Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - August, 2005 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Monday, August 1, 2005   
Out today with Alan and Wendy Roedell from Seattle, WA who I've birded with on three previous occasions (twice in AZ, once in TX). We visited Garden and Sawmill Canyons and the San Pedro River for a few target species. After a very pleasant and cool start, it was a much warmer day than of late. Rain began by late afternoon.

We started in Garden Canyon where BOTTERI'S, CASSIN'S, RUFOUS-CROWNED and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS were all singing in the lower grassland along with CANYON TOWHEE and BLUE GROSBEAK. Our main objective was ELEGANT TROGON and we eventually found three calling birds about 0.5 mile above the upper picnic area on the north slope of the canyon (just slightly more difficult to find than yesterday). A perched ZONE-TAILED HAWK a little further up canyon was somewhat of a surprise (very scarce here). This was probably a Sawmill bird (see the following paragraph). SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were very noisy and conspicuous throughout. An ARIZONA WOODPECKER sitting in the road was an amusing sight.

We continued on to Sawmill Canyon where it didn't take long to locate a sporadically calling BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER A calling and perched immature ZONE-TAILED HAWK was a bonus. I've birded here regularly for the past twelve years and, to my knowledge, this is the first year they have nested in the lower canyon during that time (nest area about 0.25 mile above the cabin). ELEGANT TROGONS were calling near the cabin.

Our successful streak came to an end when I failed to find a Crissal Thrasher during a two hour search of the mesquite and scrub along the del Valle Road, southwest of the San Pedro House. It was very warm and muggy here in the late morning. Just as in Garden Canyon, BOTTERI'S, CASSIN'S and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS were in full voice.

In the evening we visited a cloudy, dark and drizzly Carr Canyon where absolutely nothing at all was calling. We struck out on Elf Owl but our persistence eventually paid off with excellent looks at a very cooperative WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL.

This is my last day in southeast Arizona for a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to a change of scenery, birdlife and temperature in the White Mountains.

Day List (63 species recorded):
Cooper's, Swainson's, Zone-tailed & Red-tailed Hawks, Gambel's Quail, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Gila & Arizona Woodpeckers, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated, Brown-crested & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Am. Robin, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned, Lark & Black-throated Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tuesday, August 2, 2005   
White Mountains Day 1: Today I drove to the White Mountains where I'll be staying until August 17. I wanted to check on Gray Vireo at Slate Creek Divide along the way so I took the long route via Phoenix, Payson and Show Low. Conditions were clear and mild when I left Sierra Vista; very hot at Slate Creek Divide with increasing clouds; wet and windy on the rim in the late afternoon.

I wasn't able to leave as early as I had hoped and didn't arrive at Slate Creek Divide until 10:45am. It was already quite toasty here and I was surprised to hear a GRAY VIREO singing as I parked near the old corral, especially so late in the season. I stayed in the area until 1:00pm and found a total of 6 vireos without straying more than 3/4 mile from where I had parked. I worked long and hard in the heat and took lots of photos but these birds are big time skulkers and getting a decent pose is almost impossible (image #2).

There wasn't much else in the way of activity or spontaneous singing and I was unable to locate a Black-chinned Sparrow, another species that I wanted to check on at this location. Among the birds that I  noted were RED-TAILED HAWK (immature in flight), BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, JUNIPER TITMOUSE, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, SPOTTED TOWHEE and LARK SPARROW. I also looked unsuccessfully for Common Black-Hawk at the nest site on the old Beeline Highway (presumably already fledged, assuming they nested there this year).

I continued north to Payson where the temperature was still 94 degrees despite the increase in elevation. However, as I climbed higher into the pines and encountered clouds, I was able to turn off the A/C for the remainder of the day! Rain began as I passed the Sunrise Highway and persisted until I reached Nutrioso. Very pleasant and cool but the downside was zero birding stops.

I arrived at The Bunkhouse at Juniper Hill around 6:00pm just as the rain ended. At least 20 hummingbirds were in the back yard, mostly RUFOUS with a few BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS. It was interesting to note the adults commandeering the feeder while immature birds sat nearby waiting their turn. I also saw MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, VESPER SPARROW and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK before darkness fell..

Day List (41 species recorded):
Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Western Wood-Pewee, Barn Swallow, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Mountain Bluebird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Juniper Titmouse, Verdin, Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Bell's & Gray Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow Warbler, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned, Vesper, Lark & Black-throated Sparrows, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, August 3, 2005    
White Mountains Day 2: A slightly chilly and damp start under clear skies, pleasantly warm by mid morning; cloudy with sprinkles and light rain from about 11:00am through 3:00pm; clearing by evening. A very pleasant day.

Today I set about looking for a couple of the most sought after birds in the White Mountains -- Blue Grouse and American Three-toed Woodpecker. I debated with myself whether to visit Green's Peak or Big lake Lookout -- both are good locations for the grouse. Green's Peak is "old faithful" and has been very reliable over the years. However, Big Lake has been very reliable over the past few years and it has the advantage of being almost 1000 feet lower elevation than Green's Peak with terrain that is more hospitable. Every little helps when you're up near 10,000 feet (as the actress said to the bishop). It's also close to Three Forks where I wanted to check for the woodpecker in the burned areas from the June 2004 fire. I chose to start at the lookout and, as things turned out, I had absolutely no cause at all for grousing (pun intended).

First, I had a quick look at Crescent Lake where it was obvious that southbound ducks have not yet arrived. A few COMMON MERGANSERS were loafing along the shoreline and SPOTTED SANDPIPER, KILLDEER and BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS wandered around the rocks. An adult BALD EAGLE soared overhead.

On the way up to the lookout I noted CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES a plenty and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. Once at the top it didn't take much time or effort to find BLUE GROUSE. Initially, I came across four juvenile birds that, while obviously well aware of my presence, went about their business pretty much as though I wasn't around. For the most part they walked around slowly calling to each other with a soft whistle. However, there came a time when they hung out on the rocks just a few feet away from me. That's when I noticed a couple of adults -- male in a depression on a large rock, sunning itself, and a female feeding in an Aspen. At no time did they seem concerned or signal to the chicks to skedaddle. I took lots of photos trying to get just the right pose. It's tough to figure out sex of the birds at this age but I'm calling these as juvenile female and juvenile male. I could easily be incorrect. The birds were close enough such that I didn't need to crop the images -- just scale them down. Not much else at the lookout save for PYGMY, RED-BREASTED & WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and BROWN CREEPER.

I continued east a few miles and spent a couple of hours along the North Fork of the Black River at Three Forks. The area was hopping with (mostly immature) common species including MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, PINE SISKIN, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and DARK-EYED (Red-backed) JUNCO. I was pleased to find that RED CROSSBILLS were fairly common and vocal here but that didn't make them any easier to photograph as they stayed high in the trees. Note how much different the bill appears in this second image of the same individual. Difficult to say how old this bird is -- you can still see some yellow and the red has a long way to go.

There's a lightly burned area on the west side of the river but I didn't detect any serious woodpecker action. That's not to say I didn't find any -- closer to the river I saw RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (3 juveniles) and HAIRY and DOWNY WOODPECKERS. I also found CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER near the river.

A little further east in a more extensive burn area I found another RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, tons of HAIRY WOODPECKERS and at least 3 AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS including two males.

Continuing east on FR 249, I checked Sierra Blanca Lake where there was little of note except for VIRGINIA RAIL.

The trailhead area for Divide Hill is often a good location for OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and three birds were calling as I stepped out of the car!

I finished up with a quick check of Luna Lake as the rain increased in intensity. Visibility was poor but I noted several EARED GREBES and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS among the more common fare.

Back at Juniper Hill, RUFOUS and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD activity was quite fierce and male and female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS could hardly get a turn at the feeder. I heard the familiar "chink" note of a VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and wandered around the property until I tracked it down -- a good looking male. Other yard birds today included fly by AMERICAN KESTREL & GREAT BLUE HERON, BUSHTIT and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.

Day List (67 species recorded): Trip list: 92
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Bald Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Blue Grouse, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Downy, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, House Wren, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Thursday, August 4, 2005   
White Mountains Day 3: A slightly warmer day with a shorter and less intense period of late morning/early afternoon rain, barely a sprinkle really despite the clouds and thunder (at least where I was). In the morning, I spent 5 hours at Sipe Wildlife Area and the adjacent Rudd Creek Canyon (on National Forest land) walking a distance of about 6 miles. By lunch time I was pooped. However, I was rewarded with a few of the species that I was hoping to find and a total of over 60 species. Before taking a break, I briefly checked Nelson Reservoir. In the late afternoon and early evening, I checked several locations around Nutrioso.

View Sipe Brochure (811K Adobe PDF).

Hummingbird activity at Juniper Hill between 5:00-6:00am was quite frenzied -- RUFOUS, BROAD-TAILED and CALLIOPE in decreasing order of numbers. WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, AMERICAN ROBIN, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, PINE SISKIN and HOUSE FINCH were the only other early visitors.

There was plenty of activity and easy birding near the Sipe visitor center area and the first 0.5 mile of the Rudd Creek Trail early this morning. After that I had to work for my birds. Just as yesterday, juvenile birds made up the bulk of what I saw. Migrant LAZULI BUNTINGS were very common near the visitor center. Most were immatures and females but colorful males were also well represented. I also noted one male INDIGO BUNTING. Hummingbirds were abundant; BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS in roughly equal numbers  -- I didn't spend any time looking at the feeders for Calliope.. I checked the deciduous trees for RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER -- they are a regular migrant here, especially in fall. I also found a skulking MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. As usual, the bird responded well to the first pishing noises then went to ground. Gotta get 'em when they first pop into view.

VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS were fairly common along the creek trail where I also saw juvenile plumaged MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, PINE SISKIN and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. The image of the Siskin is excellent, but I really wasn't close enough to the solitaire for any detail (however, I wanted to publish this image of the distinctive "spotted" juvenile plumage). At the end of the creek trail I picked up a female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and lots of PYGMY NUTHATCHES. I continued west into Rudd Creek Canyon (my name for the location) where I added an immature male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. Unfortunately, the bird was in a very dark location (ISO 800 to the rescue to salvage something). Note just the slightest dot of red on the throat. Other birds here included BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED & SPOTTED TOWHEES and WESTERN TANAGER.

I stopped to listen to the "peent" calls of a fly-by COMMON NIGHTHAWK and was delighted to also hear the wonderful (and less commonly heard) "booming" noise. I'd liken the sound to what would be made by beating a damped gong.

After exiting the canyon, I worked the southwest juniper section of Sipe WA between McKay Reservoir and the high bluffs. Here I picked up two flycatching LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS, a small flock of unusually quiet PINYON JAYS and a few raucous CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS. I was also hoping for migrant Gray Flycatcher; no success on that. A check of the reservoir produced CINNAMON TEAL, NORTHERN PINTAIL and REDHEAD plus the usual MALLARDS, RUDDY DUCKS and COOTS. There wasn't much in the way of shoreline habitat and the only shorebirds that I saw in addition to KILLDEER were two SPOTTED SANDPIPERS and five WILSON'S PHALAROPES.

Not much of note at Nelson Reservoir in the late morning. I arrived just in time to see an OSPREY catch a fish and fly off to the south. Deep in the marsh, I heard a grunting VIRGINIA RAIL..

Later in the day in Nutrioso, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS were easy to see right in town. I found four immature birds squabbling on a telephone pole. Another was involved in a head to head with a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH on a small fence post. I also saw a lone ACORN WOODPECKER but no Lewis's in the formerly regular spot near the Post Office. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were vocal and conspicuous here. Just up the road along Nutrioso Creek I found adult and immature LEWIS WOODPECKERS near the lumber yard. I was amused to see a HAIRY WOODPECKER pecking away at processed lumber. Wood is wood I guess, perhaps it was board (hah!). A few MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were in the lumber yard.

I checked Nutrioso Reservoir which held the usual common stuff plus five SPOTTED SANDPIPERS. I then cruised around a few neighborhoods adding a couple more LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS and scads of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS on Auger Canyon Road. Continuing the images of immature birds, here's an immature male WESTERN TANAGER.

HAIRY WOODPECKER was a new Juniper Hill property species for me today. VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS were again present.

A pretty good day.

Day List (74 species recorded): Trip list: 114
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Lewis's, Acorn & Hairy Woodpeckers, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, House Wren, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray & MacGillivray's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli & Indigo Buntings, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Friday, August 5, 2005   
White Mountains Day 4: A cool and damp start after overnight rain followed by a warm late morning (mid 80s in Springerville at 12:30pm); then cloudy skies, thunder and intermittent rain in the afternoon starting around 2:00pm. However, so far the monsoon has had far more bark than bite during the four days that I've been in the mountains. Today I visited South Fork then briefly checked Becker Lake.

I was surprised to see a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE as I drove through Eagar this morning. I occasionally saw them in a few White Mountain locations from the mid 90's until 2001; then none until today. I just need to get out more.

I spent 6 hours at South Fork (of the Little Colorado) starting in the riparian section where I worked above and below the bridge. I then hiked about 2 miles along the trail above the campground and finished up in the junipers near the upper bluffs along the entrance road. A small group of (migrant?) WESTERN KINGBIRDS were along the upper grassland approach.

The riparian area was fairly quiet now that most birds are done breeding. Exceptions were YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and BLUE GROSBEAK. I found a couple of calling GRAY CATBIRDS near the bridge (regular and considered a specialty here) but I had great difficulty getting a decent look. PINE SISKINS were very common in the roadside weeds; ditto for VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS in the dense vegetation along the river.

The "97" trail above South Fork Campground is a reliable place to find NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL, but even here I fail as often as I succeed. Today I succeeded and failed. Explain, you say. After several hours on the trail, I was heading back down canyon when I finally got a response from an owl (roughly a mile from the trailhead which is a regular spot). I walked towards the bird as it continued to call sporadically. Unfortunately, the owl decided it didn't really want a confrontation and when I got close it headed up the steep slope away from me. I was too worn out to follow.

PYGMY NUTHATCH was by far the most common (actually, abundant) bird along the trail, chattering constantly wherever I went. I finally found one that sat still for more than a few milliseconds (compare plumage with the more colorful California race). VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS were common in the lower riparian section of the trail and I also found two RED-FACED WARBLERS. Surprisingly, no MacGillivray's. I'm not sure how late the Red-faced stay in the White Mountains because I don't have enough data. My latest record is September 5 in the campground at South Fork. TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES were fairly common and very conspicuous throughout and I managed to improve on yesterday's photo showing juvenile plumage.

Woodpeckers weren't exactly easy to find because of river noise and the chattering nuthatches. Eventually, I found one female and two male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS, one HAIRY WOODPECKER and one DOWNY WOODPECKER hanging upside down, you might call it an Upside-Downy Woodpecker. Downy is by far the least common of all the woodpeckers in the White Mountains.

Near the trailhead, I saw just one CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, several STELLER'S and WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS and new for the trip DUSKY FLYCATCHER and WARBLING VIREO.

As I left the canyon bottom, a stop near the bluffs produced CANYON and ROCK WRENS. From this high point, I could hear PINYON JAYS calling from across the (wide at this location) valley and more calling CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS. A lone SPOTTED SANDPIPER was below me on the river.

I first noted some road closures at Becker Lake last year and a visit here has now lost some of its appeal due to "improvements", proudly proclaimed by new signs. As far as I can see, the improvements consists of the signs, picnic tables and two roads closed to vehicles, now dubbed the "lakeside trail". I'm sure this has been done to protect the habitat. Previously, it was possible to easily check the far end of the lake by driving south along the western shore, but not any more. This now requires a round trip walk of almost two miles. Not what I wanted to do after hiking 5 or so miles. Obviously, several quick checks at different times of day, as I regularly used to do, are no longer practical. Handicapped folks are completely SOL. I saw nothing of note by scoping into the sun from the northwest corner. [Note: There is access to the south end of the lake via a back road off the main Becker Lake Road, although this area doesn't offer easy viewing.]

Two new Juniper Hill property birds today -- BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD and LARK SPARROW; the hummer was only my second record in the White Mountains. Male and female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS continue to be regular but infrequent visitors. RUFOUS and BROAD-TAILED are very common. A family of WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS (three youngsters) and a family of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS (four youngsters) come by every now and again. The young jays are perfectly able to feed themselves but they beg shamelessly when the adults are around.

Day List (60 species recorded): Trip list: 125
Pied-billed Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Cooper's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, N. Pygmy-Owl, Black-chinned, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's Sapsucker, Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, Cliff Swallows, Rock, Canyon & House Wrens, Gray Catbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's & Red-faced Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Spotted Towhee, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, August 6, 2005   
White Mountains Day 5: After three days of scouting for some of the area specialties, today was a "play day" ahead of three work days. I made morning visits to Wenima Wildlife Area and a section of Rudd Creek near Nelson Reservoir without looking for anything in particular. I gave pride of early morning place to Wenima which turned out to be pretty dead (a little too early for most migrants) and I wish that I had gone to Rudd Creek first thing. Later in the day I spent a couple of hours at Luna Lake. It was a much warmer day in the mountains without any significant rain until nightfall.

Just like the riparian area at South Fork yesterday morning, the main vocalizing species at Wenima (also a riparian area along the Little Colorado) were YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and BLUE GROSBEAK. The only migrants noted were a fly-by male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and YELLOW & VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS. A small group of LARK SPARROWS were present. Continuing with the young bird theme once again, a juvenile CANYON TOWHEE was compelling evidence that the species probably bred here. Other species included BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, ROCK WREN, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and WESTERN MEADOWLARK. 25 species in all.

Rudd Creek #3 (my name for an interesting cottonwood and juniper drainage about one mile north of Nelson Reservoir) was much more interesting despite the less than ideal start time in mid morning. Decent birds as soon as I got started were a female HEPATIC TANAGER and an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, both of which I've seen here before and are likely breeders. I was more interested in checking another drainage that approaches from the south after about 0.75 mile. In June last year, I discovered GRAY FLYCATCHERS in this location, behaving territorially; and I was able to find a couple of birds again today. It's late enough in the season that they could be migrants but they did exhibit territorial behavior. Did they breed here? Difficult to say with any degree of confidence.

Other species included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, calling PINYON JAYS, ROCK and HOUSE WRENS, lots of VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS (everywhere right now), singing SPOTTED and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and a smart looking male WESTERN TANAGER still in breeding plumage.

A midday stop at Nelson Reservoir was unproductive. A lone COMMON MERGANSER was the only bird of note.

Back in Nutrioso I did a little backyard birding a Juniper Hill. I tried my hand photographing hummingbirds (which is tough to do unless you accept birds on a feeder). There's enough RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS around such that I could snap away blindly and get a decent result. The birds hover near the feeder waiting their turn so I just focused on that area and clicked whenever a bird passed through my view. Not a bad image. CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD was another story. This particular male would dart in from a distance whenever it saw an opening, then retreat to a perch. Here's the rub -- if I approached the perch to distance good for a photo, the bird refused to use it. When I stepped back to the point of marginal images, the bird would happily use the perch. Murphy at work! A male BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD and VIRGINIA'S WARBLER both put in appearances again today.

I made a late afternoon visit to Luna lake, arriving there just as light rain began and the sun disappeared behind the clouds for good. I birded in the pines east of the campground where initial activity was very high. I found lots of birds feeding on the ground and in the weeds -- most were YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, PINE SISKINS and DARK-EYED (Red-backed) JUNCOS. Nearby, WESTERN BLUEBIRDS hawked insects and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS swooped very low over the meadow. In the pines, I found lots of PYGMY NUTHATCHES, a few RED CROSSBILLS, an immature GRACE'S WARBLER and a male WESTERN TANAGER (all regular here). I also noted HAIRY WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HOUSE WREN and MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE.

I brief check of the lake wasn't productive with only CINNAMON TEAL new for the day.

Day List (62 species recorded): Trip list: 129
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Cinnamon Teal, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Black-chinned, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Horned Lark, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Rock & House Wrens, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Grace's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Green-tailed, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Dark-eyed (Red-backed) Junco, Black-headed  & Blue Grosbeaks, Red-winged Blackbird and Western Meadowlark.

Sunday, August 7, 2005   
White Mountains Day 6: First of three days with Robert and Martha Nailing from Houston, TX, Drew Nailing from Dallas, TX and Lindsay Griffin from College Station, TX. We focused on a number of target species and managed to find all that we looked for despite some inclement weather. Unlike most days over the past week, clouds built up early today and rain began by 11:00am.

Before heading out this morning, I saw the three "standard" hummingbirds at Juniper Hill -- CALLIOPE, BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS. On the way over to Eagar I picked up a migrant WESTERN KINGBIRD.

Brief stops at Mexican Hay and Crescent Lakes as we drove up to Big Lake yielded DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, COMMON MERGANSER and a few common species.

At Big Lake Lookout we quickly found the four juvenile BLUE GROUSE that I saw last week then had to work a while before laying eyes on the adult male and female. Wonderful close range looks at the male but no display behavior. Other species included all three nuthatches and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. A large flock of AMERICAN CROWS were feeding in a nearby meadow.

Our next stop was at Three Forks where we spent a very productive couple of hours.  A juvenile ROCK WREN greeted us as we stepped out the car as scads of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS circled overhead. Our first target was initially quite elusive, feeding among the cones, but it didn't take too long to obtain good looks at male and female RED CROSSBILLS. Nearby, a calling OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (pip-pip-pip) remained unseen and a flitting GRACE'S WARBLER soon evaporated. Our next target just happened to be the king of elusiveness itself; and VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was certainly true to form. Ditto for MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER to a lesser degree -- although we eventually saw an adult female and a juvenile very well. A juvenile RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER found us and then we stumbled across two adults. TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES were very common and we improved on views from earlier in the morning. Other species from ~25 seen here included BELTED KINGFISHER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HOUSE WREN, HERMIT THRUSH, DARK-EYED (Red-backed) JUNCOS and tons of MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and PINE SISKINS.

We moved on to a burned area just as the rain began and to had wait for an hour until the rain eased enough to resume birding. Unfortunately, even then, rain made listening for tapping out of the question so we had to work by sight only. We waded through a bunch of HAIRY WOODPECKERS and FLICKERS before tracking down what turned out to be a very cooperative AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. At first, I thought the bird was a female until we got some glimpses of yellow on the head and I concluded that it was a juvenile male. Excellent looks allowed us to count the toes. Among the other species working in and around the burned area were RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and WESTERN TANAGER

Continuing east on FR 249, a stop at Sierra Blanca Lake produced a lone female YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

Our final stop was in Nutrioso where LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS were easy to find near the lumber yard. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES and BAND-TAILED PIGEONS were common near the Post Office. Other birds in town included COOPER'S HAWK, ACORN WOODPECKER and SAY'S PHOEBE.

After leaving the group in Eagar, I saw an OSPREY with fish in its talons as I passed Nelson Reservoir. MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and SPOTTED & GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES were evening visitors at Juniper Hill.

Day List (68 species recorded): Trip list: 131
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Cooper's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Blue Grouse, Am. Coot, Band-tailed Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Acorn, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock & House Wrens, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Grace's & MacGillivray's Warblers, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Western Meadowlark and Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Monday, August 8, 2005   
White Mountains Day 7: Out again today with Robert, Martha, Drew and Lindsay. A day spent at low elevation (~7000 feet) with visits to Sipe Wildlife Area, Rudd Creek Canyon, Rudd Creek #3 and Nelson Reservoir. It was another rain impacted day and not as productive as yesterday. To make matters worse, my MP3 player got wet and died.

Just as yesterday, before heading out I saw the three "standard" hummingbirds at Juniper Hill -- CALLIOPE, BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS.

We began at Sipe Wildlife area where the birding was fairly slow under partly cloudy skies. HORNED LARKS and many WESTERN and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS  were along the entrance road. Apart from hummingbirds, activity near the visitor center area was minimal and only a calling MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS was of note. Rudd Creek trail produced two DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, YELLOW and several VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS.

We hiked a couple of miles into Rudd Creek Canyon looking unsuccessfully for Williamson's Sapsucker. Highlight here for me was a small group of noisy PURPLE MARTINS, all seemingly female and immature birds. I'm assuming that this was a small breeding colony. I only have a few records each year in the White Mountains and most are of single birds over bodies of water such as Luna Lake and Nelson Reservoir. Also of  note were 10 CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS and  3+ RED-FACED WARBLERS in a regular spot, perhaps a family group. Other species included a calling COMMON NIGHTHAWK, many PYGMY NUTHATCHES, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, calling CANYON WREN and several VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS.

We'd about given up on the sapsucker following a tough and fruitless climb up a hillside to track tapping that turned out to be a HAIRY WOODPECKER. Then, serendipity struck with a vengeance. Back at the mouth of the canyon just before the Sipe boundary, we flushed two woodpeckers -- a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. A short pursuit of the Williamson's resulted in good looks. A  hell of a long walk (~6 miles round trip from the visitor center) that was ultimately successful.

Shortly afterwards, back on the Sipe Rudd Creek trail, we picked up a couple more targets -- a pristine looking GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and plenty of LAZULI BUNTINGS that we had inexplicably missed on the outbound walk. A beautiful male WESTERN TANAGER and LARK SPARROW were at the visitor center as we watched hummers for a few minutes.

After a break, we visited Rudd Creek #3 north of Nelson Reservoir. This is where our day went pear shaped. Our target here was GRAY FLYCATCHER and it didn't take long to locate a calling bird. Wouldn't you just know it, right at this moment the rain began and we were forced to take shelter. I transferred my MP3 player from my pants pocket to my rain jacket pocket to protect  it. What a mistake that turned out to be -- the pocket filled with water and it was adios MP3 player. We heard the flycatcher one more time but decided to bail out.

We finished the day at nearby Nelson Reservoir where PINYON JAYS called from the east slope, seen only by Bob. A sleeping REDHEAD was out on the water and a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON along the shoreline. YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were fairly numerous at the edge of the marsh, one was feeding young on the road.

Writing these notes back at Juniper Hill, can you imagine my chagrin as I looked out the window and saw a juvenile female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, a property first for me. After a hummingbird feeder refill, I witnessed something that I don't remember seeing before (but I don't spend much time at feeders). There are way more birds than available feeder ports so most birds spend time hovering and waiting their turn. I saw one bird perch on another's back and both birds had their bills in a feeder hole at the same time! It's probably common behavior but I've never seen it before.

Day List (62 species recorded): Trip list 133
Black-crowned Night-Heron, Mallard, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Horned Lark, Purple Martin, Violet-green Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock, Canyon & House Wrens, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, European Starling, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Tuesday, August 9, 2005   
White Mountains Day 8: Third and final day with Robert, Martha, Drew and Lindsay. Another rain impacted day that was nonetheless very productive. We visited Rudd Creek #3, Greer and Sunrise Lake. A brief report today.

CASSIN'S KINGBIRD was a new Juniper Hill property species this morning along with the usual hummingbirds. Juvenile SPOTTED and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES have become regular visitors.

We started by returning to the south drainage section of Rudd Creek #3 where GRAY FLYCATCHER was easy to find. Unlike yesterday, we had great looks at a very cooperative individual (a second bird was calling). An even better sighting here was JUNIPER TITMOUSE, a first for me in the White Mountains. This mostly pinyon-juniper and pinyon-pine clad rocky area was quite birdy this morning. Other species included ROCK WREN carrying food, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, BUSHTIT, PINYON JAY, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and HEPATIC TANAGER. 25 species in all.

A flock of 18 migrant LONG-BILLED CURLEWS on highway 260 west of Eagar represented a good sighting for this area.

In Greer, AMERICAN DIPPER was easy to find near the Four Seasons bridge.

West Fork was alive with activity and there was always something to look at, mostly MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, PYGMY NUTHATCHES and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS. Warblers were well represented with VIRGINIA'S being very common. MACGILLIVRAY'S were easy to hear, not so easy to see. Highlights were TOWNSEND'S and RED-FACED. We had good looks at male and female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS. Back in town at Greer Lodge, CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were vocal and conspicuous.

Following a daily pattern, our arrival at Sunrise Lake coincided with rain and we had to wait before checking the lake. Nothing of special note seen,  although we could easily have missed something due to poor viewing conditions. Species noted included EARED GREBE, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, REDHEAD and LESSER SCAUP.

Day List (74 species recorded): Trip list 139
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Mallard, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Long-billed Curlew, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Am. Dipper, Rock, Canyon & House Wrens, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's, MacGillivray's & Red-faced Warblers, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's Blackbird.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005   
White Mountains Day 9: A low key, take-it-easy day on which I visited Grasslands Wildlife Area, West Fork, Greer Lakes, Becker Lake and Nelson Reservoir. It was a warmer day than of late and although clouds again built up early, rain was minimal during the day. However, there was a significant evening thunderstorm in the Nutrioso area with high wind, heavy rain and serious (almost 0.5 inch) hail.

I started the day by making my first ever visit to Grasslands Wildlife Area, northwest of Eagar/Springerville. This is an old homestead/ranch area with a couple of ponds and cottonwoods, located in a protected basin of rocky bluffs and juniper hillsides. The area also has some large expanses of weedy grassland and the approaches have plenty of short grass pastureland. Just like Wenima, this WA has plenty of potential during migration.

The songs of BLUE GROSBEAK and EASTERN MEADOWLARK greeted me as I arrived. LESSER GOLDFINCHES were all over the weeds and CHIPPING SPARROWS were abundant in the junipers. MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES and VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS worked the cottonwoods around the first small pond where a KILLDEER screeched its disapproval. I continued down what was the driveway to the ranch passing a second, larger pond with GREAT BLUE HERON, five CINNAMON TEAL, singletons of SPOTTED & LEAST SANDPIPERS and a low flying COMMON NIGHTHAWK. A very tolerant GREAT HORNED OWL sat on the roof a building and didn't flinch as I gawked at it. Several AMERICAN KESTRELS and a RED-TAILED HAWK worked over the fields.

On the return walk, I picked up a female LAZULI BUNTING, several LARK SPARROWS and a GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE in the weedy fields; and SAY'S PHOEBE, DUSKY FLYCATCHER and a few PINE SISKINS near the small pond. A flock of BUSHTITS flitted through the junipers. Nothing startling among 30 species seen but a very pleasant location to bird.

I continued on to Greer where I heard and saw a band of noisy CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS right in town. As I feared, West Fork was nowhere near as active as yesterday now that I had a chance to stroll around and look for photo opportunities. Most of the same species as yesterday were present in lower numbers, although MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS were common. NASHVILLE WARBLER was the only additional warbler. I wasn't looking for AMERICAN DIPPER but I accidentally disturbed this juvenile and its calls got my attention. Just at this moment, a bird on the side of a tree caught my eye but I initially ignored it as I tried to photograph the dipper (unfortunately, there really wasn't enough light for a photo even with ISO 800). I assumed that it would be a sapsucker -- wrong! The bird was an adult female AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER that refused to take up a position where I could get a photo.

After an excellent late breakfast/early lunch at the Rendezvous Diner in Greer, I checked Greer Lakes only to find that the road to the most productive of the three lakes (River Reservoir) was closed. Bunch Reservoir had a couple of SPOTTED SANDPIPERS; and WESTERN BLUEBIRDS & PYGMY NUTHATCHES were in the surrounding pines.

Becker Lake was completely dead except for fisherman. Only WESTERN KINGBIRD along Becker Lake Road was of note. At Nelson Reservoir I picked up my first NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW of the trip.

WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE was a new Juniper Hill property bird this afternoon. Hummingbird activity at the feeders was way down today and I didn't see a CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (male) until late in the day.

Day List (65 species recorded): Trip list 143
Pied-billed, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted & Least Sandpipers, Band-tailed Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Common Nighthawk, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Am. Three-toed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Am. Dipper, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Nashville, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Thursday, August 11, 2005   
White Mountains Day 10: Out today with Jeff and Connie Woodman from Houston, TX and Bob Hall from San Francisco, CA. Despite the fact that we spent much of the day dodging  intermittent rain, we managed to miss the worst of it and have a very productive full day afield.

I'm sure that many birds didn't make it through last night's hailstorm so I was happy to see that a diminutive male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD was one of the first birds to show up at first light. Generally, though, activity in the yard at Juniper Hill was quite low this morning.

Our day began well at Big Lake Lookout where it appeared that the peak did not receive much rainfall last night. A juvenile AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER was a bonus bird along with the regular BLUE GROUSE  -- four very accommodating juveniles continue near the lookout tower. [Although I see the woodpecker here occasionally, I can hardly say that this is a reliable location.] Among the other species in this low diversity environment were all three nuthatches, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, HERMIT THRUSH, WARBLING VIREO, my first migrant WILSON'S WARBLER of the trip and WESTERN TANAGER.

Next stop was Three Forks where activity was down significantly compared to my recent visits. No sign of Red Crossbills and not a single warbler to be found other than YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. Highlights from 20 species were BELTED KINGFISHER, a juvenile RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, a (presumed) family of four very vocal OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS and a confiding ROCK WREN.

Even though we'd already seen a juvenile three-toed, we still visited the nearby burn area. After many HAIRY WOODPECKER false alarms, we eventually found an adult female AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. Apart from one brief period of 30 seconds when the bird called constantly, the woodpecker was silent during the 20 minutes or so that we followed it around. We also had good looks at CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, at one point in the same tree as the three-toed.

Having missed Red Crossbill and also needing Olive Warbler, I recommended Luna Lake as a potential location and that's where we headed. This is one of the few places in the White Mountains (that I'm aware of) where Red Crossbill is regular and reliable AND Olive Warbler is possible. Although rain threatened throughout the 2 1/2 hours that we spent here (first in the pines at the east end of the lake then scanning the west end of the lake), we had great success. We heard RED CROSSBILLS almost immediately then spent a fair amount of time chasing them around before getting decent looks at a perched bird. During the chase, we stumbled into a birdy area and found a cracking adult male OLIVE WARBLER. This beautiful orange-headed individual occasionally gave its whistled "phew" calls as well as a couple of bursts of song.

My first PLUMBEOUS VIREO of the trip sang briefly and half-heartedly and we got distracted from following the bird in favor of the crossbills. Several GRACE'S WARBLERS and a probable Townsend's (not a good enough look) were present along with typical species such as HAIRY WOODPECKER, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, PYGMY NUTHATCH, many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and DARK-EYED (Red-backed) JUNCOS.

A stop to check the feeders at the boat launch store was instantly rewarding with hordes of hummingbirds present. At least two male and one female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS were easy to see along with many BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS. Nearby birds included BELTED KINGFISHER and BLACK PHOEBE.

Scanning the lake revealed an immature SANDHILL CRANE on the far west shore which I'm at a loss to explain. I've seen an immature plumaged bird at the lake every year since 1999. Possible explanations are (1) this is the same bird that never attained adult plumage, or (2) the "lost at Luna Lake" gene was passed on from the original bird, or (3) coincidence. You decide. DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT and REDHEAD were on the water along with the common stuff.

A brief check of Nutrioso produced the usual EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and LAZULI BUNTING.

Our final destination of the day was Sipe Wildlife Area where, apparently, we just missed some serious rain and our timing was excellent. A flock of noisy PINYON JAYS performed for us along the entrance road and we enjoyed scope views. I counted north of 180 birds which is certainly the largest flock that I've seen on this trip to date.

The low growing vegetation around the visitor center pond was loaded with birds (the pond had a juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON and a couple of SORAS). We watched from the car as the drizzle petered out and had great looks at lots of colorful LAZULI BUNTINGS and a stunning male INDIGO BUNTING. We also saw DUSKY FLYCATCHER and VIRGINIA'S WARBLER.

Activity along Rudd Creek Trail couldn't match the pond area but we found MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, a calling TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, more VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS, a skulking MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, a couple of cooperative ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS (same binocular view as Virginia's), many more LAZULI BUNTINGS, WESTERN TANAGER and a scruffy looking juvenile GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. Exemplifying the statement "if it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done", an extremely cooperative juvenile male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER perched openly for several minutes near the visitor center. A good end to a good day.

Day List (82 species recorded): Trip list 149
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Blue Grouse, Sandhill Crane, Sora, Am. Coot, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided & Dusky Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Tree, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Rock & House Wrens, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Grace's, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli & Indigo Buntings and Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Friday, August 12, 2005   
White Mountains Day 11: One look at the clouds atop Escudilla this morning caused me to cancel my plan to hike the trail to the top. The views would have been lousy and since it rained on and off during the morning, I think I made a good choice.

Instead, I spent several hours at Hulsey Lake at the base of Escudilla. This small fishing lake (surrounded by pines) doesn't offer many species but it's a pleasant place to bird before the fishermen arrive (that was about 8:00am today). I was hoping for a few migrants but didn't see any. PYGMY NUTHATCH was by far the most common species followed closely by NORTHERN FLICKER, mostly feeding on the ground. DARK-EYED (Red-backed) JUNCOS were also plentiful. The best bird was a female DOWNY WOODPECKER, my third sighting of the trip of this relatively scarce species. HAIRY WOODPECKERS were quite numerous. RED CROSSBILLS constantly flew back and forth across the lake. WARBLING VIREO and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE may have bred here but were more likely birds that bred higher up the mountain and have now moved down in preparation for the trip south. 20 species in all.

Heading back north, I detoured through Nutrioso where I saw a couple of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS (perhaps they are glued to the pole) and numerous EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES.

Next, I checked Quarry Canyon (my name for this location southwest of Nelson Reservoir). If you fail to see a ROCK WREN here, throw away your optics and take up stamp collecting. A very active family group greeted me as I parked and the photo is of a juvenile. Even though this is a sparsely vegetated canyon in the first half mile (all that I covered because of rain), migrant VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS were present throughout. I also saw singletons of OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and WILSON'S WARBLER.

Nelson Reservoir had the usual suspects and only a flock of BUSHTITS were new versus recent visits.

A late afternoon visit to Sipe Wildlife Area was nowhere near as productive as yesterday. However, I did find JUNIPER TITMOUSE for the second time in a week after twelve years of birding in the White Mountains without a single sighting. In fact, I found adult and juvenile birds so they must have bred in the area.

Other than WILSON'S WARBLER, species around the visitor center were the same as yesterday and included CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and LAZULI BUNTING.

Hummingbird activity at Juniper Hill (and everywhere else) has really dropped off and today was the first day that I haven't recorded a Calliope here. On the plus side, an immature male LAZULI BUNTING was a property first for me. At the time, the seed feeder was dominated by several BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and I watched the bunting trying to figure out what to do. After several minutes it dropped to the ground and settled for spillage.

Day List (56 species recorded): Trip list 149
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Lewis's, Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock & House Wrens, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, and Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

Saturday, August 13, 2005   
White Mountains Day 12: Out today with Jeni O'Callaghan from Benson and Karen Peitsmeyer from Sierra Vista. We had an interesting and successful day looking for a few target species. Mostly cloudy skies and cool conditions prevailed throughout the day but we managed to avoid rain completely.

We began at Big Lake Lookout where the adult male BLUE GROUSE was very cooperative and put on a great show. We found the bird immediately upon arrival and after enjoying some excellent views we walked the trail to look for the rest of the family. The adult female and at least one youngster were feeding in Aspens., As we returned to the top, a couple of grouse rocketed overhead, flushed by a guy and his dog who actually seemed quite proud of the fact. At this point I was feeling fortunate that we had already seen the male. As it turned out, the male hadn't flushed and was now intent on displaying, presumably provoked by the flushing incident. Lana, the lady who works the Greens Peak Lookout fire tower, has named "her" blue grouse "Old Blue". After today's performance, from now on I'll be calling the Big Lake Lookout male "Studly Blue".

We moved on to Three Forks where activity continues to dwindle. Highlights here were juvenile RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and juvenile TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. Also in the area were MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. 20 species in all.

Continuing east, we stopped at the burn area where some physical effort eventually produced this pair of AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS (plus a third, calling bird) among the more plentiful HAIRY WOODPECKERS. At least one CLARK'S NUTCRACKER remains in this area but we only heard the bird today.

After a quick check of Sierra Blanca Lake, we continued further east to Nutrioso and quickly found LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, once again near the lumber yard. We had several looks at an uncooperative RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER in the same area. BAND-TAILED PIGEONS and EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were in town.

Birds were again hard to come by at Sipe Wildlife Area as a storm threatened but didn't materialize. LAZULI BUNTINGS were common and a beautiful male INDIGO BUNTING obliged us by perching up in response to pishing. PINYON JAYS called from the adjacent ridge and we saw just one perched bird.

The most productive birding of the day was in Springerville. My first BREWER'S SPARROW of the season was on Airport Road. Activity was highest at the Little Colorado river crossing -- here we saw ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BLUE GROSBEAK, LAZULI BUNTING and WESTERN TANAGER.

Becker Lake Road produced a major surprise -- a CURVE-BILLED THRASHER (probable juvenile). I don't know how many records there are for the White Mountains but it was certainly a first for me. GREATER ROADRUNNER and CANYON TOWHEE were a couple of other less common species.

WESTERN TANAGER was a new Juniper Hill property species for me.

Day List (74 species recorded): Trip list 150
Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Am. Kestrel, Blue Grouse, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Rock & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Western Tanager, Green-tailed, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Chipping, Brewer's & Lark Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli & Indigo Buntings, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Sunday, August 14, 2005   
White Mountains Day 13: This morning I visited Wenima Wildlife Area in search of migrants then checked Becker Lake Road trying to relocate and document the Curve-billed Thrasher. I was largely unsuccessful in both cases. Rain started around 1:30pm and persisted for the rest of the day preventing me from trying again for the thrasher.

Although there were a few more migrants present at Wenima Wildlife Area than last week, their numbers were low as was the overall activity. The best bird by far was RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, another new White Mountains species for me. The rocky hillsides at Wenima are ideal habitat but, since I haven't found them here in early summer, I doubt that they breed here.

BLUE GROSBEAKS were still singing strongly (typically a late breeder) but YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS have really quieted down. Among the migrants that I noted were DUSKY FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, a few VIRGINIA'S & WILSON'S WARBLERS, WESTERN TANAGER and LAZULI BUNTING.

Becker Lake Road and Airport Road were both less active than yesterday but still yielded a few migrants. I saw a very dark looking empid working close to the ground that I initially thought was a Willow Flycatcher only to realize that it was a GRAY FLYCATCHER when the bird popped up onto a fence wire. An immature Sora was dead on the road. Other species included a flock of 20+ distant WHITE-FACED IBIS, OSPREY, an immature female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, 6+ WESTERN KINGBIRDS, LARK SPARROW and YELLOW, WILSON'S & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS.

Day List (49 species recorded): Trip list 151
White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Am. Kestrel, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Rock Wren, N. Mockingbird, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Loggerhead, Shrike, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Tanager, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Rufous-crowned, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Bunting, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Monday, August 15, 2005   
White Mountains Day 14: I allocated today to the Mt Baldy Trail (West Baldy Trail 94) that I've hiked numerous times before. The trail starts near Sheep Crossing and is about 7 miles one way to Baldy Peak (11, 400 feet) with an elevation gain of 2000+ feet. I started the trail at 6:50am under beautiful, clear blue skies with a few clouds over the peak. I was hoping the clouds would dissipate but, unfortunately, they built up steadily as the morning wore on. After about three hours and roughly five miles on the trail, I felt the first sprinkle and decided to turn around -- I knew there wouldn't be enough rain free hours. It normally takes me about five hours to walk up and three to walk back down. Anyway, a ten mile round trip is plenty for an old fart like me.

Arguably the most interesting sighting wasn't a bird or an animal, it was a person dressed as an animal! I'd walked about a mile from the trailhead when I heard some howling sounds that I couldn't put a name to, not Coyote or Wolf. I looked up to see what I first thought was a bear standing on its hind legs. The "animal" seemed to be deliberately standing in the trail looking at me and then walked across the meadow into the trees. It was at this point that I realized it was someone in a Bigfoot costume. I heard the "creature" crashing through the trees and then it reappeared at the edge of the meadow, yelping away as if to challenge me. I didn't give the guy the satisfaction of taking a photo, opting to shout "Get a Life" instead. The guy yelped his way back into the forest. And I thought that my lifestyle was marginally bizarre.

The trail parallels the West Fork of the Little Colorado for a while and most of the activity on the entire hike was in this area. I saw the typical high elevation riparian species such as  DUSKY FLYCATCHER, HOUSE WREN, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and LINCOLN'S SPARROW. I also saw CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, ROCK WREN (perhaps a little unusual here), migrant WILSON'S WARBLER and RED CROSSBILL.

After a couple of miles, I crossed the open meadow and entered the mostly spruce-fir forest. Activity from then on was limited to several encounters with GOLDEN-CROWNED & RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES; and the occasional tapping of woodpeckers. I found a total of 10 HAIRY WOODPECKERS and 5 AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS. I managed this photograph of a female three-toed from a distance of 40 feet in extremely poor light -- published to show that ISO 1600 can produce a useful result

About 4 miles in I came across the big prize -- PINE GROSBEAK. A pair, or should I say two birds (the light was poor) were calling quite close to the trail. However, the slope was extremely steep at this point so pursuing them for a photograph was not really an option. GRAY JAYS were in the same area.

[Added August 17 -- Inexplicably, I forgot SWAINSON'S THRUSH (somehow not recorded on my micro-recorder) which was is probably the best bird of the trip! Must have been delayed shock from the Bigfoot sighting. I saw the bird very well -- bold, buffy eye ring, uniform mantle and tail color (no reddish tones on tail) and, perhaps more importantly, I heard the bird calling. The thrush was in the same area as the grosbeak in heavy spruce-fir habitat and potentially bred here (there is at least one previous record from this location). However, the timing is such that the bird could be a migrant.]

I arrived back at the trailhead at 12:45pm having seen 25 species. I headed over to Sunrise where light rain began 30 minutes later. Due to the rain and the fact that I was leg weary, I almost skipped Sunrise which would have been a mistake because there was a decent showing of shorebirds. When it comes to birding, it rarely pays to be lazy.

Regular breeding species included BALD EAGLE, OSPREY and the usual coots, grebes ducks, 20 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and VESPER & SAVANNAH SPARROWS (the latter sill singing).

Shorebird highlights were a single BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER still in alternate plumage and a single MARBLED GODWIT. I also saw 35 WHITE-FACED IBIS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS and LEAST SANDPIPER. A small flock of 11 BLACK TERNS worked over the marsh area.

An early BUFFLEHEAD was a pleasant surprise (my previous earliest White Mountains sighting was the first week of September).

I finished up by checking Becker lake Road again; no sign of the thrasher.

I picked up four new Juniper Hill species today -- flyover CANADA GOOSE flock early this morning; a migrant WILSON'S WARBLER, a streaky juvenile DARK-EYED (Red-backed) JUNCO and a couple of WESTERN KINGBIRDS just before dark.

Day List (75 species recorded): Trip list 161
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, White-faced Ibis, Canada Goose, Mallard, N. Pintail, Redhead, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Marbled Godwit, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Black Tern, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Rock & House Wrens, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Loggerhead Shrike, Gray & Steller's Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Pine Grosbeak, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Spotted Towhee, Chipping, Vesper, Savannah & Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005   
White Mountains Day 15: First thing this morning I checked Sipe Wildlife Area again then, prompted by some success at Sunrise Lake yesterday, I drove north to Lyman Lake State Park to check for migrant shorebirds.

I always listen while driving slowly along the juniper lined 5 miles entrance road to Sipe and often see the typical species as I did this morning -- HORNED LARK, CHIPPING SPARROW, WESTERN and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY and PINYON JAY. Today I heard the calls of JUNIPER TITMOUSE and headed into the junipers to investigate. I found a mixed flock (at least loosely) comprising the titmice, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and several BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS. I stalked them for almost thirty minutes and only managed a horribly backlit shot of an immature male BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER (incomplete black throat and perhaps less flank streaking than an adult). I managed to recover a usable image with Photoshop. Here's a thumbnail of the original so you can see what I had to work with.

Other species included a small flock of LARK SPARROWS, several large groups of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS gathered on the wires (perhaps preparing for their southbound journey) and a ROCK WREN bobbing up and down at the side of the road (not typical for this location).

The tapping and churring noises from a couple of migrant RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS got my attention near the visitor center (they are very reliable here in fall). WARBLING VIREO, WILSON'S WARBLER and LAZULI BUNTING rounded out the migrants.

A very brief walk along Rudd Creek Trail produced DUSKY FLYCATCHER, VIRGINIA'S & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

Next, I checked Lyman Lake State Park, less than 20 miles north of Springerville. What a WOGAT that turned out to be (waste of gas and time). The lake level is high (some trees submerged) and shorebird habitat is minimal. Consequently, you won't be surprised to learn that, apart from a couple of SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, shorebirds were non existent. Road construction on the primitive roads leading to all the nooks and crannies at the south end of the lake didn't help. However, when completed, access for scanning will be much improved. I saw 5 adult WESTERN GREBES each with one begging youngster, all in different locations. PINYON JAYS called from the slopes (I've seen them here a few times in fall).

A check of Becker Lake Road was again thrasherless. I did see a few migrants -- WESTERN KINGBIRD, DUSKY FLYCATCHER and VIRGINIA'S WARBLER along with the resident EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES.

Today was my  last day in the mountains and definitely a day that I haven't been looking forward to -- tomorrow I drive home and I can honestly say that I have little enthusiasm for a return to birding in the heat of southeast Arizona. Two weeks in the White Mountains have zipped right by and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. The weather in the mountains has been ideal -- generally cool and calm with the right mix of sunshine and clouds and enough rain to keep things fresh. The birding was very interesting and productive and my clients were happy. As usual, my time at The Bunkhouse at Juniper Hill was a home away from home. I'm sure that after a couple of days back in SE AZ I'll be right as rain again (as long as there is some). My journal entries will resume on August 19.

Day List (50 species recorded): Trip list 162
Western Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Dusky Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Rock & House Wrens, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Loggerhead Shrike, Western Scrub-Jay,. Pinyon Jay, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting and Red-winged Blackbird.

Friday, August 19, 2005   
Back on duty in southeast Arizona. Let's see, what should I chase first? Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (can't hardly wait), Aztec Thrush, Crescent-chested Warbler? Me > Earth > Thud! Actually, the Crescent-chested Warbler that I saw in January 1994 in Patagonia was the beginning of the end for me chasing state birds, although it took five more years for me to break free of those chains. I made 10 trips and spent almost 60 hours on that bird, a bird that's a dime a dozen and relatively easy to see in Mexico. I chase rarities for a living not for "pleasure" -- but I'll spend the rest of my life looking for regularly occurring nemesis birds (like Black-billed Cuckoo for example) and checking arrival dates of birds like Buff-breasted Flycatcher. Crazy, hey? Good thing we're all different.

Out today with Alan Whitehead from York, England. Not long after we met at 5:00am this morning, I discovered that we had quite a lot in common -- he was born and raised in the same town in England where I grew up (Bury, Lancashire). As they say, it's a small world. This is Alan's last day of a 3+ week trip and this date was scheduled back in February with only tentative objectives. This morning we visited Patagonia Lake State Park for one target bird, the pesky gnatcatcher of course.

We got started at the lake shortly after 6:00am. I was unsure of the conditions, since I hadn't been here for over two weeks, so I donned long pants and wellies to be on the safe side. The grassy areas and willows near the lake are under water but the all washes are reasonably dry. However, since the vegetation is very high, my otherwise inappropriate garb did offer welcome protection against chiggers.

We wandered around listening and looking, slowly working our way through the washes and mesquite bosque, eventually ending up at Nutting's Wash. I was imitating a screech-owl call in an effort to rustle up the gnatcatchers and had just told Alan that on the last trip I actually got an owl response. Not long after I mentioned this, what do you know, a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL started calling. We set about trying to locate the bird but it only called sporadically making it difficult to pinpoint location. However, in the process of tracking the owl, I heard the mewing calls of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS and we were soon enjoying good looks at a male and female foraging fairly close together. The male's black cap is still mostly intact (including on the face down below the eye). Time of this sighting was around 8:00am so we only expended about two hours worth of effort.

We resumed working on the owl which led us a merry old dance. At the end of last month (July 31), myself and four clients had good looks at a pair of owls sitting on an exposed mesquite branch near Nutting's Wash. Not so today and we eventually gave up around 9:00am when the owl hadn't called for 30 minutes. Just as well because the heat-humidity-mosquito index ensured unpleasant conditions by this time. The owl would have been a nice bonus but, nevertheless, mission accomplished.

In the late afternoon we headed to upper Carr Canyon to look for NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL in a regular spot. I was worried by the high stream noise but as things turned out, the owl wasn't and we ended up with decent views. Unfortunately, the evening finished poorly as stream noise defeated us in the lower canyon in every Whiskered Screech-Owl location that we tried. Other distractions included getting stopped by border patrol, a stream of Friday night vehicles heading up the mountain, and campers with radios blaring. Grand Central Station might have been quieter.

Day List (60 species recorded):
Green Heron, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Western Screech-Owl, N. Pygmy-Owl, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Willow & Gray Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, Lesser Goldfinch, Nashville, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned & Black-throated Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Varied Bunting, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Saturday, August 20, 2005   
First of two days with Liz and Maurice Southworth from Newburyport, MA. For the second day in a row, the world continued to get a little smaller when I discovered that Maurice was born and raised six miles from where I grew up in England.

We left town at 3:00am for a trip to California Gulch with stops at Kino Springs and Patagonia Roadside Rest Area on the return journey. It was a clear day until early afternoon when the clouds started to build and the temperature was up to 93 degrees when we returned to Sierra Vista at 2:00pm.

Our first COMMON POORWILL of the morning came along Hwy 82 in Patagonia followed by a total of 15 COMMON POORWILLS along the Ruby Road (one shy of my record for the trip). Most birds stayed put on the road providing excellent looks. We also came upon a perched GREAT HORNED OWL.

FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS were easy to come by and we saw and heard numerous individuals as we walked down heartbreak hill, through the main gulch then on to the riparian area at the south entrance. We also had good looks at juvenile GRAY HAWK, a very showy YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, an aggressive NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and a hard to track down THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD.

Young PURPLE MARTINS were evidence of their breeding here (as I mentioned previously, this is the first year in the last 12 that I have detected this species here). COMMON GROUND-DOVES, BLUE GROSBEAKS and VARIED BUNTINGS were very common and vocal. Migrants included GRAY FLYCATCHER, a couple of BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, several NASHVILLE and WILSON'S WARBLERS and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. 40+ species in the gulch.

The blacktop section of the Ruby Road produced BOTTERI'S SPARROW around milepost 5 and several RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS were singing east of I-19.

TROPICAL KINGBIRD at Kino Springs was our fourth kingbird species of the day. We had good looks at a bird taking food to the nest at the club house pond. The first pond yielded MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. 

A short vigil (15 minutes) at the Roadside Rest was all that we needed to get scope looks at male and female ROSE-THROATED BECARDS.

A very successful day.

Day List (75 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Turkey Vulture, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Common Poorwill, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Gray, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Tropical, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Rose-throated Becard, Purple Martin, Tree, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Phainopepla, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, Lesser Goldfinch, Nashville, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Summer Tanager, Canyon Towhee, Botteri's, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Five-striped, Chipping, Lark & Black-throated Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli & Varied Buntings, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, August 21, 2005   
Out again today with Liz and Maurice. We made a very short visit to the San Pedro House first thing then spent the rest of our time in Carr Canyon. The weather was almost identical to yesterday with clear skies early and clouds by early afternoon.

Our only target near the San Pedro House was CASSIN'S SPARROW and we soon had excellent looks at a skylarking bird. Several others were singing along with BOTTERI'S SPARROW and BLUE GROSBEAK. We heard MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER.

In Carr Canyon, our first couple of targets came fairly easily. A chipping GRACE'S WARBLER led us to its location and the bird eventually emerged from the pine needles to provide us with good views. Next, we headed to a meadow area where BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS normally hang out. Not much in the way of vocalization (a few soft "pit" calls) but enough to track down a bird that, like Graces, put on a good show for us.

From this point on, our fortunes went south. We worked diligently for almost three hours before finding an immature OLIVE WARBLER. While the bird was very cooperative, foraging at eye level instead of tree-top level, the yellowish, female plumaged individual was hardly fair reward for our efforts. Later, we looked again for an adult male without success.

We did see a fair few warblers during the search including numerous migrant HERMIT WARBLERS at every location. The adult males of this species with their yellow face and contrasting black throat are absolutely stunning. If you fail to be stunned, check your pulse. VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS were present in most locations and about as uncooperative as ever, although we did get a few decent looks. We also saw BLACK-THROATED GRAY and WILSON'S WARBLERS and several gorgeous PAINTED REDSTARTS.

Other species recorded included GREATER PEWEE (silent, as most birds were), a calling ARIZONA WOODPECKER, my first of season migrant HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS in two locations, HUTTON'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, HEPATIC and WESTERN TANAGERS and scads of LESSER GOLDFINCHES and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS.

Next, we hiked down beyond Comfort Spring where I've located and seen Northern Pygmy-Owl on the last four consecutive visits. Today I went to the well one too many times and, guess what, it was dry. A couple of BAND-TAILED PIGEONS were near the spring. What a great noise they make.

A far less successful day than yesterday even though we saw four of the five species that we specifically sought. Missing the owl was a blow. It's a cruel world.

Day List (59 species recorded):
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Hammond's, Buff-breasted, Vermilion & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Barn Swallow, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Black-throated Gray, Hermit, Grace's & MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Botteri's & Cassin's Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, August 22, 2005   
Out today with John and Eleanor Harding from Wynnewood, PA. John is closing in on 750 ABA area species and had scheduled two days of my time back in January to look for a few species that might show up. However, as things have panned out, only Black-capped Gnatcatcher was a realistic target. Consequently, I get a day off to add to a two day cancellation for an unexpected three consecutive free days to myself starting tomorrow.

We visited Patagonia Lake State Park for the Black-capped Gnatcatcher and after finding the bird quickly we continued casual birding there; then moved on to Kino Springs and Patagonia Roadside Rest Area. Another clear morning with clouds building earlier than the past few days. The warm afternoon brought some significant rain to the Sierra Vista area for the first time in a few days.

At Patagonia Lake, we stopped a couple of times along the entrance road to view secondary targets BOTTERI'S & RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS, birds that John had only seen once before. I then began my normal systematic search of the washes and was delighted (and relieved) to find a pair of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS shortly after getting started. The birds were in the open area at the end of the second wash where it doubles back towards the first wash (although there isn't direct access to the first wash without a hillside scramble). In great light, we enjoyed wonderful, close range looks at the male preening and male and female foraging. We were able to see all field marks as well as hear the birds calling to each other. It doesn't get any better than this -- the kind of looks that you only get by leaving the camera at home.

A lone BROWN PELICAN continues at the lake, perhaps the same bird that I saw last month?

Apart from the gnatcatchers, highlights from the rest of the morning were excellent looks at NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET at the lake; BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK, several TROPICAL KINGBIRDS and LAZULI BUNTINGS at Kino Springs; and THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD and ROSE-THROATED BECARDS carrying food to the nest at Patagonia Roadside Rest Area.

Day List (75 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Rock Pigeon, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Gray, Vermilion & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Tropical, Cassin's & Thick-billed Kingbirds, Rose-throated Becard, Tree, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer & Western Tanagers, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Black-throated & Song Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli & Varied Buntings, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005   
A very wet and miserable day in southeast Arizona with plenty of rain in Sierra Vista and elsewhere. I'm sure glad that circumstances were such that I didn't have to find birds today. I tried to take advantage of my first free day to gather some data at Willcox. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and it was pretty much a washout. I dragged myself out of bed at 4:00am for a 5:00am departure and a sunrise arrival at Willcox. I traveled through rain along the way and it caught up with me again just as I arrived. I birded for 2.5 hours in the rain in poor visibility before throwing in the towel. Productivity was very low, especially with landbirds. Very disappointing. As I left Willcox, my disappointment turned to pain when I had to pay over $50 for a tank of gas.

Despite the rain, LESSER NIGHTHAWKS worked the lights at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on highway 90.

A couple of bedraggled SWAINSON'S HAWKS perched along the entrance road to the golf course set the tone for my visit. My first stop was at the main golf course pond where I was immediately dismayed to find that one of the large willows at the east end of the pond was uprooted (some time ago by the looks of things), presumably caused by rain saturated ground. The presence of many temporal ponds would tend to support that theory. It's not like the area is blessed with trees so this is a big loss.

I was hoping to pickup some migrant landbirds but, apart from swallows, a surprise NORTHERN FLICKER (only my second record here) and few YELLOW WARBLERS were all that I found. The flooded, grassy area on the north side of the road that leads to the city dump (north side of golf course) was a hive of activity for swallows. The fence in the middle of the water afforded a great place for the swallows to perch and for me to view them. Most were BARN and CLIFF (in about equal numbers) with a handful of BANK SWALLOWS also present. Although Barn and Cliff seemed to get along famously, I watched a Bank Swallow deliberately displace a Cliff Swallow several times, even to the extent of following it down the fence line.

Almost all of the temporal ponds had zero birds. The pond immediately south of the main golf course pond was certainly an exception. Here I found lots of shorebirds including 3 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS belying their name. Most of my Willcox records are in August.

The water level of the main pond is very high and shorebirds were concentrated along the grassy shoreline making them difficult to see, especially birding from the car in the rain. A single SEMIPALMATED PLOVER was the only bird of note, midway along the south shore. My fall records at Willcox are from August, September and the first week of October.

AMERICAN AVOCETS and BLACK-NECKED STILTS were both common; Six LESSER YELLOWLEGS outnumbered two GREATER YELLOWLEGS. The only dowitchers that I could identify were ~20 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS. The more common shorebirds like LEAST, WESTERN, BAIRD'S and SPOTTED SANDPIPERS were easily seen but not particularly numerous. I was able to find 3 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES among the many WILSON'S PHALAROPES.

Even the regular species were not much in evidence. I saw a couple of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES and a single SCALED QUAIL on the golf course grass and several immature YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS in the marsh.  

41 species recorded at Willcox ponds:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Swainson's Hawk, Scaled Quail, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary, Spotted, Western, Least & Baird's Sandpipers, Wilson's & Red-necked Phalaropes, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, N. Flicker, Cassin's Kingbird, Bank, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Curve-billed Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005   
I needed to stay home to wait for a delivery today so I only managed to make an early morning visit to Sierra Vista Environmental Operations Park (SVEOP). I used to visit here religiously (869 total visits) but this was my first visit since April due to pressure of work and (mostly) lack of desire. It was a cool and cloudy morning following yesterday's extremely wet day and the temperature was a constant 67 degrees during the hour that I spent here.

Just as yesterday at Willcox, perched swallows were very common and easy to see. In decreasing order of abundance I saw BARN, CLIFF, BANK, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and TREE SWALLOWS.

A single PEREGRINE FALCON was the only raptor that I observed. One or two are regular here from late summer through early spring. My extreme dates at this location are July 9 and March 22.

As you are all probably aware, views of open water and shorebird habitat are not available to the general public. I saw MALLARD, KILLDEER and heard a COOT. That was it for water birds. A crying shame because I know there are plenty of birds here based on my observations in previous years before the "improvements" were made.

Migrants noted: 1 male YELLOW WARBLER, 3 female LARK BUNTINGS (also winters here) and 1 female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (also occasional here in summer).

WESTERN KINGBIRDS were very common on the fence wires and I saw a couple of CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS. Both YELLOW-HEADED and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS were conspicuous in the marsh and flying around the surrounding fields. LARK SPARROWS were abundant in the fields.

27 species recorded at SVEOP from 6:40-7:40am:
Mallard, Peregrine Falcon, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Tree, N. Rough-winged, Bank, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Curve-billed Thrasher, Verdin, Chihuahuan Raven, House Finch, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Lark & Song Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Bullock's Oriole.

Thursday, August 25, 2005   
On a beautifully clear and fresh morning, I decided to check the goings on in Sawmill Canyon (my first visit since August 1). Not much in the way of cloud build up today as the monsoon season possibly starts to wind down (but hopefully not) and temperatures climb again. September=June.

I started by driving slowly through lower Garden Canyon where monsoon rains have created some very lush grassland. CASSIN'S, BOTTERI'S & RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS, CANYON TOWHEES and BLUE GROSBEAKS are still very much in full voice. A probable male (small) PEREGRINE FALCON perched near the fishing ponds was a pleasant surprise (only my second record in Garden Canyon).

The effects of recent heavy rains were apparent once I hit the trees -- it was hard to hear anything because of the raging creek. Water was flowing at a very high rate and side drainages had left lots of debris in various location. The road in upper Garden Canyon is very rocky (topsoil washed way) and there are deep ruts in several places. However, with careful driving, a small rental vehicle should just about be able to make it up to Sawmill. But god help you if you meet Army and Border Patrol Hummers as I did on the way down.

My second surprise of the morning was provided by a male SUMMER TANAGER, calling as it flew across the road near the middle picnic area. Even though this was only my third record for this predominantly riparian species in Garden Canyon, I suspect they breed sparsely along lower Garden Canyon creek below the lower picnic area. This is a location that I (and most birders) rarely visit

I was able to hear the loud "rubber ducky" calls of SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS in multiple locations from the lower picnic area to the pictograph site.

Sawmill Canyon was delightfully fresh after the rain and even the creeks in this location were flowing strongly, which doesn't happen too often. I had to work a while before I found any birds other than MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS. About a mile into the canyon I came across a mixed flock of warblers (no other species with them) comprising 8-10 GRACES WARBLERS (some singing); at least 3 adult and immature OLIVE WARBLERS (constant "phew" calls for the 30 minutes that I stayed with them); 2 immature HERMIT WARBLERS (issuing a few chips) and a single silent ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. The latter two species were the only migrants that I detected.

Regulars were not particularly easy to come by. I heard just one BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, one ARIZONA WOODPECKER, a couple of PLUMBEOUS and HUTTON'S VIREOS and several YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS. Species seen included an immature MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, ACORN WOODPECKER (uncommon in Sawmill), RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (irregular here, seen in 6 of last 12 years) and a handful of HEPATIC TANAGERS.

45 species recorded in Garden and Sawmill Canyons:
Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Magnificent Hummingbird, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Orange-crowned, Hermit & Grace's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Summer Tanagers, Canyon Towhee, Botteri's, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Blue Grosbeak and Eastern Meadowlark.

In the afternoon I headed down to the San Pedro House to test a new lens. I recently ordered and have just received a Canon EF 300mm f/4 IS lens and a 1.4x teleconverter. This combination gives me 420mm f/5.6 (672mm effective with the 20D) compared to the 400mm (640mm effective) of the 100-400mm f/5.6 lens, an improvement of 5% in focal length at about the same speed. However, I purchased this lens simply to reduce the weight that I have to carry -- my current equipment (camera and binocular) is about 7 lbs and this will drop to less than 5lbs with the new equipment. My recent Mt. Baldy hike prompted the change (gee, you think). I was also hoping for a slight improvement in resolution (prime lens versus a zoom lens) and maybe faster focus acquisition. Initial testing reveals very little difference but I'll do some controlled tests when I get time and publish the results in the photo section of this site.

The temperature near the San Pedro House was in the mid 90s and the mosquitoes in the 100s or more. The light was also wicked. Not ideal conditions. I came here for close up views of common birds but there really wasn't much activity. This lowly female HOUSE FINCH was my first effort. Then, a male BLUE GROSBEAK flew in and briefly perched allowing me to get an image.

By far the best bird was a male AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. This is my earliest record in southeast Arizona by exactly two months (my previous early date was October 25 in 1999, also on the San Pedro at the Charleston Bridge). I was a little surprised to see a HOUSE WREN here -- this was another early record (but only for this location) by about two weeks. My previous early date on the SPRNCA was September 8 in 1993 and 1994. Not bad for a hot August afternoon when I really wasn't birding!

Friday, August 26, 2005   
First of three days with Mike and Shirley Harman from Silver Spring, MD. We began at Patagonia Lake State Park then visited Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest Area and Paton's Yard. A routine day that produced most of the expected species. A partly cloudy and moderately warm day. Looks like a warm up is in store.

Birding along Patagonia Lake entrance road was very productive early this morning. Singing BOTTERI'S, CASSIN'S & RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS continue to be very easy to see and we also saw RUFOUS-CROWNED, BLACK-THROATED and my SE AZ first of season BREWER'S SPARROWS. We then added ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK and excellent close up views of VARIED BUNTING to get the morning of to a good start.

In the park proper, we weren't specifically looking for BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER but when I heard a bird calling we gave chase and soon saw a male in the second wash (black cap now limited to top of the head, at least on this individual -- god knows how many are now present).

Apart from the continuing BROWN PELICAN, the 55 species that we noted were pretty much standard fare for the season including a hard to see YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, several NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS, WILSON'S WARBLER YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, WESTERN TANAGER and a few BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

Kino Springs was also very productive. We found LAZULI and INDIGO BUNTINGS at the first pond but couldn't manage to make it a four bunting day. BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS were very tolerant and allowed close approach. We pursued a calling GILDED FLICKER to confirm its identity (a pair nested at the first pond this year) and managed excellent looks at MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER (several present). A calling CRISSAL THRASHER was just a little too far away to pursue. TROPICAL KINGBIRDS twittered and perched beautifully for us at the nest site adjacent to the club house pond. 40 species recorded during a mid morning hour of casual birding.

Seeing ROSE-THROATED BECARD at the Roadside Rest is like shooting fish in a barrel at the moment. Get 'em while they're hot (before the young fledge). The birds were back and forth regularly during a late morning visit.

Marion Paton's yard yielded VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD after a 30 minute wait, our reward for braving the abundant mosquitoes.

Day list (84 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Black & Turkey Vultures, Gray & Swainson's Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Gilded Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Tropical, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Rose-throated Becard, Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer & Western Tanagers, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Lark, Black-throated & Song Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli, Indigo & Varied Buntings, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Saturday, August 27, 2005   
Out again today with Mike and Shirley. We visited Carr Canyon on what turned out to be the warmest day for quite a while (mid 90s in Sierra Vista in early afternoon). The birding was poor, hence a very brief report.

An early morning stop in the lower canyon sycamores to track down noisy SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS resulted in an excellent look. Little did we know that apart from YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS (all over Reef Campground), this was going to be the only easy bird of the morning.

High elevation birding at this season is often quite difficult when few birds are singing. Today was one of those days and we really struggled to find most species, particularly warblers. Eventually, we ground out a handful. VIRGINIA'S WARBLER is typically quite easy to locate and difficult to see. To give you an i