This past week was the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival at Dead Horse Ranch State Park. We drove over on Wednesday to set up our vendor booth, and were there through Saturday. Anytime we attend off-site events such as this, it is kind of like a working vacation.
There is a lot of work involved in running our vendor booth, but we usually can squeeze in time to go birding before and after the vendor hours. Seeing how our booth was outdoors, situated directly between two of the lagoons in the park, we could also bird watch while staffing our booth.
We actually had great views of a good variety of bird species during vendor booth hours, including a pair of Bald Eagles that we saw on and off throughout the day each day. We also saw osprey, Bullock’s orioles, summer tanagers, American crow, bronzed cowbirds, and on Saturday we had a Wilson’s phalarope!
We also had the responsibility of being the guide for the armchair birding for two hours on three consecutive days. Unfortunately, the area hadn’t been maintained prior to our arrival, which we quickly remedied. When we arrived, the only feed that was being provided were black-oil sunflowers seeds, in the shell. We quickly added white-proso millet, three hummingbird feeders, peanut butter suet, fresh oranges, and a water pan.
While the situation was “fixed”, the birds didn’t know what we’d done. By day three of the armchair birding, we really didn’t see a lot of birds taking advantage of the food we’d put out. The exception to this were Gila woodpeckers and verdins feeding at orange halves, which was fun to see.
One evening, well after sunset, I went birding and my efforts were rewarded when I saw a western screech owl, which was a very special experience. Shortly after that I saw a great horned owl, followed by a lesser nighthawk! I don’t typically do a lot of “owling,” so seeing three nocturnal species in one night was very fulfilling.
The weather was very challenging during the festival—similar to the weather Prescott experienced last weekend. It was cold and windy, with lightning, thunder and an abundance of rain. Imagine my surprise when I woke up Saturday morning (April 27th) to fresh snow blanketing Mingus Mountain!
Fast forward to Tuesday of this week. I led a fee-based, store-sponsored bird walk to Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Last week, while at the park, I was able to do a lot of reconnaissance for this week’s trip. Our group of eleven birders had an awesome day. What fascinated me most was the difference in species observed this week compared to last week.
With spring migration in full swing, we saw several species that I did not see last week, including black-throated gray warbler, black-headed grosbeak, Franklin gulls, and a white-faced ibis. We also found a Sora (rail). It was so cooperative, that I was able to get it in the scope and everyone in the group got fine looks at it. What a treat!
Probably the best find of the day was seeing a trio of bird of prey species flying together, sharing the same thermal. It was one of those truly amazing birding moments. We saw a common black hawk, a gray hawk, and an American Kestrel soaring so close to one another that we could see all three species in the same field of view at the same time!
Between my time at the park last week and this week, I saw 86 different bird species!
Until next week, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Swarovski and Vortex optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
