Birding Tucson's Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Tucson, Arizona is truly a desert oasis created by reclaimed waste water; a birders paradise! "He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water." Psalm 107:35

Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Picoides scalaris, is a small black and white woodpecker of the southwestern United States and Mexico that forages and nests in cactus. Photographed in June 2018 in Sweetwater Wetlands Park.

June 10, 2018  - At 5:30 AM I was already standing with anticipation in the parking lot of Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Tucson, Arizona. Because there is no Daylight Savings changes, it was sunny 79 degrees, even at this early hour.
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Not even twenty feet out of the parking lot, a plump little Life Bird ran across my path: a Gambel’s Quail. He darted too quickly into the scrub and I missed a shot. At the time I was frustrated, but had no idea of the abundant opportunities to photograph them that this week would hold.

House Finch perched on desert Mesquite branch, Sweetwater Wetlands Tucson Arizona, USA

Red-winged Blackbird, Sweetwater Wetlands Tucson Arizona, USA

White Winged Dove, Sweetwater Wetlands Tucson Arizona, USA

Song Sparrow bird, Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson Arizona USA

Lucys Warbler songbird, Oreothlypis luciae, range includes southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. One of the smallest warblers, the Lucy`s Warbler is a bird of the hot Sonoran desert. It occupies the driest habitat of all the warblers breeding in that area. Photographed in June 2018 in Sweetwater Wetlands Park, a reclaimed wastewater treatment facility managed for wildlife habitat in Tucson, Arizona.

​Next, a rapid aerial foray between three Kestrels and a few swallows took place right before me. With so many photo prospects, and such a short amount of time, I began to feel frantic and rushed. I was whipping and wheeling my lens around, not knowing where to aim. But I soon settled in and systematically walked the paths, stopping now and again as the birds caught my eye.

Lucy`s Warbler bird, Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Tucson Arizona

Red-winged Blackbird, Sweetwater Wetlands Tucson Arizona, USA

Mallard Duck on duckweed swamp bog, Sweetwater Wetlands Tucson Arizona

American Coot, Fulica americana, on nest in cattail and duckweed pond. Also known as a mud hen. Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American coots belong to a distinct order. Sweetwater Wetlands is a reclaimed wastewater treatment facility managed for wildlife habitat in Tucson, Arizona. Photographed in June 2018.

The tropical kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus, is a large tyrant flycatcher. This bird breeds from southern Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States through Central America, South America as far as south as central Argentina. Photographed in June 2018 in Sweetwater Wetlands Park, a reclaimed wastewater treatment facility managed for wildlife habitat in Tucson, Arizona. A stream riparian oasis in the southwestern desert.

​Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Tucson, Arizona. June 10, 2018
- Sunny and hot, high near 105 degrees. SW wind 8-16 MPH
- Sunrise Today: 5:16 am; Sunset Today: 7:29 pm
- Daylight Hours: 14 hours, 13 minutes

The black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world. Photographed in June 2018 in Sweetwater Wetlands Park