Chapter 9 continued: Graham County and Lake Cochise

Down, down, down we travel, down out of the mountains, down to the farmland of Safford where fields of crops flow away to mountain edges. Safford is a small but quaint town. Over all of it towers Mount Graham like some benevolent god, his craggy head lost today in the clouds of rain. Our time is growing short. We take a quick drive through Roper Lake State Park. I count 12 species here including a gorgeous male hooded oriole. This is a place I would definitely like to come back to if there were time.

Birds Seen At Roper lake SP:

Location: Roper Lake SP
Observation date: 8/1/10
Notes: We only had time for a quick drive into the park and out again. All species seen from car.
Number of species: 12
Mallard 12
Gambel's Quail 6
Turkey Vulture 3
White-winged Dove 2
Western Kingbird 1
raven sp. 2
Barn Swallow 2
Verdin 2
Common Yellowthroat 2
Black-throated Sparrow 6
Red-winged Blackbird 8
Hooded Oriole 1
House Sparrow 3
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Other Birds seen in Various parts of Graham County:

1. Turkey Vulture
2. Rock pigeon
3. White-winged dove
4. Mourning dove
5. Eurasian collared-dove
6. Barn Swallow
7. Northern Mockingbird
8. Lark bunting
9. Great-tailed Grackle
10. House finch
11. House sparrow

All together I saw 19 species of birds in Graham county on this day.

In Wilcox we exit the highway to see what birds are hanging to at Lake Cochise near Twin Lakes Golf Course. It is a favorite birding area well known to people far and wide. On the road in I first find a killdeer wading in a puddle alongside the road…

…then I spot a Swainson’s Hawk resting on a utility pole.  It is on Gus’ side of the car, so I hand him the D80 which has the 70-300mm lens on it and he snaps the shots off. The Swainson’s seems unconcerned by our presence.

Barn swallows 8-1-10

Western Kingbird 8-1-10

Lesser scaup? 8-1-10

At first we do not see any birds on the water other than what looks like a lone scaup resting on some rocks, but then,

as we start to travel the road that circles around the lake I find sandpipers and peeps. I am no good at shorebirds and all of these are in transition plumages.

Wilson’s Phalaropes 8-1-10

I snap shot after shot hoping to figure it all out when I get home.

I start to walk the dirt road while Gus is busy taking photographs.

Lake Cochise 8-1-10

 Mountains and lake 8-1-10

Black-necked stilt in flight 8-1-10

In a distant pond I spot avocets and black-necked stilts. Then, as I am once again scanning the lake I see some birds with tiny heads spinning in the water across from me.

Now I am getting excited! I have only seen this species one time before at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah. I am hoping these are what I think they are. I call excitedly to Gus, come and get me! We have to drive to the other side! I think I am seeing phalaropes!

Gus drives up and we round the bend to the other side. From this side we are closer and the setting sun is behind us giving me the best light. I see some other birders with cameras, bins and scopes. I am hoping they know more than I do about these birds so I walk over and introduce myself. I meet a woman named Linda Mack. She is from New Jersey and she has brought a birding tour here from there! She is able to enlighten me about the birds we are seeing. She tells me they are Wilson’s Phalaropes. She also had an Eared Grebe in her scope which she graciously lets me see. Then she tells me about the least and western sandpipers we are seeing. She also tells me there are Baird’s sandpipers in the mix. I have never seen a Baird’s so it would be a life bird for me but we keep talking and then some of her clients need her and I never get to see the Baird's. However, I have taken tons of photos. I can tell there are birds that are different from the others so I will upload my pictures and figure it all out later when I am home.

Gus and I drive away in the dusky light. We point our car west and follow the highway home for one last time. It has been a full day. Our hearts and minds and cameras are full of memories and photos. It will be hard to leave this place. There are so many places yet to explore but we have run out of time. I console myself with the fact that since I started this blog, almost all of those adventures are document here and I can read it for myself anytime. And perhaps someday when my kids are older and they start to wonder about their mother’s life, they will read this account also and know what their mother did in her “spare” time! Perhaps at least one of them will discover this passion for themselves.

Avocets 8-1-10

My World Tuesday 

Location: Wilcox--Lake Cochise and Wilcox Golf Course
Observation date: 8/1/10
Notes: Met a woman named Linda Mack from New Jersey who was guiding a tour. She let me look through her scope. She was very nice and helpful.
Number of species: 12
Eared Grebe 1
Swainson's Hawk 1
Killdeer 6
Black-necked Stilt 4
American Avocet 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Western Sandpiper 8
Least Sandpiper 5
Wilson's Phalarope 40
Western Kingbird 2
Barn Swallow 6
Great-tailed Grackle 3
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

(all pictures enlarge with a click)

Blogger’s Note: This is a post I tried to publish before I left but I ran out of storage in Picasa Web Albums.  I have now purchased more space and hope that this publishes when I press the button! If you are seeing this post then it worked!

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)