Willow Lake Walkabout/Watson Woods Riparian Preserve

Time to return to the cooler climate of Prescott for some high-altitude birding around the beautiful lakes of the Granite Dells! We will begin our birding in the late afternoon at Willow Lake, just off Willow Creek Road on Prescott's northeast side. Plan on meeting at the Heritage Park parking area on the north side of the lake, which is accessed thru the zoo area. We will bird the areas surrounding the north and west sides of the lake, looking for summer waterfowl, but also warblers, kingbirds, chats, grosbeaks, and maybe even the snowy plover that was recently spotted there! After exhausting the possibilities at Willow, we will then proceed to Watson Lake and bird the shoreline and trails there as well. (We'll park in the Watson Lake Vista parking area just off State Route 89, which is a short drive from Willow Lake.) According to ebird.org checklists for July, over 150 species of waterfowl and terrestrial birds have been seen at these lakes over the years; hopefully, we'll have a pretty good list to show for our efforts. Should be a great time! As usual, bring binos, bird guides, water and snacks, and maybe some sunscreen.

We'll continue our birding adventure Sunday morning around 8:30 am at the Watson Woods Riparian Preserve, which is a forested area on the south and east side of Watson Lake. It's reached from State Route 89 by turning east on Prescott Lakes Parkway and turning left (north) into the parking area. This area has paths thru the woods and along the eastern shore of Watson Lake, and birding will hopefully be productive here as well. (A Wilson's phalarope, Bullock's oriole, summer tanager, and several warblers were reported here recently!) The weather forecast for the weekend is for cooler temperatures with minimal chance of rain, so it should be pretty pleasant first thing in the morning.

Tess and I are driving our RV up and staying in one of the campgrounds near the lakes, so we won't make dinner plans for the group on this outing. Please feel free to join us for one or both days of birding as your schedule permits.