Dave and I went to Woods Canyon Lake on the Mogollon Rim to try to get pictures of Osprey fishing. We left on Friday morning and got to the lake about 9:30 (it’s a two hour drive). We heard that they stock the lake on Friday morning, so we were hoping it would be a good day for the Osprey to fish. Also, there are fewer people on the lake Friday compared to the weekend.
We rented a little fishing boat with an electric motor. We got lucky when we first went out on the lake and saw an Osprey dive and catch a fish fairly close to our boat. It was the nearest we got to an Osprey fishing all day. Then we saw the Bald Eagle on a stump. He flew across the lake, and we went over there just in time to see him dive for a fish. He didn’t succeed, but we got some shots of the attempt.
We spent about 3 hours on the lake, with the best shots from the first 45 minutes or so. We think the best time would be earlier, maybe about 7, when the birds are hungry and the water is calm.
When we got back to the car and were eating lunch, and drinking beer, there was a flurry of bird activity. We saw the following: Yellow-rumped Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Brown Creeper, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Hairy Woodpecker, Norther Flicker, Steller’s Jay. It lasted about 15 minutes, and then the birds were gone. It was difficult to get pictures. I included some not-so-good pictures of the warblers.
I took pictures of some Arizona wildflowers we saw by the lake. I had trouble identifying some of them, but made an attempt.
I included a picture of a butterfly from our yard. It’s out of place in this post, but I didn’t want to do a post just for it.
We had fun. It’s a beautiful spot. The birding was good, and the weather was nice, with cool temperatures (low 47, high 72).
7 Comments
Dad the photos of that eagle are amazing.
I think that could be a species of hawthorn- Crataegus chrysocarpa species.
It has a cerated leaf, the species ‘Ashe’ looks similar
Black Hawthorne (Crataegus douglasii)
Thanks Aaron! And thanks for the ID tip – your plant knowledge is amazing. From your tip, I did some research. A UA site (here) mentioned two native AZ Hawthorn species, and this site confirms them. There are two: Crataegus erythropoda, and Crataegus rivularis. Maybe it is Crataegus erythropoda, common name “Cerro Hawthorn” (since that one isn’t rare in the Woods Canyon Lake area)? The douglasii species isn’t in AZ, but it could be a non-native at the lake. Anyway, your plant knowledge is amazing! I’ll update the ID.
Wow! Eagles and Osprey shots. Amazing.
MJ
Thanks! I can see Eagles and Osprey sitting on your deck sipping a mimosa!
Venturing up this weekend with my 100-400mm wondered if you recalled the area where the Eagle hung out. Would love to get some shots of them and the osprey – I know it’s been a while for you – thanks.
The eagle pictures were from a rented boat. The eagle was east of the marina, maybe halfway to the dam. It was perched on the stump on the north side, and took off to roost on the south side, almost directly across, I think, from the stump. The hiking trail on the south side was near where he perched. He was ‘fishing’ from the perch on the south side.
There are lots of Osprey, especially on days after they stock the lake. I think the stock on Thursday, but not sure. The Osprey are pretty much all over, and you have to get lucky to be in position to capture a dive. I think I had the most luck east of the marina, or maybe near the marina.
But … this post was quite a while ago. I have some more recent posts from the same location. I think the story is the same for the more recent posts. On one trip I didn’t rent a boat but hiked around the lake. I saw a juvenile bald eagle just past the dam going counter clockwise around the lake from the marina.