Greetings Birders!
Al and I spent Saturday morning, Dec 22nd, birding the Gila Valley around Wellton, AZ. It was beautiful weather and the birds were out in force.
Some of our more interesting birds were:
Merlin (Yuma)
Prairie Falcon (west of Wellton)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (west of Wellton)
Barn Owl (Green Acres RV Park, Wellton)
Ruddy Ground-Dove (Green Acres RV Park, Wellton)
Winter Wren (3.2 miles west of Wellton - found by Paul Lehman earlier this month)
Sharp-shinned Hawk, west of Wellton, 22 Dec 2012
If Inca Doves were a bit scarce in 2011, they’ve sure rebounded this year. The Animal Farm was sporting a good fifty of them. It was neat to see the Barn Owl staring down at us from the palm tree at Green Acres RV Park.
Barn Owl, Green Acres RV Park, 22 Dec 2012
Numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers were also extremely high in many of the spots around the valley.
This morning (Christmas Eve) Al, Helga, and I spent a couple of hours at the Yuma West Wetlands and had the usual suspects (Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Verdins, 3 Crissal Thrashers, etc.). Additionally we spotted a single Cedar Waxwing and the large wintering flock of American Robins.
Crissal Thrasher, West Wetlands, Yuma, 24 Dec 2012
Directions to Yuma and Imperial County birding sites are at: http://www.southwestbirders.com/
Merry Christmas & Good Birding!
Henry