On Monday evening, May 19th, I went to the south shore of Willow Lake to do some birding. This has been my latest hotspot birding area. In the month of May, with ongoing migration activity, the variety of species observed at the lake is different from one day to the next.
When I arrived, I observed three Forster’s Terns resting on a sandbar maybe two hundred yards from the shore. The three terns were in the same place for a good hour, but as I was about to head back to my car, I could see with my naked eye that there was a fourth white bird on that small spit of dirt.
Raising my binoculars, I saw that the fourth bird was a much smaller tern. This instantly captured my attention, and I quickly moved along a dirt peninsula that juts out into the lake to get a closer look. I knew this was something special, something absolutely out of the ordinary.
While I don’t typically do a lot of bird photography, I used my iPhone and started taking pictures through my spotting scope—both still shots and video to document what I was seeing.
What was my amazing find? It was a Least Tern. As the name indicates, it is a small tern—from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail, it is only nine inches long and weighs 1.5 ounces! By comparison, the Forester’s terns that were sitting right next to the Least Tern are thirteen inches in length and weigh six ounces.
I have lived and birded in Arizona since 1965, and I had never seen this species in Arizona. It was, for this area, a rare bird, and rare bird observations require documentation. Unfortunately, most of my pictures were blurry! It was one of those incredibly windy days, and a lot of my pictures didn’t turn out well due to the strong winds which were causing my tripod and scope to vibrate.
However, my pictures were sufficient. My next thought was to call other hard-core birders and make them aware of the tern. I started calling one birder after another, hoping a few others could make it out to the lake to see the bird. It was around 6:45 p.m., and daylight would soon be a factor. Fortunately, two other birders made it out to the lake and were able to see the Least Tern before darkness settled in.
In North America, this species is typically found in coastal regions, with the exception of being present along major river systems in the mid-west. This was a bird that was definitely way off course. It was such an exciting find!
Interestingly, for the past year, most of my recent rare bird sightings have been at Willow Lake. On August 10th I saw Black Terns, on September 21st I saw red-necked phalaropes and a Common Tern (not common here), on December 7th I saw a Lesser Black-backed Gull, on December 21st I saw a Mexican Duck, and on April 28th I saw a Purple Martin—all at Willow Lake.
On the particular day when I found the Least Tern, I observed forty-three species in just over an hour. Birding is one of those activities where you never know what you might see from one day to the next.
On another note, The Alta Vista Garden Club is holding their biennial garden tour on Saturday, June 21st, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This year’s Prescott Garden Tour features five uniquely original home gardens in Prescott. Tickets are $20.00, and are available at The Lookout or online at www.AltaVistaGardenClub.org.
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.
