Since the beginning of March, I have been birding almost nonstop in the Lower Colorado River Valley (LCRV). As of now, I am based out of Lake Havasu City, Arizona where passerine migration is just starting up. I have been spending a lot of time north of the city on Havasu National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) doing bird surveys for Great Basin Bird Observatory. After surveys, I try to spend an around an hour birding and checking for migrants. Havasu NWR is an interesting refuge consisting of riparian areas, ag fields, and some desert scrub-shrub. The refuge definitely has potential for migrants in the rows of tall Fremont Cottonwood. Over the past week, I observed a beautiful Zone-tailed Hawk, which is rare in the LCRV, and a Solitary Sandpiper. Solitary Sandpipers are uncommon in spring migration, where only a few are reported during migration.
Solitary Sandpiper at Pintail Slough on Havasu NWR on 4/8/2012
Before the season started, Lauren Harter showed me a continuing Eastern Phoebe at Catfish Paradise. The same day, we found a Harris’s Hawk flying over the ag fields on the refuge. Harris’s Hawks are rare in the LCRV as well.
Eastern Phoebe at Catfish Paradise on Havasu NWR on 3/3/2012
Harris's Hawk at Pintail Slough on Havasu NWR on 3/3/2012
There are plenty of birds to see on Havasu NWR and I plan on checking the hotspots regularly for migrants. Migration is heating up across the ABA and there are plenty of vagrants to be found. Good birding!