 Wilson's Warbler, January 21, 2025 Sweetwater Wetlands (SWW) is a combined water recharge facility and wetlands/wildlife habitat near Prince Road, just to the west of Interstate 10, here in Tucson. Click here for more on the facility, and on this link for a list of previous posts on SWW. SWW is a hotspot for birding, especially during the cooler winter months. To facilitate wetlands management the City of Tucson conducted two controlled burns in late 2024 and since then the ponds have been gradually refilled. The area is beautiful right now with excellent views across the wetlands and a lot of bird activity. The photograph above is a male Wilson's Warbler feeding in the understory on January 21st. Below a view of the main entry point to the wetlands on January 23rd.  Let's start with a favorite of the southwestern desert, the Greater Roadrunner. Greater Roadrunner Canon 6D, EF 100-400mm at 400 mm, 1/320 sec., f/8.0, ISO 1600,+ 1 EV. Above, a Greater Roadrunner on the prowl for food in Catalina State Park* in November 2019. Tail up, we can see the markings on the ventral tail feathers. * This post is about Sweetwater Wetlands, but I have taken the liberty of adding some of my favorite archive photographs from other locations. Greater Roadrunners are cuckoos (Family: Cuculidae), living year round in the southern U.S. from California to Texas and in northern Mexico. Roadrunners are especially adapted to desert living, eating anything they can catch including small mammals, reptiles, frogs, toads, insects, centipedes, scorpions, and birds. They will catch and eat poisonous prey including rattlesnakes, lizards and scorpions. For more on other members of the cuckoo family, see my recent posts from Panama on the Squirrel Cuckoo [Bocas Del Toro, Panama, March 2024: Part 2, Water] and the Mangrove Cuckoo [Bocas Del Toro, Panama, March 2024: Part 3, Tropical Forest]. Below is a an image of a roadrunner at SWW in November 2018 adjacent to W. Sweetwater Drive. We can see the tail feathers separated. Greater Roadrunners are fast runners at 15 mph and able to outrun people but are slower than their nemesis, the coyote, who clocks at 30 mph. Greater Roadrunners do not fly, rather they use their feathers for some lift when they jump.  Canon 7Dd Mk II, EF 100-400mm, 1.4x III Ext. at 560 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8.0, ISO 400,+ 0.67 EV. Below, a Greater Roadrunner in Sabino Canyon, December 2024, on the run, tail lowered, crest up. Beep-beep!  Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext. at 420mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10, ISO 400, 0 EV. Back to Sweetwater Wetlands! On January 23rd shortly after 10 am I was walking on the south side of the park and spotted (with the help of fellow birders) a Greater Roadrunner in the downed reeds close to the water. The morning sun was to my right and a bit behind me providing good light. This bird was well camouflaged.  Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 300mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 320, 0 EV.  Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 320, 0 EV. He moved his back to the sun and lifted the feathers of his rump and back to expose his dark skin.  He is sunbathing to warm up after a cold night. Greater Roadrunners will sunbathe for up to 3 hours a day, gaining passive heat and saving precious calories that would otherwise be used to generate heat metabolically. A great adaption to desert living. (Ref: Birds of the World). 
 Our subject repeated this sequence multiple times as he walked in and out of the reeds, always alert for predators.  Winter is a Good Time for Sparrows . . .SE Arizona has a lot of sparrows in the winter, many of them visitors. Here are four, three wintering here, Lincoln's, White-crowned, and Brewer's, and one year round resident, the Black-throated, who made the cut because well, he just looks so sharp, and is not always easy to spot. Let's start with: Lincoln's Sparrow Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 400, +0.33 EV.
  Lincoln's Sparrows eat insects, and in winter, small seeds. At SWW in the winter, the small songbirds looking for food seem to come out a little later in the morning, after the sun has had a chance to warm up the insects.  White-crowned Sparrow Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 640, +0.33 EV.
Of note is the color of the lores, the region between the bill and the eye. Most of the photographs on the Cornell site, All About Birds, show White-crown Sparrows with dark lores, whereas here we see two birds with light lores. Light-lored White-crowns are classified as "Gambel's", a sub-species that breeds in Alaska and northwestern Canada. It is fun to realize that these birds summer in Alaska and Canada, not unlike many of the winter birders at SWW!  Canon 7D Mk II, EF 100-400mm, o1.4x III Ext. at 560mm, 1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 250, +0.33 EV. Brewer's Sparrow Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/2000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 1250, -1 EV.
Black-throated Sparrow Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm, 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10, ISO 250, 0 EV.
They are shrub nesters, with a wider tolerance for nesting sites than breeding specialists such as the Brewer's Sparrow. In general, birds with the widest range of food choices and a greater tolerance for breeding sites will enjoy the widest range, and in turn, the greatest chance of survival as a species. Black-throated Sparrows eat insects during the breeding season and seeds during the winter, another survival advantage.  Canon R6, RF 100-500mm, 1.4xExt., at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., f/10, ISO 6400, +0.67 EV. Wilson's Warbler Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 343mm, 1/2000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 500, 0 EV.
This could be a male heading north for breeding on the California coast where the earliest first egg dates are in April (Ref: Birds of the World). Or, he could be a stray who decided to tour the SW on his way north. In any event, he looks healthy and very active, and getting enough food.
 The male Wilson's Warbler is quite striking in bright sunlight. Great Egret Great Egret in the morning sun, Agua Caliente, December 8, 2024.
Let's start with the Great Egret. Great Egrets have yellow bills because, well they are GREAT! "Look at me, I am GREAT! I have a YELLOW BILL!" Oh, and yes, black feet. Like their cousins, the Snowy Egret, they eat fish which they grab with their long and sturdy bill. Below, from Agua Caliente, the same bird striking a pose while preening, standing on one leg.  Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm, 1/4x Ext., at 454 mm, 1/2000 sec., f/8, ISO 250, -1.67 EV. Back to SWW on New Year's Day, January 1, 2025. Below we see a Great Egret on the right with a Snowy Egret to the left. The Snowy Egret is smaller, with a dark bill and yellow feet. (If you are snowy, who needs a yellow bill? Besides, yellow sneakers are more fun!)  Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm, 1.4x Ext., at 454 mm, 1/2000 sec., f/8, ISO 1250, -1.33 EV. Snowy Egret Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 200, -0.33 EV. On January 23rd. a Snowy Egret was hunting for food among the reeds at the far SE corner of the wetlands with the morning sun over my right shoulder and a bit behind me. The bird was up close, and the lighting was excellent.  The Snowy Egret is a bit smaller than the Great Egret, with wispy "snowy" feathers most prominent in breeding season. We can see some of these feathers on the back and neck in this series of photos. As already noted, the bills are dark, the feet yellow, with some yellow on the legs of immature birds.  Both Great and Snowy Egrets will use their feet to stir up the water to better spot aquatic critters which they then spear with their bill. This bird is walking slowly, seeing what he can find.   Below, one last image from the archive, SWW, Feb 20, 2021. This image was shot from the bridge over the stream at the entrance, looking down at the flowing water. Snowy Egrets were wading in the water using their large yellow feet to stir up some lunch. For more, click on the image below.  Canon R6 Mk II, EF 100-400mm, 1.4x III Ext., at 140mm, 1/6400 sec., f/8, ISO 2000, -0.67 EV. Green Heron Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 472mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 1000, +0.33 EV. Above, a Green Heron, also on the prowl for food, at the same place, same time as the Snowy Egret. They were both right in front of me, very close to each other. In the frame above the heron has his neck stretched out, showing the full length. Below, he pulls it back in and goes into his prowling mode.      For the photo geeks: All these images were captured in natural light. The heron was close, and the morning sun was pouring in over my right shoulder. 
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AuthorHenry Johnson, photographer and author of this site. For more detail, see About Categories
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