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Sulphur Springs Valley & Whitewater Draw

(click on photo to enlarge)

Lured by a report of a possible Alpomado Falcon near a wildlife preserve called Whitewater Draw in the Sulphur Springs Valley (Cochise County), I decided to take the chance that there was, indeed, a rare falcon about and drove over to the area. If not, I would be close to one of the stellar riparian sites in the county.

Driving up and down the described road, there was no Alpomado Falcon to be seen but I did come across one Cooper’s Hawk, a Northern Harrier and a good number of Red-tailed Hawks, one of which displayed the darker plumage seen in 10-20% of red-tails in the West. My bird was intermediate between the common lighter plumage and an even darker morph. Quite a handsome bird.

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), intermediate morph

After giving up on finding the falcon, I drove on to Whitewater Draw. The day was beautiful and almost immediately I was greeted with the sound of several hundred Snow Geese as they lifted off the water.

Whitewater Draw (formerly a cattle ranch), was purchased in 1997 by Arizona Fish & Game to protect a major Sandhill Crane roost. It consists of a series of ponds and trails and is attractive to a diverse number of land and water birds.

Whitewater Draw Ponds

One of my favorite passerines, and one easily seen here is the beautiful Vermilion Flycatcher.

Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus), male

Shorebirds are common here also and on this day I had several excellent sightings of a Sora rail. Also observed were numerous smaller “peeps” including this Spotted Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage (lacking the spots).

Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)

The birds most visitors come to see at Whitewater are the reason the area was preserved — the Sandhill Cranes which can number well over ten thousand birds. My morning arrival was too late to see sandhills as they had flown off to feed in the fields although some were obviously nearby judging from the distinctive calls being heard. But as noon approached the birds began to return to the ponds and the dark specks in the sky got larger and larger as the great flocks approached.

Sandhill Cranes circling over Whitewater

Approaching the ponds

Landing

While walking a trail, I came upon a roosting Barn Owl deep within tree branches but I was very surprised when I entered the barn-like structure near the parking lot where some picnic tables are located to find a roosting Great Horned Owl. Despite the low light, I was able to get some nice photos of the owl in natural light (no flash).

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

This brings me to the subject of my upcoming post on the Great Horned Owls we have around our house. Stay tuned!

Published by Arlene Ripley on January 19th, 2009 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Cochise County, Nature, Wanderings

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