Oxbow Campground

Over the weekend I kept an eye on the weather report which predicted a wet and windy front moving in mid week so Monday I headed south where there would be less impact. I ended up at Oxbow Campground just southeast of Quartzsite, AZ. Sure enough, Wednesday was a soaker. Not an Oregon soaker but for Arizona it was pretty wet. The sun was out bright this morning so I headed over to Cibola NWR for some bird watching. They have drained all the lakes so there were very few waterfowl but still plenty of other species to observe. Although I only got a few pics, this one of a female Anna's Hummingbird on a nest was lucky capture!

Their nests are often held together with spider webs! Later back at camp I ventured out in an effort to get a picture of a Black-chinned Hummingbird that I saw when I first arrived. Although the light was not right to get the colorful shot I hoped for, I was happy just to find it and get this one!

It is slightly smaller than an Anna's with a black and purple throat versus the red of an Anna's. Sometimes I have to search to find birds but other times they come to me like this Black-necked Stilt that walked into the open while I was sitting in my 5th wheel!

It appeared from behind some reeds long enough for me to snap a pic then it wandered back out of sight! Later, a Great Egret walked out of those same reeds with a Bluegill in its beak!

After moving it into a head first position it swallowed it and disappeared back into the reeds! I am waiting to see what appears next!