Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - December, 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 Friday, December 30, 2005

Thursday, December 1, 2005   
The first day of December was another glorious day. Temperatures have bounced back from the cold snap earlier in the week -- after a mild start the afternoon high in Sierra Vista today was in the 70s. I spent a few hours on the San Pedro where the birding couldn't match the weather, unless you're into LBJs (scads of those). I walked my standard winter route: south on Del Valle Road, east down Garden Wash and north along the river

Highlights were a CASSIN'S SPARROW on Del Valle Road and the continuing male VERMILION FLYCATCHER at Kingfisher pond, both of which were new location birds for me on the San Pedro in December. I've mentioned before how Cassin's Sparrows seem to have much more visibility this year and I've recorded them 7 times since they stopped singing in September (twice in October, 4 times in November and today). I actually managed to photograph the sparrow but, unfortunately, the image quality was "documentary" only. As for the flycatcher, I've always thought that we should have them at Kingfisher pond in winter and perhaps this year we will.

I invested 15 minutes at Black Phoebe Pond without sight or sound of Green Kingfisher. The most interesting bird here was a single LARK BUNTING, a species that is generally fairly uncommon, almost rare, on the river. Usually, when I see them here it's near the San Pedro House. GREEN HERON was one of the usual suspects.

Compared to recent visits, Kingfisher Pond had far less waterfowl activity. However, a very striking male CANVASBACK and the Vermilion made up for the lack of diversity.

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES were much more conspicuous than normal today and I saw at least 6 of them. You might say that I shruck out twice (groan). GREEN-TAILED and ABERT'S TOWHEES continue very common and simply can't be missed (famous last words).

It may be December 1 but this CACTUS WREN was busy gathering nesting material at the San Pedro House (or perhaps enhancing an old nest for a roost site). I tried unsuccessfully to shoot the bird as it entered and left its nest in a Cholla. However, I was very pleased with this image of the bird in a somewhat pensive pose, perhaps looking for divine guidance about what to do next. I've always wondered how on earth these (and similar) desert birds avoid getting stabbed by the nasty vegetation in which they dwell, especially since they land quickly without any (apparent) consideration for the danger that lies there. Look at the way the bird's claws are positioned -- and it landed in an instant! Glad I'm not a Cactus Wren. Fascinating stuff.

40 species recorded on SPRNCA (Hwy 90 area): Bar graph
Green Heron, Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, N. Harrier, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cactus & House Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees,  Lark Bunting, Cassin's, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Song , Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia and Red-winged Blackbird.

PEREGRINE FALCON was the only bird of note during a brief stop at Sierra Vista EOP on my way home. 20 species recorded.

Friday, December 2, 2005 
I postponed a routine visit to Sawmill Canyon earlier in the week due to the cold weather. Today I ran out of excuses and made the trek up that rocky road once more, knowing full well that very few birds were in my immediate future. Now that the colder weather has arrived, only the hardy residents and wintering species are present in the higher elevation locations.

The day began quite mild with just a few high clouds (50 degrees when I left town) and the temperature climbed to 75 degrees by midday. Even though I crunched some icy puddles in upper Garden Canyon (great fun), it was definitely a case of "sweaterless in Sawmill". Unfortunately, fairly windy conditions soon developed which made my quest for woodpeckers that much more difficult.

I consider myself blessed if I manage 20 species in the canyon at this time of year and I just topped that today with 21. Disappointingly though, I failed to find Williamson's Sapsucker. Highlights were a flock of (10+) WILD TURKEYS, (2) ARIZONA & (2) HAIRY WOODPECKERS, (1) RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, (10) PINE SISKINS and (2) OLIVE WARBLERS.

All things considered, I think that Hairy Woodpecker should be designated as rare in Sawmill. Even though I've seen them here in every month except November, I've only recorded them in 7 of the last 12 years. They are fairly common higher up the mountain and today's birds may have moved down due to the recent cold weather. Yellow-rumps are always a good indicator of conditions at this elevation -- they normally bail from Sawmill by mid December and I didn't see any today.

The Olive Warblers were foraging with a mixed flock of kinglets, titmice, nuthatches and vireos. They can just about be called permanent residents in the canyon since I do have a few records in December and January. However, many of the birds that stay for the winter move lower and out of their preferred habitat zone.

Seeing MOURNING DOVES in the canyon in winter always puzzles me. In fact, most of my sightings are from the winter months, especially January and February. Fact is stranger than fiction.

38 species recorded:
Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-naped Sapsucker, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Canyon Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Chipping, Vesper, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed & Pink-sided) & Yellow-eyed Juncos and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, December 3, 2005 
Out today with Andy Shell from Redmond, WA and Bob Pietrusiewicz from Sierra Vista, our fourth time birding together. We worked the southern end of the Sulphur Springs Valley and enjoyed a considerable measure of success by locating 6 of  7 potential target species (missed Mountain Plover). Another great day to be outside -- mild early under partly cloudy skies and pleasantly warm by late morning. Just as yesterday, the wind picked up by midday.

We started on Coffman Road just after sunrise by watching the SANDHILL CRANES departing from Whitewater Draw. I was expecting to work a little for CRISSAL THRASHER but we soon found a very cooperative individual then another bird later on Bagby Road. I also expected to put in some time for SAGE THRASHER (without a strong chance of success) and it did take a while. However, we eventually found a distant bird in the scrub on Lee Road.

During the search we also turned up GREATER ROADRUNNER, SCALED QUAIL, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, an immature male VERMILION FLYCATCHER, 3 BENDIRE'S THRASHERS, some calling fly-by CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS and a large flock of LARK BUNTINGS.

The best bird of the morning came as we returned on Coffman Road. Although SAGE SPARROW usually winters in low numbers in the valley, this species is not really reliable in any specific location (although there are a few places where they are semi-regular). Today we just happened to stop on Coffman in the right place at the right time and I heard a bird giving its tick calls that are similar to BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, also present in the same location. We enjoyed a scope view of the bird out in the mesquite as well as a much closer view perched on a fence wire.

We moved on to check the fields on Davis and on Central for Mountain Plovers. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep the momentum going and lots of scanning didn't pay dividends. The middle field of the three fields on Central (north of Davis) has decent habitat and was loaded with KILLDEER, always a good sign when looking for plovers. Many AMERICAN PIPITS and HORNED LARKS worked the fields along with a couple of FERRUGINOUS HAWKS. My earliest plover sighting in this area was on this day (December 3, 2001) and this particular field should be checked in the coming days and weeks. We didn't check the Essary Hay fields north of Elfrida.

Our next destination was the Granite foothills where we found both hoped for species -- BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW (great looks at a couple of birds and BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER (unfortunately, heard only). As I've mentioned before, this is a very interesting location although the activity today was lower than I had hoped. A male SHARP-SHINNED HAWK may have been the culprit. Exceptions were abundant BLACK-THROATED & BREWER'S SPARROWS.

On the way home we checked Noble Road hoping for another Sage Thrasher and found PRAIRIE FALCON.

50 species recorded:
N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Scaled Quail, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cactus & Rock Wrens, Northern Mockingbird, Sage, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, House Finch, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Lark Bunting, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Black-throated, Sage & White-crowned Sparrows, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, December 6, 2005 
This morning I visited Willcox after a failed attempt to visit there yesterday (I had a flat tire in my driveway and didn't fancy changing it in the dark with the temperature in the 20s). It was cold again this morning (25 degrees when I left town) and continued brisk and sunny throughout the morning. The birding at Willcox Ponds was slow but steady and always interesting. I chipped away for three hours and managed to tally almost 60 species despite missing some "easy" birds (no such thing, really). Not bad for this location in December and well worth the time and cost of the two hour round trip drive.

Highlights were (6) SNOW GEESE including two Blue Phase, (2) ROSS'S GEESE, (1) male GREATER SCAUP, (3) female COMMON GOLDENEYES (my 184th species at this location) and a ROCK WREN (only my 2nd record here).

Interestingly, the geese (present yesterday) were not present during my first pass around the main pond a little after 8:00am but were present later at 10:30am. I was unable to find any of the three species of gulls seen yesterday despite checking all the small temporal ponds (four ponds were iced over) as well as the nearby sewage ponds. That flat tire cost me in more ways than one.

Raptors were hard to come by at first but I ended up with (3) NORTHERN HARRIERS (including two silver-gray males), a juvenile COOPER'S HAWK, just one RED-TAILED HAWK, one MERLIN (probable columbarius) and one PRAIRIE FALCON.

Except for fairly numerous KILLDEER, shorebirds were even harder to come by and I saw only (3) WILSON'S SNIPE around the margin of the golf course pond and one LEAST SANDPIPER.

Ducks were not particularly common (other than SHOVELERS and WIGEON). Best of the bunch were about 20 smart looking CANVASBACKS, a few REDHEADS and LESSER SCAUP and (4) female BUFFLEHEADS on the golf course pond. I scanned the large Wigeon flock feeding on the grass but couldn't pick out the hybrid Eurasian x American.

BREWER'S SPARROWS (in the 100s) were far and away the most common sparrow with SAVANNAH being the next most common. I saw very few WHITE-CROWNED but one was a very crisp "black-lored" adult.

Most of the sparrow activity was along the southern edge of the golf course. By walking west along the fence line I found a wet, grassy area with a couple of hundred HORNED LARKS, at least 30 LARK BUNTINGS and around 30 flighty CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS (calling often as they swirled around). The longspurs are regular here in October and November then seem to thin out during the winter months.

The city dump along the road north of the golf course is usually good for quail and I found a large group (30ish) of SCALED QUAIL and a couple of GAMBEL'S along with lots of BREWER'S SPARROWS and more LARK BUNTINGS.

A good morning that I managed to spoil by watching Chelsea and Liverpool serve up a dull 0-0 draw.

57 species recorded at Willcox Ponds from 8:00-11:15am:
(2) Pied-billed & (3) Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, (6) Snow & (2) Ross's Geese, (100s) Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, (20) Canvasback, (4) Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, (1) Greater & (6) Lesser Scaup, (3) Common Goldeneye, (4) Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, (30) Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Sandhill Crane, Am. Coot, Killdeer, (3) Wilson's Snipe, (1) Least Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black & Say's Phoebes, (200+) Horned Lark, Rock & Marsh Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat, (50+) Lark Bunting, (100s) Brewer's, Vesper, (30) Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, (30+) Chestnut-collared Longspur, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, (2) Brewer's Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, December 7, 2005 
This morning I played hooky from my normal routine (no, I didn't have a brain fart and head up to Phoenix). I spent about 4 hours in the lower section of Garden Canyon divided equally between mesquite-grassland and oak habitats. As you might expect at this time of year, the mesquite-grassland had the most species diversity and numbers of individuals. However, the best bird came in the oaks.

Despite the presence of an adult female COOPER'S HAWK, adult male SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and a probable (based on size) immature male columbarius MERLIN, the fishing ponds had a tremendous number of sparrows, probably well over 1000. I watched one area of flattened grass near the gravel pit pond that didn't appear to have any birds at all. Without warning, wave after wave of (mostly VESPER) sparrows took flight out of the grass at five second intervals. Quite an education. That was just the tip of the iceberg. BREWER'S SPARROWS were abundant in the mesquite with CHIPPING and WHITE-CROWNED not far behind. Throw in a few LINCOLN'S, SAVANNAH and RUFOUS-CROWNED for good measure with CASSIN'S SPARROW being the star of the show. I continue to stumble into Cassin's.

The Merlin shot isn't particularly good because I was too far away but I'm including the image because of the what the bird is doing with its foot. What's up with that? After seeing the bird chasing sparrows earlier, I happened upon it perched atop a snag. I "stalked" the bird -- snap, walk closer, snap, etc., until a hiker came along and off went the bird before my routine was complete. Gosh darn it. I think the bird is an immature male based solely on size (it was very small). Unfortunately, you can't see the tail bands in this image, the color of which would confirm the id.

About 30 species at the fishing ponds including LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, BLACK PHOEBE, PHAINOPEPLA, LESSER GOLDFINCH, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. I checked every goldfinch that I found for Lawrence's to no avail. I also sifted through tons of sparrows looking for Clay-colored, Golden-crowned, etc. Again, I was unsuccessful.

The mesquite habitat along the back roads accessible from the main Garden Canyon road had plenty of mistletoe munchers including 20+ PHAINOPELAS, 3-4 MOCKINGBIRDS and a small flock (12ish) of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS just below the lower picnic area. PINE SISKINS were also in this area.

I walked the interior trail from the lower to middle picnic areas and came across the typical seasonal species -- titmice, kinglets, nuthatches, creepers, juncos, etc. HERMIT THRUSHES were very common feeding on (not very plentiful) Madrone berries. Surprisingly, I only came across one RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER.

I checked each BRIDLED TITMOUSE flock that I encountered and eventually found a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. At this point, I fully believed that I had found the best bird of the morning. However, just when I thought I had another Black-throated Gray, I realized it was a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. I watched the bird creeping along the branches and followed it for about 10 minutes trying to get a photo. I got a very poor shot that is just about documentary (thumbnail image). Although this species is probably one of the most common "rare eastern warblers" that occur in SE AZ, it was only my 6th record in the state (three on the San Pedro, two at Patagonia Lake). It was also a first for me in Garden Canyon (#202) and a first in the Huachucas (#231). Every day a new number for something.

Driving back down Garden Canyon, I came across a perched GREATER ROADRUNNER that didn't move even when I reversed. Gotcha! The bird stared back at me for about 30 seconds before eventually dropping into the grass.

Another good morning that I spoiled (just like yesterday) by watching a very poor Manchester United get dumped out of the European Champions League competition by Benfica. I'm giving up soccer watching (until Saturday!).

50 species recorded:
Sharp-shinned, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Bewick's Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Black-throated Gray & Black-and-white Warblers, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Savannah, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed & Pink-sided) Junco, Pyrrhuloxia and Eastern & Western Meadowlarks.

Thursday, December 8, 2005 
This morning I visited the San Pedro where I walked a shortened version of my regular loop route (a bus load of noisy school kids were on the river so I skipped much of my usual river walk). I probably missed at least 5 species because of that which resulted in a low species total (although ducks on the icy Kingfisher and Black Phoebe ponds were mostly absent). Sunny and mild after a chilly start.

The area around the San Pedro House was alive with birds, mostly sparrows and towhees. In short order I saw a juvenile COOPER'S HAWK (that I inadvertently flushed from the grass), several WHITE-WINGED DOVES, numerous GREEN-TAILED, CANYON and ABERT'S TOWHEES, lots of LINCOLN'S & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and a few PYRRHULOXIAS. Compare today's hatch year female image to the adult female image taken on November 1. Note the still darkish bill and lack of red around the eye on today's bird. Tip: the easiest way to compare is to first click the "P" link above, then click the "adult female" link to display that image, then click the link for today's bird in the December Photo Links list. The image will appear in a suitably sized window that you can conveniently position. By the way, following on from my comments on December 1 about birds perching in nasty, prickly stuff, Pyrrhuloxias are another species in this category. Makes me cringe to think how a slight error in judgment could be extremely painful!

Highlight of my morning was a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW on the north side of the road that parallels Garden Wash, about midway between Del Valle Road and the trail to Black Phoebe Pond. This was only my third record on the SPRNCA and my first in December. The other two birds (seen in October and November in different years) were immature birds; today's bird was an adult. Since they are so scarce here, I'm guessing that the habitat probably isn't grassy enough for them. Conversely, the mixed grass, mesquite and tumbleweed habitat was teeming with BREWER'S and VESPER SPARROWS with a few BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS sprinkled here and there (they are more common in the scrubby habitat along the Del Valle Road). 

I saw almost nothing at Black Phoebe pond, just a few sparrows around the periphery. Ditto that at Kingfisher pond, just a couple of heron species and a small group of SHOVELERS.

A single WILSON'S SNIPE on the river at the end of the SPH trail represented a very uncommon sighting (9 of my 17 records are in December and January). Those 17 records have been scattered over 7 of the 13 years that I've birded here, which gives you an idea of how thin on the ground they are at this location.

A fairly routine and unexciting day.

43 species recorded on SPRNCA (Hwy 90 area): Bar graph
Great Blue & Green Herons, Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's & House Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Grasshopper, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia and Red-winged Blackbird.

Friday, December 9, 2005 
I had a slight dilemma this morning since I wanted to visit both Sulphur Springs Valley and Patagonia Lake. I need data for the valley more than the lake so that's where I eventually decided to go. Even then, I was still undecided how to start -- scan for plovers, cruise for thrashers or do some general birding at Whitewater Draw. I chose to start with the plovers because, even on a cold day, mid morning heat haze can be a significant problem when scanning at ground level over distance. Even when present, under less than optimum viewing conditions one could easily fail to find the plovers so I like to give myself every chance to be successful. There's more to this birding stuff than meets the eye you know, you've gotta have a plan! Of course, you can still fail with the best of plans but at least you won't be second guessing yourself.

By recent standards, it was a balmy 33 degrees on French Fry Blvd. around 6:00am this morning. It was a mostly cloudy day and the filtered sunshine didn't really have an impact until 10:00am.The mid afternoon temperature in town was about 60 degrees.

Thirty minutes of scanning for plovers starting at first light left me feeling chilled to the bone (winter mornings in the valley are always much colder than in Sierra Vista).  However, I did get my reward by finding a handful of MOUNTAIN PLOVERS in the field that I last checked (unsuccessfully) on December 3. On that day, I noted that the habitat was good so it was just a matter of time before the plovers showed up. It's interesting to note that they almost always appear on the Santa Cruz flats north of Tucson before arriving in the valley. Today, the birds were in the southwest quadrant of the field to the west of the irrigation rig, quite some distance from my Central Highway viewing location.

There was plenty to keep me occupied as I scanned back and forth. At least (6) FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were scattered around either sitting on poles, the irrigation rig, or on the ground. However, even these regal looking raptors were overshadowed by a majestic adult BALD EAGLE sitting on the ground in the middle of the field. Not a bad start to my morning. After about 15 minutes I was certain that I had glimpsed a plover but then I could only find KILLDEER for the next 15 minutes until I eventually picked out (5) MOUNTAIN PLOVERS. Good deal. Other stuff included untold numbers of swirling HORNED LARKS, AMERICAN PIPITS and SAVANNAH SPARROWS, ~50 LARK BUNTINGS, EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS feeding side by side plus the usual KESTRELS, HARRIERS and RED-TAILS. Several EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were perched on wires of the properties on the east side of Central. Reporting on these birds is now almost as superfluous as reporting on Mourning Doves.

I moved on to cruise for thrashers (happy to be in the car with the heater cranked up). Amazingly, after finding 4 species of thrashers last Saturday, I didn't find a single thrasher today despite working the same roads plus a few more. However, Coffman Road did produce a surprising (4) SAGE SPARROWS just feeding in the dirt in the middle of the road. Most years I'm lucky if I see one or two Sage Sparrows in the valley all winter. Further north they are much more common and can be seen in large groups.

Next, I spent about 3 hours working the ponds and willows at Whitewater Draw and managed just shy of 60 species. The highlight of my time here was another (or perhaps the same) adult BALD EAGLE scattering the ducks hither and yon as it made multiple fly-bys north and south, pausing on the same perches at each end of the draw on each pass.

I also got a kick out of watching a PRAIRIE FALCON chasing a small bird that dove into a willow for refuge. The falcon didn't give up easily -- it actually hovered above the willow and made several ungainly and unsuccessful diving attempts before deciding to call it quits. I don't think I've ever seen a falcon exhibit this behavior before. I guess it was hungry.

Waterfowl were fairly plentiful. As usual, SHOVELERS were most numerous and I counted over (100) PINTAIL and (50) CINNAMON TEAL. A few CANVASBACKS and REDHEADS were present along with (2) BUFFLEHEADS. The only goose that I saw was a single (and distant) CANADA GOOSE. No gulls, a couple of PIED-BILLED and one continuing EARED GREBE that has been around for a month. The only shorebirds noted were KILLDEER, LEAST SANDPIPER and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER.

It sure is nice to see a colorful VERMILION FLYCATCHER on a cold December morning. I saw two adult males, an immature male and an adult female. Why these little guys choose to spend the winter at such a cold place I'll never know. Little birds foraging in the willows (rapidly loosing their leaves) included VERDIN, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. A couple of SWAMP SPARROWS worked the edge of the marsh where VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA occasionally called. I watched a male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT walking around on the ice, pecking away at something. Hardy birds one and all.

Less common species for this location were FLICKER, BEWICK'S WREN and ABERT'S TOWHEE. The towhees first appeared here about three years ago and I've seen them sporadically every since. Certainly not often enough to indicate they have taken up residence here, but enough to conclude that some range expansion has occurred.

Definitely a better day than yesterday.

65 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Scaled Quail, Sandhill Crane, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, Long-billed Dowitcher, Least Sandpiper, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Lark Bunting, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Sage, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's & Red-winged Blackbirds.

Monday, December 12, 2005 
Grungy weather caused me to abandon my plans to visit the mountains this morning. Significant cloud cover and light rain didn't seem like the right conditions for a visit to Carr Canyon so I made a rare weekday jaunt to Sierra Vista EOP. I've given up on the Sunday tours so my visits from now on will be few and far between. It was quite windy on the viewing platform and I was happy for the clouds that had kept the overnight temperature reasonable. I spent several hours working various vantage points including the little strip of habitat along the highway 90 frontage and the pines and weedy habitat along the east perimeter on Moson Road.

Bar far the best bird was a very cooperative BENDIRE'S THRASHER. This is a fairly scarce species in the immediate Sierra Vista area and only my 6th record at the EOP as I approach 900 visits. The bird was in exactly the same location that I've seen them on five previous occasions in four different years (four in December, one in January). If I spent more time and effort looking here, perhaps I would find them more often.

On a four falcon day, I was privileged to witness some aggressive interaction between the regular PEREGRINE FALCON and somewhat less regular PRAIRIE FALCON as they clashed aerially over the west field. The Peregrine zoomed out of my view while the Prairie landed on an irrigation rig, looking nervously over its shoulder several times as if to say "damn, where'd that guy go?". I also watched a MERLIN flash over the marsh and snatch a sparrow or Yellow-rump in mid air. Male and female NORTHERN HARRIERS behaved much less than friendly to each other.

In addition to the thrasher, other less common species included COMMON MOORHEN (18 records) walking high up in marsh vegetation; LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER (35 records) & GILA WOODPECKER (2 records) both in the Hwy 90 frontage strip; and a pair (two birds at least) of COMMON RAVENS alongside the regular CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS.

Best ducks were a couple of female LESSER SCAUP. The only shorebird noted was a single LEAST SANDPIPER (although I didn't have any access to any potential shorebird habitat). Both SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL were very vocal in the marshes.

LARK BUNTINGS, BREWER'S & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS numbered 50+ each.

41 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP:
Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie & Peregrine Falcons, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Least Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Marsh Wren, Bendire's Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Bunting, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Savannah, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Sunshine returned today after a couple of cloudy days and there was just a touch of frost when I left the house. Just as on Monday, my plan was to head to Carr Canyon. Little did I know what lay ahead. Even though I actually made it to the canyon, circumstances conspired against me and I didn't get to do any birding there. As I neared the 7000 feet level, I encountered a couple who had spent a cold night on the mountain in their vehicle due to a dead battery. I didn't have any jumper cables (but will tomorrow, something I've been meaning to buy for ages!) so I ran them back into town.

Rather than turn around and drive back again, I decided to spend some time in lower Garden Canyon as I did exactly one week ago today. I started at the fishing ponds and couldn't believe the difference in sparrow activity level compared to last week, barely a sparrow to be seen. I took a couple marginal photographs (marginal due to distance) of a juvenile NORTHERN HARRIER in flight and an AMERICAN WIGEON, one of five on the gravel pit pond. Ducks are not exactly plentiful in the canyon and this was only my 6th record of Wigeon here.

SAY'S PHOEBES, PHAINOPEPLAS and MOCKINGBIRDS were all common and conspicuous in the mesquite-grassland.

I spent a fair amount of time working the oaks from the lower to middle picnic areas. I looked unsuccessfully for the Black-and-White Warbler that I came across last week. Woodpeckers were the highlights of my morning and I had great looks at a male ARIZONA WOODPECKER high in a sycamore; and three RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS.

A slow day at the office.

33 species recorded in Garden Canyon:
Am. Wigeon, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Acorn, Gila & Arizona Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Green-tailed Towhee, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Vesper, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed (pink-sided) Junco and Pyrrhuloxia.

Thursday, December 15, 2005
High clouds returned today and after a moderately chilly start the day warmed into the mid 50s. I  made a routine visit to the San Pedro where the birding could best be described as "slow and steady". I managed to find a few less common species among a total of 50 species.

Despite their apparent population explosion in AZ this fall, RUDDY GROUND-DOVE was probably the best bird. A single male was in the company of COMMON GROUND-DOVES in Garden Wash about 200 yards west of the river.

After missing LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH on the last couple of visits, today I was able to locate the bird thanks to its loud call. Initially, I found it foraging close to the river bank perhaps 0.25m south of where the San Pedro House trail drops down to the river. I stayed with the bird as it moved upstream, eventually ending up within 100 yards or so of where the riverside trail begins. I was able to get a "documentary quality only" photo.

Sparrows and towhees were plentiful (lots of individuals of 14 species) with the pick of the bunch being SWAMP SPARROW at the southeast corner of Kingfisher pond and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at Black Phoebe pond where the trail from Garden Wash drops down to the pond in the northeast corner.

Other species included WHITE-WINGED DOVES in the cottonwoods at the San Pedro House, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER along the river and VERMILION FLYCATCHER at Kingfisher Pond (perhaps the bird will hang around during the winter).

During a brief stop at Sierra Vista EOP on the way back to town, I was able to relocate what is presumably the same BENDIRE'S THRASHER that I saw here on Monday. I recorded ~30 species including several LESSER SCAUP, PEREGRINE FALCON, GREATER ROADRUNNER and a small flock of HORNED LARKS.

65 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Hammond's & Vermilion Flycatchers, Horned Lark, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cactus, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, Bendire's & Curve-billed Thrashers, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned & White-throated Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, December 16, 2005
I postponed a visit to Patagonia lake today. As I've mentioned many times, it's tough to do routine grunt work when there are rarities present and lots of birders looking for them. I birded in Santa Cruz County starting at Kino Springs shortly after sunrise then moved on to Peña Blanca Lake. My plan was to continue on to Green Valley and Madera Canyon then loop back via Box Canyon. Unfortunately, the day got away from me and I ended up driving home the short way with a stop at Palo Duro Golf Course. Early conditions were very calm under clear skies with the temperature around the freezing mark. Wind was a factor by late morning.

I spent the first couple of hours at Kino Springs working the first pond and associated habitat  (37 species) and about the same amount of time near the club house (47 species). Birding was very productive and I recorded a total of 64 species. On this my 306th visit, I was pleased to find a couple of new location species bringing my Kino Springs total to 209 species.

The weedy area north of the first pond was teeming with sparrows, almost all of which were WHITE-CROWNED and BREWER'S SPARROWS. I sifted through them for almost 30 minutes without finding anything else until my fatigued arms and eyes said enough already! After watching the birds munching seeds (like the Brewer's in the photo), I'm sure glad that I'm not a sparrow -- not very appetizing fare.

The pond was loaded with GADWALL and I almost overlooked 3 similarly colored female plumaged HOODED MERGANSERS, only my second record at Kino and always a decent bird in southeast Arizona. GILDED FLICKER has been very reliable in the cottonwoods south of  pond this year and I saw one again today.

[Documentary quality photo added 12/27/2005. Initially, I thought all three mergansers were females but now I believe that the pictured individual is probably an immature male. I'm basing this mostly on the upper breast (immediately below the neck) which is much whiter than any female would show; and perhaps a hint of white developing in the crest. Immature male Hooded Mergansers hold female like plumage for a whole year.]

A couple of incidents showed that birds can be just as mean as people. I watched one of the abundant LARK SPARROWS deliberately bump a BREWER'S SPARROW and a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE do exactly the same to a RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. In both cases, there was a treefull of branches where the incoming birds could have landed.

I worked the west wash looking for Rufous-winged Sparrow, a species that I haven't found here in winter. CRISSAL THRASHER, GRAY FLYCATCHER and lots of GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES were some consolation.

As I parked at the club house, a ROCK WREN on the sidewalk was incongruous (they are uncommon but regular on the nearby hillsides). I walked around the pond and kicked up SPOTTED SANDPIPER and 3 WILSON'S SNIPE. Several PINE SISKINS fed in the weeds as did a handful of female LARK BUNTINGS, my first new location species of the day.

After checking around the sewage pond (almost devoid of birds now that the weedy habitat has been completely cleared out), I returned to the club house and witnessed an amazing scene. I saw probably 12 INCA DOVES and 10 RUDDY GROUND-DOVES on the lawn, even walking on the black top! I also saw them perched on the fence near the large tanks and rummaging in the leaf litter. The birds were oblivious to cars, golf carts and golf course workers but as soon as I attempted to get closer for a photo (in sidle mode), they dispersed PDQ. They certainly recognized stalking behavior. Eventually, I managed a fairly compromised shot near the tanks. This was also a new location species and the highest number of RUGDs that I've seen in one place (20 odd were seen in Maricopa County recently).

After the doves flushed, I attempted to follow them and startled a colorful male NORTHERN CARDINAL that just about paused long enough as it looked askance at me.

Perhaps due to a combination of wind and time of day, birding at Peña Blanca Lake was not as productive as my morning session at Kino. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the solitude and saw a few interesting birds even though I only rustled up 30 species in 90 minutes. The boat launch road is often a good location for HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and I saw one almost as soon as I stepped out of the car, followed in short order by GRAY FLYCATCHER and BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES.

After a fruitless COMMON MOORHEN stalking exercise, I worked the interior grassy area of oaks and cottonwoods. I found 5 species of wrens within yards of each other, including this splendidly posed CANYON WREN. The bird assumed this position for about 30 seconds, bobbing its head and body as they always do. All I had to do was press the shutter at precisely the right moment!  Most of my photos are average at best due to either poor light, obscuring twigs, crappy backgrounds, poor poses or being too far away. If I had nothing else to do but take photos and could spend hours on a bird, I would probably do much better. Nevertheless, I occasionally get some good shots and rarely an excellent shot. This is probably one of the best shots that I've ever taken. The bird was close, well positioned without obstructions, the background was distant and nicely out of focus and the light was almost perfect. One of those "Murphy gets screwed moments" that are to be treasured.

If you can't find a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER here in winter it's time to sell your optics and take up stamp collecting. I was dreaming of penny blacks until I finally redeemed myself with three of the buggers in quick succession.

I returned to do battle with the Moorhens again -- they are so much more skittish than the coots that were almost at my feet. I couldn't get an image of an adult with a super bright red bill and had to settle for this COMMON MOORHEN in a rather dark area.

Back in Nogales, my time at Palo Duro Golf Course was extremely frustrating. I saw a distant large flock of AMERICAN WIGEON and one small white goose that I knew had to be a ROSS'S GOOSE based on size alone. Access here is quite limited and I struggled through some very rough weeds (getting severely scratched) to find a closer vantage point. Just as I was ready to raise my glasses, along came two golf carts and off went the flock, goose and all. Gosh darn it. I figured out where to go to see them in the new location and headed off in that direction (more scratches!). Would you believe it, the friggin' golfers did it again. After about 15 minutes of this nonsense, I was finally able to see the goose well enough to confirm its id. That's 15 minutes of my life that I won't get back.

I noted about 25 species including WILSON'S SNIPE, my only VERMILION FLYCATCHER of the day, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. I tried for rails (in excellent habitat) without success.

BLACK and TURKEY VULTURES were in Nogales as I headed home.

I stopped at Las Cienegas and didn't see a single bird because of the wind. A disappointing end to an otherwise excellent day.

82 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Ross's Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Black & Turkey Vultures, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & Inca Doves, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, Northern & Gilded Flickers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Hammond's, Gray & Vermilion Flycatchers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon &, Abert's Towhees, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005
This morning I made a routine visit to Sawmill Canyon. Another beautiful (almost official now) "winter" morning -- bright sunshine, very mild, just a slight nip in the air as I left town. The temperature was considerably less when I reached sawmill with icy puddles and frost on the grass. Quite brutal (grin) until 10:30am when I was able to shed sweater and long pants.

Initial activity in Sawmill was very low and for 30 minutes or so the only noise came from a Border Patrol helicopter and a large flock of MEXICAN JAYS that seemed very annoyed I'd invaded their space. I hung in for three hours and eventually rustled up 20 species which is actually an excellent total for a December day in this location. To give the number some perspective, here are some stats for December in Sawmill over the past 12 years:

Average species per visit:           13
Lowest daily total:                        5
Highest daily total                       21 (Dec 4, 2002 and Dec 2, 2005)
Highest cumulative December     25 (2005, this December and I've only made 2 visits!)
December 12 year cumulative     40

As you can see, today's species count was just one shy of the record daily high and the month to date of 25 species is a record (previously 24 in a couple of years). The conclusion is obvious: don't go to Sawmill in December if you're looking to see lots of birds.

It took me about two hours to locate a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER (a regular winter quarry in Sawmill) and a further 30 minutes of cat and mouse stalking before I was finally satisfied by a good sighting. After first hearing the bird's light tapping, I tried to sneak up quietly -- something that is almost impossible to do when walking on a carpet of pine needles, cones and fallen tree branches. The bird would either go quiet when it heard me or fly to another tree. Fortunately, the bird really didn't want to leave a long established (and annual) sap well tree that was providing lots of the runny stuff, glistening in the bright sun. Consequently, it was just a matter of time.

I was shocked to see a HOUSE WREN, a regular breeder that should long since have headed down the mountain (very common at low elevations in winter). This was a first for me here in December and prior to this year I hadn't seen one after October 8. Also of note were a few MONTEZUMA QUAIL, uncommon in Sawmill and another December location first for me (I guess I need to get out more). Other less common species in the canyon at this time of year were MOURNING DOVE, ACORN WOODPECKER and OLIVE WARBLER (3-4 birds). Regulars included (4) ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, a small flock of PINE SISKINS and lots of twittering BUSHTITS, completely fearless and almost landing on me as I stood still waiting for the sapsucker to reappear.

PHAINOPELAS and MOCKINGBIRDS continue common around the mistletoe clumps in lower Garden Canyon. I also noted a small flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. 

40 species recorded:
Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Montezuma Quail, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Acorn, Gila & Arizona Woodpeckers, Williamson's Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Western Bluebird, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive Warbler, Chipping, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005
I had very little time available for birding today and I only managed a token visit to that hotbed of birding activity called Sierra Vista EOP. A splendid blue sky day for the first day of winter with a temperature in the low 70s in Sierra Vista (all those in the northern tier states can take revenge in June as we gasp for a breath of cool air).

Best birds were PEREGRINE and PRAIRIE FALCONS, both perched for long periods providing excellent views.

<soapbox>I was dismayed to find that the weedy habitat where I found hundreds of sparrows and Bendire's Thrasher a couple of times last week has been burned away. Kudos once again to the City of Sierra Vista. When I was chiphead geek in a Silicon Valley we had a saying "don't polish terds" which in this case translates to "don't try to beautify a friggin' sewage pond". The city purports to be environmentally friendly yet they have removed trees and continue to destroy habitat on a regular basis.</soapbox>

32 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP:
Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Prairie & Peregrine Falcons, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Black & Say's Phoebes, Horned Lark, Marsh Wren, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Vesper, Savannah, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, December 22, 2005
Today I visited Patagonia Lake State Park, a place that I've neglected of late even though it's one of my favorite birding locations. From a birding standpoint, the lake is now firmly in winter mode but you certainly wouldn't know it was winter from a weather standpoint. Although it was nippy enough for gloves down by the water at 7:30am, the temperature was at least 75 degrees when I left at 1:15pm. Birding was excellent.

I spent the first hour at the west end of the lake and was delighted to see that a BALD EAGLE is back for another winter (first reported earlier this week). The bird was perched atop a cottonwood at the far west end of the lake (I think the bird roosts in this location). Lots of COMMON MERGANSERS were scattered about the lake. I typically see anywhere from 30-40 of them on most visits in winter; the highest I've seen here is 75. Today I figured about 35. I was pleased to find a male BUFFLEHEAD, always a delight to see. EARED GREBES were plentiful. A noisy BELTED KINGFISHER made its presence felt.

COMMON MOORHENS (mostly juveniles) were very common along the marsh edge (also at the east end of the lake). The visitor center feeders were all empty and I saw very few birds in this area save for flocks of INCA and WHITE-WINGED DOVES. A few SPOTTED SANDPIPERS were at Boulder Beach.

As I started along Sonoita Creek Trail at 8:45am, almost the first bird I saw was a female (or very dull male) RUDDY GROUND-DOVE virtually on the path near the bench. I almost stepped on the bird since I was intent on looking for gnatcatchers that were calling nearby. BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS were everywhere that I looked in this area along with a few BLACK-CHINNED & BREWER'S SPARROWS and a calling RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

It didn't take me long to track down a couple of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS with the latter being more numerous. Both species were seen between the bench and bottom of the steps where the trail drops to lake level at the mouth of the first wash. An ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was present here in a hackberry tree, one of many flycatchers that I would eventually see throughout the morning.

I spent the next 45 minutes or so slowly working along the edge of the marsh, primarily looking for SWAMP SPARROW. Amazingly, since they are relatively common this year, I saw only one. However, a SNOWY EGRET more than made up for that (photo is documentary quality). This is is species that I've seen less than annually at the lake and it was a December location first. It was also a photo first, hence the sub standard image. I spent some time with this SORA (image #2) hoping to give it enough rope to hang itself. I was wearing wellies so I was able to squelch into the mud and just wait for the bird to venture forth. Not far from the Sora was a small flock of GREEN-WINGED TEAL which always seem super skittish to me. This was the first male that I've ever managed to photograph.

GRAY FLYCATCHERS were active and vocal along the edge of the mesquite bosque and by the time I reach the willow forest I had counted at least 10 of them. DUSKY and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS prefer the willows at the mouth of and along the creek and I saw 6 and 2 of these species respectively. By far the best bird of the day also came near the mouth of the creek -- PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER. As soon I as saw the bird I figured it was a "Western Flycatcher" because of the yellow breast and belly, bright green back and lemon colored eye ring. My first thought was "damn, how am I going to figure out which one it is?" I followed the bird around trying to get a photograph until, in another Murphy gets screwed moment, the bird began to call, solving my problem.

There are a few winter records for Pacific-slope (a migrant in SE AZ) but none that I am aware of for Cordilleran, a common breeder in SE AZ and the other half of  "Western flycatcher". I've seen Pacific-slope in November but this was my first December record and another photo first, good deal! However, I later realized that I should have recorded the bird rather than photograph it, since the voice is diagnostic whereas the image isn't. I don't carry any fancy recording equipment but the micro-recorder that I use to keep track of birds would have been more than adequate in this case. I live and learn (hopefully).

A female VERMILION FLYCATCHER also near the mouth of the creek was another December first for me at the lake. This is an extremely common breeder here but they seem to prefer small ponds in winter. I was able to pick out a male GREATER SCAUP by scanning from this location. LARK SPARROWS and AMERICAN PIPITS were hard to miss.

I spent almost two hours walking (or rather sloshing) along the creek. This was largely misspent time since I added very little to my overall tally for the day. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS were super common.  ROCK and CANYON WRENS called from the slopes but I didn't come across the Winter Wren (perhaps the same individual that has wintered along the creek before). Ditto for Elegant Trogon and Louisiana Waterthrush. Other birds along the creek included WILSON'S SNIPE, many GILA and a few LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, the aforementioned DUSKY and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, god knows how many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

A very productive morning. When I consider all the birds that I didn't see that I know were present, plus some strong possibilities, 100 species wouldn't have been out of the question with some tenacity and good fortune. For example, I didn't see either Cormorant, big grebes, Great Egret, Green Heron, Cinnamon Teal, Lesser Scaup, Canvasback, Redhead, Northern Harrier, Cooper's and Red-tailed Hawks, Virginia Rail, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, Hutton's Vireo, Rufous-winged and Vesper Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark or any of the rarities. Amazing.

80 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park from 7:30am-1:15pm:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Bald Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher. Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's, Gray, Dusky, Pacific-slope, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Hermit Thrush, Blue-gray & Black-capped Gnatcatchers, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Common Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, December 24, 2005
This morning I checked Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David then continued on to Willcox ponds. Another glorious day to contend with, very mild to start warming to 70+ by midday with just a few high clouds. I often listen to Spanish language radio stations as I drive around -- it's a good way to learn with plenty of repetition. Pero, si tengo que escuchar "Feliz Navidad" una vez mas...! Damn, that song is annoying.

Although I rarely see anything special at the Monastery, I always enjoy birding here. My normal routine of visiting a small number of locations 100s and 100s of times tends to make me complacent. Actually, complacent is too strong a word, but it's certainly easy to get lulled into thinking that I will only be seeing regular species over and over again (and, of course, that's usually the case). However, failure to expected the unexpected is bound to lead to missing something special on occasion. Back to St. David -- I've birded here often enough to know how to bird the area, but not often enough that it doesn't seem fresh. It's said that a change is as good as rest, but I hardly think so.

I was hoping to confirm that a Lewis's Woodpecker has returned for another winter but was unsuccessful in that endeavor. Among the species that I saw over 90 minutes were EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, AMERICAN PIPIT, GREEN-TAILED & ABERT'S TOWHEES, SWAMP SPARROW and NORTHERN CARDINAL. I first saw Collared-Doves here in 2003; today they were almost as common as the wintering White-wings. Best bird was probably the Swamp Sparrow that responded to my pishing, only my 2nd record here.  I haven't seen the "ever present" Wood Duck with the injured wing in the last 10 visits. Either the bird recovered and flew away, it died, or I've simply missed it 10 times!

PHAINOPEPLAS were common in the mistletoe festooned mesquites along Sybil Road (the shortcut from St. David to I-10 if heading east).

Willcox already had a languid feel when I arrived there at 10:15am. I wish I had the power to be everywhere first thing in the morning. I drove the entire length of the entrance road without seeing a single bird! In fact, the first bird that I saw was this EASTERN MEADOWLARK perched at the corner of the main pond as I started my first pass. They normally skedaddle quickly but this bird let me get out of the car and approach to within 30 feet before bailing.

Waterfowl weren't particularly abundant on the main pond and only 17 COMMON MERGANSERS (all males), 6 CANADA GEESE and a single RING-BILLED GULL were of note. Fifteen minutes worth of scanning a flock of ~150 HORNED LARKS drinking and bathing in the temporal pond at the west end of the main pond didn't produce a longspur of any flavor.

Undeterred, I turned my attention to Wigeon over at the golf course. Despite conditions in my favor, it was a case of no cigar once again -- no success at all locating the Eurasian Wigeon sighted a couple of times recently. Golfers were out in force which turned out to be a good thing. The large flock of Wigeon were concentrated in the temporal pond southwest of the golf course pond instead of out feeding on the grass. A single ROSS'S GOOSE was hanging out with the flock.

The birds were fairly well scattered and static so scanning was *relatively* easy. I spent almost an hour repeatedly sifting through approximately 350 birds. I had no trouble at all finding the hybrid EURASIAN x AMERICAN WIGEON. Perhaps this is the same bird that has wintered here since at least 2001 (actually, I have hybrid records going back to 1998). The particular individual that I saw today has a richly colored chestnut head; some gray on the back (although not as gray as a pure Eurasian); and the tell-tale hybrid give away -- pinkish-brown flanks instead of gray.

With bleary eyes I said enough of this nonsense and resumed birding around the golf course pond. I took a minute to photograph a winter male RUDDY DUCK. Although I have decent breeding plumage photos, until today I didn't have a winter photo. Note that this bird is just starting to get some ruddy color on the flanks as well as some black on the head. Other birds here included VIRGINIA RAIL, WILSON'S SNIPE and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER (the only shorebirds that I noted apart from KILLDEER).

I left at 12:15pm just as several hundred SANDHILL CRANES arrived and began circling overhead.

67 species recorded (37 @ Monastery, 35 @ Willcox):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Ross's Goose, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Sandhill Crane, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Long-billed Dowitcher, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Brewer's, Vesper, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, December 25, 2005
I spent Christmas morning at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area along with a fair number of other people (although most didn't get there as early as I did). It was pretty mild when I left Sierra Vista so I was surprised at how cold it was down by the water. Same old story though, I was able to get rid of sweater, long pants and gloves by 10:00am and it was 75 degrees on Fry Blvd. at noon.

A cold looking BENDIRE'S THRASHER greeted me near the entrance - the only thrasher that I saw all morning. NORTHERN HARRIERS were very much in evidence as I got started with perhaps as many as 10 working the entire area. Other raptors included a few RED-TAILS, COOPER'S HAWK (see below), great looks at a PRAIRIE FALCON streaking past the south observation platform and a couple of KESTRELS.

I've said this before but I'm baffled why VERMILION FLYCATCHERS choose to spend the winter here. At least 3 were present today along with the usual BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES. Obviously, they're all making a living and I've noted in the past (with trogons wintering in the mountains in snow and ice) that the presence of food outweighs cold conditions.

VIRGINIA RAILS and SORAS called from the marsh. MARSH WRENS, SONG and SAVANNAH SPARROWS were all common but I dipped on Swamp Sparrow. I also failed to find any herons. A few KILLDEER and 4 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were the only shorebirds noted.

A complete lack of geese kyboshed a White Christmas and a couple of RING-BILLED GULLS were the closest that I came. Of course, SANDHILL CRANES numbered in the thousands so I suppose the sight and sound of that spectacle was more than enough compensation. Waterfowl were fairly numerous but the lack of deep water was evidenced by the almost complete absence of deep water divers.

Even though I get out most days, I see something new every day. Most days, such occurrences are trivial enough not to warrant a mention. Not so today. I was scanning the ducks when I became aware of a decent sized bird approaching me from behind. The bird turned out to be a ROCK PIGEON, in itself a scarce species within the wildlife area boundary (only my second record here). I was amazed by what happened next -- the bird circled over the water, made a couple of half-hearted dive attempts then landed on the water. Anyone viewing from a long distance could easily have mistaken it for a gull with its bulky body and upright posture. The pigeon then proceeded to take an item of (presumably) food out of the water and headed back to land again. Fact is stranger than fiction. Although someone out there reading this may have witnessed such an event, for me it was certainly a first.

While birding in the south willow grove, I came across a juvenile COOPER'S HAWK that simply didn't want to move. I'll warn you ahead of time that this image is bigger than my standard publishing size in terms of pixels (712 x 1068) and file size (140K) in order to do it justice. You will likely have to scroll to see it all. The image is not cropped, just scaled down from the 2336 x 3504 original. The problem was that I was too close to the bird and had to use the vertical mode of the camera to get it in the frame (the 1D body has vertical mode controls to facilitate this). When I backed away, twigs obscured my view. Moving in to avoid the twigs meant that I was too close. I was crunching leaves and twigs the whole time and the bird just stared at me (who is this dork). I finally had to lie on the ground to get the shot. Had I known the bird wasn't going anywhere in a hurry, I could have had a sandwich and cup of coffee, removed the 2X converter and still got the shot. The exception that proves the rule.

AMERICAN PIPITS and HORNED LARKS were both extremely common on the mud flats. A single fly-by CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR was somewhat unusual (not often that just one is seen in winter). Less common species were NORTHERN FLICKER and BEWICK'S WREN (hanging with 4 HOUSE WRENS).

56 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Pintail, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Scaled Quail, Sandhill Crane, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes Vermilion Flycatcher, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Cactus, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's Thrasher, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Back in the barrel today after watching a slew of English Premier League games on Boxing Day. They'll last me until, well, Wednesday when there's a bunch more. For the 99.99 percent of my audience not familiar with English culture (now there's an oxymoron), soccer is a big deal over the Christmas-New Year period with lots of games in a short period of time.

Being back in the barrel meant a trip to Sawmill Canyon where it was sunny, chilly and unfortunately, windy. Not exactly ideal conditions to search for woodpeckers. Nevertheless, I did okay.

Before moving on to today's birds, let me first mention that I've added a couple of documentary photos from recent days: HOODED MERGANSER at Kino Springs on December 16 and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH on the San Pedro on December 15. I believe the pictured merganser is an immature male, not a female as I had originally thought (see notes for Dec 16).

In addition to the wind noise, for the second visit in a row I had the noise of a Border Patrol helicopter and lots of Mexican Jays to contend with as well. To say I was frustrated doesn't even come close to describing how I felt. No choice but to persevere. ARIZONA WOODPECKERS (8+) and NORTHERN FLICKERS (6+) were very conspicuous today and I even saw (2) HAIRY WOODPECKERS (see my notes for Dec 2 regarding the occurrence Hairy Woodpeckers in Sawmill). Obviously, there was plenty of tapping going on with all of the the above and the jays so I followed lots of dead end leads before finding one each of RED-NAPED and WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS. At this point, I considered my efforts worthwhile and the journey up the rocky road justified.

Less common species in the canyon were:
RED-TAILED HAWK (two, soaring) -- seen almost every year but only two records per year. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH -- has nested; a few records this year are the first since 1998. CHIPPING SPARROW -- fairly common fall transient. Normally long gone to lower elevations by this date. OREGON JUNCO -- the least common race of wintering junco. They always arrive in Sawmill significantly later than Gray-headed and Pink-sided.

At least two OLIVE WARBLERS remain. 19 species in all. Sawmill bar-graph.

41 species recorded:
Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, Gila, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive Warbler, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed & Oregon) & Yellow-eyed Juncos, Brewer's Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, December 29, 2005    
This morning I birded on the San Pedro along with quite a few other folks, obviously a popular destination during this holiday period. Another sunny and unseasonably warm day. The birding was about what might be expected at this time of year, although I did see a few less common species. Several flavors of sparrows and towhees were very common.

After a few minutes around the San Pedro House, I headed directly to Kingfisher Pond where I saw very little in the way of ducks (or anything else for that matter). This was perhaps due to a couple of fisherman or higher than normal visitation, who knows. I moved on to Black Phoebe Pond and spent a frustrating hour trying to track an EASTERN PHOEBE. I lost the bird when it moved to the smaller ponds south of Black Phoebe Pond. This could well be the same bird that I saw here on October 21. Yet another 3 phoebe day. Maybe I can set a (meaningless) record for the most 3 phoebe days (currently at 40).

I didn't see GREEN KINGFISHER during my time at Black Phoebe pond but I did see the bird around noon at Kingfisher Pond, thanks to a couple of  birders who told me they had just seen the bird. Disappointingly though, I didn't see the wintering male Vermilion Flycatcher, a bird I had hoped to confirm was still around today (reported yesterday).

Other less common (but regular) species for this location were (2) HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS (seen) and (1) DUSKY FLYCATCHER (heard) along the river trail; a calling CRISSAL THRASHER, (2) SWAMP SPARROWS, a single LARK BUNTING and a few WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

44 species recorded in approx 4 hours on SPRNCA: (Hwy 90 area): Bar graph
Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Belted & Green Kingfishers, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's & Dusky Flycatchers, Eastern, Black & Say's Phoebes, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's & House Wrens, Crissal Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Western Meadowlark.

Friday, December 30, 2005
After a couple of failed attempts earlier this month (12 - weather, 14 - Samaritan work), I was determined to make Carr Canyon my final birding destination of 2005. The weather was absolutely perfect -- bright sunshine, an enjoyable crispness to the air early on, and completely calm conditions until late morning breezes began. A slightly cooler day than of late -- 68 degrees with increasing clouds by mid afternoon. I spent most of my time in the vicinity of Reef with a brief check of Ramsey Vista. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to hit the Comfort Spring trail. I was able to find silence and solitude in abundance, at least until the crack of noon people started to appear. Pristine views to boot.

Birds? Well, this isn't the place for lots of species at this time of year so I wasn't expecting much. Even taking that into consideration, I was disappointed by the lack of finches and frugivorous species. There's been a paucity of reports of birds such as Cassin's Finch and Townsend's Solitaire so far this season. I didn't even see a Robin and Carr is usually loaded with them. On the plus side, I did well on woodpeckers and found one surprise.

Okay, I won't keep you in suspense -- GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET was the bird of the morning. Do I hear BFD? Although uncommon in some of the SE AZ mountain ranges and quite common further north, in my opinion they are very rare in the Huachucas. Rick Taylor's "Location Checklist to the Birds of the Huachuca Mountains & the Upper San Pedro River" (1995) lists them as rare 11/1-3/31 in the mountains, casual on the river. The very old (1981) "Birds of Fort Huachuca" states "uncommon to rare winter visitor". Based on my results, I'd have to say that both publications are optimistic. Obviously, abundance levels are open to interpretation so I'll just say that today's sighting was only my 4th record in the Huachucas; just one record on the San Pedro in the past 13 years. I've seen a few sporadic reports by others over the years. I haven't looked it up, but I'll bet your bottom dollar that they haven't been recorded on too many Sierra Vista area CBCs, certainly none that I participated in during the 90s.

Surprisingly, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was the only jay that I saw above 7000 feet. Normally, they are just edged out in abundance by Steller's Jay in this crossover habitat zone. Today, however, Scrubs were unusually common yet I didn't see nor hear a single Steller's. Other common species were ACORN WOODPECKER, NORTHERN FLICKER (mostly feeding on the ground), HERMIT THRUSH, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, SPOTTED TOWHEE and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

I had to work for the less common woodpeckers but I was eventually successful in locating (2) HAIRY & (2) ARIZONA WOODPECKERS and (1) WILLIAMSON'S & (3) RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS. The calm and quiet listening conditions sure made a welcome change.

(8) OLIVE WARBLERS were more than I expected and they well outnumbered YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, a species that tends not to hang around at high elevation in winter. Most of the Olive Warblers were adult males, you know, the cracking "orange-headed" jobs.

Although I could certainly have used more species, this was a very pleasant morning to finish up my birding year.

29 species recorded in Carr Canyon:
Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Acorn, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, N. Flicker, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Phainopepla, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Hermit Thrush, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive & Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow and Dark-eyed (Gray-headed & Pink-sided) and Yellow-eyed Juncos,
 

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

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

Species List

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

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