Eastern Tanque Verde IBA Highlights

For the past two years my friend Kirk and I have been surveying an Important Bird Area transect in her area on the easternmost section of the Tanque Verde Wash.  It is a great opportunity for me to see the difference in diversity from this area which is a wetter and slightly higher section of the same wash which runs through our neighborhood.  It also has a pond which is in transition to cattail habitat, and I'm excited to see what new species this natural change can bring to this unique area. 




At dawn the skies were dark with a threatening storm which never actually arrived.  We started a couple hours late due to the weather, and would shorten the overall survey as well.  For a change we started our transect at the pond section of the route, which is usually our finishing point.   The change of venue was fortunate since one of our first birds was this beautiful male Hooded Oriole, a species seldom seen in our neighborhood.   A Cliff Swallow and Purple Martins were hunting over the pond, a Western Kingbird perched high in the trees along the shore, and Yellow Warblers were in the cottonwoods.  

As we entered the wash I saw a distant perched raptor, which, when scoped, turned into a locally rare Gray Hawk!  It called out as well, a unique call which hails this beautiful bird's presence in moister habitats.   There may have been as many as four nests of this species along the Tanque Verde wash this year, exceptional for a species which has only recently returned to this area to nest. 

Blue Grosbeaks called out on our stroll through this unique habitat, and one female bird held a grub in its beak, giving new meaning to the term, "getting some grub." 





As we walked toward a group of cottonwoods Kirk spotted a magnificent Swainson's Hawk as it lifted off its perch.   Luckily it landed within photographic range.  This is another bird I've only seen a handful of times in our neighborhood, but have already seen twice during our surveys in this habitat. 







The last section of the survey was this beautiful section of mesquites and desert hackberry with thick understory of native grasses and plants.  In only two hours we had seen a very respectable thirty seven species, including some real gems.   I'm thankful for the opportunity to witness the incredibly diverse life in this largely untouched ecosystem.   Thank you for appreciating the wildly diverse nature of our rich ecosystem, the earth.