Agua Caliente - Part II

Next up. Green Heron:

The Green Heron is a little more secretive and typically more nocturnal than the other herons. It is also much smaller than the other herons. 

This particular one I captured early morning and was able to get very close, laying down on my stomach with arms as a tripod.  He posed very nicely for me:

Green Heron

Agua Caliente, Tucson, Arizona

Agua Caliente is about 4 miles from The Azure Gate B&B. It is often overlooked by birders.  In the next couple of days I'll share some photos I've taken there. First up: Herons, starting with the Black Crowned. 

Christopher Columbus Lake on the West Side of Tucson, is also a good spot for Black Crowned Night Herons, as is Lakeside Park about 5 miles south of us. But, Agua Caliente is the subject today and below are photos of the Black Crowned Night Heron in both the juvenile and adult plumage:

Juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron

Adult Black Crowned Night Heron

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson is a must see for visitors to Southern Arizona. It is a combination wildlife preserve, zoo, and botanical garden. It has a wonderful Hummingbird Aviary where you can walk amongst dozens of hummingbirds. There is also a Bird Aviary which you can walk through as well. Although I don't sell photos from zoos or other captive locations, nor do I include them in any of my books, it's hard not to take a photo when I go to the Desert Museum. 

Below are photographs of four of the five cats of Southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. The fifth, the Jaguar is not at the museum. Of the five, the Bobcat is the most common (approximately 750,00 in the US). I have included many Bobcat photos from the wild in previous posts. The Mountain Lion is also  common in the Western US  (approximately 30,000). Next comes the Ocelot, which although common in Mexico and South America is nearly extinct in the US (about 50 - 100 in Texas, and less than 10 in Arizona). Jaguars have been sighted in the Southern Arizona mountains that border on Mexico -- almost always by tracking dogs. Sightings are once every couple of years.  The Margay, is not found in the US but has a northernmost range that includes Sonora, Mexico and southernmost range that includes Chile. (remember you can click on a photo to enlarge it): 

Bobcat

Margay

Mountain Lion

Ocelot

A Big Thank You!!

It all started three years ago today. My first post on my first blog site. In those three years I have had 63,206 visitors. While not exactly Julie/Julia territory, I am nonetheless thankful for all of those who chose to visit. And, while I am aware that it is the "World Wide Web", I have been stunned that I have gotten so many visitors from Russia, Germany, India, Australia, The Netherlands, France and Mexico. The leading three are the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. which is not quite as surprising because they make up the lion's share of our B&B guests. There are several very faithful visitors who mention something to me on the phone or through email. And, there are a few faithful that comment frequently on my site including Rohrerbot who inspires me to continue.

As for the posts themselves, here are the most frequented pages:

Yellowstone National Park: 2005 Page Views, 11/29/2009
Cinnamon Black Bear

Prickly Pear Cactus Blossoms: 818 Page Views, 4/26/10
Prickly Pear Cactus in Bloom

Eating: Carnivores: 790 Page Views, 6/30/10
Grey Wolf

Gila Monster: 569 Page Views, 5/4/10
Gila Monster

Black Bear Scolding: 524 Page Views, 11/30/9
Black Bear with Cuibs

Thank you all again.

Dennis

Three Pairs

Of course, not all husbands and wives can be identified easy as male or female. Nonetheless, here are three pairs: Swans, Geese, Pelicans:

Tundra Swan

White Fronted Goose

White Pelican

Husbands & Wives - Part II

More Husbands and Wives:

Mr. & Mrs. Mallard

Mr. & Mrs. Shoveler

From Mothers with Babies to Husbands and Wives.

More pairs. Now,  Husbands and Wives.

Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal

Mr. & Mrs. Cinnamon Teal