Sweetwater Wetlands Revisited - II

And now the other birds from a morning at Sweetwater:

Abert's Towhee

Black Phoebe

Orange Crowned Warbler

Red Winged Blackbird

Wilson's Warbler

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Birding Sweetwater Wetlands - Part IV

Nothing special here but, a nice Orange Crowned Warbler and Ruby Crowned Kinglet caught my attention:

Orange Crowned Warbler

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Sweetwater Warblers

Sweetwater Wetlands can be one of the very best birding sites in Southern Arizona. It would certainly be a mistake to go there just looking for waterbirds. At any time of the year you can find a few warblers and other songbirds. The past couple of weeks has produced the following warblers: Black and White, Black Throated Gray, Black Throated Blue, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut Sided, Orange Crowned, Tennessee, Townsend's, Yellow, and Yellow Rumped Warblers. Yep, 10 in all.

I missed out on the Chestnut Sided and Black Throated Blue -- much to my disappointment. But that's often the case when looking for rare birds. It reminds me of a Daryl Zero quote:

"Now, a few words on looking for things. When you go looking for something specific, your chances of finding it are very bad. Because of all the things in the world, you're only looking for one of them. When you go looking for anything at all, your chances of finding it are very good. Because of all the things in the world, you're sure to find some of them."

I did see the Townsend's but was unable to get a photo. I saw the Black and White twice but photos were not good. And I saw the Yellow very briefly though did manage a so-so photo.

Not very good Black and White Warbler photo

Black Throated Gray Warbler

Common Yellowthroat Female

Common Yellowthroat Male

Orange Crowned Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Yellow Rumped Warbler Juvenile

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Pena Blanca Lake: Other Birds

Among the other birds, Pena Blanca Lake offers a wide variety of raptors, warblers, woodpeckers, grosbeaks, buntings, and of course sparrows.

Here are just a few photos from last week's trip:

Bewick's Wren

Cooper's Hawk

Lazuli Bunting

Lincoln's Sparrow

Nashville Warbler

Orange Crowned Warbler

Red Naped Sapsucker

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge: other birds

Around Lake Aguirre we found a few other birds, although I was so "focused" on finding and photographing the Spoonbills, I sort of neglected the other birds we saw. I did get a few photos, some better than others, but here are the better ones:

Belted Kingfishers always look a bit odd to me, like a cartoon character with their head and massive bill as big as the rest of their body (well, not quite):

Belted Kingfisher

Then there were some Ibises with some debate as to whether they were "just" White Faced Ibises or the much rarer Glossy Ibis. The White Faced has a red eye and upon examination it does seem like one or more has a reddish eye. Yet some of the eyes appear to be black. Is it possible? Well, I think if the Roseate Spoonbills were sent off course by the hurricanes, why not the Glossy Ibis too? Where their territories overlap they are known to mingle.

White Faced and Glossy Ibis

 A bit of a surprise to see a Prairie Falcon by water, but I guess they need an occasional drink too:

Prairie Falcon

Nearby was a family of Harrier Hawks -- I think the parents were teaching the young ones how to hunt:

Harrier Hawk

 Several Warblers including McGillivray's, Wilson's, Lucy's, and Orange Crowned. Here's the Orange Crowned:

Orange Crowned Warbler

Finally just as we were leaving the Refuge one of many Western Kingbirds caught my eye and wanted a photo taken:

Western Kingbird

Orange Crowned Warbler

Continuing to share my warbler photos along with information about each species, from my latest book: "Warblers of Arizona, A Guide to Finding and Photographing Warblers in Southern Arizona." 

If you are interested in purchasing it, please email me at exclusivelywildlifephotos.com or info@azuregate.com.

Orange Crowned Warbler

Common Name: Orange Crowned Warbler

Scientific Name: Oreothlypis celata

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Conservation Status: Least Concern, though declined by 34% in last 50 years worldwide, as much as 64% in the United States; still abundant with numbers estimated at 80 million

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Size: 5.5 inches

Description: relatively drab olive color with low contrasting back and breast/belly; variable yellow streaking on belly and flanks; no white bars; faint black stripe through eye; pale yellowish superilium; split eyering

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Male/Female: identifcal

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Range: Alaska and Northern Canada to Guatamala

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Migration: summers in Western United States and throughout Canada, winters in Mexico

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Season for Arizona: year round though lower elevations during winter months

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Habitat: willows and other deciduous brush, riparian habitat, from low elevation to 10,000 feet

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Community Behavior: solitary or mixed warbler flocks or with juncos, chickadees, kinglets, and vireos; males raise their crown feathers to flash their "orange crown" when threatened by other Orange Crowned Warblers; yet they will tolerate other species that prefer similar habitat like Song Sparrows, Wilson's and MacGillivrays Warblers

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Feeding Behavior: flit rapidly through dense vegetation gleaning insects from leaves; sometimes will sally to catch a fly in mid-air

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Diet: ants, beetles, spiders, flies, caterpillars; also fruit, berries, and seeds; will also take nectar from flowers; occasionally backyard suet and nectar feeders

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Nesting Behavior: open cup nest near or on ground 4 inches across and 2.5 inches high; 3-6 white to cream eggs with reddish brown speckles

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Where to Find in Southern Arizona: from riparian areas like Sweetwater, San Pedro River, Sabino Creek, and Santa Cruz River to mountain canyons like Madera, Huachuca, Miller, Rose etc.

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Comments: Orange Crowned and Yellow-Rumped are the most abundant and easiest to find warblers during the winter months here in Arizona; there are four subspecies that differ in plumage color, size, and molt patterns; the Alaskan subspecies is the dullest and the Pacific Coast the brightest

Catching Up: Orange Crowned Warbler

Today, the Orange Crowned Warbler taken at Santa Cruz Flats. Typical of warblers, eating upside down:

Orange Crowned Warbler

Catching Up: Orange Crowned Warbler

The Orange Crowned Warbler is one of the few warblers that can be found year round in Southern Arizona. 

Once interesting thing about the Orange Crowned Warbler is that the "orange crown" is seldom seen. But no so it this particular photo. It is as if he wanted to make sure I knew who he was:

Orange Crowned Warbler

Mount Lemmon Warblers

It is high season for Warblers now. And there is no better place than Mount Lemmon to find them. Some days are better than others, but this time of year you can usually find several species. Yesterday I photographed six different species, but I've had days with 10 and two day periods with 12. 

Some knowledge of where to look, and what kind of foliage for each species is clearly helpful. But, there is always an element of luck. You can be in the right place at a good time, and you'll often find several this time of year.

It is impossible to predict when a flock of warblers will come through. But when that happens, birding is exciting. For the photographer who waits patiently for an opportunity to photograph one bird, it can also be a bit frustrating when all of a sudden you are faced with many species and you must decide which to photograph.

Here are some photographs from yesterday:

Grace's Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Orange Crowned Warbler

Painted Redstart

Townsend's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Warblers of Southern Arizona: Orange Crowned Warbler

Continuing my series on Warblers of Southern Arizona, in alphabetical order, next up:

Orange Crowned Warbler

Distinctive Identification Marks: small with sharp pointed bill; low contrast olive-yellow body and grayish olive green back; subtle streaking on breast; faint black line through eye; split eyering; orange patch on crown seldom seen;

Frequency: Common

Season: Spring and Fall

Range: widespread throughout North America (though more common in the West)

Habitat:

Lower Tree and dense shrubbery

Ground (will come to the ground to drink or bath)

Nesting:
Very elaborate nests on ground in open layered cup;

Feeding Behavior:

Gleaning: perched bird takes prey from branch

Hawking: perched bird takes prey from air

They will supplement their insect diet with fruit, berries, seeds, even nectar

General Behavior:

Hovering

Very active; constant movement

Where to Find: Chiricahua, Huachuca, Santa Rita, and Catalina Mountains.  Sometimes in municipal parks as well; Sweetwater Wetlands.

Chance of Finding: high probability during its season and at its preferred habitat.

Low dense brush

At water's edge

Gleaning from tree trunk

Gleaning from deciduous tree

Sweetwater Wetlands: Searching for the Northern Parula

Life of the birder/photographer. Unlike the Yellow Throated Warbler I found after 20 minutes of searching, the Northern Parula has escaped me for years. I tried three times along the Santa Cruz River off of Sasco Road (Santa Cruz Flats). I tried twice along the Santa Cruz River off of Ina Road (Tucson). And I have tried five times at Sweetwater Wetlands. All within the past three weeks.

It reminds me of the Daryl Zero quote from the movie Zero Effect:

"Now, a few words on looking for things. When you go looking for something specific, your chances of finding it are very bad. Because of all the things in the world, you're only looking for one of them. When you go looking for anything at all, your chances of finding it are very good. Because of all the things in the world, you're sure to find some of them."

 So didn't find the Northern Parula, but did find some "other things" at Sweetwater:

Common Yellowthroat

The usually reliable Green Heron

Snowy Egret

Orange Crowned Warbler

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Ruby Crowned Kinglet (showing off his ruby crown)

Male Ladderbacked Woodpecker

Female Ladderbacked Woodpecker

Male Gilded Flicker