Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - May, 2003 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

Bottom of Page

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Saturday, May 31, 2003.

Thursday, May 1, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Fourth and final day with David Waltman. 

This morning we headed out first thing to the Sulphur Springs Valley for BENDIRE'S THRASHER and managed to find a very cooperative bird near a regular nest site on Coffman Road. The young have already fledged but the birds are present all year in the same area, although not always easy to find after the winter nesting season. Other species here included several SWAINSON'S HAWKS, SCALED and GAMBEL'S QUAIL, GREATER ROADRUNNER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

We spent the rest of the morning on the San Pedro (Hwy 90 area) which was generally more active than yesterday (we arrived 1 1/2 hours earlier). Unfortunately, we looked unsuccessfully for Pacific-slope Flycatcher for the second day in a row. Empids were again scarce and we saw only 1 each of HAMMOND'S and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, plus another two that were too far away to identify. It may be that PSFLs have passed though a little earlier this year (I saw a few during April); however, my records indicate that they migrate along the San Pedro through the end of May with a peak during the first two weeks of May (see bar graph). 

A more interesting flycatcher for me was a calling NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, generally uncommon in the eastern part of Cochise County and scarce on this section of the San Pedro. I have only six records here, five of which are from late April and early May. 

47 species recorded on the San Pedro:
Mallard, Great Blue & Green Herons, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's & Gray Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Hammond's, Dusky, Vermilion, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan Raven, Bell's & Plumbeous Vireos, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's & House Wrens, Bushtit, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song Sparrow, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Summer Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird.

During our four days we found all but one target bird -- missing the Pacific-slope Flycatcher and seeing Common Black-Hawk, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Greater Pewee, Gray Vireo, Bendire's Thrasher, Rufous-capped Warbler, Rufous-winged Sparrow, Flame-colored Tanager and Hepatic Tanager. In addition, David saw the Black-capped Gnatcatchers in Patagonia before meeting up with me. All in all, a good trip. 

In mid afternoon I spent an hour at Sierra Vista EOP where a passage NORTHERN HARRIER represented my latest record for this location (I have six other SE AZ records for the first week of May, five on the San Pedro and one in Sulphur Springs Valley). Also of note were 20+ WHITE-FACED IBIS and a couple of BANK SWALLOWS.

19 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP:
Mallard, White-faced Ibis, N. Harrier, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, N. Rough-winged, Bank, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Lucy's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Friday, May 2, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
First of three days with Jay Bock from Brea, CA who I've birded with on one previous occasion. We spent our time in the Patagonia area where it was quite warm and a little breezy by early afternoon. We had a good day with about 80 species recorded including a couple of surprises.

Patagonia Lake was very birdy and 3 1/2 hours produced over 60 species including surprise #1 -- a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE near the marina. This species first appeared in Arizona about 3 or 4 years ago and, based on a number of recent reports, it's now spreading at an increasing rate (I've seem them in many locations including my own back yard!) Today's sighting represented species #244 for me at the lake (list, bar graph). Perhaps this individual has wandered west from the small population now resident in Sonoita, 20 miles to the east.

A lone SNOWY EGRET was the only other less common species recorded. All others were regulars and included many NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, 2 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS, 5 or 6 GREEN HERONS, 2 calling LEAST BITTERNS, GRAY HAWK, N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS in multiple locations, the usual delightful VERMILION FLYCATCHERS (several nests were easily visible), lots of BELL'S VIREOS, LUCY'S, WILSON'S & YELLOW WARBLERS, a few YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS (there would have been many more along the creek but we didn't go there), GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, many SUMMER and a fair number of migrating WESTERN TANAGERS. We did not look for the now-fledged Black-capped Gnatcatchers (Jay and I saw them back in February). 

64 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Snowy Egret, Great Blue & Green Herons, Least Bittern, Turkey Vulture, Gray Hawk, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged & Inca Doves, Broad-billed & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's Phoebe, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Bushtit, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Chipping, Lark & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Summer & Western Tanagers, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

We moved on to Kino Springs where we had the usual killer looks at several GRAY HAWKS perched and flying at both ponds. With the first pond completely dry and the second rapidly following suit, I find it truly depressing to bird here. I didn't detect Tropical Kingbirds (today is almost two weeks later than my earliest date) and I wonder what they will think of the conditions when/if they arrive. 

Surprise #2 for the day came while we were tracking down DUSKY-CAPPED and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS  -- a majestic COMMON BLACK-HAWK soaring over the second "pond". This is only my second record for Kino and I wonder if the bird was a late migrant (they come through starting early March) or whether it is nesting somewhere nearby.

At the Roadside Rest area we heard THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD calling but it was across the creek and blocked by vegetation. We moved on to Blue Heaven Road (another good location for the kingbird) where a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD attacking a "vulture" told me that we finally had our ZONE-TAILED HAWK after checking many TVs. We drove on, carefully checking the snags for kingbirds, and eventually found this very cooperative THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD in a regular spot. The sun was pretty vertical but I managed a fairly decent shot of the bird. A good end to a successful outing.

Saturday, May 3, 2003     Previous Day     Next Day
Out again today with Jay Bock. Despite the fact that the day was marred by high wind from mid morning onwards, our time in the Huachucas was very productive.

We began in Garden Canyon where I was amazed to have the upper picnic area all to ourselves for over an hour. Lots of birds were active when we arrived there around 6:30am but, surprisingly, we didn't hear the distinctive barking of trogons over the next 30 minutes. I decided to head out in search of them and after a short walk the low volume "love call" led us to three ELEGANT TROGONS in close proximity, 2 males and a female. We enjoyed great looks as one of the males tried to entice the female over to a cavity while the other male sat nearby.   

Among the other stuff in the area were several BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS, my season first WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S, PLUMBEOUS & WARBLING VIREOS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS, HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS, LAZULI BUNTING, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (rare here, very common in the mesquite grassland a few miles away) and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

It was already a little windy by the time we reached Sawmill Canyon at 8:00am and we had to work for all of our birds that sang only sporadically. Sawmill is not the best place for RED-FACED WARBLER so a singing individual quite low in the canyon was probably the best bird (they are normally present from 1 mile into the canyon and upwards). We found two silent ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, several GREATER PEWEES that were mostly silent (no song, just a few calls), a couple of OLIVE, numerous GRACE'S and one HERMIT WARBLER plus the usual common species. A silent TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was my latest Sawmill record (my latest record for SE AZ is May 8).

We headed down canyon with the intention of visiting Scheelite Canyon but when we saw a tour van and several other vehicles parked there we decided to give it a miss. Instead, we headed over to Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast where we spent 3 hours enjoying the many birds present there -- thanks to Mary Jo Ballator for her hospitality. 

LARK SPARROWS were very common as were LAZULI BUNTINGS. An ARIZONA WOODPECKER visited the suet; MEXICAN JAYS came in to the suet and peanut butter and are about as tame as you will find them anywhere. A calling VIRGINIA'S WARBLER remained unseen. Hummingbird activity was not particularly high in the windy conditions and we recorded BROAD-BILLED, MAGNIFICENT, BLACK-CHINNED and ANNA'S. We did not spend any time looking for Lucifer Hummingbird but at least one was present during our time here. I saw one very tiny billed hummer that I initially mistook for a Calliope until I looked at other characters -- I still don't know what it was.

70 species recorded in the Huachucas:
Turkey Vulture, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-billed, Magnificent, Black-chinned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Hammond's, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Steller's & Mexican Jaya, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Hermit, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Sunday, May 4, 2003     Previous Day    Next Day
Third and last day with Jay Bock. Today we rounded out the habitat types with a visit to Sulphur Springs Valley, a location not often birded at this time of year. We started in the south valley on Coffman Road and at Whitewater Draw, then birded our way north on various back roads finishing up at Willcox. It was a relatively cool day and quite windy by late morning. In addition to half the world's population of WESTERN KINGBIRDS and tons of LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, we saw a few noteworthy birds.

A short spell on Coffman Road yielded numerous SWAINSON'S HAWKS, a perched up GREATER ROADRUNNER, migrant GRAY FLYCATCHER & WILSON'S WARBLERS, PYRRHULOXIA and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

We spent a fair amount of time checking Whitewater Draw which is almost devoid of water. Nevertheless, our time here was quite productive and we turned up 40 species including SCALED & GAMBEL'S QUAIL, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, returning BURROWING OWL (right about on time for this location), a single SPOTTED and a handful of LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS, two pairs of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, good looks at CURVE-BILLED, BENDIRE'S and CRISSAL THRASHERS (the latter two singing and all seen from the same spot),  HORNED LARK, ORANGE-CROWNED, YELLOW & WILSON'S WARBLERS, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, VESPER & LARK SPARROWS and a pair of ABERT'S TOWHEES (my first at this location, although they have been reported here on and off).

On Lee Road we added a migrating MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER in with numerous WILSON'S; and a singing BLACK-THROATED SPARROW.

Our first LARK BUNTING (a breeding plumaged male) came on Central Highway followed by a fair sized flock of mostly females on Mormon Road. Mormon was quite birdy and we noted many singing BREWER'S SPARROWS, CHIPPING SPARROW (uncommon here), a migrant LAZULI BUNTING, PYRRHULOXIA and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

An hour at Willcox was also productive despite the wind. Less common species (either in absolute terms for this location or for the season) were SNOWY EGRET, GREEN HERON, MARBLED GODWIT, LESSER YELLOWLEGS and 5+ SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS -- the yellowlegs and plover are relatively scarce here as spring migrants, far more common in fall. Other species included 2 pairs of BLUE-WINGED TEAL, a few CINNAMON TEAL, LESSER SCAUP, a few LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS, numerous LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, WILSON'S PHALAROPES & AMERICAN AVOCETS and ~10 BLACK-NECKED STILTS,        

Day list (83 species recorded):
Eared & Western Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Rock, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Burrowing Owl, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Say's Phoebe, Gray, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, European Starling, Cactus Wren, Verdin, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Song, White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark & Black-throated Sparrows, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, May 5, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
First of two days with Ed and Emily Miller from El Centro, CA. We spent our time in the Patagonia area visiting Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest Area and Paton's yard. A chilly start became a fairly warm late morning that was quite windy at times. An abbreviated report today due to an accumulation of stuff that I need to get done (man cannot live by birds alone).

Highlights: 
Patagonia Lake produced a classic "looking at two different birds" situation that was emphasized by their similarities -- a CARDINAL and PYRRHULOXIA both perched up in adjacent Ocotillos! We finally saw NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET in the parking lot after chasing several without success. A FORSTER'S TERN worked the lake (70% of all my SE AZ sightings are in May). A bitter irony was hearing and then seeing a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER after looking for them two days in a row recently.

At Kino Springs we finally managed to see YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and LUCY'S WARBLER after unsuccessfully trying to track down many at Patagonia Lake and at Kino. Good looks at several GRAY HAWKS. Two very cute LESSER GOLDFINCH nestlings in a nest that I first stumbled across a few days ago.

Two THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS were perched on a regularly used snag at the Roadside Rest. A flock of 6 or so CEDAR WAXWINGS continue.

The Paton's yard was very colorful with at least 10 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, almost as many WESTERN TANAGERS plus SUMMER TANAGER and a very bright AMERICAN GOLDFINCH

Day list (86 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Mallard, Redhead, Great Blue & Green Herons, Black & Turkey Vultures, Cooper's, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, Forster's Tern, Rock, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's Phoebe, Gray, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, Cedar Waxwing, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, American & Lesser Goldfinches, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, White-crowned, Chipping, Lark & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Tuesday, May 6, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Out again today with Ed and Emily. We spent the morning in the Huachucas and early afternoon on the San Pedro. After a mild start it was moderately warm in the afternoon and quite windy again. Another abbreviated report today.

Garden Canyon was loaded with trogon seekers this morning but we beat all but the first few to the punch and had excellent views of a male ELEGANT TROGON while there was some peace and quiet (relatively speaking). Less common species in Garden were TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE at the middle picnic area and a LAZULI BUNTING at the upper picnic area (rare but regular here as a spring migrant). 

Sawmill was fairly quiet despite an early start and I had to work a little to dig out the birds. However, we managed to find all the "regular targets" including ARIZONA WOODPECKER, GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, OLIVE, GRACE'S & RED-FACED WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and HEPATIC TANAGER. An ELEGANT TROGON was calling near the canyon entrance.

We were fortunate to bump into Rick Taylor and his Borderland Tours group as we started up Scheelite Canyon. They had already found an owl very low in the canyon -- thanks Rick!. In fact, so low for this time of year (just above 1/4 mile) that I might well have walked past it, although it was in a very obvious location that is used regularly by the owls, just not usually at this time of year. We soon found this contented SPOTTED OWL roosting in a Maple tree  -- Maples are used regularly by the owls for roosting after they leaf out and provide cover and shade. 

Despite the lousy time of day (12:00-2:00pm), activity on the San Pedro (Hwy 90 area) was extremely high, especially on the east side of the river where few people go. BULLOCK'S ORIOLES and, to a lesser extent, WESTERN TANAGERS were very common. SWAINSON'S HAWKS soared, GRAY HAWKS called and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS were busy feeding young. Migrants noted included SWAINSON'S THRUSH (I only have five records on the river, all in May), WARBLING VIREO and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER.

Day list (68 species recorded):
Turkey Vulture, Gray & Swainson's Hawks, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Spotted Owl, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Hammond's, Buff-breasted, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated Flycatcher and Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Townsend's Solitaire, Swainson's Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, Barn Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Grace's, Wilson's & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Abert's Towhee, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird. 

Wednesday, May 7, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Mike and Joy Bowen from Bethesda, MD and Dick and Pat Carlson from Tucson, AZ. It was a momentous occasion -- my first trip of the season to California Gulch. It was also a very long day that began when I dragged my ass out of bed at 2:00am and ended when I arrived in Springerville at 5:00pm.

I met the group in Nogales at 4:00am and after negotiating the Ruby Road (2 COMMON POORWILLS) and California Gulch Road (both in fairly good condition, relatively speaking of course!), we arrived at the south end of California Gulch at 6:00am.  Shortly after we started walking (and well south of the gulch proper), I heard  the faintest of song from a FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW and before long we were enjoying great scope looks as the bird obliged us by staying perched up in a couple of Ocotillos and singing for 15-20 minutes.

We didn't spend much time in the gulch (which was extremely birdy) and, consequently, didn't build much of a list (about 30 species total). Species recorded included GRAY HAWK, several NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS, all three regular Myiarchus, LAZULI BUNTING and all three regular Orioles (HOODED was very common).

After we parted company back in Nogales, I drove north to the White Mountains ready to meet my clients for tomorrow. I stopped very briefly at Luna Lake where it was way too windy for any serious observation. I noted BALD EAGLE and a dozen or so common species before calling it a (long!) day with lots of miles driven.

Thursday, May 8, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
First of five days with Bill Weiss and Tim Vogel, both from NJ. We'll be working on a somewhat oddball shortlist of birds that have avoided Bill as he accumulated a list of over 5400 world birds.. Tim has lots of lifer opportunities that will happen along the way. Today we looked for Red-naped Sapsucker and the "Northern" Northern Pygmy-Owl which is not the same bird as the "Mountain" Northern Pygmy-Owl in SE AZ, although they are still officially the same species. It was a diabolically windy day in the White Mountains from early morning onwards and we didn't get a sniff of the owl despite lots of effort.

We began at a very chilly Sipe WA where we struck out completely on the Sapsucker (this is normally a great place for them). Among the ~25 species noted around the HQ area were WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

We moved on to Nutrioso where the wind seemed gale force at times. Nevertheless, we found at least 2 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS right in town along with LEWIS'S and ACORN WOODPECKERS, a fair number of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES (the population seems to be increasing here) and a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER spotted atop a snag by Bill. 

It was only 8:00am at this point and we spent the rest of the day looking for the Pygmy-Owl in a number of regular locations without success. The high winds definitely didn't help our cause but that really doesn't entirely explain why I failed to find one.

Highlights from the rest of the day included  GRACE'S & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS in the pines and RED-FACED WARBLERS streamside at South Fork, despite the almost complete lack of foliage; AMERICAN DIPPER feeding young at a nest in West Fork; and PINYON JAYS way south of the Burro Mountains in mesquite habitat, presumably working their way back north.

Friday, May 9, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Bill and Tim. On a relatively cool day that became quite windy by late morning, we visited various locations in the Patagonia area 

The primary target for Bill today was the gnatcatcher at Patagonia Lake. I ignored the bogus report of more nest building and concentrated on finding the adult birds feeding their fledglings. After some fruitless searching in Nutting's Wash, the strategy paid off when I heard the BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER family calling at the head of another wash and we soon tracked them down. The reward for our efforts was some great looks at male, female and 3 quite well grown fledglings as they foraged very close by, completely unfazed by our presence. 

This was a great start and allowed us to do some casual birding for the remainder of the day. We continued at the lake for a while then checked Kino Springs,  Patagonia Roadside Rest Area, Blue Heaven Road and Paton's Yard. Some selected sightings: --

Patagonia Lake (60 species):  calling LEAST BITTERN, several vocalizing PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER (quite scarce here), 2 migrant SWAINSON'S THRUSHES and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER.

GRAY HAWKS at Kino, Roadside Rest and Paton's
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS at Patagonia Lake and Roadside Rest
THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS at Roadside Rest, Blue Heaven Rd and Paton's.

Day list (79 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Great Blue & Green Herons, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Least Bittern, Black & Turkey Vultures, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Coot, Rock, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan (SV) & Common Ravens, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, Swainson's Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Lincoln's, Lark & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle and Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Saturday, May 10, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Bill and Tim with just one target bird on the menu for Bill -- Five-striped Sparrow in California Gulch.

As is my SOP, we left Sierra Vista early (2:45am) which produced 3 COMMON POORWILLS on the Ruby Road with one seen well (one is all that it takes).

By 6:15am we were watching a FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW perched up on various Ocotillos, singing away for about 45 minutes. We enjoyed it alone during a very cold early morning as we watched the other comings and goings in the gulch. If ever there was a morning to go early this was it. Although we didn't see a soul while birding well south of the gulch proper, 2 tour vans and five other vehicles were parked at the top of the gulch as we left and we met another tour van coming in as we drove out. What a zoo! By noon I was home watching soccer. Another bonus for our early arrival was a BOBCAT.

Birds in the gulch today included THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD (not present here every year) and my first VARIED BUNTING of the season (one singing bird). The buntings are normally quite late in arriving (typically, early May) and I did not detect them here on my May 7 visit (there was a report in early April that would seem very early). A surprise was a male BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD drinking from a pool -- my first in the gulch.

We recorded 45 species in the gulch:
Turkey Vulture, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-billed, Black-chinned & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Thick-billed Kingbirds, Mexican Jay, Bell's Vireo, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Chipping, Lark, Black-throated, Five-striped & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Lazuli &, Varied Buntings, Hooded & Scott's Orioles and Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Sunday, May 11, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 4 with Bill and Tim saw us visit the Chiricahuas to look for Northern Pygmy-Owl and Juniper Titmouse.

SWAINSON'S HAWKS, SCALED QUAIL and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES were all very common as we drove through Sulphur Springs Valley early this morning. 

After a four hour methodical search in the mountains, we finally located a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL only to have the bird stop calling after only one minute and before we could see it -- a bitter pill to swallow. Among the 45 species recorded as we searched were MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, ARIZONA & HAIRY WOODPECKERS, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, several HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, numerous CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, HUTTON'S, PLUMBEOUS & WARBLING VIREOS, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, tons of MEXICAN CHICKADEES, a few OLIVE, calling VIRGINIA'S, GRACE'S & many singing RED-FACED WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and HEPATIC TANAGER.

On my last visit to the George Walker House, Juniper Titmouse was almost the first bird seen. Today we learned that the bird had been a scarce visitor over the last week so we had to go out and do it the hard way. Despite some thin cloud cover, it was quite warm in the noon sun as we walked the Pinyon-Juniper hillsides to the east of Paradise, and nary a bird was stirring. Fortunately, after about 30 minutes we spotted a bird fly into a juniper which turned out to be a lone JUNIPER TITMOUSE. The bird was completely silent as we watched it foraging for a few minutes. Some measure of success for a tough day of work and a four hour round trip.

Monday, May 12, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 5 and last day with Bill and Tim on which we headed  into the Huachucas to do battle again with Northern Pygmy-Owl. It was the warmest day in Sierra Vista for quite some time (90+) but an early start (4:45am) and reasonably early success allowed us to beat the heat.

After a 45 minute drive and 30 minute 0.75 mile hike, we arrived at what is perhaps my all time best Northern Pygmy-Owl spot. Somewhat crestfallen, it wasn't long before I reluctantly decided to move on, completely owl-less. We continued hiking and passed two more good owl locations without so much a toot from an owl. Finally, as we approached the next good location after about 2.5 miles of hiking, we heard the distant tooting of a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL. In fact, so distant that it took 5 minutes to reach it at a fast walk! The bird fell silent and I had the definite feeling of deja vu all over again following yesterday's failure. I needn't have worried though, a few toots from me and we were soon looking at a very close and cooperative owl. We enjoyed great looks for over 15 minutes and I would have got some great shots had I brought my camera. However, the camera might well have been the kiss of death so I didn't bring it. Now, here's the rub. As we hiked back, another NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL was calling in the exact location that we had tried a couple of hours earlier! The bird responded to my whistled imitation and we again had great looks for 15 minutes. We definitely earned this bird so two for the price of one was only fair.

The high elevations of the Huachucas were extremely birdy this morning and we saw many species typical of the habitat. GREATER PEWEES were in full voice and VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS were particularly numerous and easy to see.

Species recorded in the Huachucas from 5:00-10:00am.
Turkey Vulture, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, White-throated Swift, Magnificent & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Am. Robin, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Bewick's & House Wrens, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Grace's, Wilson's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic Tanager, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Scott's Oriole and Brown-headed Cowbird.

We left the mountains and finished at a very warm San Pedro River where bird activity was surprisingly high. A couple of hours of casual birding turned up almost 50 species. Less common migrants were 3 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS (one singing) and a SWAINSON'S THRUSH. 

Species recorded on the San Pedro (Hwy 90 area) from 10:30am-12:30pm.
Mallard, Gray Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Vermilion, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan Raven, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Bewick's Wren, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, White-crowned, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Over the five days we saw five of six target birds  -- Red-naped Sapsucker, Northern (Mountain) Pygmy-Owl, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Juniper Titmouse and Five-striped Sparrow and missed Northern (Northern) Pygmy-Owl. Even though our days were mostly very focused, we recorded 157 species along the way. All in all, a very good few days.

Tuesday, May 13, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Ken and Kris Klimko and John Kalman, all from the Vancouver, BC area. With another very warm day in prospect I was happy to be starting early again. We left town at 4:00am for a trip to French Joe Canyon where the primary objective, of course, was to find "the warbler".

We saw 3 COMMON POORWILLS sitting on the road during the drive in and another was calling. Also calling as we parked were 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS and 2 WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS.

The hike in was not very birdy (hardly surprising since it was still fairly gloomy!) and we arrived in the upper area at 5:40am. After only 5 minutes a RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER sang for a couple of seconds and was never heard from again. We waited in the same area until almost 7:00am at which time I decided to head to the location where I had seen the birds on my last trip. Sure enough, I heard the soft ticking sounds of the warblers and very soon everyone was able to get a great look as both birds perched up quite close to us. Excellent! The birds stayed put long enough for me to go back and alert another birder who was making his third trip in the last week. Apart from that one brief burst of song, the birds only made their very soft ticking calls (similar to a Black-chinned Sparrow). Consequently, if you go looking for the birds, make sure that you know and are listening for this call!

Our only other target in the canyon was BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW and it didn't take long to see a bird that had been singing for quite a while as we worked on the warblers. The only other birds of note were a singing and easy to see CASSIN'S VIREO and a calling ARIZONA WOODPECKER. I was surprised when I heard the woodpecker in the upper canyon, with good reason as I later discovered. Despite a fair amount of oak habitat in the lower canyon, this was my first sighting in French Joe.

40 species recorded in French Joe Canyon:
Band-tailed Pigeon, White-winged Dove, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Common Poorwill, White-throated Swift, Anna's & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Arizona Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Hutton's, Cassin's & Plumbeous Vireos, N. Mockingbird, Cactus, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's &  House Wrens, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Hooded & Scott's Orioles and Brown-headed Cowbird.

After exiting the canyon, we headed over to Sulphur Springs Valley to look for Bendire's Thrasher despite the crappy time of day and low expectation of success,. An hour of so of searching in locations where I have seen them 3 times recently failed to produce a bird. Oh, did I mention? The temperature was 90 degrees.

After almost 3 weeks of being continuously in the field, I have a day off tomorrow and I don't think I will go birding (gee, you think?)  

Thursday, May 15, 2003     Previous Day    Next Day
I couldn't help but laugh at the irony that my first day off in quite a while yesterday was a cloudy and relatively cool day. This morning I was out with Glenn & Mary Ann Teague and Arden & Sherry Hagen, all from Vancouver, WA. for another trip to French Joe Canyon.

RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER was very hard to locate this morning and even harder to see. The windy conditions didn't help but the real problem was the minimal amount of vocalization from the birds now that they are nesting. I've homed in on the general nesting area but it still took over 2 1/2 hours on site before we located a single warbler -- even then, the bird only gave a short burst of song followed by a few soft "tick" calls and then resumed stealth mode. This little flurry of activity lasted for only a minute or so, and only for a few seconds at a time in one place. Although I managed a good look at the bird, only 3 of the group saw it and only one saw it reasonably well. We did not detect the bird again for almost 2 hours (just a short burst of song) and none of us saw it on this occasion. 

Still present in the canyon today were a small flock of ~8 PINYON JAYS -- it's getting quite late for them still to be in southeast Arizona. A flock of 12+ BAND-TAILED PIGEONS were easy to see, alternately swooshing around (great noise as they flew by) and perching in the snags. CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER is back on territory -- a pair usually nest near the spring (they have been back in SE AZ for several weeks but this was my first here this year). A lingering LINCOLN'S SPARROW was my latest spring record in French Joe (5/18 is my latest in SE AZ). Migrants included CASSIN'S VIREO and SWAINSON'S THRUSH. 

42 species recorded in French Joe Canyon
Band-tailed Pigeon, White-winged Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Western Scrub-Jay, Pinyon & Mexican Jays, Hutton's, Cassin's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Lincoln's, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Summer Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Lazuli Bunting, Hooded & Scott's Orioles and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Later in the day I met up with Steve Bobonick from Cincinnati, OH who I've birded with on two previous occasions. This trip was scheduled quite some time ago to look for Flammulated Owl. However, Steve decided that he would rather go after the Buff-collared Nightjar that has returned to Oro Blanco Mine near California Gulch. Actually, the plan was to try for both time permitting. Unfortunately, by a freak of bizarre timing, we didn't have enough time.

As sunset approached, my worst fears were confirmed as a total of about 20 people gathered at the site (and on a school night, too!). At approximately 7:50pm a BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR began calling, in fact two birds were calling (I later confirmed this independently with Tony Godfrey). With so many people (and no control over the situation) I didn't really expect to see the bird. However, more of an impact was the effect of the lunar eclipse. As expected, as soon as the moon disappeared the nightjars and COMMON POORWILLS stopped calling. I joked with Steve about his poor planning (4 months ago when the bird wasn't even considered) to schedule the trip on the night of a full moon lunar eclipse; and I told him that we would win by attrition. 

We decided to wait it out and kiss off looking for Flammulated Owl (they're around every year!). One by one the other parties drifted away making our task a little easier when the birds resumed their activities. As we waited, a couple of GREAT HORNED OWLS called and 4+ very curious WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS kept us entertained -- they provided excellent looks and didn't seem to want to leave. As the shadow of the eclipse passed and half moon was reached, COMMON POORWILLS resumed calling. However, it wasn't until some time later when the full moon returned at10:00pm that a BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR resumed calling. By 10:10pm we had an excellent look at a bird perched on a fencepost.

So, all we had to do was wait out 20 people and a lunar eclipse to enjoy success. I got out of bed at 3:00am this morning and I was sure ready for sleep by the time I climbed back in at 2:00am!  

Saturday, May 17, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Out today with Tim Leahy from Appleton, WI who I've birded with once before. This trip was originally scheduled for two days some time ago, however, due to changes in target birds (some seen, some new possibilities) we changed to one long day, my second such day in a row. We managed to see 3 of 4 target birds (Buff-collared Nightjar, Rufous-capped Warbler and Flame-colored Tanager); hopefully, Tim can pick up the missed Black-capped Gnatcatcher tomorrow.

I rose at 3:00am to meet Tim at 4:00am. After seeing 4 COMMON POORWILLS driving into French Joe Canyon, we equaled my fasted hiking time of 33 minutes and by 5:40am we were hearing the soft "ticks" of a RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER. About 15 minutes later the bird sang strongly from 100 yards away as we unsuccessfully tried to track it down. We didn't have to wait much longer through -- from 6:00-6:05am we had several excellent views, including one for as long as a minute as the bird sang from an open perch, below eye level and at close range. During this period we noted that the bird was carrying food while the mate duetted  from a  nearby location -- to where the bird carrying food eventually flew towards. I can't imagine that the birds are feeding young yet, so I am assuming that this was mate feeding at the nest.

A very good start to the day but we were soon brought back down to earth at Patagonia Lake State Park. It was already very hot by the time we started looking for the Black-capped Gnatcatcher, and our 90 minute search (during which time we checked 5 washes twice each) was unsuccessful. At this point we had already been in the field for a while so we bailed out for some sustenance. I noted my first BLUE GROSBEAK of the season here, a little later than usual (my average first sighting date in SE AZ is May 11).

We moved on to Madera Canyon to look for Flame-colored Tanager where I lost a little more faith in human nature. Lots of noisy people threatened the future ability of others to bird around the Madera Kubo area. I had to talk to one group about blatantly ignoring the "no trespassing" signs and the lady at the gift shop had to ask people to move their cars. PLEASE -- PARK AT THE AMPHITHEATER PARKING AND WALK A FEW YARDS.

The excessively noisy group were gathered near the gift shop so I positioned myself a little up-canyon so I could listen. After about 90 minutes I heard the "thicker" call of FLAME-COLORED TANAGER about 200 yards above the gift shop and Tim and I were soon enjoying great views of a beautiful male tanager. By their behavior, the aforementioned group didn't deserve to latch on to my success, however, unfortunately they did. My experience here today makes the slog up Miller Canyon seem attractive.

After a break in Green Valley, we headed west on the Arivaca Road. A pleasant surprise about 5 miles west of the Cow Palace was a CRESTED CARACARA. After carefully checking with DeLorme software, I determined that the sighting was in Santa Cruz County and a was new county bird for me. 

We arrived at Oro Blanco mine at 4:30pm and continued on into California Gulch to kill some time. It didn't take long to locate this FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW (we noted at least 2, possibly 3 birds). Although the lighting was very poor (sunset comes early in the gulch) I tried a few quick and dirty shots of which just one turned out to be usable after some jiggery-pokery with Photoshop.

A couple of other parties were in the gulch so I was amazed (and mighty pleased) that not a soul was present back at the mine come nightfall. COMMON POORWILLS started calling at 7:35pm. We first heard BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR calling at 7:45pm and between 7:50 and 8:00pm we enjoyed good views of a perched bird, first on a rock then in a tree; and eventually of two birds flying around together, calling loudly. 

Driving back along California Gulch Road we stopped to check a very loud ELF OWL and managed to see the bird calling from a nest hole. Along the Ruby Road we flushed a roadside GREAT HORNED OWL. 

I flopped back in to bed at midnight at the end of a long and successful day, thinking about my vacation that is now only one week away!

Day list (75 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Crested Caracara, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot. Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Elf Owl, Common Poorwill, Buff-collared Nightjar, Broad-billed, Blue-throated & Magnificent Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Western & Cassin's Kingbirds, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Bell's, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's, Yellow, Black-throated Gray, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Chipping, Black-chinned, Five-striped & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Flame-colored, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Hooded, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Wednesday, May 21, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
I made a short, early morning visit to Sierra Vista EOP this morning, my first for about three weeks. Conditions were cloudy/hazy with a light breeze and it was pleasantly cool.

The most interesting bird was a singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROW that was hard to see despite being close to the road. As it turned out, the bird was singing while sitting low in the grass rather than from an exposed perch. I've seen them here in five of the past eleven years ('95, '96, '98, '02 & '03) and they normally show up (or at least become detectable) during the last week in May. Let's hope that this year the city won't decide to cut the grass during their nesting season ! 

Other less common species (albeit regular at this time of year) were a pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL and two BLACK-NECKED STILTS.

23 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP from 6:50-7:40am:
Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Swainson's Hawk, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan Raven, Barn Swallow, Horned Lark, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Grasshopper & Black-throated Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, May 22, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
First of two days with Rhandy Helton from Junction, TX and Gary Spencer from Jasper, TX. Another 4:00am start for a trip to French Joe Canyon,

We first heard RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER at 5:45 am, shortly after we arrived in the area where I believe they are nesting. For the next hour, we followed the bird around, up and down canyon about 150 yards or so, as it alternately, sang, "ticked" and went silent. We had a couple of initial brief glimpses before finally getting good looks at a bird sitting still, low in a oak. However, the best was yet to come. We were on our way out of the canyon when the "ticking" of the warblers turned into full song as both birds duetted from the top of a small oak, very close to us. One bird fed the other and then seemingly made a bee-line for my head, passing just feet away from me on its way to foraging in a nearby Agave. Killer looks! 

Earlier, when we were otherwise engaged with the warbler, I heard a very emphatic song that I thought belonged to a Hooded Warbler. It wasn't until a little later when Rhandy spotted an OVENBIRD that I realized I had been hearing a very loud Teacher! Teacher! Teacher! The bird stuck around and continued to sing on and off for the hour that we were in the upper area. This was species #144 for me in French Joe Canyon and a bird that I've only seen in Arizona a handful of times.

We didn't spend much time in the canyon this morning but still managed to record most of the regulars. Less common species were ARIZONA WOODPECKER (only my second record for the canyon) and a latish GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE (I have a number of records for May week 3 in SE AZ, but only one for week 4)..

39 species recorded in French Joe Canyon:
Red-tailed Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, White-winged Dove, Common Poorwill, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, Western Wood-Pewee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Lucy's, Black-throated Gray & Rufous-capped Warblers, Ovenbird, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak and Hooded Oriole & Scott's Orioles.

We spent the latter part of the morning on the San Pedro (highway 90 area) where it was initially quite birdy despite the warm temperature under cloudy skies (92 in town at 11:30am). YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were absolutely abundant and surprisingly easy to see, mostly because of their ungainly display flights. The highlight was my season first TROPICAL KINGBIRD at the big pond, a location where they have nested since at least 1994. The only definite migrant noted was PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER. Several WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS (scarce here) were working over the river; a few WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS linger (I have one June record for SE AZ)

45 species recorded on the SPRNCA:
Great Blue Heron, Cooper's & Gray Hawks, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Pacific-slope, Vermilion & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Tropical, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan Raven, Bell's Vireo, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Abert's Towhee, Summer Tanager, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Friday, May 23, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Rhandy and Gary.  We spent the morning visiting Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons in the Huachucas. After a good start, the morning ended poorly when I failed to find a Spotted Owl, not exactly how I wanted to finish the last day of work before my annual June escape from the heat of southeast Arizona.

A slow drive through the lower grassland in Garden Canyon was quite birdy (20 species) and produced many singing BOTTERI'S SPARROWS, including a few perched close to the road. Among the other species were COOPER'S HAWK, SCALED QUAIL, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, LUCY'S WARBLER, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.  

At the middle picnic area was a calling BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, uncommon in the Huachucas but present here (at least briefly) for the past four years. A male ELEGANT TROGON was easy to find and see at the upper picnic area as were a couple of noisy "rubber ducky" birds -- SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, the first of many along upper Garden Road. Also here were WILD TURKEY, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, PAINTED REDSTART and HEPATIC TANAGER.

A short visit to Sawmill Canyon was quickly productive with views of one of the many singing GREATER PEWEES and the less vocal (but equally plentiful) BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS, both fairly low in the canyon. Further up canyon we added RED-FACED WARBLER, singing close to the trail. The best bird came as we were leaving when a pair of MONTEZUMA QUAIL waddled across the road just below the cabin -- great views using the car as a blind.

We ended the morning in Scheelite Canyon where a long and tiring search failed to produce Spotted Owl. My overall record in May is 116 sightings in 124 visits, a little better than 93%. Unfortunately, someone has to fall in the remaining 7%! To compound my personal misery, I also fell and skinned my arm,  Another pair of MONTEZUMA QUAIL were easy to see as they foraged in the leaf litter while keeping a wary eye on us. Perhaps we used up all our karma on quail today. The only birds of note from 16 recorded in the canyon were a calling male ELEGANT TROGON and a migrant SWAINSON'S THRUSH. 

53 species recorded in the Huachucas:
Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Scaled & Montezuma Quail, Mourning Dove, White-throated Swift, Elegant Trogon, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated, Brown-crested & Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's, Black-throated Gray, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Botteri's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Bullock's Oriole, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Sunday, May 25, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
After months of planning and anticipation, and a day of final preparation and packing, my 5 week vacation got underway at 9:00am this morning. A few seconds later it was on hold again when my vehicle wouldn't start. After getting quite a bit of service done in recent weeks, including a tune up, I was a little bit miffed to say the least.  I hadn't really thought about this being Memorial Day weekend, but I soon found out! I finally located a repair shop that was open and got AAA to tow me there; now I had to wait back at home since they were pretty busy. In late afternoon I got the news that the car was fixed (a shorted crankshaft position sensor was the culprit) and I was able to get underway at 6:00pm. A wasted day.

Obviously, not much in the way of birds today, just a  few LESSER NIGHTHAWKS as I was driving through north Tucson at sunset. The temperature there was 93 degrees around 7:30pm and I was hoping that it would be the highest I would see for 5 weeks. This wasn't the case, however, because Phoenix was higher despite cover of darkness. I made it as far as Blythe, CA before calling it a day. 

Monday, May 26, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I traveled 700 miles and put in 10 hours of driving as I continued north to Oroville in Northern California. Traffic through Los Angeles was very light but despite (or due to) the holiday, I-5 was fairly solid all the way from LA to Sacramento. The day began as yesterday ended with LESSER NIGHTHAWKS in Blythe along with a typically noisy GILA WOODPECKER as I picked up my morning coffee. Some of the roadside birds as I worked my way north (in order seen) were CATTLE EGRET, COMMON RAVEN, AMERICAN CROW,  RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, CLIFF SWALLOW, AMERICAN KESTREL, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, GREAT EGRET, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY and GREAT BLUE HERON.

I spent the late afternoon and evening visiting with my son and his family (I'm starting to feel old now that I have two grandchildren -- now including a 10 day old hatchling grandson). Among the yard birds noted while trying to get my granddaughter to look at boats through the scope were WESTERN GREBE (way out on Lake Oroville), ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, TREE SWALLOW, OAK TITMOUSE and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. Additional species in the immediate neighborhood were ACORN WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BUSHTIT, LESSER GOLDFINCH and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Tuesday, May 27, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
After a latish family breakfast in town (Oroville) this morning, I resumed my journey north -- I don't need to be in Seattle until Wednesday night so I was able to relax a little in terms of driving. Today I drove as far as Albany in Oregon. However, tomorrow I may have a problem -- as I exited the freeway to stop for the night, my vehicle died with the same problem as on Sunday. So much for the work done by Pep Boys! I had to go through the towing routine again and then find a repair shop in a town that I don't know. What jolly fun. Fortunately, the tow truck driver was a big help.

I saw the following roadside species between Oroville, CA and Albany, OR, mostly along I-5 which is virtually birdless at 70 mph!
Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Dove, Western Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Yellow-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Cassin's Vireo, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Oak Titmouse, House Sparrow, House Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

The most common roadside bird in California and Oregon was EURASIAN STARLING. At higher elevations in California, BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS were very common. I noted numerous YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIES on Hwy 99 in Butte and Tehama counties in California. An OSPREY soared over the Sacramento river in Red Bluff where it was 90 degrees as I joined I-5 at 11:00am. Blue skies and relatively clear air provided excellent views of Mt. Shasta (lots of snow) and Lassen Peak (not as much snow). The water level in Lake Shasta was as high as I can remember it. Lots of RING-BILLED GULLS were panhandling at a rest area in Weed. A rest area in Douglas County, OR produced CASSIN'S VIREO.

Wednesday, May 28, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Well, as I expected, things didn't go well today. Wouldn't you know it, the car started fine at the mechanic's shop this morning and continued to run without problems for almost an hour (and diagnostics did not reveal any problems). However, I hadn't got 2 miles down the road before the car died again. Time to call the tow truck again -- I was sure thankful that I had renewed my AAA membership! Intermittent problems are tough to track down, however, this time when I got it back to the shop, fuses were still blowing so the mechanic had something to work with.

What followed I can liken to when I go places like French Joe Canyon or California Gulch. I work on the assumption that the warbler/sparrow is present, I choose a strategy to find the bird, then I work diligently to find the bird. The mechanic did much the same, and after many hours of searching the culprit was found. A wiring harness in an out-of-sight and awkward location had become charred and brittle over the years and several wires had been intermittently shorting against the chassis. Wow, the last thing I would have suspected is piece of wire!

The day was shot by now -- it was almost 6:00pm when I left Albany and I rolled into Seattle at 10:00pm. The only birds that I remember from this generally lousy day were WESTERN SCRUB-JAY and CEDAR WAXWINGS while waiting for the tow truck. However, at least now I know the problem is fixed. 

Thursday, May 29, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 1: Anchorage-Seward. Day List: 45, Trip List: 45, Total Targets Seen: 2
Today I traveled to Anchorage to begin my first ever trip to Alaska -- I'll be here for the next three weeks. Following my return I'll spend some time in the northern tier states to round out my vacation. Today's episode comes to you from Seward, AK. [Trip Summary  Trip List]

My flight was at 6:00am so I had to get an early start (what else is new?). I had trouble finding a long term parking lot near Sea-Tac so it was just as well that I had allowed extra time. The Alaska Airlines flight  left on time and arrived in Anchorage at 9:30am (8:30am AK time). My first impression of the state was of snow -- and lots of it!. Through holes in the clouds I could see miles and miles of snow capped mountains, huge virgin snow fields, meandering rivers, large estuaries and tidal flats and not a sign of civilization (as we know it). That all changed as the plane came over the last set of mountains and dropped into the Anchorage bowl. Skies were cloudless now and the city was clearly visible -- I could even pick out the roads that I'd studied on the map and would soon be traveling! The waters of Cook Inlet had a muddy quality and were completely devoid of birds. My first Alaska state bird was CLIFF SWALLOW nesting under a jetway.

My rental car pickup went smoothly and I lucked out with a brand new SUV with plenty of bells and whistles at a good price.  I took the time to get all my stuff organized and it was 9:20am before I left the airport. The temperature was 58 degrees and I felt comfortable in sweater and shorts. I was a little worried earlier when many fellow travelers were all bundled up and carrying heavy coats (mine were all packed away) but I needn't have worried -- hey, some of the locals didn't even have shirts on! A big mosquito that landed on the windshield reminded me of my plan to make Wal-mart my first port of call! The highest temperature that I saw today was 65, although it was around 60 for much of the day with a moderate breeze in open water areas and mosquitoes were never a problem.

My plan for the day was low key and I took all day to drive the 130 miles to Seward (just one night here then I'll be in the Homer area for a week). The road was mostly clear of traffic (after I left the immediate Anchorage area) and I stopped often to admire the scenery, birding was somewhat secondary. Even though I have a number of target species, I'm not going to ruin my vacation by obsessing about them. I'd made my mind up that and even if I don't see any, it won't bother me at all. I've mentioned before that since I chase birds for a living, it's necessary for me to have a different strategy when birding for pleasure, otherwise it seems like work all the time. 

I spent about two hours around Potter Marsh (just south of Anchorage) where I picked up two of the 30 or so targets that I have a chance of seeing on this trip -- ARCTIC TERN and COMMON REDPOLL. Both are no-brainers and I think a three week trip to Alaska (at this season) without a sighting would result in your binoculars being confiscated. Other species from 25 seen here included MEW GULL, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, all of which were common everywhere that I went today.

I was surprised by a small flock of fly-by WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS near Beluga Point (apparently they can be common, albeit irregular). BALD EAGLES were common on the flats of Turnagain Arm north of Twenty Mile River. A side trip to view Portage Glacier produced more COMMON REDPOLLS (they readily responded to pishing) and a perched up and singing FOX SPARROW at Portage Lake. 

I also stopped at Upper and Lower Summit Lakes and Tern Lake (common species at all) before continuing on to Seward and checking in to the Harborview Inn in late afternoon. I encountered a few sprinkles here and the clouds rolled in and stayed, keeping the temperature pretty constant at 58 degrees.

I ventured out again to Lowell Point where the birding was quite productive in the early evening on an incoming tide. Species here included 20+ HARLEQUIN DUCKS, lots of SURF SCOTERS, 10+ BARROW'S GOLDENEYES, a handful of BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS,  SOLITARY SANDPIPER (just one! -- my first in breeding plumage; I assume the birds is a late migrant), lots of MEW and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, PIGEON GUILLEMOT, MARBLED MURRELET, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD and last but not least, many NORTHWESTERN CROWS. I remember when I lived in Washington that this bird was always a bone of contention -- is it really a species? Their voice certainly sounds different from a regular crow.

I finally quit for the day at 6:30pm, dead tired.

Day list (45 species recorded):
Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Barrow's Goldeneye, Bald Eagle, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Black Oystercatcher, Mew, Glaucous-winged & Herring Gulls, Arctic Tern, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Rock Dove, Rufous Hummingbird, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Tree, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-capped Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, White-winged Crossbill, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle), Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Northern Waterthrush and Fox & Lincoln's Sparrows.

Friday, May 30, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 2: Seward-Homer. Day List: 36, Trip List: 59, Total Targets Seen: 2.
Today I traveled leisurely from Seward to Homer, stopping from time to time as the fancy struck me. The day started with about 75% cloud cover, opened up a little in the early afternoon, then became completely cloudy with light rain as I approached Homer. The temperature ranged from 50 to 60 degrees (mostly around 58); wind was generally calm although it was quite breezy in a few places, notably Tern Lake. Weather I can live with -- how hot was it in SE AZ today?

Before leaving Seward I birded along Lowell Point Road again. I saw almost all of the species present yesterday; most were in greater numbers (particularly HARLEQUIN DUCK, BARROW'S  GOLDENEYE & MARBLED MURRELET). In addition to seabirds out on the bay, this road has many landbirds -- however, seeing them is very difficult due to the steepness of the slope on the non bay side. For a dead end dirt road, there's also a surprising amount of traffic constantly kicking up the dust. The natives don't slow down for tourists either. Species present here today that I didn't record yesterday were WANDERING TATTLER, BELTED KINGFISHER, STELLER'S JAY, VARIED THRUSH, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE and FOX SPARROW.

I backtracked north to Tern Lake to pick up the Sterling Highway and stopped here for about 90 minutes. Species diversity wasn't great but it's a picturesque location and I was hoping for some photo opportunities. However, the birds didn't treat me well at all and I had very little success. Particularly nasty was a GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW that would repeatedly sing atop a small conifer then fly away each time I tried to set up. ARCTIC TERNS were not much easier, flying by often but never putting down for more than a few seconds at a time. In the end, I had to settle for the easy stuff -- the no-miss MEW GULL. Other species here included COMMON LOON, BANK SWALLOW and SAVANNAH SPARROW.

Further west along the highway I noted a few COMMON MERGANSERS on Quartz Creek. A stop at Quartz Creek Campground was very pleasant. I had several encounters with a number of COMMON REDPOLLS but I never got close to a photo. Ditto for BOREAL CHICKADEE. 

Except for short trip into town for dinner, I didn't go out again after checking in at the Bay View Inn (here's the view of  Kachemak Bay  from my door). Birds seen or heard here included PACIFIC LOON, VARIED THRUSH and the rare and declining ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (ever so slight grin). I ate dinner at Cafe Cups which seemed to be a same sex couple hangout for ladies, color me surprised. This is a slightly upscale place and the food was excellent (my chicken and veggie tacos were moderately spicy and very good).

Day list (36 species recorded; 23 new for trip in italics):
Double-crested Cormorant, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Wandering Tattler, Mew Gull, Arctic Tern, Pigeon Guillemot, Pacific & Common Loons, Rock Dove, Rufous Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Steller's Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Violet-green & Bank Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Boreal & Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle), Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco and Fox, Golden-crowned & Savannah Sparrows.

Saturday, May 31, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Alaska Day 3: Homer. Day List: 30, Trip List: 66, Total Targets Seen: 2.
Today was a pretty poor day all round. I concentrated my birding along Homer Spit and was disappointed on several fronts. After reading about it in the Birder's Guide to Alaska and other sources, I was very much looking forward to visiting here. First of all, to put it kindly the place is unsightly, in reality it's fugly. Secondly, it was very crowded. Thirdly, birds were few and far between -- 0 for 3. Today was mostly cloudy and colder with temperatures ranging from 45 to 55 degrees, mostly around 50. If it gets any colder I'll be forced to wear long pants. The best time of day was after 5:00pm when the sun broke through.

I awoke this morning to hear a FOX SPARROW singing and went outside to track it down, hoping for a photograph. No luck with that but I was treated to an adult BALD EAGLE roosting just a hundred or so yards away. Among the species outside my door were at least 2 male TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS, lots of PINE SISKINS and a few COMMON REDPOLLS.

For breakfast, I sampled some more local culture at the Duncan House Diner where I think I was the only tourist. Lots of fisherman types, some weird music, friendly people, a little smoky -- but my bowl of Oatmeal and Blueberry Pancakes were good..

I began on the spit at 9:30am, exactly at low tide. There was hardly anything to be seen at all at this time except for the usual MEW & GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, PELAGIC CORMORANT and BALD EAGLE. 

After some disappointing results on the spit, I spent a little time at Beluga Lake (viewed from Ben Walters Park). Highlights here were many RED-NECKED GREBES, a perched up and singing SWAINSON'S THRUSH and more COMMON REDPOLLS. Perhaps the best sighting was a MOOSE in McDonald's parking lot. 

During a lunch break at the motel, a few SANDHILL CRANES flew by.

I returned to the spit in the afternoon and birded from about 3 hours before high tide until high tide at 4:00pm. The birding was a little better during this period but observation was difficult as the day wore on because of rain. Except for lots of COMMON MURRES and a few PIGEON GUILLEMOTS, alcids were distinctly AWOL. I did see one distant Murrelet but it was too far away for me to identify as to Marbled or Kittlitz's. Fairly large rafts of SURF and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and GREATER SCAUP were active at high tide, visible from Mariner Park.. Tons of BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES were easy to see from Land's End.

When I returned to the motel, I was treated to a close range back and forth fly-by from an adult BALD EAGLE and a close up look at a scavenging BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE looking for a handout. PIGEON GUILLEMOTS and SEA OTTERS were in the bay below me. TOWNSEND'S and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were singing constantly.

Day list (30 species recorded; 7 new for trip in italics):
Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Surf & White-winged Scoters, Bald Eagle, Sandhill Crane, Mew & Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Violet-green Swallow, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers and Fox & Golden-crowned Sparrows.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Saturday, May 31, 2003.

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - May, 2003 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

Top of Page