Driving the Back Road from Flagstaff to Tucson - Part II

From Mormon Lake, you continue through the Coconino National Forest and the wonderful little towns of Strawberry, Pine, and Payson. The scenery is beautiful with its tall Ponderosa Pine forests. I came across a small herd of female Elk, with a couple of calves. Once through Payson you start down off the Colorado Plateau and into Tonto National Forest and Roosevelt Lake. Roosevelt Lake I am guessing is the largest lake in Arizona, not counting Lake Meade which is shared with Nevada and Lake Powell which is shared with Utah.  Roosevelt Lake is a recreational area, lots of boaters, fisher persons, campers, hikers, etc. There were birds there including an Osprey, Great Blue Heron, and some Western Gulls. Another attraction of the area is Tonto National Monument. TNM are well-preseerved cliff dwellings which were occupied by the Salado culture during the 13th, 14th, and early 15th centuries (long before Columbus came to America).  From Roosevelt Lake I headed up Apache Trail. This is a 40+ mile (mostly dirt) road that winds through the Superstition Mountains. It was originally built as a stagecoach trail. As you leave Roosevelt Lake on Apache Trail you first pass Roosevelt Dam, then up the mountain to Apache Lake. Here there were Common Mergansers and a family of Turkey Vultures. Although I couldn't get down to the Mergansers for a good photo, the Turkey Vultures gave me some wonderful photo ops. Here are a couple of them:

Apache Lake

Turkey Vulture Close-up

Adult with Juvenile Turkey Vulture

Adult with Juvenile Turkey Vulture

Driving the Back Road from Flagstaff to Tucson - Part I

I started out at 4:00 AM in hopes of getting to Mormon Lake by first light.  My hope was to find some Elk. I was rewarded with four very large Bull Elk. Unfortunately, they were deep in the woods with not quite enough light yet to produce a photo of the highest quality. Photographing wildlife under these conditions is tricky at best. Look at all the trees in the way. At least in this photo I got three of the four looking straight at me. Elk in Arizona are cautious at best. They tend to run as soon as they see you. Much different than the Elk that walk down main street in Jasper, Aberta or Mamoth, Yellowstone. So, I didn't an opportunity to move around to get a better angle. Still I am happy for seeing them, and happy for this photo:

Four Bull Elk

Madera Canyon

I went to Madera Canyon hoping that the Berylline Hummingbird would still be around. But, after three hours of waiting I left without seeing one. But, as always there were some other photo ops available: hepatic tanager, hooded oriole, acorn woodpecker, and magnificent hummingbird were a few seen:

Female Hepatic Tanager

Acorn Woodpecker

Female Magnificent Hummingbird

Female Hooded Oriole

Rio Rico Ponds

Many of the shallow "ponds" in the fields at Rio Rico Ponds were gone. With them, gone were the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks that I saw two weeks earlier. Just the main pond was left with a long Great Blue Heron standing in the middle fishing. From there I headed up to Madera Canyon finding some wildflowers along the way. Here are some photos:

Great Blue Heron at Rio Rico Ponds

Wildflowers in Madera Canyon

Mexican Popies

Christopher Columbus Lake

So, now on to Christopher Columbus Lake. This is a typical city park with a lake stocked with fish. There are many picnic tables, horseshoe pit, and other common park amenities. I always see a few "old" (and I use that word kindly now that I am getting old) fishermen who bring their lawn chairs and sit by the lake's edge with their line out in the water. I can't help but to stop and hear a "fish story" or two. They are hoping to catch a nice 14 - 16 inch trout. I don't have the heart to tell them I lived in the Northwest and fished throughout Washington and British Columbia where the "small" ones were 18 inches and the average was 22 inches. I talked with one nice gentleman whom I remember talking with the first time I came to Columbus Lake nine years ago. I think he is there every single morning. It's nice to be retired. 

What was there? Well, there always seem to be a Great Blue Heron or two, and a Great Egret; lots of Great Tailed Grackles; an assortment of ducks and domesticated geese. There was another bird I photographed but can't identify. It's not a great photo. But I would like to know what it is. It is the size and shape of a Robin, but the white on the wings and vent suggests something else. The breast is a "burnt" orange color.  Maybe someone can help with this:

?????

Here are the other photos from Christopher Columbus Lake:

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Great Tailed Grackle

Sweetwater Wetlands

Summer is our off season, so I get more time off. In addition to the obligatory family outings (which I love) I get a chance to get into the wilderness and hike and photograph wildlife. Sometimes the trips are for several days (the Chiricahua trip last week) and sometimes just a day trip. A couple of days ago I headed out on a day trip to Sweetwater Wetlands, Columbus Lake, Rio Rico Ponds, and finally Madera Canyon. Today, I'll show some photos from Sweetwater Wetlands.

Female ducks can be hard to identify if males aren't around. In the first photo you she that the hen has red eyes. Red eyes are either Cinnamon Teals, Canvasbacks, Wood Ducks, or Red Breasted Mergansers. Since those plumages are very distinctive it is easy to differentiate the Cinnamon Teal. The female Mallard (in the third photo) is showing her very colorful and distinctive blue and white bars on her wing.

Cinnamon Teal, the hen in front and juvenile in back.

Mallards and a Coot

Mallard Hen

Great Egret

Desert Pocket Mouse

Visitors to The Azure Gate

Over the past week there have been a couple of visitors here that got my attention and was able to photograph. I am a little surprised that we have not seen a Gila Monster yet this year. I am most surprised that we have not seen a Tarantula yet this summer. Usually the rains bring Tarantulas out, but so far none. However, two days ago a Coyote trotted by mid morning; and later on that day a very beautiful Sonoran Gopher Snake came by. He was about five feet long.  At first glance you take caution since they look similar in coloring to our Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. But, the gopher snake is harmless -- well, unless you are a squirrel, mouse, or rat. Here are some photos:

Coyote

Sonoran Gopher Snake

Sonoran Gopher Snake Closeup