Sweet Sweetwater Waterfowl

Sweetwater Wetlands is a marvelous birding hotspot that is right in the city of Tucson itself.  In addition to hundreds of Northern Shovelers, we saw Pintails, Mallards, Wigeons, and plenty of other waterfowl.  I thought that Tom got a great shot of the handsome Green-winged Teal shown above.

Of course, there were plenty of American Coots in residence.  This is a rather funny shot of a coot that just crash landed in the water.

There were also a few Common Moorhen mixed in with the coots.  I first saw a Common Moorhen in California a few months back, but since I never added it to my lifelist, seeing this one sort of counts as adding a lifelister!

The diminutive Ruddy Duck will always be one of my personal favorites.

We also saw Gadwalls and we even saw (but I failed to photograph) a Cinnamon Teal.

We were especially lucky to see a rare winter visitor to Sweetwater: a juvenile Snow Goose!  We were on the lookout for the Snow Goose because my son told me it had been seen in the area, but I doubt I would have located him had I not seen him coming in for a landing.  He settled into one of the rear ponds, so we couldn't get close enough for a very good shot.  I got a good enough look to positively ID the little guy, but he wasn't in the mood to pose for pictures!

Sweetwater Shovelers

One of birds I most wanted to see in Arizona was a Northern Shoveler. I've been looking for a Northern Shoveler for years. That's not an exaggeration, either. I just had to see one, and I was thrilled to learn that Shovelers are among the most common ducks in southeast Arizona.  We got up bright and early on our first full day in  in Tucson, and headed out to Sweetwater where my son had assured me I would get my fill of Shovelers.

Minutes after our arrival I was jumping up and down with excitement. There they were! Northern Shovelers! Lots of them! Tom and I were clicking away like crazy, and we got some damn good pictures.

The Shoveler’s incredibly long bill was as fantastic as I had imagined. These ducks look nothing like any other species I've come across. I was surprised by how tiny they were, though. They're much smaller than mallards, for instance.

Other than size, and if you exclude that great big black bill, there are a lot of similarities between Mallards and Northern Shovelers.  Perhaps too many similarities!

It didn't take long for me to notice that there were more hybrids paddling around than any one single species.  It was patently obvious that Mallards, Wigeons, Shovelers, and God knows what else were interbreeding like crazy.  The family group pictured above is a good example of what I'm talking about!

In all honesty, my love affair with shovelers was somewhat short-lived.  Not that I dislike them, mind you. I'm just not head over heels any longer.  Who could resist a photo op like this one. though?

Arizona Birds

This is my first time on the computer in weeks, because I'm still pretty sick from my accidental and idiotic exposure to toxic quantities of metal dust. At this point, metal dust (and glue!) is embedded in every inch of my skin and it feels like slivers of glass. Pieces are coming out my eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and today I found out my right cornea has been cut yet again! I'm too scared to think about what is in my lungs (which hurt more every day), or what that will do to me.

I am going to the Environmental Health Center at Cambridge Hospital on Thursday. They are experts at exposure to toxins AND inhalation and skin exposures to metal dusts of all kinds.  At least they can tell me how bad it really is, which has to be better than what I've been imagining.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post some pictures taken by my son on his visit to Phoenix, Arizona last October.


These beautiful ducks are Gadwalls. I've never seen one (at least, I've never seen one clearly or up close), but I think they're lovely.


This is a gorgeous shot of two American Wigeons.


Look at this crazy bird! This is an American Coot, and I can't wait to see one with my own eyes. How cool is he?


My son must have been thrilled with this Says Phoebe, since he took about 50 pictures of it. Personally, I'm a bit underwhelmed.


Just some domestic geese, but I like the coloring of the one on the right.

Last duck show for the year?

Yesterday all my favorite sites were frozen over and barren of bird life. I hope the rain brings everything back to normal. but just in case here's another look at last weeks duck species bonanza. This is the perfect Northern Pintail.


Male and Female Hooded Mergansers - don't you love 'em?


Male American Wigeon in first winter plumage.


Mallard mates.


Last weekend's winter wonderland of ducks and geese; now a frozen wasteland.

Pintails, Wigeons, and Mergansers

Two of my favorite ducks together in one shot. The elegant and gorgeous Northern Pintail, and the always adorable female Hooded Merganser.


I saw my first Pintail this year, but the pictures I took then were deplorable. But isn't he a stunning fellow in this shot?


How can anyone not love a hoodie? Female Hooded Mergansers always make me smile. They are amusing and adorable, and I can't help thinking of the 'I Love Lucy' show whenever I see one.


I saw my first wigeon about a month ago, and I'm thrilled to finally get a few half decent shots of this species. An adult male and an adult female are in ront, a first winter male in the back.



The green crescent sported by male wigeons remind me of a tonsured monk for some reason.