Category Archives: Trip reports

Chipping away: Early January birds

I admit it: it’s 15 days into the new year, and I’ve only made five trips to La Paz County. Meetings and deadlines have done plenty to keep me busy, and daily gusty winds have done their part to keep … Continue reading

Posted in Big Year, Bill Williams, La Paz County, LCRV, Trip reports, Vagrants | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Big Times in La Paz County

This past November, while David and I were out birding with Susan and Bob Steele, we got to talking about county Big Years. The excitement, the rush, the disappointment, the car miles adding up. This conversation struck a chord in … Continue reading

Posted in Big Year, Bill Williams, Cibola NWR, Imperial County, La Paz County, LCRV, Trip reports, Vagrants | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

CBCs 2013

The Christmas Bird Count season is always an exciting time of year, with more eyes and ears out in the field looking at birds, gathering data and finding rarities; birders getting together, seeing old friends and meeting new people; and … Continue reading

Posted in Butterflies, Christmas Bird Counts, Havasu NWR, Imperial County, La Paz County, LCRV, Mexico, Mohave County, Trip reports, Vagrants, Yuma County | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Weekend Birding

I spent this weekend birding with Barrett Pierce of Amarillo, TX, et al. searching for the Nutting’s Flycatcher, rails, Sage Sparrows, and generally enjoying our local birds and rarities. The flycatcher hadn’t been seen since February 1 or 3, and … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Williams, La Paz County, LCRV, San Bernardino County, Sound Recordings, Trip reports, Vagrants | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Christmas Birding Trip: Bill Williams to Yuma

This post is a bit belated, but December 15 was my first Christmas Bird Count of the season, the Yuma/Martinez Lake count.  Centered on Imperial Dam, the count circle is equal parts Yuma County, AZ and Imperial County, AZ.  Since … Continue reading

Posted in Christmas Bird Counts, Cibola NWR, Imperial County, La Paz County, LCRV, Sound Recordings, Trip reports, Vagrants, Yuma County | 4 Comments

Big Sit 2012: Cape Havasu

This weekend, everyone is talking about the Big Sit, a national birding event hosted by Birdwatcher’s Digest, which falls every year on the second Sunday in October.  (This year, they added the preceding Saturday as a possible count day.)  This … Continue reading

Posted in Big Sit, Events, Havasu NWR, Lake Havasu, LCRV, Mohave County, Trip reports, Vagrants | 2 Comments

White Ibis in Baker, CA

The summer doldrums are a thing of the past here in the desert, and I’m doing my best to forget them until next year.  Temperatures have been kindly staying below 110, monsoons have been passing through on a weekly basis, … Continue reading

Posted in High desert, Trip reports, Vagrants | 2 Comments

Early Fall Birding

It feels a little weird to call it “fall birding” on July 1st, but with temperatures spiking over 115 recently*, it is much more pleasant to think of fall than summer.  Besides, as I have written before, something is always … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Williams, Birding Locations, Cibola NWR, Imperial County, La Paz County, LCRV, Migration, Riverside County, Trip reports | 7 Comments

Spring Migration Birding

With temperatures creeping above 100 in the past week, those of us along the river here were happy to hear that a front was coming through, bringing possible rain and highs in the 80s.  Of course, there is always a … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Williams, Havasu NWR, La Paz County, Lake Havasu, LCRV, Migration, Mohave County, San Bernardino County, Trip reports, Vagrants | 1 Comment

2011 Big Year Summary!

I guess it was a strange thing to do, trying a Big Year as soon as I moved to a new county.  I was mainly inspired by Tommy D’s awesome Maricopa Big Year-ing, and I figured it would be a … Continue reading

Posted in Big Year, Lake Havasu, LCRV, Mohave County, Trip reports, Vagrants | 4 Comments