Lakeside Park: Great Blue Heron

Continuing with Lakeside Park, photos of a Great Blue Heron:

Lakeside Park: Black Crowned Night Heron

Lakeside Park in East Tucson is perhaps the most reliable place to find Black Crowned Night Herons. 

There were eight or so the other day, both Juveniles and Adults. 

One of the nice things is that there are almost always a few people fishing, so the Herons and Egrets are accustomed to people and you can get very close.  Here are a few photos:

Lakeside Park, Tucson: Forster's Tern

I stopped by Lakeside Park in East Tucson at dawn to see what was there. As luck would have it, wonderful closeup photos of a Forster's Tern, White Fronted Goose, Snow Goose, and the more typical Great Blue Heron, Black Crowned Night Heron, and Great Egret. Did get photos of a Green Heron flying low over the lake too.

Today, the Forster's Tern which is rare to Southern Arizona:

Tricolored Heron

Every once in a while a Tricolored Heron makes an appearance in a small pond next to a golf course in Tucson. The last time I was aware of it was in July of 2014. But here, four years later he's there at that small pond again.

The vegetation around the pond is much thicker now, and there are not many openings to peek through. That being the case the heron has to be visible from that spot in order to see it (or photograph it). Still I was able to get a few photos:

First, here is the Tricolored Heron with a Dragonfly:

Here giving me a nice profile:

And, here after jumping up into the weed bed:

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area: White Tailed Kite

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area is about 45 minutes from us and right on the way to (or from) Patagonia, Sonoita, Sierra Vista, Tombstone etc. So it is always a convenient stop.

Here are a few photos taken as I was "driving by."

 First, a White Tailed Kite that unfortunately was already far away when I first spotted him, but kept going further and eventually out of sight:

White Tailed Kite

Western Kingbird

Sunflower and Bumble Bee

Lake Cochise

I drove over to Lake Cochise in Willcox looking for the Northern Waterthrush (one of the few Arizona Warblers I've not photographed).

No luck with the warbler, but as usual did come away with some nice photos:

Black Necked Stilt, American Avocet, and Western Sandpiper

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

Black Crowned Night Heron, Juvenile

Black Necked Stilt

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Wilson's Phalarope

Yellow Headed Blackbird

White Fronted Goose and Snow Goose

I had an 8:30 breakfast this morning, but decided I could make a quick trip to Lakeside Park (about 20 minutes from us) at 6:00 am and be back in time to fix breakfast. 

I was rewarded with both a White Fronted Goose and a Snow Goose. (There was a Great Blue Heron and Black Crowned Night Heron as well, though I focused primarily on the geese.

Here they are in order of appearance:

Great Blue Heron

Black Crowned Night Heron

I didn't see the geese immediately, and then voila, they flew right down in front of me:

Snow Goose

Snow Goose

Snow Goose

White Fronted Goose