The Audubon trip to Hoover Reservoir found challenging conditions - bitter NNW wind, whitecaps on the reservoirs - but found good birding in sheltered locations at both Hoover and Alum Creek lake.  We started at Hoover dam and worked up Hoover to Oxbow Island, before jumping over the the lower part of Alum Creek Lake.  I also made a late stop at Wiese Rd.  Unfortunately, the windy conditions scoured the beaches and mudflats of birds and made IDing some waterfowl out in the middle of the lakes problematic, so there were lots of "waterfowl sp.".  Included among the good finds were:

Dabbling ducks - a few N.Shovelers below Hoover dam, and a few Green-wings and Gadwall further up the reservoir
Diving Ducks - flocks of Lesser Scaup were at both Lakes, and Ring-necked Ducks were off Wiese Rd.
Winter Ducks - 40+ Bufflehead were mixed with Ruddies off Wiese Rd, while a pair of Com.Goldeneye were off New Galena
Mergansers - Hoodeds were off Wiese Rd, while 2 Red-breasteds were off New Galena in Alum Cr.Lake
Ruddy Ducks - a hefty flock of 300 were in the bay off Wiese Rd, with other ducks among them
Grebes - 11 Horned were off New Galena on Alum Cr.Lake
Loons - 2 Common Loons were off New Galena on Alum Cr.Lake
cormorants - a flock of 35-40 persisted on a gravel bar off the east end of Oxbow ISland
Shorebirds - despite lots of beach & mudflats, we could only find a few Kildeer and 1 fly-by Gr.Yellowlegs
Bonaparte's Gulls - fair #s at Alum Cr.Lake, but dwarfed by the 150+ between Oxbow Island and the Sunbury bridge
Other Gulls- the wind had scoured the AlumCr.Lake beach so that only 70+ Ring-bills were left when we stopped there
BaldEagles - 2 adults were perched off the AlumCr.Lake beach, and we had single juveniles at Maxtown launch, Oxbow Island, and Wiese Rd on Hoover Reservoir
TurkeyVultures - still scattered along Hoover Reservoir, with the high being 20 roosting at the Twin Bridges area
E.Bluebirds - 12 were feeding around the New Galena boat launch, while singles were at several other spots
CedarWaxwings  - a flock of 60+ were feeding on honeysuckle berries in the wind-free area around the New Galena boat ramp
Yellow-rumps - small numbers at many places, mostly feeding on poison ivy berries
Sparrows - nothing unusual except for a few laggard Field Sparrows near the Alum Cr.Lake beach and 1 at Wiese Rd

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