Las Cienegas and a Few Fun Images

Here is an assortment of images. Some birds along with some other views of what we have seen. Hope you find something interesting.

We were driving down a back road looking for birds. We were not going very fast and noticed this American Kestrel fly in and land on a fence post just as we passed by. We stopped and backed up fully expecting the Kestrel to fly but it did not. The bird is sitting on a fence post adjacent to the road, not very far from the big red truck we are driving. Nothing seemed to phase this Kestrel. At one point she flew to the ground and came back up on the barbed wire fence not four feet from the post. Without a doubt this was the most photographically cooperative American Kestrel we have ever seen. After taking a lot of pictures we finally drove off and she was still sitting on the wire.

In this image the Kestrel from the image above is now on the barbed wire.

Here is your sparrow lesson for today. This image was in a previous post. It is a winter plumage Chipping Sparrow. Very gray looking little sparrow.

Here is an image of another Chipping Sparrow. It is still winter but the sparrow looks quite a bit different.

And here is another winter Chipping Sparrow almost in full, bright breeding plumage. No wonder sparrows are so difficult and frustrating.

We were going to tell you these are Antelope Sparrows, they stay on the ground a lot like quail and run around very fast but we knew you would be too sharp for that ruse. In the grasslands we have seen quite a few Antelope. They are colorful and fascinating to see.

This is a view of the grasslands at a place called Las Cienegas. It is a National Conservation Area and many parts of it are working cattle ranches. It is home to maybe two gazillion sparrows among other birds and animals and all sorts of critters. It is a fascinating place. The grasslands seem to be in wonderful condition.

Here is a Lincoln’s Sparrow identified by the large gray area above the eye, the buff colored moustaches area and the black line leading back from the eye. Neat little sparrow

We have shown Pyrrhuloxia in previous posts. This one was cooperating for it's picture and we wanted to include a little color in this post so what better way to do so.

One of the roads you drive down looking for birds is about a mile north of Sonoita and named Curly Horse Road. At the first left hand bend along Curly Horse is this metal sculpture of a horse. It is at the entry gate to a large home. Neat statue

If you want to study Vesper Sparrows this is a great location and perfect time of year to study them. We have seen a lot of Vespers. This image shows the reddish spot on the shoulder that you don’t get to see very often. The bold eye ring and strong facial pattern help identify this as a Vesper.

Finally, this is a different Vesper Sparrow. He is leaving. Got tired of having his picture taken or had an appointment elsewhere. Sometimes you just get lucky when taking pictures.

Hope you enjoyed this post and if you get a chance be sure and come down to Sourthern Arizona and drive around Las Cienegas. There is a lot to see and experience.