Central Arizona - April 6-14, 2014

I visited a number of locations within an hour's drive of Phoenix, and went to some of them more than once.

Gilbert Water Ranch (April 7 with Walt; April 12 with Dave and Terry)

The Gilbert Water Ranch is a 110 acre facility of seven large shallow basins used to recharge the water table with processed waste water. Most of the basins were dry when we were there, but the ones with water were filled with ducks and shorebirds. Almost 200 avian species have been seen there by other birders.

Lower Salt River (April 7 with Walt; April 8)

The Lower Salt River Recreation Area is located just northeast of Mesa and is part of the Tonto National Forest. This recreation area is accessed by taking the Bush Highway as the central route to several birding sites along the river. The Salt River is in the middle of the lower sonoran desert habitats that make up this part of Arizona, and all along the river are tree stands of cottonwood, willow, and mesquite.

Sunflower (April 8; April 10 with Walt and Dave)

Sunflower is an unincorporated community in Maricopa County, AZ located off of highway 87 a few miles before Mt. Ord. Common Black-Hawks and Zone-tailed Hawks nest there.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum (April 9)

The Arboretum is located near milepost #223 on US Highway 60, and was only 45 miles east of Mesa in the Arizona upland division of the Sonoran Desert. The chief attraction at the Arboretum is the system of nature trails, with over two miles of combined length that weave through the botanical gardens. I spent six hours there and saw many birds.

Encanto Park (April 11 with Walt and Dave)

Encanto Park is a 222-acre park with picnic areas, a lagoon, a boat house, a swimming pool, a nature trail, urban fishing, and two golf courses. Rosy-faced Lovebirds nest in the palm trees along one of the parking lots.

Thrasher Site and Route 60 rest stop (April 11 with Walt and Dave)

The Salome Highway Thrasher Site is located in Maricopa County, Arizona, west of Phoenix. Six Thrasher species can be found in there: Sage, Brown, Bendire’s, Curve-billed, Crissal, and Le Conte’s. Brown is only a winter vagrant. The other five all breed there. We only saw a Bendire's when we were there, but were treated to a Prairie Falcon and a dark morph Swainson's Hawk.

The route 60 rest stop northwest of Phoenix is adjacent to the Hassayampa River Preserve. We saw a few warblers and flycatchers there.

Trip Bird List and Photos

Click on the any link to see photos, and then click on your browser back button to return to the same location in the list. You can also click on the link at the bottom of each photo page to take you to the next photo page on the list. Life bird species are shown in bold. I photographed almost all of the following species, but have posted photos that are mostly life birds and western species, and some photos that I thought might be enjoyed by others.