The Good-Bye Chronicles Chapter 7: Sweetwater Wetlands

 Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpipers on eastern mudflats 7-22-10

It is two days after we have an answer when I meet Donna Simonettie at Sweetwater Wetlands. She has come to town for a concert and we agree to meet here to go birding. Sweetwater is a place I learned about when I first did my Important Bird Area Training almost 3 years ago now. It is one of my favorite places in the Tucson area to go birding and I always come away with a rather large list of birds. An oasis in the desert, Sweetwater attracts all kinds of birds from the typical desert favorites to the exotic tropical species. It is a manmade wetlands formed from treated wastewater. One never knows what they will find here.

 Cliff Swallows on reeds 7-22-10

I meet Donna in the parking lot and we grab our gear and head for the trail. The air hangs heavy and humid and soon a light shower is falling. I head back to the car to grab a plastic bag to cover my camera with.  I do not think the shower will last long, but any amount of water on my camera is not good. We head for the path once again and right off the bat we are seeing birds. Swallows fill the sky as we cross the bridge over the manmade creek. Purple matins are mixed in with the swallows and Donna informs me this is a life bird for her. 

 Desert Spiny Lizard on wall 7-22-10

I told Donna about our planned move when she first arrived, but now we are lost in the birds of this wetland. I keep telling her that there are not many birds here today.  It seems so quiet.  The birds are quiet, but they are here. With cameras at the ready and binoculars in hand, we scan the ponds, the trees and the reeds. We watch the sky for birds. Some sort of rodent scurries along the path and disappears into the reeds. Off to the east we scan the drainage ponds for birds.  Here we find killdeer, sandpipers and black-necked stilts.  There are more birds than we can positively identify for some small sandpipers are far across on the mudflats  and neither of us has a spotting scope, so we do the best we can with our bins and cameras and wait to enlarge blurry pictures at home.  Some birds we just have to let go, but we do get a good look at a solitary sandpiper that is close by as well as a spotted sandpiper and a couple of Leasts.

 Who’s hiding here?

We catch the flight of a Harris Hawk overhead circling on dark wings with chestnut shoulders. We see the characteristic white tail coverts as the bird flies overhead.  I know that a family of Harris Hawks nests nearby and this is a reliable place to see them. Then Donna spots a Kestrel and we add that species to our list. The brief rain shower stopped awhile ago and now the sun is out turning all the cool moisture to hot steam.  I feel its affects and cling to the edge of the trail where I can stay in the shade of willows and cottonwoods. I see a shape like a stump up in a willow and train my binoculars on it.  Is is a bird? I call Donna to have a look and we both wonder and hope that we are seeing a bittern, but it turns out to be a juvenile Green Heron trying to blend in with the branch. It keeps a wary eye on us as we pass by, then flies farther across the pond for refuge.

 Common Moorhen 7-22-10

In the winter there are so many ducks here in these ponds but for today we are only seeing mallards with a few ruddy ducks, a pied-billed grebe and a couple of teals.  There are usually more birds than this I say as we walk on.

 Greater Earless Lizard 7-22-10

There are no lack of lizards, however, and we have seen several kinds, including desert spiny lizards, zebra tails, a greater earless lizard, and a possible tiger whiptail.

 Ruddy Duck and Neotropic Cormorant 7-22-10

In the farthest ponds we find great egrets, more mallards, a few neotropic cormorants and some green-winged teals. We have been here for a couple of hours now and my list is getting longer. We have been seeing kingbirds and we are wondering, are any of these Tropical Kingbirds? We find a western kingbird at the far edge of the wetlands near the open desert and a large wash. Across the street we see the Rogers Road wastewater treatment plant and there on the fence is a Cassin’s Kingbird with its dark gray head and white throat. We follow the paths back into the interior of the ponds where we see 3 other kingbirds perched at various heights on a cottonwood tree.

 Tropical Kingbird 7-22-10

They are all silent in the heat of the day but they are not shy and we are both able to snap away. Our photos reveal the typical notched tail, brighter yellow breast and the faint mask of the tropical kingbird.  This is a life bird for Donna and we stand there enjoying the moment.  I am remembering that I saw my first one here last year and this is only my second sighting of this species. Last year they we flying about chattering away. This calm bird is so different from the behavior I observed last year, but I am beginning to think these kingbirds have more sense than me! The sun has risen higher and with it the temperature and the humidity!  I feel like I am melting! Donna and I make our way to the gazebo where we sit in the shade and talk and watch birds. I am starting to realize that I have filled several pages of my notebook.  I wonder how many species we have seen after all.  After telling Donna all morning long that there are not many birds here today we end up with a list of 48 species of birds! Not bad for 3 1/2 hours of birding!

We say good-bye at the parking lot, not knowing when or if we will see each other again.  I first met Donna just a couple of months ago when we went birding together in Portal.  Donna is like Dawn and Jeff Fine and I.  We can bird all day long without getting tired, but today the heat and humidity have gotten to me.  I am ready to get in my car and go home. I drive away from Sweetwater with so many sweet memories of birding here with friends and by myself. My heart if brimming with thankfulness for ever moving here and finding this magical place.

Who hatched from these eggs? We found them along one of the paths. They were soft and leathery, a sweet gift of nature that we both enjoyed seeing. If you have any idea, please tell me!

Location: Sweetwater Wetlands
Observation date: 7/22/10
Notes: Birding w/Donna Simonetti. Cloudy with a light sprinkle when we first arrived, then the sun came out and it got hot and humid. We walked the entire perimeter of the ponds.
Number of species: 49
Mallard 65
Green-winged Teal (American) 2 smaller than mallard; small,dark bill; mottled cinnamon brown; green wing bar
Ruddy Duck 8
Gambel's Quail 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Neotropic Cormorant 3
Great Egret 2
Green Heron 1 gray back, streaked neck
Turkey Vulture 1
Harris's Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
Common Moorhen 6
American Coot 12
Killdeer 8
Black-necked Stilt 20
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Western Sandpiper 3
Least Sandpiper 3
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1
White-winged Dove 30
Mourning Dove 7
Black-chinned Hummingbird 2
hummingbird sp. 1
Gila Woodpecker 6
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Black Phoebe 3
Ash-throated Flycatcher 1
Brown-crested Flycatcher 1
Tropical Kingbird 3 notched tail
Cassin's Kingbird 1 dark gray head and back, white cheek/throat square tail with pale tip. No white side tail feathers
Western Kingbird 1 pale yellow belly,white side tail feathers at farthest end of ponds near open desert and wash
Bell's Vireo 1
Purple Martin (Desert) 2
Barn Swallow 6
Cliff Swallow 14
Cactus Wren 2
Curve-billed Thrasher (Western) 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 6 heard all over and saw 1 singing from branch of tree over pond
Abert's Towhee 3
Song Sparrow 1
Western Tanager 2
Red-winged Blackbird 35
Great-tailed Grackle 30
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
House Finch 6
Lesser Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Greater Roadrunner 1 (I saw this bird while I was waiting for Donna to arrive)

Sunday Birding On the Greaterville Road

Saturday night I went to bed with thoughts of a drive across the Greaterville Road. The Greaterville Road stretches 14 miles from Rt. 83 near Sonoita on the East, to Whitehouse Canyon Rd, near Madera Canyon on the west. I read about it in my Finding Birds in Arizona guide which recounted what a scenic drive it is. However, parts of ht road are gravel and unpopulated as it passes through Box Canyon and the Coronado National Forest. Around here I am always aware of the possibility of encountering illegal aliens or worse, drug smugglers and bandoleros, the Mexican Bandits who prey on drug smugglers and coyotes-guides who lead illegal aliens across the border. I fell asleep that night with hope, but woke up with nightmares of being chased by bandoleros. I almost asked Gus if we could cancel the trip, but with the light of day reason returned and my fears dissipated.

I awake at 5:10 a.m. on Sunday morning just before the first edge of the sun pokes above the horizon. I gently awaken Gus and we rush about packing up drinks in a cooler and eating a quick breakfast. Still, it is after 6 before we leave the house. The drive to the Greaterville road takes us about 35 minutes. We turn west off the Sonoita highway near milepost 38 and our journey begins. Here the terrain is a gentle rolling grassland. Private ranches edge the road on either side. Cattle graze peacefully in the morning sunlight. The sounds of birds are everywhere. We roll down the windows and start taking pictures. The bright sun glares off the silvery dry grasses in the fields. Under a nearby mesquite tree two young antelope watch us warily. I step from the car and snap off some photos. A sensation of joy runs trough me as I marvel at this beautiful place and the fact that we are actually doing this!

The first bird we see is a Say’s phoebe perched on a wire, searching for insects.

In the top of a tree I spot a prairie falcon on the lookout for breakfast. We watch the bird quietly and Gus tries to get a photo, but it is too far away. The falcon flies to a nearby agave flower and perches on one of the arms. The agave stalk is over 15 feet tall and dry as it is last year’s bloom. These dry stalks decorate the horizon throughout the desert and many birds use them like trees to perch on and scan their domain. I've included this photo so you can see the relative size of the agave stalk to the nearby trees. Can you see the falcon perched near the top?

The buzz of bees draws my attention to a nearby mesquite tree in bloom. The tassel-like flowers shimmer invitingly in the morning sun.


There are enough blooms for bees and butterflies alike.

Gus has pulled the car over (somewhat) but there are no other vehicles in sight. Two Black-throated sparrows fly up from the ground, a barn swallow swoops over the fields, a Western Kingbird hunts form the phone wires, I spot a Western Tanager as it flies into the deeper cover of live oak trees. A woman passes by walking a blue merle border collie. I pay her no mind as I search out the window for birds. Gus politely says “Good morning,” and we pass on. We find a red-tailed hawk perched on one of the utility poles. Gus snaps off several shots. The bird gives him the old hawkeye as if to ask, “What are you doing?” After a few shots it has enough of us and flies off to a more private location.

The car creeps slowly down the road and we stop again. Here Gus photographs a Lillian’s Meadowlark-the western version of an Eastern Meadowlark from what I understand. It’s brightly striped head, white malar stripe and song reveal its identity. We have only gone a half a mile and we have already seen 11 species of birds! It has taken us 20 minutes just to get this far and we still have 13 ½ miles to go!

Alongside the road these beautiful ruffled white flowers are blooming like brides in June.

A small herd of black cattle gathers around a watering trough. Here I find 2 red-winged blackbirds singing from a dead tree. We’ve already seen several Cassin’s and Western Kingbirds. While the Cassin's prefer a more wooded habitat, the Western like the more open range. since there is a combination of open range lands and oak woods, I am seeing both today. While they look very similar, the Cassin's has a darker grey head and breast, a white throat patch, and a pale tip to its tail. The Western Kingbird has white edges to its tail and is paler gray on the head and breast. Both have a yellow belly.

In light of these descriptions, can you tell which bird is which?

A Common Raven flies overhead croaking at the day. The rolling grass covered hills are dotted with live oaks. It gives us both the slight feel of a drive through the back roads of New England, but of course, the trees and vegetation are all wrong. Still, we both comment on how peaceful it is, and how we would like to live here. We drive up around a bend where the pavement ends and the road forks. The left fork dead ends in Greaterville but the right fork leads us through to Box Canyon and Green Valley. The gravel road is well graded and we drive on. We pull over as the first vehicle of the day passes us. I see some action in the nearby trees and find a pair of nesting Bewick’s wrens flitting in and out of a hole in a dead tree. I observe one after the other bringing insects to the hole but when Gus tries to creep up and catch a shot the wrens fly off to keep their secret from us. We quickly leave the area so the parents will return.

A short distance down the road we pullover once again. On the north side of the road there is a lot of activity with turkey vultures and ravens. They are flying over the crest of a hill and swooping back into view on our side again. But, there in a tree at the edge of a small wooded area I spy a large dark shape. I point it out to Gus and he starts snapping shots of the hulking body of a Turkey Vulture. I know they are so common, but this is the closest we have ever been to one that wasn’t flying.

While Gus concentrates on the vulture, I scan the roadside scrub for smaller bird life. I find two rufous-crowned sparrows flitting about near a gully and two canyon towhees hiding out at the base of a large tree. As I step closer to get a better view of the towhees, I’m startled by the sudden flapping of wings. I turn to see a chunky quail flying up from its hiding place in the grass. Its chestnut rump is to me as it flees farther up the slope where it disappears into the vegetation near an oak. I am looking quickly with my binoculars for I read there are elusive Montezuma Quail in this area. The short chunky body and heavy flight lead me to believe it is one for it doesn’t fly anything like the more common Gambel’s quail, nor is the shape the same. I only wish I could have seen the head which, on the male, has a distinctive clownish pattern. The female is more subtly colored and I believe it was a female I saw.


The temperature is rising as the day grows longer, I stamp my feet to keep the flies from landing on my legs. Gus is still absorbed in photographing the vulture as well as the numerous ravens that are flying about. My active imagination wonders if there is a dead body over the crest of the hill, but I am in no mood to investigate and find out! We finally get in the car and drive on. A short distance up the road we find the red jeep-like vehicle that passed us earlier parked by a trailhead leading up into the National Forest. I spot yet another bird on an agave stalk and since it is on my side of the vehicle, I jump out to photograph it for later identification as a mocking bird.

We are on National Forest land now and the hills beside us are becoming cliffs. On our left side the small wash has deepened to a canyon. The road has narrowed to a single lane with many twists and turns. It would be precarious if we encountered another vehicle, but there are none. We stop in the middle of the road and take photos wherever we want to. When we are at the highest point we stop near some rocky ledges to photograph this amazing red flower that is growing alongside the road. I have never seen such a plant and the bloom is fascinating with scarlet pipes radiating from the leafless stem. Apparently this black insect thinks so also as it hovers near the red blossoms.

Above us I search the rocks and see something unrock-like. I pull out my bins and the shape flies up. Another turkey vulture? No, this bird has feathers on its head! It takes a minute for it to sink in that we are seeing golden eagles! Yes, there are two of them. Gus jumps out to photograph them and I drive the car up around the curve just in case another vehicle comes by. The eagles circle around us, flying over our heads and down into the canyon below. We have high hopes for the pictures but when we get home they are not as spectacular as Gus had hoped. The dark bodies against the blazing blue skies show little detail, but here is one photo I thought would at least show these magnificent birds.

Tucked along the rocky cliff I spy a soft pink fuzz. I ask Gus to photograph the sunlight glinting off these unknown pink flowers that remind me of bottle brush. Could it be a wild variety?

We have come through the pass now and Green Valley stretches below us looking almost like water. Beyond the valley the rocky tailings of the copper mines edge the horizon like a rusty ribbon. We see the bridge over the canyon that we will soon cross. It’s getting late and our stomachs are starting to growl. The sun has gotten so hot that we’ve rolled up the windows once again. We saw the most birds in the first 3 miles of the journey, but I think that is due to the time. As the sun rises the birds go down into the cool places of the canyon. We stop on the bridge to see what we can see and Gus spots a white-tailed deer as it moves from the cover of one bush to another.

As we cross the bridge and come up a rise we pass a sigh that informs us we are crossing into the Santa Rita Experimental Range. This area stretches along 53, 159 acres of the western slope of the Santa Rita Mountains and from what I understand is a research area for the University of Arizona. This is open range around here and it isn’t long before we see cattle in the road. The terrain has changed from grassland and oaks to mesquite and cactus once again. I hear the cackle of cactus wrens now, and the whit wheet! of a curved-billed thrasher.

We are weary, hot and hungry now as the road widens out and the terrain flattens. We spot another red-tail on a pole and our sixth of the day. Just as we think we are all done birding we spot a shape on the wires that turns out to be a Loggerhead shrike, our final bird of the day. It’s 10:40 a.m. and we drive to Green Valley for breakfast at Denny's before heading home.

In the end, we saw 33 species of birds that I identified, with a few more that I didn’t. I am always intrigued by the smaller birds now, but Gus likes the big ones that he can photograph easier. For those of you who are interested, here’s the final count:

1. Say’s phoebe 3
2. Prairie falcon 1
3. Western tanager 1
4. Black-throated sparrow 2
5. Western kingbird 2
6. Barn swallow 3
7. White-winged dove 7
8. Red-tailed hawk 6
9. Kestrel 2
10. Lillian’s meadowlark 3
11. Cassin’s kingbird 5
12. Common raven 10
13. Red-winged blackbird 2
14. Lark sparrow 1
15. Mourning dove 5
16. Bewick’s wren 2
17. Western wood pewee 1
18. Montezuma Quail 1
19. Turkey vulture 8
20. Canyon towhee 2
21. Rufous –crowned sparrow 2
22. Chihuahuan raven 8
23. Brown-headed cowbird 2
24. Ash-throated flycatcher 2
25. Canyon Wren 1
26. Golden eagle 2
27. Curve-billed thrasher 2
28. Cactus wren 1
29. Vermilion flycatcher 1
30. Verdin 1
31. Loggerhead shrike 1
32. House finch 3
33. Mockingbird 1


Note: Today's photography is by Gus and Kathie, with Gus taking the majority of the pictures and Kathie editing the ones used in this blog. Hopefully Gus will be editing and adding photos to his own Blog tonight. Then you will be able to see more pictures by clicking here: Gusto!