Favorite Wildlife Photos of 2018 - XVI

Continuing with my favorite wildlife photos from 2018, a Killdeer showing off his beautiful colors:

Killdeer at Whitewater Draw

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area - Part VI

And, now photos from the grasslands of Las Cienegas:

Killdeer

Red Tailed Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Western Meadowlark

Red Tailed Hawk feeding Chick along Highway 83 from Las Cienegas

Gorgeous Photo of a Killdeer

After Lake Cochise, I went down to Whitewater Draw wondering what I might find (during its "off-season). The short answer is not much as there was only a small amount of water. But I did find four Javelinas, and a Killdeer. 

Admittedly, I don't usually get excited about Killdeer. (They are NOT a hard find). But, what the hey, I wasn't finding much of anything to photograph. I did get glimpses of a few warblers but they just weren't very sociable that day.

As a Wildlife Photograph you have to make the best of what you have. So, it was Killdeer. I was able to get quite close to the Killdeer by talking with it. When I mentioned how beautiful he was, he spread his wings so I could see the color. Wow! And what a photo. Turns out to be one of my favorites of the year:

Killdeer

New Year's Babies: Killdeer

Killdeer mom with chick:

Whitewater Draw in Early Morning

Getting an early start at Whitewater Draw can sometimes pick up birds that haven't left for the day yet. Such was the case last week. I arrived at dawn and found 20 or so Yellow Headed Blackbirds which were gone within an hour. I also found several Soras that were feeding in more open areas. An hour later they were back in the weed beds and no longer seen. And there were three Black Bellied Whistling Ducks that left within 15 minutes of my arrival.

Here then some photos from Whitewater Draw:

Anna's Hummingbird

Very poor photo of the three Black Bellied Whistling Ducks

Black Crowned Night Heron

Blue Grosbeak

Cassin's Kingbird

Green Heron

Green Heron

Killdeer

Pied Billed Grebe with little ones

Sora

Swainson's Hawk

Vermillion Flycatcher

Yellow Headed Blackbirds

Las Cienegas

After the hike in Sawmill Canyon we drove back through Las Cienegas near Sonoita. Lots of standing water from the monsoons, so not a big surprise to see a Killdeer, but nonetheless a nice photo. Also lots of raptors including this Red Tailed Hawk. And, of course we had to stop to show them the Black Tailed Prairie Dog Town. Here are some photos:

Killdeer

Red Tailed Hawk

Black Tailed Prairie Dog

Santa Cruz Flats: Other Birding Finds

In addition to the raptors, there were other nice photos ops including a Black Bellied Plover. It is one of the most reliable places to find the Eurasian Collard Dove (if that's something you are interested in). Here are a few photos from my trip last week:

Black Bellied Plover

Burrowing Owl

Eurasian Collard Dove

Great Blue Heron

Killdeer

Lark Bunting

Common Raven

Rock Wren

Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge - Part IV

And a few other birds along the Green River complex at Seedskadee:

Yellow Headed Blackbird

Spotted Sandpiper

Killdeer

Northern Flicker

Killdeer

Returning to my "5" Star Photo series -- in alphabetical order -- we come to the Killdeer. The Killdeer is found throughout North America often wintering as far south as Central America. Killdeer are considered "shorebirds" often wading in very shallow water and marshes. It is very "sandpiper-like" in that regard.  However, they can also be found far from water in open fields and grasslands. 

Killdeer

Pairs of Two: Six

A few more mom's with baby:

Canada Goose with Chick (Lake Washington, Washington)

Killdeer with Chick (Lake Cochise, Arizona)

Lake Cochise

I headed out to the Chiricahua Mountains again with a quick stop at Lake Cochise just to see what was going on there. There were the usual suspects, but also Least Sandpipers and Tropical Kingbirds that were a pleasant surprise. The Tropical Kingbird is rare to the US, and only in Southern Arizona. 

Black Necked Stilt

Killdeer

Least Sandpiper

Low Billed Curlew

Tropical Kingbird

Wilson's Phalarope

Lakeside Park continued

In addition to the Brown Pelican, there were some other more typical water birds to see and photograph:

Juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron

Juvenile changing into adult plumage

Great Blue Heron

Killdeer

Birders vs Wildlife Photographer

I am not a "Birder" in the true sense of the word. Yes, I know something about birds. And, yes, I have photographed a great many birds. But I don't keep a list of every bird I have seen and I don't go out in the field with binoculars. I go out with my camera. I figure if I need binoculars to see a bird, then I am not close enough for a good "sellable" photo.  Since I am almost completely deaf I cannot identify birds by their sound. (Can't even find birds by their sound). I have to rely on sight, both to find and identify. When I first started out, all sparrows were lumped into a category call "LBBs" (little brown birds). While I am still not great at identifying all the sparrows, there are a few I can: black throated, chipping, lark, white crowned, and house. The others I need a photograph and even then I have difficulty. 

Waterbirds are a little easier. This is probably because they aren't hiding in trees and flittering around everywhere. (Although many of the sandpipers are as challenging to identify as the sparrows). Waterbirds are typically in wide open space, i.e. a pond, a lake, the ocean, etc. Of course getting close to them can be a problem especially if they are out in the middle of the lake. If you also happen to be in the middle of the lake, then, well, you get something like this:

Common Loon

While Southern Arizona doesn't have quite the water of Washington State or British Columbia, there are a few reliable places. Lake Cochise for example provides a wonderful opportunity for "water" birding. Here are a few photos for a trip I made last week:

American Avocet

Black Necked Stilts

White Faced and Glossy Ibis

Killdeer

Long Billed Curlew

Marbled Godwit (with Black Necked Stilts and American Avocets)

Wilsons Phalarope

That's a nice variety of waterbirds for a 15 minute drive around the "auto loop".