BlueRavenBirders

6/4/22
A desert surprise

After 5 hours of driving through the desert we came to a small stand of reeds. If this was the refuge it was underwhelming. We kept following the road/directions and drove up a hill that overlooked a huge hidden wetland of ponds, reeds, and many birds. I definitely want to come back here next spring (as long as the roads aren’t a muddy mess)

Cinnamon teals, & a mallard

Common nighthawk, I’ve always wanted to see one of them in this resting position. I was super excited to find one here.

Western kingbird

Mourning doves

Okay this was the most surprising of photos. We had spotted a coyote earlier but it was moving away and unwilling to pose. In this photo I was looking through my 400m lens at the sandhill cranes. I did not see the coyote until I pulled it up on my computer. A terrific photobomber!

Coyote, sandhill cranes & american avocet

Gadwalls

American coots with a scattering of fluttering black necked stilts

Another surprise, American bitterns. Usually these stealthy birds are impossible to spot. Today they were out posing. We saw four.

Eared grebes

American bittern

Black necked stilt

Black necked stilt on nest

American avocet on nest

Killdeer

Birds

1. American avocets
2. American bitterns
3. Red winged blackbirds
4. Brewer’s blackbirds
5. Yellow headed blackbirds
6. American coots
7. Brown headed cowbirds
8. Sandhill cranes
9. Long billed curlews
10. Ruddy ducks
11. Snowy egrets
12. Prairie falcon
13. Gadwalls
14. Common grackles (on the way back to I15
15. Pied billed grebes
16. Western grebes
17. Eared grebes
18. Black crowned night herons
19. Great blue herons
20. White faced ibises
21. Killdeer
22. Mallards
23. Northern mockingbird
24. Common nighthawk
25. American white pelicans
26. Say’s phoebe
27. Redheads
28. Northern shovelers
29. House sparrows (also on the way back to I15
30. Black necked stilts
31. Barn swallows
32. Cliff swallows
33. Cinnamon teals
34. Blue winged teals
35. Common terns
36. Fortster’s terns
37. Willets
38. Marsh wrens

Mammals

• Coyote