El Rio Open Space - Part II

Although I was focusing on the Reddish Egret, I did take a few other photos:

Great Egret

Great Egret

Green Heron

Green Heron

Vermillion Flycatcher Female

Lakeside Park: Great Egret

Often there is one or more Great Egrets at Lakeside Park. This day was no different:

Birding Patagonia Lake

Patagonia Lake is a good birding spot for both waterbirds and riparian birds since a creek runs both into and out of the lake. Here are a few of the day's photos:

Cardinal

Lake Sparrow

Snowy Egret

Spotted Sandpiper

Vermillion Flycatcher

White Faced Ibis

Great Egret and White Faced Ibis

Zone Tailed Hawk

More from El Rio Open Space

Monday Christine and I walked around El Rio Open Space (Coachline Gravel Pit) again. Even less water now -- nearly gone. But the Egrets are still there. I counted 17 Great Egrets and 2 Snowy Egrets. It was midday and 90 degrees so non water birds were scarce.

Wildflowers are now in full bloom so it was a lovely walk.

Here then some of the Egret photos:

Notice the Snowy Egret

Birding Coachline Gravel Pit aka El Rio Open Space

Also called the El Rio Preserve is a 100 acre wetland formed by a break in the Santa Cruz River a few years ago. Funding has been provided to improve trails, parking, and the wetland itself. Since the original flooding, over 200 species have been reported there. 

At present the size of the lake has been significantly reduced. Therefore the fish have been limited to a much smaller area which has attracted many Egrets. I was there yesterday and found 19 Great Egrets all within sight at the same time. 

Here are some of yesterday's photos:

green winged teal

great egret

blue canterbury

mexican poppy

phainopepla

greater roadrunner

yellow rumped warbler

house finch

red tailed hawk

northern rough winged swallow

Birding Sweetwater Wetlands - Part III

It's not surprising to see a Great Egret at Sweetwater, But they are so beautiful how can you pass up a photo. Snowy Egrets are a little less common so also a treat.

I am particularly fond of the Snowy Egret in the tree; wonderful detail. You can clearly see the pupil and iris. And the legs look like extensions of the tree branches.

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret

Birding Coachline Gravel Pit - Lake Marana

Christine and I pulled into "the old" parking area at the Coachline Gravel Pit -- or as some are trying to rename, Lake Marana. We climbed the berm only to find no water in the lake. Nonetheless, we decided to hike around the lake going counterclockwise.

Much to our surprise, after getting 3/4 of the way around the dry lake we came to water. The bird of the day was Great Egret -- lots of them -- at least 8, maybe 10. There were also several Double Crested Cormorants, Killdeer, Vermillion Flycatchers, Coots, Mallards, and an assortment of other ducks.

Here are some of the better photos:

Anna's Hummingbird

Double Crested Cormorant

Great Egret

Great Egrets

Mallard Duck

Phainopepla

Catching Up: Great Egret

This Great Egret is a resident of Christopher Columbus Lake, a regional park in West Tucson:

Great Egret

A Rainy Day at Sweetwater Wetlands

Catching up from last month's Best Wildlife Photos of 2016, I'll start with a quick trip to Sweetwater Wetlands; quick, because shortly after I arrived and was at the far end of the Wetlands it started raining.

Nonetheless, I did come away with some photos; some better than others. The first, a Belted Kingfisher shows the difficulty in photographing birds sometimes. Often when they see you they immediately fly away, never to be seen again. All I got was a blurr:

Belted Kingfisher

There was a Black Crowned Night Heron -- not as often seen at Sweetwater:

Black Crowned Night Heron

The more secretive Common Gallinule showed himself momentarily:

Common Gallinule

The Cooper's Hawks (as well as the Sharp Shins) were out and about. This one I took in the pouring rain:

Cooper's Hawk

 A Great Egret did a flyby:

Great Egret

 And, the Ruddy Ducks -- seen more often in the winter months -- were in most of the ponds:

Ruddy Duck

All in all, a nice, short, wet morning birding and photographing at Sweetwater.

Best Wildlife Photos of 2016: Snowy and Great Egret

Another wonderful photo from Sweetwater Wetlands. This time a Great Egret and Snowy Egret landing in the same leafless tree:

Great Egret and Snowy Egret

Animal Signs: Great Egret

Another photo from Fort Lowell Park showing a Great Egret on the same sign as the Double Crested Cormorant was in an earlier post:

Great Egret

Birds with Fish: Great Egret

Next up, the Great Egret. The first photo was taken at Sweetwater Wetlands. The Second photo from Agua Caliente Regional Park in Tucson:

Great Egret with Fish

Great Egret with Fish