Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - May, 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 Wednesday, May 31, 2000

Monday, May 1, 2000
Back to normal with warmer weather today. I was out with Terry and Karen Swope from Lenexa, KS and we visited Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons in the morning; San Pedro river in the late afternoon; and back to the Huachucas at night.

For the first time in a week, the ELEGANT TROGON show at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon wasn't in full swing this morning. I think one of the two males present has won the territory and the competition wasn't quite so fierce today. Both birds were present but we hard to work hard just to get fleeting glimpses. We needn't have bothered because one bird returned to a sycamore, regularly used as a nest site, and we had great looks. At the same time we enjoyed great looks at a very close COOPER'S HAWK, although the trogon wasn't so pleased and gave his alarm call.

Other birds present early included WILD TURKEY, BUFF-BREASTED & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS & HUTTON'S VIREOS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. We struck out on STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER at the nest site but we saw the bird well later in the morning along with a MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, very uncommon at this location.

Sawmill Canyon was very active early on although it didn't last too long. We spent about 2 hours here and recorded 30 species including numerous tapping, calling but unseen STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS, several singing GREATER PEWEES, the usual BUFF-BREASTED, a couple each of HAMMOND'S and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, BROWN CREEPER, PLUMBEOUS and HUTTON'S VIREOS, OLIVE (heard only today), GRACE'S, HERMIT, TOWNSEND'S & BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART.

In Scheelite Canyon a SPOTTED OWL was in the same tree as yesterday and easy to find. We had to contend with the heat of the morning here and recorded just over 20 species including HAMMOND'S & CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, CANYON WREN, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Our 2 hour late afternoon session on the San Pedro, where migrant activity has slowed, didn't seem particularly productive but still yielded 45 species. Migrants included   PACIFIC-SLOPE and  HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, ORANGE-CROWNED, YELLOW-RUMPED, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, TOWNSEND'S, and WILSON'S WARBLERS. Among the seasonal regulars were WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, a pair of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS investigating potential nest cavities, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER,  a displaying SUMMER TANAGER, and many singing and chasing BULLOCK'S ORIOLES. Several wintering species are still present including WHITE-CROWNED, BREWER'S and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. I've been seeing one or two LESSER NIGHTHAWKS nightly for over a week, but as we were leaving tonight they were fairly common for the first time this season.

Our evening owling session went fairly well but took some patience and time as spontaneous calling was non-existent. Although WHISKERED-SCREECH OWL is the most abundant owl, the birds have been surprisingly hard to find lately. However, tonight we found a couple fairly quickly and saw one bird very well. Conversely, the less common WESTERN SCREECH-OWL has been very easy to find of late, but tonight played hard to get. Nevertheless, a little patience paid off and we eventually had excellent views. On this day we didn't "need" ELF OWL, but a pair were chattering during our hour long stay. We made only a token effort to see them as we worked on the other two species.

Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Out today with Bob and Ruth Fossket and two friends all from England. A day that began much like any other but, as you'll see, one that rapidly turned into "one of those days".

After yesterday's decline in the Elegant Trogon show, it was a trogon no-show at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon, at least through 8:00am this morning. In fact, activity in general was down quite a bit. We tracked and lost a CASSIN'S VIREO foraging with a couple of PLUMBEOUS VIREOS.  Both HUTTON'S and WARBLING VIREOS were present, the latter for the first time this season here. Our only real successes were STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER (we watched the female fly in and sidle casually down a limb to enter the nest) and BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS. Among the other birds around the picnic area were COOPER'S HAWK, DUSKY-CAPPED and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, a pair of easy to see PAINTED REDSTARTS, HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS and a singing SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

I made a bad decision, waiting so long for the trogon to put in an appearance, and by the time we got to Sawmill Canyon activity was minimal. Of the birds that we specifically looked for we found GREATER PEWEE and GRACE'S WARBLER and missed Olive Warbler. A two hour session produced only 25 species including STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED, HAMMOND'S and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER.

However, the worst was yet to come as I failed to find a Spotted Owl in Scheelite. To make matters worse it was a very hot day (95 degrees in town) and the searches of the middle and upper areas of the canyon were a very tough slog. This was my first miss of the year, in fact, it was my first miss since August of 1999, a bitter blow indeed. I consoled myself with the fact that birding is far from an exact science and that my overall success rate of the finding the owl, at 93%, is pretty good when it comes to birds. However, that doesn't help if you happen to be among the 7% and I felt bad for everyone. I wasn't much in the mood for recording the other birds but came up with13 species including VIRGINIA'S and RED-FACED WARBLERS.

Heading back into town we redeemed the morning a little. I noticed some birders in the wash so we backed up and heard the unmistakable barking of an ELEGANT TROGON. Everyone piled out quickly but we needn't have hurried. The bird stayed put and even flew closer to us, and we ended up with stunning views and all the photos and video that everyone wanted to shoot.

We fared somewhat better with night owls, requiring only a little patience to see an ELF OWL perched near the nest site. For the first time of late, WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL was very cooperative and we ended up seeing two of them very well. Unfortunately, we couldn't go 100% because the WESTERN SCREECH-OWL wasn't himself tonight. I've had an extremely reliable bird recently but tonight it took 30 minutes to locate the bird and even then, he only approached slowly and not as close as "normal". So, we took the mountain to Mohammed and spooked it, perhaps it was actually a different bird. Oh well, 2 out of 3 is better than 0 out of 1 as in the case of Spotted Owl.

Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Out today with Bob and Ima Hafernik from San Antonio, TX. What a difference a day makes.

After yesterday's trogonless early morning, 2 male ELEGANT TROGONS were calling as we arrived at Garden Canyon upper picnic area at 6:00am this morning. In less than 10 minutes we had great looks at both birds. Go figure!

Not wishing to repeat yesterday's slog in the sun, I decided that our Sawmill targets (flycatchers) could wait until later and we headed directly to Scheelite. For the second day in a row I failed to find a Spotted Owl in the lower area and we then spent a couple of fruitless hours searching the middle and upper areas. To make matters worse, we also struck out on Red-faced Warbler. I told Bob and Ima not to give up, and that we'd double check for the owl on the way down. I firmly felt that since an owl had been so regular of late in the lower area, it was probably present there in a new location and that I had missed it, and (un)fortunately this was the case.

I'd been checking several places that I'd already checked and as we approached "jaws", we bumped into Dick Palmer who said "I suppose you saw it on the way up". As he was speaking, I looked into the tree behind jaws at a wide awake SPOTTED OWL staring back at me. I'm sure that "Gotcha" was in its expression. Oh no! I couldn't believe I had missed the bird (I could easily have missed it here yesterday, too). It was in a regularly used tree, but on a limb where I'd never seen an owl before. The incredible thing is that it was only 2 feet away from the regularly used limb that I had checked! I think that with well over 700 trips into the canyon, I am relying too much on past experience and failing to approach each visit with an open mind. A very sobering and humbling turn of events. I live and (will hopefully) learn.

Just to rub in yesterday's lack of trogons, I heard 2 male ELEGANT TROGONS in Scheelite while searching for the owl, and on the way out of the canyon we saw an incredibly tolerant female perched completely in the clear, at eye level, just 10 feet away! We saw just over 20 species including VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and WESTERN TANAGER.

Next we headed to Sawmill Canyon where, despite the late morning hour, it didn't take long to find GREATER PEWEE and BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER plus a bonus CASSIN'S VIREO. We ended the morning session having seen 4 of 5 target birds plus the vireo, yet I was left feeling very dissatisfied because of the owl fiasco. 

During siesta time I checked a very hot Sierra Vista sewage where most of the (few) birds that I saw were gasping for breath. Birds of note from 23 species seen were 100-WHITE-FACED IBIS and a couple of SCALED QUAIL. A small group of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were feeding out in the fields, they'll be heading north pretty soon and will be gone by mid-month.

Our evening session on the San Pedro yielded 38 species but was distinctly uninspiring as migration winds down. We did not see a single empid and even the WILSON'S WARBLERS are down to tolerable levels. Species seen included LESSER NIGHTHAWK, BLACK-THROATED GRAY and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. Two GREAT HORNED OWLS were along Hwy 90 near the sewage ponds as we headed back into town.

Thursday, May 4, 2000
Out today with Dutch and Judy Schneider and Larry and Ruth Korn from Wilsonville, OR. Another very warm day with the temperature in the high 90s, continuing more like June than May.

We made a short morning visit to Garden Canyon where ELEGANT TROGON was calling on our arrival at the upper picnic area at 7:15am. We had excellent views of a very cooperative and unconcerned male from 25 feet at eye level. A great start to the day. We returned later in mid afternoon to find the bird calling from the same tree! Regulars in the area were COOPER'S HAWK, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER and BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER.

Next, we spent an interesting three hours on the San Pedro (Hwy 90). Although we didn't see a tremendous number of species, there was always something to look at, especially if you count WILSON'S WARBLERS!

For me the most interesting birds were a N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and an AMERICAN REDSTART. This is only my 4th record for NBT on the San Pedro and all have been near Kingfisher pond where today's bird was singing. They are very uncommon at best in Cochise County away from Guadalupe Canyon. All four records fall in late April and early May which strikes me as very odd, since this is not a time that I expect this species to be on the move. The Redstart was a male seen working the willows along the river north of kingfisher pond. Although published data shows they are a rare spring migrant, all my previous AZ records are in fall so I was pleased to add a spring record.

Others from the 42 that we saw were a couple of very noisy GRAY HAWKS, many VERMILION and a few ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, several (more than 3) singing CASSIN'S and 2-WARBLING VIREOS, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED and ABERT'S TOWHEES, a latish SAVANNAH SPARROW, and lots of SUMMER TANAGERS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

An afternoon visit to Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon was very productive for hummingbirds despite the heat. Common as usual were BLACK-CHINNED and BROAD-TAILED; ANNA'S and BROAD-BILLED stopped by a couple of times; MAGNIFICENT outnumbered BLUE-THROATED by at least 5 to 1; we saw a female WHITE-EARED on two occasions and I briefly saw a female CALLIOPE. Not too shabby for a hot Thursday afternoon!  Thanks to the Beatty's for their hospitality.

Friday, May 5, 2000
Out today with Bruce Hill from Sterling, VA. We visited several canyons in the Huachucas and the San Pedro river for a handful of target birds.

Before and after visiting Scheelite, we made stops at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon where it was somewhat of a zoo around 8:00am. ELEGANT TROGON was again very easy to see. I wonder if these birds get a kick out of all the hubbub they cause. Most of the time at this location you wouldn't know that they are in any way shy. Today, a male sang from the top of a sycamore as 25 or so people gathered underneath. Also present were the regulars like COOPER'S HAWK, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER and a continuing migrant TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. In the lower grassland we came across a dozen or so SCALED QUAIL.

SPOTTED OWL was easy to find in Scheelite today and we were in and out in one hour. Other birds included HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, a singing SCOTT'S ORIOLE and a calling SUMMER TANAGER. The out-of-habitat tanager was a major surprise, only my second record for Scheelite. What's it doing here in the breeding season, perhaps a late migrant?

Next we wanted warblers, in particular Olive, so I decided to head to Carr Canyon rather than Sawmill, since I felt that Olive was pretty much "guaranteed" there. I was right, but we had to work far harder than I expected to find a beautiful male OLIVE WARBLER. We also had good looks at GRACE'S, HERMIT & VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART; but didn't pursue a singing RED-FACED WARBLER. A successful visit, made even better by the fact that, for the most part, we had the birds and scenery to ourselves. We recorded about 45 species in a 3 hour Hwy 92 to Hwy 92 round trip, including HAIRY WOODPECKER, several singing GREATER PEWEES, numerous BUFF-BREASTED and a couple of HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, STELLER'S and SCRUB-JAYS, PYGMY NUTHATCH, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, HEPATIC and WESTERN TANAGERS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

After building to a trickle, migration on the San Pedro has now slowed to a dribble and our late afternoon session was quite dull. Apart from WILSON'S WARBLERS we didn't find any migrants, and even they have all but disappeared -- we saw perhaps only 20. GRAY HAWKS are more often heard than seen here, so a pair circling overhead for 10 minutes was a treat. COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, SONG SPARROW and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE were the most visible species immediately alongside the river. Continuing winter species included N. HARRIER, WHITE-CROWNED, LINCOLN'S & BREWER'S SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. Among the other species were COMMON GROUND-DOVE, VERMILION and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, ABERT'S TOWHEE and SUMMER TANAGER. Several LESSER NIGHTHAWKS appeared as dusk approached and many N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS swarmed overhead; and 40-WHITE-FACED IBIS headed out to roost. We recorded 40 species in 2 hours.

Our evening owling session started well when we saw WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL without any effort. However, the formerly cooperative WESTERN SCREECH-OWL continued his behavior of a few nights ago by calling briefly then apparently loosing interest. ELF OWLS were chattering for the better part of an hour.

Monday, May 8, 2000
I've just enjoyed a couple of scheduled days off doing pretty much nothing except starting to think about my June vacation. Even three eastern vagrants (White-eyed Vireo in Portal, Palm Warbler at Whitewater Draw and Prothonatory Warbler at St. David didn't tempt me). All would be state ticks and Palm Warbler would also be a life bird for me, amazing how I've never stumbled into this bird. Nevertheless, I couldn't get motivated to chase them. Instead, I made brief visits to Sierra Vista sewage ponds each day without seeing very much at all. Many WHITE-FACED IBIS and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS continue.

Today was the first day afield with Nils and Anita Johannesson from Cary, NC. Over the next few days we'll be covering lots of ground to mop up some target birds that they missed on a previous visit to AZ. A pleasant surprise as we began our day at 5:30am. -- clouds and cool conditions! However, it didn't stop the temperature from climbing to 95 degrees by noon, with wind to boot.

Our mix of target bird possibilities for the day (Zone-tailed Hawk, Spotted Owl, White-eared Hummingbird, Greater Pewee, Olive-sided, Buff-breasted and Hammond's Flycatchers, Virginia's and Hermit Warblers) resulted in trips to Scheelite, Carr and Miller canyons in the Huachucas. We began in Scheelite (something that I don't normally do, but the logistics were right) where an ELEGANT TROGON was calling as we started up the canyon. SPOTTED OWL was not so obvious as of  late, but still quite easy to find. The bird was in a new location in an infrequently used tree, hard to see on the way up the canyon. Fortunately, I've learned my lesson and I always try to look back. We saw TOWNSEND'S and HERMIT WARBLER'S and had brief glimpses of HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and VIRGINIA'S WARBLER. Two SCOTT'S ORIOLES and  HEPATIC and WESTERN TANAGERS were singing. Scheelite is cool and shady on such early visits (about the only good reason to go early) and we saw only 20 species.

Next stop was Carr Canyon, always a possibility for Zone-tailed Hawk and a good bet for Olive-sided Flycatcher in migration, although I considered both to be long shots here. We started by looking for VIRGINIA'S WARBLER which can be very elusive at times, and we chased several birds around for an hour. I had just mentioned to Nils and Anita that although these birds mostly sing from dense foliage, they often pop up in the dead stuff, and hey presto, that's what happened! During the search, we found a cooperative HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (conveniently perched in dead timber and calling) and a wind assisted ZONE-TAILED HAWK hurtled past us a great speed. Next we looked for, and quickly found, GREATER PEWEE and BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS, both calling and building nests.

We then focused our attention on the myriad snags in the area (from the 1977 fire) but failed to find an Olive-sided Flycatcher. Among the other species in the area were BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, STELLER'S JAY, HUTTON'S and PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, ORANGE-CROWNED, GRACE'S & WILSON'S WARBLERS, HEPATIC and WESTERN TANAGERS, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and SPOTTED TOWHEE. 

We finished with a visit to Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon where it was pretty warm and quite windy. Unfortunately, we failed to see a White-eared Hummingbird during our 1 hour 15 minute stay.  Hummers present were BROAD-BILLED, BLACK-CHINNED, BLUE-THROATED, MAGNIFICENT, ANNA'S and BROAD-TAILED.

Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Out again today with Nils and Anita Johannesson from Cary, NC. It was a day that started and ended poorly, but the in between part was pretty good.

I was up at 2:30am and on the road at 3:30am for a trip to California Gulch (oh joy, 'tis the season again). Unfortunately, my clients took a wrong turn in Tucson and were late meeting me in Nogales. Consequently, we missed the chance of Common Poorwill on the Ruby Road. They can pretty much be relied upon sitting on the road as long as you're in the right place at the right time (about 30-45 minutes before dawn). Among the birds that we did see on the Ruby Road were a couple of BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS near Peņa Blanca Lake and, particularly pleasing, a male and female MONTEZUMA QUAIL near the entrance to the ghost town of Ruby. I see the quail along this road (looking or not) about 60% of the time.

We found a singing FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW as we arrived in the gulch (6:45am) and were in and out  in minimum time. It was a crying shame to be just target birding since the area was alive with birds this morning. We recorded about 40 species including  a couple of GRAY HAWKS (uncommon here), N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, BELL'S VIREO, my season first BLUE GROSBEAK and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

I hadn't heard any reports of BOTTERI'S SPARROW so far this spring, but a quick stop at a regular spot near Patagonia Lake soon produced a very cooperative bird.

Next stop was the Patagonia Roadside Rest where we finally tracked down a THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD after waiting around for about 30 minutes before the bird called.

A short stop at the Paton's yard quickly produced VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD and LAZULI BUNTING and we hit the road again.

A two hour vigil at the upper feeders at Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon failed to produce a White-eared Hummingbird for the second day in a row. Of course, the bird(s) were seen yesterday after we left and will be seen again to day, I'm sure. Timing is everything! We had the "regulars" -- BROAD-BILLED, BLACK-CHINNED, BLUE-THROATED, MAGNIFICENT, ANNA'S and BROAD-TAILED. Also around in the heat of the day were STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, HUTTON'S VIREO, BUSHTIT,  BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER and a handful of others.

Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Day 3 with Nils and Anita Johannesson from Cary, NC, day 4 won't be until Friday. Just a few target birds today -- Mississippi Kite, Common Black-Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Gray Vireo and Black-chinned Sparrow. A couple of birds on the list mandated very specific locations so we had to cover lots of miles. Fortunately, we succeeded in seeing all of them.

Another early start for me -- I left home at 2:30am, met my clients in Tucson, and by 6:40am we were birding at Slate Creek Divide. We got off to a good start -- GRAY VIREO was singing when we stepped out of the car, just 100 yards from where we parked. However, seeing it, as is often the case, took a little while longer. Fortunately, some marauding WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS came by and a pair of vireos started harassing them. Kind of tricky to get these little buggers in a 'scope since they don't sit still for too long. However, we managed it. Several other vireos were singing not too far away and we also heard BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW during the jay fiasco. We soon tracked the sparrow down for some good looks. Other birds in the area included BUSHTIT, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

We headed south a few miles and very quickly found a COMMON BLACK-HAWK perched at the nest site along Sycamore Creek. Other birds here included WESTERN TANAGER and HOODED ORIOLE.

Now it was a long drive to Dudleyville where I was a little concerned that MISSISSIPPI KITE may not have returned. Happily, this wasn't the case -- good news came quickly as I caught a fleeting glimpse of one gliding over the treetops about 10 minutes after we arrived on the San Pedro. We were quickly able to find the bird perched in a cottonwood and shortly afterwards we had stunning close up views of three soaring birds.

Next stop was Aravaipa Canyon where we hoped for views of a soaring Black-Hawk and a better view of Zone-tailed, seen briefly in Carr Canyon a few days ago. After kissing over 100 TURKEY VULTURE frogs, we eventually found our ZONE-TAILED HAWK prince!  We were on our way out of the canyon, about to give up since it was now 1 billion degrees in the shade (and there is no shade), when I spotted a bird almost directly above us that looked just a little different. I'd looked at so many and was going to pass it by but, as I've mentioned before, it rarely pays to be lazy. So we stopped and I scanned skyward, bingo! A good end to a long day that saw me arrive home 14 hours after leaving. Tomorrow morning will be here before I know it. No rest for the wicked.

Thursday, May 11, 2000
Out today with Gary Zylkuski and Adrienne Papazian from Hopewell Jct., NY. Unfortunately, from a birding standpoint, today was another of "those days" and is best left forgotten. However, by recording the grim details I'll be able to read it for years to come whenever I want a humbling experience. It was a very windy day at times, but that doesn't explain everything.

The day began well enough when we stopped at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon for a photo opportunity with a very obliging (though somewhat high up) male ELEGANT TROGON.

Next we headed up Scheelite (nice and cool on an early visit) where we enjoyed good views of an off-the-trail but relatively easy to find SPOTTED OWL. We played peek-a-boo with a fairly skittish CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER. Everyone got excellent brief glimpses!

For the rest of the morning we were frustrated by no-show birds and the wind in Carr Canyon. The only easy bird here was BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, still nest building. We easily spent over an hour looking for GREATER PEWEE, conspicuous by their absence and lack of song. Of course, after we found a couple they wouldn't stop singing! Our search for Olive Warbler ended without success after checking a number of "normally reliable" spots. I'm beginning to wonder if anything is normal or reliable in the birding game. The gusty winds probably kept many birds subdued and the only species singing consistently were PLUMBEOUS VIREO and SPOTTED TOWHEE. We recorded only 25 species in 3 hours   including EASTERN BLUEBIRD, TOWNSEND'S, GRACE'S and VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS, WESTERN TANAGER and my first BRONZED COWBIRD of the season.

Our late afternoon/early evening visit to the San Pedro was pretty dismal, with only 30+ species seen. Our primary target bird was YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, always hard to see but with so many being present, it's normally just a war of attrition -- find enough and you'll see at least one. I had told Gary and Adrienne that at least 50 Chats would be present in the area that we would cover. However, after more than an hour we had not even heard so much as one of them, and very few other species either. The wind was fairly constant and quite gusty at times. Eventually we heard one, chased and lost it, then heard a few more, chased them, etc., you get the picture. Finally we were rewarded with a good, albeit brief look. Hallelujah! We found a calling PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER that thwarted our attempts to find it. Not one of the multitudes of Bullock's Orioles were calling, but one HOODED ORIOLE (very uncommon here) was present. Many WESTERN TANAGERS and several BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS were grounded by the wind. Even the Lesser Nighthawks didn't put in their appearance as the sun dipped below the Huachucas.

Our woes continued back in the Huachucas where owling was somewhat of a misnomer. The wind here wasn't really a factor and there was a half-moon, pretty decent conditions really. However, the only cooperative birds were a pair of ELF OWLS chattering and flying around their nest site as we waited for darkness. Ironically, we weren't really looking for them, just passing the time. I couldn't raise Western Screech at all and WHISKERED-SCREECH OWLS were decidedly uncooperative. After an hour of work we finally got close to a pair (by us going to them), but all we saw was the ass end of one just before it flew away.

Friday, May 12, 2000
Day 4 and final day with Nils Johannesson from Cary, NC. We had allocated this morning to look for migrant target birds that we didn't stumble into during our previous 3 days. I had planned to spend our time on the San Pedro, but was dreading it after yesterday's windy fiasco. Wouldn't you know it, this morning was as calm as could be and cloudy to boot, which kept the temperature down until well into the morning. We spent 5 hours on the south side of the Hwy 90 crossing and recorded close to 60 species. Better yet, we found 4 of our potential migrant targets and managed to see 3 of them. Species of note were a TROPICAL KINGBIRD returning to the big pond (they've nested here for a number of years now) and a migrant SWAINSON'S THRUSH.

As if to slap me in the face and say "nah-nah-na-na-nah", YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were absolutely everywhere this morning in the 5 miles that we covered. I estimate well over 100 birds and since we didn't need to see them, we saw at least 3 that popped up completely unannounced for in-the-clear views. Aaaaaarggh!

Our first success came after about 45 minutes with a lingering GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, foraging on an open trail. We saw it only briefly and it was the only one found.

After lots of walking we came across two targets at the same time. I heard the scolding (later singing) of a CASSIN'S VIREO and the "whit" call of a GRAY FLYCATCHER. I decided to focus on the vireo, figuring I could easily relocate the flycatcher. Wrong! We had excellent looks at the vireo but after another hour of searching we didn't see the flycatcher again.

We turned our attention the river proper and after a 30 minute search we located a pair of MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, not too shabby. A good way to end our 4 days together.

We recorded the following from 6:00-11:00am.
Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Cooper's & Gray Hawks, American Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, American Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Great Horned Owl, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray , Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Ash-throated and Brown-crested Flycatchers, Tropical, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan Raven, Cassin's & Warbling Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, White-crowned, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak,  Bullock's Oriole and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Saturday, May 13, 2000
Out today with Richard and Jody Stovall from Atlanta, GA. In the morning we birded at Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest and Paton's yard; followed by an evening owling session in the Huachucas.

Patagonia Lake State Park is heading into its birding doldrums when just the core summer and permanent residents will be present. Our 3 hour session this morning wasn't spectacular but we recorded over 60 species and found a few lingering wintering species and migrants.  Marsh activity was noticeably less than in winter and spring but SORA, VIRGINIA RAIL (good looks at both) and LINCOLN'S SPARROW were still present. Among the migrants were WHITE-FACED IBIS, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S & WARBLING VIREOS, and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. Species that can be expected throughout the summer included BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK, NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, BLACK VULTURE, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SUMMER TANAGER and BOTTERI'S SPARROW (several were singing and easy to find as we left at 9:00am).

However, the bird of the day was one that I didn't immediately put a name to, something that doesn't happen often and it sure bugged me!. Along the creek we came across a buteo and after some quick and incorrect guesses, I suggested to Richard and Jody that the bird was an immature COMMON BLACK-HAWK, not a bird that I often see in juvenal plumage. Later, I decided that this id was in fact correct. Earlier this year there were a few Black-Hawk reports from the lake, although I was never able to find one. They nest early (the Sunflower birds have already fledged) and presumably this is a young bird from a nest here at the lake.

A stop at the Roadside Rest easily produced THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD but we did have to wait around for about 15 minutes for one to show itself.

Similarly at Kino Springs, it was just a case of showing up before a TROPICAL KINGBIRD gave itself away by calling.  A soaring GRAY HAWK was also present.

Before taking some siesta time, we made a very brief stop at the Paton's where it didn't take very long to see a VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD. Not much other activity with a couple of photographers in the yard -- no birds were at the seed feeders at the south end of the yard.

After the owling disaster two nights ago, tonight could not have been more different. Within 15 minutes of arriving at one of my owling sites in the Huachucas, we headed home having had excellent views of an ELF OWL near the nest site, a WHISKERED-SCREECH-OWL and a pair of WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS, all within 100 yards of each other. Amazing. I wish I could bottle whatever makes this happen from time to time.

Sunday, May 14, 2000
Out today with Fred and Trisha Rentschler from Danville, CA and Helen McAvoy from San Rafael, CA. I've worked with Fred and Trisha a couple of times before. The day started cool but quickly warmed up and most birds fell silent quite early and were hard to find.

A good start in Garden Canyon at the upper picnic area at 6:00am, where a male ELEGANT TROGON was calling from inside a potential nest cavity, trying to entice a female (sitting nearby) to check it out. After a while the male emerged and perched in the clear. We were the only people present at the time but about 6 hours later the area was absolutely packed with mother's day picnickers. These birds have to put up with so much to get a decent nesting site.

Sawmill Canyon was fairly active at 7:00am but the activity very quickly subsided and a 3 hour session produced only 30 species. Fortunately, however, we found the "good" species like GREATER PEWEE (mostly silent), several BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS (we watched one building a nest), OLIVE WARBLER (1 sub-adult male after almost 3 hours of searching), and numerous female HEPATIC TANAGERS collecting nesting material. Other birds that we recorded included a singing COOPER'S HAWK, GREATER ROADRUNNER, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, WESTERN TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

In Scheelite Canyon we met a party who had been to the upper reaches without finding an owl. After a thorough search of the lower area, I reluctantly decided that the bird was elsewhere. We slogged up canyon in the heat and our reward came when I eventually found a fairly well concealed SPOTTED OWL. 

Monday, May 15, 2000
Out again today with Fred, Trisha and Helen. Another early start (3:30am) for California Gulch paid off with a couple of FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS shortly after we arrived. I heard one bird call well south of the gulch proper and we soon saw both birds foraging around some boulders. Then the male perched up and sang from an ocotillo for about 30 seconds. I consider this a very fortuitous sighting because they soon left and we didn't see or hear any more during the next couple of hours. The gulch proper does not have any water and was almost devoid of birds. There's not much water in the riparian section either and I wouldn't be surprised if the sparrows decide to go elsewhere until the rains begin.

Fred flushed a couple of MONTEZUMA QUAIL at the 2nd stream crossing but they flew quickly up the east slope and we didn't get a usable look. A short while later we heard one calling from the top of the ridge, but looking into the sun we didn't stand a chance to find it. Another missed bird was VARIED BUNTING. I heard one singing as we arrived but we focused on the sparrow and couldn't relocate it later. On a much quieter morning than last week here we recorded a total of 40 species including GRAY HAWK, N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and HOODED ORIOLE. The temperature was barely 60 degrees when we started down the California Gulch road at 6:00am but had risen to 93 by the time we returned to the Ruby Road at 9:30am.

It was certainly hot at Kino Springs but we had little trouble finding TROPICAL KINGBIRD at the club house pond. Similarly, although the temperature was now 102 degrees, we were quickly able to find a BOTTERI'S SPARROW near Patagonia Lake. We finished up at a very hot Roadside Rest where we had good looks at 2 panting THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS to end our "morning" session.

Our evening owling session in the Huachucas wasn't quite as successful as on Saturday, but it certainly wasn't the disaster of several days ago. We easily saw ELF OWL at the nest site and a nearby WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL a couple of times, but the WESTERN SCREECH-OWL again proved to be my nemesis. I called the bird in fairly close and slowly approached to locate it in the tree, but right at the last second the bird flew and never called again. Oh well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

Wednesday, May 17, 2000
After a 3 day cancellation and a reshuffle of my schedule, I managed to arrange 4 consecutive days "off", and today I headed to the White Mountains for a very short visit. Although the main purpose of my trip was to do some final logistics work for the AZ 2000 tour that starts next week, I was able to get some birding in as well (gee, who'd ha' thunk it).

After an overnight drive punctuated only by Selena's music (Janicita, si tu estas leyendo - Hola) and a BARN OWL sitting in the road near Safford, I arrived at Luna Lake a little before sunrise. It was surprisingly cold here, so cold in fact that I saw a brass monkey carrying a soldering iron. Birds were slow to get active so I focused on the lake at first. Many of the regulars were present including an OSPREY that flew in to hunt. After it warmed up a little I birded near the campground where a group of RED CROSSBILLS represented the best find.

I saw the following from 5:15-7:00am:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Am. Crow, Plumbeous Vireo, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, Pygmy Nuthatch, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Mountain Chickadee, Red Crossbill, Yellow-rumped & Grace's Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, Vesper Sparrow, Western Tanager, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Next, I headed over to Nutrioso to check on LEWIS'S WOODPECKER. I found a pair in a regular spot near along the creek near the lumber yard, and another (copulating) pair in town near the post office. Also along the creek were CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, a few CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, many PINE SISKINS and 20 other common species. In town, I was quite surprised to see a MERLIN. In SE AZ this would be considered late (although I do have one May record), but perhaps not here.

A quick stop at Nelson Reservoir was unproductive with only a handful of species present including many YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Activity at Becker Lake was more inspiring with 5-WESTERN GREBES, 1-GREAT EGRET and a couple more LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS.

Next, I checked the riparian area at South Fork. I was a little disappointed with the low activity here in mid-morning, but perhaps the increasing wind didn't help. The AMERICAN DIPPER that I watched going in and out of a nest didn't mind the wind though, the bird was constantly singing. I saw only a dozen species including 2-DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, and 2-MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS.

By now the wind was extremely troublesome so I made my final birding stop of the day in Greer, along the East Fork of the Little Colorado River. Driving through town, I heard then saw CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS perched atop the pines. Along the river I was able to track down a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER after half an hour stalking and battling the wind. Most birds were subdued although a few RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES and RED-FACED WARBLERS were singing, and I saw one MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER.

Thursday, May 18, 2000
I spent the night in Show Low in preparation for an early morning trip to the Salt River Canyon. I arrived in the canyon (on Hwy 77) well before dawn in order to hear the dawn chorus, the best way that I know (at this time of year) to take a quick and dirty inventory of species present in a given area. Although I've never had great success here with GRAY VIREO, today I had was pleased to find a singing individual with very little effort. Now don't move for 2 weeks! The place was lousy with HOODED ORIOLES, other species  included ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and HEPATIC TANAGER.

I headed south to Dudleyville where I was probably too early to see soaring Mississippi Kites. I checked the trees looking for roosting birds for a while but soon tired of that. The river was extremely active and I saw about 30 species in 30 minutes including GRAY HAWK, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S and YELLOW WARBLERS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT,  BLUE and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, LESSER GOLDFINCH, SUMMER TANAGER and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

I finished up by spending a couple of hours in Aravaipa Canyon where very little was soaring. For the second week in a row I failed to see a Common Black-Hawk here but a soaring ZONE-TAILED HAWK was again present. I arrived early enough to find RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS singing, at what is about the northeastern most limit of their range in Arizona. Also in the canyon were many PURPLE MARTINS (they breed here but I didn't see them last week).

When I arrived back in Sierra Vista I decided to visit the sewage ponds, since I hadn't been able to check there for over a week. An inspired move on my part! Two birders were driving out as I arrived and they said "are you looking for the White-rumped Sandpiper?". No said I, inwardly smiling to myself, and they proceeded to tell me where it was. Color me surprised, sure enough there was a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER feeding in the open as bold as brass. Even before I put the scope on it the bird was obviously not a Least or Western. I was pretty excited to get a new sewage pond, a state bird and a life bird all in one fell swoop! Now to tell someone. Then, when I got home, the chat line was buzzing with the details -- the bird was first seen three days ago! Apparently, this sighting represents the 6th state record. I'm just glad that it stuck around because I usually don't have much success with such matters. Also present were several WHITE-FACED IBIS, a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and a SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

Saturday, May 20, 2000
Day 1 of 3 days with Paul and Pat Nistico from Bryans Road, MD. On a warmish but mercifully cloudy day that would otherwise have been a hot one, we scurried around successfully in search of a few target birds.

Our day began well in Scheelite Canyon where we found a pair of SPOTTED OWLS. I'd heard a report of two birds a few days ago but this was the first time that I'd seen both birds for several months. I have suspected that the repeated sighting of only one bird was an indication that the other was on a nest, so it's quite possible that there are young owls in the canyon for the first time since I moved to AZ in 1993. I hope this is the case and I'm very much looking forward to seeing them. I have seen the owls roosting in over 100 different locations, but today they were in a new tree and relatively easy to find, although one party had walked past them.

Next stop was the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon where we saved a trip to either Sawmill or Carr by finding a pair of BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS. This is the second year that they have nested here in this marginal habitat (but what do I know, the birds obviously like it). We lingered a while to track down the calling ELEGANT TROGONS. We saw a male and female in the nest tree and another couple of males were calling from up and down canyon locations.

Then came a long drive over to the lower portion of Chino Canyon for RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW. Sure, there are closer places to find them but Chino is the only location where I have never failed to find them in many visits. This bird can be very easy or just the opposite as was the case today. We had to work very hard and long (90 mins) to get a good look, but eventually we found a bird that sat still long enough for us to get the 'scope on it and we saw all the field marks. This can be a hot place so I was very happy with the clouds.

On the way over we checked Amado sewage pond that held a lingering REDHEAD and a few WHITE-FACED IBIS and BLACK-NECKED STILTS.

Our last stop of the day at Kino Springs easily produced 2-TROPICAL KINGBIRDS that appear to have already chosen a nest tree, and the usual GRAY HAWKS. However, a THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD was a bit of a surprise, I don't see them here much.

Sunday, May 21, 2000
Day 2 with Paul and Pat Nistico from Bryans Road, MD. A 3:00am start for California Gulch paid off again because we were in and out before the heat of a very warm day. Hey, if you want to go to CA gulch with me, you've got to get up early!

We began birding in the gulch proper at 6:20am and with minimal effort we soon found a very cooperative FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW that perched up and sang, Other birds included GRAY HAWK, numerous ROADRUNNERS, N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK, VARIED BUNTING and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

For the entire drive in from first light on the Ruby Road, in and out of California Gulch, and again back on the Ruby Road, we had diligently looked for MONTEZUMA QUAIL without success, and it looked like we might get skunked. I said to Paul and Pat that although the chances were now low, they weren't zero, so we still needed to keep looking. About 1.5 miles west of Peņa Blanca lake our diligence paid off,  and we all shouted in unison as we spotted a couple of quail in a wash. Unfortunately, we only had brief looks before the birds waddled up the hillside. We stalked them and flushed them twice without improving on the view.

We made a token stop at the Roadside Rest to look for the Becard. Birds here included GRAY HAWK, DUSKY-CAPPED and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

The Paton's yard was relatively quiet but we did see a couple of VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRDS, LARK SPARROW and BRONZED COWBIRD. A surprise in town as we left was a flyover BAND-TAILED PIGEON. However, I have seen them before in this lowland location in May.

We made an evening visit to the Huachucas in search of WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL and it didn't take long to get a decent view, albeit a short one.

Monday, May 22, 2000
Day 3 and final day with Paul and Pat Nistico from Bryans Road, MD. Another 3:00am start on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far. It was 113 degrees in Tucson around noon and 103 in Sierra Vista in mid-afternoon.

After a long but painless drive we began birding at Slate Creek Divide around 7:00am. Several GRAY VIREOS and numerous BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS were singing and easy to find. At 8:00am we headed back south a few miles to Sunflower where we braved the construction traffic and were rewarded with a beautiful soaring COMMON BLACK-HAWK not far from the nest site. Mission accomplished by 8:30am.

On the way home we checked a few water areas, starting with Gilbert groundwater recharge and Wildlife Area which always seems to be dry, as it was today. I can't understand why so much time, effort and money went into creating this very nice environment and then not bother to use it. It's not like the town of Gilbert isn't producing any waste water.

The pond at Gilbert and Chandler Heights Roads produced a few birds including GREAT and SNOWY EGRETS, BLACK-NECKED STILT and AM. AVOCET, BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK, BLUE-WINGED and CINNAMON TEAL, REDHEAD and SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

At the nearby Gilbert/Riggs pond we saw a few of the same species and added EARED GREBE, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON.

Thursday, May 25, 2000
Today was the start of a 10 day tour covering Southeast Arizona and the White Mountains. I met the participants late afternoon in Tucson: Donald Brown from West Des Moines, IA, Gerald Uhlman from Richmond, VA, Carol and Jim Wilkinson from Columbia, MD, Jim Williams from Lexington, KY, Gary Wilson from Hamilton Square, NJ and Jack Wykoff from Dowling, MI..

This the first time that I have offered a combination SE AZ and White Mountains tour in spring (although I have done several with Birdfinders in summer and will be doing so again in July). The itinerary was designed to produce many of the Mexican flavored SE AZ specialties plus a number of species normally associated with the Rockies. My intention was to make the tour attractive to eastern birders with very little or no western birding experience.

It wasn't easy to choose the dates for this itinerary. In SE AZ, late April/early May is a good time due to a combination of low temperature and peak bird diversity. The downside is that many of the late returning specialty birds are not around, and it's way too early to be in the White Mountains. Leaving it until mid/late June maximizes the White Mountain birding, but SE AZ at that time is hot and dry and not conducive to pleasant birding. Consequently, I tried to compromise and get the best of both worlds, sacrificing only the migrants. I also took advantage of the memorial day weekend to maximize use of vacation time. Hey, there's more to this stuff than just finding birds!

The strategy for most days was to focus on several "target birds" and expect that the remainder would just fall into place. In general, this worked extremely well despite the unseasonably high temperatures in Southeast Arizona (about 10 degrees above normal). The White Mountains were much cooler as expected, probably more so than normal, and we were fortunate to see a little rain. With few exceptions we found almost everything that we looked for and a total of 208 species. Itinerary summary and species list

Friday, May 26, 2000
We began early in Tucson Mountain Park near Gates Pass overlook. Here, amidst some beautiful desert scenery highlighted by many saguaros, we saw common species such as GAMBEL'S QUAIL, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, GILA WOODPECKER, GILDED FLICKER, BROWN-CRESTED and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, CACTUS WREN, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED SPARROW, PYRRHULOXIA and CANYON TOWHEE.

Next, we visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, an excellent place to get oriented with the flora and fauna of the area as well as a good place to find some typical desert birds. This a sure-fire location to see COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD and we had great close up looks at male and female. We saw some of the same birds as in the Mountain Park plus PURPLE MARTIN (nests in saguaros), VERDIN, CANYON WREN, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, a stunning HOODED ORIOLE, and a not quite so stunning BRONZED COWBIRD. Migrants included WARBLING VIREO, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, a late WILSON'S WARBLER and WESTERN TANAGER.

Now it was time to escape the heat by heading to the mountains, and conditions in Rose Canyon in the Catalinas were indeed very pleasant. Upon arrival in the early afternoon we were greeted by a singing GREATER PEWEE that we tracked down to a typical perch at the very top of a tree.  I heard the song of a RED-FACED WARBLER and after a short search we had great views of this delightful bird, certainly one of my favorites. We didn't fare so well with VIRGINIA'S WARBLER. This species is very adept at staying completely out of view while singing and remaining close enough to fool you into thinking that you will eventually see it. We followed one bird around for almost an hour without ever catching even a brief glimpse. Amazing! VIWA 1, Birders 0.

Nevertheless, it wasn't all bad because we saw plenty of birds during the search including BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, ACORN and HAIRY WOODPECKERS, NORTHERN (RED-SHAFTED)   FLICKER, CORDILLERAN and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS and WARBLING VIREOS, COMMON RAVEN, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, WHITE-BREASTED and PYGMY NUTHATCHES, HOUSE WREN, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, HERMIT THRUSH, AM. ROBIN, YELLOW-RUMPED and GRACE'S WARBLERS, HEPATIC and WESTERN TANAGERS, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and PINE SISKIN.

Heading back down the mountain, a stop at Windy Point produced some great close up views of VIOLET GREEN-SWALLOWS, hanging in the wind at eye-level. A few WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were soaring overhead.  Back in the desert came our first GREATER ROADRUNNER along Houghton Road. 

Saturday, May 27, 2000
Today we got a very early start for a visit to California Gulch. Even though I've been here many times, I always approach the trip with some trepidation because it's a major investment in time and effort; and dragging a bunch of people out in the middle of the night only turns up the heat to find that pesky sparrow.

Along the blacktop portion of the Ruby Road we flushed a couple of COMMON POORWILLS without really seeing them. A single bird on the dirt just after Peņa Blanca lake sat still long enough for a distant view.

Along California Gulch road we found a couple of MONTEZUMA QUAIL near  the dam but they walked up the slope and were only seen by a few people. In the gulch proper we flushed a couple more. After an initial wait that caused me some concern, we easily found a pair of  cooperative FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS and later another single bird. VARIED BUNTINGS are finally back in numbers and we saw at least 3 males, including a stunning close range view. Other birds included GRAY HAWK, GILA WOODPECKER, BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, SAY'S and BLACK PHOEBES, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, BEWICK'S and CANYON WRENS, VERDIN, PHAINOPEPLA, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S & YELLOW WARBLERS, BLUE GROSBEAK, HOODED & SCOTT'S ORIOLES and CANYON TOWHEE.

Returning by way of Arivaca we saw a couple of GREATER ROADRUNNERS and  the first WESTERN KINGBIRD of the trip.

An afternoon visit to Madera Canyon was generally very quiet except for a constantly calling NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL that we were able to get great views of. A walk away job! We also had decent looks at a pair of STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS foraging in the same area.. Other species included the usual suspects like BROAD-BILLED,  BLACK-CHINNED, MAGNIFICENT and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS, ACORN WOODPECKER, HUTTON'S and PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and PAINTED REDSTART (both mobbing the owl), and a beautiful male SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Sunday, May 28, 2000
Another early start in the mesquite-grassland below Chino Canyon saw us get the runaround from RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW. We worked hard for well over an hour before everyone got a good look. Then, as is often the case, we saw them again without any effort - driving down the road three birds were feeding on a lawn in somebody's front yard. Aaaargh.! Among the other birds here were GAMBEL'S QUAIL, SAY'S PHOEBE, WESTERN KINGBIRD, CACTUS WREN, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, LUCY'S WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED SPARROW  and PYRRHULOXIA.

We moved on to Kino Springs where 2 1/2 hours worth of birding produced 50 species. More importantly, we had good looks at a couple of target species -- GRAY HAWK and TROPICAL KINGBIRD. A lone THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD, that has been here for a week or so, was calling but never revealed itself. Other species here included GREEN HERON, CINNAMON TEAL, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, a male COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD in full sun perched in a mesquite, a constantly calling and foraging NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, BUSHTIT, BELL'S VIREO, and a rare in-the-clear view of YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

The only casualty of being out birding on a holiday was our inability to get into Patagonia Lake State Park because of lack of parking (damn that Rufous-winged Sparrow). Nevertheless, with a little effort, even in the heat of the day in the grassland we had good looks at BOTTERI'S SPARROW.

A stop at the Roadside Rest failed to produced a Becard, which as far as I can tell has not returned yet. THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD was easy to see here. Also present were GRAY HAWK, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER.

A lunch stop in Patagonia city park produced BAND-TAILED PIGEON, LARK SPARROW and WESTERN TANAGER. The pigeon and tanager were feeding on mulberries.

Despite the afternoon heat, hummingbird activity in the Paton's yard was fairly high and we saw many BROAD-BILLED and BLACK-CHINNED, at least 2-VIOLET-CROWNED, ANNA'S, COSTA'S and a surprising BROAD-TAILED. Other than hummers, activity was low with only a calling TYRANNULET, VERMILION FLYCATCHER and BRONZED COWBIRD of note.

Our evening owling session in the Huachucas was a complete washout with no owls seen. We heard ELF OWL and WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL and had a great view of a COMMON POORWILL sitting in a wash.

Monday, May 29, 2000
We spent the entire day in the Huachucas beginning in Garden Canyon. Driving through the grassland we came across AMERICAN KESTREL, two pairs of SCALED QUAIL, ROADRUNNER, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and EASTERN ( LILIAN'S) MEADOWLARK. Quite a surprise here was a late SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.

At the upper picnic area we had no trouble at all finding and seeing ELEGANT TROGON. A male and female were at the nest tree and two other males were calling nearby. We enjoyed them for quite a while. We also had great views of a pair of noisy SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS,  the "rubber ducky" birds. Plenty of activity here including MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED (nesting here for the 2nd year in a row) and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, HUTTON'S and PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY and a late WILSON'S WARBLER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

We continued on to Scheelite Canyon. I've suspected for some time that the owls have nested this year for the first time in several years, and after today I'm pretty well convinced. I found a pair of SPOTTED OWLS, again in a new tree, roosting about 10 feet apart vertically. After a while the female flew down to the male and they engaged in some mutual preening. Then she flew off with a very deliberate flight towards the cliffs where, presumably, the nest is located. Over the past 7 years I have almost never seen an owl move during the day. Owlets very soon I hope.

Also present was a male ELEGANT TROGON, calling and moving slowly up canyon, perhaps trolling for a female. He flew over us as we watched the owls. Other birds from 20 species seen included BROWN CREEPER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, CANYON WREN, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

A visit to Sawmill Canyon in mid-morning wasn't particularly productive but a big surprise was a WESTERN KINGBIRD, the first time that I've ever seen one here or anywhere in this habitat.. This is a flatland bird and was perhaps trying to escape the heat!   We found 20+ species including a singing GREATER PEWEE, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, STELLER'S and MEXICAN JAYS, GRACES and RED-FACED WARBLERS, WESTERN TANAGER and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

In mid-afternoon we went to Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon. Thanks to Tom for his hospitality in allowing us to visit the controlled access site. Conditions here were much cooler and very pleasant. The results weren't too shabby either, hummingbirds were plentiful and we saw BROAD-BILLED, male and female WHITE-EARED,  BLUE-THROATED, MAGNIFICENT, COSTA'S and BROAD-TAILED. Nearby were SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS and BUSHTITS.

Our evening owling session again proved difficult (no spontaneous calling) but we persevered for 2 hours and ended up with good views of ELF OWL and WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL.

Tuesday, May 30, 2000
We began on the San Pedro River (Hwy 90) crossing where the day started well with a GREEN KINGFISHER. They have become very scarce here, so much so that despite many visits, this was my first sighting of the year! At the big pond we found 2-LESSER NIGHTHAWKS still foraging, a few WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS (uncommon here), and a TROPICAL KINGBIRD. A bird that I have dubbed an "orange variant" VERMILION FLYCATCHER continues and is spectacular despite its odd plumage. He also has a mate so the ladies don't seem to mind either. Hiding in the cottonwoods were a couple of GREAT HORNED OWLets. COMMON GROUND-DOVES (generally uncommon elsewhere) and ABERT'S TOWHEES were quite plentiful. Others from the 40+ species seen here were GILA AND LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, BLUE GROSBEAK, LUCY'S WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, a late WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

A check of Sierra Vista sewage ponds produced BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (my first May record here), a large group of WHITE-FACED IBIS, a beautiful soaring SWAINSON'S HAWK, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, SCALED QUAIL and LILIAN'S MEADOWLARK.

After a late breakfast we headed over to the Chiricahuas by way of Willcox. The pond here can either be completely dead or very productive and, fortunately, today it was the latter. The best bird was without doubt a LEAST TERN, a very rare nester in the area. Also an excellent bird was a pristine looking CLARK'S GREBE, Western is much more common although neither are really likely in late May in southeast Arizona. A latish WILSON'S PHALAROPE was a nice bonus. Other species included EARED GREBE, WHITE-FACED IBIS, BLACK-NECKED STILT, AMERICAN AVOCET, GADWALL, CINNAMON and BLUE-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN WIGEON, REDHEAD, 3-RING-BILLED GULLS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER and HORNED LARK.

We crossed the Chiricahuas from west to east via Pinery canyon and lingered in the higher elevations before continuing on to our overnight destination of Portal. Our main target here was MEXICAN CHICKADEE and after considerable effort we found a few and eventually got good looks. Also new for the trip were RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. Among the species that we enjoyed again were BAND-TAILED PIGEON, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, GRACE'S and RED-FACED WARBLERS

Wednesday, May 31, 2000
We began in the lowlands along Paradise Road in search of several specialties of this scrubby and arid area. Here we sought and found WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, JUNIPER TITMOUSE, ROCK WREN and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW.  Other species along Silver Creek drainage or on the rocky slopes were RED-TAILED HAWK, ACORN WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, ASH-THROATED and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD,  MEXICAN JAY, BEWICK'S WREN, BUSHTIT, PHAINOPEPLA, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, CANYON TOWHEE and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

After breakfast we headed into Rodeo, NM in search of BARN OWL and BENDIRE'S THRASHER, both of which we found, the latter after considerable effort. Among the 20 or so species that we saw during the search were SWAINSON'S HAWK, SCALED and GAMBEL'S QUAIL, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

It was quiet by the time we reached Cave Creek, but this was more of a scouting mission for owling. Some species noted were SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and HEPATIC TANAGER. 

A check of the feeders at Utterback's for Lucifer was unproductive. Hummers were few and far between in the heat of the day -- we saw BROAD-BILLED, BLUE-THROATED, MAGNIFICENT and  BROAD-TAILED. We also had close up views of VERDIN and LUCY'S WARBLER.

We headed to higher elevations to search for OLIVE WARBLER, and a search it was. Eventually we had very close views of a low foraging male. We got the runaround again from VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and managed only brief flying glimpses. VIWA 2, Birders 0. We saw more BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, MEXICAN CHICKADEES, PYGMY NUTHATCHES and RED-FACED WARBLERS.

Our evening owling session was successful when, after a long vigil, we were rewarded with a good look at FLAMMULATED OWL. We had to wait a long time for the bird to become active (they wait until it is really dark). We tracked the bird and reached a point where the sound varied from side to side depending on which way we faced. Whenever this happens the bird has to be directly above you, but it took a while for that realization to dawn. Sure enough, there was the bird, right above our heads! During the search, many WHIP-POOR-WILLS were calling.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Wednesday, May 31, 2000

Species List

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

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