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 Wetlands: other birds

NOTE: I would like to welcome visitors from Iran, the 136th country to visit our Blog. Just today there have been visitors from:   United States, Canada, Netherlands, Iran, Japan, Brazil, France, Thailand, Ukraine, Ireland, South Korea, and Romania. Regardless of politics or religion, we all seem to have a common interest in Wildlife. Thank you.

Continuing my birding at Sweetwater Wetlands:

Though I was really concentrating on those rare warblers, there were lots of other birds interested in getting a photo:

Cardinal

Cooper's Hawk

Gilded Flicker

Green Heron

Red Naped Sapsucker

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Verdin building her nest

Catching Up: Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Winter is the best time for the Ruby Crowned Kinglet in Southern Arizona. Here one at Patagonia Lake:

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

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

A Great Day at Sweetwater Wetlands - Part II

While at Sweetwater Wetlands last Thursday, I did find some other nice photos, including the less often seen/photographed Common Yellowthroat.

Common Yellowthroat

Orange Crowned Warbler

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Savannah Sparrow

Verdin

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Empire Gulch at Las Cienegas, Arizona

On another short trip this week I wanted to see what was happening at Empire Gulch. This truly is a wonderful birding spot. Always water and always birds. Here are some of my favorites from the couple hours I spent both in the gulch and around Las Cienegas:

Pipevine Swallowtail

Periwinkle

Ruby Crowned Kinglet (showing off his ruby crown)

Yellow Warbler

Western Meadowlark

Pronghorn

Birding Pena Blanca Lake

As I mentioned in the last post, I didn't get my target bird: the Rufous Crowned Warbler at Pena Blanca Lake. I stood/sat along the cattails on the south side of the cove 1/3 mile above the boat lunch for two hours but the little guy never showed. However, I didn't come home without a photo. In fact, I got quite a few nice ones:

American Kestrel

Vermillion Flycatcher

Ruddy Duck

Black Phoebe

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

American Coot

Mallards

Vesper Sparrow

White Tailed Deer

Bridled Titmouse

Rufous Winged Sparrow

Great Blue Heron

Pyrrhuloxia

Red Tailed Hawk

Marsh Wren

Verdin

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Why would this be a "5" Star Photo? Well, for sure because I think so and it's my photo. But, why do I think so? The Ruby Crowned Kinglet is a sweet little bird. And this particular photo seems to capture that "sweetness." In one corner there are wildflowers bleached by the sun, and the rest of the background is in the shade allowing the bird to stand out. I think also some of these smaller birds are difficult to photograph since they seem to be in perpetual motion all the time. Thankfully, this little guy stopped long enough for a photo:

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Incinerator Ridge, Mount Lemmon, Arizona

Yesterday I spent about 5 hours on Incinerator Ridge, Mount Lemmon. It is a very peaceful spot (mid-week), especially this time of year. Lots of birds, including a Tennessee Warbler that is rare to Arizona.  Here are some photos from the trip:

Stellar Jay

Red Tailed Hawk

Olive Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Yellow Eyed Junco

Townsend's Warbler