We visited this park to relax and chill out before meeting relatives. We think this is one of the nicest of the Maricopa County regional parks because the desert is lush with chollas, saguaros, ocotillos, palo verde, and other plants. It makes hiking a little more interesting and greatly increases the wildlife population. We saw lots of birds, particularly phainopeplas and Gambel’s quail.
The park has a very nice bird area behind the visitor center. It has numerous feeders, lots of plantings, and a small stream-like water feature. It’s well-designed to attract lots of birds. Hummingbirds, Gambel’s quail, finches, woodpeckers, and mourning doves are prevalent.
On one trip to the bird area behind the visitor center, we heard peculiar squawking sounds. We said to each other “That sounds like parrots!” – and we were astonished to discover a small flock of rosy-faced lovebirds. Apparently they are year-round residents, probably escaped pets who found a way to survive in their new environment.
Gambel’s quail are a bit like lemmings of the bird world. They run in packs and seem to share one brain. When danger is perceived, they scurry away and occasionally a misfire happens and somebody take a wrong path. Most of the time that gets corrected and the misguided one figures out that being alone is not optimal and corrects the error. Eventually, as in the video below, the return begins with one brave soul and the rest will follow.
Sites: 34,31
Previous Visit: 15 Feb 2021