Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - October, 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 Sunday, October 30, 2005

Sunday, October 2, 2005    
Today I joined the regular Sunday morning tour of Sierra Vista EOP. I hadn't realized that the start time changes to 8:00am in October and showed up at 6:30am for a 7:00am start. By the way, starting at 8:00am is much too late at this time of year (sunrise is 6:15am). Fortunately, it was cloudy until 8:00am. Anyway, I'm glad that I arrived early because we walked around too fast and the tour was pretty short today (2 hours). I recorded 53 species and the group total may have been a couple more. Based on my records, October is the best month at the ponds in terms of number of species (126 species in 112 visits over 12 years).

Ducks are still not present in numbers and the shorebird showing was pretty woeful. What else is new (no habitat = no birds). Returning winter species included a female/immature columbarius MERLIN, a couple of AMERICAN PIPITS, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD. The arrival time for all species is about average for this location.

At least 6 SWAINSON'S HAWKS (perhaps gathering for departure) were present. One bird had the audacity to chase the regularly present PEREGRINE FALCON carrying prey.

A single fly-by WHITE-WINGED DOVE represented a vary scarce sighting here (I have 12 records in 870+ visits). In contrast, I've recorded Merlin (status=rare) almost 80 times! Location, location, location.

SORAS were very common and easy to see in the marshy habitat; I heard 3 VIRGINIA RAILS. A calling LAZULI BUNTING (also in the marsh) was my latest sighting at this location.

53 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP: Bar-graph
White-faced Ibis (1), Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Swainson's (6+) & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel. Merlin. Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher (12), Spotted (1) & Western (1) Sandpipers, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Am. Pipit (2), Marsh Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Canyon Towhee, Brewer's, Vesper, Savannah, Song & Lincoln's Sparrows, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, October 3, 2005    
Although I didn't I didn't see anything really unusual today, it was certainly one of those days when the phrase "you never know" rang true. I almost took the day off and only decided to head out to Sawmill Canyon when the prospect of spending the morning at the computer lost its appeal (not that it ever really had much appeal).

It was cloudy and relatively birdless in Garden Canyon grassland and I saw just a couple of birds instead of the normal dozen or so. At this point I was expecting Sawmill Canyon to be pretty dead. I couldn't have been more wrong.

As I got out of my vehicle at Sawmill at 7:20am, the sun was just breaking through the clouds and I could hear lots of birds just up the trail in the main canyon. There's still plenty surface water running down the road about 100 yards above the cable and the trees in that area had plenty of activity, mostly from common species such as BUSHTIT, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and scads of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.

Then I heard a most unexpected sound -- the loud metallic "chink" of BLUE GROSBEAK, not a bird that I ever expected to see in a mountain location like Sawmill Canyon. As I've often mentioned, I trust my ears more than my eyes but this was a bird that I just had to see. It took 15 minutes to track them down but I finally found a couple of immature birds. Species #116 for me in Sawmill.

I resumed normal birding and recorded some expected species including ARIZONA WOODPECKER, at least 6 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, HERMIT THRUSH, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & HERMIT WARBLERS and a few HEPATIC TANAGERS. Less expected were BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, WILSON'S WARBLER and WESTERN TANAGER (all getting late for this location); and LAZULI BUNTING (only my 7th record in Sawmill).

Okay, now I was feeling good about my decision to trundle up the currently very rocky road to Sawmill yet again. I felt even better when I saw my second new location species of the day -- SWAINSON'S THRUSH, #117. I've seen them elsewhere in the Huachucas but never before in Sawmill. They seem to prefer riparian locations within the mountains and that habitat is fairly limited in Sawmill. Swainson's is a fairly uncommon migrant in southeast Arizona; this was only my 4th fall record although I have a decent number (38 records) in spring.

After so many visits to Sawmill (548 over the past 12 years), two new location species wasn't a bad way to get October underway. As I mentioned earlier, you never know!

28 species recorded in Sawmill Canyon:
Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's & House Wrens, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Hermit & Wilson's Warblers, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Chipping Sparrow, Yellow-eyed Junco, Blue Grosbeak and Lazuli Bunting.

Back in Garden Canyon, I stopped briefly at the upper picnic area (no activity) and the lower picnic area where I saw PAINTED REDSTART. They sometimes winter in this area.

By the time I reached the grassland it was pretty warm but the activity level demanded that I invest some time and effort. I picked up a few species for my trouble -- SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, BOTTERI'S & CASSIN'S SPARROWS and even a COOT on the gravel pit pond.

I ended the morning with CEDAR WAXWINGS on French Fry Boulevard, the third time that I've seen them here. I recorded 53 species for the day.

Wednesday, October 5, 2005    
I checked the San Pedro again this morning (cheap date). Another sunny and warm day

It's only been a few days since I was here (September 30) but there was a noticeable drop in the numbers of some species today. BREWER'S SPARROWS in particular were much less in evidence, although there are certainly still lots of them. I attribute this to less migrants passing through. Same with LINCOLN'S SPARROW. Lots of GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES and BLUE GROSBEAKS still present with lesser numbers of LAZULI BUNTINGS.

I walked a slightly different route today. After walking south down the Del Valle Road, I turned west (upstream) along Garden Wash for about a mile to a grove of old cottonwoods. I was hoping for a season first Lewis's Woodpecker in this location -- I have a handful of records on the San Pedro in October and November and I've seen them here as early as October 3. No success today.

The cottonwood grove had a few birds of interest though. An adult PEREGRINE FALCON and a RED-TAILED HAWK were both being harassed by a juvenile COOPER'S HAWK. The Cooper's repeatedly drove both birds from their perches. I photographed the Cooper's and Peregrine but the images weren't up to my current publishing standards.

Other birds in the wash included 3 ROCK WRENS, CRISSAL THRASHER, BLACK-THROATED SPARROW, a large flock of BUSHTITS and a MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER (the latter two species working a hackberry tree). I noted one BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER in the mesquite along the Del Valle Road, an uncommon migrant on the San Pedro.

Several herons continue at Kingfisher Pond -- GREAT BLUE HERON, 2 GREEN HERONS and a juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. Also present today were a juvenile COMMON MOORHEN (formerly fairly common here but now scarce) and a male WOOD DUCK, species #219 for me on the San Pedro. Even though they are fairly scarce in Southeast Arizona, I've recorded them every year somewhere. RUDDY DUCK usually shows up at the pond in late October and the one male present today was my earliest record for this location.

Summer species are dwindling -- among the species in that category today were GRAY HAWK on the east side of the river north of Kingfisher Pond, a few calling SUMMER TANAGERS and one BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Apart from the Wood Duck, the least common species of the day were Peregrine Falcon, Rock Wren and Brewer's Blackbird (all of which I've recorded just 4 times each on the San Pedro). 

53 species recorded on SPRNCA (Hwy 90 area): Bar graph
Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Wood Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Rock, Bewick's & House Wrens, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Black-throated Gray & MacGillivray's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Summer Tanager, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Brewer's Blackbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Thursday, October 6, 2005     
There was a little blip on the weather front this morning and it probably wasn't the best of days to visit Carr Canyon. Fairly heavy clouds, some thunder and a few sprinkles greeted me as I started up the canyon and it was quite windy by the time that I reached Reef. The sun poked through after a couple of hours but the wind persisted all morning. Nevertheless, I managed a decent few hours of birding.

The road up the canyon has recently been graded and the surface is in very good nick. In fact, about the best it can be and almost a pleasure to drive (almost). PAINTED REDSTART was the only bird of note on the journey. WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS were conspicuous above 6000 feet.

One of my objectives was to see if TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE had returned and I was successful in finding just one bird. I saw the bird as I was driving but by the time I stopped it had gone. A few Pygmy-Owl toots brought it back as well as many other very annoyed birds including aggressively postured SPOTTED TOWHEE and BEWICK'S WREN.  Not great photos but included because I liked the poses. I then worked for over an hour looking for Evening Grosbeak without success.

Despite the gloom and moderate wind, Reef campground was surprisingly active around 7:30am. In short order I saw BLACK-THROATED GRAY and OLIVE WARBLERS and several HEPATIC TANAGERS along with the regular common species. I returned to the campground about 9:00am and added RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and CASSIN'S VIREO.

The most activity that I found was along the road about a mile from Reef, not far from Ramsey Vista. This is where I found the solitaire plus half a dozen BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, a pristine male TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, more OLIVE WARBLERS and HEPATIC TANAGERS and my first DARK-EYED JUNCOS of the season (Gray-headed form). Most of the species that I saw at Reef were present here too and at least 20 WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS swirled overhead.

43 species recorded in Carr Canyon (6:45-11:30am):
Red-tailed Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, White-throated Swift, Acorn & Gila Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Western Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Cassin's & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Black-throated Gray & Townsend's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Rufous-crowned, Chipping & White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos.

Saturday, October 8, 2005    
Out today with Andy Shell from Redmond, WA and Bob Pietrusiewicz from Sierra Vista, our third time birding together. We visited Sawmill and Carr Canyons in the Huachucas. It was a great day to be out weather wise (a mixture of clouds and sunshine) but the birding was slow in both locations, especially Carr, and it was a day of few species and minimal success.

The main objective in Sawmill was RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER which turned out to be a little more difficult to find than I had expected. A search of the cottonwood area was successful after about an hour -- light tapping eventually led us to a very cooperative bird. We then spent some time looking unsuccessfully for Williamson's Sapsucker. Unfortunately, it's still a little early for this location -- I have a handful of October records but they don't become reliable here until November.

Our search area was limited and we turned up less than 20 species with nothing of note seen. OLIVE WARBLER was quite vocal in a couple of locations and we saw ARIZONA WOODPECKER and a male HEPATIC TANAGER.

The main objectives in Carr Canyon were Cassin's Vireo and Eastern Bluebird. Birding was very slow in almost all locations. Only a regularly productive stand of trees just beyond Reef had a semblance of activity. In this location we heard an Eastern Bluebird and tried to track it without success. We also glimpsed a possible Cassin's Vireo in a mixed flock but that was as close as we came to either species.

Some of the same birds as Sawmill were present including ARIZONA WOODPECKER, HEPATIC TANAGER and OLIVE WARBLER. We also saw juvenile COOPER'S and adult SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT and lots of YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS.

The highlight of the day was seeing that gas has dropped to $2.74.

36 species recorded in Carr, Garden and Sawmill Canyons:
Turkey Vulture, Sharp-shinned & Cooper's Hawks, Mourning Dove, White-throated Swift, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Canyon, Bewick's Wren, House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Chipping, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows and Yellow-eyed Junco.

Sunday, October 9, 2005    
I joined the regular Sunday morning tour of Sierra Vista EOP again this morning. We were fortunate to escape the high winds that kicked in late in the morning. A small group (4) was beneficial in terms of maintaining focus on birding (what a concept). Nothing outstanding seen but an interesting visit nonetheless. Unidentified  Ground-Doves were perhaps the best birds (I have one record each for Ruddy and Common).

It's after visits such as today (with a few less common species as well as lingering and arriving species) that I'm thankful I invested the time and effort to write bar-graph software. It allows me see my records "at a glance" and put sightings into immediate perspective.

For example, although very scarce overall in SE AZ, a small group of 6 CATTLE EGRETS might even be considered "somewhat expected" at the ponds today (10 fall records straddling late September to early November with 8 in October. Although you can't do it with the online bar graphs, I can click on a species-month intersection to produce a weekly summary for all the years that I have data, as in the example below.

Similarly, 2 GREEN HERONS were in the same week as one other October sighting (same birds?). Arriving GADWALL and ROCK WREN were right on time while WHITE-FACED IBIS, TURKEY VULTURE, SWAINSON'S HAWK and WESTERN KINGBIRDS are at the end of their stay. I extended my location fall departure dates for BLUE GROSBEAK and LAZULI BUNTING.

Marsh is the predominant habitat at this location and judging by the number of birds heard, SORAS and MARSH WRENS are already quite plentiful. Even VIRGINIA RAIL numbers may have increased (at least 5 heard today). Of course, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS are abundant.

The number of raptors wasn't high but we did find 8 species including PEREGRINE FALCON -- "old faithful" was on its pole, MERLIN and a couple of COOPER'S HAWKS.

58 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP: Bar-graph
Great Blue Heron, Cattle Egret (6), Green Heron (2), White-faced Ibis (1), Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ruddy Duck (12), Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Swainson's (5) & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher (10), Spotted Sandpiper (1), Mourning Dove, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Barn Swallow, Am. Pipit, Rock & Marsh Wrens, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Savannah, Song & Lincoln's Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005   
Out today with Len and Carrie Blauwkamp from Grand Rapids, MI. On an absolutely gorgeous, blue sky fall day we visited the San Pedro and Carr Canyon without looking for anything in particular. There was a definite chill in the air when we started on the river (about 46 degrees) as the mid October cool down starts to take effect. In fact, 6 inches of snow fell in some areas of Northern AZ.

It was another "you never know" type of day for me. We started near the San Pedro House wading through the BREWER'S SPARROWS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, BLUE GROSBEAKS and LAZULI BUNTINGS. The first surprise of the day was a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE that exited from the cottonwoods and flew south -- my first sighting here. Just minutes later, a WHITE-TAILED KITE flew by and started hunting over the fields -- only my fourth record on the SPRNCA proper. Later, as we tracked an elusive CASSIN'S VIREO down on the river (eventually seen), I heard a singing HUTTON'S VIREO and we tracked that baby down -- another location first! Who'd ha' thunk it, two new location species on the same day bringing my personal San Pedro total to 220.

We spent about four hours slowly wandering around and saw a decent variety of species including GRAY HAWK (seen well, soaring), GREAT HORNED OWL (both on the less traveled east side of the river), HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (seen and heard), a male VERMILION FLYCATCHER at the big pond, several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and plenty of ABERT'S TOWHEES. Gray Hawks normally depart this location in mid October, Vermilion usually sticks around (sparsely) until the end of the month.

56 species recorded on SPRNCA (Hwy 90 area): Bar graph
Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, White-tailed Kite, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Great Horned Owl, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's & Vermilion Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Tree & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cactus, Bewick's & House Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Cassin's & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting and Red-winged Blackbird.

Carr Canyon was very quiet by comparison (although we didn't start there until noon) and we had to work hard for every species as well as settle for fleeting looks. Highlights were a half dozen BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, a couple of very elusive OLIVE WARBLERS and one female HEPATIC TANAGER. As usual, SPOTTED TOWHEES were abundant and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS common.

27 species recorded in Carr Canyon:
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Western, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Am. Robin, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow and Yellow-eyed Junco.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005   
First of two days with Geoff and Ann Jones from Norfolk, England. We birded at Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and Paton's Yard. Another beautiful, clear day ranging from the mid 40s to 80 degrees.

A leisurely session at Patagonia Lake produced a mix of resident, migrant and winter species but not much in the way of lingering summer species; 65 in all.

The mesquite area near the park entrance gate wasn't as active as in recent weeks. Nevertheless, we quickly and fairly easily picked up ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, RUFOUS-WINGED, BREWER'S & BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, PYRRHULOXIA and LAZULI BUNTING. Finally missed Varied Bunting here for the first time this season.

Activity on the water and in the marsh is picking up a little as winter approaches. No sign of Swamp Sparrow yet, despite much marsh edge scanning. Among the species noted were a single GREAT EGRET, 2 GREEN HERONS, 6 LESSER SCAUP, 3 VIRGINIA RAILS in the open at the same time (more grunting in the marsh) and several openly foraging SORAS.

The willows near the mouth of Sonoita Creek afforded a good location to enjoy the many regular GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS as well as a couple of migrant RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS. Even though the lake seems as though it should perhaps be able to support wintering sapsuckers, I only see them here as fall migrants from late September to early December, very few sightings in January and none in February. Interestingly, I've never seen a spring migrant here so perhaps the lack of leaf cover is a factor. They seem to prefer deciduous trees in migration and oaks, junipers and pines in winter.

YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were abundant in the willow area. Many ORANGE-CROWNED were also present along with at least two BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS.

Highlights were probably flycatchers although we only saw one each of GRAY, DUSKY, PACIFIC-SLOPE and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS. Less common species included OSPREY and MERLIN (a location first for me, in fact).

Kino Springs yielded the hoped for VERMILION FLYCATCHER (adult and immature males, adult female). Highlights were adult and juvenile BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, AMERICAN BITTERN and a fairly colorful male LAZULI BUNTING (most birds around at the moment seem to be females or very drab winter males). The larger pond at the club house had scads of swallows, most of which were BARN. Much scanning added TREE & VIOLET-GREEN. At the first pond we added NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and continuing GILDED FLICKER. Plenty of CASSIN'S and a couple of WESTERN KINGBIRDS remain. 42 species in all.

Marion Paton's yard was extremely quiet at 1:30pm and yielded zero birds for almost 15 minutes. Eventually, we had good looks at a soaring GRAY HAWK, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, COMMON GROUND-DOVE (no sign of the recently seen Ruddy) and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

We finished up with a brief late afternoon visit to Sierra Vista EOP, mainly to pick up SWAINSON'S HAWK. Although we did find a few, we had to settle for distant views of soaring birds. YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were abundant in the marsh.

95 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Am. Bittern, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, Northern & Gilded Flickers, Gray, Dusky, Pacific-slope, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Tree, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped & Black-throated Gray Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, October 13, 2005   
Out again today with Geoff and Ann. We visited Whitewater Draw and Pinery Canyon in the Chiricahuas. We had a good morning and a miserable afternoon. A change in the weather caused a change in plans that were in turn changed again by a flat tire.

We started by examining a large blackbird flock on Coffman Road at the south end of Sulphur Springs Valley. In decreasing order of abundance the composition was YELLOW-HEADED, BREWER'S & RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD and GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE. Most of the "trash birds" in one fell swoop!

From the same spot we observed a calling CRISSAL THRASHER perched atop a mesquite, SCALED QUAIL on a fencepost, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE on a wire, BREWER'S & VESPER SPARROWS on the ground and TREE & BARN SWALLOWS overhead. Each to its own.

We moved down the road to Whitewater Draw Wildlife area where we spent a very pleasant three hours weeding out 60+ species. Even so, I got the feeling that we still missed a bunch of species. Obviously, though, the law of diminishing return was in effect and we had to push on to greener pastures (or so I thought).

We saw the area manager counting SANDHILL CRANES that haven't arrived in numbers yet -- he counted 140, we only saw a handful. The are usually circa 25,000 present in the valley during the winter months. WESTERN MEADOWLARKS have also arrived.

Waterfowl numbers and diversity were reasonable for this early in the season. Unfortunately, as things stand, the shallow water will ultimately limit what stays around. Shorebirds were difficult to detect and identify due to a combination of distance and obstructing vegetation. We came up with 9 AVOCETS and 12 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS both seen in flight only, 1 WILSON'S SNIPE, 1 GREATER and 2 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, lots of LEAST & 1 WESTERN SANDPIPER and 4 WILSON'S PHALAROPES in flight.

Arguably the best birds were a group of 7 RUDDY GROUND-DOVES in the south willow grove. They were perched in leafless branches and we were able to get great scope views of 4 males and 3 females. This was only my third record at this location. There have been a number of reports of multiple birds present in several locations already this fall so it looks like it will be a banner year. It's worth noting that when I moved to Sierra Vista in 1993 this was still a rare bird in Arizona. Things change.

61 species recorded at Whitewater Draw:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Green Heron, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, N. Pintail, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Sandhill Crane, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Long-billed Curlew, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Western & Least Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Mourning & Inca Doves, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Great Horned Owl, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Tree & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House & Marsh Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

As things turned out, heading into the Chiricahuas wasn't a good move. Pinery Canyon isn't particularly birdy at this time of year and combined with the high winds that developed we struggled to find any birds at all. For a while it looked like we would even dip on MEXICAN CHICKADEE. We eventually found a flock a little below Onion Saddle after almost three hours of effort. During that time we saw only a dozen species!

At this point, with increasing wind, we decided to abandon birding in the mountains and head over to Willcox. Unfortunately, a flat tire foiled our plans as we reached the blacktop at the bottom of the canyon. The rental car only had a dinky spare so we called it a day and limped home to Sierra Vista at 50mph. Like I said, a good morning and a miserable afternoon. 82 species for the day.

Monday, October 17, 2005   
Back in the field today after a frustrating few days without any birding. I made a brief early morning visit to the San Pedro where it was very mild (60 degrees) under partly cloudy skies and quite fresh following some light rain just before I arrived.

Summer species continue to dwindle and I was only able to manage CASSIN'S KINGBIRD (at least 10 squabbling in one tree) and a single SUMMER TANAGER that extended my late date for this location by almost a week. Of course, sample interval plays a part.

Less common species were the continuing male WOOD DUCK, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and a female NORTHERN CARDINAL. It's perhaps not coincidental that the changes at the big pond caused by beavers (generally detrimental to passerines) have resulted in habitat attractive to migrant Wood Ducks. In a similar manner to Patagonia Lake State Park (see my notes on October 12), Red-naped Sapsucker is just a fall migrant on the river. It's also very scarce here and I average about one record per year. Northern Cardinal is also scarce at this location and doesn't show any real pattern -- possible anytime but rarely seen. I've only recorded them 28 times in 9 of the 12+ years that I've birded here.

BREWER'S & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES remain very common. Among the other migrants and/or wintering species were a singing HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, ~4 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and a fair number of LAZULI BUNTINGS.

The singing Hammond's was a little unusual. Of the three regular wintering empids, it's been my experience that Gray is the most common and sings quite often; Dusky is less common and sings occasionally; Hammond's is by far the least common and rarely sings at all. All three routinely call, of course, although Hammond's calls far less than the other two. I don't have any theories for this.

46 species recorded on SPRNCA (Hwy 90 area): Bar graph
Green Heron, Wood Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's Flycatcher, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cactus, Bewick's & House Wrens, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Loggerhead Shrike, European Starling, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Summer Tanager, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting and Eastern Meadowlark.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005   
Heavy clouds and gusty winds didn't bode well this morning and normally I would have stayed home under such conditions. However, I wanted to try a new camera that I received yesterday -- I've followed the path of many who have gone from Canon EOS-10D to 20D and now the "professional" ID Mark II. Unfortunately, due to the conditions and a paucity of birds in Sawmill Canyon, it wasn't a day of photo opportunities. Nevertheless, I was able to figure out which switches and dials to twiddle and get a feel for managing what is a behemoth of a camera. The focusing capabilities of the EOS-1D II allow me to use my image stabilized 300mm f/4 lens with a 2X extender while still maintaining auto focus. Together with the camera focal length multiplier of 1.3x, the combo gives an effective focal length of 780mm. Obviously, it's going to take some getting used to -- I'll publish my findings as I learn over time.

A couple of TURKEY VULTURES battled the wind on Fry Blvd. Another week or so and they'll be gone from Cochise County (I only have one record in November). If you desperately need to see one, head over to Nogales where you can find them all winter!

I knew it was going to be a slow day when the drive up Garden Canyon didn't even yield a Mexican Jay! Fall colors in the upper canyon are just starting to turn, limited to sycamores only at the moment. I recorded 33 species for the morning.

Today's trip to Sawmill Canyon was a minor milestone - visit #550. The road up to the canyon (currently in very bad condition in places) is responsible for many of the rattles on my vehicle, growing steadily worse with every mile. It was windy and dismal when I arrived and I didn't see the sun for over an hour. I could have gone somewhere birdier to test the camera but Sawmill beckoned.

It's about time for Williamson's Sapsucker to put in an appearance and I listened in vain in the wind in an attempt to detect my first of season (there could have been a flock tapping away and I wouldn't have heard them). I did come across one RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and several (calling) ARIZONA WOODPECKERS. A handful of PINE SISKINS were the only evidence that a changing of the guard is taking place. I normally start seeing them here by mid October, sometimes in late September.

My data shows that OLIVE WARBLERS increase in numbers from mid October to mid November and today I found as many as 6 very vocal individuals. The loose flock moved quickly and called to each other constantly as they foraged, mostly in junipers and pinyon pines. The key to locating them is to listen for their whistled "phew" calls. I followed them around for 30 minutes trying for a photo and got lots of blurry shots.

HEPATIC TANAGERS and HOUSE WRENS continue. It's interesting to note that BEWICK'S WREN'S are present year round in Sawmill but the House Wrens are only here from April-October then descend to lower elevations -- wimps!

20 species recorded in Sawmill Canyon: Bar graph
Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's & House Wrens, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's Vireo, Pine Siskin, Olive & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Hepatic Tanager, Chipping Sparrow and Yellow-eyed Junco.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005   
This morning I visited Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area at the south end of Sulphur Springs Valley. After yesterday's crappy conditions I enjoyed some great weather and decent birding. The day began a little chilly under clear skies just after sunrise then became pleasantly warm by mid morning. Best of all, zero wind.

Although SANDHILL CRANES were a little more visible today, the most that I saw at one time were approximately 250 birds in the air around 9:30am. However, even they couldn't match match the spectacle provided by at least 2000 TREE SWALLOWS perched in the marsh and flying around every which way and loose, filling the sky like insects. Seems to happen every year at this time. About 200 BARN SWALLOWS were well in the minority.

Waterfowl have increased quite a bit in the last week, particularly GREEN-WINGED TEAL (still no serious deep water for the soon-to-be-arriving diving ducks). Shorebirds were almost non existent. Lots of SORAS were vocal and easy to see; VIRGINIA RAIL was just vocal. Raptors were a little more in evidence with marauding SHARP-SHINNED & COOPER'S HAWKS scaring up passerines in the willows; a couple of NORTHERN HARRIERS working over the marshes and ponds; and a PRAIRIE FALCON streaking over the fields.

VERMILION FLYCATCHERS are normally extremely reliable here during the winter months, although today I found only two -- an adult male and a hatch year male. WESTERN KINGBIRDS were numerous within the WA boundary as well as on Coffman and Davis Roads; about 50 in all. They won't be around much longer. I didn't find any migrant empids and not much else in terms of flycatchers -- one CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, the usual BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES and scads of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS that think they're flycatchers (the most common bird in the willows around the berms).

At least 6 RUDDY GROUND-DOVES continue in the south willow grove, now joined by COMMON GROUND-DOVE. Both are decidedly scarce at this location. Also present here was CASSIN'S VIREO, perhaps the same individual that I saw twice in this location last month. For the first time this fall, I failed to find either Blue Grosbeak and Lazuli Bunting, perhaps both have now moved on. BEWICK'S WREN is very scarce at this location but mid October is when they've appeared here in previous years. Very reassuring.

62 species recorded at Whitewater Draw:
Pied-billed Grebe, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcon, Sandhill Crane (250+) , Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet (10), Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs (1), Least Sandpiper (30+), Mourning Dove, Common & Ruddy (6+) Ground-Doves, Great Horned Owl, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Tree (2000+) & Barn (200+) Swallows, Am. Pipit (10+), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Cassin's Vireo, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed Towhee, Lark Bunting (50+), Brewer's, Vesper, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Thursday, October 20, 2005   
The price of gas has limited my visits to Patagonia Lake of late. However, with gas now at $2.53 in Sierra Vista I made the investment this morning  A beautifully clear and calm start to the day (45 degrees when I left town) turned into a fairly warm morning at the lake. The birding seemed very slow at times but I managed a decent tally by the time I'd had enough at 11:00am.

I haven't seen a hard-to-see-once-they've-stopped-singing CASSIN'S SPARROW for a couple of weeks now, so the individual that I saw perched on a fence wire along the entrance road was a pleasant surprise. The bird was chipping away and glaring at me until I reached for the camera.

I started at the west (deep) end of the lake hoping for something good on the water. I saw lots of fishing boats. Conditions were delightful about 30 minutes after sunrise and bird activity was very high (it didn't last long though). I photographed GILA WOODPECKER and SAY'S PHOEBE, two very cooperative individuals.

There was a small yet noticeable shift to "winter" mode on the lake with a couple of EARED and a single WESTERN GREBE, a pair of REDHEADS, over 20 RING-NECKED DUCKS (mostly immatures) and plenty of RUDDY DUCKS. A couple of BELTED KINGFISHERS rattled their disgust each time they were disturbed by a fisherman. The usual herons were present but once again I didn't come across any cormorants. I haven't seen the normally reliable Neotropic Cormorants in the last 12 visits (4 in August, 5 in September and 3 so far this month). Weird.

Apart from SPOTTED SANDPIPER (regularly present except in summer and seen today), shorebirds are few and far between at the lake. A single GREATER YELLOWLEGS was only my second record and made for a rare two shorebird day!

I was surprised by the lack of activity when I started my walk on the trail at the east end of the lake. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and flycatchers were the most visible birds. I counted at least 6 GRAY, 3 DUSKY and a single ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. Perhaps not surprising since bugs sure were plentiful.

I worked the marsh edge looking for my first-of-season Swamp Sparrow without success (mid October is my earliest sighting date at the lake). Interestingly, I saw only one LINCOLN'S SPARROW, a species that is currently very plentiful on the San Pedro. MARSH WRENS were common and very chatty but certainly not forthcoming in the "look at me" department (despite lots of patience). SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL were far more cooperative.

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were easy to see (in double figures) and I also came across a few BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS. Orange-crowned is a fairly common migrant and many stay for the winter. Black-throated Gray is a common breeder (not at the lake) but is much harder to come across in winter.

Highlight of the morning was a latish WESTERN TANAGER (I'm easily pleased). I have two other October records at the lake but this was the latest as well as my latest for SE AZ (previously October 18 in multiple years and locations). Every day I find a new number for something. Published data shows them present into early November with a few scattered winter records. I've just gotta get out more.

65 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park: Bar graph
Pied-billed (4), Eared (2) & Western (1) Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret (1), Black-crowned Night-Heron (1), Cinnamon Teal, Redhead (2), Ring-necked Duck (20), Ruddy Duck, Cooper's Hawk (3), Virginia Rail (5+), Sora (10+), Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Greater Yellowlegs (1), Spotted Sandpiper (1), Mourning Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gray (6+), Dusky (3+) & Ash-throated (1) Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Rock, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Orange-crowned (10+), Yellow-rumped & Black-throated Gray (3) Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager (1), Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Cassin's, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.
 

Photo Notes: Due to a stupid mistake, I didn't learn much more about the performance of various lens/extender combinations with the EOS-1D II. As yesterday, I started out using the 300mm/2X then switched to the 100-400mm/1.4X. Unfortunately, I failed to check the various switches and it wasn't until I got home that I realized the Image Stabilizer switch was in the off position! Oh dear, or words to that effect. Consequently, I didn't learn anything from the images in terms of under/over exposure and chromatic aberration since nothing was in focus. The only image that I was able to salvage (Virginia Rail) wasn't useful in that regard. On the plus side, I was very pleased with the auto focus acquisition speed of the 100-400mm with the 1.4X. Performance was much better with the EOS-1D than it was with the 20D using 100-400mm alone, without an extender. The big-assed battery that weighs a ton seems to be performing well. Although I haven't taken many photos yet, I've used the menus a lot and reviewed images in the monitor far more than normal and the display still shows maximum.

Friday, October 21, 2005   
I spent a very pleasant four hours on the San Pedro this morning. The weather simply couldn't have been much better -- filtered sunshine through high, thin clouds with zero wind and a temperature ranging from 52-82 degrees between 7:00 and 11:00am. The birding was also good and I saw a number of less common species.

I began near the San Pedro House wading through the abundant sparrows and towhees and was surprised to see an adult male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. Although it's certainly far from uncommon to see fall migrant Rufous lingering into the winter months, most are females and immature males. A delightful bird and a good start to my morning.

I was looking for candidates to do some camera testing and settled on HOUSE SPARROW, a bird that I've never photographed before! Try as I did I couldn't get birds perched in optimum locations but I eventually managed usable images of male and female.

LINCOLN'S & BREWER'S SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES remain very common. ABERT'S TOWHEES were also very vocal and conspicuous today. Among the other species near the San Pedro House were SHARP-SHINNED and COOPER'S HAWKS (sparrows=food!),  PYRRHULOXIA and LAZULI BUNTING (about 10 total throughout the morning).

At Kingfisher Pond I found that the population of WOOD DUCKS has doubled -- two cracking males are now present. I worked the pond for 30 minutes or so and turned up a couple of GREEN HERONS, a MERLIN squabbling with a COOPER'S HAWK, a noisy BELTED KINGFISHER that was hard to miss, a beautiful male VERMILION FLYCATCHER, several CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS and various flavors of sparrows and towhees.

I moved on to the small (Black Phoebe) pond which turned out to be very productive. A fleeting glimpse of what was probably a Moorhen (seen by Pete Sockness) prompted me to hang around to see if it reappeared (it didn't). However, I did find an EASTERN PHOEBE perched next to a BLACK PHOEBE with a SAY'S PHOEBE perched atop a nearby tree. It's not that rare to have a three phoebe day in SE AZ during fall/winter/spring (after you get the Eastern, of course!). Just for the hell of it I checked my records. I have 45 records for Eastern Phoebe in Arizona ranging from September through March. On 38 occasions I also saw the other two phoebes. Useless trivia. However, prior to today I'd never seen them all in the same spot. I couldn't quite manage all three in the same binocular view -- I'll make that my next quest in life.

There was a GREEN HERON present at the pond and I just about managed to sneak up without spooking the bird. While photographing the heron, I heard tapping that led me to a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. Unfortunately, I wasn't as stealthy trying to sneak up on the bird as I was with the heron and away it went. Just as I was cursing my poor maneuvering skills, a female ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD discovered the sapsucker's sapwells and proceeded to partake of its ill gotten gains. As we all know, timing is everything. Before leaving the pond, I tracked down a singing CASSIN'S VIREO high in a cottonwood.

I returned to Kingfisher Pond via Garden Wash where I picked up CRISSAL THRASHER. I spooked all the ducks as I walked along the overgrown trail on the east side of the pond but as luck would have it up popped male and female INDIGO BUNTINGS (more good timing). This was my latest fall record in SE AZ (previously two birds at Patagonia Lake on October 17, 2003).

I then walked north along the river picking up a calling HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and a calling TOWNSEND'S WARBLER that turned out to be an adult male. Townsend's is not a common riparian migrant and this was my first on the river in fall (14 spring records, all but one in May). Next, I heard one, possibly two more singing CASSIN'S VIREOS and a couple of singing HUTTON'S VIREOS in the exact same location they were on a recent visit (a location first for me on that occasion).

As I tracked the vireos, I stumbled across a calling LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH (one has wintered here in recent years so perhaps it's the same bird). Location was where the river takes a 45 degree jog to the west a couple hundred yards north of Kingfisher Pond (the river also forks here, although the east fork soon peters out).

A pretty good morning.

58 species recorded on SPRNCA (Hwy 90 area): Bar graph
Green Heron, Wood Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Merlin, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's & Vermilion Flycatchers, Eastern, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's & House Wrens, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Cassin's & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped & Townsend's Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli & Indigo Buntings, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, October 23, 2005   
Super conditions at Sierra Vista EOP this morning for the regular Sunday outing. Not a cloud in the sky nor a breath of wind; 68-79 degrees from 7:45-10:30am. Unfortunately, the birding couldn't even come close to matching the weather and could best be described as mediocre. Definitely a slow day at the office. Oh for a gull or a decent shorebird. Not even a friggin' Killdeer.

Having said that, I did pick up a new location species (#192) -- EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE on a wire in the east fields. I guess it was just a matter of time.

Highlights: MERLIN (possible richardsonii) and PEREGRINE FALCON.

Less common species were 1-GREAT BLUE  & 2-GREEN HERONS, ROCK WREN, LESSER GOLDFINCH & PYRRHULOXIA.

WESTERN KINGBIRDS were plentiful, perhaps a last hurrah for the season.

Great views of the now quite yellow aspens on the north face of Carr Peak in the Huachucas.

50 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP: Bar-graph
Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Pintail, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Black & Say's Phoebes, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Tree & Barn Swallows, Rock & Marsh Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Vesper, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, October 24, 2005   
If yesterday was a slow day at the office, today definitely qualified as a slow day and a bad day. I decided to visit Carr Canyon to enjoy the early fall colors and some solitude. As it turned out, so did many other people. I expected an empty campground at Reef and zero traffic on the mountain. Not a chance -- so much for solitude. However, the worst thing was that my new EOS-1D camera developed a problem and I had to ship it back to Canon later in the day. The only upside to my day was that I did enjoy some very nice views of the changing aspens. Fall color viewing will be better next month when other trees change color.

The day began well as I drove up Carr Canyon road and encountered a beautiful adult male SCOTT'S ORIOLE. The bird was perched atop an oak in the early morning sunlight, singing to boot. This is a species that overwinters in small numbers in southeast Arizona. Oddly, though, I've seen them from January through October but never in November and December. Today's bird was my latest October sighting.

I started birding in the vicinity of Reef Campground where the views of the aspens high up near Carr Peak were magnificent. I saw a number of regular species including many ACORN WOODPECKERS, a single RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, NORTHERN FLICKER, scads of RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS & BEWICK'S WRENS, a handful of HERMIT THRUSHES & AMERICAN ROBINS, 6+ WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, 6+ BROWN CREEPERS, HUTTON'S VIREO, at least 6 OLIVE-WARBLERS (including a super crisp adult male) and many SPOTTED TOWHEES & YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS.
 

Photo Notes: Before the demise of the EOS-1D, I shot 50 or so images with 300mm lens and 2X extender. For most shots, I tried to get sharper images by using aperture mode with the lens wide open to ensure the fastest possible shutter speed. Even wide open, the aperture is only f/8  (lens is f/4 with two stops lost due to the extender). I used ISO 400 except for the woodpecker. Generally, I was encouraged in that I was able to obtain sharper final results than I did when using "P" mode since I first started using the camera last week. Note that the 1D is the same 8.2 megapixels as the 20D that I've been using for the past year; so it's the lenses, shooting parameters and technique that will determine my results. None of the images published above were taken from really close range and illustrate the value of using the 2X extender. The camera problem developed when I decided to shoot fall colors and needed to install a small lens that I rarely use. Somewhere in the changeover, something went wrong with optics and I see only a small circle in the viewfinder instead of a full rectangular image (no matter which lens I use). The camera still focuses and produces proper images. I spoke with Canon technical support with no resolution and the camera had to be shipped back. Damn, I've had some bad luck with camera equipment recently.

 

Thursday, October 27, 2005   
Conditions were clear, calm and seasonably chilly on the San Pedro at 7:30am this morning. Thin clouds, a light breeze and low 70s prevailed by 10:00am. Species diversity and numbers were much reduced compared to my last visit 6 days ago.

I started near the San Pedro House where the best bird was a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE just to the west of the house. I almost stepped on the damn thing! LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES continue in decent numbers. A GREAT BLUE-HERON was perched at the top of the largest cottonwood.

At Kingfisher Pond I found a number of continuing species including GREEN HERON, 2 male WOOD DUCKS, a juvenile COMMON MOORHEN and an adult male VERMILION FLYCATCHER. I also saw BELTED KINGFISHER, CRISSAL THRASHER and a surprise MARSH WREN. Although Marsh Wrens have wintered here routinely every year, I didn't expect to see them here this year due to the absence of marshy habitat.

Species that I found along the river trail included a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER being harassed by GILA WOODPECKERS, a calling and very active HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, presumably the same two HUTTON'S VIREOS that I've seen twice recently, a few LAZULI BUNTINGS and at least 2 each ORANGE-CROWNED & WILSON'S WARBLERS.

By my records, Wilson's is only a migrant along the San Pedro -- I've never seen one here in winter. Today's bird was my latest fall record for this location by a fair margin (previously October 6).

Orange-crowned is a common migrant and is also fairly easily found in winter -- in some locations. I did a comparison of my sightings at Patagonia Lake versus the San Pedro. I considered all dates from August through May (the time frame when one might routinely expect to see them in lowland SE AZ locations) and found a marked discrepancy between the two locations. During the 10 month time frame for all years that I have data, I've seen Orange crowned 200 times in 381 visits (52%) at Patagonia Lake and only 31 times in 511 visits (6%) on the San Pedro. I think this is due to the fact that the vegetation at Patagonia Lake is much greener than on the San Pedro in winter and there are plenty of seep willows present to keep the warblers happy.

45 species recorded on SPRNCA (Hwy 90 area): Bar graph
Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's Flycatcher, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cactus, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, White-breasted Nuthatch, European Starling, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Brewer's, Vesper, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia and Lazuli Bunting.

During a quick stop at Sierra Vista EOP on my way home, I saw a small flock of 10 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS -- my first at this location this season, a little later than normal.

Sunday, October 30, 2005   
My birding at Sierra Vista EOP is largely perfunctory these days. Despite the decline in habitat and birds, I feel compelled to keep on collecting data here (something I've done since October 1993). Most visits are quite routine with very little to get excited about. However, today's regular Sunday morning outing was one of the better days. The weather certainly cooperated and it was another clear blue sky day with zero wind. The low angle, in-your-face sun sure felt warmer than the mid 70s air temperature. I recorded 49 species; the group list may have been a couple more.

Highlights of a four falcon morning (missed Gyr) were the spectacular aerial displays provided by a MERLIN and two PEREGRINE FALCONS (juvenile female and adult male). The Merlin flashed by us several times, swooping almost straight upwards after passing over the marsh. We watched one Peregrine snatch a duck in mid air then have to release it as it started to lose altitude. Later, two Peregrines called loudly as they interacted in the air near the viewing platform. Definitely worth the price of admission. AMERICAN KESTREL and PRAIRIE FALCON were seen perched.

Singletons of CATTLE EGRET and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE were of note A quick glance at the bar-graph will show that both are rare but regular.

Shorebirds put on a dazzling display and we saw a whopping two species -- SPOTTED and LEAST SANDPIPERS (one of each!).

Duck numbers continue to increase and most species seen today were well represented. Exceptions were a couple of RUDDY DUCKS and ~20 RING-NECKED DUCKS.

Multiple SORAS and VIRGINIA RAILS called from the marsh with the former seen. SAVANNAH and VESPER SPARROWS continue common.

In addition to the Egret and Goose, less common species for this location were COMMON RAVEN and LESSER GOLDFINCH.

A couple of WESTERN KINGBIRDS continue, perhaps just for a day or two. WESTERN MEADOWLARKS are at the other end of the time spectrum.

49 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP: Bar-graph
Cattle Egret, Greater White-fronted Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Pintail, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie & Peregrine Falcons, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Spotted & Least Sandpipers, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Black & Say's Phoebes, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Marsh Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Vesper, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, October 30, 2005

Species List

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

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