Every competitor wants to soar with eagles, reaching the pinnacle of success in their pursuits. It's why our televisions are tuned to bake-offs and sports competitions; we want to see the very best cooks and athletes. And it was this trophy bird, the bald eagle, that was my target when I headed over to Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale.
The wash is actually a greenbelt of parks, golf courses, bike paths and lakes that comprises eleven miles of a flood diversion channel. A couple of years ago a pair of bald eagles nested in the area and promoted birdwatching to the list of activities available in the development.
But it seems the eagles have moved on to a less crowded habitat as I can't find a record of their sighting this last year. And I didn't spot them myself in the little corner of the park I visited yesterday. However near Indian Bend Road, close to the Silverado Golf Club and the Arizona Canal, three different species of flycatchers quickly drew my attention.
It makes sense that flycatchers would populate this area as they feed on the insects that thrive near water and the verdant landscape it nourishes. The black phoebe along with the pair of vermilion flycatchers I quickly spied seemed just as at home as they do eight miles away on the waterways, arroyos and golf courses in my own manicured neighborhood.
But I was surprised to find a cordilleran flycatcher, a bird that, like the eagle, I've never identified in the city. I've seen plenty of them during the summer in Prescott and another time an hour east of Phoenix at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, both locations quieter, wooded and stream-filled.
This yellow-tinged individual is probably not going to stick around and is migrating, flying on to breeding grounds. And it just might be following an ancient wash, that's now part of an urban park system, but that has always shown the bug-filled way north.
The wash is actually a greenbelt of parks, golf courses, bike paths and lakes that comprises eleven miles of a flood diversion channel. A couple of years ago a pair of bald eagles nested in the area and promoted birdwatching to the list of activities available in the development.
But it seems the eagles have moved on to a less crowded habitat as I can't find a record of their sighting this last year. And I didn't spot them myself in the little corner of the park I visited yesterday. However near Indian Bend Road, close to the Silverado Golf Club and the Arizona Canal, three different species of flycatchers quickly drew my attention.
It makes sense that flycatchers would populate this area as they feed on the insects that thrive near water and the verdant landscape it nourishes. The black phoebe along with the pair of vermilion flycatchers I quickly spied seemed just as at home as they do eight miles away on the waterways, arroyos and golf courses in my own manicured neighborhood.
But I was surprised to find a cordilleran flycatcher, a bird that, like the eagle, I've never identified in the city. I've seen plenty of them during the summer in Prescott and another time an hour east of Phoenix at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, both locations quieter, wooded and stream-filled.
This yellow-tinged individual is probably not going to stick around and is migrating, flying on to breeding grounds. And it just might be following an ancient wash, that's now part of an urban park system, but that has always shown the bug-filled way north.
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| Male vermilion flycatcher at Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt. |
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| Male vermilion flycatcher hunting for insects above Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt in Scottsdale. |
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| Female vermilion flycatcher at Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale. |
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| Black phoebe at Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt in Scottsdale. |
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| Cordilleran flycatcher at Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale. |
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