Cibola NWR

January 15-17, 2010

I wanted to visit with my sister and brother-in-law before we move to Roanoke, VA. So I made this a 2-in-1 birding/family, trip and that weekend happened to be the time we could meet in La Paz County, AZ. The family has a vacation spot down there, which happens to be five minutes from the National Wildlife Refuge.

I arrived late on the 15th and early in the dark morning I awoke to a Great Horned Owl who seemed close, loud, and had something to say for a very long time (so early in the morning). Later that morning I casually wandered the homestead, near the wash and saw a Phainopepla, then another further on, and some Chipping Sparrows.

Randy and I went to the refuge and hiked back to the lake which held an abundance of waterfowl made up of American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, American Coot, Ring-necked Duck, and Pied-billed Grebe. We drove around Goose Loop and saw the Sandhill Cranes, Canadian Geese, Kestrel, Curved-billed Thrasher, Say's Phoebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Ross's Goose, Snow Goose, a flock of Great Egret. The hunters were confined to a fenced football field; it was amusing. We stopped at the first pond/mudflat and I saw a Dunlin and Killdeer.

Later that afternoon, back at the homestead, I searched the area below what the kids call the Grand Canyon and found: Western Bluebirds, Costa's and Anna's hummingbird, Mourning Dove, Phainopepla, Gila Woodpecker, Gambel's Quail, and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. Because I'm new to this, I get a lot of lifers!

I went back to the refuge the next day and stopped at the first pond and spotted Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, among some of the other waterfowl noted above. Across the road saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Inez calls them butter-butts). Hiking to and from the lake I spotted Verdin and Black Phoebe.

On the drive home, down CA-79 there were an abundance of Kestrels and Grackles. I pulled off the road because I thought I saw a Belted Kingfisher on the wire, but it flew into the field and didn't reappear for awhile so I gave up. I wanted to get back on the road for my long drive back to Tucson.