing Snowy Egrets, Green Herons, and Great Blue Herons.  We also found Common Moorhens and some domestic mallards which were a little odd.  Caleb took us to an undisclosed location in the area where you can find day roosting Barn Owls - a bird I still needed for the county.  Sure enough, one was present.

We stopped at another large pond in our search for cuckoos.  We listened.  And then we heard a knocking sound.  If it was just me birding, I may have passed it off as a woodpecker, but no, it was a cuckoo!  Because of cuckoos' notoriety for being shy, we weren't able to get get any crazy good looks or quality photos.  But I got a photo nonetheless!

   

We lost the cuckoo after maybe 30 seconds.  We all had our eyes on that tree, but it somehow managed to escape elsewhere.  Well done, Mr. Cuckoo.  Well done.  While we were scanning the pond for the cuckoo and other birds, Gordon Karre along with Steve and Joan Hosmer approached us.  I hadn't met Steve or Joan before, so it was nice to finally meet them.  It was exciting to see a Least Bittern fly across one of the ponds to cover.

Walking onward a little further, Caleb pointed out some egrets that were flying.  He unhesitatingly identifies them as Cattle Egrets.  How he does that, I don't know.  Embarrassingly, the Cattle Egret was a bird I still hadn't seen in Maricopa County up until that point.  After talking to Susan and Barb briefly as we walked, they both decided to call it a day and head home.  Caleb and I set a spot for my mom to pick us up around noon.  Other birds we found at the B and M before crossing into the Tres Rios Wetlands included an Osprey, Greater Roadrunner, and Yellow-throated Chat.

It was a little after 7 am when Caleb and I crossed into the Tres Rios Wetlands.  This spot is arguably the top spot in Maricopa County for wetland birds and has held some fantastic rarities in both summer and winter.  To bird at Tres Rios, you first need to obtain a government issued permit (free) which can be obtained by sending an email to Heather Finden at heather.finden@phoenix.gov.

As we were walking, I noticed some interesting tracks in the sand.  Some were quail and dove prints, but others were from javelinas and other animals.

Raccoon Prints

   

Greater Roadrunner Tracks

After traveling through the desert portion of Tres Rios, we finally came upon the tall grove of cottonwoods that marks the true entrance to the wetlands.  While walking along the main path, we flushed some small dove from the roadside.  Their flight feathers were rusty and their tails weren't as long or pointed as an Inca Dove's.  It was clearly evident that they were Common Ground Doves - a great Maricopa life bird!  Later, we saw a few Black Vultures flying high in the sky - another 'Maricoper'.

The Black Vulture's white wingtips easily distinguish it from a Turkey Vulture.

In and around the ponds, we were finding birds such as Common Gallinules, White-faced Ibis, Virginia Rails, Lucy's Warblers, and Summer Tanagers.

Common Moorhen on nest

One of Caleb's best finds was a male Painted Bunting at Tres Rios last summer which was affectionately named "Mr. PABU".  Apparently, the same individual had returned and was being reported for a while before our visit.  I was really hoping to find this vividly colored species and potential life bird.  I noticed a song coming from the mesquites at a certain point and stopped Caleb.  We decided to investigate the songster and here is what we found:

Mr. PABU strikes back!

We tried to work around the dense mesquites for a better photo angle, but it wound up flying a short distance into a cottonwood which did give us better views!

    

What a spectacular bird.  On the way to our pick up spot, we stopped for a while to check out an interesting area of willows that line a narrow pond.  Caleb told me that it could have great rarity potential.  We wound up finding something else entirely.  Another cuckoo!

This cuckoo's sloping back reminds of a trogon!

Caleb received a message from Susan Fishburn stating that she had found 2 Caspian Terns at the entrance to Tres Rios which also happened to be our pick up spot!  Caleb and I excitedly headed down and tediously scanned the large pond.  Within little time, Caleb had his eyes on one of the terns!  It was a county bird for me - my only tern for Maricopa County as of yet.  We saw several American White Pelicans in the fenced off area as well.  While we were scanning, I heard a strange call coming from behind us.  I mentioned it to Caleb and thought it may have been a roadrunner, but no, it was yet another Yellow-billed Cuckoo!!!  From having never seen one cuckoo in my life to having found 3 in a morning's birding, I was ecstatic.  By this time, it was getting hot and my Mom was close to the pickup spot.  We rested a bit and talked.  Turns out, we had 65 species of bird at Tres Rios alone and 42 species at the B and M!  Not bad for the summer.  Not bad at all.  When my Mom picked us up, we were treated to lunch at the NY Slicers Deli nearby which makes excellent sandwiches.  Thank you Caleb for your help with IDs and for sharing your extensive knowledge of these two areas with me.  I would have been lost out there without some form of guidance!    

My Life Birds were as follows:

1. Yellow-billed Cuckoo  2. Painted Bunting

My Maricopa County Lifers were as follows:

1. Barn Owl  2. Yellow-billed Cuckoo  3. Cattle Egret  4. Common Ground Dove  5. Black Vulture  6. Painted Bunting  7. Caspian Tern


Godspeed and good birding to you all,

- Joshua