Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - June, 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 Wednesday, June 30, 1999

Tuesday, June 1, 1999
Out again today with Brooke Stevens from Cambridge, MA and Carol Ralph from Waltham, MA. Another early start for a trip to Chino Canyon to look for Black-capped Gnatcatcher. I had made 3 trips earlier in the year, seeing the bird on 2 of those occasions. Even though I was reasonably confident of success, given the amount of habitat present and the behavior of the bird, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. That's the way it turned out.

A 4:15am departure from Sierra Vista put us at the "parking area" under Elephant Head at 6:30am. On the way in we saw several common desert species including GILA WOODPECKER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, RUFOUS-WINGED and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS. Decidedly uncommon in lowland mesquite at anytime, and especially at this time of year was a female HEPATIC TANAGER. Breeding habitat for this species is some distance away although there is some marginal habitat nearby. Perhaps it's a non-breeder this year. Later we saw (and heard!) a BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD zip by, also surprising in this habitat in June.

Most of the area was in shade and continued that way for almost 2 hours. Activity was initially quite low and the most conspicuous bird was VARIED BUNTING. They were quite numerous and singing vigorously, mostly from high perches. In an effort to conjure up some birds, I gave a screech owl call. The only dicky bird that seemed interested was a N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET that flew in very close. However, a nearby roosting WESTERN SCREECH-OWL didn't take kindly to my invading his territory. He called non-stop for 30 minutes and continued on and off for an hour after that. The birds in the area must be quite used to the screech-owl  because they certainly seemed indifferent to his calls.

We worked the area for almost 90 minutes before coming across any gnatcatchers. I heard the mewing call of a BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER and briefly saw the female and what everybody seems to be calling a hybrid male. I could see that the male had a solid black cap that comes down below the eye, but I did not see the undertail very well. (By the way, from typical field views, I am unable to understand how anyone can determine that it's a hybrid. My uneducated eyes certainly can't. Perhaps everyone is assuming that it's the same bird as last year which was reliably determined to be a hybrid?).

Unfortunately, Brooke and Carol were not with me so we had to start over and try to relocate the birds. We soon found a pair of gnatcatchers but they turned out to be BLACK-TAILED. We kept on looking but by now the area was in full sun and getting quite warm. I sensed that the ladies were loosing a little bit of hope and perhaps even doubted that I'd seen the bird! We set out for another foray and immediately found the female BLACK-CAPPED conveniently perched high so we could see the undertail. To everyone's satisfaction, the bird even gave the kitten like characteristic mewing call to confirm the identification. Now it was time for everybody to work on removing cactus needles from various body parts.

Having now gone through this exercise 4 times this year and numerous times in past years, it never ceases to amaze me how the bird can stay confined to such a small area and yet remain undetected for such long periods (I've found it in almost the same place each time this year). I suppose that one might find it quickly by using a tape. However, although I do use tapes, this is certainly a bird that I do not use a tape for. Therefore, the key to finding the bird would appear to be quite simple, have patience and stay in the right area! Today I noted that the bird seems to be vocalizing much less than earlier in the season.

Brooke and Carol asked me about Buff-collared Nightjar but I declined to be part of the circus that has become commonplace in McCleary Wash. We parted company around 10:00am and I had a pleasant drive home through Box Canyon.

This year I have scheduled the entire month of June off and today was my last day of work for a while. I'll spend a few more days in SE AZ and then point the car north. Even though I scheduled this time off many months ago, as usual, I haven't decided where to go. I have plenty of ideas including Maine, Minnesota and the Pacific Northwest. I spent June of 96 and 97 in Minnesota and 98 in the Pacific Northwest, so perhaps Maine will win out this year. Sometime in the next few days inspiration will strike.

Wednesday, June 2, 1999
I hadn't visited Sierra Vista sewage ponds in quite a while so today's visit, despite the warm and buggy conditions, was quite enjoyable. Squeezing out birds here in June is a challenge and, although I persisted for 90 minutes, I only managed 29 species. However, there were some entertaining moments and a few mild surprises.

The surprises came from a pair of NORTHERN SHOVELERS and 4-CATTLE EGRETS (both species represented June firsts for me at the ponds); and 2-BLACK TERNS that I assume are still heading north this late in the season.

Entertainment came from a pair of SCALED QUAIL that were jumping up from the ground to reach seed heads that were a little too tall for them, a CATTLE EGRET that could have landed anywhere on an irrigation rig but chose to knock a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE of its perch, and a pair of HOUSE SPARROWS that were harassing a KILLDEER.

My list from 7:10-8:40am was:
Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, 4-Cattle Egrets, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's and Red-tailed Hawks, 2-Scaled Quail, American Coot, Killdeer, 2-Black Terns, Mourning and Rock Doves, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Verdin, Barn Swallow, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lucy's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, June 4, 1999
Although my short morning visit to Sierra Vista sewage ponds yielded only 20 species, I did find a couple of interesting birds in addition to the continuing 4-CATTLE EGRETS.

1 - adult plumaged male LESSER SCAUP. They are rare in SE AZ in summer and I only have a single previous June record from Willcox.

13 - WHITE-FACED IBIS. Also rare in SE AZ in summer. I have 3 previous June records from the San Pedro River, Sierra Vista sewage ponds and Willcox.

A note to local birders: After an absence of 6 months, (a reduced version of) my sewage pond bird sighting data is again located at the marsh observation area.

Saturday, June 5, 1999
Today I was birding with Tony Godfrey from Bisbee, AZ and his friend Simon Roberts from Nottingham, England. Tony had called me last night to get some Spotted Owl info (they had tried for it twice in Scheelite without any luck). Since I was "on vacation" but not leaving town until Tuesday, I offered to head up the canyon with them to try my luck. As you'll see, I got my reward!

My day began well in Garden Canyon as I drove through the lower grasslands at 6:30am. Birds were quite plentiful and (in order seen) I recorded LARK SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, MOURNING DOVE, 2-SCALED QUAIL, CANYON TOWHEE, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, 2-MONTEZUMA QUAIL near the Sportsman's Center (I've seen them here before), HOUSE FINCH, VERDIN, RED-TAILED HAWK, EASTERN MEADOWLARK and 3 female BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

As I reached the tree line additional birds were LESSER GOLDFINCH, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, BEWICK'S WREN, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, MEXICAN JAY and SPOTTED TOWHEE. I paused at the upper picnic area to wait for the guys and added SCOTT'S ORIOLE, HUTTON'S VIREO, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, several noisy SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, AMERICAN ROBIN, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, a very cooperative ELEGANT TROGON singing from the top of a sycamore, HEPATIC TANAGER and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW. Since the BBFLs are still present so late, it is tempting to assume that they are nesting in this atypical habitat.

As we headed up Scheelite Canyon just after 7:00am, the log showed that nobody had recorded an owl in the past few days. I did my normal search pattern without finding the bird in the lower roosting area, so we continued on to higher elevations. The canyon was delightfully cool at this hour and it was certainly no chore to do so. I had two trees in particular in mind where the bird might be. Striking out on the first we continued on, but little did I know what awaited us. In the very tree where I was hoping to find an owl, well hidden and off the beaten path, there sat not one but 2-SPOTTED OWLS!

It has been a long time since I saw two Spotted Owls in Scheelite, but today two birds were roosting side by side like they had known each other for years. The birds were roosting not far from Smitty's remains and hopefully, perhaps, he even knows the birds are there.

Recent history of the owls in Scheelite is not good. In December of 1997 one bird disappeared, which I assumed meant that the bird had met its demise. It was not until May of 1998 that a new, quite immature, bird joined the original bird. However, on July 23, 1997, employees of a government agency attempted to fit the birds with radio transmitters by netting them on their roost site during the day. (I don't know if they were successful or not.) The unfortunate result of this occurrence was that the "new" immature bird was never seen again. Since the owls in Scheelite are perhaps the most well tracked Spotted Owls in AZ, one has to question whether this activity was really necessary. Whether the bird died of shock or said "I'm out of here", who knows. Since that time, the "old" bird has been alone -- until today that is, a period of almost 11 months. The "old" bird has never bred but since today's "new" bird looks quite mature, come next year this pair (assuming they stick together) could produce young.

[Entering soap box mode: Birders (and bird guides!) take lots of flak for harassing birds (some of it justified). However, if one gets a permit to band birds, trap owls, or shoot birds to examine if they're diseased, then harassment becomes "pursuit of scientific knowledge" and everything is hunky dory.]

Other species present in the canyon today were Band-tailed Pigeon, Strickland's Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran and Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Steller's and Western Scrub-Jays, Hutton's Vireo, Canyon Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Virginia's and Black-throated Gray Warblers, Painted Redstart, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak and Scott's Oriole.

Simon still needed a couple of sparrows, so after breakfast at Star Buffet in Sierra Vista (a good place for buffet style breakfast, lunch and dinner), we headed to the Whetstone Mountains. French Joe Canyon is the closest place to Sierra Vista (that I know) for breeding BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS, and after quite a slog up the canyon we eventually found a pair. Although the late morning heat was nowhere near as brutal as it could have been on a more typical SE AZ June day, bird activity was quite low. We recorded 21 species including LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, CARDINAL, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, WESTERN TANAGER, and SCOTT'S and HOODED ORIOLES.

Our day ended successfully near Patagonia Lake where we easily found and saw, a very cooperative BOTTERI'S SPARROW.

Tuesday, June 8, 1999
Some time ago when I first thought about my "vacation" birding, I planned to spend an extended period of time in the White Mountains of east central Arizona. Over the years I have gathered plenty of data for this area, but I have absolutely none at all for the month of June. However, because of the dry conditions and possible closure of National Forest areas, I had abandoned the idea. Being the procrastinator that I am, at the last minute I decided to go ahead with my original plan and today I headed to Springerville where I'll be based for the next few weeks. I picked a good time to leave SE AZ, it was 100 degrees in Sierra Vista yesterday.

My main objective will be to remedy my lack of June data and to do some work on the breeding birds of the area.  I'll be shocked (and pleased!) to find a life bird on this trip, however, it sure would be nice to find at least one state bird. I'll be looking hard for Pine Grosbeak that has eluded me on all my previous trips to the White Mountains. Today was mostly a travel and settling in day but I did stop briefly at a few places and saw about 50 species on the day (including those in SE AZ).

Ironically, now that the shorebirds are all gone, Willcox has quite a bit of sandy shorebird habit. However, there were a few lingering ducks here and a surprise CLARK'S GREBE. This bird is not a "classic" plumaged bird (in terms of the eye being entirely in the white part of the face), but it has a large and slightly upturned orange bill and pale gray back coloration.

My first stop in the mountains was at Luna Lake at 2:30pm where I spent about 30 minutes. In a quick scan I turned up a little over 20 species including DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, approximately 100-CANADA GEESE, REDHEAD, 1 adult BALD EAGLE, calling SORA, BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD (it's been a few months since I saw one and that color of blue is still to die for), a perched up and singing SAVANNAH SPARROW, many YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS and both EASTERN and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS singing side by side.

More MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and lots of AMERICAN CROWS were in Alpine. A brief cruise along Nutrioso Creek produced the hoped for LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS, WESTERN BLUEBIRD and WESTERN TANAGER. A quick stop at Nelson Reservoir produced some of the same birds as at Luna Lake plus a few GADWALL and 1 male COMMON MERGANSER. (The marsh end is very dry but there are some mudflats.)

An evening visit to Becker Lake produced EARED, PIED-BILLED, WESTERN and CLARK'S GREBES, and LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS in the usual spot. More LEWIS'S were along Becker Lake Road and among the birds at the river crossing on Airport Road were CANYON TOWHEE and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, neither are common here.

Wednesday, June 9, 1999
I was comfortable in shorts and shirt sleeves leaving town (Springerville) this morning, but 40 minutes later and 3000+ feet higher atop Green's Peak at 6:30am, I was freezing my ass off with the wind chill. Along the road in (FR 117) birds were scarce in the early morning chill and I saw just a few MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, WARBLING VIREOS and VESPER SPARROWS. At the top I spent a few minutes chatting with Lana, the lady who mans (womans, persons?) the fire tower (I first met her here in 1995). No fires this year to date, so far so good. All the National Forest areas are open but campfires and smoking are prohibited.

I headed out to look for BLUE GROUSE and after only 5 minutes found a spectacular displaying male that didn't give a damn about my presence. From about 50 feet I watched the bird step on to a dirt mound and then on to a 1 foot diameter fallen tree to perform his display -- a good start to my day you could say! I heard the fire lady shouting "Hey, Blue Grouse man, they're over here". She had also found a couple of birds. Walking downslope to see the birds is easy, but heading back up at over 10,000 feet is quite a slog. It makes Scheelite seem easy! I didn't stay around too long and saw only a few other species -- BROWN CREEPER, HERMIT THRUSH, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and VESPER SPARROW. Both ELK and PRONGHORN were on the lower slopes.

Just south of Green's Peak I checked a wooded area where I'd  found breeding Gray Jay in previous years. No luck with that, just a few common species including BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, HAIRY WOODPECKER, FLICKER, RUBY and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, AM. ROBIN, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, STELLER'S JAY, AM. CROW, GRAY-HEADED JUNCO and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

I continued on to nearby Carnero Lake where I found the first surprise of the trip -- a TREE SWALLOW. There are only a few breeding records in Arizona including a couple from other lakes in the White Mountains. Of course this could be an early returning migrant, but since the habitat here is quite good, chances are also good that the bird is breeding. On the road in (FR 117A) I saw many of the same birds that I'd already seen, plus RED-TAILED HAWK, AM. KESTREL and LEWIS'S WOODPECKER. At the lake, in addition to the Tree Swallow, were PIED-BILLED GREBE, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, RUDDY DUCK, GADWALL, MALLARD, CINNAMON TEAL, REDHEAD, AM. COOT, KILLDEER, CLIFF SWALLOW, and YELLOW-HEADED and BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS. Back on FR 117, perched atop a dead pine near Sheep Corral, was my first CLARK'S NUTCRACKER of the trip.

After breakfast at the Country Cafe in Greer (always good, recommended), I birded a few locations in the Greer area starting at Benny Creek. Although the creek is running, the normally marshy surrounding areas are totally dry and I found only 10 species along a 1/2 mile section of the creek. New for the day were CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Next, I spent  2 hours in Butler Canyon along the east fork of the little Colorado river. Access to this area is on Apache County Rd. 1121. Private property is a problem but the public trail runs along the riparian area for at least 1/2 mile. I've only birded here a few times and today was certainly the most productive. Species seen were BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD (at a nest site), two RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS at different locations, 1 male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER (drumming), FLICKER, numerous WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES, at least 3 singing DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, STELLER'S JAY, absolutely scads of WARBLING VIREOS, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, AM. ROBIN, a few HOUSE WRENS, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, YELLOW-RUMPED, MACGILLIVRAY'S and several RED-FACED WARBLERS (all three warbler species were singing), GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD.

I ended my "morning" session (80 degrees at 2:00pm back in Springerville) along the west fork of the little Colorado in Greer, where I searched methodically for Dipper without success. Lot's of fishermen were in the area but, even so, I fully expected to see the bird. I found several more MACGILLIVRAY'S and RED-FACED WARBLERS (both singing) and a few more birds new for the day -- PYGMY NUTHATCH, PINE SISKIN and LESSER GOLDFINCH.

I spent the last couple of hours before sunset at the Wenima Wildlife Area which is very close to Springerville. This is a riparian area along the little Colorado bordered by somewhat sparse Pinyon-Juniper slopes and rocky bluffs. I had birded here only once before (in late August) so I did not have much of a benchmark. I expected plenty of activity at this time of day but the area was disappointingly quiet. However, I did find my second surprise of the day though, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER along a rocky section of the river (they do breed in the White Mountains but I didn't know that until today!). I recorded the following additional species: MALLARD, TURKEY VULTURE, AM. KESTREL, MOURNING DOVE, several LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BLACK PHOEBE, ROCK and CANYON WRENS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, CLIFF SWALLOW, STARLING, N. MOCKINGBIRD, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, a perched up and singing LAZULI BUNTING, a pair of scolding BULLOCK'S ORIOLES, and lots of WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS.

Thursday, June 10, 1999
Although the temperature in Springerville was a reasonable 43 degrees when I left town at 5:45am this morning, it felt much colder than that when I began birding at South Fork about 15 minutes later. It certainly wasn't yesterday's Green's Peak feeling, but it was definitely jacket weather. What a pleasant escape from June in SE AZ! I've birded here many times and as I expected, the lower riparian section was the most productive; the campground much less so; and, with one notable exception, the upper canyon trail was decidedly unproductive.

I started in the lower riparian section and first checked the bridge, a traditional spot for nesting AMERICAN DIPPER. It took me a few minutes to realize that the little rock I was looking at, balanced on top of a bigger rock, was in fact the bird staring up at me! I decided to look for Gray Catbird next, a rare breeding species in AZ, but annual and reliable at South Fork. Although a bird had been reported recently, it eluded me today despite a thorough (or so I thought) 90 minute search. Oh well, another day. During my search of this rather small area I recorded a total of 27 species -- WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, BELTED KINGFISHER, LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, SAY'S PHOEBE, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, AM. DIPPER, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, HERMIT THRUSH, AM. ROBIN, N. MOCKINGBIRD, ROCK & CANYON WRENS,   BUSHTIT, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, CHIPPING SPARROW, SPOTTED TOWHEE, BLACK-HEADED & BLUE GROSBEAKS, EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS, RED-WINGED & BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD.

At the campground 1/2 mile further upstream the habitat is quite different with the addition of tall timber. Some of the same species as earlier plus a few new species here -- MOURNING DOVE, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, a couple of pairs each of PLUMBEOUS and WARBLING VIREOS, HOUSE WREN, GRACE'S WARBLER, WESTERN TANAGER and GRAY-HEADED JUNCO. All species were singing.

I walked about 1.5 miles on the trail above the campground where the birds dwindled to almost nothing. Additional species here were HAIRY WOODPECKER, FLICKER, STELLER'S JAY and BROWN CREEPER. In an effort to generate some activity, I gave a few NPO toots (remembering at the last moment to use single toots, not double toots as for the "Mountain" NPO in SE AZ). I didn't get any dicky birds but in flew a very inquisitive NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL that was definitely "in my face".

After 3.5 hours in South Fork, I recorded a total of 43 species including a HORNED LARK as I left. Not spectacular for sure, but the Dipper and Owl were a good reward.

I drove over to Sunrise Ski Area and began birding at the Campground around 10:00am. (The only snow that I've seen in the mountains so far was a few patches on the upper slopes here). This was my first shot at Pine Grosbeak and it would prove fruitless. I trudged around the campground loops which were about as deserted as I've ever seen them -- perhaps 10 sites occupied. Unfortunately, there were even fewer birds than people. My walk began well enough with a pristine looking male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER that seemed to fly in and check me out, but that was the end of my "luck" and it was all common stuff from then on. It wasn't much of a surprise (with no free food around) that the normally omnipresent GRAY JAYS were nowhere to be found. However, I took one of the dirt tracks that lead up the mountain and found a pair after only 1/2 mile.

I made a midday stop at Sunrise Lake which was just about as dead as the campground (the water level is somewhat low). Most of the regular breeding ducks were present plus a 40+ mixed male/female flock of COMMON MERGANSERS and a lone RING-BILLED GULL. In the grassland around the lake were AM. CROW,  MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, HORNED LARK and SAVANNAH and VESPER SPARROWS.

Even more unproductive was an evening visit to Becker Lake. The high wind and dust made viewing difficult and unpleasant. Most of the birds seen on Tuesday were present along with the first NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW of the trip. Grazing PRONGHORN and a close swimming BEAVER provided a little interest.

Friday, June 11, 1999
Today I worked hard at high elevation (approx. 10,000 feet) and had very little reward in terms of species diversity (expected) or my target bird, Three-toed Woodpecker. I was amazed by how cold it was when I began birding at Hulsey Lake at 5:45am and by the time I left at 6:20am my hands were numb!. Of course, I had the place to myself (gee, you think).

Birds were hard to come by -- first, a calling MOURNING DOVE,  then I spotted a lone VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW atop a snag, a RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD in the marsh, and a couple of AMERICAN ROBINS and a MALLARD by the water's edge. After about 10 minutes the sun rose above Escudilla Mountain and slowly but surely the birds began to wake up and I finally got some activity. First a HOUSE WREN singing, then a MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE feeding young, several GRAY-HEADED JUNCOS began flitting around, the strident call of a FLICKER startled me, a RED-FACED WARBLER singing in a regular spot below the dam was encouraging, a cute looking PYGMY NUTHATCH peeped out of its cavity, BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS started to zip around, WARBLING VIREOS fired up (and I heard them incessantly wherever I went for the rest of the day), several RED CROSSBILLS "jib jibbed" perched atop a pine, and a BELTED KINGFISHER shot out of the trees and across the lake, rattling as it went. The deep call of a COMMON RAVEN and few YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS rounded out the list. Such is life at tiny Hulsey Lake on a mid-June early morning. Species in italics were also seen at Terry Flat.

I headed up the mountain and began birding at Terry Flat at 6:30am. For the next 7 hours I did stop and go roadside birding on the loop and various side trails, traversing about 25 miles by vehicle and about 5 miles on foot. There's lots of great habitat for Three-toed Woodpecker here and I did a methodical and thorough search at regular intervals. Even the territories where I'd found them before failed me, and I ended up without even a whiff of a bird. Along the way I recorded 28 species. The following are in addition to those already seen at Hulsey Lake: RED-TAILED HAWK, TURKEY VULTURE, HAIRY WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY and CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, RUBY and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, STELLER'S JAY, AM. CROW, HERMIT THRUSH, WESTERN TANAGER, GREEN-TAILED and SPOTTED TOWHEES, LESSER GOLDFINCH and PINE SISKIN.

I headed out again around 5:00pm and was dismayed to find the sky filled with smoke coming from the direction of the mountains. I sure hope that things are not as bad they seem, a closure of the forest will sure kill my plans. I birded again at Wenima Wildlife area for about an hour, this time on the north side which has less habitat and, consequently, was less productive than my south side visit earlier in the week. I was greeting in the parking area by 3-LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS, a pair of BULLOCK'S ORIOLES and a noisy YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. (Judging by what I've heard, I think there are 4-5 (pairs of?) Chats along the 2 mile stretch of river that I've covered in two visits this week.) There's not much habitat here for N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW but I found a bird near an area where the banks of the river are deeply incised, and they may be (probably are) nesting there. There's probably even less habitat for BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON but an adult and an immature were around.

Saturday, June 12, 1999
My vehicle was covered by a light dusting of ash this morning and the sky was heavy with smoke as I headed out not knowing what to expect. As I crested out at 9000 feet near Crescent Lake the smell of smoke was quite strong and it hung in the dips like thick fog. I never did see the fire, it seems to be quite a way west and south of where I could see (even from where I ended up at the top of Mt. Baldy at 11, 400 feet).

After doing a considerable amount of walking yesterday, I would rather not have birded MT. Baldy today. However, I wanted to get it done in case the area is soon closed because of the fire. I knew there wouldn't be much of a view from the top, but hell, I wasn't going for the view. I should be thankful for small mercies like not being in say, Tucson, at 105 degrees today, not being called "Billy or Joe Bob" (there's a lot of cowboy types in town for a Rodeo), and being healthy enough to make the Mt. Baldy trip at all.

The hike to Mt. Baldy on the "94 trail" is 7 miles long and has an elevation gain of approximately 2000 feet, from around 9,400 in the "flatlands" to 11,400 at the top of the mountain. This day (I'll only do it once this trip!) represented my best bets for Three-toed Woodpecker (a nice AZ year bird) and Pine Grosbeak. As it turned out, I found several woodpeckers, no grosbeaks, and one surprise bird. The temperature along the trail was cool all day, except for the top which was very cool (still a few snowbanks of 4 feet or so).  I met less than 10 parties on the trail and saw 31 species of birds including a few "good" ones -- all in all a very enjoyable albeit extremely exhausting day.

I began at the trailhead at 7:00am, a little later than I wanted, and puffed and wheezed and birded my way to the top in about 5 hours. The trail begins in spruce, fir and ponderosa, drops alongside the little Colorado river with its willow riparian habitat bordered by meadow, then climbs through more spruce and fir to the top which has mainly stunted fir, grass and rocks (I hesitate to use the word talus, but it's close to that).

Early birds were generally the fairly common ones -- BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, STELLER'S JAY, AM. ROBIN, WARBLING VIREO, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and PINE SISKIN. However, right in the parking lot were a few noisy RED-CROSSBILLS.

As I hit the riparian section I picked up MALLARD, HOUSE WREN, LINCOLN'S SPARROW (an uncommon breeder in AZ but regular here), RED-FACED WARBLERS (singing from the slopes), and GREEN-TAILED and SPOTTED TOWHEES. Climbing higher, back into the trees, new birds were HAIRY WOODPECKER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, COMMON RAVEN, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, BROWN CREEPER, HERMIT THRUSH, WESTERN TANAGER and GRAY-HEADED JUNCO. What a treat to be deep in a forest with only the beautiful song of a HERMIT THRUSH to break the silence.

As I walked (more like stumbled), I was checking the trees looking intently for woodpeckers. At one point a moderate sized bird flew in very close to me. We eyeballed each other and I eventually figured out it was a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (although I tried to make it into the more common Cooper's). Sharpies are rare to uncommon at best as a breeder in central AZ. The bird spotted something and launched itself forward, zooming over my head by no more than two feet. Fantastic!

Shortly after this little bit of excitement, and about 3 hours into the journey, I ran across several woodpeckers in an area of rotting trees. I got very excited until I heard the call of a HAIRY WOODPECKER and I figured a family group. I started scanning anyway and what do you know, mixed in with them was also a pair of THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS. After all the effort I put in looking for them yesterday, today I "stumble" upon them. On the journey back I found another drumming male, about 1 mile below the other spot. I only touched on a little of the habitat for these birds today, so who knows how many there might be breeding on the mountain.

I heard a "jumbly warbling" song in the distance and my thoughts turned to Pine Grosbeak, but as I got closer I realized it was just a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. About 1/2 mile from the top I paused to watch a feeding flock of RED CROSSBILLS (actually, I was dead on my feet and the crossbills were a good excuse to stop). As I watched them I was shocked to hear the unmistakable song of a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW (they sing all winter in SE AZ). As far as I know, the only place they are known to breed regularly in AZ is near timberline at almost 13,000 feet in the San Francisco Mountains near Flagstaff (although there are breeding season sightings from the White Mountains in 1936 and 1976). I watched the bird seemingly defending territory by singing from various perches, and since the habitat here is ideal and it's mid-June, I'm going to go out on a limb <grin> and say that it's probably breeding here. A common bird, yes, but it sure made my day.

Now all that was left was to admire the panoramic 360 degree view, somewhat marred by the smoke, of course. After a little sustenance to fortify me for the 7 miles ahead, I headed back down the mountain. I stopped to watch and listen to the sparrow again and saw a pair of GRAY JAYS feeding fledged young. The final bird of the trip was VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW back in the parking lot at 4:15pm (yes, it's much quicker to lurch down a mountain than it is to hike up). At this point if someone had offered me a million dollars to show them a Three-toed Woodpecker I would have refused (but give me a half million and I'll tell you where to find one!).

Sunday, June 13, 1999
Miraculously, all the smoke had disappeared this morning and I learned that the fire was under control. However, not before it had burned 4,800 acres and destroyed a dozen homes near Whiteriver on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, about 50 miles SW of Springerville.

I saw something today that I hadn't seen for a long time -- rain! Puffy morning clouds built throughout the day resulting in some late afternoon thunder and lightning. Finally, by 7:00pm, at least here in Springerville, the rain began. Certainly not a July monsoon, but it's a start.

I took it easy today and stayed close to "home". I made morning, noon and evening visits to South Fork and a morning visit to Butler Canyon in Greer. My main reason for visiting South Fork was to look again for Gray Catbird. I didn't stay long this morning because a large group from Maricopa Audubon was birding in the area. However, I did bird for quite a while in the evening. Despite covering lots of streamside habitat I failed to see or even hear a catbird. That makes four visits now this week and I'm having trouble believing that a bird is present this year, but as I mentioned previously, a bird has been reported. The closest I came was a few false alarms from the numerous SPOTTED TOWHEES giving their catlike mewing calls, and even a MOCKINGBIRD imitating a catbird!

I saw the AMERICAN DIPPER again this morning under the bridge and I heard the bird singing just before leaving this evening. I did manage to salvage some success from the day when I found a male and female INDIGO BUNTING, another rare but regular breeder in AZ. There are quite a few BLUE GROSBEAKS in the area and it's easy to get careless and perhaps overlook the occasional bunting. I found them because I first heard the female calling and stuck around long enough that I eventually heard the male singing. Finally, I saw them both together.  

Monday, June 14, 1999  #Species to date = 121
I spent the morning in the Blue range south of Alpine. I began on the Blue River, birding the area between Upper Blue Campground and the river crossing just downstream from Jackson Box, a distance of 1.2 miles. The campground is 14 miles south of Luna Lake on Forest Road 281.

The habitat in this area is very impressive, and consists of a lush riparian area of mainly cottonwoods, willows and ash (as good a riparian area as I've seen anywhere in AZ), bordered by pinyon-juniper, pinyon-pine, poderosa pine, some alligator juniper and the occasional oak. It's an area where the birds of a more southerly flavor meet the northern birds of the White Mountains, and with such a diverse habitat it was hardly surprising that the birds followed suit. Here's a list of what I found in the 1.2 mile stretch.

Common Merganser, White-throated Swift, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Acorn & Hairy   Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, American Robin, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Canyon Wren, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Virginia's, Grace's, MacGillivray's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting.

The COMMON MERGANSER was a female with 7 young in tow and presumably bred in the area. If VIRGINIA'S warblers were common then RED-FACED were positively abundant. At no time was I out of earshot of one or the other. Strangely, the Virginia's were only calling, the Red-faced were singing strongly. At one point two Red-faced Warblers zipped out of the trees and over my head as I was looking at a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, not two species that you see together every day. After being pleased to find a pair of INDIGO BUNTINGS yesterday, this morning I located 3 singing males in a 1/2 mile stretch of the river -- apparently they are not as rare in AZ as I thought!

I continued down the river to Blue Crossing adding only HOUSE WREN and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. The habitat remains interesting the entire way but it's mostly private property. I headed back to higher elevation on Forest Road 567 which leaves the river at Blue Crossing and climbs some 13 miles to Hwy 191, north of Hannagan Meadow. The habitat along this road is mainly pinyon-juniper and pinyon-pine and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS were common. Among the other species were MEXICAN JAY, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE,  and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER.

Heading back north, I made a two hour stop at Luna Lake which produced most of the birds that I saw here on my arrival day (June 8) plus 2-GREAT EGRETS, 6-PURPLE MARTINS, PYGMY NUTHATCH,  WESTERN BLUEBIRD, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, GRACE'S WARBLER and WESTERN TANAGER.

In the evening I visited Sipe Wildlife Area south of Springerville where I saw 20+ species from 5:30-7:00pm. In an area of mostly junipers (that had a few MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS), the WA consists of marshy ponds, wet meadows, ditches, etc. Unfortunately, in this dry year there isn't much water. Nevertheless, RED-WINGED, BREWER'S and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS are breeding side by side in marginal habitat. I again saw N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS near deeply incised banks. I also picked up two new trip species here -- WESTERN KINGBIRD and LARK SPARROW.

Tuesday, June 15, 1999   #Species to date  = 124
This morning I birded the Sunrise and Greer areas; in the afternoon I worked my way east on FR249 checking various lakes. A much cooler day with considerable rain that began by late morning, so I didn't take my customary afternoon break. Even some hail this afternoon, ay, la vida loca.

I started at Sunrise campground for another try at my state Pine Grosbeak. Go on, ask me if I found one. Well, do you see Pine Grosbeak in capital letters? On the other hand, my THREE-TOED WOODPECKER magnet was certainly working today. Shortly after I arrived one flew over my head into the trees and started drumming and an immediate response came from another location. Eventually, I was able to track them both down. Wow! I then worked the spruce-fir areas above the campground towards the ski area for a couple of hours without any luck in terms of the grosbeak. I did find plenty of silently foraging GRAY JAYS and 2-3 singing LINCOLN'S SPARROWS.

After a late breakfast in Greer I checked Greer Lakes (all three lakes seemed to be devoid of birds), and then headed down to the west fork of the Little Colorado to look again for Dipper. I started at the upper parking lot and worked my way slowly downstream. Although the skies were gray and heavy and the temperature was quite cool, birds were very active and in short order I found VIRGINIA'S, MACGILLIVRAY'S and RED-FACED WARBLERS. A bird flashed by me and landed at the base of a nearby tree -- a female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. As I watched the bird, a small group of RED CROSSBILLS flew overhead. I heard another tapping sound and looked over in that direction and saw a second woodpecker. I said to myself "it'll be the male Williamson's". I put my binoculars on it and couldn't believe my eyes -- another THREE-TOED WOODPECKER! The bird was working on a dead tree no more than 30 feet high. I watched it for some time and it seemed to find quite a bit to eat. I was able to work myself within 20 feet of the bird and determine that it was a female. After paying my dues at Terry Flat last week, I've now seen 6 of them in 3 different locations.

A tale of two Dippers:
The Dipper at South Fork near Springerville has been very reliable, but I struck out completely here in Greer last week. Today I was determined to look for as long as it took and after the "distractions" of the warblers and woodpeckers, I renewed my efforts on the river. Now I'm no dipshit, but after looking at lots of Dipper shit without seeing a Dipper, I began to think I would dip again. (Say that fast, three times). Dipper doop was on plenty of rocks that I looked at, so there's either one very prodigious bird or quite a few of them that were eluding me. I was almost down to the private property line and thinking that I would have to work my way upstream again when the heavens opened. Since I knew that Dippers certainly don't need to shelter from the rain, I figured that I'd better not either. I saw a likely looking spot (about the 156th such spot in the last hour), took one step towards it and, finally, an AMERICAN DIPPER flushed and began scolding me. In reply I said, "oh no, you can't fly away, you owe me a look". The bird flew a few yards and started foraging. You have to admire the evolutionary process that colored these birds to blend so well with the cold, gray rocks in the river. I continued to watch and the bird eventually hopped on to a log and began to preen. After a while it just sat there looking at me as I approached to within 20 feet. I've never really noticed before, but this bird's eyelids were very bright white, extremely visible whenever it blinked.

After a week in the Mountains there were still three "easy" birds that I hadn't seen, not that I have really looked for them, -- Osprey, Olive-sided Flycatcher and Pinyon Jay. I should have seen Osprey at Luna Lake after two visits, and with so much habitat covered, I was surprised not to have seen Pinyon Jay. So, I decided to head east on FR249 to check several lakes, then on to a regular spot for the flycatcher and, finally, to head north to Nutrioso for the jay.

First, I made a brief stop at Sheep's Crossing to look for Willow Flycatcher. All I got for my trouble was a bunch of mosquito bites and soaking wet through as the heavens opened again. This time there was hail to boot. Several LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were singing and a BELTED KINGFISHER was working the river.

As I arrived at Crescent Lake, I immediately saw a large bird in the air. "Oh good" I thought, however, it turned out to be "just" a BALD EAGLE. I hung around for half an hour without any sign of an Osprey. It was cold and a little windy now but I scoped the lake anyway seeing about 20 species including DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT, COMMON MERGANSER, HORNED LARK, VESPER SPARROW and EASTERN MEADOWLARK.

Next stop was Big Lake where after a 20 minute wait I finally saw an OSPREY. The bird appeared from nowhere carrying a pretty large fish and headed off into the trees to where it is presumably nesting.

I continued east on FR249 seeing several MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and my first WILD TURKEY of the trip. A brief stop at Sierra Blanca Lake produced 10 species including CANADA GOOSE (2 adults and 2 young), several CINNAMON TEAL and SORA.

Divide Hill trailhead is a reliable place for OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and sure enough, I found one within 5 minutes. This is an area of Ponderosa and Aspen which is the favored breeding habitat for WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. Consequently, they are also reliable here and I found a female about 10 minutes after seeing the flycatcher.

Feeling lucky, I headed north on FR81 to Nutrioso to look for Pinyon Jay. However, despite cruising lots of reliable PJ habitat west of town, I struck out on this one. Oh well, another day.

Wednesday, June 16, 1999  Trip List   #Species to date = 125
I had to unexpectedly return home today so, for now at least, I'm back in the land where the woodpeckers have four toes. Hopefully, I'll make another trip somewhere before the month is out. In the meantime I'll "tough it out"  in the heat of SE AZ and hope that the monsoons begin early. "There ain't no cure for the summertime blues"  However, judging by today, there's a good chance of early relief. I arrived home shortly after midday to find lots of clouds building over several mountain ranges and by late afternoon there were a few sprinkles. On the down side I learned of a fire in Miller Canyon in the Huachucas, although I have no details yet.

I couldn't leave the White Mountains without seeing those pesky jays so I stopped at Nelson Reservoir as I left town this morning. Although this is a reliable place for them, I had neither seen or heard any even though I had passed by several times in the past week. Today, however, I did hear a few PINYON JAYS on the ridge and saw 3-BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS at the water's edge.

I again cruised the residential area west of Nutrioso that I had checked without success yesterday. Today I found a still-roosting flock of PINYON JAYS at the intersection of Apache County roads 2021 and 2017. This is also a regular location. The last bird that I recorded for the trip was a group of 6-WILD TURKEYS crossing Hwy 191, just south of Strayhorse campground.

I ended up seeing 131 species for the trip, 125 species in the White Mountains including a couple of potential breeding species that I didn't expect (Tree Swallow and White-crowned Sparrow). I saw most of the area specialties with Gray Catbird being my big miss. I was thrilled with my Three-toed Woodpecker experiences and I never got tired of looking at the numerous Mountain Bluebirds. I also increased my knowledge of the breeding birds of the area, which was my main objective. Of course, Pine Grosbeak still eludes me as a state bird! Just another reason to go back as soon as I can. All in all a very enjoyable and successful trip, I'll certainly miss the scenery and cool temperatures until I adjust again.

Friday, June 18, 1999
Although the weather has been very much unlike a normal mid-June since I returned from the White Mountains (i.e. cool and wet), I've done very little birding. Daily visits to Sierra Vista sewage ponds were lackluster and I saw nothing much worth reporting. However, after a nice rainy afternoon I ventured into Garden Canyon late today. I wanted to see if the rain of the past few days would fool the grassland sparrows into thinking it was time to start singing, but I didn't hear any. Perhaps a week of consistent rain might do the trick -- I hope we get it!

I started in the canyon at 6:00pm and drove slowly through the mesquite grassland. In order seen the birds were BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, VERDIN, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, CANYON TOWHEE, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, MOURNING DOVE, MOCKINGBIRD, PYRRHULOXIA, WESTERN KINGBIRD, HOUSE FINCH, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, and BLUE GROSBEAK.

At the lower picnic area I stopped to help someone change a tire (they had no jack, I've been there) so it was well after 7:00pm by the time I reached the upper picnic area. I had the place to myself and the conditions were excellent, very cool and wonderfully fresh after the rain. The birds must have found it to their liking because most species that I found were singing. I was greeted by a calling and easy-to-see male ELEGANT TROGON that continued to call for 30 minutes. Other species here were (in order seen) CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HEPATIC TANAGER, BEWICK'S WREN, MEXICAN JAY, COMMON RAVEN, BUSHTIT, PAINTED REDSTART, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, SPOTTED TOWHEE, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, SCOTT'S ORIOLE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, ACORN WOODPECKER, SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, N. FLICKER, WESTERN TANAGER, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and AMERICAN ROBIN.

As I've mentioned before, the Buff-breasted Flycatchers must be nesting here which is certainly a first at this location for me. The Western Tanager was somewhat of a surprise in this habitat during the nesting season. At 7:40pm the first WHIP-POOR-WILL started calling even though it was still very light, and several others soon fired up. Ten minutes later at 7:50pm they were joined by several calling WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS.

I headed down canyon and made a brief stop at the middle picnic area. Many Whip-poor-wills and several Whiskered Screech-Owls were calling and at 8:00pm I heard the first COMMON POORWILL. As I drove on, at least 6 Poorwills were feeding on the blacktop. Two of them let me drive so close I had to back up to see them!   From about 1/2 mile below the middle picnic area down to range #8, several COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were "peenting" as they flew over the grassland. Common Nighthawks are rare on the west side of the Huachucas, although they have become more common over the past couple of years. My evening jaunt was both pleasant and productive.  

Sunday, June 20, 1999
Although I'm "on vacation", I won't be heading north again for a few days and today I was birding with Ellery McClintock from Atlanta, GA. He had called me yesterday and wanted to go to CA Gulch. It meant another early start for me and I left home at 2:00am to pick up Ellery in Patagonia.

Without the benefit of moonlight long the Ruby Road I was surprised that so many COMMON POORWILLS were calling. However, we only saw 3 of them sitting in the road. Also calling were WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL and COMMON NIGHTHAWK. I saw no evidence that any of the recent rain has made it to this part of the world, roads are still very dusty and dry.

Birds were quite active at dawn as we drove down CA Gulch road and by the time we parked at the south end of the gulch we had recorded 15 common species including VERMILION, ASH-THROATED, DUSKY-CAPPED and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, BLUE GROSBEAK, SUMMER TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE. As we walked in, several VARIED BUNTINGS were singing and a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET was very active. We arrived in the gulch proper at 6:00am to find 2-MONTEZUMA QUAIL that soon flushed. On the plus side, a FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW was already singing and we soon tracked it down, eventually getting very good 'scope looks. Another sparrow was singing a few hundred yards to the south as we walked out.

Ellery wanted to give the gnatcatcher a shot even though I didn't give much for our chance of success. By the time that we parked at Elephant Head at 8:30am, the temperature was already around 90 degrees and very little was stirring. We toughed it out for an hour and we did find a hybrid male BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER but not the "good" female. I don't think the male that I saw today is the same one that I've seen before -- this bird has the head pattern of a Black-tailed but was giving the kitten like mewing call of a Black-capped.  We recorded a total of 20 species including  NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.

Our last stop of the day was at Kino Springs where we almost got skunked on Tropical Kingbird in the 100+ temperature. After some searching I found one silent bird about halfway around the club house pond. As I put the 'scope on it for Ellery to look, the bird flew and we were unable to relocate it despite much trudging around the pond.  It was now very hot and we decided to give up and returned to the vehicle. That turned out to be a good move because a TROPICAL KINGBIRD flew into the pines in the parking lot and we got a nice 'scope look! Giving its metallic "twittering" call, the bird eventually joined its mate in the cottonwoods where we had begun our search. Arghhh! Among the 30 species that we recorded during the search were several BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, a male CINNAMON TEAL just starting to go into eclipse plumage, and a pair of COMMON GROUND-DOVES.

Thursday, June 24, 1999
I got an early start today to beat the heat and began birding at Patagonia Lake State Park at 5:00am. I wanted to fill out my scant data for June. Birds were quite active along the entrance road well before sunrise and many RUFOUS-CROWNED and at least 5-BOTTERI'S SPARROWS were singing (later, on my way out, I had 4 Botteri's singing in a 100 yard section). Even though I concentrated mainly on water birds, I managed to see 50 species by the time I left at 6:30am. It was still relatively cool but I was tired of defending myself from bugs.

On and around the lake were numerous PIED-BILLED GREBES with young, well over 30 NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, 1-BROWN PELICAN, 2-GREAT EGRETS, GREAT BLUE and GREEN HERONS, LEAST BITTERN (carrying food, so I was pleased to be able to confirm breeding for yet another year), and a few BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS.

I recorded most of the expected breeding species including scads of PHAINOPEPLAS, many BELL'S VIREOS, several YELLOW WARBLERS, tons of LUCY'S WARBLER fledglings, and more YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS than you could shake a stick at. (Note the precise quantity descriptors.)

I rolled into the roadside rest area at 6:40am where almost the first bird that I heard and saw was the female ROSE-THROATED BECARD. Initially the bird was in one of the small cottonwoods where the path along the creek begins, but she moved around quite a bit and I thought there may have been two of them. However, I chased down every call and it was the female each time. She was very busy gathering nesting material and there is now a substantial beginning to the nest that is clearly visible (in the same tree as last year but on the downstream side). Other birds included GRAY HAWK,  many WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS swirling overhead, a calling NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, a couple of raucous THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS, ditto for BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, SUMMER TANAGER and BLUE GROSBEAK.

Along Blue Heaven Road were quite a few BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS perched in the trees and a VARIED BUNTING that constantly moved around, perching and singing in various locations.

In the Paton's Yard were the usual hummingbirds for this time of year -- BROAD-BILLED, ANNA'S, BLACK-CHINNED and VIOLET-CROWNED; four species of DOVES, and both COWBIRDS. I saw 30 species in one hour.

I have been checking  Sierra Vista sewage ponds regularly all week without any reward, so when I arrived back in town and it was already in the mid 90s I was tempted to skip it. However, I convinced myself to go and a minor reward was a returning SPOTTED SANDPIPER, still in breeding plumage.

From 5:45-7:45pm I visited Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon. Unfortunately, I was a little too late to see a couple of visits from the Beryline Hummingbird (the bird was seen around 5:00pm). However, I briefly saw LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD at 5:45pm (which was apparently its only visit of the evening) and WHITE-EARED was regular. Thanks again to Tom Beatty for his hospitality.

While watching the feeders I recorded the following 28 species:
Cooper's Hawk, White-throated Swift, White-eared, Blue-throated, Magnificent, Lucifer, Black-chinned, Anna's, and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Mexican Jay, Hutton's, Plumbeous and Warbling Vireos, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Painted Redstart, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic and Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak and Scott's Oriole.

The WARBLING VIREO was a definite surprise at this elevation so late in the season and to a lesser extent so was the WESTERN TANAGER.

When it was too dark to watch hummers I spent a few hours nightbirding and found (in order seen) LESSER NIGHTHAWKS (catching bugs in my headlights), many WHIP-POOR-WILLS, WHISKERED-SCREECH OWL, COMMON POORWILL, WESTERN-SCREECH-OWL and ELF OWL (the latter two very close and perched in the clear). However, since I was looking for Flammulated Owl (albeit in poor habitat), I was a little disappointed. Not a bad day though!

Friday, June 25, 1999
Today I headed over to the Chiricahuas to do some nightbirding. The temperature when I left town was 96 degrees and by the time that I reached Willcox at 12:10pm it was 105. Nevertheless, several parties were out golfing so it's not just birders, mad dogs and Englishmen that are crazy.

I lasted only 40 minutes at the pond and recorded 20 species. Among them were a couple of returning shorebird species -- a group of 40+ female WILSON'S PHALAROPES, most still in splendid breeding plumage, and a lone and somewhat early WESTERN SANDPIPER. Also present were a few CINNAMON TEAL, a lone N. PINTAIL and a RING-BILLED GULL. Regulars included many AM. AVOCETS, RUDDY DUCKS and good numbers of GREAT BLUE HERONS.

I started up Pinery Canyon road at 2:00pm, and was encouraged as the temperature dropped from almost 100 in the grassland down to 85 by the time that I reached Onion Saddle. It was cloudy and pleasant at Rustler Park but birds weren't exactly easy to find. I persevered for a while and eventually managed to "rustle up" (get it?) 20 regulars including HAIRY WOODPECKER, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, all three NUTHATCHES, BROWN CREEPER, MEXICAN CHICKADEE, WARBLING VIREO, OLIVE and GRACE'S WARBLER and WESTERN TANAGER. Heading into Portal I picked up JUNIPER TITMOUSE and SCRUB-JAY on the Paradise Road.

At night I returned to high elevation where I spent several fruitless hours looking for Saw-Whet Owl for my AZ year list. I covered lots of ground and checked a couple of campgrounds where they have been reported recently. Unfortunately, rowdy Friday night campers soon put an end to my enjoyment. However, I did locate at least 3 FLAMMULATED OWLS so the night wasn't a total loss. Abundant throughout were WHIP-POOR-WILLS and a few WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS were calling.

Saturday, June 26, 1999
Since this is my last day in SE AZ this month, I decided to stop at Sierra Vista sewage ponds as I drove back from the Chiricahuas this morning. It was already very hot when I arrived at 8:15am and a brief stop yielded only 2 species of note from the 20 that I saw -- GREAT BLUE HERON and BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD. Both are quite infrequent at the ponds.

The dog days are with us (although there was a wonderful thunderstorm with heavy rain this afternoon) and I'm out of here! Tomorrow I'm headed back to the White Mountains for the week (and perhaps on to Colorado for a few days). On the way I'm hoping to tick the first state record Carolina Wren (along with many others, I suspect). Journal updates my be irregular while I'm on the road.

Sunday, June 27, 1999
I changed my mind about going to see the Carolina Wren today. Although it's a first state record and may never visit the state again in my lifetime, I came to my senses and headed straight for the White Mountains instead. Sure, I've missed another "state tick", but it won't change my life. Over the years I've become disenchanted with chasing "stakeout birds" and they hold very little satisfaction for me anymore. I think it all started when I made 10 trips to Patagonia and spent 55 hours before seeing the Crescent-chested Warbler. I vowed never to be so fanatical again and since then I've done less and less chasing. Maybe with the Wren I've weaned myself completely.

It's not a listing or numbers thing because I'm certainly into that. Why, this week I'll be looking again for my state Pine Grosbeak. I'd much rather look for the "rare but regulars" because there's so much more satisfaction to be gained (if and) when I see them. All you psychologists out there could have a field day with me. I've just spent several nights in the mountains of SE AZ looking for "AZ year" owls and I'm spending my vacation this month in central AZ working on breeding birds and possible state birds. But I won't go look at a stakeout Carolina Wren? What's wrong with me? Estoy loco? Ayudame! Perhaps my bird guide union card will be confiscated. Oh no. Seriously, birding is supposed to be fun, so whatever anyone can take from birding to get through another day is fine. For me it's the stuff that I'm doing; for others it's chasing other people's birds, and it's all OK.

My second trip of the month to the White Mountains got off to a good start with a couple of surprises. Since my route is usually on Hwy 180 through New Mexico, my first port of call is often Luna Lake as it was today. Despite the crappy time of day and lots of weekend fishermen, boaters, etc., I spent a successful and enjoyable couple of hours here. The first surprise came right after I set up the 'scope. I was scanning and counting the 40+CANADA GEESE when I came across another bird hidden in the grass, "hey, this is bigger" I said to myself. When the bird finally stood up and lifted its head, I could see right away that it was a SANDHILL CRANE. This is a first for me in the White Mountains (as I define them) and it does not appear on the Forest Service checklist (I have seen one at Lyman Lake, north of Springerville, but I don't count that location as part of the White Mountains). It's also an extremely early bird (or perhaps it never left).

After checking the lake I spent an hour birding the woods at the east end. I had found most of what I expected and was feeling quite pleased with myself as I walked back to the car. Now for the second surprise. I heard tapping that I thought was too light for a woodpecker and I assumed that it was probably a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH since I'd just seen several. However, I went to investigate and couldn't believe my eyes -- it was a male THREE-TOED WOODPECKER! Now what the hell is this bird doing in almost exclusively Ponderosa habitat during the breeding season? It just goes to show that birds have wings and they don't read books. Perhaps it also goes to show that my Three-toed Woodpecker magnet that was working well earlier in the month is still working! My list of 39 species from 11:30am-1:30pm was:

Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, American Kestrel, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Three-toed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Steller's Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Plumbeous Vireo, Western Bluebird, American Robin, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Barn Swallow, Mountain Chickadee, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Grace's Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Western Tanager, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's Blackbird.

Heading over to Springerville (where I'll be staying for the next few days ), I stopped briefly in Nutrioso seeing BLUE GROSBEAK and LEWIS'S WOODPECKER along the creek; and at Nelson Reservoir that had BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, SPOTTED SANDPIPER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

In the evening I birded the lower riparian area of South Fork for about 90 minutes. Still no sign of a Gray Catbird, but the AMERICAN DIPPER was as faithful as ever near the bridge. I was pleased to find INDIGO BUNTINGS again, this time I came across 4 birds (2 seen, 2 others heard), so perhaps there are two pairs. Also present were SPOTTED SANDPIPER, BLUE GROSBEAK, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and several other common species.

A good first day -- 63 species, 2 surprises, and some signs of  seasonal movement with Spotted Sandpipers seen in 3 places.

Monday, June 28, 1999
A warm day by White Mountain standards. Springerville, at 7000 feet, was 60 degrees when I left shortly before 5:00am and was in the low 90s when I returned at 3:30pm. Even the higher elevations where I spent most of my time were a little uncomfortable in the afternoon.

I began on Green's Peak where BLUE GROUSE was easy to find at 5:50am. However, I didn't get the display that I got earlier in the month. The bird fanned its tail nicely but the "hooting" was very quiet because he didn't inflate his neck sacs very much. Who am I to complain? Also present were at least 3-BAND-TAILED PIGEONS (I saw more later on FR117). I did not see this species at any location on my June 8-16 trip.

Next stop was Carnero Lake where I was the only person present. I saw about 25 species in one hour including numerous pairs of REDHEADS, a drumming WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, copulating MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS (there were quite a few in the area), WESTERN TANAGER, PINE SISKIN and many YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

After breakfast, at the Country Cafe in Greer, I spent a very productive couple of hours in Butler Canyon. I found three species that I did not find here on several visits earlier in the month -- 1 singing OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, 3 singing WILLOW FLYCATCHERS in a 3/4 mile stretch of the river (gotta love that fitz-bew), and a singing SONG SPARROW. (I did not find the latter two species anywhere on the June 8-16 trip.) Other species included RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, CORDILLERAN and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, and MACGILLIVRAY'S and RED-FACED WARBLERS.

I dipped on Dipper on the Little Colorado in Greer, but it was already hot and my heart wasn't really in it. I saw very few species with the best finds being WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and RED-FACED WARBLER.

Even Sunrise campground was on the warm side and I did not stay long. The only species of note that I found was a small flock of mostly immature RED CROSSBILLS, with just one spiffy looking male. The lake was very quiet -- several COMMON MERGANSERS, SWAINSON'S HAWK, 1-RING-BILLED GULL, and a few singing VESPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS.

Back in Springerville I checked Becker Lake for an hour and turned up only 12 species. Mind you, the kids cooling off in the lake perhaps didn't help! The lone CLARK'S GREBE is still present along with several REDHEADS, a ratty looking male COMMON MERGANSER and the seemingly ever-present LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS. On nearby Airport Rd I saw more LEWIS'S, SAY'S PHOEBE, BLUE GROSBEAK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

A late afternoon thunderstorm promised more than it delivered in terms of rain, but it did cool things down somewhat. In the evening I ventured out again to Wenima Wildlife Area where the highlight was a couple of GOLDEN EAGLES. I saw only 16 species in the last hour before dark including COMMON NIGHTHAWK, LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, BLACK PHOEBE, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, ROCK WREN, BLUE GROSBEAK and INDIGO BUNTING.

Tuesday, June 29, 1999  #Species to date = 103
I spent most of today checking out areas that I had never visited at all or that I had visited just a few times. I wanted to look at habitat with a view to finding new locations for some of the specialties of the area. However, I also managed to check a few regular areas, including several lakes, and added a few species to the trip list.

I spent most of the morning working my way slowly south from Springerville along FR285 that I don't use very often. Most of it was roadside birding, but I did make an extended stop at the now closed Elderberry Spring Campground. An interesting mix of Ponderosa and riparian at around 8000 feet produced some typical species (funny how that works) -- HAIRY WOODPECKER, NORTHERN FLICKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE,  STELLER'S JAY,  AM. ROBIN, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, GRACE'S and RED-FACED WARBLERS, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, WESTERN TANAGER, GRAY-HEADED JUNCO, PINE SISKIN and RED CROSSBILL.  Except for the Chickadee (and Junco in summer), all these species would also be found in similar habitat in SE AZ.

A pair of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS were in a regular spot on FR285 about 7 miles N of   Big Lake. Both Big and Crescent Lakes were loaded with people and I saw very few birds on the water, just 8-DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and 12-COMMON MERGANSERS plus the usual ducks and grebes. I headed south and drove along the east fork of the Black River just as the heavens opened. I didn't get to see many birds here but the refreshing and cooling rain along with the magnificent scenery was certainly enough. As I swung north again the sun returned and I checked on OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER which was as faithful as ever near Divide Hill.

Luna Lake wasn't as crowded as the other lakes and I was finally able to find VIRGINIA RAIL that I hadn't found so far this month -- 2 birds in a very small clump of marsh that many people walk by every day. An immature BALD EAGLE was on the north shore. No sign of the Sandhill Crane today.

My reward for a day of grunt work came this evening as I checked out some PJ country along FR76 south of Springerville. I found 3 GRAY FLYCATCHERS (one fledgling) in very good breeding habitat in what must be close to their southernmost breeding location in Arizona. Also in the area were WESTERN SCRUB-JAY and LARK SPARROW

Wednesday, June 30, 1999   Trip List   #Species to date = 108
I spent the morning birding  in the Sunrise and Mt. Baldy areas and the afternoon exploring after it became too warm to be productive. Monsoon clouds didn't form until late in the day. 

At Sunrise I worked the trails above the campground and walked up the mountain for a few miles. I like to walk slowly when I'm birding and at this altitude I walked even slower and enjoyed some wonderful scenery as well as some nice birds (no, Pine Grosbeak wasn't one of them). My list for about 3 hours worth of effort was pretty short: 

Broad-tailed and Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Three-toed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Violet-green Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee and Brewer's Blackbird.

The RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was a beautiful adult male feeding on wildflowers in a meadow. I wish I could always see them like this instead of at a feeder. My woodpecker experience today was well worth the hike. I heard a WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER drumming and walked towards the sound. As I approached I could hear "churring" from a different but close location and it turned out that there were two males. I watched them interact a little (without any real animosity) as a HAIRY WOODPECKER flew in and landed on a log in front of me, giving its sharp call. Then, to my complete surprise, some very close light tapping turned out to be just another THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, a male. All this within seconds! Wow, it's Miller time.

At Sunrise Lake I was surprised to see lots of EARED GREBES. They normally nest here but I haven't seen them on several visits this month. Today they were around in numbers. Of note was a lone TREE SWALLOW. All the usual species were present and the RING-BILLED GULL continues.

Sheep's Crossing (at the base of the Mt. Baldy Trail) was quite productive. The area was crowded with fisherfolk so I took the south trail instead of my usual north. (The north trail is now closed to vehicles and the ground is rough to walk on since it has been ploughed over for rehabilitation). I walked the trail for about a mile and after seeing a few common species, I heard a LINCOLN'S SPARROW singing. I went over to the water to see if I could pish it out of the willows. As I watched the sparrow watching me, I could hear tapping above the sound of the water and I turned around to see, you guessed it, yet another THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, this time a female. I was less than 10 feet away and I was able to study every feather as I watched the bird methodically remove bark to search for food. Every now and again she would turn around and give me a look. The bird was still in the same spot 45 minutes later as I returned. Well, my magnet is obviously still working but I think I need to trade it in for something that has power over Pine Grosbeaks. Other species included several CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS calling from the tree tops (next to a GREAT BLUE HERON atop a spruce!) and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES singing from the willows.

Evening birding produced 3 trip species -- N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW at Nelson Reservoir, and PINYON JAY and GREAT HORNED OWL in Nutrioso.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Wednesday, June 30, 1999

Species List

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

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