August 18 - An Un-Common Crane

I ate a motel-sized container of yogurt for breakfast, left the El Rancho in Globe, and drove up the Russell Gulch Road to see if I could find a Gray Vireo that had been seen there recently, but no such luck.  There were birds in the canyon, but the best I could find were birds of the desert scrub, including Cassin’s Kingbirds and Phainopeplas.

Cassin's Kingbird

Phainopepa

I continued north on Highways 88 and 87 to Payson, and was getting kind of groggy, since I hadn’t had coffee this morning.  A stop at a Starbucks for a quad-shot mocha solved that issue.

There’s been a Common Crane at Mormon Lake, which would be a “Life Bird” for me, so I continued up north through the Coconino National Forest to the lake.

Western Bluebird

When full of water, this intermittent lake is the largest natural lake in the State of Arizona.  This year, it appeared to be mostly marshland, with the expected ducks and geese, and the marsh meadows are surrounded by Ponderosa Pine forest.

And Elk!

I drove up the west side of the lake, and watched as a herd of several hundred elk foraged and loafed in those meadows.  I  spent a lot of time scoping the meadows and lake area from all the vantage points and overlooks I could get to without trespassing on private ranchlands.

However, after several hours of scoping the marsh and fields, I couldn’t spot the crane.  There were eBird reports of the bird the day before and the day after today, so I can only assume that even with the four hours I spent looking, the crane was there, but I wasn’t skilled or lucky enough to find it.

My eyes were watering from staring through the scope across the lake’s shimmering heat waves, so I bagged it and drove on into Flagstaff, taking a room for the night at the Best Western.  This is yet another “dip” for the year, but it’ll give me an opportunity to try for the species another time. 

Immature Western Bluebird

Russell Gulch eBird Checklist is Here 

Mormon Lake west side eBird Checklist is Here  

Mormon Lake Grass Flat Tank eBird Checklist is Here  

Mormon Lake Dairy Spring eBird Checklist is Here

Mormon Lake Overlook eBird Checklist is Here