Species List

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

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

Friday, September 1, 2000
Day 1 of 2 days with Bob and Toni Hartman from Silver Spring, MD. We spent a pleasant and very successful day of target birding in the Huachucas. Our possibilities for the morning were Northern Pygmy-Owl, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Cassin's Vireo and Botteri's Sparrow. For various reasons I figured that we'd find only 2 of them, at best 3.

I had noted a few days ago that BOTTERI'S SPARROWS in Garden Canyon were not singing, but I was hoping that the previous night's rain was the culprit. However, that didn't seem to be the case because in two hours of searching starting at dawn this morning, we heard only 2 singing birds. It's entirely possible that the birds were subdued because of hunters (Dove season started this morning). There were plenty of "hunters" out there shooting those highly prized, deliciously tasty and filling MOURNING DOVES. Is there a more moronic way to get your entertainment? If I have offended anyone, it's entirely intentional.

We worked hard on the sparrows and eventually had decent 'scope looks, but it certainly wasn't the "gimme" that I had hoped it would be. We moved into the oaks along the stream where I soon found out that recent rains have swelled the flow considerably.   As an ear birder, I find even the slightest  extraneous noises pretty infuriating, and to me the water noise today might just as well have been Niagara Falls. We moved into a quieter side canyon and immediately encountered a mixed flock. I heard the song of a CASSIN'S VIREO and we were soon able to see the bird foraging at close range   This was my first migrant of the fall season and a bird I had thought we probably wouldn't find. There were at least 3 of them, perhaps 4 or more. Targeting migrants is always a tough proposition, so this was a nice bonus. Our next target was DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, already on the move and getting thin on the ground now, and not calling much to boot. More in hope than expectation, I gave my feeble imitation of the flycatcher's plaintive whistle and lo and behold, we got an answer! However, that was pretty much the only call the bird gave and we spent the next 30 minutes trying to track it down. Eventually, our persistence paid off as we picked it up by movement in some dense oak vegetation.

We moved higher into the pines in search of NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL and located one after about an hour of searching. However, finding it is only part of the solution, now we had to see it. We eventually tracked the bird to the very top of a dead tree where it stayed for 5 minutes. Toni got to see it but the bird flew a long way before Bob was able to get into position. Drat! Now we had to find it all over again, which fortunately was the case. This time I was able to run back to the vehicle and get the scope so we all enjoyed great views. As things turned out, we were able to find all four targets, and we headed back to town for a break well pleased with our efforts.

Among the 50+ species that we recorded during the morning were GREATER ROADRUNNER, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED and SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, many PAINTED REDSTARTS and NASHVILLE WARBLERS, RUFOUS-CROWNED,  LARK & CHIPPING (back in numbers) SPARROWS, HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS and BLUE GROSBEAK.

After lunch we looked for 3 hummers - Berylline, Lucifer and White-eared. As expected, although the rarest of our targets, BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRD turned out to be the easiest. A trip to Ramsey Canyon soon produced a female sitting on the nest. She occasionally left to visit a feeder or perch in a tree.

Next stop was Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon where a fairly short vigil at the public viewing site resulted in two sightings of a male LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD. This bird consistently makes very brief feeder visits but we were lucky enough to get 45 seconds worth. At the controlled access site we had to put in almost 2 hours before we finally got a good long look at a beautiful male WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD. A good end to a successful day. Other hummers present in numbers were BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S and RUFOUS (scads!). We also saw several MAGNIFICENT and BLUE-THROATED, many BROAD-TAILED, and 1 female CALLIOPE. Toni also saw VIOLET-CROWNED, an infrequent visitor here.

Saturday, September 2, 2000
Out again today with Bob and Toni Hartman from Silver Spring, MD. Our targets for the morning were Zone-tailed Hawk, Montezuma Quail, Common Poorwill, Thick-billed Kingbird and Five-striped Sparrow. Another early start (3:00am) for California Gulch paid off with 3-COMMON POORWILLS sitting on the Ruby Road, although only one was seen reasonably well. During a roadside stop we heard Common Poorwill calling and had a brief encounter with a couple of WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS, one of which  flew pretty close to us.

With the daylight we turned our attention to Montezuma Quail but failed to find one despite looking diligently along the Ruby and California Gulch Roads, both coming and going. I see them on about 60% of visits to this area, but today was in the other 40% category. Happily, even though it's now late in their season, we quickly found 2 singing FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS and were able to get a 'scope look at a perched, singing and preening bird. Although we didn't stay long in the gulch we recorded 25+ species including CHIPPING SPARROW (back in numbers here too) a calling GRAY FLYCATCHER (also a singing bird on Ruby Road), ASH-THROATED & VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, NASHVILLE and WILSON'S WARBLERS, SUMMER and WESTERN TANAGERS, BLUE GROSBEAK and VARIED BUNTING.

Next stop was Kino Springs where I heard THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD but, inexplicably, we were unable to locate it. CASSIN'S, WESTERN and TROPICAL KINGBIRDS were easily seen (Murphy's Law). We had checked many TVs throughout the morning and we checked a few more here, but couldn't turn any of them into a Zone-tailed. Other birds here included 2 very noisy GRAY HAWKS, COOPER'S HAWK, COMMON MOORHEN, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO (still singing, do they ever quit?) and SUMMER TANAGER.

At the Roadside Rest Area in Patagonia we had a hard time getting good looks at a couple of THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS but we eventually succeeded. There was some interaction between the kingbirds and a BRONZED COWBIRD, but it wasn't clear to me whether or not the kingbirds fed the cowbird. A couple of GRAY HAWKS were soaring and calling and migrant WARBLING VIREO and WILSON'S WARBLERS were present.

We finished the morning with a brief visit to the Paton's yard where VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD was easy to see, always a delight. Three out of five target birds seen, now it was time for some sleep!

Our evening owling session began well when we saw a WHIP-POOR-WILL sitting in the road, something that doesn't occur often (at least to me!). Better still, with a little effort and persistence we were able to get good looks at both our target WHISKERED and WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS (an excellent walk away look at the Western). Owling is so capricious! I guess that's why it's more of an art than a science.

Sunday, September 3, 2000
Out today with Pierre Howard from Atlanta, GA in search of Rufous-capped Warbler. Since I start a two week tour tomorrow, I originally hadn't planned to work today so I was hoping for a short morning. As it turned out, we could not have scripted it better!

I was up at 3:30am and on the road at 4:20 to meet Pierre at 5:00 at the entrance to French Joe Canyon. After a drive in the dark (COMMON POORWILL) and a brisk hike starting in half-light, we settled down to wait above the upper spring at 6:15am. Our timing was perfect and after only 5 minutes I heard the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singing from the spring area. We headed down there and had some wonderful views of the bird perching, singing, bathing, and foraging on the ground. I've said this before, but if ever a bird didn't care about your presence, it's this guy. He just goes about his business regardless, and sometimes that coincides with you being near it, sometimes it doesn't. I had convinced Pierre to bring his camera along and he was able to get  many shots. Hopefully, there'll be at least one good one in there for my scrapbook! We left the bird still singing at 6:45am. and I was back home by 8:30. Such a deal.

I recorded only 23 species on this brief visit, among them were WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, CRISSAL THRASHER, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, many HEPATIC and a few WESTERN TANAGERS.

Monday, September 4, 2000
Day 1 with Birdfinders. Today was the start of a two week tour of California with 15 participants of a Birdfinders, UK group (my 5th tour with them). I'm co-leading with Birdfinders owner, Vaughan Ashby, and we will be visiting the Southern and Northern parts of the state. For an overview, see the summary (which includes a comparison with the 1999 tour), and the itinerary and species List.

On time mid-afternoon arrivals at LAX (me from Tucson and the group from London) and fast immigration clearance allowed us to get underway quickly. Heading north on 101 came the first roadside species like WHITE-TAILED KITE, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, ROCK and MOURNING DOVES, STARLING and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE.

We reached our overnight destination of Ventura with about 90 minutes of daylight remaining and spent that time in Marina Park where we saw a number of common species including 1-WESTERN GREBE, many DOUBLE-CRESTED and 3-PELAGIC CORMORANTS, scads of BROWN PELICANS, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, MARBLED GODWIT, WHIMBREL, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, 1-WANDERING TATTLER, WILLET, BLACK TURNSTONE, at least 10 SURFBIRDS, HEERMANN'S and WESTERN GULL'S, ELEGANT and FORSTER'S TERNS, BELTED KINGFISHER, BLACK PHOEBE, AM. CROW, BARN SWALLOW and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD. Offshore were 20 or so SOOTY SHEARWATERS and a PARASITIC JAEGER. We also managed to turn a sleeping Brown Pelican into an immature Blue-footed Booby.

Tuesday, September 5, 2000
Day 2 with Birdfinders. Today we headed out on an Island Packers Trip to Santa Cruz Island. Our primary target birds were Island Scrub-Jay, of course, and Allen's Hummingbird. While waiting to board we birded around Ventura Harbor seeing many of the same species as last evening plus SANDERLING, RUDDY TURNSTONE, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD.

Under clear skies we departed the harbor at 9:12am. With only slightly choppy conditions the boat made excellent time and even with a brief stop for a passenger drop at Scorpion Landing, we arrived at Prisoner's Harbor at 11:20am. Among the species during the journey were BRANDT'S & PELAGIC CORMORANTS, PINK-FOOTED & SOOTY SHEARWATERS and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE.

After the fairly significant unloading/loading times, we managed about 3 hours of birding on the island. ISLAND SCRUB-JAYS were very easy to find at the landing site and were very confiding, allowing close up shots for those who wanted photos. Everyone was struck by the deep blue color and they are indeed a handsome bird, different in plumage and voice from their mainland cousins. Allen's Hummingbird was quite a different story and we spent much of our time at a flowering Acacia making sure that we saw a male well. There were many female/immature types to sort through but at least two adult ALLEN'S and one adult RUFOUS were present.

It was quite a warm day and bird activity wasn't particularly high, and we recorded only 25 species on the island including OSPREY, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, CALIFORNIA QUAIL, BELTED KINGFISHER, ACORN WOODPECKER, N. FLICKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HOUSE WREN, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, SPOTTED TOWHEE, SONG SPARROW, WESTERN TANAGER and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD.

Conditions were very smooth on the return journey. We departed at 3:45pm but the boat was delayed somewhat by pickups at Scorpion Landing and we didn't dock back in Ventura until 6:07pm. Not much in the way of birds on the way back but we did have an excellent close look at a fly-by adult POMARINE JAEGER with full "spoons". Back in the parking lot at the harbor we saw YELLOW and WILSON'S WARBLERS working the small trees and shrubs.

The drive north along 101 to our overnight destination of Buellton yielded WHITE-TAILED KITE, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK and AM. KESTREL.

Wednesday, September 6, 2000
Day 3 with Birdfinders. A cool, but very pleasant blue sky morning as we began our first real land birding along Alisal Road near Solvang. This is a sure fire place for YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE and we saw them almost immediately, just south of the Santa Ynez river. A CASSIN'S VIREO was singing but we failed to track it down before it disappeared.

The area near the river was alive with birds. Here, and along the road to the County Park, we found a good number of species -- GREAT BLUE HERON, GREAT EGRET, a fly-by WOOD DUCK, TURKEY VULTURE, RED-TAILED HAWK, a soaring then perched GOLDEN EAGLE, AM. KESTREL, KILLDEER, MOURNING DOVE, CALIFORNIA QUAIL, BELTED KINGFISHER, ACORN & NUTTALL'S WOODPECKERS, N. FLICKER, BLACK PHOEBE, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, AM. CROW, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, OAK TITMOUSE, BEWICK'S WREN, PHAINOPEPLA, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, STARLING, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, AM. ROBIN, N. MOCKINGBIRD, a singing CALIFORNIA THRASHER, YELLOW WARBLER, CALIFORNIA TOWHEE, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, HOUSE FINCH and LESSER GOLDFINCH.

By comparison, the activity at Nojoqui Falls County Park was very low. Eventually, however, we recorded many of the same species, managed to track down a couple of CASSIN'S VIREOS, and added DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKERS, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, BUSHTIT, HUTTON'S VIREO, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, HOUSE WREN, TOWNSEND'S, ORANGE-CROWNED YELLOW and WILSON'S WARBLERS, DARK-EYED JUNCO, SPOTTED TOWHEE and WESTERN TANAGER.

After a break in Santa Maria we continued on to Oceano where we birded the willows around the pond, the pines in the campground, and the small lake across the street. The total species count here was close to 50 with many new for the day including PIED-BILLED GREBE, DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT, GREEN HERON, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, GADWALL, CINNAMON and BLUE-WINGED TEAL, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, WESTERN, HERRING, RING-BILLED and CALIFORNIA GULLS,  RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, MARSH WREN, HERMIT WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, SONG & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and RED-WINGED (Bicolored) BLACKBIRD.

It was late when we reached our overnight destination of Morro Bay and out by the rock it was pretty chilly with poor light. Nevertheless, we did find our target BLACK OYSTERCATCHER. Also here were a WESTERN GREBE that we tried to make into a Clark's, a few offshore SOOTY SHEARWATERS, and a very elusive CANYON WREN eventually seen by all. 

Thursday, September 7, 2000
Day 4 with Birdfinders. We began our day at the bay overlook in Morro Bay State Park, seeing the usual common birds and our first AM. WHITE PELICANS and N. PINTAILS of the trip. It was quite chilly here and we soon moved on to Montaña de Oro State Park where we spent over 4 hours and recorded around 40 species.

MDO was pretty quiet and a little disappointing, at least from a personal standpoint. We did pick up a number of trip species including NORTHERN HARRIER, 2-PIGEON GUILLEMOTS (seen by scoping from the point), STELLER'S JAY, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, and many elusive WRENTITS, It's simply amazing how these birds can move through the chaparral and come really close, while remaining for the most part unseen!. We also got better looks at BLACK OYSTERCATCHER and CALIFORNIA QUAIL. However, perhaps the highlight for many was a rather tame BOBCAT.

After lunch in Morro Bay we drove 2 1/2 hours north to our overnight destination of Marina, near Monterey. Our final birding of the day was at Elkhorn Slough via the Moonglow Dairy access. We recorded about 40 species here in 1 1/2 hours. New trip species were RUDDY DUCK, AM. WIGEON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, N. SHOVELER, PEREGRINE FALCON, VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, SHORT & LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, WESTERN, LEAST and 3-PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, BLACK-NECKED STILT, AM. AVOCET, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, BONAPARTE'S GULL and SAVANNAH SPARROW. Driving back to the motel we added CANADA GOOSE.

Friday, September 8, 2000
Day 5 with Birdfinders. Today was a pelagic trip out of Monterey for everybody except yours truly. As I've mentioned, before, I'm not much of a sailor and the Santa Cruz Island trip is the limit of my endurance. The pelagic trip was successful with the highlights being a HORNED PUFFIN and a BLUE WHALE. Other new trip species were BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, NORTHERN FULMAR, BULLER'S SHEARWATER, WILSON'S, BLACK, ASHY and FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS, RED PHALAROPE, SABINE'S GULL, SOUTH POLAR SKUA, COMMON MURRE and CASSIN'S and RHINOCEROS AUKLETS.

I spent my day checking several locations south and north of Monterey. It was cool and very foggy as I began at the Carmel River mouth and bird activity was almost nil. Next I checked an area near Garapata creek where I had been told Lawrence's Goldfinches were breeding and present until recently. Unfortunately, the area was private property so I didn't proceed. I worked along Asilomar State Beach seeing COMMON MURRE, before heading north back to Marina. Here I  finally had some success at Locke-Padden Park where I saw TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS in the marsh. I finished up at Roberts Lake in Seaside before heading back to Monterey to meet the group.

We returned to Locke-Padden Park and, wouldn't you know it, almost all the blackbirds were gone, just a handful remained. We finished the day at Moss Landing Harbor with an unsuccessful search for Glaucous-winged Gull, seen here earlier in the week.

Saturday, September 9, 2000
Day 6 with Birdfinders. Today was a travel day to Yosemite but first we detoured to Santa Cruz to look for Marbled Murrelet. It was another very foggy morning and although much of the city was clear, Lighthouse Point on West Cliff Drive was socked in. Scanning the ocean was difficult to say the least, and lots of patience was required. After an hour or so the first MARBLED MURRELET was sighted and eventually we saw 9 birds. Also here were 60+ WESTERN GREBES, lots of SOOTY SHEARWATERS streaming by constantly, perhaps numbering as many as 10,000, numerous COMMON MURRES and 4-PIGEON GUILLEMOTS.

Next came the long drive to our overnight destination of Mariposa, punctuated by a few roadside birds including new for the trip CATTLE EGRET and WESTERN MEADOWLARK. After checking in we headed into Yosemite seeing COMMON MERGANSER (Merced River) and BAND-TAILED PIGEON along the way. We spent over 2 hours at McGurk Meadow where Great Gray Owl had been seen very recently, but alas our search was in vain and we couldn't repeat last year's success. The meadow was decidedly cold and birdless as dusk fell with only BROWN CREEPER, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and CHIPPING SPARROW added to our trip list.

Sunday, September 10, 2000
Day 7 with Birdfinders. We spent the day in Yosemite at Glacier Point, Westfall Meadow, Yosemite Valley and Chevron Meadow.

Glacier Point was fairly quiet when we arrived around 7:30am but before long the place was crawling with grockles (tourists in Britspeak). We spent several hours here and after a slow start saw some of the expected birds. At the first overlook shortly before the point we played peek-a-boo with a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER without ever getting good views. Also here were STELLER'S JAY, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, CASSIN'S FINCH and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER.

At the point proper a few of us saw a FOX SPARROW that quickly disappeared but, fortunately, we came across 4 others during the morning and some of them were singing. I briefly saw a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER that no one else caught up with, just a few ACORN WOODPECKERS instead. The next birds were a couple of TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES that perched up well in typical fashion for everyone to see. After this it was a long cat and mouse game with a very reticent MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER (I checked my encyclopedia and there was a picture of this particular individual under "skulker"). By way of compensation, while trying to see the warbler, we happened upon a very cooperative group of 7-BLUE GROUSE near the visitor's center. After a coffee break we resumed behind the visitor's center where the grouse were still hanging around and added a couple of noisy PILEATED WOODPECKERS, a very active HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER working low in typical fashion, and a BROWN CREEPER.

In the early afternoon we birded along the Westfall Meadow trail which is more open than McGurk Meadow and (in my limited experience) is usually birdier. Today, however, was a hot one and activity was pretty low. In the only mixed flock we found with MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER & DARK-EYED JUNCO, everyone had good looks at a constantly flitting GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. A few had a fleeting glimpse of another MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER that had obviously taken lessons from the earlier bird. Our main targets here were woodpeckers (none seen except for N. FLICKER) and PINE GROSBEAK, of which we found at least three, perched conveniently at the very top of a tree. (We saw 5 birds in the same location on last year's tour). A brief flyover of VAUX'S SWIFTS and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS plus BROWN CREEPER, AM, ROBIN and COMMON RAVEN were then all we saw until returning to the highway, where RED-TAILED & COOPER'S HAWKS and a fly-by CLARK'S NUTCRACKER provided a little excitement.

Our next stop was a short visit to the visitor's center at Yosemite Village before doing some more birding along the Merced River in Yosemite Valley. As we left the mass of humanity in the village, a check of the bridge for AMERICAN DIPPER was successful. There was a bird feeding very close to the spot we saw one last year, it's so nice when things go right! Along the river we found some more RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS and everyone was able to get good views. A potential Red-naped Sapsucker got away from us and a fly-by BAND-TAILED PIGEON went unseen by many. On the plus side, we had close up looks at the first WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER of the trip.

In the evening we ended up at Chevron Meadow where we had seen Great Gray Owl last year. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the bird on this night despite a 1 1/2 hour vigil as dusk fell. Birds here included BAND-TAILED PIGEON, HAIRY WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and HERMIT WARBLER

Monday, September 11, 2000
Day 8 with Birdfinders. In the morning we birded our way across the Sierra along Highway 120 and had great success. Leaving Mariposa we picked up the first LARK SPARROWS of the trip. A very fortuitous stop near the tunnel below Crane Flat for great views of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS also produced excellent looks at a group of 10 or so MOUNTAIN QUAIL, just below the wall on the side of the highway. Timing is indeed everything! Also working close to the road here was a  WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER. Our next stop at an old burn area produced a couple of male EVENING GROSBEAKS, always nice to see, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, several WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, and a brief look at LINCOLN'S and FOX SPARROWS.

Next, we began looking in earnest for Black-backed Woodpecker. Another stop near Tamarack Flat produced more MOUNTAIN QUAIL (just like waiting for a bus, they all come along together!) and our first CLARK'S NUTCRACKER of the day. Acting on a tip from Jennifer Green, a leader on the Monterey Pelagic, we checked the extensive burn area east of Tamarack Flat. After some time here we had great looks at a very cooperative BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER, ironically in a live tree right next to the road. In the same area we found a female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, PILEATED WOODPECKER, several CEDAR WAXWINGS and CASSIN'S FINCHES (feeding on what appeared to be a wild grape), LESSER GOLDFINCH, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and FOX SPARROW.

A brief stop at Yosemite Creek Canyon overlook finally gave everyone a close up look at CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, so far just a fly-by. A stop at Tuolumne meadow was somewhat disappointing with only a distant falcon (probable Prairie) that soon disappeared. Similarly, a stop at Tioga Pass was fairly birdless and we had to be content with the scenery.

Heading down the steep, east side escarpment of the mountain we made a side trip along Log Cabin Mine Rd where the vans had a little difficulty with the steep grades. Our search for Lewis's Woodpecker went unrewarded and we only had more looks at CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, CASSIN'S FINCH, and a brief glimpse of HERMIT THRUSH to show for our time and effort.

We ended the day at the south end of Mono Lake (South Tufa area) where the habitat and birdlife were just a tad different from our morning birding! Here we found N. HARRIER, AM. KESTREL, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, TREE SWALLOW, at least 10 SAGE THRASHERS, BREWER'S, SAGE, SONG & SAVANNAH SPARROWS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, WESTERN MEADOWLARK and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. On the water were plenty of EARED GREBES, thousands of RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and lots of CALIFORNIA GULLS.

Tuesday, September 12, 2000
Day 9 with Birdfinders. A early start in darkness to look for Grouse near Crowley Lake. A group of British birders who we bumped into had seen them yesterday so we checked that spot first without success. During the search, one van saw PRAIRIE FALCON. We then headed to the spot where we had found them last year and, sure enough, here we found a total of 28 SAGE GROUSE feeding in an open meadow. Among the other species in the area were MALLARD, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, KILLDEER, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, BARN SWALLOW, WESTERN MEADOWLARK and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD. At the nearby Hot Springs were CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, BREWER'S SPARROW and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. Heading south along Highway 395 we came across our first PINYON JAYS of the trip

After breakfast in Bishop we headed into the middle elevation section of the White Mountains to pickup JUNIPER TITMOUSE, almost always a bitch to see well. Cedar Flat is a good place but with such a large group, it was inevitable that we would have to find the bird multiple times before everyone got a decent look. Very frustrating! Other birds here were COOPER'S HAWK, N. FLICKER, more PINYON and a few WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, COMMON RAVEN, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BUSHTIT and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Next, we checked Tinemaha Reservoir south of Big Pine which turned out to be quite productive despite the limited access. New for the trip were no less than 26-CLARK'S GREBES, in fact, we couldn't find a Western. Also present were several EARED GREBES and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, RUDDY DUCK, AM. WIGEON, GADWALL, REDHEAD, circa 350 AM. WHITE PELICANS, AM. COOT, 1-BONAPARTE'S GULL, 4-CASPIAN, 10-COMMON (first of trip) and 2-FORSTER'S TERNS, BELTED KINGFISHER, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED, VIOLET-GREEN, BARN and CLIFF SWALLOWS.

Continuing south on Highway 395 we saw N. HARRIER and PRAIRIE FALCON. Our final birding of the day, before heading to our overnight destination of Mojave, was in the Kern River Valley along Highway 178. We had to work hard to stir up a ROCK WREN, but we got an extra reward with a couple of GOLDEN EAGLES floating motionless over the rocks and finally perching. Other species included CALIFORNIA QUAIL, 3-NUTTALL'S WOODPECKERS, our first SAY'S PHOEBE of the trip, PINYON & WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, CACTUS & BEWICK'S WRENS, PHAINOPEPLA, MOCKINGBIRD, HOUSE FINCH, CALIFORNIA TOWHEE and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD.

Wednesday, September 13, 2000
Day 10 with Birdfinders. Our schedule for today was a trip to Jawbone Canyon to look for Le Conte's Thrasher, followed by our first "leisurely" birding of the trip looking for migrants in California City and Galileo.

After a short drive from Mojave we arrived in Jawbone Canyon around 7:30am. After lots of looking and listening from the roadside there was no sign of any thrashers. We found them easily here last year with zero effort, however, today we had to do things the hard way. With 17 people we were able to string ourselves out quite well across the wash and get pretty good coverage. We began walking north from the "black pipe" and after only 5 minutes came across several LE CONTE'S THRASHERS, probably 4 in total. A couple of them perched up and we enjoyed 'scope views. A good start to the day. Other species included CALIFORNIA QUAIL, SAY'S PHOEBE, SAGE SPARROW, WESTERN TANAGER and WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

After breakfast at the Omelet House in California City we headed into Central Park. It was already pretty hot but the trees provided shade for us as well as migrants and it was quite tolerable. We spent a couple of hours here and recorded 30+ species without seeing anything spectacular. I was a little surprised to see 3-RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES at this low elevation so early in the season. New for the trip were COMMON MOORHEN, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, and BLACK-AND-WHITE & BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS. Other species included COOPER'S and RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, BELTED KINGFISHER, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, TREE SWALLOW, YELLOW, ORANGE-CROWNED & WILSON'S WARBLERS and LARK SPARROW.

Our 4 hour session at the Silver Saddle Resort in Galileo was very productive. We had met Jon Dunn in California City and acting on a tip from him we soon found 3-LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS near the entrance - thanks Jon!. This was a bird that we had already kissed off and it was again a surprise to me that they have moved to such a location so early in the season. Hey, what do I know. The temperature was now well over 100 but the green lawns, trees and flowing and spraying water at Silver Saddle made it seem less than that. New birds here were BLACKPOLL WARBLER (the first that I have seen in fall plumage, foraging on the ground), NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and SUMMER TANAGER. Other species from 30+ recorded were SNOWY EGRET, GREEN HERON, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, BELTED KINGFISHER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, WARBLING VIREO, YELLOW, WILSON'S & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, LINCOLN'S, SONG & FOX SPARROWS and WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

Thursday, September 14, 2000
Day 11 with Birdfinders. Today was mostly a travel day to Indio for a day at the Salton Sea tomorrow. We checked California City and Galileo again before leaving and then spent several hours in the afternoon at Big Morongo Preserve.

California City held nothing new but we did get better views at 3-BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS. New trip species at Galileo were BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, SWAINSON'S THRUSH and NASHVILLE WARBLER. Also present and not seen yesterday was PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER.

After a fairly long drive punctuated by GREATER ROADRUNNER and a pretty disgusting breakfast in Barstow, we arrived at Big Morongo Preserve south of Yucca Valley just after 1:00pm. We had hoped for Lawrence's Goldfinch here but no such luck. At the host's feeders we saw lots ANNA'S and BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS, plus what appeared to be a hybrid ANNA'S x COSTA'S. Also at the feeders and/or water were MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, LESSER GOLDFINCH and VESPER SPARROW. Activity in the preserve was very low which, given the heat, was hardly surprising. However, we did add VERDIN,  LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER to our trip list. Other species included NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER, SAY'S PHOEBE, WARBLING VIREO, YELLOW, TOWNSEND'S, WILSON'S and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, SUMMER TANAGER and LARK SPARROW.

Friday, September 15, 2000
Day 12 with Birdfinders. Today was our day to bird the Salton Sea and wouldn't you know it, the day was a scorcher. The temperature was over 100 degrees for most of the day, and up to 115 degrees in the afternoon. Yikes! Thank god for the cafe/sports bar in Calipatria which we patronized twice to avail ourselves of air conditioning and sustenance! We started at the north end of the sea, drove down the east side and then worked our way across the south end, finishing up in Brawley in the evening. Despite the heat which obviously affected our diligence, we managed to find 106 species for the day.

We began on Lincoln Road which didn't have as much activity as I had hoped for. We recorded 40 species here with only BLACK-SKIMMER, LAUGHING GULL and ABERT'S TOWHEE new for the trip. Among the other species were PIED-BILLED, EARED, WESTERN and CLARK'S GREBE'S, both PELICANS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, CASPIAN TERN, COMMON MOORHEN, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, VERDIN and SAGE SPARROW.

At the Salton Sea State Recreation Area we saw our first GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE of the trip. Ironically, the bird was missing its tail! Other birds here included HEERMANN'S GULL (uncommon at the sea) and COMMON TERN.

It was very hot by the time we reached the Wister Unit but we added numerous COMMON GROUND-DOVES, a panting OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and an AMERICAN REDSTART to the trip list. Also here were VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA, CACTUS & MARSH WRENS and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. Along Nofsinger Road we added SNOWY PLOVER and LARGE-BILLED SAVANNAH SPARROW. Alcott Road produced 3-WOOD STORKS in with a slew of GREAT EGRETS. On Sinclair Road we picked up scads of WHITE-FACED IBIS in with an equal number of CATTLE EGRETS. This is a great place for BURROWING OWL but the heat was apparently too much for them and we saw just one bird!

After lunch and a cool-down we checked Garst Road where 3-SNOW GEESE definitely looked out of place. Did they ever leave or are they early returnees? In the pools here with the geese were hundreds of BLACK and 4-GULL-BILLED TERNS. The end of Garst over the bridge is a good place for YELLOW-FOOTED GULL and we found one there along with a lone FRANKLIN'S GULL. Other species here included PEREGRINE FALCON, GREATER & LESSER YELLOWLEGS, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WESTERN & LEAST SANDPIPERS, BLACK-BELLIED & SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, BLACK-NECKED STILT, AM. AVOCET, CALIFORNIA GULL and CASPIAN & FORSTER'S TERNS.

At the NWR Headquarters area we turned up our only 2-LESSER NIGHTHAWKS and the first GAMBEL'S QUAIL of the trip. The nighthawks were seen well by all but the quail were just fleeting glimpses for a few. Other species here were COMMON GROUND-DOVE, CACTUS WREN, VERDIN, MOCKINGBIRD, YELLOW WARBLER and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

After another cool-down session back in Calipatria we headed out to Las Flores Drive in Brawley for a few species that are much more common in Arizona. This is a traditional spot but may not be so for much longer as many of the Date Palms have been felled, perhaps in preparation for some new construction. Because of this I thought we might miss GREAT HORNED OWL but a couple of them appeared near dusk from a nearby dense tree. We added WHITE-WINGED & INCA DOVES and GILA WOODPECKER and managed good looks at a flock of GAMBEL'S QUAIL. It was still pretty warm around 7:00pm as we drove south to El Centro for the night, I never thought I'd be glad to see El Centro!

Saturday, September 16, 2000
Day 13 with Birdfinders. Another very warm day of which (thankfully) we only had to spend part of in the eastern desert. We began near Sheldon Reservoir looking for Crissal Thrasher. Our search was unsuccessful and we found nothing new except that a few had glimpses at BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER. Other birds in the area were CATTLE EGRET, GREEN HERON, WHITE-FACED IBIS, AM. KESTREL, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, KILLDEER, CASPIAN TERN, GAMBEL'S QUAIL, MOURNING DOVE, BLACK PHOEBE, VERDIN, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, HORNED LARK, ORANGE-CROWNED & YELLOW WARBLERS, LARK SPARROW and WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

Our next stop was Anza-Borrego State Park where we birded only at the visitor's center to pick up a few more desert species. Our efforts in the heat were successful and we added 2-COSTA"S HUMMINGBIRDS, 3-BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS and 2-BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS. Seen by one person was a probable BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW.

Now it was time to head into the mountains but, even here, the town of Julian was quite warm. Still, the Apple pie was welcome. Around town we saw BAND-TAILED PIGEON, ACORN and NUTTALL'S WOODPECKERS, N. FLICKER, BLACK PHOEBE, STELLER'S JAY, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, AM. CROW,  MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, new for the trip PYGMY NUTHATCH, BUSHTIT, HOUSE WREN, PHAINOPEPLA, HOUSE FINCH, DARK-EYED JUNCO, CHIPPING SPARROW and WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

Although Cuyamaca Lake was crowded on this weekend day, we were able to see a good number of species and add a few more to our trip list, steadily increasing at a decreasing rate!. As we arrived the skies were active with VAUX'S and WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, both in good numbers, along with VIOLET-GREEN, N. ROUGH-WINGED and CLIFF SWALLOWS. New trip birds on the lake were CANVASBACK and RING-NECKED DUCK.

The complete list at the lake was:
Pied-billed Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Great Egret, Osprey, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Vaux's & White-throated Swifts, Acorn Woodpecker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Cedar Waxwing, Western Bluebird, European Starling, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Cliff Swallows, Song Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak and Brewer's Blackbird.

After a brief stop at Mt. Laguna where we had good views of PYGMY NUTHATCH, we birded our way down Kitchen Creek Road looking for Black-chinned Sparrow. We checked multiple locations without success before heading to our overnight destination of San Ysidro, south of San Diego near the Mexican border.

Sunday, September 17, 2000
Day 14 with Birdfinders. A very foggy morning that miraculously cleared by the time we reached Otay Lake. I talked up how difficult and time consuming it was going to be to get good views of CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER, yet it was almost the first bird we saw and with 'scope views to boot. Go figure! We found a total of five during our time here. Last year we had double that number but it took much longer to get good views. [I've had very good results with the Gnatcatcher here over the years, although not quite a 100% success rate. That honor goes to Big Canyon in Newport Back Bay.] Activity was pretty low here and we failed to see Bell's Sage Sparrow. Present were AM. KESTREL, BELTED KINGFISHER, BUSHTIT, WRENTIT, LESSER GOLDFINCH, HOUSE FINCH, HORNED LARK, CALIFORNIA THRASHER, CALIFORNIA TOWHEE, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, SAVANNAH, SONG and LARK SPARROWS.

After breakfast we headed to Tijuana Slough NWR for CLAPPER RAIL. Our timing was good (high tide) but we managed only fleeting glimpses of 2 birds although we heard perhaps as many as 10. On the ocean side of Seacoast Drive was our only SURF SCOTER of the trip.

Over on 13th street in Imperial Beach we tried unsuccessfully to rustle up a Wilson's Phalarope from the many RED-NECKED PHALAROPES.

Along the Silver Strand in Coronado (South Bay Marine Biological Study Area) I was absolutely amazed to see and hear a CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER in a tiny patch of scrub. Surely they didn't breed here so perhaps this was just some local movement. The area was fairly productive and we added RED KNOT, ROYAL TERN (a side by side comparison with ELEGANT TERN) and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. Other species here included BLACK SKIMMER, both DOWITCHERS and RUDDY TURNSTONE.

We moved on to the San Diego River and Estuary where we picked up LITTLE BLUE HERON and LESSER SCAUP among many common species.

Our final stop of the day was at the end of F street in Chula Vista to look for Brant. No luck with that but we managed to squeeze out one more trip species with 4-DUNLIN. Lots of RED KNOTS and SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS were present here.

Monday, September 18, 2000
Day 15 with Birdfinders. Today we birded our way back to LA starting in the Tijuana River Valley followed by stops at San Elijo Lagoon and Bolsa Chica. We added 3 species to the trip list.

Another foggy morning as we began birding near Dairy Mart ponds and we soon bailed out due to poor visibility and lots of traffic. The area near the sod farm was a little better and we picked up scads of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES feeding in the weeds. We worked along Monument Rd. where the birding was decidedly mediocre and, apart from an uncountable BLACK-THROATED MAGPIE-JAY seen by a few, we saw nothing new among the 30+ species seen.

After a drive north to Solana Beach we spent a couple of  hours at San Elijo Lagoon. A local birder mentioned that a REDDISH EGRET had been present yesterday and we managed to locate the bird. Our list here was: Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, N. Shoveler, Reddish Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Osprey, White-tailed Kite, Cooper's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Short-billed Dowitcher, Western Sandpiper, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Semipalmated & Snowy Plovers, Elegant Tern, Anna's Hummingbird, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, N. Mockingbird, California Thrasher, Marsh & House Wrens, Bushtit, Wrentit, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat and Spotted & California Towhees.

Continuing north we finished the day birding at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve near Huntington Beach where BELDING'S SAVANNAH SPARROWS were easy to see. Our hope here was for Least Tern and Wilson's Phalarope. No sign of the tern but long after most had given up walking the trails, a handful of us managed to find a lone WILSON'S PHALAROPE among the many RED-NECKED PHALAROPES scatted around the various ponds. Our list here was: Eared Grebe, Snowy & Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night-Heron, N. Harrier, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Red Knot, Western Sandpiper, Wilson's & Red-necked Phalaropes, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, Heermann's & Ring-billed Gulls, Caspian, Royal, Elegant, Common & Forster's Terns, Rock Dove and Savannah Sparrow.

Tuesday, September 19, 2000
Day 16 and last day with Birdfinders. We had until early afternoon available for birding before heading to the airport. The original plan was to bird on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, expecting that we may still need Spotted Dove, Allen's Hummingbird and California Gnatcatcher. We decided to bird here anyway despite the fact that we only need SPOTTED DOVE, easily seen at our first stop of Banning Park. Activity was low and migrants were hard to come by in the park. Eventually we saw YELLOW, ORANGE-CROWNED, TOWNSEND'S, HERMIT and WILSON'S WARBLERS and WESTERN TANAGER.

After a brief detour to find ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD for someone who missed the trip to Santa Cruz Island, we moved on to a foggy Point Vicente. Nevertheless, we managed to see numerous BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS working not too far offshore. While here we witnessed an interesting occurrence. A fishing boat was fairly close to shore and was surrounded by various Gulls and Terns. Along came a PARASITIC JAEGER which somehow managed to take some bait and was reeled onto the boat. The bird was freed and released and soon began flying around again, apparently none the worse for its experience!

In the canyon above Forrestal Drive we had some difficulty locating RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, and even more difficulty seeing the bird looking up into the sun. Among the few species present here were PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER and BLUE-GRAY and CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHERS.

We finished our birding at Averhill Park where the last bird of the trip was BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER.

Summary:
In 14 full days and 2 partial days we traveled almost 2500 miles and recorded 272 species (see the itinerary/species list for a complete list of species seen). More importantly, with the notable exception of Lawrence's Goldfinch, we saw most of the "California specialties" targeted within the tour itinerary. Of course, we missed numerous species such as Great Gray Owl, Mountain Bluebird and Black-chinned Sparrow, but I do not consider these "California specialties". The general strategy of Birdfinders tours is to focus on seeing the geographic specialties while at the same time seeing a decent overall number of species. For example, you wouldn't want to leave Yellow-billed Magpie and California Gnatcatcher behind. In that regard, the tour was very successful.

Compared to the 1999 Tour (see report and itinerary/species list) which was 1 week later, migrants seemed a little harder to come by. This may or may not have been caused by the difference in timing. Temperatures this year were unseasonably high, both in the interior and on the coast. The hot weather could certainly be a factor, perhaps causing some birds to delay migration, although the presence of high elevation species already in the lowlands belies this.

Species seen on 2000 tour =  272, species seen on 1999 tour = 271.
Combined total for two years = 299.

26 species seen in 1999 but not in 2000:
Short-tailed Shearwater, Least Storm-Petrel, Brown Booby, Greater White-fronted Goose, American Bittern, Swainson's Hawk, Chukar, Arctic & Least Terns, Long-tailed Jaeger, Barn Owl Great Gray Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Red-naped Sapsucker, Gray & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Mountain Bluebird, Crissal Thrasher, Bank Swallow, Lawrence's Goldfinch, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Purple Finch, Virginia's Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Clay-colored Sparrow and Lazuli Bunting.

27 species seen in 2000 but not in 1999:
Black-vented Shearwater, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Snow Goose, Canvasback, Red-breasted Merganser, Reddish Egret, Wood Stork, Mountain Quail, Bonaparte's Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Marbled Murrelet, Horned Puffin, Inca Dove, Black-chinned & Allen's Hummingbirds, Lewis's, Black-backed & Pileated Woodpeckers, Dusky Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Cassin's Vireo, Hermit Thrush, Purple Martin, Evening Grosbeak, Northern Waterthrush, Fox Sparrow and Summer Tanager.

Wednesday, September 27, 2000
After a week of catching up and R & R, I ventured out this morning for my first birding in AZ for over three weeks. There are plenty of state birds around that I could go chasing after but instead I opted to check Patagonia Lake State Park. I hadn't visited there in a while and I also needed some September week 4 data for the lake.

Conditions were already somewhat warm and muggy when I started at 7:00am. The trails are a little overgrown with weeds here and there but are generally mud free. They have also been modified in a few places by the summer monsoons! I was hoping for lots of migrants but I didn't have much success in that regard. Several summer residents are still around and a few of the winter species have arrived.

By far the best birds were a TRICOLORED HERON and 2 first winter SABINE'S GULLS. Both are rare enough in Arizona that they are not guaranteed to be annual, and both were new location birds for me bringing my list of species seen at the state park to 220. The heron was in the marsh at the east end of the lake hanging out with a few BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS and a dozen or so CINNAMON TEAL. The gulls were at the west end of the lake that I fortunately checked just before leaving. I felt sorry for them as they continually dodged a speedboat towing a water skier and a couple of people on jet skis.

Flycatchers were reasonably well represented with a N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET (I was surprised to it find singing), 2-DUSKY, 6-GRAY, a few VERMILION and 6-ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES, and many noisy CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS.

COMMON YELLOWTHROATS were absolutely abundant throughout the east end marsh along with many wintering/migrant MARSH WRENS and a few SORAS and VIRGINIA RAILS. Also in the marsh were GREAT EGRET and GREEN HERON.

Other migrants were OSPREY (regular here in fall and spring) seen hovering, diving and perched on a snag very close to me (a great look), RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (also a regular but uncommon migrant here), BELTED KINGFISHER and WESTERN TANAGER. Many SUMMER TANAGERS were still around and I saw 1-BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

BARN SWALLOWS were abundant over the lake which held PIED-BILLED GREBE, several DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, RUDDY DUCK and N. PINTAIL. For the first time that I can remember in quite some time, I didn't see Neotropic Cormorant.

My full list here was: Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Great Egret, Tricolored, Great Blue & Green Herons, Black & Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Sabine's Gull, Mourning & Inca Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Ladder-backed & Gila Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Gray, Dusky, Ash-throated & Vermilion Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Common Raven, Phainopepla, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Savannah, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Summer & Western Tanagers, Northern Cardinal, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

On the way home I made a brief stop at the Roadside Rest area where WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS still filled the skies. MEXICAN JAYS are a little out of habitat at this location but they were numerous and noisy today (I have about 12 records for them here). Also present was a NORTHERN PARULA, one or two seem to have been in the area for a while (I last saw one here on June 7). I noted a few species that won't be around much longer: 3-DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, 2-BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, a handful of WESTERN TANAGERS and a VARIED BUNTING. Also present were several LAZULI BUNTINGS, a species that regularly winters in the Patagonia area.

Friday, September 29, 2000
This morning I visited the Huachucas to look for signs of the irruption that seems to be happening in other areas of SE AZ (Western Scrub-Jays in the desert, Clark's Nutcrackers & early large numbers of Cassin's Finches in the Chiricahuas, for example). Other western states are seeing similar low elevation/southern occurrences of montane/northern birds.

Although I did not see anything startling, I did see a few things that might suggest an irruptive winter. Numerous flocks of PINE SISKINS (some up to100 in size) were present in Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons). They are pretty regular in October and November in these locations, so they are perhaps just a tad early but definitely in higher numbers. I was also very surprised with the numbers of STELLER'S JAYS and AM. ROBINS in Sawmill Canyon, both well above normal. Even more telling perhaps were the presence of STELLER'S JAY and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH very low down in Scheelite Canyon. My records show that the Jays rarely venture this low even in a hard winter, so their presence here in late September is unusual. These birds are trying to tell us something.

The temperature when I left town at 6:00am was 63 degrees (up to 90 by midday) but it was decidedly chilly when I arrived at Sawmill Canyon. I spent the first hour within 250 yards of the cabin, staying in the sun where the birds were! In addition to the previously mentioned unusually high numbers of Jays, Robins and Siskins, HEPATIC TANAGERS were also much in evidence with perhaps some 20 birds in close proximity.

Hearing the Jays kick up a fuss I went to investigate and found a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK perched at eye level about 100 yards from me. (This is a bird that I rarely see in Sawmill.) I had the bird in my binoculars (it was looking at me) when it suddenly lunged forward and made a beeline directly towards me, veering away at the last minute about 20 feet from me. Wow, what a view I had, and the bird looked pretty evil! I had an identical incident happen to me in the White Mountains a couple of years ago. Coincidence? Maybe.   

As the temperature warmed I headed up the main canyon and was surprised to see a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER fly over my head and land on the trunk of a large pine. The bad news for the sapsucker was that the tree was full of Steller's Jays and they aggravated the hell out of it and forced it away. This was my earliest sighting in Sawmill (previous was October 9, 1995) and ties my previous early date for SE AZ (in the Chiricahuas). The average arrival date in Sawmill is the first week in November. However, perhaps this individual will not winter here and is just passing through. Other species from the few I recorded were my first RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET of the fall, many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and several WESTERN TANAGERS. At one point I thought I heard a Buff-breasted Flycatcher but with the calls of so many Yellow-rumps to distract me, I couldn't be sure. Buff-breasted Flycatchers are normally gone by now but I do have a record from early October.

At the entrance to Scheelite Canyon I was greeted by a PAINTED REDSTART and a few STELLER'S JAYS. Save for BEWICK'S WREN, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and lots of  PINE SISKINS, that was all I saw for a while. I had to work moderately long and hard today to find SPOTTED OWL. I couldn't find one in the lower roost area so I soldiered on to the upper canyon where I eventually found a well tucked away individual that didn't even bother to open its eyes as I approached. Other birds included CRISSAL THRASHER (only my 3rd record for the canyon), RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (formerly regular in upper Scheelite but until today I'd seen none since 1996) and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER

Saturday, September 30, 2000
This morning I checked the Hwy 90 area of the San Pedro River. The temperature was very pleasant shortly after dawn but the overgrown trail along the river and lots of mosquitoes made for unpleasant birding conditions. I spent most of my time in the mesquite grassland on the west side of the river where most of the birds were.

Adding to my sightings of yesterday, a large flock of PINE SISKINS provided further evidence of an irruptive year in the making. A number of regular wintering species were also in evidence including NORTHERN HARRIER, LINCOLN'S, CHIPPING, VESPER, BREWER'S & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

In the weedy areas I found good numbers of BLUE GROSBEAKS and LAZULI BUNTINGS. Of note was a GILDED FLICKER, uncommon here at best. Continuing summer species were at least 3-GRAY HAWKS, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, many CASSIN'S and 1-WESTERN KINGBIRD, and a few SUMMER TANAGERS. Other species included COOPER'S HAWK, GREEN HERON, many COMMON GROUND-DOVES, GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, LESSER GOLDFINCH, and lots of COMMON YELLOWTHROATS and ABERT'S TOWHEES.

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

Species List

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

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