February 1, 2025February 1, 2025 by kritterspaw

Whitewater Draw

Whitewater Draw is a large marshland obtained by the Arizona Game & Fish Department (AZGFD) from previous ranch land to manage as a natural habitat for the many birds and animals that frequent the area.

The AZGFD has re-seeded the native grassland to restore and conserve the environment, by flooding the wetlands, creating a natural habitat.

Between November and March sandhill cranes flock to the area to escape the harsh climate as far away as Siberia, Canada, and Alaska. They must have been none to pleased to find themselves skating on sheets of ice during the cold front we witnessed during our visit in January.

There were far less cranes this year than in previous visits, possibly as a result of the temps, but more likely due to the reduced water levels at the site, which made it difficult to sustain the normal large volumes of previous years.

We were last at Whitewater Draw in 2022 when there were estimated 40,000 cranes. This year (2025), there were only 12,000.

Still, it was great fun to see the cranes mass fly out in early morning (6:30am – 7:00 am). Some would return to feed on the grain around 10:30am – 2pm, then the rest would return in bulk around 5pm.

We spent 5 days at the site allowing us to observe their behavior throughout the day. We loved watching them ‘sing’ and ‘dance’ as they talked to one another vying for position and mates.

Hopefully, in future years they will return to their higher levels. No matter, the site is quite the spectacle to see, and certainly worth a visit to watch and enjoy.

Check out my other posts on our trip here .. https://kritterspaw.com/2025/02/01/south-eastern-arizona/ and here .. https://kritterspix.com/2025/02/01/chiricahua-national-monument/

February 6, 2022February 6, 2022 by kritterspaw

Birds a feather…

Travel
azgfd, birds, photo workshop, waterfowl, whitewater draw, wildlife
3 Comments

What do they say? Birds a feather flock together. That is no more true than at Whitewater Draw, where thousands (we heard numbers anywhere between 20,000 and 47,000) sandhill cranes flock to this lush marshland in southern Arizona.

But it’s not just sandhill cranes. The area is rich with all sorts of birds, including the blue, green, and cinnamon -winged teals, Northern pintails, red-winged blackbirds, Northern shovelers, grebes, egret, hawks and owls.

*Northern shoveler rests in water at Whitewater Draw*

We saw quite a variety of waterfowl during a trip to Whitewater Draw for a Photo Workshop sponsored by Arizona Game and Fish. (See my post here… https://kritterspix.com/2022/02/06/whitewater-draw-workshop/)

We saw birds I never heard of, like the colorful Vermillion Flycatcher and Northern Harrier.

*Juvenile vermillion flycatcher in the weeds along Whitewater Draw*

Not to mention the very entertaining sandhill cranes.

Whitewater Draw has had increasing numbers of sandhill cranes year over year. This area is the best sandhill crane-viewing site in Arizona, and one of the largest migration sites in the country. It’s a thrilling sight to see and experience.

I got a lot of trigger time with my camera, and practiced my Birds-in-Flight (BIF) photography. Check out my post of BIF photography here.. https://kritterspix.com/2022/02/06/birds-in-flight-bif-photography/

January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by kritterspaw

Eagle Fest

Uncategorized
azgfd, bald eagle, eagle fest, eagles, lakeside, merganser, pinetop, rainbow lake, waterfowl
2 Comments

Blue Drift_IR.jpg

It’s that time of the year when the eagles are nesting, breeding generally in January / February. Pinetop / Lakeside in Northern AZ hosts an Eagle Fest hosted by the Arizona Game and Fish for an educational experience to learn about the eagles, their habitat, behaviors, and a field trip to see the eagles ‘in action’.

Female bald eagles lay between 1 – 3 eggs, with only a 35 day incubation period. The fledgling(s) only stays in the nest for 45 days before being kicked out to fend for itself.

The juvenile bald eagles, or eaglets are born a light gray and turn brown in color. It isn’t until they are 4 – 5 years old that the iconic white head and tail feathers appear. Bald eagles can live to be 35 years old or more.

Our field trip was at Rainbow Lake, in Lakeside, AZ. It was fascinating to watch all the waterfowl ‘walking on the water’ as the ice melted on the lake.

We watched mergansers catch fish and chase each other around to try to steal the fish from one another.

Merganser Chase_IR.jpg

That is… until the bald eagle got hungry and dive bombed the mergansers to make their catch their own.

Eagle Fly_IR.jpg

Just goes to show… the bigger bird gets the worm, er… fish.