Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - January, 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 Tuesday, January 29, 2002.

Tuesday, January 1, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
After recording my first bird of the year (HOUSE SPARROW) as I left home this morning, I spent a very quiet couple of hours on the San Pedro, starting near the San Pedro House and then walking around Kingfisher pond and back north along the river. I don't know whose bright idea it was to introduce Beavers -- they have surely decimated the trees around the pond, it looks like a war zone there. 

Although conditions were quite pleasant and my walk was enjoyable, the birding was decidedly mediocre. The best birds that I encountered were flycatchers -- a GRAY FLYCATCHER in the mesquite near the SP House; 2-HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS (one calling, one silent) and 1 calling DUSKY FLYCATCHER, all along the river trail north of the pond. Less common species here included KILLDEER and BLACK-THROATED SPARROW.

Between home, the San Pedro and a few minutes along Moson Road, my not so auspicious start to the year produced 46 species:
Mallard, N. Shoveler, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock & Mourning Doves, Common Ground-Dove. Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat, Song,  Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, January 2, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
First of 5 days with Richard Spight from Pt. Richmond, CA and Judith Fortney from Durham, NC. A mid afternoon arrival in Tucson left us with just enough time to visit Sweetwater Wetlands and Tohono Chul Park. The afternoon temperature in Tucson was in the low 60s under partly cloudy skies.

Activity at Sweetwater wetlands was quite good for the time of day and we managed 40+ species in a couple of hours. Highlights were the ever present HARRIS'S HAWKS (3 seen), many CINNAMON and one BLUE-WINGED TEAL, a lone CANADA GOOSE, and a somewhat distant PRAIRIE FALCON perched on a pylon.

Over at Tohono Chul Park it only took a few seconds to locate the previously reported LONG-EARED OWL roosting in the lone Pine tree behind the Tea room. Activity here was minimal as darkness approached but we did see a couple more HARRIS'S HAWKS.

Day list (47 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe,  Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Harris's Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Least Sandpiper, Killdeer, Rock, Mourning & Inca Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Long-eared Owl, Gila Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Cactus & Marsh Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Abert's Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, January 3, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with Richard and Judith. We spent the morning in the Avra Valley and the afternoon fighting construction delays on the Catalina Highway. A cloudy yet pleasant day as far as the weather was concerned, but a day of few birds. 

The day began well enough when we picked up several GILDED FLICKERS on Picture Rocks Road along with a few other desert species. Mile Wide Road was tough going and we struck out on Sage Sparrow after much time and effort (I should have gone further north but decided to save some time!). We did find PRAIRIE FALCON and BENDIRE'S & CRISSAL THRASHERS among 25 species.  

Our time on Mt. Lemmon was mostly wasted with construction delays although we did enjoy some nice scenery. Our birding was confined to Molino Basin (ARIZONA WOODPECKER, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO), Prison Camp Road (WESTERN SCRUB-JAY) and Bear Canyon (RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, PYGMY NUTHATCH).

Day list (44 species recorded):
Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Mourning & Inca Doves, Acorn, Gila & Arizona Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Gilded Flicker, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, Crissal Thrasher, European Starling, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Cactus, Rock & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Yellow-eyed Junco, White-crowned, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia and Western Meadowlark.

Friday, January 4, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 3 with Richard and Judith. A day that began a little below freezing in Sierra Vista turned into a very pleasant day under mostly clear skies. It was warm enough to shed a few layers and don shorts by noon at Patagonia Lake, although by late afternoon in the San Rafael Valley it was cold with a biting wind.

My first visit of the year to Patagonia Lake State Park was a birdy affair highlighted by a male ELEGANT TROGON and a female GREEN KINGFISHER. Both birds were along Sonoita Creek about 1/4 mile from the lake and had been located by local birder Jerry Bock - thanks for the help Jerry (he had also found the Louisiana Waterthrush and Eastern Phoebe but we didn't look for those). The Kingfisher was a welcome sighting because I didn't see a single bird in Arizona during 2001.

Along the east marsh trail we had excellent views of VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA feeding in the open. Many SWAMP SPARROWS and a few COMMON SNIPES were in the same area. We didn't see much in the way of flycatchers -- several GRAY and 2-ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS. Nobody that we met had seen the Nutting's Flycatcher, including a party of four that had been searching for three days.

Among the birds on the water were many EARED GREBES, 2-WESTERN GREBES, 2-NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, a handful of duck species including LESSER SCAUP, the continuing female Greater seen by others, and 13-COMMON MERGANSERS. For me the most interesting birds of the day were 3-TREE SWALLOWS working over the water. I only have 6 Tree Swallow records in the state for January, and this was only my second January record in southeast Arizona.

Activity at the Paton's in mid afternoon was generally low and our timing was such that we didn't see the Ruddy-Ground Dove, just a few COMMON GROUND-DOVES. Also present were a couple of ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LAZULI BUNTING. Worth the price of admission were side by side views of several male and female NORTHERN CARDINALS and PYRRHULOXIAS, and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER feeding on an apple half..

Our cruise through the San Rafael Valley was highlighted only by the beautiful scenery, with nary a bird to be seen. I was hoping to find some Longspurs but we didn't come across a single flock. Even the normally abundant HORNED LARKS were in very low numbers.

Day list (67 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Eared & Western Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Common Snipe, Mourning & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Belted & Green Kingfishers, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, January 5, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 4 with Richard and Judith. Even though it was only 20 degrees when we left Sierra Vista at 7:30am this morning, the day turned out to be very pleasant. After several days of "casual target birding" during which time we picked up 16 target birds, today we became a little more focused with trips to Sulphur Springs Valley, the Mule Mountains and Scheelite Canyon in the Huachucas.

We started looking for MOUNTAIN PLOVERS (when the temperature was somewhat bone chilling) in the fields along Davis Road followed by those on Central highway. However, this time consuming task didn't end until we found a group of at least 25 on Rucker Canyon Road. The birds were on the north side about 1 mile in and fairly close to the road. There may well have been many more but we stopped looking! Also in the fields here were a small group of LONG-BILLED CURLEWS (we noted 7 of them), 50+ AMERICAN PIPITS, hundreds of HORNED LARKS and the usual sparrows and LARK BUNTINGS.

Our only other target bird in the valley was FERRUGINOUS HAWK and by now we had seen around a dozen of them, perched and flying. We made a detour north to look at Barn Owl but the normally reliable bird was nowhere to be found. However, we did add PRAIRIE FALCON, MERLIN and GREAT HORNED OWL for our trouble. 

Next, we made a token stop at Whitewater Draw where, thanks to Chris Benesh of Field Guides, I saw the soaring ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. We spent virtually no time at all here and saw only SANDHILL CRANES and a handful of other species.

Our next  whistle-stop was in the Mule Mountains were it didn't take long to find two target sparrows -- BLACK-CHINNED and RUFOUS-CROWNED. Also present here close to old town Bisbee was a WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.

Our final targets of the day in the Huachucas were both owls. As far as Scheelite Canyon was concerned, the sun had almost set as we began our walk up the canyon at 2:30pm. A pleasant surprise just 3/16 mile in was a male ELEGANT  TROGON. I've noted in previous winters that a reliable food source seems to keep these birds around despite some very cold weather (if it was 20 in town last night, how cold was it in Scheelite?). A fair amount of fruiting Madrone was in the area that we saw the bird.

A little further up canyon we heard our target NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL and headed towards it. At one point we managed to get within 20 yards of the bird but couldn't see it in a dense Juniper and the bird eventually left  -- one that got away. I focused next on Spotted Owl which almost got away as well. After searching the lower roosting area for some time, I hadn't found the bird, just lots of fresh whitewash. It was time to head higher but that whitewash was nagging at me. I rechecked a large, regularly used dense oak for the third time. Lo and behold, a very well concealed SPOTTED OWL filled my binoculars and I was very thankful not to have to head higher into the snow! A good end to the day.

A successful day target bird wise but one of few birds generally. We recorded the following 44 species:
N. Shoveler, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Red-tailed, Ferruginous & Rough-legged Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Curlew, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Spotted Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Elegant Trogon, Arizona Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Bewick's Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned, Savannah, Black-chinned, Vesper & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's Blackbird.

Sunday, January 6, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 5 and final day with Richard and Judith. Another morning that began cold (24 degrees) but turned into a fine day for birding with partly cloudy skies, a pleasantly warm afternoon temperature and zero wind. Today we birded at Kino Springs, Peña Blanca Lake, lower Chino Canyon and Madera Canyon. We had an enjoyable day but struck out on all except one target bird.

A fairly large group of folks were birding at the first pond at Kino Springs so we confined our activities to the club house area. I was hoping for a Williamson's Sapsucker in the pines here but, as far as I can tell, all the sapwells are old so a bird may not be here this year. We recorded 35 common species included COOPER'S HAWK, SORA, GREAT HORNED OWL, BELTED KINGFISHER and GRAY FLYCATCHER.

Next, we spent a very pleasant 2 1/2 hours at Peña Blanca Lake where the hoped for Hammond's Flycatcher didn't honor us with its presence. Good seasonal birds for SE AZ though were HEPATIC TANAGER, in the oaks midway along the road from the parking area to the boat launch, and a VARIED THRUSH working the leaf litter at the bottom of the brick steps below the restroom. The thrush sighting was an amusing affair - Richard saw a bird rummaging around and said "I think it's a thrush",  I said "let's make it into the Varied Thrush" (first reported several weeks ago) but the bird turned out to be a HERMIT THRUSH. Then, as I watched it feeding, I saw the VARIED THRUSH working immediately behind it. Ask and ye shall receive!  

Other species from 30+ seen included COMMON MOORHEN, numerous RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS (Peña Blanca is a very reliable location for this species in winter), GRAY FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S VIREO, ROCK WREN (a great look at a very close bird perched on a wall as we ate lunch) and a decent sized flock of AMERICAN ROBINS. The area around the lake has hosted Rufous-backed Robin several times in the past few years.

No sign of the "regular" Snow Goose at Amado Sewage pond, just a few REDHEADS. A lone TURKEY VULTURE had ventured as far north as Green Valley; earlier, BLACK VULTURES were in Nogales. 

Our one target bird success of the day was RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW in lower Chino Canyon. We had to work a little for it but in the end managed a 'scope view. Just so we didn't get too high, our check of the Continental area brought us back to earth when we failed to find the "regular" Lewis's Woodpecker.

Our day ended at a very quiet Madera Canyon, devoid of activity unless you count people. A good reminder of why Madera is one of my least favorite birding locations. This was the least birdy place that we visited in the past 5 days. To be fair though, we did arrive quite late after the sun had left the upper canyon and the Santa Rita Lodge feeder area was the only place with birds. Procter Road was sunny and warm but also had zero birds!

[Note:  Starting January 2 this year, a fee system is now in effect here -- a Forest Service employee was doing good business writing up non-compliant vehicles. For $20 you can buy an annual pass that covers the Catalina Mountains as well as Madera Canyon, a bargain even if you only make 4 visits per year. I bought my pass a few days ago on Mt. Lemmon and even though the paperwork does not mention the applicability at Madera , I did not have any problems today.] 

We recorded a total of 71 species for the day:
Pied-billed Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Great Blue Heron, Black & Turkey Vultures, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock, White-winged & Inca Doves, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Varied &, Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed & Oregon) & Yellow-eyed Juncos, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping, Vesper & Rufous-winged Sparrows, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Hepatic Tanager, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

Friday, January 11, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
First of three days with Carmen Tarantino from Buffalo, NY. This marks the fifth time that we've birded together; previously trips have been in California, Texas and twice in in Arizona. Later this year we have trips scheduled to; Colorado & Wyoming and another in Arizona. For the next few days we'll be looking for about 10 target species as well as trying for a few photographic opportunities. We spent much of the morning and early afternoon in the Tucson area (unseasonably warm there today) fighting construction traffic. Despite the many delays we managed 4 target birds -- 3 out of 4 searched for and one that I didn't expect until tomorrow.

The day began well at Snyder Hill sewage ponds where we soon found the 2-ROSS'S GEESE shortly after the gate was opened at 8:00am. We enjoyed them for a little while and tried some through-the-scope photo shots. By the time we left at 9:00am we had recorded 24 species (with several ponds not checked) including HOODED and COMMON MERGANSERS and WESTERN SANDPIPER. Hooded Mergansers are scarce in SE AZ and it's always a treat to see this delightful bird. Western Sandpiper is very rare in SE AZ in winter, I have a few January records in Pima County, but still none at all in my home Cochise County.

Next stop was the Avra Valley for Sage Thrasher and Sage Sparrow. I learned my lesson from last Sunday when I tried to save time by not heading to the northern part of the valley (plenty of time spent in the southern part of the valley did not yield the sparrow!). Today, a little south of Arizona City around 10:15am, it took no time at all to find half a dozen or so SAGE SPARROWS. We watched them running on the ground like demented pygmy roadrunners and also managed to get good looks at a few birds perched up in good light. That was the end of the good news. The same spot is normally extremely reliable for Sage Thrasher but a further hour of searching was fruitless; the only thrasher that we turned up was CRISSAL THRASHER. Other species included BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, HORNED LARK, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, BREWER'S & LARK SPARROWS and PYRRHULOXIA. A quick check of fields at Western Sod Farm yielded zero birds at all let alone Mountain Plover, so as expected, we'll have to rely on Sulphur Springs Valley for that.

Tohono Chul Park was amazingly crowded with people lunching at the Tea Room, even at 2:00pm. Don't these people have jobs to go to! Carmen had hoped for some shots of the LONG-EARED OWL but it was sitting in a rather obscured position. It didn't take long for us to bail.

After a very frustrating and long drive caused by several traffic delays, we arrived at Peña Blanca Lake shortly after 4:00pm. On my last trip here a few days ago I searched over two hours in vain for HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. Ironically, today we saw one at close range just one minute after leaving the vehicle! Although the "thrush" area (the wooded section beyond the marsh where the lake ends) was quite shady and cool and the wind was a problem, it didn't take long to locate the VARIED THRUSH. We lost and relocated the bird a couple of times as it skulked in the dense tangles, however, we eventually had a great view when it perched in a leafless tree -- the low sun reflected its orange color very well. Other species here included RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and fly-by WESTERN BLUEBIRD.

Day list: (54 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Ross's Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded & Common Mergansers, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Western & Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Gila Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Hammond's Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Varied Thrush, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, Crissal Thrasher, Canyon & Marsh Wrens, Verdin, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Bunting, White-crowned, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark & Sage Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, January 12, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with Carmen. A beautiful day to be in the field weather-wise, 29 degrees when we left Sierra Vista at 6:30am and warm enough for A/C in the afternoon. In terms of birds, however, it was definitely "one of those days". We found only of the three target birds that we looked for and struck out on all three photo opportunities that we had hoped for. Other than that, the day went perfectly.

Our day began at Patagonia Lake where we had the one success of the day in GRAY FLYCATCHER. However, we saw only one of this normally fairly common empid (perhaps due to the early visit time) and that set the tone for the rest of the day. We had hoped for a photo of the ELEGANT TROGON which today we found about 1/4 mile upstream from the creek split on the south side, but the bird soon disappeared. Carmen got some decent shots of the trogon last winter so Green Kingfisher was the real quarry here. Of course, we didn't find that at all. 

We recorded 46 species including the continuing LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH and EASTERN PHOEBE, both were around the creek split area and both were vocalizing. Several TREE SWALLOWS were working over the lake.

Next, we made a brief visit to a very quiet Paton's Yard. Not only did we not see the Ruddy Ground-Dove, we didn't see doves of any flavor! Perhaps a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was the reason.

Back to Sierra Vista and a trip into the Huachucas. Carmen and I have made three previous trips to Scheelite Canyon to try for Spotted Owl photos. Although we found the owl on each occasion, the bird was not in a location conducive to a great photo. Today we tried again and took one step backwards because I failed to find the owl at all. Of course, we walked ourselves silly checking both forks of the upper canyon, finding only plenty of fresh whitewash. To make matters worse we also failed to find our main target, Northern Pygmy-Owl, a bird that I've found with some regularity here recently. Consolations were ARIZONA WOODPECKER and WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, both around the 3/4 mile split.

With just enough daylight left to justify it, we drove back to the Paton's yard to try again for Ruddy Ground-Dove. Plenty of dove action as the birds fed before nightfall. Four species were present - MOURNING, WHITE-WINGED, INCA and COMMON GROUND but, alas, no Ruddy! Consolations were a male and female LAZULI BUNTING and a good scope look at GRAY FLYCATCHER.

Day list: (77 species recorded):
Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Common Snipe, Killdeer, Mourning, White-winged Dove & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, Williamson's Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Gray, Dusky & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Eastern, Say's & Black Phoebes, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, American Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Dark-eyed (Oregon & Gray-headed) Junco, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, Chipping & Black-throated Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, January 13, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 3 and final day with Carmen. Another wonderful weather day -- 28 degrees in the Sulphur Springs Valley in the morning, 75 degrees in Green Valley in the afternoon. We did a little better on birds today with 2 out of  4 targets seen, although the two misses were important winter species that won't be around later in the year when Carmen returns.

The day began well in the Mule Mountains near Bisbee where, despite the cold and lack of sun in the canyon at dawn, it didn't take long to get excellent views of BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW. Not much else was stirring, only WHITE-WINGED DOVE and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY were of note.

Activity was low as we drove north into the Sulphur Springs Valley and, except for a PRAIRIE FALCON on Central Highway, we noted only a handful of common species. It was still very cold as we started searching for plovers in the fields on Davis Road. We didn't find any, just FERRUGINOUS HAWK, LONG-BILLED CURLEW and SANDHILL CRANE. I was tempted to head straight for Rucker Canyon Road but decided to work north methodically, searching as we went. As it turned out I should have gone with my gut feeling because we eventually found 10 MOUNTAIN PLOVERS there (hindsight is a wonderful thing). Also present on Rucker Canyon Road were at least 6-FERRUGINOUS HAWKS and many AMERICAN PIPITS and LARK BUNTINGS.

Next came a long drive over to Green Valley with just a brief stop in Continental to look at LEWIS'S WOODPECKER. Some time ago I checked the old Pima County Maintenance yard for Lawrence's Goldfinch without success (they have been regular there for at least the past two winters), however, a recent report gave me the encouragement  to make an effort today. Unfortunately, the 2 hour drive and a further 2 1/2 hours invested in searching did not pay off. Perhaps the noon to 2:30pm time slot didn't help, although the area was quite birdy with about 20 common species including GAMBEL'S QUAIL, PYRRHULOXIA, ABERT'S TOWHEE, LARK SPARROW and LESSER GOLDFINCH. 

We broke up our journey to Patagonia with a brief stop at Amado sewage pond that held NORTHERN SHOVELER, AMERICAN WIGEON, CANVASBACK, REDHEAD and RING-NECK DUCK.

We spent the last two hours before sunset in the Paton's yard, looking in vain for Ruddy Ground-Dove. Lots of MOURNING, WHITE-WINGED & INCA DOVES and at least 5 COMMON GROUND-DOVES. Other species from 25 seen included RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and LAZULI BUNTING. About 3 weeks ahead of its normal return date, a VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD was seen at the feeders today.

Over the past three days we managed 7 of 11 target species and recorded a total of 120 species (Ross's Goose, Mountain Plover, Hammond's & Gray Flycatchers, Sage & Black-chinned Sparrows and Varied Thrush seen; Northern Pygmy-Owl, Ruddy-Ground-Dove, Sage Thrasher and Lawrence's Goldfinch missed).

Day list (62 species recorded):
Mallard, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Curlew, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Anna's Hummingbird, Lewis's, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Loggerhead Shrike,. N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus Wren, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am, Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Bunting, Song, White-crowned, Chipping, Black-chinned & Lark Sparrows, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Monday, January 14, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Noel and Ginny Perry from Jacksonville, FL. Our target species were Mountain Plover and longspurs so we headed to the Sulphur Springs Valley. The unseasonably warm weather just keeps on coming and after the usual chilly start the temperature climbed into the 70s today.   

Driving into the valley on Davis Road, Ginny spotted a large raptor that turned out to be a GOLDEN EAGLE, a good start to the day.

I went out on a limb today <grin> and headed directly to Rucker Canyon Road. Having seen MOUNTAIN PLOVERS there several times in the past couple of weeks, most importantly yesterday, I was pretty confident of finding them there again. Sure enough they obliged, although I could only find 4 of them. As usual, FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were plentiful and easy to observe. AMERICAN PIPITS, HORNED LARKS, VESPER & SAVANNAH SPARROWS and LARK BUNTINGS were all numerous.

We headed north in search of longspurs and had some fast success in locating both species without ever getting a good view. In the ploughed field on the east side of highway 191 at milepost 33, we found 1 hard-to-see McCOWN'S LONGSPUR in the furrows along with many HORNED LARKS; and a couple of groups of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS containing perhaps 20 birds total. Both species were present here last year. We continued searching around Zuck Farms Road and Moore Road without further success.

Heading back south we picked up SHARP-SHINNED HAWK on Mormon Road and an adult BALD EAGLE on Central Highway (in the first field north of Davis Road on the west side).

Our 1 1/2 hour lunchtime stop at Whitewater Draw was largely unproductive with very few birds, unless you count the 1000s of SANDHILL CRANES! A single "white goose" was with the cranes but too far away to identify as Snow or Ross's.

We finished up with a mid afternoon visit to the San Pedro River (highway 90 area). It was very warm here and activity was extremely low. The best birds from 20 species recorded were a DUSKY FLYCATCHER and a female GREEN KINGFISHER. I heard the kingfisher "clicking" and we tracked it down along the river just south of the linear pond, about 1/8m south of where the San Pedro House trail meets the river. Kingfisher pond had 25 CANVASBACKS.

Day list (53 species recorded):
Gadwall, Mallard, N. Pintail, Canvasback, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Green Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Dusky Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, McCown's & Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Lark Bunting, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's Blackbird.

Friday, January 18, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
The last few days have brought cloudy skies, cooler temperatures and a few sprinkles, perhaps a sign that winter is about to arrive in Southeast Arizona.. However, it didn't prevent the WHITE-WINGED DOVES in my neighborhood from singing as I left home this morning, something they regularly do as January wears on.

After several days away from the birds, today I headed to Scheelite Canyon to check on the owls. Since I had plenty of time I was hoping for a challenge and perhaps to find a new roosting location (I've missed the birds a couple of times recently). However, it wasn't to be and I soon found a very hard-to-see SPOTTED OWL, sitting high up in a tall oak. Although the tree in question was a regularly used location, the bird was sitting in a different spot than "normal", perhaps trying to catch a few rays from the weak sun, and I almost overlooked it. The canyon was extremely quiet and I didn't see anything of note from 7 species recorded (I was in and out of the canyon in less than 45 minutes).  

In Garden Canyon, STELLER'S JAYS continue at low elevation (middle picnic area). A quick check of the fishing ponds produced a handful of duck species, including a couple that I hadn't previously seen in the Huachucas -- RUDDY DUCK and CANVASBACK. 

Sunday, January 20, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Bert Filemyr from Rockledge, PA and Karl Lukens from Cape May, NJ who had both just finished a tour with Wings. We had set up this date several months ago, when Fort Huachuca was still closed, for just one target bird -- Spotted Owl. As it turned out we added another target while in the field. It was a beautiful, sunny morning but still quite chilly when we met in town at 9:00am. It was one of those days when everything went perfectly and we were back in town by 11:00am having visited Scheelite and Sawmill Canyons with both target birds seen. 

My own recent sightings, several notations in the Scheelite log, and lots of whitewash have told me that an owl has been roosting around the 3/8 mile mark with some regularity, and today I was hoping for a repeat. As we got started on the trail, I mentioned to Bert and Karl about the possibility of finding the bird even lower in the canyon. Unbelievably, just a minute or so later we came across a SPOTTED OWL in the lowest location down canyon that I have ever seen one, just 30 of my paces above the 1/8 mile marker (my previous lowest was 3/16 mile). The bird was completely in the open in an "oak cluster", about 12 feet from the trail and about 15 feet high. What a great view we had. The owl seemed rather small and at first I thought perhaps it may be a new individual. However, by its behavior I rather doubt it -- the bird didn't even bother to open its eyes or turn its head (it did look at us about 15 minutes later as we returned down canyon after looking around 3/8m for a second bird). In keeping with Smitty's tradition, I named this location the "Filemyr Oak".

Bert asked about the Williamson's Sapsucker I had seen in Scheelite recently (a new bird for Karl). I advised that Sawmill Canyon would be a much better bet so we headed up there. After walking up canyon for a few minutes, I paused to listen near picnic table #1, about 100 yards below the lowest regular winter territory. We heard some light tapping nearby and started to investigate. The lightness of the tapping led me to believe it was a sapsucker but, since it was coming from an oak, I had the feeling it would be a Red-naped. Sometimes it's good to be wrong -- just seconds later I spotted a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER working some fresh sapwells in an oak. The bird soon flew onto the trunk of a pine and we had wonderful looks at a pristinely plumaged bird with good contrast between black back and yellow belly. It's fairly unusual to find Williamson's working oaks (they prefer pines), perhaps it was raiding a Red-naped sap tree (they prefer oaks). 

We saw only a handful of birds in addition to our two targets -- STELLER'S JAY continues at the middle picnic area.

Tuesday, January 22, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with John and Lillian Monson from Colorado Springs, CO. We spent most of our time at Patagonia Lake State Park with short visits to Kino Springs and the Paton's yard. After leaving a very mild Sierra Vista, I was very surprised by the extremely cold temperature at the lake when we began birding there at 8:30am. (I later learned that the temperature in Patagonia at 8:00am was 20 degrees). The temperature warmed enough for TURKEY (Kino Springs) and BLACK (Paton's yard) VULTURES to be soaring later in the day.

We started by scanning the lake at the west end, continued by birding our way slowly along the east marsh trail (still ice at the water's edge), and then spent over two hours along Sonoita Creek. Birds on the water included many EARED GREBES, 6-NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS (up from 2 in recent weeks), CINNAMON TEAL, continuing female GREATER SCAUP with about 10 male LESSER SCAUP, many COMMON MERGANSERS and 3-TREEE SWALLOWS working over central part of the lake.

Among the birds in the marsh, mud and trees around the lake periphery were GREAT EGRET, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, several calling VIRGINIA RAILS and SORAS, 3-COMMON SNIPE, 6-LEAST SANDPIPERS, AMERICAN PIPIT and a few SWAMP SPARROWS. Patagonia Lake is not a good shorebird location (I've seen about half a dozen species here) and today that was further emphasized by the fact that the Least Sandpipers, the most common peep in AZ, were my first sighting here in 224 visits (my lake total now stands at 234). 

As we dropped down to lake level, a silent Myiarchus species in the willows looked too small for Ash-throated and a closer look confirmed the bird as the over-wintering DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER. Later, I heard the bird calling and, surprisingly, singing. Further along the trail we had good looks at GRAY FLYCATCHER which were fairly numerous today (at least 6 seen). After working the marsh unsuccessfully trying to see one (any!) of the calling rails, we braved the wet and muddy conditions of Sonoita Creek to look for the rarities present there. Our efforts were well rewarded.

My first mistake of the day was to check the north channel without John and Lillian. Of course, I located the GREEN KINGFISHER a few hundred yards east while I was alone. Unfortunately, despite a further methodical search working both ends of the channel towards the middle, we failed to relocate the bird (later we learned that it had moved closer to the lake). However, it wasn't all bad news because, in the same area, we had excellent looks at the EASTERN PHOEBE and ELEGANT TROGON, the latter at close range for several minutes (in fact, we had to commit the cardinal sin of walking away from it). As we watched the trogon, the LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH flew by us, calling and heading upstream.

My second mistake of the day came as we walked back along the east marsh trail. We wanted to look again for rails, but a herd of cows were in the location where we had heard them earlier. In an effort to get them to move, I walked towards the marsh edge and immediately one leg sunk down in the mud to the top of my wellies. Try as I did, I could not extract myself and in the end had to work my leg out of the boot and then dig out the boot with a stick. Needless to say, I got a little muddy! To make matters worse, I walked back to the water to clean up and as I leant over the creek to wash my hands, my mini-recorder fell out of my top pocket and fell into the creek (expletive deleted). Así es la vida. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable and productive morning with 60 species recorded in 5 hours.

Kino Springs was nowhere near as productive (30 species from 1:50 to 3:15pm) and I failed to find Vermilion Flycatcher again (3 misses after many sightings up to Christmas leads me to believe that the bird had left the area). We had more success finding GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, although the views could definitely have been better. A possible GILDED FLICKER got away from us before its identification could be confirmed (I have a few sightings here mostly in summer, but also a couple in January). Other species included GRAY FLYCATCHER and LINCOLN'S SPARROW (for me, Lincoln's have been somewhat scarce this winter).

Over at the Paton's yard, one of birding's better known (and most bitter) ironies reared its ugly head again. Earlier this month, on consecutive days, I spent several hours here looking in vain for Ruddy Ground-Dove and found only 5 Common Ground-Doves. Today, shortly after walking into the yard, I checked the INCA DOVES (sitting in the big Juniper in the corral) and immediately spotted a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE (expletive deleted). Not a bad bird to end the day with.

Day list (78 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Black & Turkey Vultures, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Common Snipe, Least Sandpiper, Killdeer, Inca Dove, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Anna's Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Belted & Green Kingfishers, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Eastern, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray, Dusky & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, Chipping & Black-throated Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, January 26, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Tom & Faye Stahl from Vermilion, OH. An absolutely gorgeous day to be out in the field -- the temperature was 21 degrees under crystal clear skies as we left Sierra Vista at 7:15am and had warmed to 70 degrees when we returned at 5:00pm. However, it felt much warmer than that in the Paton's yard in mid afternoon. Unfortunately, despite the great weather, it wasn't a very birdy day.

At Patagonia lake I failed to locate either the Elegant Trogon or Green Kingfisher, and none of the numerous people that I talked to on the trail had seen either species today.  Nevertheless, our session of almost 5 hours was very enjoyable and we did see several of the other wintering less common species and rarities among a total of 60 species recorded.

The LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH was well west of its regularly reported location. I located it by call about 100 yards from where the main (north) channel of Sonoita Creek feeds the lake. The bird mostly stayed high in the willows (30 feet), very vocal but hard to see well, and we had to work for almost 15 minutes to track it down. To again tie a 3 phoebe day record, set by many, we located the EASTERN PHOEBE along the north  channel, roughly adjacent to the point where the creek divides. Several TREE SWALLOWS (presumably the same birds that have been around for some time) were working over the lake where the female GREATER SCAUP also continues.

Given the warm conditions, it was somewhat surprising that flycatchers seemed scarce today. The only Myiarchus recorded  was ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER -- no sign of the Dusky-capped. For what it's worth (very little I suspect), I met someone who said they had seen and heard Nutting's Flycatcher. Empids were a little more cooperative -- seen in decreasing order of abundance were GRAY, DUSKY and HAMMOND'S. FLYCATCHERS.

The Paton's yard wasn't very active from 2:50-4:20 pm and we recorded only 20 species with not a single hummingbird seen. Despite many pairs of eyes, Ruddy Ground-Dove wasn't seen during our time there, although a male had been seen earlier in the day. Four other species of doves were present -- MOURNING, WHITE-WINGED & INCA DOVES and at least 3-COMMON GROUND-DOVES. I heard LAZULI BUNTING but the bird never visited the feeders. A couple of BLACK VULTURES soared overhead.

Day list (75 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black Vulture, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Common Snipe, Killdeer, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's, Gray, Dusky & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Eastern, Say's & Black Phoebes, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Canyon, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, January 28, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
The first of two days with John and Martha Welte from Amherst, NY was a day very much impacted by the weather. The early temperature in Sierra Vista was very mild (in the mid 40s) but ominous dark clouds to the west eventually brought rain and wind as we caught up with the leading edge of a storm. The first real nasty weather of the season brought fresh snow to the higher mountains and after a lull tomorrow, up to 20 inches of mountain snow is predicted for Wednesday. We started in the Paton's Yard and followed that with a short visit to Patagonia Lake when the conditions where still good. We weren't so lucky during our later visits to Peña Blanca lake, lower Chino Canyon and Madera Canyon. 

This was the first time in a while that I had made an early morning visit to the Paton's. Although it certainly paid off in terms of the activity level, this wasn't the case in terms of Ruddy Ground-Dove. The flock of INCA and COMMON GROUND-DOVES were feeding intermittently and behaving very skittishly. Just at the point that I may have located the Ruddy, the flock took off as one and never returned! Interesting birds here were my first WILD TURKEY for the location and my first January sighting of a VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD at this location. The hummer normally returns here in early February but this year it has been present since at least January 13. Other species among 30 seen from 8:00-8:40am included ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, a couple of LAZULI BUNTINGS and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

We didn't stay long at Patagonia Lake nor did we walk along the creek so the number of birds seen was very low. However, GRAY FLYCATCHER obliged as usual and we also saw ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER.  The female GREATER SCAUP continues on the lake. 

As we headed west the weather worsened and our arrival at Peña Blanca Lake coincided with rain. Our target here was Hammond's Flycatcher and as might be expected given the conditions, we came up empty. Folks looking for Varied Thrush had also been unsuccessful. We saw only a handful of species including COMMON MOORHEN and RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER.

Amado sewage pond was almost devoid of birds with only CANVASBACK of note among 4 species.

It was blowing a gale by the time we reached lower Chino Canyon (where the houses end) and my record of never missing RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW here was definitely in jeopardy. Amazingly, as we stepped out of the car, one called within yards of our location and a few minutes of effort fighting the wind yielded brief but diagnostic views, including the rufous wing patch which is not always seen.

With the wind still howling, a brief stop in Continental to look for Lewis's Woodpecker in was completely fruitless so we continued on to Madera Canyon. The area around Santa Rita Lodge was somewhat less windy but quite cold. Here we a had a mixed bag -- a brief glimpse at a female MAGNIFICENT HUMMING BIRD, heard only ARIZONA WOODPECKER and OLIVE WARBLER, neither of which we couldn't track down, and a beautiful adult male SCOTT'S ORIOLE visiting an orange half. Also present were a decent sized flock of PINE SISKINS and a few fly-by WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. We also saw bluebirds on Box Canyon road as we headed home.

All in all, it was a tough day to squeeze out birds! Day list (73 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Egret, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Violet-crowned & Magnificent Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Gray & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, House Finch, Olive, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos, Song, White-crowned, Chipping & Rufous-winged Sparrows, Abert's Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Scott's Oriole, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, January 29, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with John and Martha on a mostly miserable day for birding. The first 6 hours of the day were spent in the Sulphur Springs Valley where we battled wind and rain for most of that time. We finally found some afternoon sunshine as we left the Whitewater drainage and moved over to the San Pedro Valley. Despite the less than ideal conditions, we persevered and eventually found four of five target birds.

The day began well enough on a cold and windy Coffman road where we found a couple of target birds in short order --  two less than cooperative BENDIRE'S THRASHERS (although one perched low for a  minute or so) and a very cooperative CRISSAL THRASHER that perched up and sang for several minutes. The ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was present at Whitewater Draw, but very little else.

The rot set in after that as we cruised around the back roads searching in vain for a Prairie Falcon, our only miss of the day as it turned out. Consolations were a couple each of HARRIS'S HAWKS and GREAT HORNED OWLS.

Hampered by wind and a cold rain that always seemed to be blowing in our faces, our fruitless search for plovers (covering at least 10 fields ranging from Rucker Canyon Road to Davis Road) was extremely demoralizing, especially since we didn't even find a field containing a Killdeer!  However, persistence brought its reward and after more than two hours of trying, we finally found a field with about 20 or so KILLDEERS and a couple of very hard to see MOUNTAIN PLOVERS. Hallelujah!

As we approached Tombstone, the skies began to clear and by the time we arrived at St. David Monastery, shortly before 3:00pm,  it was actually very pleasant at nearly 60 degrees. What a contrast from the earlier part of the day! It took us about 30 minutes to locate a somewhat elusive LEWIS'S WOODPECKER. The bird flew into a large Cottonwood carrying a Pecan nut and proceeded to chip away at it, constantly disappearing behind a trunk then returning for another piece. Whether it was eating or caching while gone I don't know. We managed some great scope looks at this very colorful bird. A good end to a trying but successful day. 

Tomorrow I was scheduled with local clients for a trip west of Phoenix to look for Le Conte's Thrasher. However, the bad weather forced a postponement to the end of next month. Now I have a few days to myself before I head to Northern California and Oregon where I'll be working mostly along the coast. Perhaps today's wind and rain will be good practice. 

Day list (47 species recorded):
Gadwall, N. Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Harris's, Red-tailed, Ferruginous & Rough-legged Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, Rock & Mourning Doves, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's & Crissal Thrashers, European Starling, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Horned Lark, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Bunting, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Tuesday, January 29, 2002.

Species List

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

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