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):

Thanksgiving break wildlife (s. Navajo Co.)

November 2011
These photos are from the Thanksgiving break I spent over in southern Navajo County, birding at Holbrook, Zeniff Rd., and the Show Low area while staying with my family in Heber. Recently while birding at Holbrook, I captured images of a coyote itching itself on the ground much like my parents' dog Eva does. Also some bird images at Holbrook and Zeniff Rd. northeast of Heber. While at home, we had a cliff chipmunk that we've named "Tweak" (after the South Park character), an Abert's squirrel, and birds visiting our feeders. Here are various photos:

coyote:

Wilson's Snipe at Golf Course Rd. wastewater ponds in Holbrook:

Red-tailed Hawk (a rufous morph, although you can't see the chest in these pics) at Zeniff Rd.:

American Kestrel at Zeniff Rd.:

"Tweak", the cliff chipmunk (Tamias dorsalis):

Abert's squirrel:

A female 'Slate-colored' Dark-eyed Junco (with 'Pink-sided' junco and male House Finch):

Pygmy Nuthatch:

Lewis's Woodpeckers at Woodland Lake Park in Pinetop-Lakeside:

Woodland Lake, which had a severely reduced water level (the lowest I've ever seen it):

The drainage below the dam at Woodland Lake:

Eva demanding a belly rub:

Sunset at Mormon Lake

Back on November 11, 2011 (Veteran's Day) I went out birding at Lake Mary and Mormon Lake. At sunset I was at the Mormon Lake overlook and took lots of photos of the progression of what turned out to be a particularly brilliant sky (starting with the light pastel colors in the first few pics to the lava coloration in the latter photos):

A photo of Upper Lake Mary before sunset:

An adult Bald Eagle seen another visit to Mormon Lake:

A probable 'Krider's' Red-tailed Hawk at Mormon Lake: