Thursday, January 25, 2018

STALKING BIRDS AGAIN!

Day 137 – 38 degrees, beautiful sunny day, 6:45 a.m. We did some catching up on things, then packed a lunch of egg salad sandwiches & went to the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. To get our bearings, we drove past the Refuge Headquarters and took the Levee Road all the way to the end at Cibola Lake. All dirt roads along the Colorado River or on dikes with canals on either side for irrigation. At one point, we stopped to take pictures of White Pelicans grouped together on a little island. There was a man there who was a Birder, too. He was from Montana. He and Rob proceeded to debate whether a specific bird, way far away, was a Yellowleg or a Willet: Rob looking through his camera lens, the gentleman looking through his binoculars. “Um, but look at the beak. No, he’s not the right color. I wish we could see the legs better.” And so on. I took a cute picture of the two of them. Then we left, and had our lunch at the end of the road.

Click any picture below to see a slideshow.

Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

Hart Mine Marsh, Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

Dry, dry, dry… Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

Rob and a fellow birder, Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

Roadrunner, Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

Roadrunner running across a road, Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

White Pelicans at Hart Mine Marsh, Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

Trigo Mountains, Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

Pumping agricultural water from the Colorado River, Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

A new kind 0of dirt road for us, Cibola NWR, Cibola, AZ

We drove to Wildlife Refuge Headquarters & visited, talking to the woman who worked there. We found out about the Goose Loop Auto Tour and the Corn Field Nature Trail for hiking, also about other drives at other parts of the Refuge. The Wildlife Refuge is on the border between California & Arizona; at times we were driving in one State, then the other State. The Refuge encompasses 18,555 acres and was established in 1964 to mitigate the loss of fish & wildlife habitat involved in the channelization projects along the Colorado River. Cibola National Wildlife Refuge: Route 2 Box 138, Cibola, AZ 85328, (928) 857-3253, fw2_rw_cibola@fws.gov.

Then we went back to HQ and drove the Auto Tour. It appeared it was the perfect time of day. The sound of the various ducks, geese, black birds, and cranes flying overhead, again made us wish we had a sound recorder with us. Rob was busy with the camera. We were back in the land of the birds.

Click any picture below to see a slideshow.

Snow Geese and friends, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Male and Female American Widgeon, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Tree Swallow, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Northern Pintail coming in for a landing, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Sandhill Cranes, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Sandhill Cranes with the Trigo Mountains in the background, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Sandhill Cranes Mating Dance, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Sandhill Cranes just plain dancing! Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Sandhill Cranes Mating Dance, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Sandhill Cranes and a Red-Winged Blackbird, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

SandHill Cranes, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Yellow-Headed Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Say’s Phoebe, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Great Blue Her0on, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

American Kestrel, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Red-Winged Blackbirds and Grackles, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Sandhill Cranes, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Snow Geese, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Alfalfa planted for the migrating birds, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Corn planted for the migrating birds, Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Cibola NWR Auto Tour, Cibola, AZ

Beautiful day with a high of 69 degrees & a light breeze, we made it back to the RV before sunset & sat outside overlooking the River. Life is good. The cats agree; they are very happy here with the sun coming in the windows during the day & the breeze circulating through the RV. No traffic noise, no people noise.