One of my favorite county parks is Agua Caliente Park, a short drive from where I live. I went out there today to wander around and got treated to this fly-by of a Great Blue Heron. Very cool. Many years ago, a Great Blue Heron at this very park got me interested in birding -- perhaps this bird is a relative? Lots of waterfowl here during the winter -- I saw my first Wood Duck here during the winter season.
This small pond has a lot of history over the last hundred years. First fed by separate hot and cold springs which were then blasted to make a single warm spring, which later slowed its flow enough that the county had to drill a well and put in a powered pump.
Here is today's heron on the prowl, looking for fish and frogs.
This is the ranch house at the park. For many years it was abandoned and in poor condition, just sitting in the park with a chainlink fence around it. It was eventually restored (very nice) and is now open to visit and contains many historic pictures of the Agua Caliente ponds and buildings over the years. There is also a small art/photography gallery and a small nature shop run by the Tucson Audubon Society.
Although I've been to the park many times, today was the (#39) first time I was able to stop in the restored building and wander around. Well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.
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