A Morning at Sweetwater

Or should I say a rather misty morning at Sweetwater

One wintry morning, I visited Sweetwater, arriving before sunrise. As the sun came up, mist arose from the water. Mist rises from ponds on cold mornings—a phenomenon called steam fog—when cold, dry air moves over relatively warm water. This interaction causes the moisture in the air to immediately condense into visible water droplets, which appear as mist. Here is one explanation of the phenomenon. That morning some Northern Pintails were swimming in the mist.

There was one pair of mail Pintails. In the photo below, you can see the reeds hidden in the mist along with the rippled reflections of the reeds in the water. During breeding season, the males Pintails will grow very long tail feathers from which their name, “pintail” comes. It is not currently in the breeding season so those tail feathers haven’t quite appeared yet.

Even though we were a good distance away, at one point the Pintail faced us as if to determine whether or not we were a danger of any kind. The Pintails have such a pretty color with their gleaming white neck and the white stripe down their chocolate covered head.

Later, when the sun was up, some of this winter’s juvenile White-crowned Sparrows were hopping around inside of bushes on the edge of the ponds. This bird is called a White-crown Sparrow but it sure is not showing a white crown! Juvenile White-crowns have a tan and dark brown set of stripes on their head. Next winter when this same bird returns, it will have a white and black striped crown.

Birds are always very conscious of the world around them. Like many animals, they have to be aware of their safety in all situations. After watching me with one eye, this juvenile White-crown turned its head to check me out with the other eye just to be certain about what it was seeing.

Song Sparrows are a common species that we see in Tucson during winters but not during the summers. In the southwest, our Song Sparrows are a lighter and redder color than many of the Song Sparrows in northern and colder climates.

American Coots are ever present in all of the ponds and lakes in southern Arizona. They’re fairly nondescript birds, but have some unique behaviors. At this time of year especially, many of the male coots are fighting for territoriality. I thought this Coot was interesting because rather than feeding on vegetation, it grabbed this extremely long dried reed and was carrying it off. I’m not sure whether it was planning on using it to build a nest or what, but it seemed to be very proud of its catch!

There is always something at Sweetwater to delight you.