Sweetwater Wetlands, Mt. Lemmon

I met with Joe and Becky Harlan and Roger and Mary-Louise Davis from Florence, South Carolina for breakfast at the splendid Peppertrees B&B in the university district. It was the start of a five day tour of some of Arizona’s top birding spots.

After breakfast and getting the rental car insurance sorted, we birded Sweetwater Wetlands to get the list off to a good start. We found many of the regular birds, and got good views of the HARRIS’S HAWKS. Several pairs of CINNAMON TEAL and a pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL were still around, as were a few NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, not in the recharge basins as usual but perched on overhanging branches by the ponds.

We saw various warblers and got good views of a PLUMBEOUS VIREO. The RED-WINGED and YELLOW-WINGED BLACKBIRDS were singing up a storm and, as is always the case at Sweetwater, it was buzzing with wildlife activity.

After a leisurely lunch at Wildflower we headed into the Santa Catalinas and took in the sights of Mt. Lemmon. We didn’t have much time so mainly enjoyed the views, although we did stumble across BAND-TAILED PIGEON, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and STELLAR’S and MEXICAN JAY on our ride.

It was a nice start to the tour and we ended with drinks and a fabulous meal in the charming courtyard at Peppertrees B&B Inn.