Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - July, 2002 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Wednesday, July 31, 2002.

Tuesday, July 2, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day  
First of six days with Kunal Basu from Sunnyvale, CA, my old stomping ground in a previous life. This trip was scheduled quite some time ago long before the fire danger related closures, so we'll be doing some improvising over the course of the next few days.

Today we spent 8 pleasant hours in Miller Canyon where our goal was to see some of the more common and regular species as well as trying for that Flaming Tanager and Spotted Owl, now off the menu in Scheelite Canyon. This was my first day back after vacation and I knew the hike up Miller would be a test for my injured ankle. It was somewhat painful, especially when I put my weight on it without thinking first -- something you do often when chasing birds!

We started up the canyon shortly after dawn and took our time walking up to the old mine shaft area. The trail was quite active early on -- birds seen or heard (in order recorded) were SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S VIREO, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, RED-FACED WARBLER, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, SPOTTED TOWHEE, WESTERN TANAGER, STELLER'S JAY, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, HERMIT THRUSH, ACORN WOODPECKER, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, MAGNIFICENT & BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS, GRACE'S WARBLER, BROWN CREEPER, WARBLING VIREO, HOUSE WREN, CANYON WREN, BAND-TAILED PIGEON and COOPER'S HAWK.

Around 7:30am we reached the area above the old mine shaft and started thinking about the tanager. Within minutes the male FLAME-COLORED TANAGER started to sing and continued to do so on and off for about 15 minutes. However, despite much intensive searching we could not see the bird and it wasn't until 8:00am that we found it in the company of a female WESTERN TANAGER. The bird did not sing again during the remainder of the time we were in its range.

Other birds in the vicinity included many already recorded plus BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, HAIRY WOODPECKER, GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

We continued on up the canyon and after a thorough search of the area above the second stream crossing we eventually turned up a pair of SPOTTED OWLS roosting in a maple tree about 200 yards below the crossing.

There was quite a crowd back down canyon where the buzz was all about the Plain-capped Starthroat, first seen a few days ago and banded by George West this morning at 7:30am. We didn't see the bird during our time around the feeders. The highlight for me was a female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, my earliest "fall" sighting in SE AZ, early by about 2 weeks. It could be that this bird never left because there were a few sightings in June. Other hummers seen were BROAD-BILLED (generally scarce this far east in the mountains but quite numerous today), VIOLET-CROWNED, BLUE-THROATED, MAGNIFICENT, BLACK-CHINNED (abundant), ANNA'S (several), BROAD-TAILED (abundant) and RUFOUS (1 adult male). Other hummers that I received first or second hand reports of in addition to the Starthroat were White-eared, Lucifer and Allen's (banded).

Among the other species around the feeders and Orchard area were COOPER'S HAWK, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, LESSER GOLDFINCH (the out-of-season Lawrence's was seen earlier in the day), BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Thanks are due again to Tom Beatty and family for allowing access through the property to the Miller Canyon trail and for allowing free access to all the feeder areas on the property. Is there a better place in SE AZ to watch hummingbirds in an extremely pleasant environment and see so many individuals and such species diversity? I think not.

On the news front, Sierra Vista WWTP is open to the public again. I'm not sure whether or not I'll resume the intense data collection that I did there in the past. I'm a little discouraged after a closure of almost 2 years and the fact that the changes will undoubtedly render much of my data meaningless. It will be like starting from scratch again. On the weather front, the best guess is that the monsoons may begin by the weekend or early next week.

Wednesday, July 3, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with Kunal saw us focus on raptors with a visit to Aravaipa Canyon and the Dudleyville area. It was a successful day and we saw all five target raptors (Mississippi, Kite, Common Black-Hawk, Harris's Hawk, Gray Hawk and Zone-tailed Hawk) plus a good selection of desert and riparian species.

We left Sierra Vista at 4:00am and our first success came at the Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 90 where many LESSER NIGHTHAWKS where hawking insects around the lights.

North of Tucson along Hwy 77 we picked up a family of HARRIS'S HAWKS near Oracle Junction to get our raptor search off to a good start. A convenient pull-off allowed us to get excellent scope looks.

A stop in Mammoth yielded a few common species including GILA WOODPECKER, lots of PURPLE MARTINS working low over a runoff puddle, NORTHERN CARDINAL and PYRRHULOXIA in the same Palo Verde, CACTUS WREN, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, CANYON TOWHEE and HOODED ORIOLE.

We started Aravaipa Canyon at 7:15am where it was surprisingly cool under cloudy skies and we even felt a few sprinkles! A concerted effort for RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW failed to produce a bird in a regular spot. However, as we drove on, we soon came across a perched and singing individual. The bird was kind enough to stay put as we set up the scope for an excellent look -- at a bird actually showing rufous on the wings, a feature not always seen.

For the next two hours we birded our way slowly into the canyon and by the time we reached the first creek overlook it was good and toasty, more like the Aravaipa Canyon we all know and love! After scanning many TURKEY VULTURES our reward for braving the heat came in the form of a perched COMMON BLACK-HAWK, spotted by Kunal just before the bird took off and started slowly spiraling upwards. About 15 more minutes of baking produced a very serendipitous moment -- I heard a raptor call and said "sounds like Gray Hawk", another call and I said, "no, wait, Zone-tailed Hawk". It turns out that both were correct! Both GRAY HAWK and ZONE-TAILED HAWKS started flying our way. It was also one of those "looking at different bird" moments as Kunal latched on to the Zone-tailed and I the Gray. It took just a few seconds to figure out that the two birds had interacted, called, and flown off in different directions. Two for the price of one!

Among the other birds in the canyon were LESSER NIGHTHAWK, ROADRUNNER, PURPLE MARTIN, GILDED FLICKER, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, VERDIN, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, PHAINOPEPLA, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT,  BLACK-THROATED SPARROW and BRONZED COWBIRD.

Next stop was Winkleman where we saw our first MISSISSIPPI KITE along the road as we approached town. From the footbridge over the Gila River we looked at a couple more individuals and several more were along the San Pedro in Dudleyville. All told, we saw at least 6 Kites, probably more. 

On the way home, we stopped at Sweetwater Wetland in the heat of the day where I considered us fortunate to find the wayward LEAST GREBE, out in the open in the middle of the westernmost pond. A good end to a successful day.

Thursday, July 4, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 3 with Kunal was what I had in mind when I mentioned that some improvisation would be required. Today I had planned to start in Carr Canyon and follow that with a visit to Madera Canyon, two locations that I would only visit on a normal July 4 if you held a gun to my head. However, with the forest closures I wanted to take advantage of the fact that these locations would be devoid of people. Our main targets in Carr were Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Greater Pewee and Virginia's and Olive Warblers; Elegant Trogon was the target in Madera.

We started up Carr Canyon before sunrise only to be foiled by a locked barrier across the road. Quite a shock to the system as I tried to figure out where to get the needed birds. Another day for sure I thought, and we turned around and headed over to Madera Canyon.

In Sonoita we picked up EASTERN MEADOWLARK and SCALED QUAIL, both fence sitters near the intersection of highways 82 and 83.

Birds along Box Canyon road included ACORN WOODPECKER,  ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, LARK SPARROW, SPOTTED TOWHEE,  BLACK-HEADED & BLUE GROSBEAKS and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Although it was surprisingly hot by the time we reached the Continental Road, we didn't have any trouble at all finding BOTTERI'S SPARROW (a bird was chipping as we drove by). However, we didn't get a sniff of Cassin's Sparrow.

In Madera, a short hike along the Vault Mine trail and a vigil of about 1 hour and 15 minutes at a nest site produced great looks at a male ELEGANT TROGON. Thanks to Jack Murray and the Mass. Audubon group (my clients for a couple of days next week) for pointing out the nest tree. We also had a nice close up view of a foraging ARIZONA WOODPECKER. Among the other birds in the same area were SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE. 

Despite the poor time of day, I decided to head down to Kino Springs. However, since I feared that the ponds there would be too dry for Whistling-Duck, I decided to stop at the Palo Duro Golf Course pond in Nogales. Here we found 20+ species including a couple of BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, CINNAMON TEAL, LUCY'S WARBLER and a small group of male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Wouldn't you know it, a single BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK was at the first pond at Kino Springs. We searched here and at the club house pond (both now very dry) and didn't see or hear Tropical Kingbird. It was very windy here in the late morning, as well as very warm, and we did well to rustle up 30+ species including BLACK VULTURE, COOPER'S HAWK, great looks at a perched GRAY HAWK, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER (our first real look at this bird despite hearing many), a family of fledged BELL'S VIREOS, SUMMER TANAGER and several BLUE GROSBEAKS.

We finished the day with a short visit to the Paton's yard where we found a silent THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD sitting by the nest as a couple of LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS chased each other around. VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD put in several appearances as did a male COSTA'S.

Day list (83 species recorded):
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Black & Turkey Vultures, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Magnificent, Black-chinned, Costa's & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Bell's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, N. Rough-winged, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Lark & Botteri's Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Summer Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Scott's Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Friday, July 5, 2002     Previous Day    Next Day
Day 4 with Kunal and another 2:30am start for my 7th trip of the season to California Gulch. An abbreviated report today as several early starts in a row begin to take their toll!

COMMON POORWILL was very hard to come by along the Ruby Road this morning; and despite being in the right place at the right time, we saw only two of them and not very well. We also came across an immature GREAT HORNED OWL that hissed its displeasure.

California Gulch is now completely dry, even at the south end that had standing water last month. Nevertheless, we easily found a FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW well before the gulch proper, in a location that I have found a bird on every visit this season to date. The bird's subdued chipping clued us in to its location. I'm sure they are waiting for the rain just like we are! 

Also easy to find were NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and VARIED BUNTING, our secondary targets here. General bird activity was quite low and we recorded only 30 species including GRAY HAWK, VERMILION, ASH-THROATED & BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, CANYON WREN, LUCY'S WARBLER, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, SUMMER TANAGER, lots of BLUE GROSBEAKS and SCOTT'S & HOODED ORIOLES. 

Having missed Tropical Kingbird at Kino Springs yesterday I decided to head to Arivaca Cienega to pick one up there. Imagine my feelings when we arrived to find that Buenos Aires NWR (of which the Cienega is a part) is now closed due to fire danger (as of July 3). We are losing birding locations at an alarming rate. Bring on the monsoons.

After a needless 50 extra miles we arrived at Kino Springs at 9:30am, a couple of hours earlier than yesterday. The wind was much less of a factor and bird activity was quite reasonable despite the warm temperature. We birded only at the first pond where we found a silent TROPICAL KINGBIRD conveniently perched next to a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD for comparison.  As we watched them, a colorful VARIED BUNTING flew in and perched on the same branch. Among the other birds here from 30 recorded were a group of 6-BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, GRAY HAWK, COMMON GROUND-DOVE and lots of BLUE GROSBEAKS.

Our next stop was Patagonia Lake where we easily found our target NEOTROPIC CORMORANT. We spent some time looking unsuccessfully for Yellow-billed Cuckoo and managed only a decent look at YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT for our efforts, our first seen from god knows how many heard.

We finished up at the Roadside Rest where we learned that Rose-throated Becard had not been seen so far today. We recorded nothing of note during our brief stop, save for a calling THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD.

Saturday, July 6, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 5 with Kunal. Today we birded in the Chiricahuas and at Willcox ponds. Our route was Sierra Vista - Bisbee - Douglas - Rodeo - Portal - Cave Creek Canyon Road - Rustler Park Road - Rustler Park - Pinery Canyon Road - Willcox. It was quite cool (almost cold) as we drove the shady sections of Cave Creek Canyon this morning; and almost unbearable at well over 100 degrees in Willcox at noon.

We left Sierra Vista at 4:00am (LESSER NIGHTHAWKS were active on Hwy 80 near Cochise College) and began birding at the bottom of Portal Road (north of Rodeo, New Mexico) a little before 6:00am. A nice surprise here was a singing and skylarking CASSIN'S SPARROW. Others present in this little patch of scrub were SCALED QUAIL, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, CACTUS WREN, BOTTERI'S SPARROW, EASTERN MEADOWLARK and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were calling as we drove along Cave Creek Road.

Our next birding stop was on the Rustler Road at the Paradise cutoff, the lowest reliable spot for MEXICAN CHICKADEE in summer. Sure enough, we found a few here along with another target bird, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER. Both species were common at many locations throughout our route. Other species at this location included BAND-TAILED PIGEON, a distant NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL that we couldn't entice any closer, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER,  RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, PAINTED REDSTART, WESTERN & HEPATIC TANAGERS, LESSER GOLDFINCH and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Above Onion Saddle we saw most of the species already seen and added HAIRY WOODPECKER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, PYGMY NUTHATCH, HERMIT THRUSH, VIRGINIA'S (our toughest bird, what else is new), BLACK-THROATED GRAY, GRACE'S and OLIVE WARBLERS and abundant YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS.

Dropping down the Pinery Canyon Road we again saw many of the same species and added a pair of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, BUSHTIT, HUTTON'S & WARBLING VIREOS and RED-FACED WARBLER.

The conditions at Willcox from 12:00-1:00pm were pretty stifling and most birds were just sitting there, baking! The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN continues as do BLUE-WINGED TEAL and lots of AMERICAN AVOCETS. Migrants included FRANKLIN'S GULL (still in decent breeding plumage), a few WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS and lots of WILSON'S PHALAROPES. Also present among 24 species seen here was a lone AMERICAN WIGEON, SWAINSON'S HAWK and lots of HORNED LARKS.

In the evening we spent a very frustrating and unsuccessful couple of hours owling in Carr Canyon. First of all, the canyon is closed by the barrier at the forest entrance which meant that I had to lug every piece of equipment with me on foot. Secondly, it was quite windy. However, the single most frustrating factor was the owls themselves. We encountered 3 very sadistic WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS that separately led us on for quite a while, only to disappear without trace at the last minute. We finally located and tracked a bird that eventually sat still, in fact, too much so. The bird chose to sit in a very leafy sycamore and call for at least 30 and more like 45 minutes. Try as we did, we could not locate the bird even though we were extremely close to it. #$%^&*().

I've seen this type of behavior before at this time of year when the birds have fledged young; and I take it to be a kind of distraction activity to lead us away from where they want to be. Hey, it worked perfectly. We only heard a single barking call from an ELF OWL to complete our misery for the night.  

Day list (84 species recorded).
Am. White Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Western & Least Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Franklin's Gull, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Band-tailed Pigeon, Whiskered Screech-Owl, N. Pygmy-Owl, Elf Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, White-throated Swift, Magnificent & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Arizona & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Bell's, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Black-throated Gray, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Black-throated, Botteri's & Cassin's Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Scott's Oriole, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, July 7, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 6 and final day with Kunal. Today we wanted to add Crested Caracara to the list of five target raptors already seen, consequently we traveled west of Tucson to the birding "hotspot" of Sells. Fortunately, we were there early in the morning before the heat really started to bite. It was brutally hot in Tucson by midday and even Sierra Vista was around 106 degrees when I returned at 2:00pm. No sign of the monsoons yet.

We found our CRESTED CARACARA a little further west of where I've seen them before --  the bird was perched atop a mesquite on the south side of the road between mileposts 120 and 119 (around milepost 116 is a more traditional spot). It was here that we had a glimpse of GILDED FLICKER, up to now a heard only species in Aravaipa Canyon. This species remained elusive for the rest of the morning and we had to settle for a series of similar looks. We were a little more fortunate in stumbling into a BENDIRE'S THRASHER perched on a wire. Other species from 25 seen during our short stay on the reservation included HARRIS'S HAWK, GREATER ROADRUNNER, untold numbers of WHITE-WINGED DOVES, PURPLE MARTIN, ASH-THROATED and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, BELL'S VIREO and PYRRHULOXIA.

Back in Tucson we checked Avra Valley WWTP and Sweetwater Wetlands, unsuccessfully, for Yellow-billed Cuckoo (seen at both locations multiple times recently, including this morning at Sweetwater). The San Pedro River is a good bet for this species but we couldn't go there (closed due to fire danger).

At Avra Valley WWTP we noted over 30 species including NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK, BLUE-WINGED TEAL and LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS. Sweetwater was far too hot to be interesting and we didn't see the Least Grebe although it was seen by others.  A quick check of Mile Wide Road near Sandario produced a singing RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW but not an improved view of two GILDED FLICKERS. 

Back in February when I reviewed Kunal's list of 133 potential species, I figured that we would see 90. In the meantime, he had already seen a number of them and the fire danger related closures, a changed itinerary, and some big misses (such as Whiskered Screech-Owl) conspired to reduce the total.  Over the six days we recorded 163 species including a couple of unexpected species -- Least Grebe (out of range) and Franklin's Gull (out of season); and Kunal finished his time with me having seen 73 new species. Under the circumstances of extreme heat, very dry conditions and all the closures, this was perhaps not a bad result. 

Monday, July 8, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Michael Wolfe from River Edge, NJ. Another fairly early start for my 7th trip of the season to French Joe Canyon, and my first for a little while.

Some significant pre monsoon clouds made for a relatively cool morning in the canyon, although it was up to 93 degrees back in Sierra Vista at 10:30am. I think the rain may start later today or tomorrow (promises, promises). Obviously, very dry conditions persist in the canyon but the upper spring still has standing water that continues to attract many birds. However, overall bird activity and song in the canyon was far less than might be expected at this time of year. That being said, I still managed to record 40 species which is about average here during July.

We entered the canyon in darkness at 4:30am and flushed 2-COMMON POORWILLS during the 30 minute drive in. Even in darkness I normally hear a handful of species singing (particularly Blue Grosbeak), but I didn't record a single species this morning. 

After a moderately brisk and fairly birdless hike, I heard the soft "ticking" call of multiple RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS at 5:45am. (This particularly call is very similar to the common call of Black-chinned Sparrow.) We found two, probably three warblers on the north slope of the canyon about 200 yards below the upper spring (i.e. about 25 yards below the tree line below the pools). Initially, the birds were about 50 feet from us and we had a fairly good view for about 30 seconds. Afterwards, we did some general birding in the area until 9:00am and briefly heard some warbler song about 50 yards above the spring on only two other occasions, at 6:45 and 7:15am.

I half expected some out-of-habitat species and a couple of species fell into this category -- STELLER'S JAY above the upper dry waterfall (I only have a couple of winter records for this species in French Joe); and an ACORN WOODPECKER at the upper spring (I have one other record in May). Notably absent was Cordilleran Flycatcher that normally breeds near the spring.

While HOODED ORIOLES were very common, SCOTT'S ORIOLES seemed less numerous than normal. BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS were generally conspicuous by their absence and we saw only a few of them with just one bird singing. Only a handful of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS were noted and not a single White-throated Swift. HEPATIC TANAGERS were easy to see near the spring. WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS are normally common and vocal but we saw only a single bird coming in to drink.

41 species recorded in French Joe Canyon from 4:30-10:00am.
Turkey Vulture, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Poorwill, Black-chinned, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Western Wood-Pewee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Hutton's Vireo, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Violet-green Swallow, House Finch, Virginia's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Hooded & Scott's Orioles and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tuesday, July 9, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day  
Out today with a group of 12 from Brookline Bird Club, MA and two other guests. The group are staying in Miller Canyon and today we birded the upper Miller Canyon trail. I'll be with them again in a couple of days for a trip to California Gulch. 

The 2002 monsoon season officially began for me at 7:40pm last night, when the heavens opened and it lashed down with rain in Sierra Vista for quite some time. A very close thunderclap rocketed me out of my favorite telly watching chair and my UPSes began earning their keep again (especially the one powering my alarm clock!)

I'm happy to report that the same rain had a major impact on the birds in Miller Canyon this morning. Our walk was quite birdy as well as cool and refreshing, even if a tad on the humid side. 

A few species that you couldn't buy a look at a few days ago were very conspicuous and vocal today. Particularly vocal and numerous were GREATER PEWEES, singing their José Maria songs from multiple locations in the upper canyon. It's great to hear the song for the first minute but it wears a bit thin after 10 minutes. After 30 minutes it becomes positively annoying.  Equally common were CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS giving their we-sit calls. Also easy to see today were RED-FACED WARBLERS, chipping away as they foraging in many locations in the canyon; a few of them were singing. Also vocal, albeit a little less so, were GRACE'S WARBLER and PAINTED REDSTART.

Other species included COOPER'S HAWK, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, SULPHUR-BELLIED & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, BUSHTIT, CANYON & HOUSE WRENS, HUTTON'S, PLUMBEOUS & WARBLING VIREOS (all singing),  HERMIT THRUSH (many singing), HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Flame boy played hard to get although we certainly couldn't complain in the end. After a slow, 1 1/2 hour walk up the canyon we arrived above the mine at 7:00am. I heard the FLAME-COLORED TANAGER singing very briefly at 7:30am and two birds quickly flew down canyon and out of sight. Despite 14 sets of eyes and ears the bird was AWOL until 8:45am. At this time I heard the bird's loud call and after a little bit of tracking everyone was able to get killer eye level across-the-canyon views around 9:15am. The location in both cases was about 100 yards above the old mine shaft, i.e. "the regular spot". Murphy was put to the sword as the bird perched in plain sight on the outside edge of a Douglas Fir for several minutes. As we left to continue further up canyon, the tanager burst into song and continued to sing for several minutes. 

On my last trip (July 2), I thoroughly searched the canyon above the 2nd stream crossing before finding a pair of owls below the crossing. Today, guess what, I did exactly the opposite before finding a single SPOTTED OWL above the 2nd crossing. I probably earned some points  towards a rock climbing certificate as well. I bushwhacked up the canyon bottom about 1/2 mile before finding the bird roosting in typical fashion in a small open oak. Although I could see the owl from the trail once I knew where it was, I would not have found it from the trail.

Thanks to Tom Beatty for once again allowing access to the Miller Canyon trail through his property. I didn't stay to watch hummers when we got back at noon so I have no idea what is being seen today.

Wednesday, July 10, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
A day off today gave me the opportunity to visit Sierra Vista WWTP for the first time since the plant reopened to birders earlier this month. This was my 766th visit over the past 9 years (zero visits since July 2000 because of the construction closure).

I went there very early this morning (5:45am) and the first thing that I discovered was something that I had been dreading -- the new viewing platform faces due east, just like the old one. Consequently, optimal viewing will be in the late afternoon. However, since the plant officially closes at 3:00pm.....!

I had read a considerable amount of hype about how much birder input there had been so I expected a little better and was especially disappointed. Although an extensive wetland area is visible from viewing area, very little open water can be seen and zero shorebird habitat is visible. None of the easternmost ponds with this type of habitat are visible. A possible second viewing area (sometime in the future) accessible from Moson road would remedy that.

The new wetland and ponds were completely redesigned so it should have been a simple matter to locate the viewing platform a little further south and a couple of hundred yards to the east of where it is now. This would have placed the viewer centrally in the wetland with a view north and south, making viewing conditions ideal at any time of day on a year round basis. Placing the viewing platform here would also have provided a view of the duck and shorebird ponds to the east. I'm sure that there were constraints of which I am totally unaware, however, that doesn't make it any less disappointing.

Generally, the viewing platform is at a decent height and has some shade features (although they didn't help at 6:00am with a low sun). Also, since it is well into the interior of the ponds compared to the old area, overall scanning of the area will be much better. 

Perhaps the best feature will be the native grass restoration project. This morning I detected several singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and CASSIN'S SPARROWS, both of which have been sporadic in summer and present in only 3 of the past 9 years. I attribute this to the fact that the grass was previously harvested and/or cattle were allowed to graze during the nesting season. Assuming the restoration project comes to fruition and the habitat matures, I expect that both species will become regular breeders and perhaps even year round residents.

Also present in the grassland areas today were SCALED QUAIL, LARK SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK and EASTERN MEADOWLARK (the latter two very common).

I didn't spend much time viewing the wetland because of the bad light. Lots of RED-WINGED and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were present and COMMON YELLOWTHROATS and SONG SPARROWS were singing.

I recorded the following species from 5:45-7:05am.
Mallard, Am. Kestrel, Scaled Quail, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Lesser Nighthawk, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Kingbird, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, Verdin, Barn Swallow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Grasshopper, Lark & Cassin's Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

If you look at my SVWWTP bar graph data, you'll note that for some species the above list compares favorably with previous years. However, because of the habitat changes, utilization of the area by some species will undoubtedly change and the bar-graph data may not reflect current status. I expect that it will take me about two years to gather enough data to reflect the habitat changes. I will update the bar-graph with each visit. 

Thursday, July 11, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with the group from Brookline Bird Club. I left Sierra Vista at 2:30am to meet them in Patagonia for a trip to California Gulch.

It was a treat to drive the Ruby Road without the billowing clouds of dust now that the rain is here. The cloudy and gloomy conditions shortly before dawn didn't help our search for COMMON POORWILL and we flushed only one bird from the road, despite a couple of passes in the best area at the optimum time. However, we found a calling bird and with a little enticement we eventually tracked it down on the hillside above us. We managed several looks at a somewhat flighty bird as it alternately perched on Sotal, Agave and Mesquite. Below us, a GREAT HORNED OWL briefly called from the canyon bottom.  

A gulch resident told us that 1/2 inch of rain has fallen so far, enough for a few puddles here and there but not enough for even a trickle anywhere in the stream bed. However, there is standing water again in the riparian area at the south end.

We had three main target birds and were able to see them all without any real difficulty. FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS have responded incredibly quickly to the rain. I could hear their "song" echoing in the canyon long before seeing them. In two different locations we watched a (presumed) female building a nest very close to the "road" as a male sang from a nearby Ocotillo. Not even the voyeuristic eyes of over a dozen people ooh-ing and aah-ing stopped their activities. VARIED BUNTINGS played a little hard to get today as they chased each other around. Several birds were eventually seen perched up and singing, one individual in particular was very accommodating. In the riparian area we watched a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET building a nest, most likely for a second clutch, possibly third? since they usually nest very early.

A couple of interesting species were a calling THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD in the riparian area; and a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH in an Ocotillo on the dry hillside in the gulch proper. I have two previous records for the kingbird from May '96 and August '99. Although I have a number of records for the nuthatch, they were all in more typical oak habitat. 

A few less commonly seen species were recorded: GOLDEN EAGLE (although seen on 30% of visits this year), COMMON GROUND-DOVE (my handful of records are all in July), BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER (my records indicate an average of less than three sightings per year.), YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and BRONZED COWBIRD. 

Regulars included GRAY HAWK, VERMILION, ASH-THROATED & BROWN CRESTED-FLYCATCHERS, BELL'S VIREO (very vocal), SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK and HOODED & SCOTT'S ORIOLES.

Heading back to Patagonia we stopped to see ROCK WREN along the Ruby Road, about midway between Ruby and the Sycamore Canyon Road. I was very surprised to see a WESTERN SCRUB-JAY here. It turned out that my surprise was well founded -- back at home when I checked my database, I discovered that this was my first record for the Pajarito Mountains (cada día algo nuevo). 

Friday, July 12, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I visited Sierra Vista WWTP again and was fortunate to meet a city official responsible for the ponds. He asked for my views about the new facility and I expressed my disappointment (as well as appreciation) about what has been done. He was well aware of the shortcomings and cited lack of early input from birders as the main reason things were not done "right" in terms of the viewing area location. How galling is that? However, there is some good news on the horizon. I learned that walk-in access to much of the wetland area (with a key and sign-in system) is likely by the end of the year (this would also allow viewing of the eastern ponds). There is also a plan to add a raised area with trees in the wetland. Further down the road, access to a trail via Moson Road is envisaged. Budgetary considerations and environmental and safety regulations will ultimately govern how much access there is and how long it will take. 

I spent from 7:00-9:00am at the ponds (although a good portion of that was talking) and recorded 30 species. I again noted GRASSHOPPER (perhaps 3) and CASSIN'S SPARROWS singing. Among the other species were LESSER NIGHTHAWK, SCALED QUAIL, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, HORNED LARK, LARK SPARROW, many BLUE GROSBEAKS and an increased number of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Later in the morning I headed over to Willcox via St. David. It was too hot to bird at the Monastery but I did spend a few minutes near the bridge over the San Pedro. I saw a fair number of common species as well as 2-MISSISSIPPI KITES (perhaps their third consecutive year in this location?) , 2-GRAY HAWKS and a family of NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS.

I arrived at Willcox shortly after noon when the temperature was near 110 degrees around the main pond. It was decidedly unbearable but I toughed it out for 90 minutes. Shorebird habitat continues to improve and, as migration gets underway, plenty of them were present including  6- LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, 1-GREATER & 1-LESSER YELLOWLEGS, a couple of SPOTTED, many WESTERN, a few LEAST and one BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, and many WILSON'S PHALAROPES. The Baird's was my first of the season. My records indicate that I see Lesser Yellowlegs on 93% of visits during July Week 2 and 3, dropping to 60% into August. 

Also present among 30 species seen were many AMERICAN AVOCETS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, a few CINNAMON TEAL, NORTHERN PINTAIL, 2-SCALED QUAIL with a dozen or so very tiny chicks, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, HORNED LARK and CASSIN'S SPARROWS (flying around and singing despite the heat).

Saturday, July 13, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Rob and Carol Wilson from Green Valley, AZ for a day of casual birding without any specific objectives. We visited the Chiricahuas and Willcox pond.

LESSER NIGHTHAWKS were still active on highway 80 as we drove by Cochise College. The remainder of the journey to the Chiricahuas produced only SWAINSON'S & RED-TAILED HAWKS, GREATER ROADRUNNER, COMMON RAVEN and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE.

Activity around Willow Tank was close to zero and the only birds of note were a perched up and calling SCALED QUAIL and a young LUCY'S WARBLER that hadn't learned to be afraid.

Most of the birds seen on Main street in Portal were either HOUSE FINCHES or LESSER GOLDFINCHES. Also present were BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER and BRIDLED TITMOUSE.

Activity in Sally Spofford's yard was minimal, although we enjoyed close up looks at BEWICK'S WREN, CANYON & SPOTTED TOWHEES and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

I  think perhaps the birds know that the forest is closed, at least those in South Fork. We encountered just a few species during a short walk including DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, BROWN CREEPER, HUTTON'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and PAINTED REDSTART. 

Along the Rustler Road we had a close encounter with a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL that was just a little bit too reticent and kept backing away from us. MEXICAN CHICKADEES and CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS were quite vocal at Rustler Park.

At Willcox, there were a few differences from yesterday. BAIRD'S SANDPIPER numbers were up. Long-billed Curlews were absent. Species present today and not yesterday were NORTHERN SHOVELER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and FRANKLIN'S GULL. 

Day list (83 species recorded):
Ruddy Duck, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture
Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Spotted, Western, Least & Baird's Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Franklin's Gull, White-winged Dove, Greater Roadrunner, N. Pygmy-Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, White-throated Swift, Blue-throated & Black-chinned, & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Dusky-capped, Brown-crested & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Hermit, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive, Lucy's, Black-throated Gray & Grace's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Black-throated Sparrow, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, July 15, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
First of three days with Jim and Audrey Gift from Haslett, MI. Due to the clouds remaining from yesterday's pretty decent monsoon rains, the day started cool and the temperature stayed low for much of the morning. We took advantage of the cool conditions by birding mostly at low elevation in the Patagonia area.

We left Sierra Vista at 5:00am and found many LESSER NIGHTHAWKS active on highway 82 near highway 90, and a COMMON NIGHTHAWK "peenting" behind the Texaco gas station on highway 82 near the intersection with 83. This was my first SE AZ Common Nighthawk of the year. Some years I see them as early as mid June (this year I was out of town) but in most years it's usually during the first two weeks of July.

We did some whistle-stop birding near Patagonia Lake, mostly for sparrows. BOTTERI'S SPARROWS (many present, some singing) were easy to find; CASSIN'S SPARROW was a little less vocal and harder to find. We had scope views of both species. Also singing were BLACK-THROATED and LARK SPARROWS. At the lake proper we stayed just long enough to pick up NEOTROPIC CORMORANT (about 12 were present). At least 3-BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS were present.

Our main target at Kino Springs was VARIED BUNTING and we were fortunate to see a particularly spectacular looking individual foraging on the ground at close range. Our 1 1/2 hours of birding here, mostly near first pond, was quite productive with over 30 species recorded including GREEN HERON, GRAY HAWK, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, ASH-THROATED, BROWN-CRESTED & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, scads of PHAINOPEPLAS, CANYON WREN, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S WARBLER and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT uncharacteristically perched in the open.

We did not look for Tropical Kingbird. The water level in the first pond is now seriously low and many fish are dead and stinking up the place. 

A short stop at the Roadside Rest produced WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD, ROCK WREN and a handful of common species. The Becard had not been seen here this morning as of 9:15am.

The Paton's yard was loaded with hummingbirds, most of which were BROAD-BILLED & BLACK-CHINNED. Also present were at least 2-VIOLET-CROWNED, as many as 6-RUFOUS, 1-ALLEN'S and 1-ANNA'S . Among the other species from 30 recorded in 30 minutes were calling GRAY HAWK, lots of INCA DOVES, THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD, HOODED ORIOLE and BRONZED COWBIRD.

We spent the rest of the morning birding along Harshaw Creek and in Harshaw Canyon where we recorded 30+ species including GRAY HAWK, many CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD, MEXICAN JAY, BUSHTIT, ROCK & CANYON WRENS, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, several SUMMER TANAGERS and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Day list (80 species recorded. target birds underlined):
Neotropic Cormorant, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Great Blue & Green Herons, Black & Turkey Vultures, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Coot, Rock, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Lesser & Common Nighthawks, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned, Anna's, Rufous & Allen's Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Thick-billed Kingbirds, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Bell's Vireo, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Lark, Black-throated, Botteri's, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Varied Bunting, Hooded & Scott's Orioles, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle and Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Tuesday, July 16, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Jim and Audrey for a moderately long day of target birding. We started in the Sulphur Springs Valley then spent much of our time in the Chiricahuas, finishing up with an hour at Willcox and a brief stop in St. David. We had a successful day and managed to locate all 24 species that we looked for, although we failed to see two of them. It was another mostly cloudy day and we saw rain in a couple places. Sierra Vista and many other areas received plenty of rain overnight.

The day started frustratingly on Frontier Road with a very secretive BULLOCK'S ORIOLE that refused to reveal itself. We didn't know it at the time but this rather common bird became our nemesis. Returning to Davis Road we soon picked up the first of 20 or so SWAINSON'S HAWKS that we saw throughout the valley. We had great success on Coffman Road with good sightings of SCALED QUAIL (after working too hard on the first couple) and side by side views of BENDIRE'S and CURVE-BILLED THRASHERS. For good measure, a PEREGRINE FALCON flashed by.

Because of the season I really only expected to get one of our target thrashers but I decided to stop at a regular Crissal spot on Lee Road anyway, saying "what the hell".  This turned out to be one of those serendipitous moments that we couldn't have scripted better. I rolled to a halt as a ROADRUNNER put in an appearance and group of SCALED QUAIL scurried across the road. Jim spotted a BOBCAT that ran across the road twice followed by a Deer and then a second Bobcat. While all this was going on, a CRISSAL THRASHER flew in and perched up on a power line for a couple of minutes! As I've said many times, I'd rather be lucky than good. CASSIN'S SPARROWS were singing here as well as in a number of other locations.

We left the valley and entered the mountains on Pinery Canyon Road, my favorite birding location in the Chiricahuas. An early morning drive starting in grassland and climbing through the various habitats along this route often produces many species. Today didn't disappoint and our two hour stop and go trip up to Onion Saddle produced almost 50 species, including a good number of target species.

We got off to a great start due to a fortuitous meeting with Dave Jasper and the Camp Chiricahua tour. He told us about MONTEZUMA QUAIL just 200 yards up the road. Sure enough, we spotted a male and female and enjoyed a great view of them from our vehicle, just off the side of the road. Thanks Dave!

At our next stop, not too far into the forest, we had great looks at couple of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS close to the road as well as PLUMBEOUS VIREO, MEXICAN CHICKADEE, GRACE'S WARBLER and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. The latter three were at a much lower than typical elevation for this time of year.

Continuing on, we had to work (lots of stops) for RED-FACED WARBLER but our reward came with some wonderful eye-level looks at a singing and foraging individual. We also added GREATER PEWEE (several birds calling, perched high and also at eye-level), numerous CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, HUTTON'S VIREO and HEPATIC TANAGER.

Continuing on above Onion Saddle we had to work for almost an hour at a regular spot for VIRGINIA'S WARBLER before getting anything like a decent view. This bird can be a real pest! By the time we reached Rustler Park we only needed PYGMY NUTHATCH and OLIVE WARBLER. Although we found both, we could certainly have used some better views. With thunder rolling and a storm threatening, the sky was an awful backdrop for viewing treetop birds. However, we took what we could and headed down the mountain as the rain began to fall.

The only heat we encountered today (albeit briefly) was along the Paradise Road where we had mixed success. It only took a few minutes near the cemetery to find a semi-cooperative JUNIPER TITMOUSE. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW a little further down the road. We found an individual that sang for about 30 minutes as we tracked it (or better said, as it led us on a merry old chase), only to disappear as we finally homed in on its position.

With that, we left the mountains on Foothills Road towards a very dark looking thunderstorm with lots of lightning. Fortunately, most was north of I-10 and we only caught a bit of it. Conditions at Willcox continue excellent and our birding in the rain soon produced two target birds: FRANKLIN'S GULL and BAIRD'S SANDPIPER. Other species present included 1-SNOWY EGRET, 3-GREATER and 2-LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 2-LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 2-SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, 2-SPOTTED SANDPIPERS and the usual WESTERN & LEAST plus lots of AVOCETS and WILSON'S PHALAROPES. As we were leaving, my season first BLACK TERN flew in over the Golf Course pond.

The final twist in the day came in St. David. I pulled up at the spot were I had seen MISSISSIPPI KITE a few days ago and told Jim it had taken me about 20 minutes to see one. As soon as we got out of the vehicle, Jim raised his glasses and said "here's a kite coming in", and so there was. It took all of 1 minute! We continued on to a very stormy Sierra Vista where our day ended about 14 hours after it started.

Day list (112 species recorded, target birds underlined) :
Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Mississippi Kite, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Scaled, Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, Am. Coot, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Solitary, Spotted, Western, Least & Baird's Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Franklin's Gull, Black Tern, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Lesser Nighthawk, Magnificent & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn, Ladder-backed, Arizona & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, European Starling, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Cactus, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Tree & Barn Swallows, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Juniper Titmice, House Sparrow, House Finch, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Song, Black-chinned, Lark, Black-throated, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Wednesday, July 17, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day  
Third and final day with Jim and Audrey. Today our target list was down to three species -- Elegant Trogon, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher and Rufous-winged Sparrow.

On another cloudy and cool morning, we started the Box Canyon road around sunrise. The drive over to Madera Canyon produced several singing sparrows among 20+ species -- GRASSHOPPER (we paused to see this one), BOTTERI'S, CASSIN'S, RUFOUS-CROWNED, BLACK-THROATED and LARK SPARROWS.

As we passed Florida Wash, we stopped briefly to look for a singing RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW but soon abandoned that until later. We headed up the Vault Mine trail and made camp near a trogon nest tree. A chance meeting with Jack Murray who was heading up the trail confirmed my fears that the trogons had fledged a few days ago. Now we would have to do it the hard way. Our short hike wasn't in vain though since SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were nesting in the neighborhood and easy to see. 

Although it took a little effort, we eventually found a territorial male ELEGANT TROGON below the Chuparosa Inn (thanks to Jack for the tip) and enjoyed a great full frontal view.

Now it was back to Florida Wash to do battle with RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW. Again we had to work, but 30 minutes of effort in the sun and humid conditions paid off with good looks at a perched and singing bird.

We finished up around midday at the San Pedro House where we heard but did not see BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. Unfortunately, the trail to the river (where they are common) is still closed.  Storm clouds and rain were all around us as we made the short trip back to Sierra Vista. The monsoon season is finally starting to live up to its name.

As we parted company after a successful three days, Jim and Audrey were headed to the Chiricahuas for a few days and were not expecting to do much birding there because of the closure. However, when they arrive I know they'll be happy to hear the good news below (as will lots of local birders and those with upcoming trips).  

GOOD NEWS:  Open again starting tomorrow, July 18.
All areas within the Coronado National Forest. 
Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary.

Friday, July 19, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
First of three days with Jack Wright from McLean, VA and Cathy Pasterczyk from Albuquerque, NM. Our primary objectives are three target birds for Jack. Today we started with Flame-colored Tanager.

We left Sierra Vista at 5:00am under cloudy skies (heavy rain by midday) and started up the trail from the Forest Service parking lot at 5:30am. We had to go the long way around because I am now persona non grata at Beatty's (future clients take note). Tom Beatty hasn't told me why, but perhaps he'll tell you.

For many hours, Flame Boy was decidedly uncooperative today and it took the longest amount of time to date (since April) to see the adult male FLAME-COLORED TANAGER well. We arrived above the old mine shaft at 6:30am to find the bird calling high in a fir tree only to lose it without a glimpse almost immediately. Then followed several encounters at 7:10am (seen in flight), 9:10am (several in the clear but backlit views), 9:40 & 10:10 (heard only) and 10:40 (heard and seen in flight).

Although Jack managed several looks that combined to make a "countable" bird, it was really very unsatisfactory and left us with the feeling of a somewhat hollow victory. We set a deadline of 12:00pm to try and get a better view, however. by 11:00am the desire to leave was strong. Fortunately, I talked him into staying  and our reward came shortly after 11:00 when the bird started calling again about 200 yards below the mine. We tracked it along the bottom of the canyon as it moved rapidly to a point 100 yards above the mine where it crossed over to the upslope side and started feeding low. Hallelujah! This is the spot where almost all my good sightings have occurred and it was here that we were finally able to get killer views for several minutes. It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!

In between tanager episodes we made a short sortie up canyon where a SPOTTED OWL was roosting in a fairly obvious location in a medium sized fir tree next to the trail. This is the first time that I have seen one using a Fir in Miller, although my data from here is limited. It takes years of data to draw conclusions, because the owls select different roost types in different seasons.. From my experience in SE AZ (mostly in Scheelite Canyon), Spotted Owls generally prefer Oaks for roosting on a year-round basis with a shift towards Maples in summer. 

Easy to see or hear species in the canyon today included ARIZONA WOODPECKER, GREATER PEWEE (singing), HERMIT THRUSH (singing), PLUMBEOUS & WARBLING VIREOS (both singing) and RED-FACED WARBLER (mostly silent). The Rufous-capped Warbler, first seen yesterday, was seen again early this morning (we didn't look for it).

It was a frustrating morning at times but it turned out well in the end. Not before time either, because the rain started as we walked out of the canyon. Shortly after we arrived back in town the rain became very heavy and the mountains were obscured. We need it! The only downside for me was that I injured my ankle again by stepping on a rock and twisting it just like a couple of weeks ago. Ouch.

We recorded the following in the canyon (lower road and trail):
Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Band-tailed Pigeon, Spotted Owl, Blue-throated, Magnificent, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Arizona & Hairy Woodpeckers, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Dusky-capped & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Hermit Thrush, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Flame-colored, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, Pyrrhuloxia and Blue Grosbeak.

More GOOD NEWS: Open again -- Canyons on Fort Huachuca and the San Pedro River.

Saturday, July 20, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with Jack and Cathy. Our target bird today was Five-striped Sparrow.

We left Sierra Vista at 2:30am and picked up a BARN OWL as we passed through Sonoita. COMMON POORWILLS were initially hard to come by on the Ruby Road but a short wait for the birds to start feeding eventually produced at least 3 of them sitting in the road.

The road into California Gulch now has plenty of standing water and one regular puddle will prevent small vehicles from passing through. Water is flowing in places were water normally flows at this time of year and we waded through 8 inches of water at the south end of the gulch.

FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS were easy to find today and we encountered at least 3 birds perched up and singing. On the down side, a nest that I saw being built last week has been washed away. Also destroyed was a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET nest that I saw being built recently, although the bird was still present. VARIED BUNTINGS were plentiful and singing but hard to see for a while. Eventually, we had some great scope looks at both sparrows and buntings. 

Other species in the gulch included GRAY HAWK, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S, THICK-BILLED and WESTERN KINGBIRDS (the latter two are both scarce here), YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and HOODED ORIOLE.

Sunday, July 21, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Third and final day with Jack and Cathy. Our target bird today was Rufous-capped Warbler.

We left Sierra Vista at 4:00am and arrived at the upper spring at 5:40am. Two RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS first showed up at 6:05am but didn't stick around very long. Melody Kehl was also in the canyon with three clients and between us we tracked the birds for almost 3 hours as they put in a few brief appearances on the south slope and in the canyon bottom above the spring. They were mostly silent for long periods. Vocalizations were limited to the soft ticking call (similar to Black-chinned Sparrow) and a few short bursts of song. I never heard them give their hard ticking call.

At 9:00am we were rewarded for our persistence and bravery (or stupidity!), working on the rocky trails on the north slope, when both birds returned to the spring area, singing strongly. This time they stayed around for a minute or so and perched in the open quite close to everyone. I've mentioned several times before about how these birds are absolutely fearless -- they will go wherever they want to go regardless of your presence. Sometimes that's right next to anyone who happens to be standing there, as happened to us today! 

Cloudy conditions prevailed for much of the morning and it was moderately humid. I was surprised by the lack of standing water after the significant rainfall that we've had. Bird activity was only moderate although CANYON TOWHEES and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS were abundant (the former all the way from Hwy 90 to the spring). Both species were singing constantly. Also quite vocal were WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, CANYON WREN and SPOTTED TOWHEE. 

Even though the warbler and a pristine looking SCOTT'S ORIOLE perched up and singing at close range were well worth the price of admission, we also had a nice bonus on the walk back down canyon. As we approached the lower oak area, I disturbed a COOPER'S HAWK that flew across canyon (with a few complaining kek-kek calls) and perched on an Agave. Then came a moment of serendipity because sitting on a rock below the hawk was a GOLDEN EAGLE. Neither bird seemed to acknowledge the other apart from a brief look.

I recorded the following species in the canyon from 4:20 to 10:30am.
Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Golden Eagle, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Black-chinned, Anna's & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Hutton's Vireo, N. Mockingbird, Crissal Thrasher, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Rufous-capped Warbler, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Hooded & Scott's Orioles and Brown-headed Cowbird.

We finished up the morning with a short visit to Sawmill Canyon. After a 7 week closure it felt like I like I was visiting an old friend. Our main objective here was BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. Although it was almost 11:30am when we arrived, several birds were singing and easy to track and see near the cabin. An ELEGANT TROGON was calling from a regular territory.

Monday, July 22, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
I took advantage of a day off today to check Garden Canyon. Because of the recent closure, I haven't been able to bird here for 7 weeks and (in particular) I wanted to check on sparrow locations in the lower grassland. 

After heavy rain late yesterday, it was cloudy, cool and damp as I started up the canyon shortly after 6:00am. Nevertheless, BOTTERI'S SPARROWS were in full voice and very easy to find -- easily in double figures just from the main Garden Canyon road without checking any side roads. CASSIN'S SPARROWS were a little less common but still easy to find. GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was more of a challenge and I only located one singing individual. Other singing sparrows were LARK and RUFOUS-CROWNED. Also seen and/or heard in the grassland were lots of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BLUE GROSBEAK, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and LILIAN'S MEADOWLARK.

The most obvious sound at the upper picnic area was that of dripping water! Birdwise it was pretty quiet, although a couple of male ELEGANT TROGONS, dueling by song and seen at close range, and some occasionally noisy SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were a nice exception. Other species here included DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

I recorded the following between the lower grassland and the upper picnic area:
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Elegant Trogon, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Violet-green Swallow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Painted Redstart, Grasshopper, Lark, Botteri's, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Hepatic Tanager, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Scott's Oriole, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Afterwards I made a short and very uninspiring visit to Sierra Vista WWTP. Very little of note among 20 species seen except for the always inspiring YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Wednesday, July 24, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
First of five days with Carmen Tarantino from Buffalo, NY. We've birded together on six previous occasions -- three times in Arizona (winter/spring), twice in California and once in Texas. On this trip we'll be spending a little time in the White Mountains and the remainder in Southeast Arizona looking for target species and photo opportunities. After eliminating pie-in-the-sky stuff, we have a list of 36 target birds of which I expect to find at least 25 while still allowing some time for photography.

Last night we drove from Tucson to Mesa for an overnight stay in preparation for an early start at Slate Creek Divide. A short drive this morning put us there shortly before 6:00am when very little was stirring. We covered plenty of ground and eventually found 3 or 4 singing GRAY VIREOS. Initially, we spread ourselves too thin tracking multiple birds working on a "follow the closest sound" principle. We soon wised up and settled on one particular individual and eventually managed several decent views of this often elusive bird. Sometimes you catch a break and get one that doesn't know that he's supposed to play hard to get, but we certainly didn't luck out today. Other species from 20 present included WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, JUNIPER TITMOUSE, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, PHAINOPEPLA and LARK, BLACK-CHINNED & RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS.

We backtracked to Sunflower to briefly check the nest area of the long since fledged Common Black-Hawks. No water is present in the creek so the birds have likely moved on.

Then came a long drive to the White Mountains where our fortunes took a big downturn with the weather. We couldn't have timed our arrival at Sunrise campground any worse -- the heavens opened just as we arrived shortly before noon and we abandoned any hope of looking for Three-toed Woodpecker. We headed towards Greer but couldn't outrun the storm so we continued on to Springerville to wait out the rain.

The best weather conditions were in the east so we visited Sipe WA to look for PINYON JAY. Unfortunately, we found only three individuals feeding on the ground some distance away.  We continued south and despite the rain, had much better success in Nutrioso where we found a large flock of at least 50 birds near the reservoir. Also here was a "flock" of  12 LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS all in the same tree, looking very bedraggled in the rain.

Our next target was OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and we found one along the Big Lake road near Divide Hill trailhead, a very reliable spot for this species. After 30 minutes of tracking a calling but uncharacteristically elusive individual, we ended up with a very nice scope look as the bird perched atop a dead tree in typical fashion.

We ended the day over in Greer with an unsuccessful search for Willow Flycatcher in Butler Canyon. Although the rather dismal conditions didn't help our cause, I fully expected to find one. In fact, there was very little activity in the early evening gloom -- among the few species here were SPOTTED SANDPIPER, DUSKY FLYCATCHER and CLARK'S NUTCRACKER. 

All in all a very frustrating day (Hi Colleen!) with only 5 target species seen. 

Day list (65 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am, Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Gila & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided, Dusky, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Pinyon & Steller's Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Gray Vireo, Phainopepla, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Juniper Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Black-chinned, Vesper, Lark & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Summer & Western Tanagers, Blue Grosbeak, Hooded Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.   

Thursday, July 25, 2002     Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with Carmen. After some beautiful early morning weather, the rain again dealt us a couple of bad blows for the remainder of the day.

We began the day at Big Lake Lookout with an unsuccessful search for Blue Grouse. After many years of seeing this bird on most of my trips to Green's Peak, I decided to try Big Lake Lookout where I've had some recent success. Although we did pick up a target bird here, this was a big mistake! 

Next, we checked Sheep's Crossing then returned to Butler Canyon only to strike out on Willow Flycatcher at both locations.  Sheep's Crossing was quiet with only OSPREY, GRAY JAY, DUSKY FLYCATCHER and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE of note. Butler Canyon also produced  the latter two species plus ORANGE-CROWNED, VIRGINIA'S, RED-FACED and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS and a handful of others. During a brief check of West Fork in Greer we failed to turn up any woodpeckers at all, let alone any with three toes. VIRGINIA'S and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS and CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were present here. 

As monsoon rain clouds gathered, we headed over to Green's Peak where I should have gone in the first place. Despite the later hour (10:30am) and lots of noisy kids (and adults) visiting the lookout tower, we found a very cooperative male BLUE GROUSE. We had great looks at a displaying bird and got the Full Monte with tail fanning and inflated air sacs. The bird even stepped up on a log at close range. The only downside came at the critical moment of a photograph -- we spooked the bird and it rocketed up into a tree! Darn it (or words to that effect). My Magellan GPS 315 reported the elevation at the base of the tower as10,147 feet (the official height at the top of the 60 foot tower is 10,200). In other words, pretty accurate!

As we left Green's Peak and dropped down into Greer, we passed though a major rain and hailstorm.. So much hail, in fact, that I was worried the windshield might crack. After lunch at the always good Country Cafe in Greer, we headed over to Sunrise again. Unfortunately, storm activity hadn't subsided so we kissed off Three-toed Woodpecker and started back to Southeast Arizona, where our miserable luck with the weather continued. Three hours after leaving Greer we entered Aravaipa Canyon precisely at the moment that the first raindrops began to fall. An unbelievable amount of rain fell in a short time and we reluctantly abandoned the search for Common Black-Hawk. The road was now awash with water running down from the slopes carrying lots of mud and debris -- had we waited much longer we probably wouldn't have got out without problems.

An overall disappointing day with only three target birds added, redeemed somewhat by the spectacular BLUE GROUSE sighting.

Day List (46 species recorded):
Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Harris's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Blue Grouse, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Steller's & Gray Jays, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am, Robin, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, House Wren, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Mountain Chickadee, Horned Lark, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's Warbler & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed Junco, Green-tailed Towhee, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Friday, July 26, 2002     Previous Day     Next Day  
Day 3 with Carmen saw us start with a trudge up Miller Canyon to do battle once again with Flame Boy.

We left the trailhead at 5:30am and arrived above the old mine shaft a little under an hour later. The adult male FLAME-COLORED TANAGER called briefly around 6:30am and about 20 minutes later we had a brief look at the bird before it disappeared a few hundred yards up and across canyon, where it's too dense too see anything. After a brief distraction with RED-FACED WARBLER (seen well later) the tanager returned and we had some good looks as the bird foraged at the top of a fir tree. Other birds from 30 recorded during our short stay in the canyon included BAND-TAILED PIGEON, ARIZONA & HAIRY WOODPECKERS, CORDILLERAN and SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, HUTTON'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS and PAINTED REDSTART.

Our next port of call was Garden Canyon where we had great success in the grassland even though it was late morning and almost 90 degrees. We found BOTTERI'S and CASSIN'S SPARROWS both singing and enjoyed 'scope looks. Further up canyon we had good looks at SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER and HEPATIC TANAGER. Ironically, we had to work the hardest to see the easiest bird, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER.

Monsoon clouds built rapidly and our bad timing carried over from yesterday -- the rain started to fall just as we arrived at Ramsey Canyon. Fortunately it was short lived and we were able to get good looks at a female BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRD. The bird started nestbuilding last week and now seems to be incubating. Photography was very difficult due to poor light and swaying branches. These digiscoped images were shot at 1/40 second and were almost black prior to editing with Photoshop. 

A much better day with 8 target species seen for a total of 16, a little more respectable after three days.

Day List (46 species recorded):
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves,  Berylline, Blue-throated, Magnificent, Anna's & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Arizona & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Dusky-capped & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Barn Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart, Botteri's, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Flame-colored, Hepatic & Western Tanagers and Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks.

Saturday, July 27, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 4 with Carmen. Yet another 2:30am start for a trip to California Gulch.

COMMON POORWILLS were decidedly AWOL along the Ruby Road. Despite much time and effort we only saw a couple of birds sitting in the road (at some distance) and perhaps 3 more flying.

California Gulch now has plenty of flowing water and we put our wellies to good use wading through several deep pools at the south end of the gulch. FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS were easy to locate (at least three individuals perched up and singing) and we enjoyed 'scope looks at them. VARIED BUNTINGS generally stayed low on the hillsides with some chasing going on between males and females. A calling and conspicuous THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD was present for the third consecutive trip so perhaps they are nesting here this year.

The most interesting bird was a singing BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW, my first in the gulch in any season. Among the other species present from 35 recorded during today's short visit were ROADRUNNER, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, VERMILION, DUSKY-CAPPED, ASH-THROATED & BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, abundant BELL'S VIREOS, BLUE & BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and HOODED ORIOLE.

A stop at the first pond at Kino Springs for a better look at YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT produced 30 species including a small group of CINNAMON TEAL, COMMON GROUND-DOVE and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.

It was raining at the Roadside Rest so we abandoned a stop for Swifts, opting for lunch and a session at the Paton's to wait out the rain. The Paton's yard was very productive with abundant hummingbirds of 5 species -- lots of BROAD-BILLED, several VIOLET-CROWNED, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S, COSTA'S and RUFOUS. Some of the other species seen and heard in and around the yard were GRAY HAWK, THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD, LAZULI BUNTING, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (feeding on apple), ABERT'S TOWHEE and BRONZED COWBIRD.

A return to the soggy Roadside Rest area produced a good sized group of foraging WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS.

Our evening expedition to Moson Road produced 50+ LESSER NIGHTHAWKS working over the Sierra Vista WWTP ponds. This would have been a good place for a sparrow workshop -- singing around sunset were GRASSHOPPER, CASSIN'S, BOTTERI'S and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS. Also present was a majestic SWAINSON'S HAWK and a calling SCALED QUAIL. We finished up the long day by trying for a better view of COMMON POORWILL but all we got was a bird flying away as it waved bye-bye.

Sunday July 28, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
This fifth and last day with Carmen was somewhat of a physical challenge with two trips to French Joe Canyon. Unfortunately, both trips had similar disappointing results with Rufous-capped Warblers heard and seen briefly in flight only. The canyon now has considerable flowing water in the lower and middle sections; and some flowing water in the area of the spring, although the pools below the spring still do not have water.

We left Sierra Vista at 4:00am, early enough to flush a LESSER NIGHTHAWK and 4 COMMON POORWILLS as we drove into the canyon. Shortly after our 5:45am arrival at the upper spring, I heard the ticking sounds of RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER. Over the next hour, at least two birds called infrequently until 6:30am when one of them began singing strongly on the south slope above the spring then flew quickly into the dense vegetation in the creek bed. Apart from one call at 7:30am as a bird headed down canyon, that was it as far as the warbler was concerned.

A little after 9:00am, we decided to leave and try again later in the day. I don't recall ever finding the warbler without hearing it first and with 15 people in the canyon and 19 more heading up the trail I knew I was in for a tough time. We returned to the upper spring area at 4:30pm and remained until almost 7:15pm. There was close to zero bird activity for the entire period. 

RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER called once from the canyon bottom above the spring at 5:45pm and a bird was singing strongly about 100 yards above the spring on the south slope at 6:15pm. Just as this morning, the bird zipped into dense vegetation and disappeared without a trace.

A slow day in the canyon with very few birds and hardly any song. Interestingly, BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS have been silent on recent trips but they were singing today. We recorded the following 31 species over the two trips:

Mourning & White-winged Doves, Spotted Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Plumbeous Vireo, N. Mockingbird, Crissal Thrasher, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Rufous-capped Warbler, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic Tanager, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak and Scott's Oriole.

We finished 5 days of specific target birding with 24 targets seen (one less than I had expected) and 155 total species. Highlights included BLUE GROUSE, WHITE-EARED & BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRDS, RED-FACED WARBLER, FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW, FLAME-COLORED TANAGER and VARIED BUNTING. The Rufous-capped Warbler would have been a nice finale but we couldn't make it happen.

Wednesday, July 31, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
I had planned to take a short break to the White Mountains over the past few days. However, with considerable reluctance and disappointment I decided to stay home to rest my injured ankle that I keep on injuring again. Today I ventured out to Sierra Vista WWTP.

In keeping with my other visits since the ponds reopened this month, activity was extremely low. I can see that the lack of access to open water is going to be an ongoing source of major frustration. How many sewage ponds can you go to and not even see a Coot! Virtually no open water is visible from the interior, although I did see some MALLARDS because they were out on one of the berms. Later I checked along Moson Road where the only pond I could see that actually had some water had zero birds.

Looking at the marsh from the main viewing area, I saw a couple of distant CATTLE EGRETS (my 2nd record for them here in July) and one of the workers driving around flushed a group of 7-WHITE-FACED IBIS. Also in the marsh were the usual common suspects including plenty of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS; and a few LAZULI BUNTINGS (my earliest fall return date at the ponds is July 25).

The highlight was a perched PEREGRINE FALCON (also my 2nd record here in July) that I determined to be an anatum immature.

The grassland yielded singing GRASSHOPPER and CASSIN'S SPARROWS.

I recorded the following 26 species from 9:30-11:00am.
Mallard, Cattle Egret, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Scaled Quail, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Barn Swallow, Horned Lark, Lesser Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Grasshopper, Lark, Black-throated & Cassin's Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds and Eastern Meadowlark.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Wednesday, July 31, 2002.

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - July, 2002 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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