Wildlife of The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast: Part X

Continuing with Wildlife Photos taken at The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast since the Pandemic started:

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

Rufous-winged Sparrow

Rufous-winged Sparrow

Roadrunner

Ground Birds: Roadrunner

The Greater Roadrunner is seen on a regular basis here at The Azure Gate. Always interesting to watch as it searches for lizards or other food.

Here are a few of my favorite Roadrunner photos:

A Few Wildlife Photos from The Azure Gate

Occasionally, I have a few minutes to work around our property and stretch my legs. Sometimes I'll take my camera with me just in case.

I did so yesterday and came back with a few photos:

Cardinal

Male Gambel's Quail with chicks

Roadrunner

Rufous Crowned Sparrow

Birds of Sweetwater Wetlands - Part II

Continuing with typical birds of Sweetwater Wetlands:

Lesser Goldfinch

Red Eared Slider (I know it's not a bird, but I like this tiny one)

Red Winged Blackbird Female

Roadrunner

Tropical Kingbird

Verdin

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

New Year's Babies: Roadrunner

Every once in a while, a Roadrunner comes into our oasis to show off (teach) her young one:

Roadrunner

Birding Patagonia - III

12 miles north of Patagonia sits Sonoita, most noted for its wineries and The Cafe. But just north and east is Las Cienegas National Conservation Area which is 25,000 acres of wonderful grasslands and riparian areas.

It has a wide variety of sparrows, kingbirds, mockingbirds etc. It's probably the best place in Southern Arizona to find the beautiful Pronghorn. So after birding Patagonia I drove through Las Cienegas looking for those Pronghorn. And, yes I found a beautiful male (and a female). The male was taking shade in the 105 degree temperature:

Pronghorn

Also along the way a Roadrunner

And since there were literally hundreds of Kingbirds I thought I'd get at least one photo

On a Hot Summer Day in Tucson

First, just an interesting note. This morning I looked to see who was visiting our blog today: US and Canada of course; but also Brazil, Australia, Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, Czechia, Germany, France, UK, and Ireland -- and it's not even 7:00 am yet.

It's been a very busy year here at The Azure Gate. We're now in our summer months and yet business is still high. During the summer we get more guests from around the world. Last week we had someone from Taiwan (as I mentioned earlier), this week a couple from Qatar, our next arriving guests are from Switzerland; early next month a couple from Germany, then two weeks later returning guests from England.

We've been having record heat here the past week. So not much to report in terms of birding excursions. In fact, ABA Birding News has had very few posts this past week. Part of it is that birds are in hiding during the heat of the day -- and part of it is that birders are in hiding during the heat of the day.

Yet, life goes on here at The Azure Gate. Yesterday morning around 5:30 I walked out our bathroom door to swim and there at my feet was a beautiful Desert Kingsnake. I didn't have my camera with me, so here is an old photo to give you a picture of one:

Desert Kingsnake

After my swim I looked around for him but didn't see him. Then after getting dressed and on my way over to the office I saw what I thought was him crossing the driveway. As I got closer I realized in was a different snake -- a Sonoran Gopher Snake. I grabbed my camera but couldn't get a good photo before he hid in Christmas and Prickly Pear Cactus. Here is a previous photo to show what he looks like:

Sonoran Gopher Snake

As I returned to the office with my camera, I noticed a beautiful Broad Billed Hummingbird sitting in the big Palo Verde Tree outside the office. So I did get that photo:

Broad Billed Hummingbird

Thinking this was a pretty good start to the day I left my camera out where I could get at it quickly if I needed. During the next hour or so I got the following photos:

Black Tailed Jackrabbit

Male Cardinal

Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail

Roadrunner

Not bad for a day where the temperature reached 120 degrees. And I didn't have to go up Mount Lemmon (where it is 30 degrees cooler) to get any of these photos.

Now, an update. That was yesterday. After I wrote this post this morning I made breakfast for Christine and me. Just as we sat down outside to eat our resident Cooper's Hawk came in and sat at one of our bird baths. He was there for about 30 minutes; first resting, then bathing, then resting again. This is a fairly common occurrence which fortunately guests often get to see. In fact it happens frequently enough that I no longer rush to get my camera. I just sit quietly and watch so as not to disturb him.

We do love the wildlife here. (As do our guests from the US and from around the world).

Summer Birding at Santa Cruz Flats

If someone were to ask me I'd say Santa Cruz Flats is a winter birding site. And certainly when you think of Raptors (including all five Falcons) and the multitude of shorebirds or threatened Mountain Plovers it is one of the very best winter birding spots.

But, I had to go to Phoenix so I though I'd drive through Santa Cruz Flats and see if there was anything interesting.

I could count the Raptors on one hand. And no Shorebirds or Plovers. But that's not to say it wasn't interesting. The big surprise of the day were a dozen or more Tropical Kingbirds:

Tropical Kingbird

But there were other finds as well:

Roadrunner

Great Tailed Grackle

Ladderbacked Woodpecker

Western Kingbird

I got two other photos but at the time didn't realize that I somehow accidentally hit the wrong "focus" button and ended up with what would have been great photos. Here there are anyway:

Black Crowned Night Heron

Burrowing Owl

More from Agua Caliente

More from my birding Agua Caliente:

Lucy's Warbler Singing

Lucy's Warbler with Worm

Black Tailed Gnatcatcher

Broad Billed Hummingbird drinking from Flowering Cholla

Bobcat Streaking By

Roadrunner with Desert Spiny Lizard