Confluence of Diamond Creek and the North Fork of the White River:
Diamond Creek:
Rt. 61 above Diamond Creek:
Immature Bald Eagle:
Arizona gray squirrel (Sciurus arizonensis):
moth caterpillar:
smooth sumac (Rhus glabra):
About Me
- Eric Hough
- I am a birder, naturalist, wildlife biologist, and now an interpretive ranger currently working for Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department at the Hassayampa River Preserve near Wickenburg, Arizona. I spent the past several years following a career as a wildlife biologist and was a teaching assistant for a biology lab during grad school, with my education background consisting of an MS in Biology and BS in Forestry. I am an Arizona native and my past travels have taken me around most of the lower 48 United States, plus the state of Sonora in northwest Mexico. Before my current job I spent 1.5 years working as an environmental consultant in the Midwest based out of Kansas City (KS/MO), which gave me the opportunity to see a good portion of the Great Plains and Midwest region. My current travels are decidedly local, but I am hoping to travel abroad in the future when finances and work schedule allow. I am very content with my current career and happy to be doing a mix of environmental education and natural resource management at a wonderful desert oasis. I am looking forward to where this path takes me!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Alchesay Hatchery / White River
On November 23, 2011, my mom and I went birding down in the area around the Alchesay Hatchery and the North Fork of the White River on the White Mountain Apache reservation southeast of Pinetop in the southern sliver of Navajo County. Besides the road to the hatchery and the hatchery itself, we also birded along Rt. 61 which parallels Diamond Creek (a tributary of the White River). This is by far the best riparian area within Navajo County and being just below the Mogollon Rim the river has varied surrounding habitat including pine-evergreen oak, mixed conifer, pinyon-juniper, and chaparral habitat types. Vegetation along the river is dominated by Arizona alders (Alnus oblongifolia), Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), boxelder (Acer negundo), and willows (Salix spp.). Along with habitat diversity comes wildlife diversity, including some species that you cannot find elsewhere within the county such as Bridled Titmouse and Arizona gray squirrel. Besides these species, other nice finds on this trip were a immature Bald Eagle, a pair of Belted Kingfishers, a large concentration of woodpeckers (15+) of four species at a patch of large oaks and walnuts along Diamond Creek, and a few Wild Turkeys on a ridge above Diamond Creek. It seemed especially fitting to see the turkeys the day before Thanksgiving! Here are some photos:
Confluence of Diamond Creek and the North Fork of the White River:
Diamond Creek:
Rt. 61 above Diamond Creek:
Immature Bald Eagle:
Arizona gray squirrel (Sciurus arizonensis):
moth caterpillar:
smooth sumac (Rhus glabra):
Confluence of Diamond Creek and the North Fork of the White River:
Diamond Creek:
Rt. 61 above Diamond Creek:
Immature Bald Eagle:
Arizona gray squirrel (Sciurus arizonensis):
moth caterpillar:
smooth sumac (Rhus glabra):
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