Gilbert Water Ranch
September 15, 2020
The Gilbert Water Ranch is quite a large facility. It is much larger than the Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson. It is set up very well and excellent trails and several blinds. The only problem is the rather small parking lot. I got there at 6:50 and there was only one empty space out of about 40 total. It was a 2-hour 10-minute drive from Green Valley.
The Canada Warbler was reported several days ago, and I should have gone on Sunday 9-14-2020. But I figured that there would be a very large crowd. I doubted the bird would leave, as the moon was a tiny waning crescent and my understanding, likely in error, is that birds migrate on a brightly lit night. I have no idea if this particular bird is a night or day migrant, but night seems to be the general rule. In any event, the bird was there early, at 7:30 a.m. for a brief unsatisfying show, and it lurked in the dense bramble and finally came out into the open about 9:20 a.m. for an extended show. Also seen were Wilson’s, MacGillivray’s, Black-throated Gray, and Orange-crowned Warblers. A bright Plumbeous Vireo was a bonus bird. An Eastern Kingbird has also been seen at the Water Ranch. I poked around a bit but did not find it. It was getting a bit (very) warm.
