Arizona Sunset

It's the next-to-last day of our week in Arizona, and we're back in Tucson, at Sweetwater Wetlands late in the afternoon.

It was fairly cloudy and as the sun initially set there was little pink--and then: In then next five minutes the sky turned absolutely brilliant, framed by the refuge's trees. The spindly branches at the bottom right belong to an ocotillo--a very common plant of the desert southwest.

It had been mostly cloudless during our stay, and this was only our second really good Arizona sunset. (Here's a modest New Mexico version, with five sandhill cranes against the light.)

In our brief visit we had two uncommon birds for Sweetwater: Cassin's Vireo and Blue-winged Teal, plus our first good looks at a Common Yellowthroat and a White-winged Dove. And the Gila Woodpecker made another appearance next to where I blipped him in the link above.

Tomorrow we fly back to Massachusetts.