Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area

Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area is about an hour and a half south of Tucson near the town of McNealy. We arrived at the location around 8am and only a few people were out and about viewing the wildlife. The site has several walking paths, a number of benches, and a few observation decks with spotting scopes.

The sandhill cranes and snow geese are in the middle of their migration and Whitewater is a stopping point as they head south. Around 10am the number of birds increased to around 3000 with many more flying in. Two days prior we were told the numbers increased to 20,000 or more! The sound of the birds in mass is something to witness, the video captures a sample of how loud these bids are. This is definitely a destination spot for anyone who enjoys wildlife or photography, plenty opportunities to capture great images.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2n1o​ycd

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2n15​pz6

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2mZZ​sx1

Great series of photos.
The video is interesting, would be quite an experience to witness that many birds.

thanks for posting

Many thanks for the comments.

Hatch

We've been there a number of times and it is indeed a great spot. Great shots of what looks to be a Northern Goshawk; we saw one there too once. In fact, Sulfur Springs Valley just to the east of Whitewater Draw is supposed to be a great wintering area for raptors. We've usually been there later in the winter though when they've mostly all moved out. Well done.

Hatch1921 wrote in post #19338915
Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area is about an hour and a half south of Tucson near the town of McNealy. We arrived at the location around 8am and only a few people were out and about viewing the wildlife. The site has several walking paths, a number of benches, and a few observation decks with spotting scopes.

The sandhill cranes and snow geese are in the middle of their migration and Whitewater is a stopping point as they head south. Around 10am the number of birds increased to around 3000 with many more flying in. Two days prior we were told the numbers increased to 20,000 or more! The sound of the birds in mass is something to witness, the video captures a sample of how loud these bids are. This is definitely a destination spot for anyone who enjoys wildlife or photography, plenty opportunities to capture great images.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2n1o​ycd Sony A1 + 200-600 by hatch1921, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2n15​pz6 Sony A1 + 200-600 by hatch1921, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2mZZ​sx1 Sony A1 + 200-600 by hatch1921, on Flickr

Video I put together with a few more shots.
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=T9mIH21_Qt8

Great images and video. I live about 40 miles from Whitewater Draw and go there a couple times each year. It's always fun to see so many cranes and geese, plus many others. It's like a trip to Bosque del Apache, but close to home.

CDMOOSE wrote in post #19339265
We've been there a number of times and it is indeed a great spot. Great shots of what looks to be a Northern Goshawk; we saw one there too once. In fact, Sulfur Springs Valley just to the east of Whitewater Draw is supposed to be a great wintering area for raptors. We've usually been there later in the winter though when they've mostly all moved out. Well done.

Many thanks, it was a nice day out for sure. I think it's a juvenile Cooper's hawk.... could be wrong? https://www.audubon.or​g …s-and-sharp-shinned-hawks

Thanks for the tip about Sulfur Springs, I will check into it.

Enjoy the day.

Hatch

sparker1 wrote in post #19339267
Great images and video. I live about 40 miles from Whitewater Draw and go there a couple times each year. It's always fun to see so many cranes and geese, plus many others. It's like a trip to Bosque del Apache, but close to home.

Many thanks! It was a fun place to visit and to see all the wildlife. Bosque... love going there, I've made a few trips and this past year we went 2x in November. It's hard to beat... lots of wildlife/diversity in that area. I'll post some shots later today.

Thanks again!

Hatch

Hatch1921 wrote in post #19338915
.
Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area is about an hour and a half south of Tucson near the town of McNealy.
.

.
Thank you for making me aware of this area. . Really appreciate it, as I am growing to love Arizona and love finding out about new places to explore there!

I spent an entire month in the area of Arizona south of Tucson, and never heard of this place. . I think it is good to note that it is actually quite a bit east of Tucson, and not just south. . An hour and a half south of Tucson puts you in Mexico, due south of Nogales, which is nowhere near this place. . No wonder I never heard of it when I was an hour south of Tucson!

Hatch1921 wrote in post #19338915
.
The sandhill cranes and snow geese are in the middle of their migration and Whitewater is a stopping point as they head south. Around 10am the number of birds increased to around 3000 with many more flying in. Two days prior we were told the numbers increased to 20,000 or more!
.

.
Do you ever visit this place in the spring or summer, like May or June? . I realize that the massive flocks of Cranes and Geese will be long gone by then, but I would be interested in knowing what you see there during the late spring / early summer, if you ever visit in that season.

The reason I'd like to know about May or June is because I come to southern Arizona at that time of year for reptiles and amphibians, and am wondering if this wildlife area may provide some bonus bird species, kind of like Madera Canyon does.


.

sparker1 wrote in post #19339267
.
It's like a trip to Bosque del Apache, but close to home.
.

.
I keep meeting photographers who tell me that Bosque del Apache isn't worth visiting anymore, but that it was really good 15 to 20 years ago. . Saw a recent Charles Glatzer video about a photo tour he led at Bosque, and it left me with no desire to go there at all. . Sad. . Perhaps Whitewater Draw will fill the void left by Bosque's decline.


.

I should have mentioned Whitewater is more to the east than it is south... but.. I'm glad you found a new place to explore. I haven't been there any other time of year, this was the first trip.

Bosque... I've been 3x and have enjoyed the location. It really depends on the day of the week and time of year. One trip was in January and it was cold...not a ton of people... plenty to photograph. This was in 2018....water levels were much higher, as you know the drought isn't doing anyone any favors. I then went back last year in Nov ... water levels were low... one of the ponds I shot at in 2018 was dry. The last trip was a little over two weeks later in November and they were raising the water levels. I never felt like there wasn't opportunities to capture nice shots of various animals. We arrived in the middle of the week and left on the weekend. The crowds were not entirely horrible, sunrise you have the people who are really dedicated to capturing shots. During the middle of the day I passed maybe 20 people at most. In the evening the crowds were there in a couple key locations but the place is pretty big land area wise and I just shot away from the main gathering points. It was never an issue and the opportunities are there to snap some nice shots.

I would encourage you to go...maybe at the end of October or first week in November and in the middle of the week. I have all three trips post on my site if care to view the shots. https://www.frankhatch​er.com …-hatcher-photography-blog

When places become popular they can start to suck for a lack of a better word... I can't say Bosque is there yet... the majority of people there were shooting long lenses and into photography... but... I've only started going there since 2018. I ran into a number of people who have been going for 20+ years... they didn't complain to me about the place.

Enough babbling... I'd just say... give the place a shot... it's 10x nicer than Whitewater IMO.

Thanks for the comments.

Hatch

Tom - May and June are the hottest driest part of the year, Whitewater Draw might be completely dry. I did a little search, here is a chart of historical observations (1900-2022) for Whitewater Draw. It looks like mostly birds like Quail, Dove, Sparrows, Swallows, some raptors and some waterbirds *IF* there is water. Activity picks up again in July if the monsoons start, along with an explosion of frogs and toads.

I haven't been to Whitewater, but I know the playa up near Willcox turns into a dustbowl.

https://ebird.org …022&bmo=5&emo=6​&r=L168765

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19339392
.
Thank you for making me aware of this area. . Really appreciate it, as I am growing to love Arizona and love finding out about new places to explore there!

I spent an entire month in the area of Arizona south of Tucson, and never heard of this place. . I think it is good to note that it is actually quite a bit east of Tucson, and not just south. . An hour and a half south of Tucson puts you in Mexico, due south of Nogales, which is nowhere near this place. . No wonder I never heard of it when I was an hour south of Tucson!

Hosted photo: posted by Tom Reichner in
./showthread.php?p=193​39392&i=i227873690
forum: Birds

.

.
Do you ever visit this place in the spring or summer, like May or June? . I realize that the massive flocks of Cranes and Geese will be long gone by then, but I would be interested in knowing what you see there during the late spring / early summer, if you ever visit in that season.

The reason I'd like to know about May or June is because I come to southern Arizona at that time of year for reptiles and amphibians, and am wondering if this wildlife area may provide some bonus bird species, kind of like Madera Canyon does.

.

Tom, Two places you might investigate in eastern AZ are Cave Creek Canyon and Chiricahua National Monument. They would be relatively cool in May/June, but I haven't actually been there in that time frame, so can't describe birding conditions. Beautiful scenery is always available.