Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 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, February 27, 2002.

Friday, February 1, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
I should have known better than to visit Scheelite after the recent snowfall. Even though there was actually much less snow than I anticipated, generally 4 inches with up to 8 inches in places, I ended up slipping on the ice a couple of times and in the end I gave up searching for Spotted Owl -- I was more concerned with getting out without any broken bones. The best birds in the canyon were MONTEZUMA QUAIL and a calling CRISSAL THRASHER, definitely a rarity in this location. Other than that it was pretty standard fare with species such as WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, MEXICAN & STELLER'S JAYS, BROWN CREEPER, HERMIT THRUSH and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

It's my birthday in a few days and I treated myself to an Olympus C700 digital camera -- I chose this model because it has a 10X optical zoom. I'm not really interested in photography but I decided that carrying one would be a good way to document sightings, habitats, etc. I tried it out today and realized that it's going to take some time before I become proficient. After I get used to using it and its capabilities, I intend to add a photo gallery to the site with links from the journal. Stay tuned. 

Tuesday, February 5, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
Today is the start of a two week, mostly working, trip to Northern California and Oregon. After visiting my son and his family in Oroville, I'll be birding my way up the coast of California and Oregon scouting for a reverse trip with Carmen Tarantino that starts next week (we tried to do this trip a couple of months ago in December, but scheduling problems prevented it). Ironically, now that the winter rain has finally arrived in SE AZ, I'm leaving it for the rain of the Pacific Northwest! However, since a change is as good as a rest and there are some good birds around, I'm very much looking forward to it.

Today was mostly a travel day. An on time (Am. West) flight to San Francisco via Phoenix, a smooth rental vehicle pickup (Avis) and light traffic on 101 put me at Palo Alto Baylands at 10:45am. It had been quite a while since I'd been here so I wanted to check the area. Unfortunately, the tide was way out so there was no real chance or any rails, let alone Black Rail. However, I was able to try out my new camera and managed to get a decent shot of a GREATER SCAUP. It won't make the front page of Birding magazine, but hey, I was pleased with it. [For the technically minded, the shot was taken in HQ mode (which produces 1600 x 1200 pixel images) and the initial image size was 407KB. The picture here was cropped, resized to 555 x  504 pixels and then compressed down to 60KB.] Here's a shot of a female. Other species present included CANVASBACK, LESSER SCAUP, MARBLED GODWIT, WILLET, lots of AMERICAN AVOCETS, and RING-BILLED & HERRING GULLS.  

My journey north produced only a few birds of interest -- I first noticed YELLOW BILLED MAGPIES on I-80 as I neared Davis and they became common further north, WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS were scattered here and there. Common roadside birds were RED-TAILED HAWK, AMERICAN KESTREL, STARLING and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 

A quick check of Thermalito Afterbay in Oroville produced two beautiful WHITE-TAILED KITES perched together at the top of a tree. This is where I learned that long distance shots, even with 10X zoom, are still pretty useless. The lens size is such that 10X is roughly equivalent to a 6-7X binocular. Other species included CANADA GOOSE, lots of COMMON MERGANSERS and some spiffy looking male BUFFLEHEADS. In a field along nearby Nelson Road, I found a FERRUGINOUS HAWK sitting on the ground in almost the exact same spot that I saw one last February. If I were to draw conclusions in the way that only those who write birdfinding guides do, e.g.: "the trees may be dripping with warblers" (except when you're there), I would probably have to infer that they are very reliable here!

Day list (53 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Greater Scaup & Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed, California & Herring Gulls, Rock & Mourning Doves, Belted Kingfisher, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Yellow-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Loggerhead Shrike, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, Bushtit, House Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, White-crowned & Savannah Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Wednesday, February 6, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I spent a few hours around Oroville before beginning my journey southwest towards the coast along highways 162, 45, I-5, 20 and 101. I made a couple of birding stops at Sacramento NWR and Clear Lake and stopped overnight in Santa Rosa. Viewing conditions were generally poor all day -- partly cloudy and hazy in the morning becoming completely gray and cloudy as I traveled west. The temperature ranged from 40 to 60 degrees.

Birds around Oroville and vicinity included species typical of oak woodland such as ACORN WOODPECKER, OAK TITMOUSE, BUSHTIT, HUTTON'S VIREO, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE, CHIPPING SPARROW and LESSER GOLDFINCH.

The stretch of highway 162 west of 99 to the Glenn County line produced a nice selection of species starting with a dozen or so TUNDRA SWANS close to the road. Raptors were well represented and at one spot in particular I noted 5 species from the same spot -- NORTHERN HARRIER, RED-TAILED & ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTREL and PRAIRIE FALCON. Elsewhere I added WHITE-TAILED KITE, COOPER'S HAWK and RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.

Highlights at Sacramento NWR were the sheer numbers of SNOW and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, some seen at fairly close range. CINNAMON TEAL and particularly NORTHERN PINTAIL were also plentiful. Good numbers of WHITE-FACED IBIS were west of the refuge along I-5.

At Clear Lake I birded along the northeastern shore looking for a Tufted Duck reported almost a month ago. Talk about a needle in a haystack job -- lots of shoreline and very few (safe) access points from which to scan. GREATER SCAUP was the most common species with lesser numbers of  WESTERN and CLARK'S GREBES, COMMON GOLDENEYES, BUFFLEHEADS and COMMON MERGANSERS. Among the landbirds were NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER and WESTERN BLUEBIRD

Day list (67 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Western & Clark's Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Tundra Swan, Greater White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, N. Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Virginia Rail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn & Nuttall's Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Yellow-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Hutton's Vireo, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, Marsh Wren, Bushtit, Oak Titmouse, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned, Savannah & Chipping Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Thursday, February 7, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
For the first few hours this morning, conditions were pretty bad -- cold and breezy with heavy cloud cover and light drizzle. That was the good news because the rest of the day was downright miserable with persistent light rain and very poor visibility all along the coast. You'd think that with all the years I spent fighting Bay Area traffic I would have known better than to head towards San Francisco on 101 during morning commute traffic. Well, that's just what I did and I paid for my mistake by spending 75 minutes to travel just 35 miles from Santa Rosa to San Rafael.

Tufted Duck will be a target bird next week and there are a fair number of them in California and Oregon at the moment. As we travel back south, the bird at Las Gallinas Wildlife Area near San Rafael will likely be the last chance if we don't see one further north. This morning I headed to the ponds there to see if I could find the bird. Encouragingly, when I began at 8:00am the most visible species was GREATER SCAUP. I scanned all the ponds but couldn't turn any of the scaup into a Tufted Duck. Birds of note were a male EURASIAN WIGEON and one each of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and ROSS'S GOOSE in with the many CANADA GEESE. 

When I returned to the same spot 45 minutes later the two geese were gone, but the TUFTED DUCK was now on pond #2. The white flanks of the bird really made it stand out from the nearby scaup. The last one that I saw was in Phoenix of all places, in fact, that bird spent three consecutive winters there. I recorded 50 species in two hours here including a PEREGRINE FALCON that scared up the ducks a few times, lots of CANVASBACKS, a lone AM. WHITE PELICAN, some AM. PIPITS, and a few GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS.

After leaving San Rafael, I headed west on Highway 1 to begin my coastal birding at Bolinas Lagoon. (I was here in February last year when I was lucky enough to see the Greater Sandplover -- no such rarity this year!) Visibility along the coast near Stinson Beach was almost nil and at this point I was thinking that the rest of the day was going to be a blowout. However, despite the wind, rain and poor visibility, the birding at Bolinas Lagoon was quite good and an hour working several pullouts along the highway produced 40 species. Other than another EURASIAN WIGEON, everything that I saw was fairly common and to be expected. Making a neat sight together in one binocular view were WHIMBREL, LONG-BILLED CURLEW and MARBLED GODWIT. Other species included HORNED GREBE, SURF SCOTER, COMMON GOLDENEYE, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, SNOWY EGRET, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, hundreds of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS and a few FORSTER'S TERNS. 

I had intended to spend the rest of the day around Point Reyes to look for the Arctic Loon that has been present there for some time, as well as doing some general birding. Due to the weather I decided to pass on scanning the ocean, instead, I continued on to Bodega Bay where I thought looking for Emperor Goose would be a little easier. Wrong! I arrived at low tide and almost all of the birds were concentrated in the center of the bay, about as far away as they can get from any vantage point!  For almost two hours I scanned the scads of feeding BRANT that were barely visible. Every now and then the fog would swirl and clear and during one such moment, just as I was about to quit for the day, I finally found the lone EMPEROR GOOSE. If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done. I recorded 30 species here, only COMMON LOON (at least 15 were present) was new for the day. I was also hoping to find the Ruff that's present here, but that will have to wait until tomorrow -- weather permitting!

Day list (78 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Horned, Eared & Western Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Am. White Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Greater White-fronted Goose, Ross's Goose, Emperor Goose, Canada Goose, Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Red-shouldered & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Black Turnstone, Long-billed Dowitcher, Least Sandpiper, Am. Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Ring-billed, Western & Herring Gulls, Forster's Tern, Common Loon, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn Woodpecker, Say's Phoebe, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Am. Robin, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Wrentit, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song, White-crowned & Golden-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird and Western Meadowlark.

Friday, February 8, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
What a difference a day makes. The grungy weather of yesterday had cleared completely this morning -- so clear in fact that I had to contend with ice on the windshield as I left Santa Rosa at 6:50am. However, it soon turned into a beautiful day along the coast as clear blue skies and sunshine prevailed throughout the day.

I arrived in Bodega Bay at 7:30am to find extremely calm high tide conditions. As so often happens though, the number of birds was way down from yesterday. On the plus side, the EMPEROR GOOSE was easy to find near the boat ramp at Westside Park. I searched the various small flocks of shorebirds resting along the shore edges looking in vain for Ruff, and then spent some time scanning the ocean, something I couldn't do yesterday because of the weather. I took my time enjoying the birds and great weather and found 42 species in the process, including 7 species that I didn't see yesterday -- PACIFIC LOON, BRANDT'S & PELAGIC CORMORANTS, SANDERLING, BLACK OYSTERCATCHER, MEW GULL and CALIFORNIA QUAIL.

I drove slowly up the coast towards my next destination of Point Arena, admiring the magnificent views along the way. When I was last at Point Arena in February 2001, my journal entry for the day was -- [Laysan Albatross (not seen). One has spent the past 6 or 7 winters at Point Arena cove. Since I don't do pelagic trips, this single bird represents perhaps my only chance to see this species. On December 26, 1995, I missed the bird by just 30 minutes when I arrived at Point Arena shortly after the bird had headed out to sea. However, on this trip I probably missed it by several hours. Apparently, it spends calm days in the cove and heads out to sea on stormy days. I arrived at 1:00pm Thursday, just as the rain began after 3 beautiful calm and sunny days. Argghhh! I spent about 4 hours on the pier without success. I know the bird was seen the previous weekend, oh well. The good news is that Albatrosses live a long time so perhaps I'll get another shot.]

Well, guess what folks, it was a very calm day and it turned out that the third time was a charm. At 12:30pm I parked next to the pier and almost immediately I could see the LAYSAN ALBATROSS resting in the water, dwarfing a nearby WESTERN GREBE. The bird was close enough to photograph without attempting any through the scope nonsense. I've been steadily building my pelagic list from shore, including a few shearwaters, petrels, alcids, jaegers, etc. Now I have a real pelagic species! What a treat. Not much else in the cove of note save for my first alcid of the trip, a lone PIGEON GUILLEMOT, and a couple of GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS. Just north of Point Area, at least 120 TUNDRA SWANS were feeding at Garcia Flats.

Continuing north I stopped briefly at the cove opposite Van Damme State Park where I saw my first GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL of the trip. After checking into a motel in Fort Bragg I headed out to Laguna Point at Mackerricher State Park. Working against the setting sun was difficult and I failed to find any "rockpipers" except for lots of BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, 4-WHIMBRELS and a possible SURFBIRD that was horribly backlit. No sign of any Rock Sandpipers. Oh well, tomorrow is another day, I can hardly complain that I had a bad day! A lone GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was at Lake Cleone.

Day list (59 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Horned, Eared & Western Grebes, Laysan Albatross, Brandt's & Pelagic Cormorants, Tundra Swan, Greater White-fronted Goose, Emperor Goose, Brant, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Surf Scoter. Bufflehead. Red-breasted Merganser, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, N. Harrier, Red-shouldered & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, California Quail, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Black Turnstone, Sanderling, Black Oystercatcher, Mew, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, Western Gull & Herring Gulls, Pigeon Guillemot, Pacific & Common Loons, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Am. Robin, European Starling, Bushtit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song, White-crowned & Golden-crowned Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Saturday, February 9, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
Another great weather day along the coast -- sunny in Fort Bragg this morning and quite warm for much of the day as I traveled north, becoming cloudy and a little chilly by the time I reached my overnight destination of Crescent City.

I began the day with a quick trip to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg for HARLEQUIN DUCK, a bird that I found in no time at all for a good start to the day. I saw just one bird very close to shore.

Next, I continued north a few miles to again visit Laguna Point at Mackerricher State Park to look for Rock Sandpiper.  I have failed to find one here on my last three visits and I almost (but not quite) failed again today. Last night at low tide I didn't see a single Turnstone here and only one (probable) Surfbird, so I took it as a good omen that I immediately found many BLACK TURNSTONES and half a dozen SURFBIRDS hanging out on the rocks at high tide. I took the time to "digiscope" a Surfbird and this group of 3 shots (all taken from the same location) shows what can be done with a little effort. However, I really need figure out how to align my camera with scope and how to make sure that the shot  is in focus without spending an inordinate amount of time. The close up in this shot is the best from about 20 shots taken over 30 minutes. I'll get the hang of it, eventually.

After the photo interlude, I walked perhaps a mile of rocks checking roosting flocks and, in addition to more Black Turnstones and Surfbirds (two flocks of 16 and 18), I found 30 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS and a few WHIMBRELS but not a sign of Rock Sandpiper. I returned to the viewing platform where I met a local birder and we looked at yet another flock of birds hanging out on the rocks. She pointed out one bird that was barely visible that I had passed off as a likely Surfbird. Eventually, the bird moved into view and lifted its head -- sure enough it was a ROCK SANDPIPER. Had it not been for Dorothy "Toby" Tobkin (local keeper of the Rock Sandpiper) I would probably have overlooked the bird. Thanks Toby! Other species present from 30+ seen included PACIFIC LOON, RED-NECKED GREBE, BELTED KINGFISHER, WESTERN, HERRING, RING-BILLED and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, AM. PIPIT, HERMIT THRUSH and scads of RED-BREASTED WORM HAWKS (a.k.a. AM. ROBIN).

Just north of Laguna Point, I glassed the ocean at the end of Ward Avenue, a reliable scoter spot. After locating some distant specks, the first bird that I put the scope on was a BLACK SCOTER. In all there were probably 6 or 8 in with the more common SURF SCOTERS.

After a 90 minute drive and a brief check of the Fairhaven area near Eureka, I continued around the bay to Arcata. I usually check the marsh here but today I only birded along the "V street loop" to look for the EMPEROR GOOSE that's been present here for some time. I've never found this area very productive, but it sure was today. I met a local birder who asked me if I'd seen the goose and at that point I hadn't. However, I located the bird a few minutes later and was able to point out the bird to her. A good turn returned for the one that was done for me earlier in the day! The goose was in with a flock of CANADA GEESE, initially resting in a low profile position and hard to see despite its blatant black and white plumage. My second EMGO of the trip, good deal.

Hard to top that you might think, but just a few minutes later, a little further down V street, I stumbled into a SHORT-EARED OWL sitting on a fencepost at fairly close range. In my short (one week) career as a budding photographer, this is my best effort yet. Total serendipity but, as I've said many times, I'd rather be lucky than good.

I continued on to my overnight destination of Crescent City where I'll be checking for Rock Sandpiper at high tide tomorrow. It was fairly gloomy and cold in the late afternoon and I only had time to briefly check the harbor where I found nothing of note, in fact very few birds at all -- just common species such as COMMON LOON, PELAGIC and BRANDT'S CORMORANTS, SURF SCOTER, SANDERLING and RING-BILLED, WESTERN, GLAUCOUS-WINGED & HERRING GULLS.  

Not much of a day list today, but it was certainly a successful day. I recorded 51 species:
Pied-billed, Red-necked & Western Grebes, Brandt's & Pelagic Cormorants, Emperor Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Harlequin Duck, Black & Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, N. Harrier, Am. Kestrel, Whimbrel, Willet, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Rock Sandpiper, Black Oystercatcher, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, Western & Herring Gulls, Pacific & Common Loons, Rock Dove, Short-eared Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, European Starling, Bewick's Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and Red-winged Blackbird.

Sunday, February 10, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Today was mostly a travel day which was just as well because the weather took a turn for the worse. It was sunny, chilly and breezy in Crescent City early this morning, but became more and more cloudy as I traveled north, ending up very cloudy and drizzly by late afternoon along the coast in Coos Bay. 

After checking a few waterfront spots around Crescent City I headed out to look for Rock Sandpiper. On the way I stopped along Pebble Beach Drive to scope the 1000s of COMMON MURRES on Castle Rock. High tide was approaching and the big rock closest to shore at  Point St. George held many birds. I checked all the coming and goings and jockeying for position for over an hour but all I could find were lots of BLACK TURNSTONES, SURFBIRDS and BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS. The usual common gulls were present and both COMMON and PACIFIC LOONS were nearby.

I broke up my journey north with a stop in Bandon which produced very little at high tide. The only shorebirds that I saw at Bandon Marsh were LEAST SANDPIPER, DUNLIN and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. I checked the birds waiting out the tide on the waterfront and found only BLACK TURNSTONES and SURFBIRDS. 

I arrived in Coos Bay in the early afternoon and headed straight to the "sparrow patch" at Millicoma Marsh. The seed being scattered here is certainly attracting the birds and a well spent hour produced quite a variety. The star of the show was a dapper looking HARRIS'S SPARROW, the most reticent of all the birds that I saw there. Bravest of all, seemingly uncaring about the close presence of several people were two LINCOLN'S SPARROWS. The most abundant sparrows were GOLDEN-CROWNED, even outnumbering WHITE-CROWNED. Rounding out the sparrow fest were several SONG SPARROWS, 2-FOX SPARROWS and at least 2-WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS. Add DARK-EYED JUNCO and SPOTTED TOWHEE and it was quite a gathering. 

Day list (51 species recorded):
Horned & Western Grebes, Brandt's & Pelagic Cormorants, Canada Goose, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Am. Kestrel, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Black Oystercatcher, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Mew, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, Western & Herring Gulls, Common Murre, Pacific & Common Loons, Rock Dove, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Am. Robin, European Starling, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, Harris's, White-crowned, White-throated & Golden-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee and 
Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Monday, February 11, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
A gloomy and cold start to the day gave way to partly sunny skies with a temperature that hung around 45 degrees all day. I started birding in the Coos Bay area and then did some whistle stops as I worked my way north up the coast as far as Newport. From there I headed inland for an overnight stay in Albany. Generally, it was a very mediocre birding day.

I haven't done much landbirding on this trip so far and I was looking forward to birding at Shore Acres State Park this morning. This is a beautiful spot that I've visited before, and a good place to see Varied Thrush and other common birds. Wouldn't you know it, due to weather related damage (lots of downed trees) and a power outage, the place was closed! However, I was given permission to walk in. The botanical gardens were off limits but I still got to enjoy scads of VARIED THRUSHES and AMERICAN ROBINS and a few HERMIT THRUSHES feeding in the open. Other species included HAIRY WOODPECKER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, WRENTIT, WINTER WREN, HUTTON'S VIREO, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and FOX SPARROW.

I checked a few locations around Charleston and Coos Bay and then headed north. My next stop was at Salmon Harbor which had also seen some damage due to downed trees. Although I only saw the usual common harbor species, a close up look at a male WHITE-WINGED SCOTER was worth the stop.

I spent about an hour in Florence looking for the Yellow-billed Loon that's been present here for over a week. I saw lots of COMMON LOONS but struck out on the Yellow-billed. At Bob Creek along the highway I noted my first THAYER'S GULL of the trip, perhaps I haven't been paying enough attention. A stop at Seal Rocks didn't produce the hoped for "rockpipers" save for a couple of BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, however, a small group of HARLEQUIN DUCKS were some consolation. My last birding of the day was at Yaquina Bay, a place that is normally very birdy. Today I was extremely disappointed by the lack of activity on a receding tide.

Day list (49 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Horned & Western Grebes, Brandt's & Pelagic Cormorants, Canada Goose, Brant, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Surf & White-winged Scoters, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Black Turnstone, Sanderling, Black Oystercatcher, Mew, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, Western, Thayer's & Herring Gulls, Pacific & Common Loons, Rock Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Steller's Jay, Am. Crow, Hutton's Vireo, Varied Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, European Starling, Marsh & Winter Wrens, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Wrentit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, House Sparrow, Yellow-rumped & Townsend's Warblers and Fox & Song Sparrows.

Tuesday, February 12, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Imagine my feelings when I checked my email to see that the Yellow-billed Loon in Florence had been seen between through 11:15am yesterday, at the exact location where I was looking. The incoming tide probably caused the bird to move along the river. Still, I was fortunate enough to see one in Oregon last winter (Yaquina Bay) so perhaps this was just my luck evening out. Maybe I'll get another shot at it in a few days, although it's not really a target bird.

After 8 days on the road, the last thing I needed today was lots of driving. Unfortunately, because I was running out of time and still had several places left to scout, that's just what I had to do. I traveled 350 miles starting with several locations north and west of Albany,  then west over to the coast as far south as Boiler Bay, north to Ecola State Park (via a detour because Hwy 101 is closed just south of Cannon Beach), and finally east to Portland. Needless to say it was another day of whistle stops and I ended up not seeing several of the birds that I looked for because I had to move on quickly. Very frustrating (that's for you Colleen).

Although the temperature was only 29 degrees when I left Albany, it warmed to the mid 40s after a few hours and was in the mid 50s by the time I reached the coast. I started by checking a couple of locations where HARRIS'S SPARROW is wintering -- I saw the bird at Hoefer Road north of Albany but missed the one at E. E. Wilson WA north of Corvallis. However, I'm really hoping that the bird I saw last Sunday in Coos Bay will still be reliable in a few days. 

Next, I headed to Perrydale where a Gyrfalcon has been present for months. This really isn't a target bird but it was close enough to check anyway. After thirty minutes of driving around I had come up empty, the only falcon I saw was PRAIRIE FALCON. 

The calm weather on this trip has not produced much in the way of near shore alcids, etc., so I was hoping a trip to Boiler Bay would be productive. Unfortunately, conditions there were very calm and almost balmy with very little activity on the ocean -- COMMON and PACIFIC LOONS, SURF SCOTER, BLACK OYSTERCATCHER, COMMON MURRE and a few gulls.

After a couple more coastal stops and an horrendously slow detour, I finished the day at Ecola State Park where saw a dozen or so BLACK SCOTERS, only the second sighting of my trip. 

Day list (61 species recorded):
Horned & Western Grebes, Double-crested & Pelagic Cormorants, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Black & Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Rough-legged Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Am. Coot, Long-billed Dowitcher, Black Oystercatcher, Killdeer, Glaucous-winged & Western Gulls, Common Murre, Pacific & Common Loons, Downy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Varied Thrush, Am. Robin, European Starling, Bewick's & Winter Wrens, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadee, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, Harris's, White-throated & Golden-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Wednesday, February 13, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Today was the start of 5 days with Carmen Tarantino from Buffalo, NY. We'll be birding our way south to San Francisco along the Oregon and California coasts, doing some target birding and opportunistic photography as time permits. There are a total of 29 target possibilities ranging from the sublime (Black Rail) to the ridiculous (Winter Wren) with all kinds of chances in between. Realistically, we have some chance for perhaps 18-20, 13 of which I have seen during the past week. Alcids and possible near shore pelagic species (except for Laysan Albatross!) have been distinctly scarce.

I had some time before meeting Carmen at Portland Airport so I birded at Oaks Bottoms in the hope of perhaps relocating the Common Redpolls that have been seen there recently. It was a chilly morning and bird activity was generally low. I didn't find the Redpolls but I eventually turned up 23 common species in about 90 minutes including BELTED KINGFISHER, DOWNY WOODPECKER, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, VARIED THRUSH and FOX SPARROW.

From the airport we headed over to Newport on the coast, birding for an hour along the way around Perrydale hoping for a photo op with the Gyrfalcon. Of course, we first had to find it and that didn't happen. We did pickup our first target bird of the trip, several LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS in a roadside pond, right where I had seen them yesterday. The only species of note from 22 seen in the area were a couple of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS and a small flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS.

A quick stop at Boiler Bay produced target  #2, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, a bird that you just have to show up for. It was blowing a gale here, a marked contrast from the calm and almost balmy conditions that I encountered yesterday. Unfortunately, it was a mostly offshore wind that does nothing to help the chances of seeing pelagic species. The only species of note was a lone RED-NECKED GREBE.

By the time we reached Yaquina Bay in Newport there was a really strong and biting wind and using a scope was quite difficult to say the least. We managed a couple more easy target birds -- PACIFIC LOON and MEW GULL before calling it a night. I tripled my trip RED-NECKED GREBE count with another sighting off the South Jetty where a WHITE-TAILED KITE was battling the wind without much success.

Day list (55 species recorded):
Red-necked & Horned Grebes, Brandt's, Double-crested & Pelagic Cormorants, Canada Goose, Brant, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, White-tailed Kite, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Long-billed Dowitcher, Sanderling, Dunlin, Killdeer, Mew, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged & Western Gulls, Pacific & Common Loons, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's & Downy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Varied Thrush, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, European Starling, Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadee, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fox, Song, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Spotted Towhee and Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Thursday, February 14, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with Carmen. The unseasonably dry and warm weather returned today, and the temperature reached the low 60s in Coos Bay this afternoon. Our birding day began and ended well but the middle part left a lot to be desired.

We began at 7:45am on the Siuslaw River in Florence hoping for a photo opportunity of the YELLOW-BILLED LOON. Although we saw the bird almost immediately just west of the highway 101 bridge, it was on the far side of the river and too far away for a decent photo. We moved on to the South Jetty which produced some common species and good views of PACIFIC LOON. Two loons and not one of them Common Loon!

Heading south we made a brief stop at Salmon Harbor, a good place for close in birds. We again saw a few common species, this time including COMMON LOON, but did not have any photo ops.

At 10:45am we arrived at Millicoma Marsh in Coos Bay, home to a regularly seen wintering Harris's Sparrow. I saw the bird here last Sunday (I haven't seen any reports since then) but despite a long vigil until 4:30pm today, the bird was a no show. That's a big investment in time on a short 5 day trip, especially when you don't get a result. We did pickup a target bird here in WINTER WREN, hardly a consolation though. The seeded area continues to bring in the sparrows and we saw 7 species -- FOX, SONG, LINCOLN'S, SWAMP, WHITE-CROWNED, WHITE-THROATED and GOLDEN-CROWNED plus a number of other seed eating customers.

It had been a sad afternoon so far but with daylight fading, a check of Bandon Harbor definitely redeemed the day. The tide was low and I didn't really expect much in the way of "rockpipers". This was confirmed by a check of the high tide roosts which produced zero birds. Scanning around, more in hope than expectation, I noted a flock of 30-BLACK TURNSTONES on some nearby rocks. Further close scrutiny revealed a single ROCK SANDPIPER foraging with the turnstones, a bird we could have easily missed on this trip. The memory of the unseen Harris's Sparrow was now somewhat more distant and made the drive to our overnight destination of Brookings a little more pleasant. 

Day list (52 species recorded): 
Horned & Western Grebes, Double-crested & Pelagic Cormorants, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Surf & White-winged Scoters, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Black Turnstone, Sanderling, Rock Sandpiper, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, Western & Herring Gulls, Pacific, Common & Yellow-billed Loons, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, American Crow, Common Raven, Am. Robin, Marsh & Winter Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Wrentit, Black-capped Chickadee, Am. Goldfinch, House Finch, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, White-throated & Golden-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee and Red-winged Blackbird.

Friday, February 15, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 3 with Carmen. Sunny skies prevailed for much of the day with very little wind and best of all, no rain!. A day without rain along the coast at this time of year has to be considered a great  weather day We progressed south from Brookings to Fort Bragg on the Mendocino coast, picking up four targets along the way. 

In October last year, Carmen and I were in southern California where we failed to find a single Surfbird despite much searching. Just after sunrise this morning we remedied that big time, at Point St. George in Crescent City, where we had wonderful looks at many SURFBIRDS feeding at close range. Also present at low tide were BLACK TURNSTONES and BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS. Just offshore were several COMMON and PACIFIC LOONS and SURF SCOTERS, etc., and nearby rocks held BRANDT'S and PELAGIC CORMORANTS and many COMMON MURRES.

Next, we continued south to V street in Arcata where we soon saw the EMPEROR GOOSE. This magnificent looking bird had barely moved from the location where I saw it last week. We tried unsuccessfully for a photograph, settling instead for a very close flock of LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS that just didn't want to fly away.

Heading south again we tried unsuccessfully for a Ruff that had been discovered recently, and last seen a couple of days ago, in Fields Landing on Humboldt Bay. At high tide we found a roosting flock of MARBLED GODWITS, WILLETS, BLACK and RUDDY TURNSTONES, WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS and a lone BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, but no Ruff.

After a long and windy drive, we arrived in Fort Bragg without much daylight to work with. Nevertheless, we still managed to see a couple of target birds in quick succession for a good end to the day. At the end of Ward Avenue we found a small group of BLACK SCOTERS and on nearby Lake Cleone, the GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE continues. 

Day  list (54 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Western Grebes, Brandt's & Pelagic Cormorants, Greater White-fronted Goose, Emperor Goose, Canada Goose, Brant, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Black & Surf Scoters, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Western & Least Sandpipers, Black Oystercatcher, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, Western & Herring Gulls, Common Murre, Pacific & Common Loons, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Common Raven, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, European Starling, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Western Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Saturday, February 16, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
Day 4 with Carmen. On this trip we had hoped for some 13 or 14 target birds while allowing enough time for photography. With 10 of those targets under our belt, today we concentrated a little more on photography, Carmen with his hernia generating equipment and me diddling around with my lightweight Olympus C700. We also tried to add a couple more target birds, specifically Allen's Hummingbird and Laysan Albatross. Unfortunately, we found neither. Worse still, the weather that started out fairly decent turned downright nasty later in the day. 

We left Fort Bragg early and drove down to Point Arena for our first attempt of the day at Laysan Albatross. A quick look around the cove confirmed the absence of the bird and we spent very little time there. Birds in the cove included EARED GREBE, PACIFIC LOON and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW.

We headed back north and spent some time at the small cove just opposite the entrance to Van Damme State Park. The highlight here was a group of perhaps 15 or so BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS.  The birds wanted to stay put on the beach as the tide began to work its way in, and allowed fairly close approach. Also present were COMMON LOON, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and the usual motley collection of gulls including a couple of MEW GULLS. A few minutes in the state park proper produced VARIED THRUSH, WINTER WREN, a calling fly-by RED CROSSBILL and a number of common species.

Next, we checked the Botanical Gardens back in Fort Bragg where YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were absolutely abundant, calling and hawking insects all over the place. However, we did manage to pick out a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. The only hummingbirds that we found were a couple of ANNA'S. Other species here from 20 seen in about 30 minutes included CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, PYGMY NUTHATCH, WRENTIT, VARIED THRUSH, and PINE SISKIN. 

We moved on to Mackerricher State Park starting at Lake Cleone where the rather tame GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was very accommodating. A grunting VIRGINIA RAIL remained unseen. Over at nearby Laguna Point, SURFBIRDS and BLACK TURNSTONES were still busy feeding because it was a rather low high tide. I also caught a glimpse of a ROCK SANDPIPER (at least two had also been seen by others).  A large group of BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS and 7-WHIMBRELS were hanging out on the rocks where I took advantage of a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL photo opportunity.

It was only early afternoon but the light was fading fast and the weather worsened as we headed south back to Point Arena. By the time we reached the cove it was absolutely lashing down with rain. Needless to say there was again no sign of the Laysan Albatross, presumably waiting out the storm somewhere out at sea. We also tried to wait out the weather, but to no avail, and after a couple of hours we headed south to regroup with an overnight stay in Santa Rosa. Driving conditions along Hwy 1 with the rain and darkness were a little difficult to say the least. After a day like this last week, the weather bounced back for a perfect day so there's still hope for tomorrow. 

Day list (54 species recorded):
Eared & Western Grebes, Brandt's & Pelagic Cormorants, Tundra Swan, Greater White-fronted Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Am. Kestrel, California Quail, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Whimbrel, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Rock Sandpiper, Black Oystercatcher, Killdeer, Mew, Glaucous-winged, Western & Herring Gulls, Pacific & Common Loons, Anna's Hummingbird, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Varied & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Pygmy Nuthatch, Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Wrentit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, Yellow-rumped & Townsend's Warblers, Song. White-crowned & Golden-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee, Brewer's Blackbird.

Sunday, February 17, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 5 and last day with Carmen. Well, wouldn't you know it, just as we had hoped, the weather improved dramatically and we encountered mostly sunny skies throughout a very pleasant day. Today we tried for three target birds, the two missed yesterday plus Tufted Duck, and managed to see two of them.

Even though the Tufted Duck at Bolinas Lagoon was seen yesterday, we continued with our plan to visit Las Gallinas Wildlife area at first light this morning. We spent an all too brief 20 minutes at this great spot, just long enough to see the continuing male TUFTED DUCK, ROSS'S GOOSE, EURASIAN WIGEON as well as a number of common species.

We headed north again and after a much easier drive than last night in the rain, we arrived at Bodega Bay for another photo session. I had enough yesterday to last me for a while and didn't take a single shot, as the MARBLED GODWITS led Carmen a bit of a dance as he tried to get some shots. The continuing EMPEROR GOOSE was easy to spot out in the harbor among the many BRANT.

Continuing north we arrived at Point Arena Cove with sunny skies, calm conditions and great hope and expectation. We were not disappointed -- the LAYSAN ALBATROSS was resting in the water close to the pier, almost in the same spot where I had seen it last week. After some unsuccessful photo attempts (the bird moved a little too far away), we headed back south again. I am now officially sick of highway 1 along the Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino coast. For those who don't know the road, it's very windy and very slow!  

We arrived at Bolinas Lagoon with about an hour to bird before we had to leave for the airport. During a short session along the MacKennan Trail we failed to turn up any of the Allen's Hummingbirds seen yesterday -- perhaps they were migrants and had moved on. We did have a nice look at a MERLIN working the area. Other bird's here included DOWNY WOODPECKER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, STELLER'S JAY, WRENTIT, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE and PINE SISKIN. Across the street at the south end of the lagoon we saw the TUFTED DUCK in the company of a GREATER SCAUP for a nice comparison, COMMON GOLDENEYE and lots of AM. AVOCETS & LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS to conclude our birding.

Over the period Feb 5-17, I recorded 161 species (this list includes links to all photos), 123 during the 5 days with Carmen. We found 12 target species, most notably LAYSAN ALBATROSS, EMPEROR GOOSE, TUFTED DUCK and ROCK SANDPIPER, while enjoying some great scenery and mostly good weather. If there was any disappointment at all it was the lack of alcids and potential near shore pelagic species, although we certainly didn't spend much time looking for them. Anyway, it does create a good reason to come back to this beautiful part of the country.

Day list (66 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Horned, Eared & Western Grebes, Laysan Albatross, Ruddy Duck, Emperor Goose, Canada Goose, Brant, Eurasian & American Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Red-shouldered & Red-tailed Hawks, Merlin, Wild Turkey, California Quail, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Mew & Western Gulls, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Bewick's Wren, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Wrentit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pine Siskin, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted & California Towhees, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird. 

Tuesday, February 19, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
First of two days with Walter, Maggie and Nora Carr from Seattle, WA. After yesterday's lousy weather, a mostly windy day culminating in rain, the skies cleared overnight resulting in below freezing conditions (and ice scraping) at dawn this morning. The temperature warmed into the 60s and it was a very pleasant day to be out. We birded at Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs and the Paton's yard.

Although there were a few signs of spring at Patagonia Lake, including leaf-out on some of the cottonwoods and many singing RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, the area was far less birdy than I expected and we didn't see any early migrants. In fact, five hours at the lake yielded only 50 species. We spent over an hour along the creek looking for the wintering Trogon -- we didn't find the bird nor any of the other "good" species that have wintered here. The creek area now has much less water and mud and is a little easier to negotiate. 

I was hoping for a Vermilion Flycatcher, a species that returns in numbers at this time, but we didn't see one (a male was seen by others). The only flycatchers that we noted were ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER (one seen, several others calling) and perhaps as many as 6 GRAY FLYCATCHERS.

SWAMP SPARROW continues in the east marsh where we had excellent looks at both VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA. We saw very little on the water, although the NEOTROPIC CORMORANT population has increased to more than dozen birds and at least 3-DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were present along with the usual EARED GREBES and COMMON MERGANSERS.

At Kino Springs we fared better with VERMILION FLYCATCHER and managed excellent scope looks at two spectacular males. 

Another male VERMILION FLYCATCHER greeted us in the Paton's yard which was birdy when we walked in but everything quickly evaporated and activity became almost nil. Not a single hummingbird was seen in a short 30 minute visit. INCA DOVES were very common and a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE was briefly seen, perched in a juniper in the corral.

A somewhat lackluster day on my return to Arizona.

Day list (64 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Gray, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Swamp, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, February 20, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Walter, Maggie and Nora. Another typical SE AZ winter day with the exception that after the usual chilly start the temperature reached 70 degrees in Sierra Vista by mid afternoon, somewhat higher than average. We spent most of our time in the Sulphur Springs Valley without any particular target birds in mind, just some general raptor and sparrow viewing. We followed that by a brief foray into the Huachucas.

Although it certainly wasn't bursting at the seams with birds, Whitewater Draw seems to have picked up some activity since the January doldrums. Highlighting our visit was the continuing ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, seen perched near the entrance and flying over the water areas, and a GREAT HORNED OWL roosting in the "barn" (side-less structure). Raptors were generally scarce with a few individuals each of NORTHERN HARRIER, RED-TAILED HAWK, AMERICAN KESTREL and one fly-by MERLIN.

All the waterfowl were quite distant and hard to see -- we identified small flocks of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, NORTHERN PINTAIL, MALLARD and a few NORTHERN SHOVELERS. A lone GREATER YELLOWLEGS represented my first February sighting at Whitewater. Along the dikes, in the marshes and out on the mud flats we saw a number of regular species including many GREAT BLUE HERONS, several very accommodating ROADRUNNERS, a SAY'S PHOEBE putting on a great hovering display, calling MARSH WRENS, a handful of HORNED LARKS, a very elusive COMMON YELLOWTHROAT that eventually popped into view, numerous SAVANNAH, VESPER and SONG SPARROWS and CANYON TOWHEE.   

Near the entrance, and elsewhere along Coffman road, we added a couple of groups of SCALED QUAIL, side by side CURVE-BILLED and BENDIRE'S THRASHERS foraging on the ground, VERDIN, low numbers of BREWER'S SPARROWS (normally the most common wintering sparrow in the valley), BLACK-THROATED SPARROW, PYRRHULOXIA and EASTERN and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. Although SANDHILL CRANES were not on the ground in numbers here, we saw thousands throughout the morning, circling and flying up and down the valley.

Further north in the valley we picked up a GOLDEN EAGLE (at a regular spot near the "S" curve on Central Highway) and a few FERRUGINOUS HAWKS along Rucker Canyon Road. I was quite surprised by the lack of Ferruginous and it would appear that many of the birds have already begun to head north. A perched COOPER'S HAWK rounded out the raptors. On Mormon Road we had good looks at a couple of roosting GREAT HORNED OWLS in a regular tree. LARK BUNTINGS were very common here.

The original plan for the day had been to head into the Huachucas to look for Spotted Owl in Scheelite, but the day got away from us and we ended up doing some general birding around the upper and lower picnic areas in Garden Canyon. The highlight here was a cooperative HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER that posed to allow some field mark study. We noted a few common species including ACORN WOODPECKERS back on territory, a singing HUTTON'S VIREO and an elusive HERMIT THRUSH. 

Day list (58 species recorded):
Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Red-tailed, Ferruginous & Rough-legged Hawks, Golden Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Scaled Quail, Sandhill Crane, Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's & Curve-billed Thrashers, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Monday, February 25, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Rita Pollack and Rich Morrison from Marana, AZ. On yet another beautiful day, we visited the highway 90 area of the San Pedro River and Scheelite Canyon in the Huachucas. Temperatures have been running about 10 degrees above average for the past few days and today was much the same, starting around 40 degrees and warming to 75 degrees by early afternoon. 

There are signs of spring along the river as the cottonwoods start to show some green and a few birds seemed to be getting into the mood of the season. BEWICK'S WRENS and WHITE-WINGED DOVES were singing their approval this morning and LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS were quite vocal. The only returning breeders noted were VERMILION FLYCATCHER and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. Wintering species weren't much in evidence except for WHITE-CROWNED and VESPER SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. 

Conditions in Scheelite Canyon were sunny and very spring-like, although that certainly wasn't reflected in the birds -- only HUTTON'S VIREO felt inclined to sing. However, since we were looking specifically for SPOTTED OWL and we found a pair of them roosting side by side, our hike was very successful. When we reached the lower roosting area I began my usual methodical search which I broke away from as soon as I heard squawking MEXICAN JAYS and a screeching STELLER'S JAY. Sure enough, the jays led me straight to the owls. Even though the pair were sitting in plain sight, the sunlight filtering through the oaks and shining on their backs acted as very good camouflage and initially they were somewhat hard to see. Other species in the canyon included ARIZONA WOODPECKER, BUSHTIT and CANYON WREN.  

Day list (50 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Spotted Owl, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Canyon, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, White-crowned, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, February 27, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I was out with a couple of local birders, Bob Pease from Tucson and Owen McCaffrey from Patagonia, looking for three state birds. Our primary target was Le Conte's Thrasher with Sage Thrasher and Sage Sparrow as secondary targets. I was up at 0:dark 30 and left home at 3am to meet Bob and Owen in Tucson. Twelve hours later I was home again having seen all three birds, however, the degree of difficulty for each bird was exactly the opposite of normal.

After all the warm days recently, the weather was very kind to us today -- in the 40s leaving Sierra Vista, 50 degrees leaving Tucson, 60 degrees passing through downtown Phoenix but only in the 30s and quite chilly when we began birding at "the thrasher spot" west of Buckeye at 7:15am. It was somewhat cloudy and windless, excellent conditions for thrashing around after thrashers, and with the filtered sunshine the temperature had barely reached 70 degrees by the time we left at 10:15am.

As we stepped out of the vehicle, we noted a BENDIRE'S THRASHER foraging along the side of Salome highway. The bird disappeared into the scrub almost immediately only to reappear minutes later, perched up and singing. This was one of about 4 Bendire's that we saw almost constantly over the next 3 hours, including one long and heavily billed individual, somewhat intermediate between a Bendire's and Curve-billed. Fortunately, the bird was speaking Bendire's to leave us in no doubt about its identity. Apart from Bendire's we heard very little other song throughout our entire stay.

Shortly after we began searching, about 7:30am, we spotted a silent LE CONTE'S  THRASHER perched up on one of the larger clumps of vegetation and managed excellent but distant views. The bird dropped into the scrub and we took the opportunity to quickly move closer. A couple of minutes later we had great scope looks from about 100 feet as the bird again perched up, this time in the low scrub. Next came some looks at the bird scurrying around on the ground. Satisfied, we left the bird alone and moved on. We didn't come across any others (of course, we didn't specifically make additional effort).

A little more walking around and diligent scanning produced a perched up SAGE THRASHER, albeit a little distant. Unfortunately, in this case, our efforts to obtain a closer look didn't happen as the bird evaporated. It's amazing how they can disappear so completely in such a relatively sparse environment.

Feeling pretty good at this point with less than an hour of time invested and two target birds seen, we turned our attention to the "easy" bird". A couple of hours later, after much trudging around, our outlook on life wasn't looking quite so bright. Nevertheless, I was still feeling confident because I couldn't envisage how all of the usually common SAGE SPARROWS would suddenly up and disappear so early in the year. Sure enough, with a little more effort we found two birds and had a brief perched view and excellent views of a bird foraging on the ground. However, I find it amazing that we only stumbled into two of them given the couple of miles of habitat that we covered.

With the exception of LARK BUNTING (a first for me here as it turned out), other birds seen were typical of the area -- TURKEY VULTURE,  NORTHERN HARRIER, RED-TAILED HAWK, MOURNING DOVE, CACTUS WREN, VERDIN, several LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, a few pairs of BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS, tons of BLACK-THROATED and BREWER'S SPARROWS (both very common), WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, ABERT'S TOWHEE and WESTERN MEADOWLARK. Earlier we had seen a FERRUGINOUS HAWK on Baseline near highway 85.

The only "downer" of the day concerns the future of this long-time thrasher location. The area has a for sale sign posted and further south along Salome highway a significant amount of land has already been cleared for development. Located about 100 miles from the California border, it's not so long ago that this spot was described as "in the middle of nowhere just before you reach desolation", but no longer I'm afraid. How many more years will Le Conte's Thrashers be here I wonder? Get yours while they're hot!

We took the scenic route home (anything to avoid Phoenix) and traveled south on old highway 80. I was blown away to hear a WESTERN SCRUB-JAY near Gillespie Dam and to see another in the desert scrub a few miles beyond the dam. I wonder where these birds had wandered from.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Wednesday, February 27, 2002.

Species List

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

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