LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH at Canyon Creek (Navajo Co.)

[erh36]

Today (11/20/17) I found a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH just downstream from the crossing of Canyon Creek at Forest Rd. 358 northeast of Young in southwestern Navajo County, apparently a first county record. This is on the White Mountain Apache Tribe lands (permits required). My dad and I also watched an adult GOLDEN EAGLE preening in a snag and then soaring around, plus several CASSIN'S FINCHES. The road is rocky and rough in places, so high clearance and AWD or 4WD is needed. This is accessed off of the Young Rd. on Forest Rd. 358, which presumably becomes a differently numbered Indian Route, but we did not see a route sign at the USFS-WMAT boundary. This is an area that has probably never been birded and these tribal lands were not surveyed during the Breeding Bird Atlas surveys in the 1990s. Also of interest were some Chihuahuan pines scattered throughout, which have a disjunct, scattered population along the Mogollon Rim and southwest flank of the White Mountains. Here is the link to my eBird list if you want to see the mapped location and photos of the Louisiana Waterthrush: 

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40628311


Good birding,

Eric Hough
Wickenburg, AZ