Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 1999 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, February 28, 1999.

Monday, February 1, 1999     Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Lee and Jody Rusconi from Arcata, CA. We spent a very pleasant 5 hours at Patagonia Lake State Park from 8:00am-1:00pm where we saw 63 species. The winter empids -- HAMMOND'S, DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS were in evidence as usual.  I have noticed that Hammond's seem to be on the increase on my last few visits. Also present today were NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. In what is probably a first for me, we  recorded all 7 possible wrens with the prize, of course, being a WINTER WREN. After thinking that I saw one and then immediately seeing a HOUSE WREN, I doubted what I'd just seen. However, some time later on the return journey, I heard the "kip-kip" of a Winter Wren and eventually found it cavorting with several House Wrens. The location was about 3/4 mile along the creek trail where there are lots of downed willows. Other species included EARED GREBE, the usual complement of NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS and  COMMON MERGANSERS, ROADRUNNER, GILDED FLICKER (rare here), ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, LARK and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW, and EASTERN and WESTERN (rare here) MEADOWLARKS.

In the Paton's yard, no Violet-crowned yet (last year Feb 3), just ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD. Less common species present were MERLIN, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and ROCK WREN.

On the way to San Rafael Valley, a few WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were in Harshaw Canyon. On the other side of the valley at Canelo Hills there were perhaps 10-EASTERN BLUEBIRDS. In the valley we stopped briefly at the Vaca Ranch Corral where a large flock of McCOWN'S LONGSPURS were present as usual.

We finished the day on the San Pedro River where we recorded 43 species from 4:00-6:00pm without seeing anything spectacular. Less common species for the location included MERLIN, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and SAVANNAH SPARROW.

Wednesday, February 3, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days with Peter Weber of Rochester, IL. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Chino Canyon, Paton's Yard, San Rafael Valley and Scheelite Canyon. It was a day of target birding and we managed only 85 species with nothing out of the ordinary. Quite a cold start at Patagonia Lake and it took some time before the flycatchers became active. We eventually had good views of HAMMOND'S, DUSKY, GRAY and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS.  Other birds among the 43 species seen in a 90 minute session were GREAT EGRET, CINNAMON TEAL, COOPER'S HAWK, VIRGINIA RAIL and COMMON MOORHEN..

In a quick visit to Kino Springs we saw 30 species including GREATER ROADRUNNER, GRAY FLYCATCHER, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. The "minima" CANADA GOOSE continues at the clubhouse pond. In Chino Canyon, the usual RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS were a little elusive today. It was quite warm around noon and, for the first time this year that I've noted, TURKEY VULTURES ventured as far east as Patagonia. The Paton's yard was very quiet with only PINE SISKIN of note. In the San Rafael Valley, McCOWN'S LONGSPURS were again easy to see at the Vaca Ranch Corral. A PRAIRIE FALCON sat in a nearby cottonwood and later gave us a fly-by and flushed all the Longspurs. We worked the grassland next to the stock pond and after lots of effort we were able to see several CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS perched on the fence.

Our day concluded in Scheelite Canyon where, according to the log, many recent visitors had not seen an owl. Not surprisingly, we had to work very hard and slog to the upper reaches of the canyon to locate an extremely well hidden SPOTTED OWL. The canyon was quiet in the late afternoon -- a calling SCRUB-JAY, good views of a CANYON WREN, plus a few others.

Thursday, February 4, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Peter Weber. Our plan was to work in the Sulphur Springs Valley and then head to the Chiricahuas. However, we spent so much time looking for thrashers (and, unbelievably, we never did find Crissal) that in the end we never made it to the mountains. Our morning began in the Mule Mountains at Bisbee where we were able to find our target BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW without much difficulty. Among the other species present were LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, a singing WHITE-WINGED DOVE,   CANYON and ROCK WRENS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, HUTTON'S VIREO, HERMIT THRUSH and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

Apart from missing Crissal Thrasher, our time in the Sulphur Springs Valley was successful, we just had to spend too much time seeing the birds!. On Coffman Road we found SAGE SPARROW in a reliable location of late. Except for eagles we did not look for raptors -- a rufous morph RED-TAIL was on Frontier Road, MERLINS were present at Whitewater Draw and on Mormon Road, a GOLDEN EAGLE was on Central Highway just south of Elfrida, and a HARRIS'S HAWK was in a regular tree on Highway 191 north of Elfrida.

In the Essary Hay fields, several FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were either on the ground or on the irrigation rigs. Here too were numerous MOUNTAIN PLOVERS in a different field for the first time in a while. Somewhat of a surprise, foraging in the fields among the KILLDEER, was a SAGE THRASHER. Our only BENDIRE'S THRASHER of the day came on Central Highway north of Grant, a regular spot for this species.

Saturday, February 6, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days with Nancy and Jim DeWitt of Fairbanks, AK. We began with an excellent morning at Patagonia Lake State Park highlighted by a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE and a male ELEGANT TROGON. The trogon was just a short way from the lake along the creek trail, sitting on a log very close to the ground, and only 40 feet away from us. The ground-dove was feeding with INCA DOVES at the campsite opposite the bathroom closest to the trailhead. With the sighting of the ground-dove, Patagonia Lake State Park now ranks #1 for me in species seen at a single location in SE AZ, with 200.

Also of note were a couple of returning swallows -- NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and VIOLET-GREEN. Both VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA were seen well along with several SWAMP SPARROWS. All three winter empids, HAMMOND'S, DUSKY and GRAY were easy to see. Despite missing several common species, and only birding here for 3 1/2 hours, we recorded a total of 74 species from 8:15-11:45am. Here's a full list of what we found:

Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Common Snipe, Killdeer, Mourning & Inca Doves, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Elegant Trogon, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hammond's, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, Northern Mockingbird, Cactus, Rock, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Blue-gray & Black-tailed Gnatcatchers, Violet-green & Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, American Pipit, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp,White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Lark, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, & Brewer's Blackbird.

A short visit to the Paton's yeilded only a handful of species including  ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, ROCK WREN and PINE SISKIN. In the San Rafael Valley, MCCOWN'S LONGSPURS were again easy to see but CHESTNUT-COLLARED were brief heard-onlys despite checking two normally reliable spots. C'est La Vie. No Bald Eagle or Prairie Falcon today, but we did see a well concealed FERRUGINOUS HAWK that has been rare in the valley this winter.

The trek up Scheelite Canyon was mercifully normal today and we easily found a well hidden SPOTTED OWL that had again been missed by others. The canyon was almost entirely in shade in the late afternoon with little activity. However, we did hear singing TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and calling STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER that we couldn't track down.

We finished the day at Palominas Pond looking for VERMILION FLYCATCHER, reliable here in winter. We found two, but unfortunately they were both females! A pleasant surprise here was a female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. They have been quite scarce in SE AZ in this mild winter.

Sunday, February 7, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Nancy and Jim DeWitt. It was 34 degrees in town but there was plenty of ice as we drove up Garden Canyon, and it was well below freezing when we arrived in Sawmill Canyon at 8:00am. Several AMERICAN ROBINS and a HERMIT THRUSH were in the road visiting the frozen puddles. Numerous PINE SISKINS and a few CASSIN'S FINCHES were sitting in the snags near the cabin. Many STELLER'S JAYS squawked their disapproval as we walked the canyon looking for sapsuckers, but a very tame group of 32 WILD TURKEYS didn't seem to want to get out of our way. Deep in the trees we heard the calls of several BAND-TAILED PIGEONS. We came across 2 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER and a couple of GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS (very rare here) before finding our target, a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER in a regular territory. Ironically, when we returned to the cabin area, 2 more male Williamson's were working the trees there! Also present were EASTERN (fairly common Sawmill resident) and WESTERN (rare here in winter) BLUEBIRDS. We left at 10:00am having seen 22 species including 5 woodpeckers species, not bad considering how cold it was to start.

Next we visited St. David looking for a male Vermilion Flycatcher. Although they are reliable here in winter, we struck out today. We recorded 30 species in 30 minutes including a male WOOD DUCK, BELTED KINGFISHER and GRAY FLYCATCHER

In Sulphur Springs Valley a HARRIS'S HAWK was in a regular tree on Hwy 191 north of Elfrida. At the Essary Hay fields we saw a flock of 40-50 flying MOUNTAIN PLOVERS but were only able to find a couple on the ground. However, one is all it takes! Also here were PRAIRIE FALCON, several FERRUGINOUS HAWKS and ROADRUNNER.

We headed up Pinery Canyon in search of MEXICAN CHICKADEE and about 6 miles in we found our quarry in a mixed flock containing KINGLETS, BROWN CREEPER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, HUTTON'S VIREO and both JUNCOS.

Back in Sulphur Springs Valley its was tough trying to spot the few CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS at Zuck Farms, but in the end we succeeded. It was now quite gloomy and I thought our chances of a thrasher had gone. However, just as we were leaving, in flew a BENDIRE'S THRASHER that perched up on a tumbleweed long enough for us to get good 'scope views. A good end to a fairly successful two days.

Tuesday, February 9, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Although I've made quite a few visits to Sierra Vista sewage ponds this year, most have been brief to pick up one or two species. Today I made only my second "real" visit of the year and the first this month. Nothing much seems to have changed and activity was actually on the low side, probably due to several trucks working in the fields. However, raptors were very much in evidence and without any effort I was able to see NORTHERN HARRIER, COOPER'S and RED-TAILED HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTREL, MERLIN, PRAIRIE and PEREGRINE FALCONS.

It was a mild and windless evening so I ventured into the Huachucas to check on screech-owls that, apart from a couple of successes, have been tough to find so far this year. I visited my most reliable spot and just after 6:30pm I was able to whistle in a somewhat interested WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL. I moved on to another spot (I can never have too many spots) and 10 minutes later was able to find another bird whose behavior was a little uncharacteristic. I heard the bird respond from quite some distance so I left the road and headed into the trees. Although I continued to whistle, the bird never said another word. However, there was enough light for me to see it fly in and sit just 10 feet away with a somewhat puzzled look on its face, or so it seemed. It's not often that a screech-owl comes in without calling. I continued to "talk" to it and eventually we got a conversation going. I hopefully headed down canyon to a location where I had a very cooperative Western Screech quite recently. Unfortunately, that bird was nowhere to be found tonight. A sad end, but on the other hand, half a loaf is better than none.

Wednesday, February 10, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Lots of sideways birds today in the very high winds, but I headed out anyway to check on a couple of birds that I have to find tomorrow. An early start put me at the college in Casa Grande at 7:30am where the wind was really howling. I didn't fancy my chances but by 7:45am I was on the road again having easily seen the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN. The bird was in the small group of trees between the buildings and swimming pool and gave itself away by calling. I watched the bird go from tree to tree giving its somewhat wheezy, upslurred whistled call at the beginning of each flight.

I headed west to the Paloma Ranch a few miles west of Gila Bend where the wind was just as bad, if not worse, than in Casa Grande. I struggled to see any birds except HOUSE SPARROWS in the cactus garden but eventually found 4-INCA DOVES that raised my hopes. After 30 minutes of this nonsense I doubled back to Gila Bend for breakfast and a break from the wind. I returned later and just sat in the car and waited. At 11:10am a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE flew in from the northeast and perched right in front of me, struggling to maintain its balance. Almost immediately it flew into the trees near the office where it was impossible to see.

Surprised and happy with a couple of successes despite the wind, I continued west to check out Painted Rock Dam. What should have been some pleasant casual birding was actually quite unpleasant as the wind continued unabated. Although I managed to turn up 35 species in an hour, I know that I missed many others. I was disappointed not to find any pelicans and surprised to see only one egret species, 2-CATTLE EGRETS in the fields on the way in. After much cursing and effort with an unsteady scope, I finally located a single SNOWY PLOVER on a sand spit on one of the islands below the dam. Among the other species were numerous COMMON GOLDENEYES, a few BLACK-NECKED STILTS and AVOCETS, 1-GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, a few RING-BILLED GULLS, 3 swallow species -- TREE, VIOLET-GREEN and N. ROUGH-WINGED, several BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS, ROCK WREN and 2-SAGE SPARROWS.

Thursday, February 11, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 4 days with Joyce Edwards and Ossie Thompson from Baton Rouge, LA. We left Tucson airport around 11:30am and, despite the very high winds for the second day in a row, we had a very successful afternoon of "tick and run" birding. Our first stop was Central AZ College in Casa Grande where the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN was very cooperative again. The bird's continuous calling allowed us to track its movement from tree to tree and eventually we saw it feeding on the lawn. 

At Paloma Ranch near Gila Bend we quickly found the male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE but it took about 30 minutes to get good looks.

We headed north and started birding at "the thrasher spot" west of Buckeye at 4:10pm where it was overcast, windy and very quiet. I feared the worst but after 30 minutes of walking the scrub we found our main target, LE CONTE'S THRASHER, perched in the same mesquite as a SAGE THRASHER. After a little more effort, and with time to spare before darkness fell, we found our secondary target SAGE SPARROW.

Friday, February 12, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Joyce and Ossie. Another day of "tick and run" birding, although today didn't have much in the way of "ticks". Lawrence's Goldfinch have been very scarce this winter with very few reports. The first report of 1999 (to my knowledge) came this week near Castle Hot Springs and this morning we decided to try to relocate them. After about an hour of searching we came across the flock of LESSER GOLDFINCHES and spent another hour looking through them, but to no avail. Among the birds in the area were GILDED FLICKER, ROCK and CANYON WRENS, GREEN-TAILED and ABERT'S TOWHEES and an OSPREY near Lake Pleasant.

Our next stop at Indian Bend Wash off McKellips was successful and we had great close up looks at the very tame EURASIAN WIGEON. Then came a long drive south and 3 hours later around 2:30pm we began birding at Nogales Sewage Ponds. Here we saw our target ROSS'S GOOSE (no Blue Phase though) as well as a good assortment of species including TURKEY and BLACK VULTURES, SNOW GOOSE, CINNAMON TEAL, REDHEAD and CANVASBACK. A quick stop at Kino Springs yielded the "minima" CANADA GOOSE and GILDED FLICKER.

Our final stop of the day at the Vaca Ranch Corral ended in disappointment in the high winds as we had flying views only of about 12-McCOWN'S LONGSPURS. This was the first time this season that I have not found the main flock here.

Saturday, February 13, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Joyce and Ossie. We headed into the Huachucas and had so much success with our target birds that we never made it to our Sawmill Canyon destination! A stop at the upper stream crossing, a little below the pictograph site, elicited a weak response from what must have been a very distant NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL. Eventually, the bird came very close and called strongly but remained well hidden. Just as I remarked "I'm hoping that the bird will change trees so we can pick him up", the owl flew across the canyon and perched in the clear in a pinyon pine. We had great scope looks and then committed the cardinal sin of walking away from a bird that didn't seem to want us to leave. What a difference from a couple of weeks ago when I couldn't buy a view.

We continued on to a very icy, yet birdy area about 200 yards below the Sawmill cabin. Almost in the same tree as a week ago was a very obliging male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER that didn't mind our presence at all. Here too were many CASSIN'S FINCHES and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. Wow! What a treat to find three target birds in one spot after all the driving I've done in the past few days. Other birds in Garden Canyon included SCRUB, STELLER'S and MEXICAN JAYS, HERMIT THRUSH, CANYON and HOUSE WRENS, HUTTON'S VIREO, both JUNCO species and lots of PINE SISKINS.

Next, we headed back to San Rafael Valley to do battle with the Longspurs again after yesterday's failure at the Vaca Ranch Corral. Today, we won! Much less windy and we soon found the usual large flock of McCOWN'S and a smaller group of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS that have not frequented the corral much this season. Patience brought us good looks at males of both species in fairly good breeding plumage. Nearby on the fenceline was a handsome MERLIN.

A 90 minute mid-afternoon drive, to the Essary Hay fields in Sulphur Springs Valley, quickly paid off when we easily found at least 100 MOUNTAIN PLOVERS foraging in a regular spot. Also foraging in the same field was a continuing SAGE THRASHER and a CRISSAL THRASHER that skipped ahead of us as we drove along the fenceline looking for the plovers. As usual, several majestic looking FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were sitting in the fields. Our final target bird was  BENDIRE'S THRASHER and it came very easily over at Zuck Farms, in exactly the same spot as a week ago. Much of the time, reliable birds are, well, reliable. On the other hand, sometimes they're not! In my job I see both sides of the coin, but I'm happy to say that results mostly go in my favor.

Sunday, February 14, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Since we did so well over the past three days (seeing 13 of 14 target birds -- missing Lawrence's Goldfinch), I worked myself out of a job for today. However, this type of tick and run birding (with lots of driving and looking briefly at target birds, hardly looking at other birds at all), although very successful for my clients, is decidedly unrewarding for me. These are the times when I wonder if I'm in the right profession and I begin to think about hanging up my binoculars.   

After dropping Joyce and Ossie at the airport I returned to Sierra Vista and birded briefly at the sewage ponds. A 45 minute session produced only 22 species with only PRAIRIE FALCON of note.

Monday, February 15, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
Out today with Rick and Jeanne Specht from Apple Valley, MN. We birded very productively at Patagonia Lake State Park from 8:00-11:45am, seeing over 60 species. All the usual stuff (and a few not so usual) including NEOTROPIC and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, CINNAMON TEAL, COMMON MERGANSER, LESSER SCAUP, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, SORA, MOORHEN, HAMMOND'S, DUSKY, GRAY and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS (stop me if you've heard this one), VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, AM. PIPIT, ROCK WREN, HUTTON'S VIREO (rare here) ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and SWAMP SPARROW. After walking the trail, we checked through the campsites and soon found the small flock of INCA DOVES containing the male RUDDY-GROUND DOVE that I first found here last week.

A brief stop at the Paton's produced only ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (although Violet-crowned has returned). Of note were continuing ROCK WREN, PINE SISKIN and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. Nearby, the GREAT BLUE HERONS have begun their nestbuilding activities.

In the San Rafael Valley we saw a few CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS sitting on the fence wires and the flock of McCOWNS LONGSPURS were feeding as usual at the Vaca Ranch Corral. Deja vu all over again.

We finished up in Garden and Sawmill Canyons but it was the wrong end of the day to expect very much. However, we did see RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, STELLER'S JAY, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, PINE SISKIN and CASSIN'S FINCH.

Saturday, February 20, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
After 4 days of anti-burnout therapy without even looking at a bird, I was back at it again for the first of two days with Steve Chance of Burlingame, CA. It was a long, hard day with lots of driving but we saw all five target birds for the day -- Ruddy Ground-Dove, Bendire's and Le Conte's Thrashers, Rufous-backed Robin and Black-chinned Sparrow.

I left home at 3:30am and after picking up Steve in Casa Grande we arrived at "the thrasher spot" west of Phoenix at 7:25am. Although it was much warmer than of late, bird activity was initially very low with three perched up but silent birds -- GAMBEL'S QUAIL, ROADRUNNER and CRISSAL THRASHER. As we walked into the scrub, a lone SAGE SPARROW ran ahead of us and the only sound was a singing BLACK-THROATED SPARROW. We set up about 300 yards from the highway with a commanding view of the area and started a short-lived vigil. A distant LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was a quick false alarm, but around 7:45am, at least 2 and possibly 3 LE CONTE'S THRASHERS began singing. After some early difficulty we tracked down the closest bird that was singing from a very low perch. The bird sang continuously for 15 minutes (perhaps longer since we left it singing!) and allowed us great 'scope views, very satisfying.

A little after 8:00am we headed south to Gila Bend along a very birdy Old US Hwy 80. Roadside birds included GREAT EGRET, PRAIRIE FALCON, a small flock SANDHILL CRANES and BELTED KINGFISHER.

At the Paloma Ranch we found a male RUDDY-GROUND DOVE immediately on arrival at 9:00am and then spent the next hour trying to get a better look. Unfortunately, landscape workers were operating a leaf blower (this has to be one the world's most futile activities) and it was hard to concentrate. The doves didn't like it either and instead of sticking around in the usual places they headed into salt cedars and eucalyptus trees where they were extremely hard to see. We eventually had several short but diagnostic views of the male again, as well as a couple of females. Few other birds around, but of interest was a HOUSE FINCH that was neither red nor orange, it was yellow.

Next stop was Central AZ College in Casa Grande where a baseball game threatened to disrupt out activities. We started birding here at 11:20am and immediately  found the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN, ironically in a tree very close to the baseball activity. However, it was a only a quick look before the bird flew off and we had to work for an hour, relocating the bird several times, before getting a decent look. As in previous visits, the bird's habit of repeatedly calling was my salvation in being able locate it, even in dense cover. The area was quite birdy despite the hubbub of people and the birds we saw included RED-SHAFTED and GILDED FLICKERS, BLACK PHOEBE, AMERICAN ROBIN, LARK, VESPER, WHITE-CROWNED and BREWER'S SPARROWS and singing WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

After a long drive south our next birding was in the Mule Mountains near Bisbee at 3:40pm. Our target here was BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW which we again found immediately. This time our brief initial looks were not improved upon despite a half-hour of effort. Other birds included RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, BUSHTIT, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, ROCK and CANYON WRENS and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

Thankfully, our final target bird of the day was only a short drive away. We easily found a singing BENDIRE'S THRASHER in the Sulphur Springs valley on Central Highway with daylight to spare. We were so close to this very obliging bird that binoculars were hardly necessary. For good measure, just across the street was a singing CRISSAL THRASHER.

We used the final 30 minutes of daylight over at Whitewater Draw. Among the 20 species seen here were a handful (literally) of  SANDHILL CRANES (they departed early this year, no doubt due to the mild winter), 2-GREAT HORNED OWLS, 2-AVOCETS, numerous LARK BUNTINGS and a SWAMP SPARROW, my first at this location.

Sunday, February 21, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Steve Chance. Another tough albeit much shorter day with only 50% success -- we missed Northern Pygmy-Owl and Baird's Sparrow and found Hammond's Flycatcher and McCown's Longspur. Some indications today that birdlife is starting to show definite signs of spring.

Our day began in the Huachucas where we birded in upper Garden Canyon as far as Sawmill for about 90 minutes. Still ice in places and it was quite cold around 7:30am. Despite much NPO tooting we failed to find an owl in locations where two were present last weekend. The area around the cabin was very birdy but unfortunately, we spent very little time checking what was around. The STELLER'S JAYS never stopped making a racket the entire time and other birds that I heard included singing HUTTON'S VIREO and singing BRIDLED TITMOUSE (I emphasize "singing", not calling).

A10:00am late start at Patagonia Lake State Park did not bode well for finding empids and it took almost 2 hours to find our target HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. We located a lone bird along the creek trail, but lost and found it a couple of times before finally seeing it well at close range. We also saw both DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS, neither of which were as vocal as they normally are. However, one of my favorite birds -- VERMILION FLYCATCHER returned to the park today and they were very vocal. We watched two beautiful males courting a female with their singing "skydance" display, always a thrill. Most of the usuals were seen and, even though we started late, we saw almost 50 species. A not-so-common bird here was a fly-by AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. A short walk around the campground did not produce the hoped for Inca Dove flock with the Ruddy.

We arrived at the Vaca Ranch Corral at 1:30pm and immediately found the feeding MCCOWN'S LONGSPUR flock and a few fly-by CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS. Then we began a fruitless search for Baird's Sparrow without locating a single potential candidate. Just plenty of SAVANNAH, VESPER and a couple of GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS.

Entering soap box mode. In recent weeks I've noted several reports of Baird's Sparrows with numbers of 4-6 birds seen in this location, and even reports of  birds perched on fences, something they are not noted for in winter. In fact, they are somewhat solitary and rather secretive. I am most fascinated by the fact that others are able to easily find this elusive bird (in a year when numbers are down) and yet I, despite having a number of years of experience working with this species, am consistently unable to find them. This season I have only 1 success in 4 tries. Either other folks are incredibly lucky, or I am pretty dumb when it comes to finding this bird. Or maybe it's just that I need to develop the ability to convince my clients that Vesper and Savannah Sparrows are, in fact, Baird's Sparrows in disguise.

Monday, February 22, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Lud Deppisch from Youngstown, OH, who I've birded with a number of times before, and Hal Cross from Tucson, AZ. It was a most unusual day for me as we enjoyed some casual birding in the Sulphur Springs Valley and the Mule Mountains, without any specific targets except raptors. However, it was very evident in SSV that many of the Red-tails have moved north, and there are plenty of vacant power poles. We did not find Merlin or Prairie Falcon, although I'm sure they are still around.  

We began on Coffman Road with GAMBEL'S QUAIL, singing CRISSAL THRASHER, and many VESPER, BREWER'S, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and LARK BUNTINGS. At Whitewater Draw, 6-SANDHILL CRANES remained in the same location as on Saturday, at the intersection of Coffman and Bagby. Also here were 10-LONG-BILLED CURLEWS. Other birds included CINNAMON TEAL, LEAST SANDPIPER, 2-GREAT HORNED OWLS and CRISSAL THRASHER. A single SWAMP SPARROW was still present in the marsh.

As we headed north on Central Highway, a (migrating?) male VERMILION FLYCATCHER was also working north. On Hwy 191 in the Harris Hawk tree were, you guessed it, 2-HARRIS'S HAWKS. Birding in the Essary Hay  fields (formerly Spitler) was very good and we found a total of 8-FERRUGINOUS HAWKS including 2 dark morph birds, many MOUNTAIN PLOVER (not counted, but certainly over 50), and a surprising 3-SAGE THRASHERS as they begin their northbound push. Over at Zuck Farms we found a very cooperative BENDIRE'S THRASHER and a few CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS.

After lunch in tourist laden Bisbee, we worked the nearby Mule Mountains. Birding here was slow in mid-afternoon and we found only a dozen or so species included PYRRHULOXIA, a large flock of BUSHTITS, and the regular BLACK-CHINNED and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS. Our last stop at Sierra Vista Sewage Ponds produced both SNOW and ROSS'S GEESE.

Wednesday, February 24, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
After a solid day and a half of e-mail and paperwork (and I thought I'd escaped the rat race), I headed into the Huachucas this afternoon. It was overcast as I drove along French Fry Blvd. at 1:30pm but the temperature was 75 degrees -- when the hell is winter going to come? Perhaps not at all this year.

I started up Scheelite Canyon at 2:00pm where conditions were excellent, shady with a little breeze and pleasantly cool. In no time at all I located a ridiculously easy to find SPOTTED OWL in a regular tree. Although I have now seen Spotted Owl in over 100 different roost locations, this tree in particular accounts for 12% of my sightings. Since it's directly next to the trail, I suspect that many people have seen their lifer here.

It has been almost 7 months to the day since I saw 2 Spotted Owls in the canyon, and since there have been a few reports recently of owls calling, I decided to continue looking for a second bird. It has been my experience that these birds are strictly nocturnal, borne out by the fact that, in over 700 visits to Scheelite, I have never heard a Spotted Owl call during the day. Nevertheless, this is the time of year that they would be calling so, despite my skepticism, I plodded on. However, even though I made a comprehensive search, I did not locate a second bird. Of course, that's not to say that one is not present. I'll stick at it!

The canyon was much birdier today than of late and I recorded the following species in addition to the owl --  BAND-TAILED PIGEON (calling strongly, I suppose that this could be mistaken for an owl call), STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, STELLER'S, SCRUB and MEXICAN JAY'S, HUTTON'S VIREO (foraging and singing 3 feet from the Spotted Owl!), HERMIT THRUSH, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 6-BROWN CREEPERS, numerous CANYON WRENS (very active and easy to see today), BUSHTIT, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BRIDLED TITMOUSE and a small flock of PINE SISKINS.

Band-tailed Pigeons are quite rare in winter in the Huachucas and this is by far the earliest that I have seen them in Scheelite (they normally are not here until June at the earliest). They are also present in Sawmill (since at least Feb 7) and, in fact, they most likely over-wintered there. They normally do not appear in Sawmill until late May, although I have one April record.

Dusky and Hammond's Flycatchers are rare to uncommon in winter, usually in riparian areas. Dusky normally appears as a migrant in Scheelite around the 3rd week in April with my earliest previous record of March 28. This makes today's sighting very early indeed. Hammond's are remarkably consistent as a migrant in Scheelite with first dates ranging from March 24 to 31. It will be interesting to see what happens with Hammond's in this mild winter. I've already noticed an increase in numbers in Patagonia.

Thursday, February 25, 1999    Previous Day    Next day
Out today with Bill and Mareille Van Trigt from Los Angeles, CA and Pete and Janet Van Trigt from Hilton Head Island, NC. A pleasant, overcast day that would otherwise have been very warm. We began at 8:00am at Patagonia Lake State Park where a leisurely four hour walk produced an even 60 species.

It was quite odd that on the walk out, "regular" marsh birds were absent or at least inconspicuous, whereas non-typical marsh type birds were very active in the marsh. Feeding at the water's edge or in the cattails were NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, VERDIN, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, WHITE-CROWNED, BREWER'S, CHIPPING, BLACK-CHINNED and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, and NORTHERN CARDINAL. I've seen all these species feeding in the marsh at one time or another in the past, but never in such numbers and certainly not all on the same day. I can only assume that some food source was in abundant supply here. The numbers of Black-chinned Sparrows in particular were very high and we saw them on the arid slopes before dropping to lake level as well as in the marsh.

Several hours later on the return journey, birds in and around the marsh were more typical of what you might expect --  GREEN-WINGED and CINNAMON TEAL, COOT, VIRGINIA RAIL, MARSH WREN, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, SONG, LINCOLN'S and SWAMP SPARROWS and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD.

Flycatchers were much in evidence and we found 3-HAMMOND'S, 3-GRAY, 3-DUSKY, numerous VERMILION'S and 1-ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER plus the common BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBE'S. All of the Hammond's were along the creek trail as was a calling GREEN KINGFISHER about 300 yards in from the lake, and a GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.. On the flats where the creek feeds the lake were AMERICAN PIPITS and both EASTERN and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

Species diversity on the lake was low today but the numbers of mergansers and cormorants seems to have increased. On the water were PIED-BILLED and EARED GREBES, 20+ NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, RUDDY DUCK, GADWALL, MALLARD, 10+ REDHEADS, LESSER SCAUP and 30+ COMMON MERGANSERS.

No unusual species were seen, although the out-of-habitat and somewhat rare here HUTTON'S VIREO, that has been around for a while, continues. Many swallows were high overhead at one point but TREE SWALLOW was the only positive id that I made.

After a sloooow but good lunch at Stage Stop Inn in Patagonia (they are consistently slow but good), we spent an hour in the Paton's Yard. Here we saw only 20 species but the activity was quite frenzied. A ROADRUNNER greeted us as we arrived. We saw only VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD although Anna's and Black-chinned are present. What I assume are 2 male Violet-crowns are present with one bird aggressively dominating the feeders. The seed feeders had plenty of customers, most of which were HOUSE FINCHES and CHIPPING SPARROWS, although both PINE SISKIN and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH were in good numbers too. Brief feeder appearances were made by GREEN-TAILED and ABERT'S TOWHEES. Normally quite shy, several LINCOLN'S SPARROWS foraged on the ground in the open and occasionally visited the feeders. We hung around hoping that the band of Lazuli Buntings would put in an appearance, but they didn't. This is a bird that is normally regularly present during the winter months, but not this winter. According to Mrs. Paton, they arrived 4 days ago.

Our day ended rather disappointingly in lower Garden Canyon where it was quite windy and almost devoid of birds. You know that it's tough going when you have to LOOK for MEXICAN JAYS. In the end, we saw ONE! We also had fleeting looks at RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. However, our last bird of the day -- a small group of immaculately plumaged WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, were somewhat of a consolation and a nice way to end. 

Saturday, February 27, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
My visits to Sierra Vista Sewage Ponds have been few and far between so far this year, so the two hours that I spent there this morning made for a pleasant change. I bumped into John Saba and we spent most of the time chatting, mainly about the fine points of empidonax identification, a subject that many people relish like a trip to the dentist!

Although I recorded only 31 species, there were a few birds of note in this mild winter that seems to be promoting early migration. A female BUFFLEHEAD was my first February record at the ponds. In previous years there have been a few winter lingerers into early January and then none until they migrate north again between late March and early May. A lone TURKEY VULTURE was also a first February record at the ponds. They normally arrive here in March and my previous early date was March 7, 1995. Not quite a record (I have one other on February 22, 1995) was a lone NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. Most first sightings at the ponds are from mid to late March. Note: TUVU and NRWS, especially TUVU are somewhat regular in winter further west, near Nogales. Also of note was a GREAT BLUE HERON, seen here an average of once every 35 visits! Seen flying in the distance were 5 geese that are probably the same group of SNOW and ROSS'S that have been around all winter. Occasional song was heard from both EASTERN and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

Sunday, February 28, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Today, John Saba & I birded in Sycamore Canyon where we hiked to just below the lower box, a round trip of approximately 6 miles. We left the parking area around 7:15am when the temperature was right around freezing and returned at 3:30pm when it was a tad warmer, probably in the high 70s. The return on our investment of time and effort was fairly poor and although we saw a few good species, for me the trip was a little disappointing since I had hoped to find a few early migrants. The canyon was very quiet in many areas and overall species diversity was on the low side with only 34 species. However, some of the species that we saw were remarkably common. Humans were also on the low side and we saw only one family group plus 3 nude sunbathers, more embarrassing for us than them I think. Gee, what's that bird over there right behind that young lady!

Leaving the parking area we saw several RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS and a small flock of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS. The best bird of the day came early, and only about 1/2 mile into the canyon, when the distinctive "chink" call of a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH alerted us to its presence. Although initially quite secretive, we were soon able to track it down and the bird eventually foraged openly in an area of bedrock with shallow water. Just below the upper box we heard the rapid "chucking" alarm call of an ELEGANT TROGON, but it was some time later about 1.5 miles further down canyon before we saw a cooperative adult male, perhaps even the same bird. At our turn around point just below the lower box were many WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, chattering and circling overhead. Also here was a female HEPATIC TANAGER.

Common throughout the entire canyon were CANYON WREN, MEXICAN JAY, HERMIT THRUSH and many TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES that were calling and singing constantly. As we ate lunch in the shade near a pool, two thrushes and a solitaire came in to drink. Here and there we saw small flocks of BRIDLED TITMICE and WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. Regular, at intervals, were HUTTON'S VIREOS, already in pairs. We also encountered a couple of birds that we left unidentified -- a Hammond's/Dusky that was a little too far away, and a hardly seen warbler that was probably a Black-throated Gray. Our complete list for the canyon was as follows:

Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, White-throated Swift, Elegant Trogon, Acorn and Gila Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Phainopepla, Eastern & Western Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Northern Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's and House Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Song, Lincoln's and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Hepatic Tanager and Northern Cardinal.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, February 28, 1999.

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 1999 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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