Saguaro National Park Revisited - II

Today, the Antelope Jackrabbit. The Antelope Jackrabbit is found only in Arizona and Northwestern Mexico. I show you the first photo so you can get a clearer idea of the Antelope Jackrabbit' tail vs the Black Tail Jackrabbit. My experience has been that the Antelope Jackrabbit tends to be whiter -- or lighter in overall coloration. It also lacks the black around the ears. We saw several Antelope Jackrabbits on our hike through Saguaro National Park. 

Saguaro National Park Revisited

With Saguaro National Park so close to us, it is a favorite spot when we don't have much time. Yesterday, we only had a "continental" breakfast at 6:45 so by 7:30 we were out the door and on our way. Early morning is prime time for wildlife viewing. We took the seldom used "Shantz Trail" where we often see jackrabbits, coyotes, or deer. Yesterday, it was jackrabbits; both the Antelope Jackrabbit and the Black Tail Jackrabbit. I will start with the Black Tail Jackrabbit today. As you can see from the first photo, there is a short black tail. This is the most distinguishing characteristic in identifying the Black Tail from the Antelope Jackrabbit. Both are approximately the same size: two feet in length and up to six pounds. The Antelope is slightly larger, but in the wild not enough to distinguish. Black Tails do not hibernate in the winter. They remain in their home territory of about 1 square mile. They are prime prey for eagles, hawks, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and mountain lions. In the second photo you will see how willing he was to "sit" for me. Once he got comfortable with us standing there watching him, he decided to continue eating. So, in the third photo, there he is eating prickly pear cactus, pulling and tugging on the prickly pear pad between its long, sharp, thorns.

Back to Woodpeckers one more Day

To finish up with Woodpeckers, we go first to Turkey Creek on the East Side of the Rincon Mountains in Southern Arizona for the Red Naped Sapsucker. I have also found and photographed the Red Naped Sapsucker in Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington; the Galiuro Mountains in Southern Arizona, and in Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains of Southern Arizona. The Red Naped Sapsucker is found in the Western US and Mexico, wintering in Mexico with summers in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and the northwest. They are very similar in appearance to the Yelow-bellied Sapsucker of the east except they have a little more red and a little less white in their plumage. They typically nest in dead trees in mixed forests. They bore holes in living trees to get sap and any insects that may be present.

Red Naped Sapsucker: Turkey Creek, Arizona

The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest of the woodpeckers at 16.5 inches. It is found primarily east of the Missouri/Mississippi Rivers swinging over to Western Canada and back down into Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. It lives in mature forests feeding primarily on carpenter ants, wood boring beetle larvae, fruit, and nuts.

Pileated Woodpecker: Colorado State Forest

More from Patagonia

Often while hiking through Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve we come across deer -- usually Coues Whitetail Deer (a subspecies of the White Tail Deer). The Coues is pronounced "cows" named after the ornithologist and surgeon Elliot Coues, whose book "Fur-Bearing Animals" 1877 was (is) a classic on the identification and description of mammals. As we were hiking this time, we saw a Coues down by the Creek. Once she saw us she headed up the embankment on the other side. I suspected that she would return and positioned myself further down the creek. She not only came back to the creek but started following the creek toward me. Finally at about 25 feet she noticed me. After a minute or so of staring at each other she decided to walk the other direction -- still in the creek.

Female Coues White Tail Deer

On the way back from Patagonia, we go through the Wine Country town of Sonoita. Fields of grass surround Sonoita and make for wonderful Pronghorn terrain. Although more apt to see Pronghorn early or late in the day, six were very near the road mid-afternoon, a very pleasant surprise. Here are a pair of bucks:

Pronghorn males

Now Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve

So, the following day, Christine and I headed out to Patagonia Creek Preserve (after breakfast).  Although nothing rare and unusual, we did see a Hooded Oriole and a Red Naped Sapsucker (neither of which I could get a decent photo of). But, along the two mile trail I got a few other photos that I thought worthy of sharing:

Male House Sparrow Breeding

White Crowned Sparrow

Female Vermillion Flycatcher

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Male and Female White Crowned Sparrow

More from Whitewater Draw

In addition to the several thousand Sandhill Cranes at Whitewater Draw are a hundred or so Snow Geese. Snow Geese spend their summers in the Arctic Circle, where they nest in colonies. They typically winter along the shores of the Gulf of California and Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, their migrations are quite long -- 4000 miles or more. There are a few exceptions. Bosque de Apache in New Mexico and Whitewater Draw in Arizona have small wintering populations. In the first photo you will see 50 or so flying above several thousand Sandhill Cranes. The second photo is a close up of five Snow Geese in flight.

A few other surprises at Whitewater Draw this time. First, a Willet, and then a Green Winged Teal. Willets are year round residents along the Atlantic coast. In the West, they winter along the Pacific Coast and then move inland during the summer to the Northwest Interior. They are relatively rare to the other parts of the Country. But, again Whitewater Draw seems to "draw" waterbirds that otherwise --- in Arizona -- would be hard pressed to find water.  The Green Winged Teal is found throughout the US during the winter, with summers in Canada. There are parts of the Northwestern US where the Green Winged Teal is a year round resident. It is the smallest of the dabbling ducks, and as the photo shows dabbles its bill along the shallow muddy areas of ponds or lakes. 

Where's He Been?

The last two days I was able to get away right after breakfast to visit some of Southern Arizona's birding hot spots. First, was Whitewater Draw. I was hoping to find Barn Owls nesting -- but, as I mentioned in early January that had not arrived yet. I guess the short of it is they didn't arrive at all. Not sure whether that was the extreme cold we had -- or the lack of rainfall over the past three months. I haven't heard the count for Sandhill Cranes this year. I suspect it is not nearly as many as last years's 42,000. I wouldn't guess much more than 10,000. But, the Sandhill Cranes that were at Whitewater Draw were very close and cooperative. There were also a few other surprises. I'll save those for tomorrow.  So, today the Sandhill Cranes at Whitewater Draw: