Agua Caliente: Vermillion Flycatcher

One of the most reliable places to find the gorgeous Vermillion Flycatcher is Agua Caliente. They are just always present. Here are a few photos taken this past week at Agua Caliente of this beautiful photographable bird:

Female

Male and Female

Male

Male

Male

Agua Caliente - Unusual MacGillivray's Warbler

We have reached our "off-season" at The Azure Gate. So, I had a couple of days without having to make breakfast for guests. A couple of those mornings I went over to Agua Caliente (about four miles from us). On one of the mornings I photographed what looked like a MacGillivray's Warbler except that there weren't any white eye arcs. So, I hit the books and found that it looked much like a Mourning Warbler. Yet, there have only been two reported sightings of Mourning Warblers in Arizona and the last was in 1998 along the San Pedro River. 

I've never thought I had much chance winning the lottery, so it seemed unlikely that it was a Mourning Warbler.  I sent the photos to Andrew Core at the Audubon Rare Alert site who sent the photos to Mark Stevenson and a few others. The conclusion is an "unusual" MacGillivray's Warbler -- which I agree with.

You'll note in the photos the lack of pronounced white eye arcs (usually the first thing you see when you see a normal MacGillivray's):

Black Crowned Night Heron - II

Black Crowned Night Herons can sometimes be found near ponds in municipal parks. During the better part of a day they'll be in trees and a little harder to find. But early morning they may still be stalking prey at the water's edge. Today's "5" Star photo was taken at Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, Arizona. It's a nice little park about four miles from us, always with an assortment of ducks, great blue herons, and occasional Black Crowned Night Herons and great egrets. Oh, and a resident pair of great horned owls. The BCNH in this photo let me get very close and, in fact, lay down on my stomach about 10 feet away, using elbows us tripods to get this photo:

Black Crowned Night Heron

Agua Caliente - Part IV

More from Agua Caliente. Now the great Egret. Like the similar sized Great Blue Heron, the Great Egret is a little easier to get close to when it resides at a busy municipal park. There is usually one at Christopher Columbus Lake on the west side of Tucson. I've taken many photos of Great Egrets throughout the western United States. These are three of my favorites from Agua Caliente. The last one is one of my favorite photos of all time.

Agua Caliente - Part III

Continuing with Agua Caliente, Great Blue Herons. The Great Blue is usually present at Agua Caliente. Occasionally, I see one flying over our B&B on the way to there. 

Now, one normally doesn't think of waterbirds in Arizona. Actually, one normally doesn't think of water in Arizona. Well, except for drinking water. Coming from the Northwest, I wasn't quite sure what to expect in "the desert". But, there are a few water holes where waterbirds collect. Admittedly, it's not the same in, say Padilla Bay near Anacortes, Washington where you might find several hundred Great Blue Herons when the tide goes out. However, where there is water in Arizona, there is usually a park, and people, as well as the waterbirds. And, over time they have gotten used to each other. The result for the photographer is that you can often get very close, as you will see in the following Great Blue Heron photos from Agua Caliente:

This Great Blue Heron was a little further away but I had to get a photo of him downing the  three or four pound fish.

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Agua Caliente, Tucson, Arizona

Agua Caliente is about 4 miles from The Azure Gate B&B. It is often overlooked by birders.  In the next couple of days I'll share some photos I've taken there. First up: Herons, starting with the Black Crowned. 

Christopher Columbus Lake on the West Side of Tucson, is also a good spot for Black Crowned Night Herons, as is Lakeside Park about 5 miles south of us. But, Agua Caliente is the subject today and below are photos of the Black Crowned Night Heron in both the juvenile and adult plumage:

Juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron

Adult Black Crowned Night Heron

Agua Caliente's Great Egret

From Whitewater Draw's Great Egret to Agua Caliente's Great Egret. Yesterday morning I didn't have to make breakfast so was up at the crack of dawn to drive  the 5 miles to Agua Caliente. It was 35 degrees, so a bit on the chilly side. I first startled a Great Blue Heron that flew across the pond to sit on top of a huge palm tree. But, then I came across this beautiful Great Egret. He wasn't the slightest bit nervous about my being around. He was totally focused on eating small fish and insects in the shallow water around the palm trees. One of the best things about digital photography -- from a wildlife photographer's point of view  -- is the lighting. But in my slide film days (actually just three years ago) I would need ASA 100 for sun shots and 200 or 400 ASA for shots in the woods. I remember at time near Roche Lake in British Columbia I saw a nice sized White Tail Deer buck eating grass in an open field. I had ASA 100 film which was ideal and started taking photos. Then I heard some noise behind me, and in the woods was a mother black bear and her two cubs. Although I took photos of the bear, none were really good. Another time I found Sea Lions in a cave on the Oregon Coast. I had ASA 400 with me, but that just ended up being a waste of film. Now, with my Canon 5D Mk II, I can shoot the Equivalent of ASA 50, turn around and shoot ASA 3200. That's almost in the dark. This egret is a perfect example. It was  dawn, the sun hadn't come up yet, and the egret was in water surrounded by huge palms. The camera registered 1600 ASA. How did we even do it without digital?

Black Crowned Night Heron

Another inhabitant of Agua Caliente is the Black Crowned Night Heron. I have never seen "flocks" of them as I have Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and Cattle Egrets. One of the things that makes the Black Crowned Night Heron is that it changes plumage color as it gets older. You see the juvenile plumage on the left and the adult plumage above. Both of these photos are of the Black Crowned Night Heron. But what is also possible is that there are both of the very same BCNH. Both were taken at Agua Caliente, the juvenile one year and the adult the following year. In both cases he let me get very close, again lying down on my stomach to take photos. It is a rare and exciting treat when this happens; doesn't matter whether it is a bear, a bobcat, or a heron.

Green Heron at Agua Caliente

I had never had much luck getting close to a Green Heron. Solitary and by no means abundant, I had never been closer than 50 yards. They aren't large birds like their cousin the Great Blue, so the photos I had in the past needed a comment to the viewer like, "see that spec in the middle, that's a Green Heron." But, one trip to Agua Caliente a couple of years ago allowed me to get very close -- ten feet. The little guy was "fishing" and content to do so no matter how close I was or how long I stayed there.  Lying on my stomach, using my elbows as tripods, I was able to take a couple of roles of film. I was thrilled with the result. Being so close also allowed me to see just how beautiful this bird is. What gorgeous coloration!

Fun at Agua Caliente

Often when our grandchildren come to visit we take them to nearby Agua Caliente. It's a great place to picnic -- even BBQ. This last year with Christine's mom with us we had a four generation Easter Egg hunt at Agua Calaiente. There is plenty of grass -- a rare thing in the desert. And of course, the ponds, with pond sliders and spiny soft shell turtles. The water also attracts many birds. In addition to the typical desert birds, we have seen: belted kingfishers, great egret, great blue heron, black crown night heron, green heron, vermillion and other flycatchers, western and summer tanagers, great horned owl, osprey (rare in the desert), cooper's and harris hawks, mallards, pintails, gadwalls, ring billed duck, ruddy duck, great and lessor scaups, and coots. Here is Noah at age three having fun chasing the ducks. I am sure their is a "plumber" joke here, but ...

Agua Caliente, Great Blue Heron

Agua Caliente, also called Roy Drachman Regional Park, is about 100 acres with three ponds. The first pond, fed by the "warm" spring is the most productive. Great Blue Herons are year round residents. Because the park has picnic tables and is easily accessible it can get quite busy with people. This may be why the Great Blue is sometimes easy to approach -- and photograph. The pond has a nice population of largemouth bass and tilapia. I've seen a Great Blue catch a two or three pound fish, juggling it around in its bill until it can "swallow" the monster. There is a 1 1/4 mile trail around the ponds so it makes for a nice leisurely "hike." There is also a visitor's center with book store run by the Audubon Society.

Agua Caliente

A quick jaunt over to Agua Caliente Park is often rewarding.  The Park was once a stage coach stop back in the mid 1800's because there were two springs; one hot and one warm. At some point palm trees were brought from California to surround the springs. Over the years two things happened. First, someone got the "bright idea" of using dynamite to combine the two springs into one larger spring. The result was one larger "warmish" spring. Oh well. The second, was that those palm trees are now like what the Redwood Forest is to normal pine trees. These palm trees stand 80 to 100 feet high with trunks 15 to 20 feet in circumference. The pond (created by the spring) is full of 3 to 5 pound fish and waterbirds galore. My thought over the next couple of days is to share some of these birds with you; like this Great Egret.