Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - October, 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 Friday, October 29, 1999

Tuesday, October 5, 1999
After a week of catching up and R & R following my California trip, I eased myself back into the field today. I began on the San Pedro River (Hwy 90) shortly after sunrise. Birds were plentiful but hard to see in the dense and lush vegetation and I heard far more than I saw. Nevertheless, by the time that I left a couple of hours later I had recorded almost 50 species.

It's almost a month since I birded in Arizona and the transition to "winter" was quite dramatic (although you wouldn't know it by the weather). Sparrows of several flavors are back in numbers with LINCOLN'S, WHITE-CROWNED and BREWER'S being particularly visible. I was astounded at the number of GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES that were around, most of them still singing. I stopped counting after 50. Almost as abundant were LAZULI BUNTINGS of which I counted over 30. Perhaps the best couple of birds were an early-ish RUDDY-GROUND DOVE (a lone dull male, not associating with the COMMON GROUND-DOVES present), and a lingering LUCY'S WARBLER. Continuing summer birds were VERMILION FLYCATCHER (some overwinter, but not here on the river), 5-CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS and a few SUMMER TANAGERS. Empids were noticeable by their absence as were migrant warblers.

My list of 48 species from 6:35-8:45am was:
Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Great Blue & Green Herons, Cooper's Hawk, Gambel's Quail, American Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's & House Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Barn Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's & Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, & Lark Sparrows, 50+Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Summer Tanager and 30+Lazuli Buntings.

I felt quite lost at the sewage ponds without my 'scope (not yet shipped back from CA) and the distant ducks remained just that. "Winter" has also arrived here, indicated by the presence of at least one MERLIN, numerous MARSH WRENS chattering from the marshes, and the now abundant YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. A couple of CATTLE EGRETS were right on time according to my records over the past 6 years (they pass through from late September to early November).

Wednesday, October 6, 1999
I spent another couple of hours on the San Pedro (Hwy 90) today, this time in the late afternoon. Although there were far more birds in the weedy fields and mesquite areas, I focused on the cottonwoods and willows along the river looking for migrants. Whether it was the windy conditions, the late hour, or simply the fact that no migrants were around, I certainly did not see any. I found only a meager 30 species including 2 that I didn't see yesterday -- RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD and BUSHTIT.

Thursday, October 7, 1999
This morning I headed into the Huachucas for the first time since September 8. Lower Garden canyon was almost devoid of birds, probably due to the string of marching troops and several fire crews cleaning up after a grassland fire yesterday. Despite the continuing warm days (that usually last until mid-October), it was definitely sweater weather when I arrived at Sawmill Canyon at 7:00am. My goal here was to look for Williamson's Sapsucker (still a little early) and other returning winter species. As it turned out, I had my seasons completely screwed up.

I started birding before the sun rose above the peaks and the temperature was somewhere in the high 30s. Consequently, I spent the first 45 minutes within 100 yards of the cabin to give the canyon a chance to warm before I started up the trail. I checked a cottonwood that often harbors a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER in winter and sure enough, my first bird of the season was present. I contented myself by watching the MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS and a FLICKER drinking and bathing in the puddles created by the spring. Many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS have returned and I could hear their chips all around me along with BRIDLED TITMOUSE and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Next, I heard the incessant chipping of a MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD that I tracked down to its perch atop a snag. The chattering of a nearby RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, another season first, alerted me to its presence.

Eventually, I started up the trail and since I was thinking "winter birds", I certainly wasn't prepared for what I found. Sawmill has been pretty quiet all year and this morning was as good a "summer" morning as I've had here in a while. A calling BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER was the first that I've seen here in October and extended my previous record of 9/27 by 10 days. I heard what sounded like a "crowd" of OLIVE WARBLERS but when I tracked them down in a juniper there were only 3, an adult male and female and a begging youngster, quite amazing for October. As I walked towards the warblers, I apparently got too close to an ELEGANT TROGON that began to scold me before flying upslope. Next, I heard the "chup" of  an HEPATIC TANAGER and a return call from me brought in 1 male and two females. I came across a group of foraging YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS that I almost passed over. However, checking them paid off when I found a HERMIT WARBLER, the latest that I've seen one in Sawmill (but not my latest AZ record which is 10/27). As I watched the warbler, a SCOTT'S ORIOLE began to sing, rounding out the birds of summer. Other species in the canyon were BAND-TAILED PIGEON, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, PYGMY NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, AM. ROBIN and BEWICK'S WREN. Only 21 species for 2 1/2 hours of effort, but some good ones for the time of year.

Back in Garden I checked the upper picnic area where I added ACORN WOODPECKER, HUTTON'S VIREO, PAINTED REDSTART, WESTERN TANAGER, LESSER GOLDFINCH and another RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. A check of the marsh at the fishing ponds failed to produced any rails, just a RING-NECKED DUCK. Back in town I did a double take as I drove down Fry Boulevard and saw 10-CATTLE EGRETS on the grass next to the road!

All in all, a pretty good October morning by any standard. To think, I could have been hanging out next to a trailer in Huachuca City looking for the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher instead of doing all this boring routine stuff. Boy, do I need my head examined or what?

After my 'scope arrived back from California I made a quick trip to Sierra Vista sewage ponds to see if it still worked <grin>. While looking over my shoulder to make sure that I wouldn't get locked in, I recorded 28 species in 30 minutes including several season firsts. My list was:

2-Eared Grebes, 4-Ruddy Ducks, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Turkey Vulture, 2-Northern Harriers, 3-Red-tailed Hawks, 2-American Kestrels, Sora, American Coot, 10-Western Sandpipers, 3-American Avocets, Killdeer, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, European Starling, Marsh Wren, Barn Swallow, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds & Brown-headed Cowbird.

Sunday, October 10, 1999
Out today with Gary Campbell from| Houghton, MI who was attending a conference in Phoenix. We started at first light at the Gilbert-Riggs pond, then birded for a few hours at Boyce-Thompson Arboretum, finishing up at Gilbert Wildlife area in the early afternoon by which time the temperature was a balmy 100 degrees.

Shorebird conditions were good at the pond on Gilbert Road near Riggs Road and we found 1-SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, KILLDEER, plenty of BLACK-NECKED STILTS and AM. AVOCETS, a few GREATER YELLOWLEGS, lots of LEAST and a few WESTERN SANDPIPERS, and many LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS. Ducks were in short supply with low numbers of MALLARD, CINNAMON TEAL,   SHOVELER and RUDDY DUCK. Rounding out the water birds were PIED-BILLED GREBE, GREAT BLUE HERON, GREAT EGRET and lots of WHITE-FACED IBIS. The few landbirds in the area included MOURNING DOVE, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, VERDIN, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD and GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE.

On Hwy 60 east of Florence Junction, a couple of HARRIS'S HAWKS were sitting in typical fashion atop Saguaros.

We spent from 8:00-11:30am at Boyce-Thompson Arboretum which had a few interesting birds for the time of year. Although the area never seemed really birdy, there were several spots with plenty of activity and we recorded a total of 46 species. Generally, wintering species are not back in the numbers expected and we found some lingering summer birds and a few migrants. This scenario seems to be the trend throughout Arizona this fall.

Summer birds included 1-male and 2-female HOODED ORIOLES (usually gone by mid-October, although a few may stay for the winter) and a late singing BELL'S VIREO. Among the migrants and wintering species were SORA, BELTED KINGFISHER, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, MARSH WREN, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, HUTTON'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, YELLOW-RUMPED, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, 2-LARK BUNTINGS and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.

Among the more common species were COOPER'S HAWK, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, LADDER-BACKED & GILA WOODPECKERS, CACTUS, ROCK, CANYON, BEWICK'S & HOUSE WRENS, PHAINOPEPLA, CARDINAL, ABERT'S TOWHEE and BLACK-THROATED SPARROW.

Gilbert Wildlife Area was a little disappointing (not because of lack of water as is often the case), but because the area is very lush and it is difficult to see from the viewing area. So much effort has gone into providing habitat here in the middle of suburbia and it's a pity that viewing is so limited. We saw very few species adding GREEN HERON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, PINTAIL, AM. WIGEON and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD to our day list of around 80.

Monday, October 11, 1999
What a difference an increase in elevation of 6000 feet and 150 miles make. As I set out from Flagstaff a little before sunrise this morning, my washers turned the windshield into an instant icemaker and I was in scraping mode for the first time this season. A far cry from yesterday's 100 degrees in Phoenix. My plan for today was to check the Flagstaff area lakes and then work my way over to the White Mountains on the back roads. I ended up being disappointed by the lack of waterfowl (and presence of hunters) and frustrated by my inability to go east the way I wanted to.

The day began poorly at Lake Mary because the lower lake was dry and the upper lake had almost zero water birds. Through the mist I saw only GREEN-WINGED TEAL, N. PINTAIL, RING-NECKED & RUDDY DUCKS, STELLER'S JAY, AM. CROW, WESTERN BLUEBIRD and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. 

Next, I checked Ashurst Lake which was a little more productive and I added CINNAMON TEAL, FLICKER, PINYON JAY, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, CHIPPING SPARROW, WESTERN MEADOWLARK and PINE SISKIN.

Mormon Lake had scads of birds but, because of hunters in the middle of the lake, they were concentrated on the far side and most were unidentifiable. I added N. HARRIER, AM. COOT, AM. AVOCET, RING-BILLED GULL, AM. PIPIT and LESSER GOLDFINCH.

At Mud Lake I added EARED GREBE and TURKEY VULTURE. New at Kinnikinick Lake were GREAT BLUE HERON, RED-TAILED HAWK and BUSHTIT. Many PINYON JAYS were in the surrounding junipers. It was here that my frustration began. My map shows that FR82 continues southeast from Kinnikinick Lake, eventually reaching Long Lake. What a road! I negotiated the first couple of miles at a snail's pace before finally giving up on this boulder strewn excuse for a road. I thought it would get better but it didn't. Of course, I had to backtrack and get shaken up all over again. It was a ride that combined all the attributes of California Gulch, French Joe and Chino Canyons. I felt physically sick and it was several hours before the feeling passed.

Now what to do. Instead of trying to find another route through the mountains, I decided to head over to I-40 at Twin Arrows via FR 125 and 126. This turned out to be a good route with quite a few birds including hundreds of PINYON JAYS. I added HORNED LARK, SCRUB-JAY, COMMON RAVEN, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and JUNIPER TITMOUSE. As I was driving along slowly I heard the titmouse and stopped. I looked in a juniper and found only MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE and began to wonder "did I make a mistake on the call?". I was relieved when the pesky little titmouse popped into view.

Next stop was Cholla Lake in Joseph City. The lake is at it's best in winter because of warm, open water provided by power plant here. The light was tough to work with but I added a few more birds to my day list -- WESTERN and CLARK'S GREBES, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, N. SHOVELER and BARN SWALLOW.

As I neared my White Mountain destination of Springerville, my final stop of the day was at Lyman Lake State Park. I found nothing new for the day and managed to find only a dozen species.     

Tuesday-Thursday, October 12-14, 1999
My primary reason for visiting the White Mountains at this time of year was to look for migrants and wintering species. I didn't look for any species in particular, nevertheless, I did find a few of the area's specialties. As expected, the higher elevations were not very productive and I focused more on the lakes and lowland riparian areas.  Birds were generally hard to come by and I saw only 78 species after three days in the mountains. Returning waterfowl are certainly not back in numbers and migrants were few and far between.

Locations that I visited included Becker, Crescent, Luna, Mexican Hay and Sunrise Lakes, Nelson Reservoir, Green's Peak area, Greer (Benny Creek, Butler Canyon, Greer Lakes, and the West Fork of the Little Colorado), Terry Flat, South Fork, Sipe Wildlife Area, Sunrise Campground and Wenima Wildlife Area.

Widespread throughout and easy to find in appropriate habitat were PIED-BILLED and EARED GREBES, RUDDY DUCK, MALLARD, GADWALL, REDHEAD, RING-NECKED DUCK,  AM. COOT, RED-TAILED HAWK, AM. KESTREL, N. FLICKER, STELLER'S JAY, AM. CROW, COMMON RAVEN, WESTERN   BLUEBIRD, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD (still in pairs and not flocking up), AM. ROBIN, STARLING, PYGMY & WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, BROWN CREEPER, RUBY-CROWNED and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, HORNED LARK, LESSER GOLDFINCH, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, DARK-EYED JUNCO, SAVANNAH & CHIPPING SPARROWS and WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

Less common or more local but still easy to come by were GREEN-WINGED & CINNAMON TEAL, AM. WIGEON, PINTAIL, SHOVELER, GREAT BLUE HERON, N. HARRIER, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, HAIRY WOODPECKER, PINYON JAY, WESTERN  SCRUB-JAY, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, SONG & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD.  

South Fork was the only place that had any migrant warbler activity and even here I found only ORANGE-CROWNED and WILSON'S WARBLERS. Both PINYON and SCRUB-JAYS were around in numbers. In the riparian area I found at least 4-RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS and a lingering GRAY CATBIRD. Notable here were many TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES that were singing and chasing each other around as though it were spring. 

Sipe Wildlife Area had 6-10 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS in the trees around the headquarters building, plenty of PINYON JAYS, a few SCRUB-JAYS and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, and a migrant SAGE THRASHER skulking along a hedgerow.

In Springerville, Becker Lake is very close to town and easy to check and I did so 4 times. The ever faithful LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS looked like they hadn't moved since I was last here at the end of June. However, I did see them flycatching so I know they weren't dead and stuck to the tree. Also present on every visit were PIED-BILLED, EARED and WESTERN GREBES, GADWALL, AM. WIGEON, REDHEAD, RING-NECKED DUCK, N. HARRIER, AM. KESTREL, MARSH WREN, HORNED LARK, SONG and SAVANNAH SPARROWS and WESTERN MEADOWLARK. Becker Lake proved once again that it is a place to be checked every day. One day I got excited when I saw a medium sized tern because an Arctic Tern was seen here recently. However, it turned out to be a FORSTER'S TERN. Another day I watched a distant raptor get closer and closer and that turned out to be an immature FERRUGINOUS HAWK. A couple of RING-BILLED GULLS were present for one day.

Mexican Hay Lake (dry in June) produced 3-COMMON SNIPE. Sunrise Lake was teeming with waterfowl (the most of any lake) and had 1-GREAT EGRET, 6-CANADA GEESE, 2-LESSER SCAUP (also at Crescent Lake), 1 male BUFFLEHEAD, 3-COMMON MERGANSERS, several MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and a couple of AM. PIPITS. Luna Lake was generally unproductive except for the only OSPREY and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD that I saw.

Other birds of note were an adult BALD EAGLE along Hwy 260 near Sunrise, 1 female and 2 male THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS at Sunrise campground, and some GRAY JAYS on FR 117 near Sheep Corral Rd.

The following is the entire list of what I saw in the White Mountains:
Pied-billed, Eared & Western Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, American Kestrel, American Coot, Common Snipe, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Forster's Tern, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Three-toed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Pinyon, Steller's, Western Scrub & Gray Jays, American Crow, Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Sage Thrasher, European Starling, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Marsh & House Wrens, Bushtit, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Mountain Chickadee, Horned Lark, American Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Amazingly, I did not see or hear Red-breasted Nuthatch nor Clark's Nutcracker.

If I had to measure my trip in terms of migrants seen, number of species seen or even number of individuals seen, it would have to be deemed a failure. However, I consider my time here well spent. I was rewarded with sunny, blue skies every day with temperatures ranging from overnight lows in the high 30s to afternoon highs in the low 80s. The Aspens provided fall colors that are already quite stunning at 10,000 feet at Terry Flat and all around Escudilla. I was able to do some exploring to expand my knowledge of the area and I added a few species to my White Mountain list. Most of all, I very much enjoyed the solitude that is getting harder to find in a crowded world.

I usually check Willcox pond on my way home from the White Mountains but late on Thursday I was feeling tired and I almost decided not to stop. After driving around the main lake I was wishing that I hadn't, since there was very little to inspire. However, on the small pond near the entrance I found an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, my first in Arizona and state bird #408 for me. Certainly a very good ending to five days on the road.

Sunday, October 17, 1999
Right on time the cool down has begun, at least here in Sierra Vista. Although the days are still pleasantly warm, nights and mornings now feel much cooler. Every year we reach the edge of a cliff in mid-October and temperatures take a sharp dive. From now through April is my favorite time of year. Today I visited Sierra Vista sewage ponds and birded in "winter mode". This is when I check the periphery along Moson and Dake Roads as well as the ponds proper.

Moson Road was very active this morning. Along the weedy road edges I found several wintering species including YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, LARK BUNTING, LINCOLN'S, WHITE-CROWNED, SAVANNAH, BREWER'S, VESPER and LARK SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

In the interior fields I saw a number of species that will be regulars throughout the winter. Species like NORTHERN HARRIER, RED-TAILED HAWK, BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN, STARLING, and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. No matter how many times I see them, the sight of thousands of Yellow-headed Blackbirds is still special.

Birds in the marsh and along the pond edges were AM. COOT, SORA, LEAST SANDPIPER, KILLDEER, MARSH WREN, SAVANNAH SPARROW and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

On the open water, duck numbers continue to grow although many species have not yet returned. Today I saw EARED GREBE, RUDDY DUCK, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, MALLARD, PINTAIL, SHOVELER and RING-NECKED DUCK.

I was hoping for returning Prairie Falcon or Ferruginous Hawk but I found neither. Rounding out the list of 38 species that I saw were TURKEY VULTURE (they'll be gone from here by the end of the month), MOURNING DOVE, VERDIN, BARN SWALLOW (they usually stay into November and I have a few December records), HOUSE FINCH, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD.

Monday, October 18, 1999
Just a quick visit to Sierra Vista sewage ponds today where I saw most of the same birds as yesterday plus AMERICAN WIGEON, CINNAMON TEAL, AM. KESTREL, GREATER ROADRUNNER and WESTERN KINGBIRD. Also present was my first AMERICAN PIPIT of the season in SE AZ.

Tuesday, October 19, 1999
Today I visited the Huachucas and since I got a late start, I birded first in Scheelite Canyon. Normally, it's best to bird Sawmill first because it gets the sun earlier, whereas Scheelite stays shady and cool (downright cold in winter!) until later in the morning. Although many factors may govern whether I find a Spotted Owl or not, time of day rarely plays a part.

I hadn't checked Scheelite yet this month so I was pleased to see the pair of SPOTTED OWLS roosting together and very easy to find. I was in and out of the canyon in an hour. Not much else was stirring but I did find one mixed flock with BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BUSHTIT, BEWICK'S WREN, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, HUTTON'S VIREO and 2-BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS. Also in the canyon were N. FLICKER, MEXICAN JAY, CANYON WREN and HERMIT THRUSH.

When I reached Sawmill at 12:40pm it was very windy and I almost turned around without birding. However, as I've said before, whenever I give myself a little extra push I'm usually rewarded in one way or another. Today was one such day.

When I started up the canyon the only things flying were Pine Butterflies. The white males were abundant but the red-orange females were few. Shortly I came across a mixed flock and began to record the species. I heard the alarm call of a trogon and as was about to record it when I saw a squirrel. Now I had a dilemma that I've had many times before. The alarm/scold call of a trogon is very similar to a squirrel's call. Had it been summer when plenty of trogons are around I would not have been worried, but at this season trogons are either totally absent or thin on the ground. Nevertheless, I was still convinced so I stuck to my guns and waited around quietly. I was soon rewarded when a female ELEGANT TROGON came into view, in the same location that I saw one almost two weeks ago.

Other continuing summer birds in the same area were 2-HEPATIC TANAGERS and a first year male SCOTT'S ORIOLE. A little more normal for this time of year were a few residents and wintering species including male and female STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS, STELLER'S JAY, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, AMERICAN ROBIN,  TOWNSEND'S & YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

I finished up at Sierra Vista sewage ponds where a couple of SPOTTED SANDPIPERS were the only birds different from what I've seen here in recent days.

Wednesday, October 20, 1999
Out today with Tracy Lewandowski of Louisville, KY, who I've birded with once before, and her sister Beth Gustin of Long Island, NY. On a beautiful and slightly breezy fall day we visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia Roadside Rest, the Paton's yard, and Sawmill and Garden Canyons.

It was a little chilly when we began at the state park shortly after sunrise and bird activity was light. The morning soon warmed and after three hours we had recorded almost 50 species, perhaps the best of which was a lingering DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER. They are normally gone by the first week in October but many species seem to be departing later this season. My previous late date was 10/5/98. Other flycatchers were NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, DUSKY & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, and BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES. Wintering species are still mostly absent, certainly as far as empids are concerned with just one Dusky seen (although the wind may have played some part).

Birds on the water and around the marsh included NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, GREEN HERON, RING-NECKED DUCK, VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA, and many MARSH WRENS. Among the migrants and wintering species were N. HARRIER, BELTED KINGFISHER, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, HUTTON'S VIREO and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.

A brief stop at the Roadside Rest produced a handful of species including WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and SUMMER TANAGER.

Hummingbird activity in the Paton's yard consisted only of ANNA'S for almost 30 minutes until we threatened to leave. That did the trick and VIOLET-CROWNED, a couple of BROAD-BILLED and a RUFOUS put in appearances.

A couple of hours in Sawmill Canyon failed to turn up yesterday's trogon. Activity was light except for one mixed flock containing WHITE-BREASTED and PYGMY NUTHATCHES, BROWN CREEPER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE,  HUTTON'S VIREO, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, YELLOW-RUMPED and OLIVE WARBLERS and HEPATIC TANAGER. Other regulars included STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, STELLER'S JAY and COMMON RAVEN.

On the way back down Garden Canyon, a stop near the rappel cliffs for CANYON WREN also produced a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. In the grassland, CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS are still around and PHAINOPEPLAS have returned to winter in the oaks and mesquite. 

Sunday, October 24, 1999
I spoke too soon about the break in the weather as Indian summer continues with very warm days. I've only birded at Sierra Vista sewage ponds for the past few days with nothing of real note seen.

The 24th of the month marks the beginning of week 4 in terms of my data collection, so I approached today's visit with a little more enthusiasm. I have never recorded a WESTERN KINGBIRD at the sewage ponds in the last week of October and I was hoping for a continuing bird, since they've been around for the past few days. I didn't find one here but, ironically, when I arrived home there was a bird on the wires. They normally disappear at the end of the month.

October week 4 usually marks the arrival of a PRAIRIE FALCON at the ponds and on this score I was successful. For the past 4 years a single bird has been regular from the end of October to the middle of March. Today I saw one on the same pole that has been used in previous years, so I'm tempted to conclude that it's the same individual.

Other birds included COOPER'S HAWK, 3-NORTHERN HARRIERS, SORA, 8-LEAST SANDPIPERS and 1-AMERICAN PIPIT.

Monday, October 25, 1999
This morning I headed to the Sulphur Springs Valley intending to cover several regular locations in preparation for the upcoming winter season. I began at Whitewater Draw at 7:30am where the birding was so interesting that I never made it elsewhere. Conditions were initially excellent with blue skies and a slight breeze. Cloud cover built throughout the morning and the light became difficult to work with for long distance viewing (of which plenty is needed).

Conditions at Whitewater Draw are excellent right now with plenty of water at varying depths for waterfowl, several scattered muddy areas for shorebirds, willows and salt-cedars that are still in leaf, and lots of weedy areas for landbirds. Not surprisingly, species diversity was high. Funny how that works, habitat = birds. I birded here until 11:00am and despite the fact that I missed several common species, I managed to find a total of 60 species, all fairly close together.

Now that the SANDHILL CRANES are back (many were present today), access restrictions are once again in force until the end of February. However, access is now available to the two main dike areas that were restricted in previous years, and this makes viewing much easier. Unfortunately, the only serious trees in the area (at the south end) are still off-limits, unnecessarily so in my view because the cranes tend not to use this area for roosting. Perhaps a compromise can be reached with access to the trees allowed during the middle part of the day, when the cranes are normally away feeding elsewhere.

I was surprised by the number of shorebirds and I spent lots of time checking the many LEAST SANDPIPERS looking unsuccessfully for White-rumped! However, I did find 1-WESTERN SANDPIPER which are pretty uncommon after September, and 1-BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, certainly on the late side for this species. I have quite a few Baird's records for the first week of October but only one after that -- my previous latest record of 10/15/96 at Willcox. Other shorebirds were 2-GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 10-LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, several SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, 2-LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and 3-COMMON SNIPE.

I found plenty of birds to scan on the open water including a few PIED-BILLED GREBES, lots of EARED GREBES, 4-WESTERN GREBES, 2-DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and 12 species of expected winter ducks including 10+REDHEAD, 2-CANVASBACK, quite a few LESSER SCAUP and a pristine male BUFFLEHEAD. The highlight was 2-BONAPARTE'S GULLS, a species that usually shows up at the end of October.

Foraging over the water were several hundred (3-400) swallows but try as I did, I could find only TREE and BARN SWALLOWS. Constantly flying around and occasionally working the water's edge were HORNED LARKS, AMERICAN PIPITS and 2-3 good sized flocks (circa 50 birds per flock) of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS.

Flycatcher activity was high with several each of BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES, 6-CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS and a nice mix of at least 15-VERMILION FLYCATCHERS with adult and immature males and females. Sparrows and blackbirds were well represented with scads of LARK BUNTINGS, SONG, LINCOLN'S, WHITE-CROWNED, SAVANNAH, BREWER'S and VESPER SPARROWS, RED-WINGED and BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS, EASTERN (LILIAN'S) and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE. Other landbirds included ROADRUNNER, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, MARSH WREN, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

A 45 minute afternoon visit to Sierra Vista sewage ponds was productive with 30 species including a ratty looking GREAT EGRET (rare here) and 1 female/immature richardsonii MERLIN (a very pale individual with a white face and yellowish underparts). Also present were a couple of WESTERN KINGBIRDS that eluded me yesterday, thus extending my data here by a few days.

I finished the day on the San Pedro at the Charleston Bridge crossing. My primary reason for going here was to look for Lewis's Woodpecker. I've seen them in the old cottonwoods here in a couple of previous years in October. No luck with that but I did find plenty to look at. The area was very weedy and was loaded with seedeating birds, exceeded only by the number of seeds that worked their way into my boots. Ouch. I saw 23 species in about 90 minutes, most of which were new for the day including COOPER'S HAWK, 2-COMMON GROUND-DOVES, GILA and LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BEWICK'S & HOUSE WRENS, 3-AMERICAN and 100+LESSER GOLDFINCHES (there may have been Lawrence's as well but the backlighting was just too bad to id them), LARK SPARROW, GRAY-HEADED JUNCO, ABERT'S & GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, LAZULI BUNTING and PYRRHULOXIA.

Tuesday, October 26, 1999
I had to spend more time on email and paperwork than I wanted to this morning. Just a few minutes I thought, but it was noon before I was finished. It appears that many people are planning their trips early for next year. Must be a Y2K thing! My time is already committed for over 3 months next year and that normally doesn't happen until Christmas.

After a quick check of the sewage ponds, I headed into the Huachucas to visit Sawmill Canyon where I wanted to look for Williamson's Sapsucker. I have a few records here in October but they normally don't become reliable until the first week in November. My feeling is that most of my October records are passage birds that winter elsewhere, whereas the wintering birds don't arrive until November. Anyway, it's close enough to November that I wanted to give it a try.

I arrived at an overcast, cool and very still Sawmill at 1:50pm. As I started  up the canyon, the sound of silence was so deafening that I thought I might see Simon and Garfunkel. When a few sprinkles began to fall I thought about giving up. I forced myself to continue because birding in a wet and quiet Sawmill Canyon is better than working on the computer.

I walked almost a mile before coming across any activity other than jays, eventually stumbling upon a mixed flock. I tracked down everything that moved and everything that I heard, but even so after two hours I had only managed to find MONTEZUMA QUAIL, ACORN WOODPECKER, FLICKER, STELLER'S and MEXICAN JAYS, HUTTON'S VIREO, AMERICAN ROBIN, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, OLIVE and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, GRAY-HEADED JUNCO and HEPATIC TANAGER.

Even though I'd found some decent birds, I somewhat disappointedly headed back down canyon, sapsuckerless. I heard some light tapping and headed towards the sound, going into "stealth mode" as I got closer. A bunch of Mexican Jays started squawking at me and I said to myself "forget this bird". But no, the jays ended up helping me. I focused on the spot on the tree where I thought the sound was coming from but I saw nothing. I did a complete loop around the tree and the sound location didn't change, I had the right spot but still no bird. At this point I was very frustrated. However, imagine my surprise as a jay flew to the tree and landed exactly at the correct spot, causing the bird to fly and land right next to me -- it was a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. Oh well, I thought, better than nothing.

I continued on and soon heard light tapping again. Where were these birds when I walked up the canyon? I was now in a Williamson's winter territory so my enthusiasm was high. I converged on the sound and it was déjà vu all over again -- I couldn't see the bird even though I was very close. Then I inadvertently stepped on a fallen branch and the resulting crack spooked the bird. As it flew away, I noted very prominent white flashes and was very confident that it was Williamson's. Their white wing patches are normally much brighter than Red-naped. I headed in the direction that the bird flew and waited. Eventually I heard the bird tapping again and this time I got my reward, a pristine male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER! Patience is indeed a virtue.

Now I felt much better and my walk out was very enjoyable, even though I almost stepped on a Sonoran king snake!  The fall colors seemed particularly impressive as I drove down Garden Canyon. A good afternoon after all.

Wednesday, October 27, 1999
On another beautiful fall day I was out with Lynn and Barbara Wilson from Woodbridge, VA and Ann Mase from Hemet, CA. We birded at Patagonia Lake, Paton's yard, Garden Canyon, Sierra Vista sewage ponds and the San Pedro River. Despite the good weather conditions, birds were hard to come by all day except for a few bursts of activity here and there.

An abbreviated session at Patagonia Lake State Park yielded only 45 species and the only "highlight" was a good view of VIRGINIA RAIL after using up plenty of patience. Among the regulars at this season were at least 4-NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, BELTED KINGFISHER, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, 3-DUSKY, 3-GRAY and 2-ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.

The Paton's yard had less hummers than last week and we saw only VIOLET-CROWNED and ANNA'S, although Broad-billed was seen by others earlier in the day. Among the 20+ species that we recorded here were GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LAZULI BUNTING.

A lunchtime stop at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon was very quiet with only CASSIN'S VIREO of note. We also saw little of note at Sierra Vista sewage ponds except for scads of our target YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. They're always worth the price of admission.

Friday, October 29, 1999
'Tis the season for grassland birds and today I made my first scouting trip for LBJs. With the closure to birders of the Vaca Ranch in the San Rafael Valley (since 5/1/99), an excellent winter location for grassland birds has been lost. Although there are several other good places in the valley with the same birds, today I decided to look elsewhere for a new location.

Although my lifer Baird's Sparrow and Sprague's Pipit both came in the Sonoita grasslands, over the years I've abandoned this area in favor of San Rafael. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Today I returned and spent several hours walking the Sonoita grasslands where, at least on first blush, it's going to take me a little time to find a productive spot! When looking for grassland birds on my own, I'm never quite sure that bad results are due to lack of coverage (because a bird may not flush even when a few feet away) or whether there are really no birds in the area. For whatever reason, the area that I worked today was certainly unproductive. In the one square mile that I trudged back and forth, I did not flush a single sparrow! The location that I chose looked good at first but turned out to be mainly short and medium length grass, so the lack of sparrows was perhaps not surprising. I saw one each of RED-TAILED HAWK and AM. KESTREL, numerous HORNED LARKS, and a few isolated small flocks of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS. Slim pickings indeed and quite disappointing since my hope was to find a good Baird's Sparrow location. Somewhat of a consolation though were a couple of SPRAGUE'S PIPITS. It looks like I'll have to put up with a lot of seeds in my socks before I find a good spot!

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Friday, October 29, 1999

Species List

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

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