Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - March, 2001 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

Bottom of Page

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Saturday, March 31, 2001.

Sunday, March 4, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
On a beautiful late winter day I was out with Tom and Suki Thomsen from Stillwater, MN. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and the Paton's yard. Deja vu all over again as I scraped heavy frost from my windshield at 6:30am and changed into shorts by late morning. 

Although we were out for a day of casual birding, we did put in a little effort at Patagonia Lake to find the wintering trogon. Our reward for sloshing through the mud and water to reach the creek area came with some wonderful views of a male ELEGANT TROGON. The bird was working very low to the ground (as is often the case), mostly perching very still with the occasional foray to grab a bug in that inimitable, clumsy fashion. This is the third consecutive year that a trogon (perhaps the same bird) has overwintered here. It won't be too long before it's time to move back to the mountains (early to mid April is when most birds that wintered further south start to return).

Also seen along the creek and not elsewhere was a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (they consistently prefer this area). More payback for lots of marsh edge scanning came with good views of a foraging VIRGINIA RAIL. We watched a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE at close range as it perched in a seep willow and made several sorties to pick bugs off the surface of the water. 

A pleasant four hour session turned up 50 species including such regulars as NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, many EARED GREBES (some starting to acquire breeding plumage), a lone CINNAMON TEAL, a large group of mostly female COMMON MERGANSERS, several calling SORAS, COMMON MOORHEN, BELTED KINGFISHER, several DUSKY, GRAY and VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, a pair of singing and chasing HUTTON'S VIREOS, HERMIT THRUSH and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.

Kino Springs was very quiet in the early afternoon and we didn't come across any of the Williamson's Sapsuckers that have spent the winter here (they'll likely be moving on soon). At least one GRAY FLYCATCHER and a few CASSIN'S FINCHES continue near the club house. I was hoping for an early Gray Hawk, but that's all it was -- hope. At both ponds, several VERMILION FLYCATCHERS are back in residence. We recorded 30 species in 90 minutes.

A stop at the Roadside Rest area in Patagonia produced 2-BLACK-VULTURES and just one WHITE-THROATED SWIFT!

The Paton's yard was fairly busy and produced the usual array of species, but only a couple of brief visits from VIOLET-CROWNED and ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS in just over an hour. The wintering group of  circa 6-STELLER'S JAYS continue as do many CASSIN'S FINCHES. Also back in residence was a beautiful and fearless male VERMILION FLYCATCHER. Nice yard bird!

Tuesday, March 6, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days with Pierre Howard from Atlanta, GA who I birded with last September when we had good success with Rufous-capped Warbler. This trip, our target birds are Spotted Owl and Northern Pygmy-Owl.

Slow and steady work in Scheelite canyon produced a single SPOTTED OWL without too much effort this morning. After about 30 minutes we found a fairly well concealed bird tucked away off the trail. Fortunately, it was out in the open well enough for some photographs. After this initial success we spent over three hours and plenty of energy trying to locate a Pygmy-Owl without any success.

Conditions in the canyon were very spring-like, plenty of sunshine with just a light breeze from time to time. PAINTED REDSTARTS are back on territory, HUTTON'S VIREOS, BEWICK'S and CANYON WRENS and BROWN CREEPERS were all singing. Even the RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS that don't breed here were in full voice (a normal occurrence). A pair of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS called to each other from last year's nesting location.

Other residents were all three regular jays -- STELLER'S, WESTERN SCRUB and MEXICAN, NORTHERN FLICKER (uncommon here), a flock of twittering BUSHTITS, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, a few LESSER GOLDFINCHES and SPOTTED TOWHEE. Continuing wintering birds -- HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, DARK-EYED JUNCO and a large flock of PINE SISKINS rounded out our list of 19 species.

Wednesday, March 7, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Pierre Howard from Atlanta, GA.  Another winter storm finally worked its way inland today and we managed only about 3 1/2 hours of birding before the rain began. Even worse, we only had less than an hour of wind free birding. Despite covering plenty of ground we again had no success with Northern Pygmy-Owl. In fact, birds of any kind were hard to come by. 

Our "full" list: Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Acorn Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Say's Phoebe, Steller's,  Western Scrub & Mexican Jays, Loggerhead Shrike, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Mexican Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco.

Thursday, March 8, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days with Carmen Tarantino from Buffalo, NY. After yesterday's storm that left fresh snow in the Huachucas and other mountain ranges, it was a gorgeous, mostly blue sky day. Our main objective was to get some photos of Spotted Owl.

We began early in Scheelite Canyon and found a single SPOTTED OWL after only 45 minutes. Ironically, the bird was horribly backlit and mostly obstructed in a tree where I've never seen an owl before. Go figure! We waited around for better light but never really managed a decent shot.

In the afternoon we spent some time in the Sulphur Springs Valley where we did quite well on raptors with sightings of a soaring adult BALD EAGLE, a single HARRIS'S HAWK, several FERRUGINOUS HAWKS, numerous RED-TAILED HAWKS, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (always rare in SE AZ but this has been a good winter for them) and a couple of  PRAIRIE FALCONS. One of the Falcons flew low over us and called  loudly as we viewed a perched BARN OWL and GREAT HORNED OWL. 

Other birds in the valley included still plentiful SANDHILL CRANES, a couple of GREATER ROADRUNNERS, many MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, abundant LARK BUNTINGS and SAVANNAH, VESPER & BREWER'S SPARROWS.

We ended the day at Wilcox pond hoping for Ross's Goose but found only a single SNOW GOOSE. In addition to the regular common ducks we saw EARED GREBE, CINNAMON TEAL, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON MERGANSER and a large flock of circling SANDHILL CRANES.

Friday, March 9, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Carmen Tarantino from Buffalo, NY. Our main objective for the day was to find and photograph the Elegant Trogon at Patagonia Lake. After yet another ice scraping morning, the day turned out most cloudy and warm before becoming a little windy in the late afternoon.

We began in the San Rafael Valley where we saw a good looking rufous morph RED-TAILED HAWK and had excellent looks at many CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS in breeding plumage, conveniently perched on fence wires. After a half-hearted attempt for Baird's Sparrow we headed into Patagonia recording a couple of GREATER ROADRUNNERS and EASTERN BLUEBIRDS along the way. 

At Patagonia Lake State Park we braved the mud and water (up again after Wednesday's rain) and eventually had great success. After carrying his 35lb tripod and camera for some distance, Carmen abandoned it, deciding that seeing the trogon would be enough. We searched for quite some time before finally finding a very cooperative ELEGANT TROGON that provided some excellent eye-level views at very close range (12-15 feet!). Carmen couldn't resist the temptation and decided to retrieve his camera, some 300 yards away at this time. He ended up chest high in a backwater of Sonoita Creek for his trouble. Me, I was just knee high. However, his reward was some pretty decent photos of the trogon. 

Earlier, fairly close to where we found the trogon, we stumbled into the continuing LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH. We also heard and eventually tracked down a very elusive NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, my first of the season about 2 weeks later than usual. We bumped into local birders who had seen the previously reported Varied Thrush but we didn't look for that. Although we spent about 4 1/2 hours at the lake, our focused efforts on the trogon kept the species seen list down to only 37 including GREAT EGRET, 9-COMMON SNIPES, several DUSKY FLYCATCHERS and numerous VERMILION FLYCATCHERS. For the first time in a while I didn't see a Gray Flycatcher, although I did briefly hear one. 

We ended the day back in Scheelite Canyon trying to get a better shot of SPOTTED OWL than yesterday. Unfortunately, even though we found the bird, it was roosting in a location that  provides perhaps the worst photo opportunity of any regular roost site. Nevertheless, we did get a less unobstructed view than yesterday.  The only other bird of note in the canyon in the late afternoon was HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER.

Saturday, March 10, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Chuck and Kris Carlson from Dallas, TX. A most cloudy, cold and very blustery day not conducive to good birding. Snow is forecast down to 5000 feet tonight but we managed to avoid any precipitation during the day. Fortunately, we didn't have any target birds and we made the best of it with visits to Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and the Paton's yard.

Patagonia Lake was quite cold and inactive this morning and we didn't attempt to get to the creek to look for rarities. We recorded a scant 35 species in 2 1/2 hours with only fly-by WESTERN BLUEBIRDS of note (rare here). There was just a little evidence of spring with a single VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (first of the year of me, sometimes I see them in January); and a few fly-by YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS (only my fourth sighting here, 2 others in March and 1 in October ). However, still no migrant warblers -- this is the time for returning Cassin's Kingbird, Bell's Vireo and Lucy's and Yellow Warblers.

Kino Springs was considerably more active than Patagonia Lake, perhaps just because it was a little warmer by the time we arrived, and a 1 hour 45 minute session here produced 40 species. Four species of swallows were working over the first pond -- TREE,  VIOLET-GREEN, N. ROUGH-WINGED and CLIFF (a year first for me); and a pair of COMMON RAVENS were busily renovating their nest in the adjacent cottonwoods. Other birds around the first pond included LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, MARSH WREN, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and SPOTTED TOWHEE. The Club House area was much less active, new species here included GRAY FLYCATCHER and a flock of VESPER SPARROWS.

We finished up in the Paton's yard where an hour was very productive. Highlights were a couple of visits from VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD, a handful of STELLER'S JAYS, a male LAZULI BUNTING about 50% advanced into breeding plumage, a lone PINE SISKIN dwarfed and outnumbered by the many CASSIN'S FINCHES with which it was feeding, a skulking but eventually well seen GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, and a good sized flock of WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. 

As we left the Paton's, a beautiful HARLAN'S HAWK was perched in a cottonwood along the creek bed where it has been regular throughout the winter.

Monday, March 12, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
I have a few days to myself before I get busy again. This morning I spent some time on the San Pedro River (Hwy 90 area) where I haven't birded for some time. A calm and chilly start turned into a very pleasant day. 

Over the years I've noticed that leaf-out in the Sierra Vista area is usually significantly later than in the Patagonia and Nogales areas. Consequently, depending on species, there can be anywhere from one to three weeks difference in the arrival times of migrants and returning summer residents between the two locations. The vegetation along the river still has a definite wintry look and I didn't see any migrants at all today. However, VERMILION FLYCATCHERS are back in force and a few WHITE-WINGED DOVES were singing.

I began near the San Pedro House then walked south along the Del Valle Road, east down Garden Wash to the small (Black Phoebe) pond, south along the river, doubled back to the big (Kingfisher) pond, then north along the river and finally west back to the San Pedro House. 

Most of the activity was confined to the feeders around the house and the river immediately east of Kingfisher Pond. Even though I saw all the common sparrows except Brewer's, I was again struck by the reduced numbers as I walked through the grassland. This has been the case everywhere this winter. 

I recorded the following 44 species from 7:15-10:15am. Less common species here are shown bold.
Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Cooper's &  Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Great Horned Owl, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Dusky Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Am. Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Chipping, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Western Meadowlark.

Thursday, March 15, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
I had planned to visit French Joe Canyon yesterday but I decided to postpone due to the windy conditions. Today was much better so I ventured out to check on Rufous-capped Warbler. On this beautiful morning, I had the canyon to myself and was successful in finding the warbler with great looks to boot.

I left home shortly before 6:00am and entered the canyon at 6:20am. I was parked and underway hiking by 6:45am and around 7:30am I passed the "agave cairn"  which is typically the lowest reliable area for the warbler in winter. Conditions were calm and excellent for listening so I proceeded slowly up canyon at a rate that I figured would allow me to pick up any sound from the bird. I reached the upper spring at 8:00am where water is still running very strongly and producing lots of noise. 

Here it was decision time and I decided to gamble that the bird was still further up canyon. I took the "trail" along the north slope towards the dry waterfall in order to get away from the stream noise. For those of you that don't know this area, it's about a 40-45 degree hillside with lots of sharp rocks and loose ground material, making it very easy to fall. Even worse, if you do fall there's some real nasty stuff to greet you like agave and shin-dagger. Unfortunately, I've taken this trail more times than anyone should have to and I'm sure the time will come when I'll take a tumble. Nevertheless, you can get a great overview of the upper canyon from this vantage point as well as hear for a long way, so it's well worth the effort (as long as you don't fall, of course!). 

Indeed, my efforts were rewarded at 8:20am when I heard the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singing vigorously not far from my position. The bird was on the south slope immediately below the dry waterfall (this location is about 275-300 yards above the upper spring). However, try as I did, I couldn't catch a glimpse of the bird which eventually fell silent. About 15 minutes later I again heard singing, this time about 80 yards further down canyon and directly opposite my position, across canyon at eye level. The bird stayed in this spot and chipped occasionally and at 8:45am I finally saw it foraging close to the ground. A few minutes later it perched up in full sunlight and preened for a few minutes. Pity there was nobody to share the moment with!

Most of my winter sightings, in this and previous years, have been on the north slope of the canyon well below the upper spring. This is no doubt due to the winter sun angle that bathes this area in sunlight. However, as the sun moves north the lower area of the canyon doesn't get the sun until later in the day. Today, the lower canyon was very cool and inactive, whereas the upper area was warm and sunny, and I suspect the warbler may be moving into "summer mode" when it spends much of its time around the spring and higher. However, we still have many weeks where cold and snowy weather is possible so it may not be prudent to expect consistent behavior until the end of May.

Warbler apart, I was hoping for some migrant activity but I didn't have any success in that regard. There were some signs of change though. Many noisy WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS and a few VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS are back on territory at the upper cliffs. BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS were perched up and in full voice and I also heard the "who cooks for you" song from a few WHITE-WINGED DOVES.

Not too many birds overall though - my full list was as follows: 
White-winged Dove, White-throated Swift, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Scrub-Jay, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Rufous-capped Warbler, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees and Pyrrhuloxia.

Saturday, March 17, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days with 5 members of the Eaton family, 2 from Ohio, 2 from New Mexico and 1 from Tucson. A partly cloudy, calm and very pleasant day of casual birding. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and the Paton's.

At Patagonia Lake we stayed dry and didn't look for any of the rarities along the creek. However, an AMERICAN BITTERN along the marsh edge was a good consolation. I caught only the briefest of glimpses on our outbound walk but careful scanning on the return enabled us to pick up the bird as it sat motionless, looking for prey, and we watched it catch a frog. They are quite scarce as migrants in SE AZ and I only have a handful of spring and fall records. A small flock of RING-BILLED GULLS and numerous singing YELLOW WARBLERS were the only other migrants/returning species detected on this day. VERMILION FLYCATCHERS are now very common but I saw only one empid -- GRAY FLYCATCHER. Judging by song, the number of N. BEARDLESS TYRANNULETS has increased considerably since my last visit. We managed to track down just one of them.

Lately it seems that my visits to Kino Springs are around midday when activity is low, and that was the case again today. We had good views of a pair of LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, a fly-by GREEN HERON and a soaring COOPER'S HAWK along with around 25 other common species.

At the Patagonia Roadside Rest, only the fact that we threatened to leave produced a good look at WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. 

A visit to the Paton's was very productive with the highlight being a beautiful male MONTEZUMA QUAIL, an out of habitat species that seems to have become regular here in recent months. On the hummingbird front, a recently arrived male BROAD-BILLED was doing battle with a couple of VIOLET-CROWNED whenever they met. They had better get used to each other, or it's going to be a long summer. Best bird for this location was a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. The wintering group of STELLER'S JAYS and CASSIN'S FINCHES continue.

Our list for the day was as follows:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Am. Bittern, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed & Violet-crowned Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Gray Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Steller's Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Cassin's & House Finches, Orange-crowned & Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, White-crowned, White-throated & Chipping Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, March 18, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with the Eatons. We visited Whitewater Draw at the south end of Sulphur Springs Valley and the highway 90 crossing of the San Pedro River. This was perhaps the warmest day for some time with a temperature close to 80 degrees in the afternoon.

Although conditions at Whitewater Draw were very calm and birds were far from plentiful, we did see a few birds of interest. The main willow grove had a GREAT HORNED OWL roosting in plain sight, catching the early morning sun. A pair of BENDIRE'S THRASHERS were near a nest site. A couple of interacting falcons suddenly split and the one I followed turned out to be a PEREGRINE FALCON. I thought the other was a Prairie Falcon but I was unable to relocate it. Resting on the water was a flock of 40 migrating RING-BILLED GULLS. A few SANDHILL CRANES are still in the area along with a GREAT EGRET that has been here for a few months. SAVANNAH SPARROWS were plentiful, VESPER, BREWER'S & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and LARK BUNTINGS were scarce. On nearby Lee Road we saw a perched up CRISSAL THRASHER.

It was quite warm by the time we reached the San Pedro close to midday and bird activity was very low. The feeders near the San Pedro House had the most birds including LESSER and AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and ABERT'S and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES. Along the river we found one newly arrived YELLOW WARBLER and a few VERMILION FLYCATCHERS.

Our list for the day was as follows:
Ruddy Duck, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Great Egret, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Gila Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Bendire's & Crissal Thrashers, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, American & Lesser Goldfinches, House Finch, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds and Eastern & Western Meadowlarks.

Monday, March 19, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 3 days with John and Suzanne Olson from Rochester, NY. For today only we were joined by their friends Sue and Bud Grieff from Seattle, WA. Another unseasonably warm day, well above average, with worse to come tomorrow. We birded at Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia Roadside Rest Area and Paton's Yard.

At Patagonia Lake we made no attempt to see the wintering rarities and, despite a late start, we enjoyed some decent birding. We got off to a good start as we dropped down to lake level when a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET loudly announced its presence and put on a great show of singing, while foraging in a willow just a few feet from us. Wow! Among the other highlights were an excellent view of the continuing AMERICAN BITTERN, a soaring OSPREY that came  into our view as we searched a leafing-out willow for foraging ORANGE-CROWNED and LUCY'S WARBLERS and VERDIN, and a calling DUSKY FLYCATCHER that perched conveniently for us. 

The highlight for me was a calling WESTERN SCRUB-JAY that we eventually tracked down in a mesquite bosque, Patagonia Lake species #227 for me. Other less common species present today were 2-BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and a few fly-by WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. There was a big increase in YELLOW WARBLERS and I heard VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA for the first time in a couple of trips.

Many WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were swirling over the cliffs at Patagonia Roadside Rest, and ROCK and CANYON WRENS sang from the rocky slopes. Along the creek we found a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, my first at this location.

The Paton's yard continues to provide excellent birding. Today's highlights included a great 'scope view of a perched HARLAN'S HAWK that eventually flew to its "regular" location along the creek, a flycatching LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, a duel of two male BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS and a continuing WHITE-THROATED SPARROW.

Our list for the day was as follows:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Am. Bittern, Black & Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Red-tailed (Harlan's ) Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed & Violet-crowned Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Western Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Rock, Canyon, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Cassin's & House Finches, Orange-crowned, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Song, White-crowned, White-throated, Chipping & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, March 20, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with the Olsons was a day more in keeping with June than March with temperatures in the mid 80s. Ironically, we spent most of our time in the Sulphur Springs Valley which is mainly a winter birding destination. Despite the warm conditions we managed to enjoy a successful day of birding.

Whitewater Draw was again fairly quiet but there were a few more signs of migration with 4-GREAT EGRETS,  8-AMERICAN AVOCETS, 5-LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, a continuing large group of 40+ RING-BILLED GULLS and a couple of TREE SWALLOWS. At least 3-SANDHILL CRANES are still around. A GREAT HORNED OWL in the willow grove called to its partner, roosting in plain view in a leafless mesquite. I was surprised to see a DARK-EYED JUNCO along one of the spits, and it turned out this was my first on the valley floor away from the foothills. About 33 species were present. 

A cruise around some of the south valley roads produced lots of common species including a couple of singing BENDIRE'S THRASHERS, CRISSAL THRASHER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, BREWER'S, VESPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS and plenty of LARK BUNTINGS. 

Further north we found a lone HARRIS'S HAWK and at least 6-FERRUGINOUS HAWKS looking resplendent in the bright sun as they soared above the Essary Hay Company fields. A couple of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and a large flock of AMERICAN PIPITS were along Central Highway. Even further north we found BARN OWL along with 2 more GREAT HORNED OWLS at a regular spot. However, the highlight here was being buzzed by a male MERLIN that flew close enough to produce a "whoosh" as it passed us by before joining a second Merlin perched in a nearby tree. Neat.

In the heat of mid-afternoon we made a very brief stop on the San Pedro where we saw about 20 regular species including VERMILION FLYCATCHER, LESSER and AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and GREEN-TAILED, ABERT'S & CANYON TOWHEES.

Our list for the day was as follows:
Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, N. Harrier, Harris's, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Curlew, American Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Mountain Bluebird, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Cactus, Marsh, & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Am. & Lesser Goldfinches, House Finch, Yellow Warbler, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Chipping, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's Blackbird.

Wednesday, March 21, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Third and final day with the Olsons. Another very warm day that we spent in the Huachucas, a little time in Garden Canyon but  mostly in Scheelite Canyon. We didn't have any trouble finding a single SPOTTED OWL tucked away well off the trail. However, we did spend a lot of time tracking down other birds seen in order to get a good view. 

PAINTED REDSTART was a distinct pain in the ass and we had to work on 4 or 5 different individuals before finally getting an acceptable look. Of course, after we'd done that, the bird wouldn't leave us alone and we ended up with wonderful close up looks. The same was true of a pair of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS that initially stayed well out of our way. Fortunately, a HAIRY WOODPECKER wandered into their territory and thanks to that we eventually saw the birds well and witnessed some aggravation between the two species. It turns out that this was the first Hairy Woodpecker that I had seen in Scheelite, canyon species #108 for me. They are common higher up the mountain and this bird was probably embarking upon a little seasonal movement.

I was again hoping for some migrant warblers but we found none. Among the regular canyon species from a total of only 16 were WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, BROWN CREEPER, a handful of singing CANYON WRENS, many HUTTON'S VIREOS (singing everywhere),  RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Saturday, March 24, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Chris Sloan from Nashville, TN for a day of "moderate" target birding. The temperature was a little cooler than predicted and the day was very pleasant. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Paton's Yard, San Rafael Valley and Scheelite Canyon.

I finally wised up and bought some "wellies" so I was able to stay dry as we tracked down the wintering ELEGANT TROGON at Patagonia Lake. We started along the creek where it empties into the lake but didn't find the bird until we got about 1/2 mile upstream. Fortunately, I paused for a snack break just at the right point -- Chris said "freeze" as he saw the bird sitting in a clearing at close range. Actually, I had planned my break accordingly because I knew the bird would be there. Yeah, right! I was impressed by the viewfinder images in Chris's digital camera.

We recorded 50 species in 3 hours with "singing" LEAST BITTERN being perhaps the best bird. In 1996 I discovered a Least Bittern nest with young at the lake and they seem to have nested every year since. I hadn't heard of any records prior to that but since I'm a relative newcomer to SE AZ there could well be older records. Other birds today included numerous EARED GREBES (one in beautiful breeding red), a lone NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, a few BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, some RING-BILLED GULLS (hey, any gull in AZ is worth a mention), VIRGINIA RAIL, 2-3 COMMON SNIPE, at least 6-NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS, several DUSKY and 1-GRAY FLYCATCHER, umpteen VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, my season first BELL'S VIREO (many singing), and a large flock of AMERICAN PIPITS (they have been scarce at the lake this winter). Warblers were represented by ORANGE-CROWNED, YELLOW-RUMPED many singing YELLOW & LUCY'S and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

We headed over to the club house pond Kino Springs to look for Gray Hawk where we met a group of Tucson birders who informed us that they had heard them at the first pond as well as seeing Evening Grosbeak there. Best bird for me was my season first CASSIN'S VIREO in the "Williamson's Sapsucker" tree. Later at the first pond we first heard, then saw soaring, and finally had close up looks at a couple of GRAY HAWKS. 

I mentioned to Chris that the Hackberry grove here is good for wintering fruit eaters but that it was quite depleted at the moment. Immediately after I said that we came across a male and female EVENING GROSBEAK feeding on hackberries! They let us approach very closely and Chris got some great shots. Evening Grosbeaks are perhaps more common in southeast Arizona than most people think. I have well over 100 records mostly from the Huachucas and Chiricahuas with nesting records from Sawmill Canyon in several years. However, this was my first "flatland" SE AZ sighting.

We were at Kino for barely an hour and recorded 53 species including GREAT EGRET, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, BELL'S VIREO and many LUCY'S WARBLERS.

We had a nice selection of species in the Paton's yard including GRAY HAWK, LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, 4 species of hummers -- BROAD-BILLED, VIOLET-CROWNED, BLACK-CHINNED and COSTA'S, STELLER'S JAY, LUCY'S WARBLER and CASSIN'S FINCH.

Leaving Patagonia we came across my first CASSIN'S KINGBIRD of the season (and later found another on the west side of the Huachucas).

Birds were a little hard to come by in the San Rafael Valley, although we eventually found a good sized flock of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS, mostly females with just a couple of breeding plumaged males. 

It was hot climbing the trail in Scheelite Canyon but slow and steady work produced a good view (and photo) of SPOTTED OWL. The bird was in a tree in which I'd seen an owl only once before. Other birds included HUTTON'S VIREO, BROWN CREEPER, PAINTED REDSTART and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

Sunday, March 25, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Tom Pericak and Bonnie Simmons from Indianapolis, IN who I've birded with once before. We had one target bird, Rufous-capped Warbler.

It was a tough but successful day. First off, it was sunny and hot and to make matters worse I forgot my hat. Secondly, today was the longest amount of time that I have ever had to spend in finding the warbler. We were in the canyon (gate to gate) for 9 hours. Several other parties were present but gave up too soon. This emphasized to me that, after making sure you are in the right place (and at the right season, if appropriate), perhaps the most important aspects of birding are patience and persistence. Both were certainly needed in good measure today.   

After walking up and down the canyon 3 times, making a dangerous climb above the upper dry waterfall, followed by  lots of standing, sitting, waiting and listening, I finally heard the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER on the south slope, immediately east of the side canyon that heads south from the upper spring. However, that wasn't the end, rather the beginning of the quest to see the bird. I'm happy to say that 40 minutes later we managed to track it down in the bottom of the main canyon, about 100 yards above the spring. Now came the reward for all our time and effort -- some wonderful looks at this delightful bird at very close range (12-15 feet). As usual, the bird foraged and went about its business without regard to our presence. It will be a sad day indeed when the warbler no longer graces the canyon.

Also of note today in the canyon were a calling and soaring PEREGRINE FALCON, calling MONTEZUMA QUAIL (my first after many visits here), HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, scads of screaming and chattering WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, singing ROCK and CANYON WRENS and many singing BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS. A total of 26 species.

Monday, March 26, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Richard and Harriet Smith from Florence, OR. Another warm day made more tolerable by some high clouds. We visited the south end of Sulphur Springs Valley, St. David Monastery and the San Pedro River.

Our approach to Whitewater Draw along Coffman Road was productive with several GREATER ROADRUNNERS, a singing BENDIRE'S THRASHER, many VESPER, SAVANNAH and BREWER'S SPARROWS and a handful of LARK BUNTINGS.

Whitewater Draw was also productive and we recorded 40 species in about 1 hour 15 minutes. Several common duck species were present including a large flock of LESSER SCAUP. Among the other species were 5-GREAT EGRETS, 2-SNOWY EGRETS, 8-BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 50-RING-BILLED GULLS, GREATER and (my season first) LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 2-GREAT HORNED OWLS, BELTED KINGFISHER, several VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, AM. PIPIT, LUCY'S WARBLER, a good number of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS and  LILIAN'S & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

I had told Richard that the chances for SWAINSON'S HAWK were not very high, but my season first bird came soaring gracefully over us on Central Highway.

Our 2 hour visit to St. David Monastery was interesting and pleasant as usual. I was a little surprised to find a couple of NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS here but a check of my records showed that I had seem them here before. Other birds included at least 4 continuing WOOD DUCKS, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, a pair of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, loads of AMERICAN ROBINS, LUCY'S WARBLER and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. We saw about 35 species here.

Our mid-afternoon visit to the San Pedro River was somewhat lackluster compared to the earlier birding. Only a recently returned CASSIN'S KINGBIRD was of note among the 30 species that we saw. 

Tuesday, March 27, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Jim and Bettina Whitley from Houston, TX. On another unseasonably warm day we visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and the Paton's Yard.

One of the highlights at Patagonia Lake was watching an OSPREY descend from a great height, almost to disappear completely in the water and then emerge with a fish. It was also neat to see the continuing AMERICAN BITTERN foraging in the open, unconcerned by our presence, as a LEAST BITTERN sang in the marsh just a few yards away. Other species of note were a male RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (this is the first year that I've seen one here), TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and my season first HOODED ORIOLE. Regulars from 50+ species seen included CINNAMON TEAL, BLACK VULTURE, COMMON MOORHEN, great looks at a foraging VIRGINIA RAIL, N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, DUSKY, GRAY and VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, BELL'S VIREO, and ORANGE-CROWNED, LUCY'S & YELLOW WARBLERS.

After a walk around the club house pond at Kino Springs looking for a calling but elusive GRAY HAWK we eventually had a good 'scope look at a perched bird. During our short visit here we saw a very cooperative GREATER ROADRUNNER, a recently returned CASSIN'S KINGBIRD and my season first BARN SWALLOW.

Hummingbird activity at the Paton's continues to grow -- easy to see today were many BROAD-BILLED, VIOLET-CROWNED, BLACK-CHINNED and COSTA'S. The LEWIS'S WOODPECKER continues in the adjacent cottonwoods where a GRAY HAWK was also perched today. CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS are back in the neighborhood and CASSIN'S FINCHES continue as abundant as ever.

Thursday, March 29, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Pat and Juanita Tate from Annapolis, MD who I've birded with once before. A warm day but, thankfully, much less windy than yesterday. We visited the Sulphur Springs Valley and the San Pedro River. On what was probably my last general birding visit of the season to the valley, the paucity of RED-TAILED HAWKS was a good indicator that many of the "winter" birds have already moved north. 

Nevertheless, on Coffman Road, where we began, a number of resident and a handful of continuing winter species were easy to see including SCALED and GAMBEL'S QUAIL, GREATER ROADRUNNER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, a BENDIRE'S THRASHER singing its heart out at the same spot its been for months, many LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES,  SAVANNAH, VESPER & BREWER'S SPARROWS and LARK BUNTING.

Activity at Whitewater Draw was a little less than earlier in the week. Here we recorded 32 species including REDHEAD, SWAINSON'S HAWK, 2-GREAT EGRETS, 6-AMERICAN AVOCETS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS (and probable Lesser), 12-RING-BILLED GULLS, 2-GREAT HORNED OWLS roosting side by side, several singing  LUCY'S and YELLOW WARBLERS, PYRRHULOXIA and many YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Further north near Essary Hay I was hoping that FERRUGINOUS HAWKS would still be around. A few normally stay until April and on this day we saw at least 5 birds either soaring, sitting on the ground, or perched on irrigation rigs. Soaring nearby on Highway 191 was a newly arrived SWAINSON'S HAWK. 

For the first time in a while I failed to find a Barn Owl (although it was perhaps present and managed to fly away quickly and elude us). We had to be content with 2 or 3 more GREAT HORNED OWLS and another SWAINSON'S HAWK.

Migration along the San Pedro (Highway 90 crossing) hasn't even reached a dribble yet, but over the next few weeks it will build to a trickle. (Yes folks, Arizona migration is not spectacular). We saw just a smattering of it today with a beautiful GRAY HAWK and a not-so-beautiful HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. Present in numbers now are VERMILION FLYCATCHERS and YELLOW WARBLERS, although LUCY'S WARBLER'S are still not very evident. Summer resident N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS are back in numbers. A small group of (presumably migrating) DARK-EYED JUNCOS were perhaps the least common river species that we noted.   

Saturday, March 31, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days with Carmen Tarantino and 8 1/2 year old Devin from Buffalo, NY. I last birded with Carmen for a couple of days just three weeks ago. On those days we visited Scheelite Canyon twice trying to get a photograph of Spotted Owl. Unfortunately, although we found the bird on both occasions, its roost location was not conducive to a good photo.

Our day began with GREATER ROADRUNNER near McDonalds which pleased young Devin.

It was still quite chilly and relatively birdless as we headed up Scheelite Canyon. Nevertheless, I soon heard and then saw my first BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER of the season. (At least 3 birds were singing and we heard and saw more in Garden Canyon later on). Next bird was a beautiful PAINTED REDSTART. After a little searching I found a single SPOTTED OWL roosting in a new tree for the second time this month. The view of the owl was pretty good but the light was very poor, so we waited around for about 90 minutes until the sunlight hit the bird. Other birds in the canyon included ARIZONA WOODPECKER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, BROWN CREEPER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, HUTTON'S VIREO and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Around noon we made a brief visit to the San Pedro river where we soon saw our target LINCOLN'S SPARROW, in fact a couple of them, foraging on the ground under the feeders at the San Pedro House.  We recorded about 25 species in an hour including a calling GRAY HAWK, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, LUCY'S WARBLER and ABERT'S and GREEN-TAILED 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, March 31, 2001.

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - March, 2001 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

Top of Page