Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - April, 2004 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 Friday, April 30, 2004

Thursday, April 1, 2004
A last minute cancellation left me with an unexpected day off. Since it was a cloudy, windy and eventually wet day, this was perhaps just as well. I took advantage to do some computer work and the only birding that I did was during a one hour visit to Sierra Vista EOP.

It was way too windy to be very productive and only a lone BUFFLEHEAD was of note from about 30 species seen. Other species present included a soaring SWAINSON'S HAWK, a few CINNAMON TEAL, SORA and many YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Friday, April 2, 2004
First of three days with Hal Swartz and Ann Flood from Lyme, NH. The weather was decidedly uncooperative and we had clouds, rain and cool temperatures right from the start. At times it looked like clearing up but in the end it just got worse and we eventually threw in the towel by early afternoon. On a lousy day to be out birding, we visited Patagonia Lake and Paton's Yard.

About the only good thing about the weather was that the trails at Patagonia Lake were people free. The highlight here was my season first GREATER PEWEE singing its Jose Maria song near Nutting's Wash -- only my second record at the state park. Among the other flycatchers noted were NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, ASH-THROATED & GRAY FLYCATCHERS and CASSIN'S KINGBIRD.

Four flavors of swallows were working over the water which was almost devoid of winter waterfowl. An OSPREY made a few passes over the lake. Several WILSON'S SNIPE and SWAMP SPARROWS were conspicuous in the muddy marsh (definitely their kind of day), but a single SORA soon disappeared from view. BLUE-WINGED TEAL continue at the east end of the lake. BELL'S VIREOS and LUCY'S WARBLERS were very common.

55 species recorded at Patagonia Lake:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Sora, Wilson's Snipe, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-billed, Black-chinned & Rufous Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Greater Pewee, Black Phoebe, Gray, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Tree, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's & Marsh Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Lucy's, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Canyon Towhee, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

Two GRAY HAWKS were flying west on highway 82 as we returned to Patagonia.

Soon after we reached Marion Paton's yard, the rain really pelted down and this triggered some frenzied bird activity. By far the best bird was a male BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, giving its loud, squeaky call each time that it visited the feeders. Although I have a few fall records for this mountain canyon species at the Paton's, this was my first spring record for this location. We saw a total of 7 hummer species including VIOLET-CROWNED and COSTA'S. I took several shots of a very smart looking BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD hunkered down in the rain. In this second image you can see the broad bill quite well. Also, note how small and "dumpy" the bird looks compared to the first shot. Appearances can be deceptive.

I was surprised to see that a STELLER'S JAY was still present, perhaps the bird knows that winter isn't really over yet. Also present were numerous LAZULI BUNTINGS and male and female HOODED ORIOLES.

Saturday, April 3, 2004
Out again today with Hal and Ann. More lousy weather to contend with and the plan to head into the Huachucas was quickly abandoned (snow level down to the base of the mountains). I chose to head east to escape the brunt of the weather. We broke free of the heavier rain and sleet as we entered the Sulphur Springs Valley but still spent most of the morning trying to find somewhere to bird where it wasn't raining. We started at Whitewater Draw where the close to freezing rain drove us away after about 90 minutes. We worked our way north and found reasonable conditions at Willcox then headed south again back to Whitewater Draw.

Highlights and honorable mentions:
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON Willcox, & WWD
AMERICAN x EURASIAN WIGEON Willcox
SANDHILL CRANE ~200 Willcox (my latest record for SE AZ)
WILSON'S SNIPE 1 WWD
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER 5 WWD
GREATER YELLOWLEGS 5 Willcox, 2 WWD
SANDERLING 1 WWD (my third spring record in SE AZ)
WESTERN SANDPIPER 10+ WWD
LEAST SANDPIPER lots at WWD, few at Willcox
RING-BILLED GULL 6 Willcox
FRANKLIN'S GULL - 1 breeding plumaged bird Willcox
SWAMP SPARROW WWD

Day list (73 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Sandhill Crane, Sora, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Sanderling, Western & Least Sandpipers, Ring-billed & Franklin's Gulls, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Tree, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, American Pipit, Cactus & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's & Curve-billed Thrashers, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, Lucy's & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Canyon Towhee, Lark Bunting, Vesper, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch and House Sparrow.

Sunday, April 4, 2004
Out again today with Hal and Ann. We fared a little better with the weather today -- not that it was significantly improved, just that for the most part we managed to be where it wasn't. We visited a couple of locations in the Huachucas and the San Pedro River.

My concerns about upper Garden Canyon road were unfounded and we didn't see any snow at road level until we reached the cabin. It was quite chilly as we trudged around in 2-3 inches of snow in Sawmill Canyon. Nevertheless, we managed to turn up several BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS and an OLIVE WARBLER. Other species in Sawmill included WILD TURKEY, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT and GRACE'S WARBLER.

In Garden Canyon we had decent looks at female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and PAINTED REDSTART.

I was hoping for some migrants on the San Pedro but a briefly singing and unseen CASSIN'S VIREO was the best of only a few migrants. April normally sees an increase in migrating HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER'S and we watched a very noisy individual working in the cottonwoods. GRAY HAWKS were vocal just south of the big pond and we eventually saw a couple of birds flying and one perched.. The only bird on the pond was a SORA walking around on what is now very minimal vegetation after an increase in water level. VERMILION FLYCATCHER, ABERT'S TOWHEE, LUCY'S & YELLOW WARBLERS were all common.

We finished the day at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast (thanks to Mary Jo) where activity was quite high. It didn't take long to find for our target SCOTT'S ORIOLE to come by and a couple of birds were regular visitors. Other stuff included male and female ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, a female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD and male HEPATIC TANAGER.

Day list (68 species recorded):
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Gambel's Quail, American Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Magnificent, Black-chinned, Calliope & Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's Sapsucker, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Hammond's, Buff-breasted, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Bell's & Cassin's & Hutton's Vireos, Olive, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray & Grace's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Chipping, Lark & Song Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Scott's Oriole, House Finch & Lesser Goldfinch.

Monday, April 5, 2004
Out today with Hans Spiecher from Chicago, IL. On a much better weather day (cool, some sun, a few sprinkles and some brief hail), we spent our time entirely in the Huachucas.

We started in Sawmill Canyon where most of the snow had melted since yesterday. It was cold and damp there early this morning and it took a while before the birds became active. Eventually, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, PAINTED REDSTART and GRACE'S WARBLER were all relatively easy to find. However, a rather sadistic OLIVE WARBLER led us in a loop twice before we finally saw it. The bird would sing for a while then fall silent making it impossible to track. Unfortunately, although we ended up seeing two of them, neither was an adult male. Among the other species from 22 recorded were loudly calling WILD TURKEYS, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, many YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS and a singing SCOTT'S ORIOLE high on the slopes.

Ironically, after working so hard for one in Sawmill, almost the first bird that we saw in Scheelite Canyon was an OLIVE WARBLER. I only see this species in Scheelite a couple of times each year. SPOTTED OWL was easy to find roosting in a regular tree a little below 5/8m. We didn't fare as well with a singing RED-FACED WARBLER and a "chinking" VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, both of which we failed to lay eyes on. The Red-faced was my season first -- I usually see them for the first time at the start of the second week in April but they don't become common until mid month. Also in the canyon were BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, DUSKY-CAPPED & HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Back in Garden Canyon we had to expend a fair amount of time and effort to turn up RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW. Also in Garden were COOPER'S HAWK, GREATER ROADRUNNER and ROCK WREN.

An hour at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast (thanks again to Mary Jo) was quite productive even though Hepatic Tanager was a no show during our time there. Just as yesterday, the feeders were very active -- highlights were CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, CRISSAL THRASHER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE (photo #2 in a more natural setting)..

Day list (55 species recorded):
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Spotted Owl, Broad-billed, Magnificent, Black-chinned, Anna's, Calliope & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Am. Robin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Spotted Towhee, Rufous-crowned, Chipping  & White-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Scott's Oriole and House Finch.

Tuesday, April 6, 2004
Another day of cloudy, cool and unsettled weather, not that I'm complaining. I took it easy and watched a Champions League game. To all the Arsenal fans who were living the dream -- Treble? Man. United 1 Arsenal 0; Double? Chelsea 3 Arsenal 2; League? The dream is over!

Sierra Vista EOP 10:15-11:15am:
Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Bufflehead, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's Kingbird, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Marsh Wren, N. Mockingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and House Finch.

Wednesday, April 7, 2004
Today I checked Whitewater Draw and Willcox with a reasonable return on my investment of time and gas money for the 175 mile round trip. More improvement in the weather today -- partly cloudy and warmer, with a little more humidity than normal after all the recent precipitation.

I arrived at Whitewater Draw a little after sunrise to find some low lying fog that soon dissipated. Both SCALED and GAMBEL'S QUAIL were scurrying around here, there and everywhere. Several NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS were imitating multiple species making it necessary to listen carefully before recording anything "by ear only".

Waterfowl were few and far between and only a couple of LESSER SCAUP were of note. However, shorebirds were well represented -- the lone SANDERLING continues, hanging out with LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS; and I noted 6 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 7 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 1 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, a dozen or so AMERICAN AVOCETS and 1 WHITE-FACED IBIS.

LUCY'S WARBLERS were fairly common in the willows along the dikes but I had a hell of a time trying to get a photograph. The image is not up to my recent standards but warbler shots are hard to come by! Sparrows were fairly numerous in the main willow grove -- SWAMP SPARROW and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE being the pick of the bunch. A roosting GREAT HORNED OWL was also here.

I recently purchased a Canon 2X extender and today I was able to try it for the first time. Used with the 100-400mm lens fully extended and taking the 1.6X scaling factor of the 10D camera into account, this makes the lens 1280mm. Unfortunately, because the maximum aperture is f5.6, auto focus does not work when the 2X extender is used (an f2.8 lens is required for the auto focus to work with the doubler). I knew that I would have trouble focusing and I chose a difficult subject as a test -- a GREATER YELLOWLEGS actively foraging about 80 yards away (tripod mounted, image stabilization disabled). I took many out of focus images and managed only the one shown here that was in focus. I'll need to practice using it but I think it shows some promise, definitely better than digiscoping. I'm hoping to use it for small shorebirds at closer range than this test. I certainly won't be purchasing a 400mm f2.8 lens anytime soon to get the auto focus capability with the doubler. That lens costs about $7000 compared to the $1500 of the 100-400mm f5.6 zoom that I'm using now.

46 species recorded at Whitewater Draw from 6:15-8:45am:
Pied-billed Grebe, White-faced Ibis, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Am. Pipit, Marsh Wren, N. Mockingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Lucy's, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Vesper, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Eastern Meadowlark.

Additional birds on nearby Coffman road included SWAINSON'S HAWK, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD and BENDIRE'S THRASHER.

The drive north through Sulphur Springs Valley yielded very little, although SWAINSON'S HAWKS and particularly WESTERN KINGBIRDS are now quite numerous.

Willcox was a little disappointing in terms of shorebirds (far less habitat than Whitewater Draw). I only found 1 BLACK-NECKED STILT and 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS. I did a little better on gulls with 13 RING-BILLED GULLS and 4 FRANKLIN'S GULLS.

Four species of grebes were on the main pond -- a couple of PIED BILLED GREBES, at least 20 EARED GREBES in breeding plumage, 3 WESTERN GREBES and 1 CLARK'S GREBE. When I first spotted the "big grebes", I could easily pick out the much paler Clark's with the naked eye, even at 200 yards.

I fluked a shot of a GREAT BLUE HERON in flight and then spent some time at the golf course pond where I managed an excellent shot of a breeding plumaged male RUDDY DUCK and a good shot of a female RUDDY DUCK (as the field guides say -- the female is somewhat duller).

29 species recorded at Willcox from 9:45-11:00am:
Pied-billed, Eared, Western & Clark's Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Ring-billed & Franklin's Gulls, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Tree & Barn Swallows, Marsh Wren, Northern Mockingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, April 8, 2004
This morning I spent a few hours at Patagonia Lake State Park where I needed a second week visit to even out my data collection. I was reluctant to roll out of bed at 4:30am but I knew it had to be today because I didn't want to be there over the Easter weekend. A mostly blue sky morning as the weather gets back to normal.

Birding was a little slower than I had hoped for and I didn't find any newly arrived species. I was certainly surprised not to find a Summer Tanager -- I normally start to see them during the third week in March and they increase in numbers during the second week of April. However, so far nada. I was also hoping for an early Yellow-breasted Chat in a year that has seen some species arrive early. Pacific-slope Flycatchers should also be passing through but I didn't spot any. I guess negative data has value too.

The highlight of the morning was BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER, the only bird that I specifically looked for (location withheld to protect the nest site, I won't repeat the mistake made by others last year). I would expect that the birds will be feeding young before too long.

Activity on the water is minimal now that the wintering species have left. Migrant BLUE-WINGED TEAL continues. Other migrants included OSPREY (I fluked a flight shot for the second day in a row), a couple of SPOTTED SANDPIPERS and BELTED KINGFISHER. Several LEAST BITTERNS were calling from the marsh at both ends of the lake.

Flycatchers were conspicuous, especially NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET easily detected by call (not song). I was able to photograph GRAY FLYCATCHER losing its winter yellowish green and a male VERMILION FLYCATCHER that hasn't fully developed adult plumage yet.

53 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park from 6:15-9:15am:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Least Bittern, Mallard, Green-winged, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's Phoebe, Gray & Vermilion Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's Wren, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Lucy's, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Canyon Towhee, Rufous-crowned, Song & Lincoln's Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

Friday, April 9, 2004
I had to take care of a few things this morning and wasn't able to go birding. It was a relatively cloudy and cool day so I made a rare afternoon excursion visiting the San Pedro River and Sierra Vista EOP.

At the river I saw lots of caterpillars and people but very few birds. Anyone might think it was a holiday. A couple of GRAY HAWKS east of the big pond were the only birds of note.

ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS were calling from a couple of locations. My ten years worth of records indicate an average arrival date on the river of April 9. However, this year I saw one here on March 30, one day earlier than my previous early arrival date.

At Sierra Vista EOP I saw my first BANK SWALLOW of the season about a week earlier than "normal". While not reflected in published data, my records indicate that migrant Bank Swallows are much more common in fall than spring.

44 species recorded at San Pedro RNCA and Sierra Vista EOP:
Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, N. Harrier, Gray Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Tree, N. Rough-winged, Bank, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Bewick's Wren, Chihuahuan Raven, Bell's Vireo, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Abert's Towhee, Chipping, Song & Lincoln's Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle, House Finch & Lesser Goldfinch.

Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Some time ago when it looked like I had a window of opportunity forming in my schedule, I penciled in a few days for a trip to the White Mountains. However, when I realized it was Easter I decided to enforce my "stay at home on a major holiday" policy, especially since the weather was unsettled. Actually, this worked out pretty well because in addition to being able to watch six English Premier League games from the Easter program, I needed the time to get some chores done -- I'm busy almost all days between now and the end of May. In June, as is my custom, I'll be gone to cooler places for my annual getaway. Consequently, I don't have any birding openings until early July, preferably after the holiday!

Today was a free day so I decided to check what was happening at Whitewater Draw, a place that I don't get to much when working. Winter waterfowl have dwindled away (not even a Shoveler!) and all three teal species were the duck highlights including a pair of BLUE-WINGED and 8-10 pairs of CINNAMON. A couple of AMERICAN WIGEON were the only others apart from the regular PIED-BILLED GREBE, MALLARD and COOT.

Although some shorebird numbers have increased, diversity is still low. Today I noted 150+ LEAST & circa 20 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, 1 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, a calling GREATER YELLOWLEGS and a couple of AVOCETS.

AMERICAN PIPITS are still plentiful on the mud flats and several MARSH WRENS continue in the scattered clumps of marsh. I don't think that there are any breeding records for Marsh Wren in SE AZ -- perhaps one year a pair will stay to breed here or at other locations with even better marshy habitat such as Patagonia Lake, Sierra Vista EOP and Sweetwater Wetlands. A small flock of LARK BUNTINGS were near the parking area.

The willows on the various dikes were alive with warblers, all common stuff of course -- ORANGE-CROWNED, LUCY'S, YELLOW, YELLOW-RUMPED (Myrtle) & WILSON'S WARBLERS and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. Wilson's have been a bit scarce this year so far (for me at least). In some years I see them at the beginning of March and they are normally quite common migrants by mid April. However, today's bird was my first of season. I guess that I need to get out more. Also in the willows were chattering male BULLOCK'S ORIOLES and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. [It was pointed out to me that the Yellow-rumped in the photo is of the Myrtle form and I initially forgot to mention it (generally scarce in AZ) -- thanks to R.J. Smith for the heads up.]

While walking along one of the dikes, this very confiding TREE SWALLOW a little below eye level was the photographic highlight of my visit. The bird allowed me to approach within about 18 feet and sat there forever while I clicked away. Unfortunately, the light wasn't very hospitable (almost perpendicular to the bird) and I couldn't improve it without wading into the water, something that I wasn't equipped to deal with.

In the south willow grove I couldn't find a Great Horned Owl today, instead I startled a CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN (actually, it startled me and I was lucky to get any kind of image). Also present in the grove were SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, a pair of LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS (likely nesting here) and a few BREWER'S SPARROWS.

I spoke with the Wildlife Area manager about naming conventions for the various ponds and dikes. Everybody has a different way of describing these locations when reporting birds. There's nothing official at the moment but he told me that (eventually) a map will be posted at the information area near the sign-in sheet.

51 species recorded at Whitewater Draw:
Pied-billed Grebe, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Green-winged, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned & Swainson's Hawks, Scaled Quail, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Western & Least Sandpipers, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Tree, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Marsh Wren, N. Mockingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Bullock's Oriole, House Sparrow.

Additional species on Coffman Road included BENDIRE'S THRASHER, lots of BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS and a few BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS. I also photographed this SWAINSON'S HAWK about one second before it took flight.

Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Out today with Ron & Judy Johnson from nowhere in particular! (full time travelers). We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest Area and Paton's yard without looking for anything in particular. Today was the best weather day for a week or so -- blue sky, moderately warm and breezy after a cool start.

Although the birding at Patagonia Lake was a little slow at times and was disappointing in terms of passerine migrants, we managed to see a total of 63 species in a little under 5 hours. Empids were completely AWOL and warblers were limited to residents only. Migrants included OSPREY, BLACK-NECKED STILT (scarce at the lake, my third record), BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD (extremely scarce at the lake; my second record) and BELTED KINGFISHER.

Breeding activity is in full swing. We tried in vain to see a LEAST BITTERN calling very close to us but the marsh was too dense. A pair of alternately calling then silent NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS required some persistence to track down but provided decent views in the end. My first of season SUMMER TANAGERS were instantly conspicuous with a number of males singing in multiple locations. We saw VERMILION FLYCATCHER and BELL'S VIREO working on easily seen nests, the latter was very common and singing throughout. We heard BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER but did not pursue the bird (Ron & Judy saw them at the nest last year).

The only images that I managed were of a perched BLACK VULTURE catching the early morning sun and a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON in flight.

Contrary to what I expected, a visit to Kino Springs produced a few decent birds. I was also extremely pleased to see the progress at the two ponds and can report that there is hope for the future of birding here. Water is being pumped into the club house pond and it's almost full. Actually, there are now two ponds separated by a "causeway" where the island used to be. Unfortunately, I doubt whether the trees will be restored and that's still a major loss. Elsewhere, considerable work is being done at the old "first pond" in preparation for making it a pond again, including lots of new fill to create a high bank/berm.

I didn't expect to see GRAY HAWKS but a pair were near the club house and may nest in the large cottonwood on the lawn just west of the club house buildings (they don't have many options!). Also here was a soaring ZONE-TAILED HAWK. The nearby sewage pond held 4 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS.

We checked for the arrival of Thick-billed Kingbird at the Roadside Rest Area and along Salero and Blue Heaven Roads without success. Any day now!

Activity in Marion Paton's yard was surprisingly high during the heat of the day. Highlights from 30 species were a perched GRAY HAWK, loads of LAZULI BUNTINGS, a continuing WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (Robin Baxter told me that there are two around) and a beautiful male HOODED ORIOLE. A calling DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER went unseen. Five species of hummers pleased the assembled masses.

Day list (84 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested & Neotropic Cormorants, Great Blue & Green Herons, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Least Bittern, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Black & Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Gray, Zone-tailed & Red-tailed Hawks, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Wilson's Snipe, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned, Anna's, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's Phoebe, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Common Raven, European Starling, Bell's Vireo, Lucy's, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Summer Tanager, Abert's Towhee, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Lark, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & White-throated Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hooded & Bullock's Orioles, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

Thursday, April 15, 2004
Out today with Colin & Kathy Burns from St. Catharines, ONT. We birded in Carr Canyon (excellent birding) and on the San Pedro on what turned out to be quite a windy day with the temperature climbing into the 80s.

We started in Carr Canyon looking for typical SE AZ high elevation species. The morning began very well shortly before we reached Reef Campground. A perched HEPATIC TANAGER was well illuminated by the early morning sun and then an ARIZONA WOODPECKER flew across the road in front of the vehicle. As luck would have it, the woodpecker stayed close to the roadside and we were able to stop and track it down quickly. Our timing at this particular (sunny) spot on the road was impeccable -- foraging nearby was a pristine CASSIN'S VIREO.

At the campground it didn't take long to find BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S VIREO and lots of singing GRACE'S WARBLERS. That was the end of our easy birds and we had to work long and hard for a number of others, none more so than Olive Warbler. We heard one at the campground but the bird evaporated as we tracked the Buff-breasted and that miss ended up costing us quite a bit of time.

VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was the next target. Although they were plentiful and singing, I consistently find that this species can be time consuming to see well. Sometimes you can see one immediately, however, it often it takes a while as it did today and we tracked several birds without any success. Hummingbirds were conspicuous and we saw BROAD-TAILED, RUFOUS and a beautiful male CALLIOPE. It's so much more satisfying to see them in the wild rather than at a feeder.

We postponed Virginia's until later and moved on to my "best" spot for Olive Warbler where we struck out completely (the high wind probably didn't help our cause). A very smart looking male TOWNSEND'S WARBLER was some consolation. Next stop was my "second best" spot and here we struck gold. I heard a bird calling as soon as we stepped out of the vehicle and it didn't take long to track down a nice sub-adult male singing as it foraged uncharacteristically low. In fact, this was the ultimate in what I've come to realize is the most highly prized of photo opportunities -- a warbler shot! I spent a few minutes playing peek-a-boo with the bird as it worked a small conifer, constantly on the move. I eventually managed an image of a sub-adult male OLIVE WARBLER.

After finishing with the warbler, we worked on finding a GREATER PEWEE that had been singing nearby. Fortunately, the bird had remained in the area and we soon found it. Also in the same area were HAIRY WOODPECKER, STELLER'S JAY, WARBLING VIREO, EASTERN BLUEBIRD and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. Back near Reef we resumed the battle with VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and eventually succeeded by attrition -- chase enough of them and one will eventually make a mistake and reveal itself.

35 species recorded in Carr Canyon 6:00-10:45am:
Gambel's Quail, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Am. Robin, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Plumbeous, Cassin's & Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, Olive, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's & Grace's Warblers, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Yellow-eyed Junco and Lesser Goldfinch.

The temperature climbed as we left the mountains and was above 80 degrees by the time we reached the San Pedro House. That, together with the time of day and high winds prevented us from seeing very much. Nevertheless, we were able to see both target birds -- ABERT'S TOWHEE and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE without much difficulty. Among the 25 species recorded along the river were GRAY HAWK, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO, BREWER'S SPARROW and SUMMER TANAGER.

Friday, April 16, 2004
Out today with Steve and Lorelei Metildi from Tustin, CA who I've birded with once before. Steve is a photographer and our objective for the day was to find some photo opportunities. Carr Canyon was so active and productive yesterday that I decided to spend our time there today. Even though the wind was every bit as bad as yesterday, bird activity was again very high. It was a slightly cooler day with clouds building as the day wore on.

Since we were not looking to dig out lots of species, our 8 hours in the canyon only produced 32 species. The first five hours were very productive. Between 11:00am and 2:00pm, birds became quite difficult to find. Recorded today and not yesterday were COOPER'S HAWK, TURKEY VULTURE, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT and HERMIT THRUSH.

We focused most of our efforts at Reef Campground and nearby areas. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS were fairly common but not very cooperative. GREATER PEWEE was very vocal and very cooperative. GRACE'S WARBLERS were abundant. CASSIN'S and PLUMBEOUS VIREOS were in the same tree.

Since Steve's focus was on taking photographs, I was able to take far more photographs than on a normal birding day. I shot over 300 images, most of which were Greater Pewee, Brown Creeper and Olive Warbler. Overall my results were far inferior to my expectations, although there were a few exceptions. I was able to improve considerably on my OLIVE WARBLER efforts of yesterday (I was extremely pleased with this shot). This is the same individual as yesterday in the same tree, foraging at low elevation and at close range -- a very cooperative bird to say the least!

I managed a decent shot of GREATER PEWEE, although the bird was perched a little too high in the tree. I spent lots of time on a foraging BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER that was constantly on the move. Even though I managed a decent quality image, it was somewhat obscured by branches, ergo quite disappointing. This is why I'll never be a real photographer  -- no patience and tolerance for such matters, even though I have plenty of patience when looking for birds. Other shots that I saved were of HEPATIC TANAGER and AMERICAN ROBIN.

Steve works with a tripod and bigger lens than I do (about 1260mm effective compared to my hand-held 640mm) so hopefully he fared a little better in terms of results (at the expense of lugging the stuff around!). All in all a pretty good day despite the windy conditions.

32 species recorded in Carr Canyon from 6:15am-2:15pm:
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, White-throated Swift, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Greater Pewee, Hammond's, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's & House Wrens, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Plumbeous, Cassin's & Hutton's Vireos, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray & Grace's Warblers, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Yellow-eyed Junco and Lesser Goldfinch.

Sunday, April 18, 2004
Out today with George and Mary Flicker who divide their time between Bath, England & Baja CA, Mexico. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and Paton's yard. Thankfully, the extremely high wind of yesterday was not a factor today.

Patagonia Lake was about as crowded as I've ever seen it. The campground was full and tons of fishing boats were out on the water. I noted only one DOUBLE-CRESTED and one NEOTROPIC CORMORANT (I wonder where they go in such cases). Not much else on the water save for three species of herons and BLUE-WINGED and CINNAMON TEAL.

Birdlife at the lake is settling into summer mode and breeding activity of many species was much in evidence. I checked on a couple of nests that I had found on my last visit. This female VERMILION FLYCATCHER (on the nest in this shot) was busy putting the finishing touches to the nest and is probably ready to lay eggs. Unfortunately, an almost completed BELL'S VIREO nest was nowhere to be seen, presumably a victim of the wind. We also found a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET nest.

Among the migrants noted were HAMMOND'S & (singing) PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS, TREE & VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS and WILSON'S WARBLER.

59 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park from 6:00-10:30am:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested & Neotropic Cormorants, Great Blue & Green Herons, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Gray Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, White-winged Dove, Costa's Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Hammond's, Pacific-slope, Vermilion & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Tree, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's & Marsh Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Summer Tanager, Canyon Towhee, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Black-throated & Song Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

At Kino Springs, the restoration work continues and today I  was able to talk with someone to get the skinny on what is happening. The club house pond has been divided into two separate ponds, roughly 2/3 and 1/3 of the original pond. There is a "causeway" dividing the ponds  and the smaller pond (closest to the club house) still has an island with a couple of the original cottonwoods. Many new trees have been planted and 300 additional trees will be planted (not all will be cottonwoods). The smaller pond has been filled to capacity and the larger pond will be filled next week. Work is also proceeding on the "first pond" (first as you drive in from Hwy 82). This pond is currently being "lined" with dirt fill and the pond will start to be filled in about 2 weeks time.

A pair of GRAY HAWKS are in residence near the club house, although it's not clear where they will nest. Today they were hanging out in the trees on the island. Last week I saw them in the large cottonwood on the lawn west of the club house.

From what I've seen, I don't think there's enough habitat at the club house pond for Tropical Kingbirds when they return at the end of the month. However, if the first pond restoration remains on schedule it's possible that they could nest there.

7 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS were on the sewage pond today.

Unlike my visit last Wednesday, Marion Paton's yard was fairly inactive in the heat of the day today. We recorded ~30 species including COOPER'S HAWK, calling GRAY HAWK, VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD,  NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER (both calling), LUCY'S WARBLER, many LAZULI BUNTINGS and a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Monday, April 19, 2004
First of three days with Roger and Louise McGovern from Sydney, Australia. We spent our time entirely in the Huachucas on a mostly cloudy, relatively cool and wind impacted day. I for one am getting really sick of the wind since it severely impacts my ability to find birds. In order we visited Carr, Garden, Scheelite and Sawmill Canyons and by the end of the day we missed only one bird that we specifically looked for (Arizona Woodpecker).

We began at first light in Carr Canyon where the action was a fairly subdued compared to a couple of recent visits. We focused our efforts mainly in the Reef Campground area and one by one we weeded out the various target species including GREATER PEWEE (very vocal), BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER (not so vocal), OLIVE, VIRGINIA'S, GRACE'S & (my FOS) HERMIT WARBLERS, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and HEPATIC TANAGER.

As usual, we had to work the hardest in order to see the very common and pesky Virginia's Warbler, a master at staying low and out of sight. We worked quite a few individuals and finally managed to get one perched up for more than a millisecond. Olive Warbler was again very cooperative.

Other species included WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and my season first BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. At the bottom of the canyon in mesquite grassland near highway 92, a stop to track down a calling SCALED QUAIL was successful but a singing RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW dropped out of sight and eluded us. Also in this area were GREATER ROADRUNNER, CACTUS WREN, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, PHAINOPEPLA, CANYON TOWHEE and PYRRHULOXIA. All told we recorded 40 species in Carr Canyon.

Next stop was Garden Canyon where once again the circus is in town. By that I mean the gathering of trogon seekers at the upper picnic area. I though we might be a little late arriving but a male ELEGANT TROGON was calling and relatively easy to see at 9:30am. We also saw and heard the bird at 1:30pm.

We continued on to Scheelite Canyon where a very indifferent SPOTTED OWL was ridiculously easy to find in the "Jaws" oak. Our hike up the canyon also yielded COOPER'S HAWK, a calling and initially elusive HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, CANYON WREN, the second HERMIT WARBLER of the morning, VIRGINIA'S (heard only) and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS and two delightful PAINTED REDSTARTS.

Against my better judgment we made a midday visit to Sawmill Canyon where we struck out completely on Arizona Woodpecker. Not only was time of day against us, so was the high wind. Did I mention that I hate wind? Our only consolation was that we finally tracked down a DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER that we had heard but not seen in all previous locations throughout the morning. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS were active despite the conditions and GRACE'S & OLIVE WARBLERS were calling. Wind assisted WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS swirled around overhead. Other folks saw Hermit Warbler so they are obviously passing through in numbers at the moment.

Back in Garden Canyon we tried again unsuccessfully for Arizona Woodpecker (heard briefly), saw ELEGANT TROGON again along with TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and my season first WESTERN TANAGER.

Not a bad outing in less than ideal conditions. Did I mention that I hate wind?

Day list (58 species recorded in Carr, Garden, Sawmill & Scheelite Canyons):
Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Spotted Owl, White-throated Swift, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Hammond's, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Am. Robin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Hermit & Grace's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Bullock's Oriole, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Out again today with Roger and Louise on a day that was as close to perfect as you could wish for birding -- clear blue sky day, mostly calm winds and a temperature that only climbed to around 75 degrees by mid afternoon. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Peña Blanca Lake, Patagonia Roadside Rest area and Paton's yard.

Compared to my visit last Sunday, Patagonia Lake campground had very few people today and hardly any boats were out on the lake. During our relatively short target birding session of 3 hours, we essentially had the trails to ourselves. The morning began well when we had great looks at a LEAST BITTERN calling from the edge of the marsh near the Marina bridge, shortly after failing to track down another calling individual. We also saw another bird flying across the lake.

For the second day in a row a singing RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW (near the start of the main trail) dropped out of sight before we laid eyes on it. Even though that bird won the battle, we won the war with good views of another bird after it flew across the road as we were leaving.

We saw most of the typical riparian target species that we looked for including NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET at a nest site. However, the highlight from ~60 species recorded was a male BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER that posed long enough to qualify as an excellent look. The bird had an incomplete black cap (identical to this photograph taken over a month ago on March 17, 2004) and may be one of birds that fledged last year and not the original adult male shown in this photograph taken April 14, 2003, very close to today's date. Note the complete black cap.

A latish SWAMP SPARROW was in the marsh (they sometimes stay well into May, my latest personal record is May 8). A lone GRAY FLYCATCHER was the only empid that we encountered.

A brief stop at Kino Springs soon produced GRAY HAWK and 4 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS among 20+ species seen.

Our long shot trip to Peña Blanca Lake for a late departing Red-naped Sapsucker didn't pay dividends (they are very common here in winter but most individuals leave in early April). The journey wasn't in vain, however, since we picked up HOODED ORIOLE and an excellent look at a beautiful juvenile plumaged GRAY HAWK at close range. This leads me to pose a question to anyone out there that cares to answer. Over the years I've looked for a source that defines how long raptors keep juvenile plumage. None of the material that I own has this information -- does anyone know of a book that has this type of information? Info such as when does a Red-tail lose the tail bands and get a red tail?; when does a Coopers Hawk lose the brown breast streaks and get the red "hoops"; and so on.

Other species at the lake from around 30 seen included COMMON MOORHEN, CASSIN'S VIREO and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

A check of the Roadside Rest area yielded one of two potential target species -- my first of season BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER. Still no sign of Thick-billed Kingbird -- none of the folks that I have asked has heard or seen one yet.

We finished up in Marion Paton's yard where activity was fairly decent in the early afternoon. Many LAZULI BUNTINGS and at least one of the WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS continue. VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD duly performed with several feeder visits.

Day list (85 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Great Blue & Green Herons, Least Bittern, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Black & Turkey Vultures, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black & Say's Phoebes, Gray, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Phainopepla, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, Bell's & Cassin's Vireos, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Summer Tanager, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned & White-throated Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hooded & Bullock's Orioles, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Third and final day with Roger and Louise. Another blue sky and slightly warmer day, at times marred by high winds that have been around on and off for over a week. We visited the Sulphur Springs Valley and Chiricahua Mountains in search of a diminishing number of target birds. Today we found 5 of the 6 species sought, although a bonus bird brought us back to par.

We began on the back roads near Whitewater Draw where it didn't take very long to find reasonably cooperative BENDIRE'S and CRISSAL THRASHERS. Many SCALED QUAIL were scurrying around on Coffman Road, not long ago I couldn't buy one here.

We spent about 30 minutes giving Whitewater Draw a quick once over (water levels are way down). The only shorebirds seen were one GREATER YELLOWLEGS one SPOTTED SANDPIPER, a handful of WESTERN & 30+ LEAST SANDPIPERS. Also present were AMERICAN WIGEON, SWAINSON'S HAWK, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, AMERICAN PIPIT and WILSON'S WARBLER.

As we headed north to the Chiricahuas, I anticipated having to drive the back roads to find LARK BUNTING. However, we soon found a decent sized flock on Central Highway, some in almost full breeding plumage. Further north, a couple of BURROWING OWLS were on Highway 181 near Bell Ranch Road.

MEXICAN CHICKADEES were fairly common on Pinery Canyon Road from 1.4 miles below the campground up to Onion Saddle. However, I was shocked that we only found one RED-FACED WARBLER, a bird that we had to work on for over an hour. We eventually found one about a mile above the campground. One is all that it takes! Other species along the road from about 25 noted included PLUMBEOUS VIREO, OLIVE, VIRGINIA'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & GRACE'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART.

We crossed the saddle and headed down to the lower section of the Paradise Road where we struck out on Black-chinned Sparrow. Perhaps our midday arrival was the problem or maybe it was the damn wind. It could even be that the birds are not back on territory yet, although in most years I've seen them here well before this date.

Happily, the day didn't end on a downer because Louise spotted what turned out to be a ZONE-TAILED HAWK being attacked by ravens at the intersection of Stateline and Portal Roads. Over the past three days we recorded 142 species and the last birds of the trip were a nice male SCOTT'S ORIOLE and a singing BENDIRE'S THRASHER on highway 80 near Rodeo.

Thursday, April 22, 2004
Out today with Bruce Hill from Virginia who I've birded with on one previous occasion. Today we had just one target bird -- Northern Pygmy-Owl.

To say that it was an extremely windy day in the Huachucas would be a major understatement. Listening and trying to call in an owl was next to impossible. Sadly, we didn't even come close to finding an owl. We covered a considerable amount of ground by walking from Ramsey Vista Campground in Carr Canyon down the Comfort Spring trail to Ramsey Saddle, then down as far as the Hamburg Meadow trail. Of course, we also had to walk back! This route is regularly very productive for owls but today we didn't have any kind of response despite covering about 5 miles of good habitat (plus another mile or so on the trails near Reef Campground). As they say in the movies, I'm getting too old for this shit.

I had a theory that perhaps NPOW is at the point in the breeding cycle where territorial response is low. However, a check of my records didn't bear this out because I've had some good success throughout April in all previous years. I'll put it down to the wind. Did I mention that I hate wind.

Ironically, despite the wind, we saw almost all of the expected high elevation species. In another irony, RED-FACED WARBLERS were very common after I struggled to find just one yesterday! Warblers were quite evident throughout and we saw multiples of OLIVE, VIRGINIAS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, HERMIT & GRACES WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART.

Day list (35 species in Carr & Ramsey drainages on a seriously wind impacted day):
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, White-throated Swift, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, N. Mockingbird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Steller's Jay, Mexican Jay, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireo, Olive Warbler, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Hermit, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Yellow-eyed Junco, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

Note for any Forest Service or Border Patrol personnel reading this: There is an unbelievable amount of trash left by UDAs starting at the Carr/Ramsey saddle as far as the main Ramsey/Hamburg trail split. I noticed a fair amount when I was last on the trail on March 11. Today there was much more.

Sunday, April 25, 2004
Out today with Lou Shomette from Columbia, MD (the first of 32 scheduled consecutive days in the field for me, but who's counting). Note: For those still interested in looking for the RUDDY GROUND-DOVES at Red Rock, Lou saw three of them on April 22 near the intersection of Hollis and Coachway.

We birded entirely in the Huachucas starting in Carr Canyon shortly after 4:00am and finishing in Garden Canyon around noon. We also visited Scheelite Canyon. After a quite nippy start, the day warmed into the high 70s. We had a successful outing with 5 species of owls, Elegant Trogon and a number of warbler species. After struggling with Arizona Woodpecker recently, today yielded six individuals in three different canyons.

It's that time of year again when Garden Canyon is crowded with birders. By contrast, even with a number of campers in Reef Campground, Carr Canyon was relatively people free and the birding there was far more pleasant. The morning began well with a couple of chattering ELF OWLS, a couple of very cooperative WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS; and calling GREAT HORNED OWL and COMMON POORWILL. I normally don't do much morning owling because approaching daylight is often a problem, although that wasn't the case today.

After driving up the mountain, we spent 90 minutes or so birding around Reef where we saw most of the expected species including GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, OLIVE WARBLER, numerous singing and chasing HEPATIC and recently arrived WESTERN TANAGERS, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and SCOTT'S ORIOLE. In the lower canyon we stopped to track down a calling SCALED QUAIL. Carr Canyon produced almost 50 species.

As we drove back into town, a SWAINSON'S HAWK was perched on a wire near Fry Blvd.

Our 8:30am arrival near the upper picnic area was just a little late and we missed the trogon show (the bird(s) fell silent). We searched for a while then moved on to Scheelite Canyon. Some of the species noted in Garden as we searched for a trogon were a couple of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, CASSIN'S VIREO, and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER.

SPOTTED OWL was again easy to find in a regular tree in the lower roosting area. A bonus bird here was a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL that was chased across canyon by STELLER'S JAYS. Other species included a couple of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, HERMIT THRUSH, PAINTED REDSTART and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Back in Garden Canyon around 11:30am the crowds had subsided and an ELEGANT TROGON was back on duty. It didn't take long to track down a calling male just above the "yellow gate". Making news for just this one time during the year was by season first WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, right about on time. My average first sighting date is April 27, my earliest date is April 24. 

Day list (73 species recorded):
Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Spotted Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Elf Owl, Common Poorwill, Black-chinned & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cactus, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan Raven, Plumbeous, Cassin's & Hutton's Vireos, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's & Grace's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Rufous-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Scott's Oriole, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

Monday, April 26, 2004
First of five days with Jan and Karen Prak from Menlo Park, CA. We'll be working on a couple of target birds for Karen and a longer list for Jan. Today we got a decent start seeing 6 of 7 that we specifically sought.

The day began poorly when I met Jan and Karen in Hereford for a trip up Carr Canyon. Circumstances prevented that trip so I decided to visit Sawmill Canyon instead. I've had good success in Carr recently and the birding was far more difficult in Sawmill where nothing at all was active when we finally got started there at 7:00am. By far the toughest bird was OLIVE WARBLER and we worked for over an hour before managing good looks at a sporadically singing bird. Even the abundant GRACE'S WARBLERS were initially quiet and hard to see. Ironically, RED-FACED WARBLERS (usually uncommon at best in Sawmill) were quite vocal and after losing the first bird we eventually tracked another down. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER was vocal and easy to see but GREATER PEWEE left it late to sing and it was about 9:00am before we laid eyes on the bird. We saw 20 species as we looked for the above five targets.

Next up was SPOTTED OWL in Scheelite Canyon which wasn't quite as obvious today in a tree known as the "Windy Oak".  This tree was so named because I actually saw the bird blown out of it on a particularly windy day. I haven't seen an owl here since December 1999.

The day was warm and windy as we exited Scheelite at 11:00am so I decided to head over to St. David to look for recently returned Mississippi Kites, rather than look for dicky birds. Not a good move as it turned out. We checked a number of locations in town, the Monastery and along Apache Powder Road, all without success. The only birds of note at the Monastery were GRAY HAWK and WOOD DUCK.

Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Jan wasn't feeling well this morning so Karen and I headed out to look for one of two possible lifers for her on this trip -- Rufous-capped Warbler. It was a splendid morning to visit French Joe Canyon, the kind of morning that you'd give your left testicle for in about a month's time: cloudy, cool and very calm, so welcome after a spate of windy days.

We left Sierra Vista at 4:15am and encountered 2 COMMON POORWILLS along the canyon entrance drive. One of the birds didn't want to flush and I had to back up to get a good look. It was still gloomy enough for a GREAT HORNED OWL to be calling as we started hiking at 5:10am. Very little else was calling during our journey to the upper spring save for CANYON WREN, CANYON TOWHEE, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, NORTHERN CARDINAL and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

We arrived at "base camp" at the spring just after 6:00am and I'd hardly had time to remove my backpack before the song of RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER broke the silence. The bird was on the south slope just above the spring. Over the next 45 minutes we tracked two birds by sound -- both sang frequently ranging from just below the spring to above the upper (dry) waterfall. We positioned ourselves on the trail (cow path) on the north slope and after several fleeting views we had great looks as one bird perched up and sang near the waterfall at 6:45am. We got the Full Monte, front, back and side views -- very satisfying and a great reward for getting up early and the always challenging drive. We headed back down canyon at 7:00am and the walk out was still delightfully cool.

Obviously, during such a short visit we didn't turn up very much other than the canyon regulars, most of which were heard only. SCOTT'S ORIOLES were common. WILSON'S WARBLER was the only definite migrant.

36 species recorded in French Joe Canyon from 4:40-8:20am (highway 90 to highway 90):
Turkey Vulture, Gambel's Quail, White-winged Dove, Great Horned Owl, Common Poorwill, White-throated Swift, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cactus, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Plumbeous Vireo, Lucy's, Black-throated Gray, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Rufous-crowned, Black-chinned & Black-throated Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed Grosbeak, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hooded & Scott's Orioles and House Finch.

Jan felt better later in the day so we made an evening owling expedition into the Huachucas. It had been quite windy in the afternoon and was still a little breezy as we got started. Fortunately, however, it didn't impact our results. We soon found a pair of WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS and, although they were a little flighty, it only took a few minutes to get a decent look at a perched bird. In contrast, even though ELF OWL was slightly more difficult to track down, we enjoyed 5 minutes worth of views of a perched bird that was still perched when we walked away! An excellent end to the day.

Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Out again today with Jan and Karen. A moderately warm day becoming cloudy and windy by midday. We visited the Patagonia area where we found 6 of 8 species specifically sought.

Patagonia Lake State Park was quite birdy this morning and we recorded a fair number of species as we looked for a few target birds. We spent lots of time on LEAST BITTERN that was easy to locate but very difficult to see. We needed two sessions at the start and end of our birding here. Eventually, Jan and Karen saw the bird from the Marina bridge after I headed down into the marsh to pinpoint the location from the sound of a calling bird.

We located a pair of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS without too much effort (location withheld). A partial black capped male and a female were calling back and forth constantly as they foraged -- perhaps there are young to be fed?

Empids were almost non existent with just one GRAY FLYCATCHER seen. In contrast, all three Myiarchus species were evident including only my 7th record for BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER at the state park (seen at both ends of the lake).

YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS are back in numbers. Migrants included 20 RING-BILLED GULLS, 8 WHITE-FACED IBIS, 7 WILLETS and a CASSIN'S VIREO that got away from us. The Willets were the highlight for me  -- species #248 for my Patagonia Lake list. At least two SWAMP SPARROWS continue as do a small flock of 9 CEDAR WAXWINGS that I've noted a couple of times recently.

Sporadically singing RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS were hard to track down in the heat of the late morning and success was a long time coming. However, a check for returning Botteri's Sparrow was unsuccessful (my earliest arrival date at the lake is April 26.)

62 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park from 6:30 - 11:45am:
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Great Blue & Green Herons, Least Bittern, White-faced Ibis, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Black & Turkey Vultures, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Ring-billed Gull, White-winged Dove, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's Phoebe, Gray, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Cedar Waxwing, Bewick's Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Common Raven, Bell's & Cassin's Vireos, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Lark, Black-throated, Song & Swamp Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Bullock's Oriole, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

In Patagonia, we located my first of season THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD along Blue Heaven Road but struck out on Zone-tailed Hawk. A perched GRAY HAWK was some consolation.

Thursday, April 29, 2004
The fourth day with Jan and Karen was severely wind impacted for all but the first few hours in Sulphur Springs Valley. Our time in the Chiricahuas was very close to a complete waste of time and we put in almost a 12 hour day for scant reward.

The day began well enough near Whitewater Draw with a great views of a close and cooperative CRISSAL THRASHER. However, we earned our reward with a fair amount of time spent and a liberal dollop of patience and persistence. BREWER'S SPARROWS were much scarcer than normal this winter so I was pleased to find one (my latest SE AZ record is May 22). Unfortunately, after I got the bird in the scope it flew before Jan could see it. We recovered from this blow with a half dozen or so LARK BUNTINGS, only to get snubbed again. All the males flew off and only a female remained in the scope. However, we had the last laugh later in the morning when we found a flock of 20 birds on highway 191 near Essary Hay. This time we were able to get good looks at 17 males perched on a fence wire. Due to the developing wind gusts (becoming constant wind with extremely high gusts by late morning), that was pretty much the end of our target bird success for the day.

Before heading to the Chiricahuas we spent a few minutes checking the main pond at Whitewater Draw. SCALED QUAIL were very conspicuous along Coffman and other nearby roads. We noted about 20 species around the pond including SWAINSON'S HAWK, GREEN HERON, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, several BLUE-WINGED & CINNAMON TEAL, WHITE-FACED IBIS, 2-LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, LARK SPARROW, a few BULLOCK'S ORIOLES and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. A latish MARSH WREN was also present (I only have 3 May records in SE AZ; my latest record is May 8).

In the mountains, birding along Pinery Canyon Road was almost impossible. Under the circumstances, our success with MEXICAN CHICKADEE near the campground was perhaps more noteworthy in light of what followed. Our search for Cordilleran Flycatcher at Rustler Park and Black-chinned Sparrow on Paradise Road produced almost zero birds, let alone those sought. Both locations were extremely windy and unpleasant.

Friday, April 30, 2004
Fifth and last day with Jan and Karen was a rare afternoon start for my first trip of the season to California Gulch. We left Sierra Vista at 2:00pm to maximize the chances of Buff-collared Nightjar at the expense of Five-striped Sparrow. I was dismayed to see a number of vehicles parked at the top of California Gulch when we arrived because I knew right away that the search for Buff-collared Nightjar later in the evening would be problematical. I continued on to the south end where fewer people go and we got started birding a little after 5:00pm.

A surprise in the south riparian section  was a flyover COMMON BLACK-HAWK, my first at this location. Although there's some standing water here (and running water along the CA Gulch road), to me it didn't appear enough to support a nesting Black-Hawk. On the other hand, this would be a late date for a migrating bird. Time and future visits will tell I guess.

We made a first pass northwards through the gulch without detecting any sparrows (conditions were breezy) and eventually caught up with other folks at the north end of the gulch as they were leaving (none had seen sparrows). We worked back methodically southwards and were rewarded when I finally heard a FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW giving some subdued calls. Eventually, we managed good scope looks at a bird perched up as it moved around among the ocotillos. So far so good.

We got back to the old Oro Blanco mine site at 7:00pm and touched base with the other birders there -- a tour group and two other parties, 15 in all including us. With so many folks and four parties, coordination was key and we were able to achieve just that, working as one group. Unfortunately, it didn't really pay dividends. Conditions were calm with a 5/8 moon directly overhead and the first BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR started calling at 7:24pm. Two or more birds continued to call on and off until we left at 10:00pm. I can only state with certainty that there were definitely two birds (two calling at the same time). However, based on distance between calling birds and time between calls, it seems likely that there may be more. The bottom line for us is that we stretched ourselves too thin by working on different birds instead of staying with the same bird. We came close to seeing a bird on one occasion, otherwise it was a wild goose chase; getting dragged here, there and everywhere. This is were working as one group didn't really pay off -- trying to work within the limitations of all members of the group. It was also unfortunate that we bailed out when were down to only Jan, Karen and I plus one other person, the time that we were most likely to have succeeded -- así es la vida..

Other calling nightbirds around the mine site were WESTERN SCREECH-OWL, ELF OWL and COMMON POORWILL. We tried to see Poorwill on the drive home -- flushing two off the road and seeing another flying around.

A night of mixed success. I finally got home at 2:00pm so it was just as well I had learned earlier that my clients for May 1 needed to cancel.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
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25	26	27	28	29	30

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Friday, April 30, 2004

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - April, 2004 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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