“I’ve got an ocean front property in Arizona; from the front porch you can see the sea!”\u00a0 So goes the song.\u00a0 This week my version is: “I\u00a0 found some Streak-backed Orioles in Arizona; from the front road you can see their tree.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Actually I went to Phoenix primarily hoping to\u00a0find the Baikal Teal that had been seen at the Gilbert Riparian Park for a week or so.\u00a0 Never before had this northern Asian species been seen in Arizona, and very infrequently has it been seen in the United States.\u00a0 There is some question whether this one\u00a0is really is a wild bird or whether it has escaped from an exotic bird farm of some sort.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the Baikal Teal has not been seen for several days, beginning the day before the day I was there.\u00a0\u00a0The day I spent at the Riparian Park looking for the Baikal Teal was the hottest on record for that date in the Phoenix area.\u00a0 From 10 above on the Fahrenheit scale in Iowa\u00a0to 90 above within 6 hours was a bit of a challenge.\u00a0 The Riparian Park itself, however, is a lovely spot with lots of birds of many species, so the day was not wasted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My second day in Arizona was to be devoted to finding\u00a0 Streak-backed Orioles.\u00a0 Reports had been fairly regular and encouraging that two of\u00a0these Mexican species\u00a0had adopted as their winter residence a farm grove\u00a0at the edge of an agricultural area between Weldon and Tacna, just east of Yuma, AZ.\u00a0 I arrived there early on the road adjacent to the farmhouse and grove.\u00a0 No one else\u00a0was there.\u00a0 The temperature was closer to what I left in Iowa than to what I had encountered the day before in Phoenix.\u00a0 I walked up and down the road several times and about 9:00 a.m. I spotted 2 orioles at the top of a Pomegranate Tree.\u00a0 They were being very cooperative, foraging at the top of the tree not hidden by foliage.\u00a0 I was virtually\u00a0certain they were the Streak-backed species, but\u00a0I could not make out the streaks on their backs with my binoculars.\u00a0 Fortuitously, a young man arrived about that time, binoculars in hand.\u00a0 We soon connected and confirmed that we were seeking the same bird.\u00a0 I showed him the spot where\u00a0I had seen the\u00a0Orioles, and we both were able to observe them for several minutes.\u00a0 I lamented that I would\u00a0really like a telescopic view\u00a0to be completely satisfied as to their identity, but that I had not brought a scope with me in order to travel more lightly.\u00a0\u00a0He replied that that would be no problem.\u00a0 He went to his car and came back with a telescope and we were both able to scope the birds well for several minutes, with clear identification of the distinctive marks of Streak-backed Orioles.\u00a0 Very satisfying.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thus, Streak-backed Oriole became my 695th North American species.\u00a0 It is a beautiful bird, to boot.\u00a0 This completes my sweep of all 9 of the Oriole species listed in Sibley’s Field Guide.\u00a0 National Geographic lists a 10th, the Black-vented Oriole, which is even rarer.\u00a0 Interestingly, someone has just reported seeing a Black-vented Oriole in southern Florida.\u00a0 But with the holidays at hand, that trip\u00a0will have to be deferred.\u00a0 Moreover, I think only one person has reported finding it and I would not make the trip based on that skimpy record.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After we had both had our fill of viewing the Orioles, Alex asked if I had seen the Bean Goose that has been hanging out at the Salton Sea in California.\u00a0 I said I had not, but that I had seen one of that species on Adak when I was there a few years ago.\u00a0 He said he was going to drive over to try to find it as it would be a new Life Bird for him.\u00a0 I decided to join him and we “convoyed” over to the Salton Sea.\u00a0 We encountered thousands and thousands of beautiful white Snow Geese at the Salton Sea, but the Bean Goose had chosen that day to hang out somewhere else, so I left without finding it.\u00a0 Alex, a grad student at the University of Arizona, however, stayed on to make full use of his day without classes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My final target bird for this Arizona trip was the Rufous-backed Robin.\u00a0 Yes, the very same elusive\u00a0species that I had sought fruitlessly in Texas a week or so ago.\u00a0 This required a trip back to Arizona and half way across the southern part, to a spot not far north of Nogales called Santa Gertrudis Lane.\u00a0 This is a fascinating little area\u00a0providing access to\u00a0the banks of the Santa Crus River.\u00a0 It was dedicated to public use by the original owner of the ranch that has now been carved into many smaller pieces, but all the owners\u00a0are obligated to abide by the public use requirement of the Lane that they also must use to reach their properties.\u00a0 Once again, this secretive Robin avoided my detection.\u00a0 Early in the morning when I was the only birder on the Lane, a car stopped and the driver started a conversation with something like, “I don’t quite know how to tell you this but I guess the best way is to just tell it like it is.\u00a0 Last night a couple of miles down the road a Border Patrol Agent was murdered by members of a Mexican Drug Gang.\u00a0 Some of them were caught, but one or two have escaped and are at large in this area.\u00a0 I suggest that you stick to the main roads today for your own safety.\u00a0 This road is safe, but I would not go back into the bush along the river.”\u00a0 We proceeded to visit for a while and when he found out I was a lawyer he had a good laugh and a couple of lawyer jokes to tell me, which I appreciated!!!\u00a0 He is a retired aviator who bought a 200 acre ranch at the end of the Lane and I learned a lot about the problems of having so many people living down that road.\u00a0 Later in the day, he came by again and invited me to come see his place, so I got in his vehicle, we forded the river, and drove around his ranch for an hour or so.\u00a0 I didn’t see many birds but I really enjoyed seeing the ranch (he boards horses for others for $215 per month, and has up to 90 horses on board during the winter months).\u00a0 He provided me with a supply of bottled water and drove me back across the river so I would not get my feet wet.\u00a0 I spent the rest of the day looking for the Robin, with no success.\u00a0 I do want to express my thanks to the good Samaritan, George, who gave me good advice and a friendly reception.<\/p>\n
Irony of ironies, when I checked my Rare Bird Report Site this morning, there was a report by my birding \u00a0neighbors here in West Des Moines, Reid and Pam Allen, that they saw the Rufous-backed Robin yesterday at the very same location in Texas where I spent a day and a half two weeks ago, looking for it.\u00a0 Oh, well, maybe some day I will find that darn bird.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“I’ve got an ocean front property in Arizona; from the front porch you can see the sea!”\u00a0 So goes the song.\u00a0 This week my version is: “I\u00a0 found some Streak-backed Orioles in Arizona; from the front road you can see … Continue reading