Whitewater Draw - February 8, 2026

 I try to visit this wildlife area each winter while the migrating Sandhill Cranes and various water fowl are present.  It's a long drive, around 100 miles round trip, and you never know exactly what you may find there.  I've had some very productive visits, but also a few disappointing ones.  That's why I had put off going this year until late in the season.  This trip proved to be moderately productive, with lots of cranes and snow geese, but not much in the way of ducks, shore birds or songbirds.  But, the cranes are the stars of the show, even though it seemed to me that some had already left for the long trip north.  Even so, there were thousands standing in the wetlands, and many returning from their morning foray to nearby fields where they scavenge for grain.

 
















There were also thousands of Snow Geese, and maybe other types of geese.  They were mostly too far away to identify others.  One Snow Goose strayed from the main flock, allowing a few fairly close photos.


 

Only a few duck species were visible, and a single shorebird could barely be seen searching for food.

Least Sandpiper

American Wigeon (M)

Northern Shoveler (F)

Northern Shoveler (M)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ash Canyon - June 17, 2025

Image
 When I arrived , there were already three cars in the parking area, so I knew this would be a more social day than last visit.  Not long after getting there, a woman approached me and said there was a Diamondback Rattlesnake near the water feature along the main path.  I went with her to check it out while she told me the snake had crawled under her bench on his way to the rocky water feature.  She was alerted by numerous birds gathering around the area and chirping like crazy.  The woman said she is from Denver, but grew up in Tucson, pointing out she had never seen snakes in Tucson, but sees them frequently in Colorado.  Our snake was partially hidden, so these are the best photos I could get. Western Diamondback Western Diamondback      As far as the birds go, it was pretty much the same group we've been seeing the past few weeks. Brown-headed Cowbird (M) House Finch (M) House Finch (F) Anna's (F) Bullock's Oriole (M) Bullock's Oriole (J)...
Read more

Ash Canyon - June 9, 2025

Image
 Once again, I arrived early to find I had the place to myself.  Tim is visiting his mother in Oregon, and volunteers Melody and Rick strolled in shortly after 8 am.  And, that was it until I left around 9:30 am.  It's a shame, because the morning was beautiful and there were plenty of birds around.  Even a Lark Sparrow showed up after I thought they were gone for the season. Spotted Towhee Anna's (F) House Finch (M) Brown-headed Cowbird (F) Brown-headed Cowbird (M) Curve-billed Thrasher White-winged Dove Scott's Oriole (M) Scott's Oriole (F) Bullock's Oriole (F) Acorn Woodpecker (M) Gila Woodpecker (M) Black-headed Grosbeak (M) Black-headed Grosbeak (F) Bewick's Wren Rufous-crowned Sparrow Lucy's Warbler (M) Broad-billed (M) Lark Sparrow Anna's (M)  
Read more

Ash Canyon - April 28, 2025

Image
 We had much the same lineup as in recent days, with a couple of migrating warblers added to the mix.  I was pleased to see them, since it had been years since I had seen either species. I did make an effort to get more hummingbird photos, so that is a slight change from the latest updates. Broad-tailed (F) Lucifer (M) Yellow-rumped Warbler Broad-billed (M) Townsend's Warbler (M) Ladder-backed Woodpecker (M) Anna's (F)       Black-throated Gray Warbler (M) Pine Siskin Bewick's Wren Lesser Goldfinch (F) Chipping Sparrow Scott's Oriole (M)      
Read more