Arizona Photography

 For a change of pace, I decided to visit the Benson water treatment facility, expecting to find a nice variety of water fowl.  It's about a 45 minute drive to Benson, but one I enjoy since it goes through Tombstone and St. David.  On this day however, the experience was not quite what I had hoped for.  First, it was very overcast in Benson, making long distance photography even more challenging.  My longest lens requires a lot of light to get sharp images.  Second, the ducks were huddled far from the viewing area, where holes in the fence facilitate viewing, so I had to photograph through the chain link fence.  Third, I saw only three species, not the variety I've seen there before. Despite these little obstacles, I came away with a few acceptable photos, so I'm glad I went.  Further, on the return trip, I spotted a roadside pond with a few ducks of different species, also at a far distance.  Next, I visited the Holy Trinity Monastery pond and found a few domesticated duck

 Various factors conspired to keep me inside for nearly a week, but I finally escaped for a short visit to Ash Canyon.  At home, skies were clear after an overnight rain, with a temperature of 46F.  On the way to Ash Canyon, I could see that conditions were much different.  When I arrived, it was obvious that rain had stopped only minutes before, and clouds had settled down around the mountains so they couldn't even be seen.  And the temp was a chilly 40F.  I was the only human there, of course, but there were plenty of birds flying around like they had just been released from a cage. Ladder-backed Woodpecker (M) Ladder-backed Woodpecker (M) House Finch (M) House Finch (M) Lesser Goldfinch (M) Lesser Goldfinch (M) Lesser Goldfinch (F) Lesser Goldfinch (F) Bushtit White-crowned Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Bridled Titmouse Bridled Titmouse Curve-billed Thrasher Pine Siskin Orange-crowned Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Cactus Wren Cactus Wren Broad-billed Hummingbird (M) Broad-billed Hum

 After a brief cold snap, our weather began a warming trend, so I made the drive eastward to Whitewater Draw, where thousands of wintering sandhill cranes and snow geese congregate.  Arriving around 10 am, there were very few cranes to be seen.  They were away foraging in nearby fields that provide grain for them to eat.  It wasn't that long before cranes and snow geese began returning to the basin.  Probably due to wind direction, the birds did not fly over the viewing area as they sometimes  do.  Consequently, my views were from a quarter to a half mile away, leaving me with photos not as sharp as I would like. In addition to cranes and snow geese, I saw a variety of ducks, waders and songbirds.  It was a fun trip, although I stayed only about two hours.  It felt good to be out in the sun. In particular, it was good to encounter a sora.  This member of the rail family, while quite numerous over most of the country, isn't seen that often because it stays hidden in the reeds an