Dateline: August 2022
Rained in Erie Sunday evening into Monday, with a half-hour break around 9:30am. After that, 31 solid hours of rain, at times torrential. Widespread localized flooding. Spotted a GBH in flight and a few soggy Wild Turkey.
While Erie dries out (hopefully), best to revisit sunnier climes, a la Tucson in August. … Here, some snapshots from a field trip with the 2022 SW Arizona Birding Festival – Santa Cruz Flats.
Santa Cruz flats: northwest of Tucson towards Phoenix, large open area of industrial agriculture (feed lots, alfalfa/hay, sod, potato, pecan, etc.) all fueled by canal-distributed CAP water.
Not a canal, rather the Santa Cruz River running from recent monsoon rains:
Mediocre pictures, but still cool to see Bell’s Vireo:
Power pole with Ladder-backed Woodpecker:
Common Ground Dove (lower left) and Mourning Dove (upper right):
Representative snapshot: canal (in foreground), a power substation, and agricultural equipment:
Bird of the day were two adult Crested Caracara (too briefly seen for pictures). Runner up, amazing Burrowing Owl:
Shaky Burrowing Owl video clips from the van:
Sod farming in the desert using Colorado River water. Makes total sense.
