Mesa at Christmas (1 Viewer)

I am a keen birder from West Yorkshire, England and I am fortunate enough to be spending the Christmas period is Mesa, AZ this year. Although most of my time will be devoted to family activities, I am hoping to be able to negotiate a full dawn to dusk day of birding. My aim for this day would be quite simple - to see as many species as is possible in the given time! I will be hiring a rental car for the day and have no problems doing plenty of travelling if it means getting more birds.

I wondered if anyone could recommend any locations of around Mesa which would give me a decent chance of seeing as many species as is possible in a day? And perhaps, which species are likely to be seen at each location at this time of year?

Thanks in advance.

You are in luck. The Gilbert Water Ranch is very close to Mesa and has an impressive variety of both water (ducks and waders), wetland, and desert scrub birds. Probably the best single spot in the Mesa area, and you should consider it for a quick visit in mornings or afternoons if you that can fit in your schedule.

Other areas close to Mesa would be in or near Tonto Nat'l Forest--Saguaro Lake, Granite Reef Recreation Area, Coon Bluff Rec. Area--which are to the NE of Mesa IIRC. You need to purchase a day pass at, e.g. a Circle K convenience store (easy to find), to park at these areas though. Western Grebes, other waterfowl, and riparian and scrub birds would be possible here.

Another possibility would be to head for SE AZ, with the possibility of things like Trogon, rare (in the U.S.) hummers, Ferruginous Hawk, etc. Famous places such as Madera Canyon, Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, Patagonia Lake State Park, and the Santa Cruz Flats would be doable in a day but would require a 3 hour drive one way.

In any event I'd recommend one of the several good AZ birdfinding guides to help you find your way around. If you want to know what species you might see at each location, eBird is also an excellent resource. Here's an eBird bar chart for the Gilbert Water ranch for December: http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?src=...ar=1900&eYear=2011&continue.x=70&continue.y=8 You can click "change location" to access charts for other locations.

Best,
Jim

I would agree with Jim, if I only had one day I'd go to Gilbert Water Ranch, you could also go to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. You might want to keep an eye on the Arizona-New Mexico Birding list, it will give you an idea as to what is happening in Arizona, and usually has a lot of the goings on around Tucson and Phoenix.

Another vote for the Gilbert Water Ranch (aka Gilbert Riparian Reserve). I also recommend that you visit the Phoenix Botanical Gardens for a couple of hours (perhaps on a general touristy day as there are lots of things to see for non birders).

See my trip report below for details of what I saw at both places (scroll to bottom of page for the botanical gardens). I visited in February so I guess you will see similar species on your trip.

http://wildlifewanderer.co.uk/2009Arizona.aspx

Please let me know if you require anymore information.

Many thanks for your very informative responses. Can't wait for the trip, I will let you know how I get on...