Birds, Flowers and Perfume

Monday we returned to the Gilbert Riparian Preserve to see what new birds were in the area. It was a beautiful morning and we spotted a number of birds we hadn't seen there before (though none were totally new to us). This verdin is such a cute bird.



We saw lots of American avocets.



And watched two great blue herons (or the same one, twice) flying.





There were lots of ring-necked ducks.



This duck, which looks a lot like a mallard, has a head that is very dark purple. I don't know what it is.



All these birds bring out the humanoid avian watchers, as well.



Lots of plants were in bloom.



This fellow brought his alpaca for a stroll through the preserve paths. Certainly something we hadn't seen before.



So what, you ask, did perfume have to do with all of this? At VDO we have lots of citrus trees. Some still have fruit clinging to the branches, but the trees are also blooming and they smell sooooo good. We've never smelled this before and it is a real treat and a good reason to spend a warm March in the Phoenix Valley.