Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - April, 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 Sunday, April 30, 2000

Saturday, April 1, 2000
A mostly cloudy, cool and, at times, very windy day.

A short midday visit to Sierra Vista sewage ponds yielded 30 species. Highlights were a lone BLACK-NECKED STILT resting on a dike (an uncommon migrant here); and a continuing SWAMP SPARROW which  is presumably the same individual that I saw a few days ago (after going over 700 visits and 7 years without seeing one here!).

Most of what I saw was keeping low in the wind including a couple of SWAINSON'S HAWKS and a WESTERN KINGBIRD, both recent arrivals. Thousands of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS really swirled around as did BARN (my first at the ponds this year) and TREE SWALLOWS.

In addition to the Swamp Sparrow, birds working the marshy areas were KILLDEER, SORA, COOT, MARSH WREN, AM. PIPIT, SONG, SAVANNAH and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. Very little activity on the open ponds, just MALLARD, SHOVELER and RING-NECKED DUCK.

Fenceline birds were SAY'S PHOEBE, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, BREWER'S SPARROW, HOUSE FINCH and EASTERN MEADOWLARK. Battling the wind overhead I saw several N. HARRIERS, 2-RED-TAILED HAWKS, 2-AM. KESTRELS, a lone TURKEY VULTURE and the usual CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS.

Sunday, April 2, 2000
A partly cloudy and much warmer day, but still a little breezy.

I made a mid-afternoon visit to the San Pedro where the activity was somewhat higher than I had expected for the time of day. I walked the normally less birdy trail north of the bridge to avoid the Sunday crowds, and my strategy worked -- I didn't see another person on the trail despite the fact that the San Pedro house parking lot was full.

I recorded the following species from 2:00-4:00pm:
Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Harrier, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, White-winged Dove, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's & Vermilion Flycatchers, Black Phoebe, Bell's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's and Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia and Red-winged Blackbird.

The highlights were my season-first GRAY HAWKS -- 2 birds calling and flying around, a couple of strongly calling HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, and uncountable pairs of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS. It's simply amazing that such a delightful and colorful bird as the Vermilion can be so common. No wonder it's one of my favorite birds.

Most of what I saw was common stuff, although noteworthy by abundance were many singing WHITE-WINGED DOVES, 8 calling BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS in a 3/4 mile stretch (some of which I actually tracked down!), and many GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES that I almost had to kick out of my way.

At one particularly active stretch of the river, in the same field of view, I watched 6-CINNAMON TEAL; a BLACK PHOEBE and a male VERMILION FLYCATCHER flycatching side by side; several SONG & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS foraging at the water's edge, and small group of bathing LESSER GOLDFINCHES. Neat.

Monday, April 3, 2000
A beautiful blue sky day that began in the mid 40s and ended up around 80 degrees. Nevertheless, I was still able to find some thin ice at the edges of the spring water in a shady area of upper Garden Canyon. My birding today consisted of morning visits to Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons and a quick check of Sierra Vista sewage ponds in the afternoon. I was hoping for a few more new arrivals, specifically Greater Pewee, Dusky Capped Flycatcher and Virginia's Warbler, but I didn't find any of them. It's still a little early for the pewee but the others should be back by now.

I began in a chilly Sawmill Canyon at 7:15am. Activity was low and it took quite some time before I picked up BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. Predictably, the bird was working in the low grass in a sunny area. Warblers were even harder to come by but I eventually found OLIVE & GRACE'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART. For the first time this year in Sawmill, I heard the soft, descending song of a GREATER ROADRUNNER. Many folks are often surprised to learn that they nest at high elevation in a pine forest, but they aren't just desert birds!

Continuing wintering species were a softly tapping WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER that I eventually tracked down, a few PINE SISKINS feeding on cottonwood buds, and a small flock of GRAY-HEADED JUNCOS. Williamson's normally leave Sawmill in late March, although my latest records are in April: 4/5/94 and 4/9/99. The Siskins and Juncos often linger until mid-May. Most of the other species from the 30 that I saw were the usual suspects, except for 8-WILD TURKEYS that were noteworthy. I watched a STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER at close range calling constantly to another, more distant bird.

I checked the log in Scheelite before starting up the canyon. It appears that Spotted Owl has been easy to find of late, roosting in plain view next to the trail. In a way that disappointed me because there's no challenge. When I'm not with a client, I like the owl to be hard to find and hopefully, in a new roost location, so that I learn something. I was surprised to see that 2 owls were reported, because I last saw 2 owls on January 3, 2000 and it was October 19, 1999 since I last saw two owls roosting together. Perhaps they have consummated their relationship and before long there'll be a couple of little owls around.

It also appeared from the log that an owl was not seen yesterday and since Monday is traditionally not a good day to look for them, I had the makings of a challenge. I have twice as many misses on Mondays than any other day of the week -- too much difference to be a coincidence and probably due to weekend traffic. I had to work hard and well into the canyon to find a fairly well hidden SPOTTED OWL. The bird was in a rarely used tree in a well sheltered spot, and one that is most often used when it's windy -- today was just a little windy.

Scheelite was very spring like today -- many of the maples are leafing out and the canyon was alive with birdsong. HUTTON'S VIREOS were annoyingly vocal. PAINTED REDSTARTS were singing in a couple of places and I found 4 different BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS singing mostly their alternate song, I heard the primary song just once. Also singing were BRIDLED TITMOUSE, LESSER GOLDFINCH, lots of CANYON WRENS; and from up on the slopes SPOTTED TOWHEE and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW. Many WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were soaring noisily overhead, around the 1/2 mile mark where they nest. The only migrant that I saw was a silently foraging HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER.

I had the song of the CANYON WREN to keep me company throughout the canyon, beautiful in its own right but particularly so in the setting of Scheelite Canyon. The highlight of my trip today was when I saw finally saw one in full sunlight perched on a rock just 10 feet away -- wow!

My afternoon visit to the sewage ponds was disappointing as migrants continue to stay away in droves. Not a single sandpiper yet! However, two majestic looking SWAINSON'S HAWKS soaring over my head were worth the price of admission.

Tuesday, April 4, 2000
An unseasonably warm day, probably the warmest of the year so far. Unfortunately, I was slaving over a hot computer all day. My only birding was confined to a late afternoon hummingbird scouting expedition.

I arrived at Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon around 5:20pm after the sun had dropped behind the Huachucas. I was amazed and pleased at the difference in temperature compared to what I'd just left in town, about 20 minutes away and 1200 feet lower.

Hummingbird activity was fairly high at the public feeders but almost zero at the upper photo site. Over a period of one hour I saw several each of MAGNIFICENT, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S and BROAD-TAILED; and one individual each of BLUE-THROATED and RUFOUS. Not much other activity except for the seeming omnipresent MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS, a handful of YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS under the seed feeder, and a HUTTON'S VIREO in the oaks.

Thursday, April 6, 2000
Out today with Virginia and Neil Eklund from Danville, KY. After the very hot day on Tuesday, yesterday was considerably cooler (although it started warm at 80 degrees at 7:30am!). At that time this morning the temperature was only 70 degrees and the day only warmed to a little over 80, with a light breeze for much of the time.

Sawmill Canyon was very active at 8:00am this morning. GRACE'S WARBLERS are now back in numbers and they were singing throughout the canyon. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS were noticeably more vocal today; they've also increased in numbers and moved higher into the canyon (when they arrive they stay mostly around and below the cabin). Another new arrival today was a lone GREATER PEWEE about 1 mile from the entrance. CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS have moved into the canyon from the lower elevations where they've been for some time. Probably because it wasn't a target bird, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS were extremely vocal and easy to find (what's that guy's name, Murphy?). After easily finding Grace's Warbler and Buff-breasted Flycatcher, we really struggled to find OLIVE WARBLER, quite ironic since they've been very common recently. We eventually located a couple but only managed fleeting glimpses. We saw a total of 26 species including RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and PAINTED REDSTART. Oh, did I mention HUTTON'S VIREO, they were positively annoying with their persistent "thre-ee" song.

In Scheelite Canyon I was pleasantly surprised by a very easy to find SPOTTED OWL in a well used tree, right over the trail in the lower roosting area. Even here I've seen people miss it!). My surprise was relative to the fact that I had to work hard to find one on Monday and the log had several days of "no owls" by various unsuccessful owl seekers. After finding the owl we soldiered on another 1/2 mile to look for Northern Pygmy-Owl without success. The canyon was far less active than Sawmill and we recorded only 15 species including soaring WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, BUSHTIT, CANYON WREN, lots more annoying HUTTON'S VIREOS, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER,   PAINTED REDSTART, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Around 1:15pm we returned to a now very quiet and inactive Sawmill Canyon where, after some work, we found a couple of OLIVE WARBLERS that afforded a better view than this morning. We also found a foraging WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER.

Friday, April 7, 2000
A 90 minute mid-afternoon visit to Sierra Vista sewage ponds yielded 30 species and, finally, a couple of migrants. Although they sometimes arrive in mid-March, a lone WHITE-FACED IBIS resting in the marsh was a season first. A little more on schedule was a LESSER YELLOWLEGS, also a season first.

Other species included SWAINSON'S HAWK, a calling SORA, a VIRGINIA RAIL feeding in the open, AMERICAN PIPIT, LINCOLN'S SPARROW (uncommon here) and several continuing WESTERN MEADOWLARKS (they normally leave the ponds in March).

Sunday, April 9, 2000
I had intended to visit Patagonia Lake today but a late start coupled with the realization that it was Sunday (too many people!) made me decide to postpone until tomorrow. Instead I visited the old standby, Sierra Vista Sewage ponds.

WESTERN KINGBIRDS continue to increase in numbers and I saw CASSIN'S here for the first time this season. It's odd how Cassin's Kingbirds arrive in the area as early as mid-March, yet they don't show up at the ponds until the second week in April.

Raptors were scarce except for a couple of SWAINSON'S HAWKS soaring overhead. The often secretive VIRGINIA RAIL again foraged in the open in front of the observation area, while the usually easy to see SORA called but remained unseen. Go figure. What could have been a highlight remained Gull sp. as a distant gull flew briefly above a dike, never to be seen again.

Monday, April 10, 2000
I was up at 4:30 so I could begin birding in Patagonia at first light. I wanted to check a few places and be back home by noon to watch Monday Night Football (the real McCoy -- live soccer from England!).

I started at Patagonia Lake State Park by quickly scanning the west end of the lake. Here I found almost 30 species including NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, 2-GREAT and 3-SNOWY EGRETS, COOPER'S HAWK, PHAINOPEPLA, a singing PYRRHULOXIA and my season-first HOODED ORIOLE.

Next, I moved to the east end of the lake where being first on the trail had its advantages. In the space of 200 yards along the edge of the marsh I saw (in order) COMMON MOORHEN, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, SORA, VIRGINIA RAIL, SWAMP & SONG SPARROWS (side by side), ORANGE-CROWNED and YELLOW WARBLERS, AMERICAN BITTERN, GREEN HERON. and MARSH WREN. All of these birds were so intent on feeding near the water's edge that they couldn't care less about me, and I got great views of all of them. Even the normally super-cautious Bittern didn't bother to go into stealth mode.

While I was watching the marsh activity, nearby birds included VERMILION FLYCATCHER, VERDIN, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S WARBLER and BLACK-THROATED SPARROW. Further down the trail I saw EARED GREBE, CINNAMON TEAL, BLACK-CHINNED and COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRDS, GILA and LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS and AM. PIPIT.

The creek trail was very productive and I added 3 more season firsts -- 2 calling PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS (I consistently see them starting the 2nd week of April), a briefly singing but otherwise silently foraging PLUMBEOUS VIREO, and a continuously singing BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. Also here were 3-4 NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS and a couple each of DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS. 

Because I was in a hurry, I gave the lake short shrift but still managed to record over 70 species.

I moved on to Kino Springs to check out a report of a Tropical Kingbird a few days ago, a full month ahead of its normal arrival date. I wasn't able to confirm it, seeing only plenty of WESTERN and CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS. Among the species present here that I didn't see at the state park were GRAY HAWK and LARK, LINCOLN'S, BREWER'S and VESPER SPARROWS.

I was speeding past the Patagonia Roadside Rest area, not intending to stop, but at the last minute I jammed on my brakes and pulled over. What a stroke of genius this was on my part to know that several male and female MONTEZUMA QUAIL would be on the south slope calling to one another. Not everyone has this skill! Seriously, now. These birds are not often seen here, although there is some good oak habitat nearby. Just to confirm the weirdness, a HUTTON'S VIREO was singing, also an oak bird. WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were screaming as they soared above the cliffs and the song of several CANYON WRENS cascaded down. A good stop!

I moved on to the Paton's yard which was bustling with activity (both birds and people). Stunning views of pristinely plumaged male HOODED and SCOTT'S ORIOLES visiting the Orange-halves, as equally stunning LAZULI BUNTINGS in bright blue and orange breeding plumage fed from the seed feeders. Hummers were almost secondary  -- I saw a handful of regulars: BROAD-BILLED, VIOLET-CROWNED, ANNA'S, COSTA'S and BLACK-CHINNED. Much more of a rarity here (away from the mountains) was a female MAGNIFICENT.

After the game (Manchester United won 4-3 away at Middlesbrough and now look certain to win the league), I visited Sierra Vista sewage ponds. Shorebird activity continues pretty miserable and I saw one each of WHITE-FACED IBIS, LEAST SANDPIPER and WILSON'S PHALAROPE (another season first, 8 today!). In the marsh, a SORA called but again remained unseen and the bold-as-brass VIRGINIA RAIL foraged in the open.

I ended up with exactly 100 species for my efforts.

Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Out today with Glenn and Pat Ferguson from Santa Fe, NM. A very pleasant day with a light breeze that kept the temperature in the mid 70s. We visited Sawmill, Scheelite and Miller Canyons in the Huachucas and finished with a brief visit to the San Pedro River. Some nice birds highlighted by 13 warblers and a very weird looking Vermilion Flycatcher.

A late start put us in Sawmill Canyon at 8:30am were the activity was already dwindling and had almost subsided completely by the time that we left at 10:30am. Nevertheless, we found all of the expected specialties for the early part of April including STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, OLIVE (heard only) and GRACE'S WARBLERS and HEPATIC TANAGER (first time in Sawmill this season).

Somewhat surprising near the cabin was a singing VIRGINIA'S WARBLER (they don't breed here). Also present was my season-first migrant TOWNSEND'S WARBLER being chased and/or chasing a Grace's. Both RED-NAPED and WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS continue.

Rounding out the list were N. FLICKER, MOURNING DOVE (uncommon here!), WILD TURKEY, BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BEWICK'S WREN, BUSHTIT, AM. ROBIN, HUTTON'S VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and GRAY-HEADED & YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS.

By the time that we reached Scheelite, activity was very low, but our focus here was the owl. According to the log, nobody had reported seeing an owl since April 5, so I expected a tough hike. Sure enough, I couldn't find an owl in the lower area so we soldiered on climbing to1000 feet above the trailhead before finding a very well hidden SPOTTED OWL. Some of the other birds in the canyon were STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, HAMMOND'S and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, CANYON WREN, ORANGE-CROWNED, VIRGINIA'S BLACK-THROATED GRAY & WILSON'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART.

After a late lunch we spent an hour or so at Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon recording 8 species of hummers -- BROAD-BILLED, BLACK-CHINNED, BLUE-THROATED, MAGNIFICENT, ANNA'S, COSTA'S BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS. All of these birds were at the public viewing area, the upper site had only 4 species but we did see a close VIRGINIA'S WARBLER

Our final hour was at the highway 90 crossing of the San Pedro where we saw the oddest looking VERMILION FLYCATCHER. It reminded me of an orange variant House Finch. When I first saw the bird semi-hidden, I thought it had to be a tanager or oriole with the colors I was seeing -- Red, Orange and Yellow. What a sight! Also present here were ASH-THROATED, HAMMOND'S and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, LUCY'S, YELLOW, YELLOW-RUMPED and my season-first MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER.

We recorded 75 species for the day.

Wednesday, April 12, 2000
Out today with Louise McCulloch from Sacramento, CA and Jerry McCulloch from Oakland, CA. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park and Scheelite and Sawmill Canyons in the Huachucas for a handful of target birds. A warmer day than yesterday, but still pleasant with the breeze.

I was up again at 4:30am for an early start at Patagonia Lake State Park to look for one primary bird -- NORTHERN BEARDLESS TYRANNULET. We soon found a pair of them building a nest and, since they were vocal and very active, we had excellent views. A couple of secondary targets were AMERICAN BITTERN which we saw easily at the edge of the marsh, and Virginia Rail that was strangely absent early this morning. Conversely, COMMON MOORHENS probably numbered in double figures! Also in the marsh were GREEN HERON, SORA, SWAMP, SONG and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (they've been "witchety witching" for about a week now). During our sacrilegious short stay of less than an hour, a stunning BULLOCK'S ORIOLE was constantly singing as it foraged in the willows. I recorded about 40 species in the couple of hundred yards that we covered, my lowest total here in a long while!

We arrived at the Scheelite trailhead at 8:50am and began what was to be another longer than "usual" hike for the second day in a row. I had a feeling that the owl wouldn't be in the lower area, but this was definitely a case when I hated to be right! We continued on and found a well hidden SPOTTED OWL in the same tree as yesterday -- the bird hardly bothered to look at us.

I've noted that the owls typically do not roost in the same tree on consecutive days. My "record" is 3 days in a row, however, Smitty once saw the owls in the same tree for 5 days in a row, and appropriately named it the "ditto tree". During my years of visiting the canyon I have not seen any evidence of breeding, but this year I suspect that they are. Consequently, the male may choose a roost site near the nest location and could possibly be seen in the same spot on a regular basis. Just a thought from my feeble mind, I'll see if it pans out.

We were also looking for Virginia's Warbler and after yesterday, when I came across at least three singing individuals here, I was very confident of finding one. Today, not a single "chink" let alone song -- oh how the mighty are fallen! We recorded STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, MEXICAN & WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BUSHTIT, CANYON and BEWICK'S WREN'S, HERMIT THRUSH, HUTTON'S VIREO, ORANGE-CROWNED & BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Next, we headed to Sawmill to look for Williamson's Sapsucker, another bird that we didn't find! (Yesterday's bird was my latest record for the canyon.) We arrived here at 11:15am and activity was quite low. We recorded only a few species -- TURKEY VULTURE, several still active and very vocal STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS, a few drumming N. FLICKERS, a silently flycatching GREATER PEWEE, a few mostly silent BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS, calling CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, STELLER'S JAY, COMMON RAVEN, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BUSHTIT, HUTTON'S VIREO, 1 calling OLIVE, many singing GRACE'S and 1 singing BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER.

After an afternoon break we returned to the Huachucas to look for Whiskered Screech-Owl. About 25 minutes after sunset a pair of ELF OWLS began calling and we briefly saw one of them at their sycamore nest site. This particular location has been in use for several years. Our WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL quarry began calling just a couple of minutes later and over a period of about 30 minutes we probably heard about 4 birds. The individual that we focused on was only mildly interested and certainly not very cooperative. We managed 3 separate looks as we tracked the bird through the trees, one was eye-level and very close, just too brief!

Saturday, April 15, 2000
I spent a very enjoyable 2 1/2 hours on the San Pedro River this morning. I began just after dawn when it was still quite chilly and not much was stirring, but the activity soon picked up and I found a good number of migrants.

The highlight was a silently foraging BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. At first I kissed the bird off as a Black-throated Gray until I realized that the bird was creeping along the branches in typical fashion and I took a closer look. I thought I was in the twilight zone when I really saw a BLACK-THROATED GRAY in the next tree. The Black-and-White is rare here and even the Black-throated Gray (a common breeder in the nearby mountains) is an uncommon migrant. Rounding out the warblers were several ORANGE-CROWNED, lots of LUCY'S and YELLOW, a few YELLOW RUMPED and YELLOWTHROATS, and scads of WILSON'S.

Surprising common were BULLOCK'S ORIOLES -- I saw a couple and heard many more singing deep in the cottonwoods. I also saw a pair of HOODED ORIOLES. "Solitary" type vireos were much in evidence and although I'm fairly confident that I can tell them apart by song, I tracked some of them down. I saw 3-CASSIN'S and 1-PLUMBEOUS. I came across 3-4 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and 2-SUMMER TANAGERS.

Migrant empidonax flycatchers are suddenly obvious and I saw  4-GRAY and 6-HAMMOND'S, as well as several ASH-THROATED, lots of VERMILIONS and a few each of CASSIN'S and WESTERN KINGBIRDS.

All the wintering sparrows continue as do many GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES (they normally hang around until mid-May).

I recorded the following 62 species from 6:00-8:30am.
Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, 20-White-faced Ibis, Northern Harrier, Cooper's, Gray & Swainson's Hawks, American Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, American Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Black-chinned Hummingbird,   Ladder-backed & Gila Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Hammond's, Gray, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Cassin's & Plumbeous Vireos, Northern Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Black-and-white & Wilson's Warblers, Com. Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Summer Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Hooded & Bullock's Orioles, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

On the way back to town I made a quick check of Sierra Vista sewage ponds where I saw a good sized group of WHITE-FACED IBIS. I tried to count then in the air, as they wheeled around for a landing, and estimated 60 birds. This turned out to be a good guess as I later counted them on the ground and got 66. Also present were SWAINSON'S HAWK, several each of LEAST and my season-first WESTERN SANDPIPERS, a calling SCALED QUAIL, many LARK SPARROWS and all the usual suspects for a total of 33 species.

Tuesday, April 18, 2000
My days of "leisure" are coming to an end as a very busy spring season approaches. I had intended to spend a few days checking on migration in the White Mountains, but my chores are such that I couldn't ignore them. If I don't do them this week, they won't get done for the next 6 weeks!

When I got up at 5:00am today, the wind was howling and I didn't feel much like venturing out. However, I headed into the Huachucas and ended up with some good results despite the wind, certainly worth my time, effort and gas. Perhaps not worth the wear and tear on my vehicle though. I've been putting off a $500 windscreen replacement and every trip to Sawmill pushes the cracks a little further, but it I survived another day!

The temperature in town was 60 degrees when I left and it was a little cool and quite breezy when I began birding in Sawmill at 7:00am. Activity was high and I could hear lots of species calling and singing. By the time that I left two hours later, the canyon was much quieter. Definitely a case of  the early birder getting the birds!

I found three new arrivals in the canyon today -- DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER (my season first although they've been around elsewhere for several weeks), PLUMBEOUS VIREO and SCOTT'S ORIOLE -- what a beautiful song this bird has, reminiscent of a Western Meadowlark.

Red-faced Warblers arrived in Sawmill, Ramsey and Rose Canyons yesterday -- I looked and listened hard but I didn't find one. However, I did pretty well on warblers. At one particularly active spot I saw 2-OLIVE, 2-GRACE'S, 2-BLACK-THROATED GRAY, 3-HERMIT and a YELLOW-RUMPED all in the same tree. I didn't know where to look, wow! Elsewhere I had a great close up look at a low foraging male VIRGINIA'S and a PAINTED REDSTART.

GREATER PEWEES were in full voice when I arrived and I could hear 3 of them singing their insistent José María song. Wonderful at first but when you hear it continually for 30 minutes, it certainly begins to wear on you. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS are now in such numbers that all you have to do is show up to see one (maybe I will regret those words!). A definite surprise was a BLACK PHOEBE, a very common bird but not here. They generally like moister conditions than Sawmill has to offer and today was only my second sighting here.

Rounding out the 29 species that I saw in the canyon were TURKEY VULTURE, MOURNING DOVE, WILD TURKEY, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, N, FLICKER, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, MEXICAN & STELLER'S JAYS, BROWN CREEPER, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, AM. ROBIN, HUTTON'S VIREO, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

In contrast to my productiveness in Sawmill, I felt that my short trip into Scheelite Canyon was not worth the time and effort. SPOTTED OWL was ridiculously easy to find today and I learned nothing. In addition, the wind was such that other birds were scarce and I saw only COOPER'S HAWK, BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, HAMMOND'S and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, CANYON WREN, HUTTON'S VIREO and WILSON'S WARBLER.

According to the log, the owl has been alternately very easy to find or not found at all by many birders in recent weeks. I've made 5 visits so far this month with 2 easy finds and 3 difficult finds. The last easy find was by someone on April 15 and it prompts me to get into soap box mode. [There are some folks who apparently find it necessary to give explicit details of where the owl is located. I ask that this not be done because there are many non-birders who visit the canyon who might do some harm to the bird. Smitty told me of several occurrences when the owl was hit by a rock or a stick, fatal on one occasion. These birds are so trusting that they just sit there even when humans are extremely close, and thus they can easily be taken advantage of. By all means, help others to find the owl, but please just write down some general directions and a mile marker reference. Any birders worth their salt should then be able to find it. Don't contribute to the demise of another owl.] OK, leaving soap box mode now.

My last stop for the morning was at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon. Among the birds here were several STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS, 2-ELEGANT TROGONS (right on time!), 2-BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS (perhaps the same individuals that nested here last year), BUSHTIT, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & WILSON'S WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (uncommon in this location, they nest about a mile or so down canyon).

A 1 hour mid-afternoon visit to a very blustery Sierra Vista sewage ponds yielded 30+ species including 2 season firsts -- GREATER YELLOWLEGS and CLIFF SWALLOW (suddenly common today along with TREE and BARN). Also of interest was a lone EARED GREBE, ditto for a GREAT EGRET resting in the marsh (only my second spring record; they are somewhat more common in fall but always rare here), a few CINNAMON TEAL and a very prominent VIRGINIA RAIL. 

Wednesday, April 19, 2000
While far from spectacular, my evening visit to the San Pedro (Hwy 90) was very enjoyable and produced 50+ species from 5:30-7:00pm. Warblers and flycatchers were the order of the day.

I may be imagining things but it seems with every passing year the wave of migrant WILSON'S WARBLERS gets bigger and bigger. Everywhere that I looked, there they were -- on the ground, in the willows and in the tops of the cottonwoods. From this date on, I will use the term "an infestation of Wilson's Warblers" to describe such a phenomenon!   Every one of them takes your attention, and I looked at every one because I've learned that the one you don't look at is something different! Additional warblers were ORANGE-CROWNED, LUCY'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, YELLOW, YELLOW-RUMPED and YELLOWTHROAT.

Flycatchers were very evident with HAMMOND'S being particularly numerous. In one binocular view I saw DUSKY, GRAY, HAMMOND'S and PACIFIC-SLOPE. Also present were a couple of ASH-THROATED, the usual VERMILIONS (including the "orange-variant" that I saw recently),  and WESTERN & CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS.

The big (kingfisher) pond had a couple of migrant BELTED KINGFISHERS and many foraging ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS. I felt sorry for a quietly sitting COOPER'S HAWK that I had to disturb twice since it was sitting next to the trail (the bird didn't take off until I was within 15 feet). Near the pond, a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE was singing constantly. GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES remain very common.

The silhouette of the Huachucas was quite impressive as I was walking back to my vehicle after sunset. I scanned the skies for nighthawks but saw none. In another couple of weeks they will be thick at this time of day.

Earlier in the afternoon a quick check of Sierra Vista sewage ponds produced my season first BANK SWALLOW and 60 migrant WHITE-FACED IBIS. A couple of regular SWAINSON'S HAWKS were soaring over the fields. Among the continuing winter species were AMERICAN PIPIT, SAVANNAH SPARROW and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD.

Thursday, April 20, 2000
Out today with Eleanor Wellman from Port Carling, Ontario. On an uncharacteristically cloudy and warm day, we visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest and Sawmill Canyon, seeing a total of 90+ species..

Patagonia Lake was a little disappointing this morning with much less migrant activity than I had hoped for. Even the normally reliable winter empids were AWOL. We recorded close to 60 species including NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK, the continuing AMERICAN BITTERN, GRAY HAWK, SORA, COMMON SNIPE, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, BELL'S and PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, a bazzilion WILSON'S WARBLERS, SWAMP SPARROW, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

GRAY HAWK'S (copulating) were easier to see at Kino Springs. Several BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS were at the club house pond and a couple of  DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS and a N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET were at the first pond.

DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER and N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET were also present at the Roadside Rest along with a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER. I was hoping for a returning Brown-crested Flycatcher or a Thick-billed Kingbird, but we saw neither.

Sawmill Canyon was very quiet in mid-afternoon but we managed to squeeze out WILD TURKEY, GREATER PEWEE, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, a fair number of BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS, GRACE'S WARBLER and a few other regulars. A softly calling OLIVE-WARBLER remained unseen.

Friday, April 21, 2000
On another atypical cloudy and warm day, I was out again with Eleanor Wellman from Ontario. A tiring but largely successful day.

Our first bird of the morning was a GREAT HORNED OWL on the Charleston Road in Sierra Vista. On our way to the Chiricahuas we made an all-too-brief 30 minute stop at Whitewater Draw where we saw 40 species. Highlights were WESTERN GREBE and LARK BUNTINGS in brilliant breeding plumage. Among the other species here were AM. AVOCET, WHITE-FACED IBIS,   LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WESTERN SANDPIPER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. Driving north through the valley we saw several SWAINSON'S HAWKS, including one already on a nest.

As usual, Pinery Canyon Road was very productive and after some difficulty seeing the first singing RED-FACED WARBLER that we found (excellent views in the end), we recorded at least a dozen more of them! However, the highlight was a very hard to locate NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL that took almost an hour to find. The bird just wouldn't quit calling so I wouldn't quit looking! We ended up with a great 'scope look from eye level across the canyon. Try as I did I could not locate the bird until I eventually decided to risk life and limb by scrambling down into the canyon bottom. That caused the bird to move and did the trick! The canyon was very active and other birds included GREATER PEWEE, DUSKY-CAPPED & HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, MEXICAN CHICKADEE, HUTTON'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, VIRGINIA'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & GRACE'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART.

It was much cooler and breezier at Rustler Park and birds were hard to come by. However, we did find our target PYGMY NUTHATCH (tough today!) and OLIVE WARBLER. Some other birds that we recorded here were HAIRY WOODPECKER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, MEXICAN CHICKADEE, GRACE'S WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and HEPATIC TANAGER

On the Paradise Road we quickly found a cooperative JUNIPER TITMOUSE at the first attempt (not always easy to do because these little buggers can give you the runaround, big time.) Just a few screech-owl whistles and the bird popped up from nowhere. However, we soon came down to earth as I failed to raise a Black-chinned Sparrow in the heat of the day.

Activity in the Spofford's yard was pretty high -- highlights of 30 species were a male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, a CANYON WREN on the roof, and several stunning HOODED and SCOTT'S ORIOLES. Ironically, a JUNIPER TITMOUSE came in for a drink!

On the way home we made a successful stop in Rodeo for BARN OWL, followed by a quick stop at a very windy Willow Tank where we found a lone BUFFLEHEAD.

Saturday, April 22, 2000
Out today with Josh and Natalie Pincus from Fairport, NY. Back to normal weather-wise with blue skies and a light breeze that kept the temperature reasonable. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest, the Paton's Yard, and Garden & Scheelite Canyons in the Huachucas. Our tally for the day  was over 100 species.

We began at the lake with a quality birding experience -- we hardly saw a soul on the trail despite the Easter weekend crowds in the campground. (Most of these folks set up shop with the RV, set up their satellite dish, and then enjoy their "wilderness" experience. It takes all sorts to make a world!)  The birdlife is slowly changing to summer mode but we still recorded many of the regular wintering species as well as summer residents and a few migrants.

Several (unseen) YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were a season first today. My records reflect an average return date of April 23 with extremes of April 14 and 30. Among the migrants were PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S and WARBLING VIREOS, a stunning TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, and just the odd one or two <grin> WILSON'S WARBLERS. A lone ZONE-TAILED HAWK shared the skies with TURKEY and BLACK VULTURES. The birding was solid without being spectacular and we recorded the following:

Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black & Turkey Vultures, Cooper's & Zone-tailed Hawks, 6-Soras, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Common Snipe, White-winged & Inca Doves, Broad-billed & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Hammond's, Gray, Dusky, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Black Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Common Raven, Bell's, Cassin's & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, Northern Mockingbird, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Violet-green, Barn, N. Rough-winged & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Swamp & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Summer Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

A quick trip to Kino Springs produced the expected GRAY HAWKS both soaring and perched.

At the Roadside Rest we heard a "zinging" COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD and later found the bird perched. Activity here was low in the late morning with just a handful of species including BELTED KINGFISHER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, CANYON WREN and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

In strong contrast there was plenty of activity in the Paton's yard which was absolutely lousy with brightly plumaged LAZULI BUNTINGS, perhaps as many as 30. The usual hummers were present -- BROAD-BILLED, VIOLET-CROWNED, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S & COSTA'S. Other species included GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, LARK SPARROW, at least one continuing WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, SUMMER TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE..

A brief stop at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon produced ACORN WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS, a PAINTED REDSTART (that led us a dance and we never did see it) and HEPATIC TANAGER.

In Scheelite Canyon, a SPOTTED OWL was again ridiculously easy to find (I'll take it!), roosting right over the trail in about the most obvious tree that it uses. The canyon was generally fairly quiet but we did have an excellent view of RED-FACED WARBLER and several decent views of a male ELEGANT TROGON. Three pretty good birds to end the day!

Sunday, April 23, 2000
Day 1 of 2 days with Alan and Wendy Roedell from Seattle, WA. On another great weather day that was a just little warmer than yesterday, we birded in the Huachucas and on the San Pedro.

An early start at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon was a little on the chilly side, but certainly paid dividends as we saw almost 40 species here. The treetops were just catching the sun as we arrived and were alive with warblers -- we saw   ORANGE-CROWNED, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, VIRGINIA'S, TOWNSEND'S, HERMIT and WILSON'S WARBLERS & PAINTED REDSTART.

After about 30 minutes of warbler watching the ELEGANT TROGON show got underway with 2 males trying to outsing each other (if you can call it singing). This is a great time of year to see a trogon well, as they throw caution to the wind somewhat while trying to establish a territory. We certainly saw them well today!

Among the other species here were STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, HUTTON'S and PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, HEPATIC TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Sawmill Canyon wasn't quite as active but NORTHERN GOSHAWK was certainly a highlight along with two stunning RED-FACED WARBLERS singing on territory. Among the other species in the canyon today were COOPER'S HAWK, GREATER ROADRUNNER, several very noisy and easily seen STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS, BUFF-BREASTED and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, OLIVE, HERMIT and GRACE'S WARBLERS and HEPATIC TANAGER.

In Scheelite Canyon we easily found a SPOTTED OWL in the same tree as yesterday. Most birds had quit singing during our late morning visit but we did see HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S VIREO and ORANGE-CROWNED, VIRGINIA'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY and WILSON'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART along with a few other regulars. 

A three hour session on the San Pedro from 4:15-7:15pm didn't yield too many species (40+) but was certainly productive. Migrant flycatchers were very common and we saw HAMMOND'S, DUSKY, GRAY and PACIFIC-SLOPE. The rank infestation of WILSON'S WARBLERS continues and we also so ORANGE-CROWNED, LUCY'S, YELLOW, YELLOW-RUMPED, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and MACGILLIVRAY'S.

Heading back to the San Pedro house after sunset a lone LESSER NIGHTHAWK (a season first for me) was working over the fields. (The average return date at this location is April 24 with extremes of April 14 and 29).  A good end to the day. Even in migration, Arizona is a poor place for warblers so our total of 15 for the day was quite pleasing.

Monday, April 24, 2000
Out again today with Alan and Wendy Roedell from Seattle, WA. We visited Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs, Nogales Country Club Ponds, Patagonia Roadside Rest, the Paton's Yard; followed by an evening session in the Huachucas.

Bird activity at Patagonia Lake continues to dwindle towards the summer doldrums. Although we recorded almost 70 species in about 3 1/2 hours, most of the action was in the first hour and the birding had somewhat of a lackluster feel (relative to recent weeks). Perhaps the very warm day played a part.

Migrant highlights for me were 2-CASPIAN TERNS and a small group of VAUX'S SWIFTS. I had only seen the Caspians in the northern part of the state (Mormon Lake) so they were a SE AZ first. The swifts are rare but regular and I saw them here around this time last year. 

SORAS were very numerous and easy to see again today and we also had 3 separate sightings of VIRGINIA RAIL. Other continuing winter birds were EARED GREBE, CINNAMON TEAL, COMMON SNIPE, GRAY FLYCATCHER, MARSH WREN, SWAMP SPARROW and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

Summer species were much in evidence with VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD, a singing N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET at a nest site, a calling but unseen YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, many chasing SUMMER TANAGERS, my season first WESTERN TANAGER in pristine plumage (its red head seemed to be glowing in the sun), and a singing BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

At Kino Springs I was pleasantly surprised to find a silently perched up TROPICAL KINGBIRD. Although one was reported (very early) several weeks ago, I had been unable to detect any sign of a bird during recent visits. My previous earliest sighting was April 28. It didn't take long to get a decent view of a perched GRAY HAWK and we also saw a pair soaring. Among the other species on this brief visit were SPOTTED SANDPIPER, DUSKY-CAPPED and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS and CASSIN'S VIREO.

We dipped on BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK but a little extra effort and a trip to Nogales Country Club ponds paid off with 4 birds.

In the heat of the day, a stop at the Roadside Rest proved fruitless for Brown-crested Flycatcher and Thick-billed Kingbird. I know that the flycatchers are back but I have not heard any reports of the kingbird yet. We had a great view of a foraging N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, swinging from twig to twig just like Tarzan. CANYON and ROCK WRENS sang from the south rocks. We also checked the creek area on Salero Rd. and cruised Blue Heaven Rd. (both regular hangouts for the kingbirds), but had the same results.

Our pre-siesta session ended at the Paton's where activity was a little less than a couple of days ago.  We still saw the "regular" hummers of the season including VIOLET-CROWNED & COSTA'S, plus many beautiful LAZULI BUNTINGS, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. In the front yard I could hear a N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET singing. 

An evening visit to the Huachucas was totally unsuccessful. It was one of those nights that I can't explain even after many owling expeditions. With few exceptions, the woods were completely silent and not even the insects were calling. A pair of ELF OWLS were at the nest site but could not have been more uncooperative. We tried to track them down from the few sounds that they made, but apart from a few dusky shapes against the night sky, we saw nothing. The only other sound was a briefly calling WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL. I've had nights like this before and no doubt will again.

Tuesday, April 25, 2000
Out today with Richard and Jan Brown from Manchester, England, just 10 miles down the road from where I was born. We had four target birds for the morning but three of them were migrants, which are never too easy to find, regardless of the actual species.

For the 6th day in a row I was up before 4:30am for an early start at Patagonia Lake State Park. Our one target here was NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and it didn't take very long to get great looks at a bird near a nest site We were quickly on our way back to Sierra Vista and with such a short visit, I didn't create a record for the day because it would skew my data too much.

By the time that we reached the San Pedro at 8:30am the temperature was on the rise, but thankfully it was still comfortable and we were able to find our target birds. Our first success came immediately upon reaching the river where we found a MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER that, unfortunately, beat a hasty retreat into the vegetation. We relocated the bird again but managed only brief looks, so we'll call that a half-success. During the chase of the warbler I heard another target bird not too far away, a CASSIN'S VIREO. Fortunately, this time we were able to track the bird down and get a good look (we later heard two others). Our next target bird was HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and after a false alarm with a DUSKY FLYCATCHER, we had good looks at a low foraging bird.

Our list here wasn't high as we focused on the above species. Among the birds we recorded were COMMON GROUND-DOVE, GRAY, PACIFIC-SLOPE, VERMILION & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, LARK SPARROW, ABERT'S and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. We also saw many (but, mercifully, slightly less than of late) WILSON'S WARBLERS and I heard my first (San Pedro) YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS of the year (the first were at Patagonia Lake a few days ago).

By mid-morning it was already very hot and we headed back to town for siesta with 3 1/2 out of 4 targets seen. We returned to the river at 5:15pm and soon found a much more cooperative male MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. Earlier in the day I had mentioned to Richard and Jan that although MacGillivray's are very much ground sulkers, you cannot look exclusively on the ground as they are sometimes high. Wouldn't you know it that I first picked up the bird feeding at a tent caterpillar clump about 25 feet up in a cottonwood. The bird went to ground (here we go again!) but it quickly popped up, again feeding off the ground, this time in a willow.

After last night's complete failure, it was with some trepidation that I began our evening owling session in the Huachucas. Especially so as we were joined by 4 other members of the party so, including myself, there would be 7 pairs of feet tramping the woods. However, what a difference a day makes! Even though the conditions were identical to last night (warm, calm, and moonless) when no owls of any species were active, tonight we saw all three target owls. Go figure!

We began with ELF OWL and after some patience and maneuvering, we saw both birds at a nest site that I recently discovered. It's likely that these particular owls are not used to my presence yet and it took a little while before they resumed their normal activities.

Next on the agenda, in the same area, was a very aggressive WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL. The bird flew in three times within inches of my head, only to disappear into the night. Finally, however, on the fourth such sortie, the bird landed on an nearby branch completely in the clear and everyone was able to get great looks.

We moved on to another location and after about 5 minutes of whistling a very cooperative WESTERN SCREECH-OWL flew in and refused to stop calling. We soon located him, also in the clear on a horizontal branch, and ended up with a great view -- the bird was still calling as we walked away. A satisfying end to a successful day; how I wish they could all be like this!

Wednesday, April 26, 2000
A scheduled day off and a very welcome one I might add! After catching up on chores and e-mail I made a midday visit to a very hot Sierra Vista sewage ponds. Hardly anything at all was stirring (who can blame them) and the only birds of note during my very short stay were 22-WHITE-FACED IBIS, 2-SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, a few each of WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS (all 4 species were in the marsh ponds) and a soaring SWAINSON'S HAWK.

Thursday, April 27, 2000
This morning I was scheduled to be out with Paul Whiteman from London, England, but as things worked out we weren't able to get together until later in the day. I put my unexpected time to good use by leaving town at 3:30am to check on a few owl locations and then I headed over to Kino Springs. Although I've visited Kino many times and seen almost 190 species here, most visits are just for a handful of target birds; quite short, and at less than optimum times.

Today I began birding at 6:00am and by the time I left at 8:20am I had recorded 70 species. The most interesting birds were MONTEZUMA QUAIL and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, both of which I had not seen here before. The quail were on the hillside southwest of the first pond. There isn't much oak habitat around here so I found this a little surprising. I inadvertently flushed the blackbird out of the marsh, a lone individual presumably just passing through. Also of note was a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (with a flock of WHITE-CROWNED) and a singing RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW. After 5 years of not seeing Rufous-winged here I've seen them a few times in the past couple of years. Apparently, they were common here about 25 years ago so perhaps they are moving back in.

My full list here was: Pied-billed Grebe, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Ruddy Duck, American Wigeon, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Gray Hawk, American Kestrel, Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, American Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Black Phoebe, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated and Brown-crested Flycatchers, Tropical & Cassin's Kingbirds, Common Raven, Bell's & Cassin's Vireos, Phainopepla, Northern Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, European Starling
Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, N. Rough-winged, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, White-throated, Chipping, Brewer's, Lark, & Rufous-winged Sparrows, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Varied Bunting, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

I hadn't planned to check Patagonia Lake State Park but my vehicle steered its own way in. just for a change. Activity had already died down and I only stayed about 90 minutes, recording 50+ species. Best birds were AMERICAN WHITE-PELICAN and AMERICAN BITTERN. The pelican was resting peacefully at the far western end of the lake until some moron in a speedboat headed straight for the bird and forced it to fly.

On the way home I checked Patagonia Roadside Rest (BLACK VULTURE, GRAY HAWK, my season first THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD and HOODED ORIOLE) and Sierra Vista sewage ponds (WESTERN SANDPIPER, AM. PIPIT and BANK SWALLOW).

Later I met with Paul Whiteman and we made a late afternoon visit to the San Pedro River which was much quieter than of late. Even the WILSON'S WARBLERS finally seem to be thinning out. We saw about 40 species in a couple of hours including LESSER NIGHTHAWK, HAMMOND'S DUSKY, GRAY, ASH-THROATED and lots of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS; and my first WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE of the season. As a long distant migrant, you'd expect the pewee to be relatively consistent in its arrival date. This is certainly borne out by my records which reflect an average arrival date of April 28 with extremes of April 25 and May 3.

Our evening owling session in the Huachucas was mostly successful, but certainly not easy. For the third time this week the night was moonless and almost silent. We began at an ELF OWL nest site where it took us some time to locate a bird. However, we finally found one sitting motionless in the open. Next we worked on WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL, but on this night I was unable to get anybody interested and we heard just a few brief calls. WESTERN SCREECH-OWL took quite some time to locate but in the end the bird was very cooperative and we had great looks.

Friday, April 28, 2000
Out again today with Paul Whiteman from London, England. Due to yesterday's missed connections we had to squeeze a couple of days birding into one. We had a good morning but the unseasonably warm heat of the day didn't produce much. Afternoon temperatures near 100 are more like June than April.

Driving into Garden Canyon we saw GOLDEN EAGLE at a regular nest site (although it hasn't been used for the last 2 years). We rolled into the upper picnic area a little after 6:00am. and I told Paul that we'd look around for other stuff until we heard a trogon. However, as soon as we got out of the car we immediately heard a couple of ELEGANT TROGONS and very quickly had a stunning view of a male, singing its heart out in brilliant sunshine at the top of a sycamore. I haven't seen a female here yet, just the two males. Birds came in thick and fast including -- COOPER'S HAWK, MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED, HAMMOND'S and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, PLUMBEOUS and CASSIN'S VIREOS, PAINTED REDSTART, WESTERN TANAGER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Although we still needed Greater Pewee and Olive Warbler, we decided to skip Sawmill because Paul was scheduled to visit the Chiricahuas. Instead, we headed directly to Scheelite where I couldn't believe what happened to us. On our way OUT of the canyon we found the most obvious SPOTTED OWL that you will ever see. The bird was in a skinny oak tree near the "jaws" cave, roosting so close to the trail that you could easily have reached up and touched it. I haven't seen the bird in this tree for almost 6 years, a tree that Smitty in masterful fashion named "the jaws skinny oak". I find it hard to believe that we both walked past the bird on the way up. The bird was wide awake as we found it and perhaps the group of 8 hikers that we had just seen had flushed it. However, this is very unlikely and the reality is that I probably did walk right by it (the sound you can hear is me scraping the egg of my face). Whenever I've searched the lower, middle and upper roosting areas without finding a bird, Smitty's advice always comes to mind "If you miss it on the way up, thoroughly double check on the way down". His advice has certainly paid off on several occasions including today, when the old Spotted Owl seeking proverb rang true -- "better to have seen and walked than to never have seen at all".

Since I'm being proverbial, every dark cloud has a silver lining. As we looked for the owl in the upper area we stumbled across several MONTEZUMA QUAIL, 1 male and 2 females. Well worth the extra walk! Among the other birds in the canyon were HAMMOND'S, DUSKY-CAPPED and my season-first CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, 2 singing RED-FACED WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW. Based on my Scheelite records over the past 7 years, the Cordilleran Flycatcher is a little on the early side. The average arrival date in the canyon is May 5 with extremes of April 24 and May 11.

We headed west and checked the Roadside Rest area where it was already very warm at 10:30am. I couldn't find yesterday's Thick-billed Kingbird and, in fact, very few birds were in evidence -- a calling GRAY HAWK, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, LUCY'S WARBLER and a handful of others. We also checked the stream crossing on Salero Road without kingbird success.

Next stop was Kino Springs where we struck out on Black-bellied Whistling-Duck and Tropical Kingbird (I saw both here yesterday). Activity was minimal although GRAY HAWKS were quite vocal. Two birds of note though were SOLITARY SANDPIPER & WILLOW FLYCATCHER. I've never found the Solitary to be as common in spring migration as the published data shows and this is only my third spring record (it's much more common in fall). As for the Willow Flycatcher, today's sighting is my earliest spring record for this migrant (previous was 5/3/94).

We continued on to Nogales Country Club ponds. Unfortunately, the water level has been raised and the little island that has been a loafing spot for the Whistling-Ducks has all but disappeared (as have the birds!). We continued on again to Nogales sewage  ponds where we found a single BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK. However, one is all that it takes. Among the few other birds here were REDHEAD, CINNAMON TEAL, BLACK-NECKED STILT and WILSON'S PHALAROPE

We made a brief stop at Patagonia Lake State Park for N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET which was easy to find at a nest site. Despite the afternoon heat, BELL'S VIREOS were in full voice..

After checking the Roadside Rest again we finished up at the Paton's Yard where we saw several regulars including BROAD-BILLED and VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRDS, LAZULI BUNTING, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE . It's not often that you get wide open views of YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, so the individual that we saw visiting an Orange-half was a treat. 

Sunday, April 30, 2000
Out today with Ed Deal from Seattle, WA. The wind and much cooler temperature of yesterday resulted in a cool beginning to the day. It was 55 degrees in town at 5:30am; quite chilly in Garden Canyon and distinctly cold in Sawmill Canyon at somewhere in the mid 30s.

We were the first people in Garden Canyon this morning and we soon forgot the chill when we saw a male ELEGANT TROGON singing atop a sycamore. A second bird was calling nearby. Déjà vu all over again. Activity was much less than of late, but before moving on we recorded COOPER'S HAWK, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS at a nest hole, DUSKY-CAPPED & HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS VIREO and HEPATIC TANAGER.

The cold start in Sawmill resulted in very little early activity and we had to work for quite a while before seeing much of anything. Early birds were several calling BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, the usual noisy STELLER'S JAYS, a singing PLUMBEOUS VIREO and a few AM. ROBINS. After some 30 minutes we heard weak songs from GREATER PEWEE & GRACE'S WARBLERS and later we saw them both well. It was a full hour before BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS got going. Initially we saw them high but eventually we got some great looks when they foraged in the grass in more typical fashion. The toughest bird to find today was OLIVE WARBLER; we finally found a pair about 1 mile into the canyon when I heard their soft "phew" whistled call. Other species among the 30 that we recorded were COOPER'S HAWK, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, HUTTON'S VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY and HERMIT WARBLERS, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and WESTERN and HEPATIC TANAGERS. As the warblers get ready to nest, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS have moved into the canyon.

Scheelite Canyon yielded a very easy to find SPOTTED OWL that couldn't be bothered to open its eyes to check us out. Perhaps it recognizes my voice! However, our best bird here was a roosting WHIP-POOR-WILL. I inadvertently flushed it although, fortunately, the bird only flew about 30 feet across canyon and we saw it land and immediately close its eyes and continue roosting! The bird was still there later as we left the canyon so we were able to point it out to others. Among the other species present in the canyon today were BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, HAMMOND'S, DUSKY-CAPPED and CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, BUSHTIT, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BROWN CREEPER, CASSIN'S VIREO, CANYON WREN, HERMIT THRUSH,  ORANGE-CROWED, VIRGINIA'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY and WILSON'S WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and HEPATIC TANAGER.  

After an afternoon siesta we spent the last 2 hours before dark on the San Pedro (Hwy 90). Except for fairly high numbers of WILSON'S WARBLERS, migrant activity continues to dwindle. Empids are way down and we only saw 1 each of HAMMOND'S & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS. Summer resident flycatchers were VERMILION (including the "orange variant"), ASH-THROATED and BROWN CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE and CASSIN'S KINGBIRD.   Among the 40 species that we saw were LESSER NIGHTHAWK at dusk as we were leaving, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, ABERT'S and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. 

Our evening owling session ended with success but it certainly didn't come without some effort. We got off to a great start by seeing an ELF OWL near a nest site as soon as we arrived. Then we spent about 45 minutes trying to find Whiskered-Screech but only heard a few distant calls (ironically, the most abundant owl). We abandoned the search and tried a change of pace at a different spot for WESTERN SCREECH-OWL, and were successful within 5 minutes -- a walk away view. We then turned our attention again to WHISKERED-SCREECH OWL, but had to contend with 2-ELF OWLS and 3-WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS that just wouldn't shut up. Nevertheless, we found one that buzzed me a couple of times, then it led us a merry old dance and we had to walk up a hillside to finally see it well.

A four owl day, all seen well. However, the evening session certainly proved that patience and persistence are often the major components of birding.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, April 30, 2000

Species List

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

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