Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - January, 2000 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 Saturday, January 29, 2000

Saturday, January 1, 2000
For me, today is just another day with birds to find. Day 2 with Keith Brookes from Manchester, England. The first casualty of Y2K was my pride. At 5:45am. I rolled into a Texaco station on Fry Blvd. in Sierra Vista to find that my card didn't work at the pump. Feeling annoyed, I gave my card to the attendant who proceeded to try it then said "Sir, this is a Shell card". Oops, I sheepishly made my exit, found the right card and pumped my gas. I must make an effort to wake up before leaving the house.

My first bird of the year was a RED-TAILED HAWK near Sahuarita. After meeting Keith in Green Valley we began birding at Patagonia Lake State Park at 8:30am. The birding wasn't spectacular but we saw a solid 50 species in cool but sunny conditions. We spent very little time looking for the trogon and robin and, not surprisingly, we didn't find them. Funny how things work out. Most of the regulars were present, especially in the marsh. MARSH WRENS and SONG SPARROWS were plentiful and we found one SWAMP SPARROW. Although SORAS were easy to see, Virginia Rails were apparently not Y2K compliant and we failed to see one despite hearing several. Quite unusual was the fact that COMMON MOORHENS seemed very common today and we saw perhaps 10. The empids were quiet to start but we ended up seeing several each of DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS.

A brief stop at the Paton's Yard wasn't too productive except for a colorful male LAZULI BUNTING. The somewhat lost MEXICAN JAY continues. INCA DOVES were plentiful.

At Kino Springs we saw a MERLIN make a bee-line for a perched AM. KESTREL. The Kestrel never flinched and it was the Merlin that chickened out.

Madera Canyon was colder, more crowded and had far less birds than of late. We even had trouble finding a BRIDLED TITMOUSE. During our time here the Painted Redstart was a no show but at least two MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRDS (male and female) continue. Other species included CEDAR WAXWINGS at Madera Picnic area and WESTERN BLUEBIRDS at Proctor Rd.

Sunday, January 2, 2000
Today was my first non-working day for some time but I was up at 4:00am in preparation for a trip to the Chiricahuas to participate in the Portal CBC. I could really have used a day off but I committed to compiler Arnie Moorhouse some time ago. As I left home at 5:00am. conditions looked pretty good, however, that certainly didn't pan out. Winter hit the mountains today and I birded in snow for several hours before quitting. The Chiricahuas seemed to get plenty but as I returned home the snow appeared light in the Huachucas, although the snow level was fairly low.

As I picked up my route info from Arnie at 7:00am at Cave Creek Ranch, I could hear a PAINTED REDSTART and a BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. Little did I know that it would be all downhill from there. My route was the little birded Horseshoe Canyon that is hard to get to on a French Joe Canyon type road. I began hiking around 8:30am. under cloudy skies and a strong wind. Very soon light to moderate snow was falling and by the time I reached Horseshoe Pass the snow was heavy and horizontal. Taking into account the fact that I hadn't seen any birds of note save for a roosting SPOTTED OWL, I wasn't having fun yet. After almost 5 hours of this nonsense I quit with only 12 species seen.

On the way home I decided to visit Willcox to check on yet another Horned Grebes (plural) report. The best birds of the day came as I left with a PRAIRIE FALCON on Stateline Rd. and a GOLDEN EAGLE soaring in the snow on San Simon Rd.

If you haven't visited Willcox in a snowstorm, you simply don't have a real concept of the word "depressing".  I've been on my soap box about this before, and here I go again. In 7 winters, I have seen just 1 Horned Grebe in Southeast Arizona -- they are rarer than Eared Trogons! Nevertheless, every year there are multiple reports and this year is no different. None of these reports are from people that I know and NONE of these birds are ever relocated. Needless to say, I didn't find any Horned Grebes today, just lots of EARED GREBES. Enough already!

Monday, January 3, 2000
Out today with Jeff and Elaine Price from Denmark. Jeff operates Ibis Excursions and offers birding tours to many European destinations. Our primary target was Spotted Owl, but we also visited French Joe Canyon to look for the warbler and San Rafael Valley for Longspurs.

Unlike yesterday the weather was excellent -- sunny, cold and clear with very little wind. Some snow was on the ground but the hike into French Joe Canyon was birdy and very enjoyable. As we approached the lowest sighting area (of the current bird), I heard the bird call briefly a couple of times. We hurried to the spot and found a foraging mixed flock comprised mainly of BRIDLED TITMICE with RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BEWICK'S WREN, VERDIN and several BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS. At 9:30am, after about 10 minutes of focusing on every movement, I spotted the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER foraging in the shadows on the ridge above the high bank. We watched the bird for several minutes and it only vocalized once more, quite unusual. We recorded 30 species in the canyon including GREATER ROADRUNNER, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, 5 species of wrens, PHAINOPEPLA and PYRRHULOXIA. 

Scheelite Canyon had about 1/2 inch of snow and was a little on the nippy side. However, two separately roosting SPOTTED OWLS soon warmed us up. Not much action in the canyon with a total of 13 common species recorded. Heading back down Garden Canyon Jeff spotted a perched SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.

Next we headed over to San Rafael Valley that afforded some spectacular views on this pristine day. We had some trouble finding McCOWN'S LONGSPUR at the Vaca Ranch corral but after two visits and lots of persistence I spotted one in with the HORNED LARKS. Eventually, we counted three of them. Several fly-by flocks of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS were also in the area. I was pleasantly surprised to see 3-PEREGRINE FALCONS working near the corral (which didn't help our cause), because I had never recorded them before in the valley. Four species of blackbirds were feeding here - RED-WINGED, YELLOW-HEADED and BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD. Near the corral on the southern portion of Forest Road 58, Elaine spotted a lone WHITE-TAILED KITE.

Tuesday, January 4, 2000
Out today with Lud and Rosemarie Deppisch who live in Youngstown, OH and Tucson AZ. I've birded with Lud on 4 previous occasions, today our target was the Rufous-capped Warbler. I left Sierra Vista at 7:45am where the temperature was 28 degrees. It was another gorgeous, crisp blue sky day that warmed to the mid 50s. Certainly a great day to be in the field. Call me crazy but I'd be happy if it never got any warmer than this. I was in shirtsleeves while everybody else was all bundled up!

We left the Highway 90 entrance to French Joe Canyon at 8:20am and after the short but arduous drive and a brisk hike we arrived at the lower sighting area around 9:20am. There were 2 other parties in the canyon today, 8 people in all, including locals Rich Hoyer and Jerry Bock with Paul Lehman. My normal strategy with the warbler is to patrol the canyon between the lower and upper sighting areas. Yesterday I didn't need to do this because the warbler was vocalizing on arrival. With the coverage that we had today I decided to concentrate near the lower sighting area, leaving the upper canyon to the others. Now and again I walked the canyon and on one occasion I wandered off onto the hillside, all to no avail.. Two people left by late morning.

Despite the good coverage there had been no sight or sound of the warbler until around 12:45pm. At that time Rich came down canyon to inform us that the bird was at the upper sighting area. We hurried up canyon and, with help from the guys, we soon relocated the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER. Unfortunately, the bird decided to stay elusive and remained very hard to see. Rich, Jerry and Paul left (many thanks for the help) and we stayed another 15 minutes eventually getting excellent looks at the bird. We arrived back at highway 90 around 2:30pm after a round trip of 6 hours.

The canyon was a little less birdy today and we recorded 27 species including 2 soaring GOLDEN EAGLES, HUTTON'S VIREO, LINCOLN'S SPARROW (only my 2nd sighting here), the usual BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS and several GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES.

Wednesday, January 5, 2000
Day 1 of 2 days with Deke and Peggy Descoteaux from Morgan Hill, CA. For the third day in a row I was in French Joe Canyon looking for the warbler. For the second day in a row, the warbler was tough to find -- the little stinker. Another great weather day and we did find and get great looks at the bird, so all's well that ends well.

Déjà vu all over again as we entered the canyon at 8:20am and arrived in the general warbler area around 9:30am. Two other parties in the canyon today with a total of 7 people spread out through the upper canyon looking for the bird. Despite much walking, sitting, listening and scanning, 12:30pm rolled around with no sign of the bird. Around this time Melody Kehl heard the bird but lost a little heart when she thought that it had skedaddled up the hillside. Fortunately, we persisted and located the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER again about 15 minutes later. The location was close to the uppermost sighting area, a little further up canyon than yesterday.. However, the bird decided to work low and stay out of sight, just doing its thing and chipping occasionally. After about 30 minutes of tracking and some brief looks, all 7 people saw the bird perched in the clear on an Agave at close range. Terrific.

The canyon seemed less birdy again today but we ended up with 31 species including GOLDEN EAGLE, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, DUSKY and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, CRISSAL THRASHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER (a good bird for January) and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW.

We finished our day on the San Pedro River (Hwy 90) without seeing anything spectacular. However, GREEN-TAILED, ABERT'S and CANYON TOWHEES in the same binocular view at a water drip was a nice sight. Many COMMON GROUND-DOVES were around and we scanned them all without finding the Ruddy Ground-Dove that was seen recently.

Thursday, January 6, 2000
Day 2  with Deke and Peggy Descoteaux from Morgan Hill, CA. After what seems like weeks of target birding, it was a distinct pleasure to do some casual birding at Patagonia Lake State Park this morning. More great weather as we spent another boring day in Paradise.

The edges of the marsh were frozen and it was certainly brisk as we began birding around 8:30am. By the time we left at 11:30am we had managed 50+ species. The Elegant Trogon was seen today but by the time that we left, nobody had seen the Rufous-backed Robin.

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were highly visible feeding in the seep willows. MARSH WRENS were skating on the ice. BLACK-CHINNED and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS were feeding in the marsh. Empids were "whitting" away and we found several DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS. Bugs were hard to come by early on and both of them were feeding on the ground along with numerous BEWICK'S WRENS. We watched a SAY'S PHOEBE working a tree just like a woodpecker. Several SORAS fed by the water's edge while VIRGINIA RAILS just grunted from the reeds. A pristine plumaged RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER worked the large leafless willows at the east end of the lake. It was interesting to watch the behavior of these common birds as they tried to make a living in the cold conditions.

A brief stop at the Paton's yielded my first ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD of the year, lots of INCA DOVES, a few LARK SPARROWS and the continuing MEXICAN JAY.

In the afternoon we headed to the San Rafael Valley where we made a brief and unsuccessful search for Baird's Sparrow. All we got for our trouble at Meadow Valley Flat was a lot of grass seeds in our socks and scads of SAVANNAH SPARROWS, a few VESPER SPARROWS. a flock of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS and 1-GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. A large flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were along the fenceline where the oaks and grassland meet. Further east, at the Vaca Ranch Corral, we found a good looking McCOWN'S LONGSPUR starting to acquire decent breeding plumage.

In the Canelo Hills on the east side of the valley we found a GREAT BLUE HERON making a living at a small stock pond, ROADRUNNER, PHAINOPEPLA and a few EASTERN BLUEBIRDS.

Saturday, January 8, 2000
Day 1 of 3 days with Sue McLeer from Buffalo, NY who I've birded with once before. Another splendid day to be alive and out birding -- sunny blue skies all day, very cold to start and pleasant temperatures in the afternoon.

We began at an icy Patagonia Lake State Park in search of empids. As usual, DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS were very easy to find. Also as usual, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER was considerably more difficult to find, simply because there are so few of them. The creek trail is far and away the best place to find them and, after a 3/4 mile walk, we found a lone and silent individual working low to the ground, as were most flycatchers on this day. We enjoyed excellent views of all three species. Also present were a few SAY'S and numerous BLACK PHOEBE'S, and a single ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, easily located by homing in on its "pipping".

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were once again very numerous and easy to see, mostly found feeding low in the seep willows. Along the creek trail, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (including at least 1 "Myrtle") and AM. PIPITS were abundant. We were literally kicking them out of our way. The edges of the marsh were solid ice and although we didn't see any rails, both SORA and VIRGINIA RAILS were calling. We spent a little time on the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN which roamed around a lot this morning. I saw the bird in flight but unfortunately, Sue didn't see it at all. She also decided that it wasn't important enough to spend time on and we moved on to look for Longspurs and Spotted Owl. Only 44 species seen, my lowest total in quite a while. I've said before how tough it is to maintain a high species count while target birding. That, plus you don't have time to enjoy the birds. Oh, well.

I always enjoy the drive from Patagonia to the San Rafael valley through Harshaw Canyon, but I rarely get a chance to bird this scenic and attractive area. Today was no different, although we did see 2-GOLDEN EAGLES soaring and a few EASTERN BLUEBIRDS.

In the San Rafael Valley I was hoping that CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS would be sitting on the fencelines (as in recent weeks), but I hardly expected to see so many, so quickly and without them flying away! However, we had great views of numerous birds, some already with significant breeding plumage. It was a different story at the Vaca Ranch Corral that was loaded with RED-WINGED, YELLOW-HEADED & BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, but had nary a HORNED LARK. We parked by the corral and used the car as a blind. Horned Larks came in dribs and drabs but it was a full hour before enough birds came in to hold a single McCOWN'S LONGSPUR. Patience is a virtue.

Despite the wait, we still had enough daylight to look for Spotted Owl so we headed to Scheelite Canyon through Canelo Hills and the west gate of Fort Huachuca. As we arrived at the trailhead we met a couple of birders who had covered both forks of the upper canyon and failed to find an owl. As I mentioned recently, this happens so often it really is like a recurring bad dream. I explained to Sue why I wasn't going to assume that the birds would not be in an obvious spot. Sure enough, a SPOTTED OWL was slap bang over the trail in absolutely the easiest location that it ever uses. I'm at a loss to explain how the bird can be missed here.

Sunday, January 9, 2000
Out again with Sue McLeer from Buffalo, NY. A day of working on a few target birds in scattered locations. The weather cooperated once again -- a calm and sunny day that was actually quite warm in the afternoon after a cold start.

We began early on the San Pedro River where the temperature was in the low 20s. Nevertheless, it took us less than 30 minutes to find a very accommodating CRISSAL THRASHER, seen well at close range. We saw little else in such a short visit, just GREEN-TAILED & ABERT'S TOWHEES and several species of sparrows.

The "downside" was that I had expected to spend a couple of hours finding this bird, so as we headed to the Huachucas it was still very cold. There's one extensive icy spot in Garden Canyon that is difficult to get past. I made it but the car behind turned around. We arrived at Sawmill Canyon at 9:30am to find excellent sapsucker searching conditions, i.e. no wind! Here we were greeting by a small group of WILD TURKEYS. As usual the MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS were bitchin' and moanin' that we had invaded their space, making it difficult to listen for tapping. Probably because we weren't looking for them, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS were calling from multiple locations and we did eventually stop to look at a couple. Despite the distractions, it only took an hour of slow walking and listening before finding our quarry -- WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. The bird, a beautifully plumaged male, was working very low on a large pine in a regular territory, about 3/4 mile into the canyon.

Our original plan had been to look next for Townsend's Solitaire, but two quick successes allowed a change of plan and we decided to head over to Patagonia Lake. As we headed down Garden Canyon, a SAGE THRASHER was perched atop a mesquite in the burned area. This caused a bit of a scramble because, from a distance, the bird looked for all the world like a Solitaire!

We arrived at Patagonia Lake State Park at 1:00pm, a very rare afternoon visit for me. We began work on the robin and searched the many Hackberry trees in the Mesquite Bosque. Lots of birds feeding here including FLICKER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, CARDINAL and HERMIT THRUSH, all partaking of berries. After 30 minutes we left the Bosque to work the large willows near the lake. Here we had immediate success -- the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN was perched in the clear in good light and we had terrific views..

I alerted two other birders that were approaching and they repaid us in kind by telling us where they had just seen the trogon. After a 30 minute search we found the male ELEGANT TROGON that was also perched in the clear in a leafless willow, and we enjoyed excellent views. The location was in the willow thicket that lies between Sonoita Creek and the small backwater/inlet just south of the creek.

We spent about 2 1/2 hours at the lake seeing a few species not seen during our visit yesterday morning. Most notable were BARN and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS. My previous early dates were 1/12/98 and 1/26/98 respectively, both at Patagonia Lake. Among the other species from a total of 48 seen were CINNAMON TEAL, LESSER SCAUP, SORA, COMMON MOORHEN, DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS, HUTTON'S VIREO, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and SWAMP and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS.

In the evening we returned to the Huachucas where I was unable to raise a Western Screech-Owl. They obviously had more sense than I did on a cold night. I never like to end on failure, however, all things considered it was still a very successful day.

Tuesday, January 11, 2000
Day 1 of 4 days with Fr. Tom Margevicius, a Catholic priest from St. Paul, MN. On yet another beautiful day, we birded at Patagonia Lake State Park, Nogales sewage ponds, the Paton's yard and the San Rafael valley.

A much warmer start to the day than of late at Patagonia Lake. We spent some time looking for the robin and trogon without success. Many birders were present today and the Rufous-backed Robin was seen by at least one other party. We spent an enjoyable 4 hours here and recorded exactly 50 species without seeing anything of special note. The usual GRAY and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS were present in numbers along with 3, perhaps 4-ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS. Marsh species were COOT, MOORHEN, SORA, VIRGINIA RAIL, MARSH WREN, SONG and SWAMP SPARROWS and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.  On the lake were PIED-BILLED and EARED GREBES, NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, GREEN-WINGED and CINNAMON TEAL, LESSER SCAUP and COMMON MERGANSER. Other regulars included BELTED KINGFISHER, GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, AMERICAN PIPIT, ORANGE-CROWNED and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, BREWER'S, CHIPPING, BLACK-THROATED, BLACK-CHINNED and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS, CANYON TOWHEE, CARDINAL and PYRRHULOXIA. At least one BARN SWALLOW continues.

A short visit to Nogales sewage ponds produced over 30 species. Of note were GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and PEREGRINE FALCON.

Another short visit, this time to the Paton's yard, was also productive with WHITE-WINGED DOVE, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD and a male LAZULI BUNTING among the 25 species seen.

Birds in Harshaw Canyon on our way to San Rafael Valley included WESTERN BLUEBIRD and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW.

The San Rafael Valley was good to us today. We struggled a little with Longspurs and had to settle for fly-by views of CHESTNUT-COLLARED and a couple of briefly seen McCOWN'S at the Vaca Ranch Corral. Just as we found a "good" McCOWN'S, a jogger came by and flushed the entire corral. Those of you that know the area will think "what the hell is a jogger doing out here breathing in all that dust?". My sentiments exactly. Our day concluded very successfully at the corral on the southern section of FR58. Here we had excellent views of  4-SHORT-EARED OWLS hunting in the late afternoon sun (4:55pm), and eventually 2 perched WHITE-TAILED KITES that took 30 minutes to find!

After we discovered  we were almost out of gas, and neither of us knowing the vehicle, we decided that a return to Patagonia was in order instead of a trip home through Canelo Hills. Our final birds came on FR 58 west of the Vaca Ranch corral -- a PRAIRIE FALCON hunting low to the ground and a perched SHORT-EARED OWL. This could have been one of the four seen earlier but there may be more than 4 birds present in the valley.

Wednesday, January 12, 2000
Day 2 with Fr. Tom Margevicius. As I met with Fr. Tom at 7:30am at St. Andrews in Sierra Vista,  we picked up a target RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER in the trees outside the church! A good start to the day. Another wonderful weather day -- sunny and warm, calm, and without a cloud in sight. How long can this continue? Today we birded in the Sulphur Springs Valley and in the Huachucas.

Even the normally chilly Sulphur Springs Valley was only a little cool when we started on Frontier Road around 8:30am. We had a mostly successful morning missing only Crissal Thrasher and Sage Sparrow among the birds that we sought. Abundant birds throughout the valley were SANDHILL CRANES, LARK BUNTINGS and BREWER'S SPARROWS.

Birds of note from the 30+ at Whitewater Draw were ROSS'S GOOSE, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, VERMILION FLYCATCHER and CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR. On Central Highway just south of the "S" curve, a majestic GOLDEN EAGLE was perched alongside the highway. Mormon Rd. held hundreds of blackbirds -- RED-WINGED, YELLOW-HEADED and BREWER'S.

By the time that we reached the Essary Hay company fields at noon it was as warm as a spring day. Many FERRUGINOUS HAWKS, including one dark phase bird, were either soaring, perched on poles, irrigation rigs, or on the ground. What a truly wonderful sight. We had to work a little harder to find the MOUNTAIN PLOVERS almost hidden in the grass, but find them we did -- a total of 21 birds on this day. On the other hand we had no trouble with SAGE THRASHER, the bird found us and perched high on a wire for a nice 'scope view. A female VERMILION FLYCATCHER was also present.

We had worked unsuccessfully throughout the morning for thrashers, so before returning to Sierra Vista I decided to invest just a little more time. This turned out to be a good decision because the very next place that we checked produced a very cooperative BENDIRE'S THRASHER in a regular location. A good end to the morning.

Our time in the Huachucas was quite uneventful except for the trip up Scheelite Canyon. A quick success was a close up view of an inquisitive HUTTON'S VIREO followed by a fairly cooperative NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL. The owl came close and flew over us several times, however, we were unable to obtain a perched view. Further up canyon we found a well hidden SPOTTED OWL. However, for me the best bird was a new-for-the-canyon CURVE-BILLED THRASHER. A few weeks ago I found a Crissal Thrasher here. Que pasa?

Back in Garden Canyon with the light fading fast, we searched in vain for Strickland's Woodpecker. We saw COOPER'S HAWK, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER at the lower picnic area, a good bird for January.

Thursday, January 13, 2000
Day 3 with Fr. Tom Margevicius. The warmest and my first shorts day of the year so far. We began in Tucson, then birded our way north through the Avra valley to Marana Pecan grove, and finished up in Madera Canyon.

A short visit to Sweetwater wetlands easily produced our target HARRIS'S HAWK and GILDED FLICKER. However, the "ever present" hawk kept us waiting for 30 minutes. Among the 30+ species seen here were CINNAMON TEAL, HORNED LARK, AM. PIPIT, SAVANNAH SPARROW and tons of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

A stop at the overlook at Gates Pass Rd. in Tucson Mountain Park yielded another target, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, as well as the usual splendid views.

Working our way through Avra valley we found a couple of birds that we struck out on yesterday -- a perched up and singing CRISSAL THRASHER and a couple of skulking SAGE SPARROWS, the latter not seen very well.

Our midday timing at Marana Pecan Grove was good and the male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE was resting in a wood pile. I even had time to go back to the car for the 'scope for some excellent looks. Other birds here included 20-BLACK VULTURES, 1-MERLIN, 2-BURROWING OWLS and several WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS.

Acting on a tip from another birder, we checked the nearby Santa Cruz river and were able to relocate a WESTERN SANDPIPER. They are pretty thin on the ground in winter in SE AZ. On this warm afternoon, WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were very active over the river.

Madera Canyon was much quieter than earlier in the month, both people and bird wise. However, several target birds were easy to find here -- MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, PAINTED REDSTART and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. We walked a mile or so in good habitat but struck out again on Strickland's Woodpecker. The usual common species were seen but the only bird of   note was a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. We left a distant flock of "starling like fliers", probably Cedar Waxwings, as unidentified.

The drive home through Box Canyon produced ROCK and CANYON WRENS and our final target bird of the day, a RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW. This is a actually a very striking bird when seen in good light at 10 feet, as we were lucky enough to do.

Friday, January 14, 2000
Day 4 and final day with Fr. Tom Margevicius. The weather finally changed today and it was mostly cloudy all day. It was also "one of those days" when almost nothing went right, and pretty hard to swallow when success is almost taken for granted. However, it was also a day that proved statistics exist for a reason -- i.e. if you see a bird on 7 out of 10 trips, then on 3 out of 10 trips you're going to miss it! It was also a day that my flu symptoms returned as the day progressed. A triple whammy.

Despite the fact that the temperature in town was 48 degrees, it felt extremely cold on the San Pedro River (Hwy 90) when we began birding at 8:00am. We birded here until 11:30am and found exactly 50 species. Our only target bird success was COMMON GROUND-DOVE of which many were present. We focused on the "big pond" (I refuse to call it Kingfisher pond!) and the river but failed to find a Green Kingfisher. The population of this bird has crashed rather drastically in the last two years (I don't know why). However, several recent sightings gave me a little hope that, unfortunately, wasn't realized.

For the most part we recorded common resident and wintering species including GREAT HORNED OWL, all 4 towhees and 9 species of sparrows -- SONG, LINCOLN'S, WHITE-CROWNED, SAVANNAH, CHIPPING, BREWER'S, VESPER and LARK. However, a SWAMP SPARROW was definitely not even close to common here. After 7 years of birding on the San Pedro and many hundreds of visits, this was my first sighting and species #203 for the river. A minor highlight in my day. Other less common species for the location were SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, MERLIN, COMMON MOORHEN, DUSKY and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS and N. CARDINAL.

With few exceptions, our expedition into Sawmill Canyon was more akin to a walk in graveyard. We saw only 16 species and very few individuals. Again we had only one target bird success -- STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, one of the few species that were quite numerous. We searched diligently for Williamson's Sapsucker for over 2 1/2 hours without even a hint of one. This is a bird that I see on 70% of January visits. We also failed on Olive Warbler, certainly far less common in January. Among the birds seen were WILD TURKEY, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, WESTERN BLUEBIRD (rare in Sawmill) and PINE SISKIN. Pine Siskins have been scarce so far this winter.

After burning so much daylight we had few options left. We headed to Sierra Vista sewage ponds where I was surprised and pleased to find the gate open at 3:45pm. Here we had some very enjoyable birding until 5:30pm to redeem an otherwise uninspiring day. Better yet, we quickly found our final target bird of the trip -- 3-LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS.

The thousands of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS kept us entertained, especially when a MERLIN streaked by causing them to first scatter and then come together in a tight flock. Pretty spectacular stuff. Later, a PEREGRINE FALCON scattered the MOURNING DOVES and MALLARDS. We saw a total of 35 species including CANVASBACK, LESSER SCAUP, SORA, COMMON MOORHEN, ROADRUNNER, SCALED QUAIL, AMERICAN PIPIT and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

Over the 4 days with Fr. Tom we saw 151 species including almost 60 target birds. Overall, it was a good result but as I've said before, I don't like to end on failure! You're only as good as your last gig!

Monday, January 17, 2000
Day 1 of 2 days with Andrea Mims from Houston, TX and her sister Charlotte from Shreveport, LA. After two days off fighting the flu for the second time in the past few weeks, I was back in the field today. Unfortunately, I had to let clients down to take care of myself. Today was another wonderful, warm "winter" day and we visited Patagonia Lake, Paton's yard, and Madera canyon.

Had I remembered that today was a holiday I would have switched the days around. Patagonia Lake was crowded with birders, something I'm not used to here. The lake doesn't get much of a write up in the birdfinding guides and it's been a well kept secret for some time, but apparently not anymore. Unfortunately, the early birders saw the Rufous-backed Robin and drove it out of the area for those that followed. C'est la vie. However, it wasn't a big item on our agenda we spent a pleasant 3 hours of casual birding seeing a total of 55 species. Most of the usual suspects were present including PIED-BILLED and EARED GREBES, NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, CINNAMON TEAL, LESSER SCAUP, COMMON MERGANSER, GREAT EGRET, SORA, COMMON MOORHEN, DUSKY, GRAY and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, AMERICAN PIPIT, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, SWAMP, BREWER'S and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS and PYRRHULOXIA. Less common species present today were GILDED FLICKER and HUTTON'S VIREO.

A short stop at the Paton's yard was productive with ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD and LAZULI BUNTING. A small band of MEXICAN JAYS continue. With the spring like weather that we are having, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Violet-crowned Hummingbirds back early this year (the usual return date is around February 3). I know of two individuals present in Douglas and Sierra Vista at the moment.

Stops at Amado sewage pond and the Santa Cruz river failed to turn up a Vermilion Flycatcher. However, our timing at the old Pima county maintenance yard near Green Valley was perfect and we soon saw plenty of LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES.

Madera Canyon wasn't as crowded as I expected and we also saw some nice birds. While looking for a most silent PAINTED REDSTART that we eventually found, we stumbled across a couple of good January birds -- BLACK-THROATED GRAY and TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS. Other birds included RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD.

Our pleasant drive home through Box Canyon was highlighted by a flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000
Out again today with Andrea and Charlotte. Another warm day with thin, high clouds that we spent mostly in the Sulphur Springs valley. Temperatures continue to be well above average for this time of year. I'll be in Maine at the beginning of next month, boy am I in for a rude awakening!

Our day got off to an excellent start when we saw a GOLDEN EAGLE as we left town. The bird was on a pole at milepost 3 on Charleston Road, where it presumably roosted. Passing through Tombstone (that hotspot of birdlife) we noted a WHITE-WINGED DOVE. It's odd that they leave the warmer areas like Phoenix and Tucson in winter, yet they are regular around the neighborhoods of SE AZ towns. 

Entering the valley we had wonderful 'scope views of a pale richardsonii MERLIN on the Davis Rd. As usual, RED-TAILED HAWKS, SANDHILL CRANES, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, LARK BUNTINGS and BREWER'S SPARROWS were conspicuous everywhere.

At Whitewater Draw we soon found our main quarry -- VERMILION FLYCATCHER. However, the bird was an adult female so we persevered and found an immature male before eventually finding a gorgeous adult male. Birding here was good (although lacking in waterfowl diversity) and the conditions were calm and pleasantly warm, quite a change from the bitter mornings not so long ago. We turned up 35+ species including 2-MERLINS, FERRUGINOUS HAWK, COMMON SNIPE, 21-LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, 3-RING-BILLED GULLS, ROADRUNNER and a few CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS.  

Next, we spent several hours at Essary Hay in a fruitless search for Mountain Plover. Because we found only 3-KILLDEERS throughout our entire search, I'd like to think that the birds were elsewhere today. However, we could easily have overlooked them. Our work was complicated by the fact that most of the interior gates are closed (usually the case when the Border Patrol guys are setup nearby). Thus, driving around the fields is somewhat of a chore, opening and closing the same gates multiple times. However, I'm happy to have the privilege of being able to bird here. Please check in at the office if you go. 

Nevertheless, our time here was far from wasted. The sight of a dozen or so FERRUGINOUS HAWKS is well worth a visit. We saw almost 30 species on the premises including GOLDEN EAGLE, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, 100s of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, AMERICAN PIPIT, SAGE THRASHER and a large flock of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS.

We finished our day at Sierra Vista sewage ponds where the YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD show never fails to entertain. Very little else of note, however, COMMON MOORHEN is far from common here as I've mentioned before.

Thursday, January 20, 2000
Another day with Fr. Tom Margevicius from St. Paul, MN. Fr. Tom had been birding on his own for a few days and had added Violet-crowned and Costa's Hummers and Rufous-backed Robin. Today we looked for a few target birds in the Chiricahuas, a location that we didn't get to during our 4 days birding together last week.

We began birding on the Pinery Canyon Road where we had an early success quite low in the canyon with 2-OLIVE WARBLERS. One was a beautiful male that came within a few feet of us. We had to work a little harder for MEXICAN CHICKADEE, eventually finding some just below Onion Saddle. Here we had a nice mixed flock all around us before they were silenced by a marauding SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. Other birds along the Pinery Canyon Rd. included RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, ACORN and STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS, FLICKER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, WHITE and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS, BROWN CREEPER, HUTTON'S VIREO, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, AM. ROBIN, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and DARK and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS.

We continued higher to Rustler to pick up PYGMY NUTHATCH before striking out again on Williamson's Sapsucker. I've seen them here regular in November and December, and occasionally in January. I say occasionally because, in most years, Rustler is usually unreachable in January. We did see some snow today but it was mostly off the road. The only other species new for the day here was HAIRY WOODPECKER. Heading back down the mountain, an immature GOLDEN EAGLE was soaring over Onion Saddle.

After hearing but not seeing a BUSHTIT (our only encounter in 5 days of birding, go figure!), we spent some time looking for them again in Portal and on the Paradise Road. We saw very few birds and added only WESTERN SCRUB-JAY to our day list.

A stop at Cave Creek Ranch yielded our target BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. The feeders here were loaded with birds, mostly LESSER GOLDFINCHES.

After striking out on Barn Owl in Rodeo, we doubled back toward the mountains and headed over to Willcox where the late afternoon birding was enjoyable. Birds here included EARED GREBE, CANADA, SNOW & ROSS'S GEESE, AMERICAN & EURASIAN WIGEONS,  LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, RING-BILLED GULL and VERMILION FLYCATCHER.

A nice end to a day of mixed success and a good end to Fr. Tom's trip. He saw a total of 164 species including 68 new birds.

Friday, January 21, 2000
Out today with Jeff Grabmeier from Columbus, OH. More shorts weather as the days continue cloudy and warm. We visited Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs, Nogales sewage ponds and the Santa Ritas.

At Patagonia Lake it seems that the early birders get the bird and we had an easy time finding the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN in the large willows. We enjoyed some decent views until the bird flew off towards the Hackberries, presumably for breakfast, and we left it in peace. Apart from that it was pretty much standard fare with 50 species seen from 8:00-11:15am.  Both DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS were readily seen but a more focused search along the creek was needed to find HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. Also present today were a couple of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS.

It was a treat to see both SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL foraging in the open and unconcerned by our close presence, the latter it not usually so accommodating. Other birds in the marsh were GREEN-WINGED and CINNAMON TEAL, MARSH WREN, SONG, SWAMP, CHIPPING, WHITE-CROWNED and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS.

On the lake, the COMMON MERGANSER population seems to have increased considerably and there are plenty of NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS. Others today included PIED-BILLED and EARED GREBES, GADWALL and LESSER SCAUP. At various locations around the lake we saw the usual suspects including GILA and LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BEWICK'S and HOUSE WRENS, HERMIT THRUSH, AM. PIPIT,  HUTTON'S VIREO, ORANGE-CROWNED and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, CARDINAL and PYRRHULOXIA.

A quick stop (almost non-stop) at Kino Springs produced a beautiful male VERMILION FLYCATCHER at the club house and a NEOTROPIC CORMORANT at the first pond (far less common here than at the nearby state park). Two more quick stops at Nogales & Amado sewage ponds produced GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and GREATER ROADRUNNER, not always findable on cue! 

In the Santa Ritas, our next bird wasn't quite as easy. Finding a RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW was relatively easy, but getting good views took us quite some time. I have never missed this species in Chino Canyon but my experience is that although it's sometimes ridiculously easy, the bird mostly plays hard to get and lots of patience is required. Our patience was tried today but, eventually, we were able to get good 'scope looks at a perched bird. 

Next came another quick stop at the old Pima County maintenance yard in Green Valley where several LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES were easy to see. No waiting required!

In Madera Canyon we saw the usual common species at the feeders including ACORN WOODPECKER, MEXICAN JAY, MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. Now we had to work for our birds. A short walk in the canyon produced RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, PAINTED REDSTART and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. After about 15 minutes of searching we heard the redstart calling and tracked it down. As we watched it, Jeff noticed a Townsend's to which we turned our attention. This prompted the redstart to say "look at me, look at me" by perching at arm's length, bouncing around on nearby rocks, and rummaging in the leaves below us. What a treat.  

We made a brief stop at Proctor Rd., where we saw ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, before heading home via the Box Canyon Rd. This is a great route for CANYON and ROCK WRENS and we saw both along with an elusive RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW. We also came across 3 singing CURVE-BILLED THRASHERS ('tis the season) and a flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS.

Saturday, January 22, 2000
Out today with Jody and Jeanie Humber from Peoria, AZ. We had 3 target birds for the day -- Mountain Plover, Chestnut-collared Longspur and Lawrence's Goldfinch. Despite a concentrated search, we struck out on the plover. I'm reminded of the story of a broker with an unhappy client explaining to his boss "I made money, and you made money, and 2 out of 3 ain't bad, right?".

We began birding at Essary Hay Co. around 8:45am and searched until almost 11:30am without any sign of Mountain Plover. For the second trip in a row KILLDEER were present in only a single field, and only 2 birds at that. There must be something about the habitat at the moment that is not right. Many of the fields are low-cropped and look good for the birds, however, they obviously know better! On the other hand, almost every field had a flock of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and even counting very conservatively, there were over 500 birds. Similarly, everywhere we looked there was a FERRUGINOUS HAWK and we saw at least 20, maybe as many as 30.

Even though we didn't find our primary target bird, there was always something to look at and we found a total of 30 species within the Essary complex. When we arrived, numerous SCALED QUAIL were scurrying around and a GOLDEN EAGLE was perched on a pole, perhaps still roosting. In one field we saw an adult BALD EAGLE on the ground with prey, surrounded by CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS. Several thrashers were evident and we saw CURVE-BILLED (singing), CRISSAL, and 2-SAGE THRASHERS. The fields held the usual mix of raptors, blackbirds, SAY'S PHOEBES, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, LARK BUNTINGS, HORNED LARKS, AM. PIPITS, EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and several flavors of sparrows. However, our only target bird success was CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR in several fly-bys. On the south side of Rucker Canyon Road, a particularly good Longspur field held a large flock of McCOWN'S LONGSPURS.

Before returning to Sierra Vista we searched several more fields along a 3 mile stretch of highway 191 with the same result, nada. Where have all the plovers gone, short time passing? They normally don't leave until mid-February.

Acting on a tip from Fr. Tom (now back in Minnesota), we checked a Sierra Vista neighborhood (that was alive with the sound of birds) and were delighted to find numerous LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES.  That saved us a trip to Green Valley, thanks Fr. Tom!. Lawrence's have been fairly common this year but are never "guaranteed" anywhere, and Green Valley has been the most reliable spot. Perhaps now I have a spot in my own backyard!

My original plan for Chestnut-collared Longspur had been to visit the San Rafael Valley but Jody decided not to head over there. Instead we spent a little time on the San Pedro where, ironically, we saw several LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES. They have been reported on and off at the river but this was my first sighting here this season.

Sunday, January 23, 2000
Today was the first day since early December that I've done any relaxed birding on my own, and even that was only for 45 minutes. I returned to the Sierra Vista neighborhood that Fr. Tom told me about, to look for a Plumbeous Vireo that he had seen. Unfortunately, the only time I had was in mid-afternoon when the temperature was somewhere in the mid 70s, so the birds were mostly inactive. I didn't find the vireo but LAWRENCE'S and LESSER GOLDFINCHES were again much in evidence. I was also pleased to see a beautiful male LAZULI BUNTING. On this warm winter afternoon, several WHITE-WINGED DOVES were in full song.

Monday, January 24, 2000
Out today with Fred Rentschler from Danville, CA, Jane Dang from Berkeley, CA and Bill and Mary Jane Greene from Oakland, CA. I had birded with Fred on one previous occasion. Another splendid day with a return to mostly blue skies and an afternoon temperature in the high 70s.

We began at Patagonia Lake State Park where we had good success with our 5 target birds. Soon after we began searching for the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN, someone pointed the bird out to us on the ground (near the large willows) with an AMERICAN ROBIN. Unfortunately, several cows came along and flushed the bird before everyone had a chance to see it. We then spent 30 minutes trying to relocate the bird which I eventually found in the hackberries with two American Robins. The bird returned to the willows where it posed for some 'scope looks.

We then worked on empids with DUSKY being easy to find and GRAY being a little more difficult early in the day, although both were calling and easy to see later. As usual, HAMMOND'S was the villain and we had to walk the creek trail quite a way before finding a silent individual working low to the ground. At least two ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS were calling.

Our final target was SWAMP SPARROW which we eventually found by carefully scanning the marsh at multiple locations. Several SORAS and a VIRGINIA RAIL were a bonus.

We spent from 8:00am-12:00pm at the lake seeing exactly 50 species including most of the regulars. Although we birded along the creek for quite some time, we didn't come across the Elegant Trogon.

Next, we headed north into the Santa Ritas to do battle with the ever-present RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS. As usual, they led us a merry old dance before posing. Deja vu all over again.

In the San Rafael Valley we arrived at the Vaca Ranch corral just in time to miss a Lapland Longspur, found a few days ago by Rich Hoyer. He and others had spent much of the day here and had relocated and documented the bird. Unfortunately, a KESTREL had buzzed the corral minutes before we arrived. C'est la Vie, it would have been a state bird for me!. However, we had good looks at a lone McCOWN'S LONGSPUR in with lots of HORNED LARKS. No such luck with CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS, they were fly bys only.

Our day ended at the corral on the southern portion of FR 58 where we watched a couple of SHORT-EARED OWLS hunting as the sun went down.

Tuesday, January 25, 2000
Out today with Don and Fran Vannoy from Wichita, KS. On the warmest day of the year so far, we visited French Joe Canyon for the Rufous-capped Warbler. Another day of sunny, blue skies with a temperature that had to be pretty close to the record for the date.

We entered the canyon at 7:45am. and, after the tortuous drive and pleasant hike, began birding at the "lower sighting area" around 9:00am. There was one other party of 3 in the canyon today, initially they went high and we stayed low. About 10:00am., a shout alerted us to the fact that they had briefly heard and seen the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER near the highest (up canyon) sighting location. Unfortunately, the bird quickly disappeared. We guessed that the bird would move down canyon so that's just what we did too. We persevered and just below the "Agave cairn", around 11:00am., I heard the bird chip twice from a location above the ridge on the north side of the canyon. Doubts set in as nothing was heard for 10 minutes, because the bird can easily slip by when its not using the canyon bottom (or even if it is!). The other party, working their way up canyon, joined us as the bird suddenly reappeared on the south side of the canyon and then, just as quickly, flew across to the north side again. After a few minutes of watching the vegetation moving and hearing the occasional chip, we were all rewarded with some excellent views. I'm always amazed by the way that the warbler goes about its business without any concern or regard for those watching it. It bears repeating that patience is indeed a virtue, especially with this little stinker!  

The area was quite birdy again today, although most birds were recording in passing as the search for the warbler requires focus and diligence. There's no time to enjoy the other birds! Our list of 33 species recorded in the canyon was:

40-Band-tailed Pigeons, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Hutton's Vireo, Hermit Thrush, Northern Mockingbird, Crissal Thrasher, Cactus, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Rufous-capped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping, Black-chinned, Vesper, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted & Canyon Towhees and Northern Cardinal.

Wednesday, January 26, 2000
A day off (of sorts) and after a morning of e-mail and paperwork, I ventured out only briefly to Sierra Vista sewage ponds, mainly to try out a new tripod. My old tripod is built like the proverbial brick one and together with the head and Swarovski scope, the total weight is around 24lbs. I've been threatening to by a lighter model for years and the imminent trip to Maine finally motivated me.

I purchased a Bogen (Manfrotto) 3205 with a 3130 fluid head which makes the total weight with scope about 10lbs, quite an improvement. However, as expected, it's very flimsy and doesn't do well in the wind. It was windy at the ponds so I had a quick reality check. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

There were only a few birds to look at including CANVASBACKS, GREATER ROADRUNNER, AMERICAN  PIPIT, BREWER'S, VESPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS and the usual horde of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. 

Thursday, January 27, 2000
Out again today with Fred Rentschler from Danville, CA, Jane Dang from Berkeley, CA and Bill and Mary Jane Greene from Oakland, CA. On another beautiful, albeit somewhat cooler day, I made my 5th. trip of the year to French Joe Canyon with Fred and Jane. Unfortunately, it was the first time this year that I didn't find the Rufous-capped Warbler. However, since Fred and Jane decided to leave after only 3 hours of searching, I'm not willing to concede defeat!

We arrived at the "lower warbler area" around 9:00am at the same time as several other parties. Eventually, the canyon became quite crowded with perhaps a total of 15 people including ourselves. Normally, the presence of many people is an advantage because they spread out and cover more of the warbler's range. However, most folks today were content to bunch up in one spot and no advantage was gained. There was a possible sighting of the bird just as we arrived, but it didn't pan out. I even climbed up on the north side of the canyon and walked to the upper area without seeing or hearing any potential candidates. This is not for the faint of heart. I patrolled up and down the canyon many times and may have heard the bird once at 11:30am, but that never panned out either. One of those days.

Many of the usual species were present including several WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, a singing CRISSAL THRASHER, HUTTON'S VIREO, GREEN-TAILED and SPOTTED TOWHEES and lots of BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS.

Friday, January 28, 2000
Out today with Eileen Jeffery and her friend Kay, both from Phoenix, AZ. On another fine day to be in the field, we visited Patagonia Lake State Park, the Paton's yard and the San Rafael Valley.

We spent from 8:30am-12:15pm at Patagonia Lake, just enjoying what we saw without looking for specific birds. However, we did make a quick check of the hackberries for RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN before finding it perched in full sun in the nearby willows. As usual, GRAY and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS were easy to see as were SORA and, on this day, VIRGINIA RAIL.

Our list of 54 species at the lake was:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, 15-Neotropic Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, 10+Common Mergansers, Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Killdeer, Inca Dove, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Phainopepla, Rufous-backed Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, American Pipit, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, White-crowned, Chipping, Black-chinned, Black-throated and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

The Paton's yard was quiet in the early afternoon and we saw only a dozen or so species including ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD. I have neither seen for myself nor heard of any reports of lowland Cassin's Finches in SE AZ this winter, yet the sighting board sports both Cassin's and the even rarer Purple Finch as being present. There are, however, scads of HOUSE FINCHES present in a variety of (obviously) "confusing plumages", so take these reports with a grain of salt. Mrs. Paton simply writes down what visitors tell her they've seen.

In the San Rafael Valley we saw the usual field birds including HORNED LARKS, SAVANNAH and VESPER SPARROWS and McCOWN'S & CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS. A single WHITE-TAILED KITE was perched in a regular spot near the old corral on the southern section of FR 58.

We were too early for the Short-eared Owls so we birded our way back to Sierra Vista via the Canelo Hills seeing LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER (uncommon here),  a more at home RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, PHAINOPEPLA, a small flock of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and the usual oak-juniper birds.

Saturday, January 29, 2000
Out again today with Eileen and Kay. A 3 hour morning visit to the San Pedro River was birdy, interesting, enjoyable and productive!. Cold to start, pleasantly warm later. We saw a total of 45 species from 8:45-11:45am.

We spent almost an hour near the San Pedro House which was loaded with birds either visiting the feeders, the water drip, or scratching around in the dirt. In this one spot we saw a good number of species including CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, LARK BUNTING, PYRRHULOXIA, GREEN-TAILED, ABERT'S & CANYON TOWHEES, and BREWER'S, CHIPPING, LARK, VESPER, BLACK-THROATED and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS.  

Walking the "diagonal trail" to the big pond we checked the many COMMON GROUND-DOVES without find a Ruddy. Similarly, around the pond and along the river we checked the multitude of LESSER GOLDFINCHES without finding a Lawrence's. Imagine my delight when, shortly before leaving, we found a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE and 3-LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES at the same spot! Both species were drinking from the river and the Ruddy was with a Common.

After a very busy "holiday" season that has seen me working almost constantly since mid-December, I've scheduled a little time off and today was my last day of work for two weeks. I have a trip to Maine planned for Feb 1-9. However, even though I have a non-refundable airline ticket, at this late stage I'm still undecided about going because of the weather conditions on the east coast. I'll leave it until the last minute before I make a final decision. If I don't go to Maine, I'll certainly go somewhere else!

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Saturday, January 29, 2000

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - January, 2000 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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