Observers: Chris McCreedy
Email: cmccreedy@prbo.org
Remote Name: 12.110.32.113
Date: 04/11/2006
Time: 06:29 PM -0400
While surveying the Amargosa River at Shoshone this morning, I found something that I've always wanted to see in the desert: a Golden-crowned Sparrow. It was a second-year, with yellow coming in on its crown. It was with a gang of White-crowned Sparrows. I've checked hundreds and hundreds of WCSP in the deserts, hoping to see a GCSP. But today was the day. Others included a Gray Flycatcher, an Ash-throated Flycatcher, and two Wilson's Snipes. The Amargosa River north of Highway 178 is beautiful, and different than at the Amargosa Canyon. There are stands of screwbean mesquite that loom over saltgrass, and there are no flies yet. I had a great nap. I found several Phainopepla nests, which is interesting. I also work in the Lower Colorado River Valley, and the extreme drought of this winter nuked the mistletoe crop near the Colorado. We've found less than 5 nesting pair of PHAI from Needles to Yuma all winter/spring.