Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 2006 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 Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Thursday, February 2, 2006   
I've added photos from the recent CA trip to the journal for January 19 and 20.

After a couple of days under the weather, I was out today with Hal Snyder from Wilmington, DE. On a beautiful, blue sky day (70+ degrees in the afternoon), we looped through Santa Cruz County with visits to Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Madera Canyon and Box Canyon. We had an excellent day looking for a few target species as well as enjoying everything that we encountered.

I met Hal in Sonoita where we lingered a few minutes to track down 10 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES feeding on the ground. They have been present here for a few years and are now firmly established in this little community.

Lots of birders at Patagonia Lake this morning as snowbird season approaches its peak (I think March is the best/worst time). I was actually chastised twice for talking too loud. Maybe those folks will remember the moment when they are hard of hearing and trying to listen to a guide explain a bird to them, as I was doing. As an ear birder I understand their frustration, however, I have to do my job and my loyalty is always to my clients. Believe me, I know when it is important to shut up!

Although we only spent a short time looking at the lake just before leaving, highlights for me all came on the water in the form of three handsome males -- GREATER SCAUP (35/6), COMMON GOLDENEYE (24/4) and, especially, HOODED MERGANSER (2/2). All of these species are rare in SE AZ. The numbers represent my sightings at Patagonia Lake and the years that I have seen them here. Other species on the water included a few EARED GREBES, CINNAMON TEAL and NEOTROPIC CORMORANT (a species that has been AWOL for a while).

A lone TREE SWALLOW was a sure sign that spring isn't too far away. They typically return in early February and sometimes in January (I have January records in each week).

Sparrows were the "family of the day" with 11 species seen (15 if you count towhees and junco). Compared to my last visit, BLACK-CHINNED and RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS were both relatively easy to find today (the latter singing spontaneously). A very aggressive RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW put on a good show.

GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES continue quite common, particularly on the hillside above the bench where a calling BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER eliminated itself from pursuit. We caught up with a BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER near the saddle between 2nd and 3rd washes. We also found a pair at the mouth of Nutting's Wash, loosely associated with a BRIDLED TITMOUSE flock and a HUTTON'S VIREO (deja vu all over again). Somewhat surprisingly, we didn't complete the trifecta with a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a species that is much more common than "normal" at the state park this winter.

Other than GRAY FLYCATCHER (many hard-to-miss birds present), flycatchers weren't particularly conspicuous. The PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER that I first found on December 22 is still present -- this yellowish bird really stands out from the drabber DUSKY FLYCATCHER. We didn't walk along the creek upstream from the split to look for the trogon.

Other species from 62 recorded included the regular flock of WHITE-WINGED DOVES, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, a few vocal ABERT'S TOWHEES and a small flock of WESTERN MEADOWLARKS that are uncommon here from January to March and not present every year.

There was an unusual twist to our brief stop at Kino Springs -- INCA DOVE was the target and not Ruddy Ground-Dove. Just as well because we didn't see the Ruddies and had to work to find the Incas! We had great looks at a PEREGRINE FALCON circling over the club house and I think I saw 7 Ruddy Ground-Dove's worth of feathers hanging from its mouth. GREAT EGRET, VERMILION FLYCATCHER and ROCK WREN were among the species seen in passing.

The area around Santa Rita Lodge produced feeder moochers like MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD (a beautiful male), ACORN WOODPECKER, MEXICAN JAY, LESSER GOLDFINCH and PINE SISKIN. We had to work a little in the canyon to find a female ARIZONA WOODPECKER and a cracking male TOWNSEND'S WARBLER.

The east side of Box Canyon Road was fairly quiet in the heat of the afternoon. A stop for CANYON WREN in rocky habitat just before the saddle produced great looks at a fairly cooperative bird. The lower elevation grassland section on the west side was loaded with sparrows but we didn't have time to stop and check them.

A good day to get my February birding underway.

90 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Hooded & Common Mergansers, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Magnificent Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gray, Dusky, Pacific-slope & Vermilion Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Black-tailed & Black-capped Gnatcatchers, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped & Townsend's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed (Pink-sided & Gray-headed) Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, February 4, 2006   
Out today with Douglas and Judith Haggar from Anchorage, AK. When we set up this day last month, the plan was to visit Patagonia Lake State Park. However, with the sighting of a Brown-chested Martin there on Friday plus the crowd experience from Thursday still fresh in my mind, I offered Douglas the chance to go somewhere else. We decided to proceed as planned and initially, at least, I think the rarity worked in our favor since everybody and his uncle was at the west end of the lake and the east end trails were relatively free early in the morning. Not so later on as more and more people bailed out from looking for the bird (which was apparently not seen by anyone). If accepted, it would be a first state record for Arizona; and some low number for the U.S. I'm sure.

We spent a leisurely and enjoyable 5 hours at Patagonia Lake despite the presence of more birders than I've ever seen here before. Its not often that I record more birders at the lake than birds (56 species today).  A mild start to the day and very warm by 12:30pm when we left.

Highlights of three gnatcatcher species were a pair of calling and fairly cooperative BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS in the third wash. Even more of a highlight was the wintering male ELEGANT TROGON at the mouth of the second wash, right on the main trail. This is the 8th (at least) consecutive season that (a)the bird has wintered here and I've noticed in previous years that he often moves into the mesquite bosque and much closer to the trailhead as spring approaches. Anyway, he posed splendidly at eye level from fairly close range. Unfortunately, the bird was completely in the shade so I had little chance of a decent photo. I've included this fairly poor image just to show the knowing look on the bird's face.

Apart from super common GRAY FLYCATCHERS, we struck out on all the other empids.

Several species of sparrows, notably CHIPPING, BREWER'S and LARK, were very common. Even VESPER SPARROWS were down at lake level. BLACK-CHINNED continue on the hillside above the bench and they were also foraging in the marsh along with BLACK-THROATED.

We moved on to Kino Springs where we spent about 1 1/2 hours around the club house pond. The temperature here was around 80 degrees and the pleasantness factor was now long gone. Simply not fair in early February. We failed to find any definite Ruddy Ground-Doves, just 3 birds in flight that were a definite maybe. The Ruddies were likely exhibiting common sense by being in a shady location just like 9 INCA DOVES feeding in the shade of a large RV.

Highlights were my first migrant OSPREY of the season; GRAY & VERMILION FLYCATCHERS; COMMON YELLOWTHROAT foraging in a pine tree on the lawn; and continuing LARK BUNTINGS.

75 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Elegant Trogon, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gray & Vermilion Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Tree Swallow, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Rock, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Blue-gray, Black-tailed & Black-capped Gnatcatchers, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees,  Lark Bunting, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 
Today I started a short road trip to the western portion of southeast Arizona. I had planned to hit the road yesterday but the starter motor on the old trogon decided to throw in the towel on Sunday. Gee, you'd think I would get more than 275,000 miles worth of starts from original equipment. Perhaps I should complain to Ford about lack of component quality. I'm glad it happened in Safeway parking lot and not in one of the remote areas that I'll be visiting.

I began the day with a rare winter trip to California Gulch then made short visits to Arivaca Lake, Arivaca Cienega (part of Buenos Aires NWR) and Amado Sewage Pond. It was a fairly warm and cloudy day -- gray skies persisted for much of my time in the field and it was quite windy at times. Generally, it was a very uninspiring and unproductive day with few highlights. That's what I get for breaking my normal routine.

I saw plenty of evidence of the lack of winter precipitation. Ruby Road is very dry, dusty and washboarded from Peña Blanca Lake almost to the Arivaca Lake turnoff. I didn't see any running or standing water anywhere. Some of the oaks look pitiful. The road into California Gulch is also very dry and dusty. Nevertheless, there are multiple locations with standing water, especially at the south end of the gulch.

The water gave me encouragement and hope that turned out to be completely unfounded. Since it's been a mild winter (plus the presence of water), I figured that Five-striped Sparrows may have remained. However, if they are around, they sure avoided me. I spent 3+ hours trolling from north to south and back in the gulch; as well as several side canyons and a few other areas. Nada..

Riparian growth is quite green at the south end of the gulch. I talked with Steve (who is living on Ralph's property at the extreme south end). He has seen Elegant Trogon recently as well as a Gray Hawk (yesterday). I didn't fare so well and the best bird from 32 species seen in the gulch was HEPATIC TANAGER. Other species included GRAY and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, several vocal (calling, not singing) ROCK and CANYON WRENS and many (~15) BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS.

[Access Note: Steve has installed a cable across the road in the 2nd riparian area (2nd when heading north from the south end). This is to prevent ATVs from passing through (and at least one birder who drove through last fall). This currently unoccupied property may change ownership soon which could impact the ability to walk through what is an excellent birding area.]

On my return journey, I spent 30 minutes working the dams. There's zero water above the upper dam and very little water below it. The lower dam has quite an impoundment, enough to hold a fair number of ducks of four species -- AMERICAN WIGEON MALLARD, NORTHERN PINTAIL & RING-NECKED DUCK and support a noisy BELTED KINGFISHER. I've seen Louisiana Waterthrush here in winter but a quick and dirty search was unsuccessful (which means nothing because this bird is hard to find in winter -- even when you know it's present!). Many of the species that I saw in the gulch proper were also present here. Additional species were ACORN WOODPECKER, a small mixed flock of TREE & VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS and NORTHERN CARDINAL.

Timing is everything. My arrival at Arivaca Lake coincided with a Border Patrol horse unit rounding up a group of UDAs and loading them into trucks. I stayed just long enough to check the lake that had a bazzilion coots and a few fishermen. Marsh vegetation was minimal.

Arivaca Cienega is mostly dry with just a few isolated areas of significant water. Although the larger ponds don't have any surface water, I did detect a few calling SORAS. A couple of circling BLACK VULTURES were the highlight of only 18 species that I turned up in an hour during the early afternoon.

After checking the handful of duck species on Amado pond, all that remained was to head into Tucson to pay ridiculously high winter rates for a cheap motel (I didn't want to drive home since I'm heading west tomorrow).

51 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Black Vulture, N. Harrier, Sora, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Tree & Violet-green Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Hepatic Tanager, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia and Red-winged Blackbird.

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 
Today I visited Sweetwater Wetlands, Avra Valley Sewage Ponds and Kitt Peak then drove to Ajo for an overnight stay. It was slightly warmer day than yesterday with some late afternoon clouds in the west and quite windy in several locations. I had a much more pleasant and productive day compared to yesterday.

I always enjoy a visit to Sweetwater Wetlands, a location that is, unfortunately, too far from home for me to bird on a regular basis (plus it's in the city which is definitely not my cup of tea). Nevertheless, it's a very pleasant place to spend time and always has lots of birds at this time of year. It makes me cringe to compare this place with Sierra Vista EOP. I was surprised to have the place completely to myself for well over an hour early this morning, and even then I only saw one person. I just casually strolled around and looked at whatever crossed my path (about 50 species in all by the time I left at 9:00am).

Highlights were the continuing LEAST GREBE and a surprisingly high number (20ish) of BLUE-WINGED TEAL (by far the least common teal in SE AZ).

Duck species were plentiful with SHOVELER being the most common and PINTAIL the least common by my results. VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA called from the marsh where YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS outnumbered RED-WINGED by a large margin. On the trails, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and ABERT'S TOWHEES were both plentiful. I didn't see much in the way of raptors save for a lone HARRIS'S HAWK perched in a regular spot across the street. The bird was really too far away and too high for a decent photograph -- but that never stopped me before.

I took the scenic route through Tucson Mountain Park over to Avra Valley (Snyder Hill) Sewage Ponds. The wind at this location was a serious impediment to using a scope as well as the enjoyment factor. I only spent an hour and managed 30 species. Highlights were many delightful BUFFLEHEADS (my favorite duck) and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE. Species not seen at Sweetwater included numerous EARED GREBES and COMMON MERGANSERS, CANVASBACK, HORNED LARK and various flavors of sparrows including LARK and SAVANNAH.

I've driven past Kitt Peak many times and always promised myself that I would drive to the top one day. Well, today I kept that promise to myself. It's a pity that my first ever visit was at noon on a fairly warm day. However, the travel logistics of the day didn't really allow for any other reasonable option. As you might expect, I didn't see many birds. Nevertheless, I still spent a couple of enjoyable hours on the mountain. Given the elevation, I was struck by how little pine I saw (I only saw Pinyon Pine). I would have expected taller oaks and junipers and a few pines at 7000 feet. I assume the drier conditions and perhaps the rocky makeup of the mountain are contributing factors.

Birds? Very little on the way up until I reached 6000+ feet, just a few PHAINOPELAS, MOCKINGBIRD and a ROADRUNNER. I drove straight to the picnic ground and shared my lunch with marauding MEXICAN JAYS. The jays got a free lunch but I didn't. Whenever the jays were in the sun, they were either too close or had food in their mouth. They were more photogenic when skulking in the trees, waiting to pounce, but now they were in the shade (Murphy wouldn't have it any other way). The jay in the photo was a compromise between a good pose and good light. By the way, it's a large image and is best viewed using It's probably my imagination but the jays seemed skinnier than further south.

Other birds here and at the visitor center included ACORN WOODPECKER, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, WESTERN BLUEBIRD and BRIDLED TITMOUSE. The topic of elevation for GREATER ROADRUNNER often surfaces -- I noted one at the visitor center at ~7000 feet. However, the habitat here is more typical of what you might find at 5500-6000 feet in other ranges. The woodpecker was shot from 40 feet in complete shade.

Now it was time for A/C and the drive to Ajo. I was hoping for minimal traffic so I could drive slowly and enjoy the scenery. No such luck. I didn't see any Caracaras on the way to Sells. After Sells it was a "life road" for me. RED-TAILED HAWKS were fairly common and perched at regular intervals. The only birds of note were pairs of HARRIS'S HAWKS at mileposts 84 and 82. My final bird of the day was INCA DOVE in Ajo.

77 species recorded:
Least, Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Pintail, Green-winged, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Harris's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & Inca Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Anna's Hummingbird, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Western Bluebird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Savannah, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, February 9, 2006 
Today was mainly a sightseeing day as I made my first ever visit to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Having lived in Arizona since 1993, what are the odds that I would choose to go on a day that was impacted by bad weather? I'm unaware of the stats on the number of sunny days per year at this location (a very high number I'm sure) but today wasn't one of them. In fact, I never saw the sun all day. Gray and dreary storm clouds hung low all day and there were periods of rain and plenty of wind. Rain was generally light and sporadic in the monument; very heavy between Sells and Tucson later in the day. I also saw two spectacular dust storms, one in Mexico south of the monument and another just west of Tucson.

If you like lots of desert habitat with a spectacular backdrop of rugged mountains, Organ Pipe is the place (there are actually many more Saguaro than Organ Pipe Cacti). Wonderful scenery that would have been much more impressive with a little sunshine. On the other hand, birds were few and far between as I expected. At the visitor center I learned that a couple of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls were discovered recently. Of course, they wouldn't disclose the location which was fair enough for me given the bird's status in the state. This is a bird for which I do not accept any business and, in fact, I've never even looked for it in Arizona.

[Access Note: Much of the western section of the monument is closed (including the Puerto Blanco Loop Drive) and there isn't any access to Quitobaquito which eliminates a visit to this birding location. Border Patrol presence was very high everywhere that I went.]

I'm not sure if the inclement weather was a blessing or a curse. However, I'm not going to knock it because this might be all we get for winter! The bad news was that the views of the scenery were not up to snuff and light for photography was extremely poor. The good news was that the temperature was extremely low for this area and it was even (dare I say it) chilly at times! Given my dislike of hot weather, I'll take it.

The small circulating pond at the visitor center had lots of customers since it's the only real source of water in the neighborhood. Nothing of note except wonderful close up views of common birds like PHAINOPEPLA and GILA WOODPECKER coming in to drink.

The campground wasn't full, perhaps 80% capacity, and had zero birds.

Most of the 19 species that I saw in the monument were along the 21 miles Ajo Mountain Loop Drive; and most of those were on the Arch Canyon trail where I spent a couple of hours. Highlight for me was the very common and easy to see GILDED FLICKER, not a bird that I get to see very often living in Sierra Vista. I found a nicely posed bird for my photo first and this was one time that I wished for sunshine -- if only the light had been better, the wind not blowing so I could hold still, and I had been closer to the bird, there would have been more detail and it would have been a good shot! If "ifs and buts were chips and nuts".. as I've mentioned before, standards are lower on a photo first. Compared to a Northern Flicker, note how the brown on the head extends all the way to the back of the head and that the black chest patch is larger, extending further down the breast (as shown in the inset). BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS were also very common here.

Unlike much of the terrain throughout Organ Pipe, Arch Canyon has far more vegetation and I detected several species that I didn't see elsewhere including LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, several pairs of BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS and GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES. Of course, this rocky location just had to have ROCK WREN. I also tried to rustle up a Canyon Wren without success.

I traveled as far south as the Mexico border at Lukeville, 5 miles south of the visitor center. I had intended to continue into Mexico for an overnight stay in Puerto Peñasco then bird there tomorrow. However, with the weather being what it was, I decided to return directly home. It was lashing down as drove east of Sells so I didn't even have the chance to look for Crested Caracara. C'est la vie, or así es la vida to use the vernacular.

The rain had stopped by the time I reached Sierra Vista (only about 3.5 hours from Lukeville despite some very slow traffic on the approach to Tucson). The cloud formations were spectacular as I drove down highway 90, especially to the east near Texas Canyon. Have you ever noticed how many birds in flight look silvery with the light reflected from watery clouds?

24 species recorded (italics not seen in Organ Pipe):
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Mourning & Inca Doves, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Gilded Flicker, Phainopepla, Cactus & Rock Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Common Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Black-throated & White-crowned Sparrows and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, February 13, 2006 
After playing hooky last week, I had planned to visit Sulphur Springs Valley and the Chiricahuas today. However, I couldn't quite muster the enthusiasm this morning and I settled for a trip down to the San Pedro and Sierra Vista EOP. I have lots of work coming up in the latter half of February and for much of March (including a week+ CA trip) so I won't be short of field time.

It was clear and cold overnight and the temperature was still below freezing when I got started at the San Pedro House. Not surprisingly, the feeders here had plenty of activity. Overall, the birding was fairly poor and and the birds around the SP House accounted for about 20% of the 46 species that I saw in 3 hours.

I walked south along the Del Valle Road, east down Garden Wash and north along the river with stops at Black Phoebe and Kingfisher ponds. The crisp conditions provided pristine views of the snow-free Huachucas. This is my 14th winter here and the first time that we haven't had any snow at all (so far) -- the first significant snowfall usually comes in December and I've seen snow as early as Halloween. Not only have we not had any snow, we also haven't had any rainfall worth mentioning. If the dry conditions continue into spring, its a virtual certainty that forest closures will be in effect by the end of April.

Even though some of the cottonwoods are already starting to green up, bird activity doesn't yet reflect the spring-like conditions. Vermilion Flycatchers should be back on territory in about a week or so. After that, it will be a couple more weeks before the early arrivals like Lucy's & Yellow Warblers show up and another week or so after that for Bell's Vireo. Buff-breasted Flycatcher and Cassin's Kingbird. It will be interesting to note if these (and other) short distance migrants take advantage of the mild winter conditions and start to show up early. I saw a recent report of a Brown-crested Flycatcher that I have a hard time getting my brain to accept. This is a bird that typically leaves our area by the end of August; there are zero winter records; and zero records for spring arrivals before mid April. So why is it here? I guess there's a first time for everything, like the recent state first Brown-chested Martin for example (although I can more easily understand this type of vagrancy.)

Sparrows and towhees continue very common, especially WHITE-CROWNED & BREWER'S SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. The WHITE-WINGED DOVES that have been around all winter are now getting quite frisky (they've been singing for almost a month). With so much dickey-bird food around, you'd expect to find a few "bird hawks" and I saw SHARP-SHINNED & COOPER'S HAWKS, KESTREL & 2 MERLINS; with NORTHERN HARRIER and RED-TAILED HAWK rounding out the raptors.

I saw very little of note save for SWAMP SPARROW at Black Phoebe Pond and 4 CANVASBACKS on Kingfisher Pond..

After the chilly start, heat haze was a problem by late morning at the EOP (fairly typical of SE AZ in winter). Construction activity and noise near the viewing platform were major distractions and I lasted only 40 minutes (downside of a weekday visit). Not much going on but I still managed to add 10 species to my day list including AMERICAN WIGEON, 4 CINNAMON TEAL, RING-NECKED DUCK, a SORA walking around in the open and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

56 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Gambel's Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, 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, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 
Out today with Shannon and Amy Fitch from Littleton, CO. We birded at Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs and Paton's Yard without looking hard for anything in particular. Perhaps this was a good thing because it was a very windy day and birding became more and more difficult as the day progressed. Except for the wind it was a pleasant, blue sky day with a late afternoon temperature in the high 60s in Sierra Vista. Despite the impact of the wind and missing a fair number of common species, we recorded a quite respectable 86 species for our efforts, especially since we were mostly in the same type of habitat all day.

The birding at Patagonia Lake was not quite as productive as usual (4 hours ~50 species) and this wasn't entirely attributable to the wind. Among the highlights were the wintering adult BALD EAGLE at the far west end of the lake; a male HOODED MERGANSER west of the Marina; a pair of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS between the second and third washes (we had good looks at the female); and a colorful SWAMP SPARROW.

Other species included a couple of BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, a briefly seen VIRGINIA RAIL, multiple easy-to-see GRAY FLYCATCHERS, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, ROCK WREN and many sparrows of several flavors including a large flock of LARK SPARROWS.

It was very windy at Kino Springs in the early afternoon. Nevertheless, after some effort we were were able to track down a mixed flock of 9 INCA DOVES and 5 RUDDY-GROUND-DOVES behind the swimming pool. A male VERMILION FLYCATCHER didn't seem to be having much success in the wind while RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER was considerably less impacted. A single GREAT EGRET continues at the first pond where the HOODED MERGANSER population is up one to a total of four. TREE and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS worked over the large club house pond that had scads of ducks including CANVASBACK and LESSER SCAUP. 40 species in all.

Marion Paton's yard had plenty of avian and human visitors. Highlights were male BROAD-BILLED, VIOLET-CROWNED & ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS and several colorful male LAZULI BUNTINGS. Among the other species from 25 noted in an hour were ACORN WOODPECKER, GAMBEL'S QUAIL, PINE SISKIN, multiple spiffy looking LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, GREEN-TAILED & ABERT'S TOWHEES, NORTHERN CARDINAL and PYRRHULOXIA.

We finished up with a brief stop in Sonoita where the wind was very strong at the edge of the grasslands. We managed to track down a couple of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES battling the wind just like us. Back in Sierra Vista, CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS and ROCK DOVES were being blown every which way on French Fry Boulevard.

86 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Hooded & Common Mergansers, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Gray, Dusky & Vermilion Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Tree, Violet-green & N. Rough-winged Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Blue-gray & Black-capped Gnatcatchers, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, February 16, 2006 
First of two days with Joan and Jim Clapp from Hebron, KY. We birded at Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs, Paton's Yard and Scheelite Canyon. Even though our focus was on target species and we didn't do a thorough job of birding at any of the locations visited, we still managed 80 species. Thankfully, the high winds of yesterday were long gone and it was a sunny and mostly calm day. An abbreviated report today.

At Patagonia Lake we were able to find all 6 target species -- GRAY & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER (excellent close up views on the hillside above 4th wash), HUTTON'S VIREO and RUFOUS-CROWNED & RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS. Interestingly, despite spending two less hours than yesterday and focusing on specific species, I recorded 6 more species  for a total of 56. Go figure. I'm sure the absence of wind helped. Among the species recorded today and not yesterday were AMERICAN KESTREL, KILLDEER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, TREE SWALLOW and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW.

At Kino Springs we soon found our target GILDED FLICKER but were unable to get the best of views. GREAT EGRET and HOODED MERGANSERS continue on the first pond.

The Paton's Yard was quiet for 30 minutes then hopping with birds for 30 minutes. We dipped on Broad-billed Hummingbird. Highlights were VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and LAZULI BUNTING.

Scheelite Canyon was relatively birdless in the late afternoon. The log showed recent misses on SPOTTED OWL but we easily found a pair roosting side by side in a tall oak. Unfortunately, they were unusually high and hard to see well. Nevertheless, a good way to end the day. A pair of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS were the only other birds of note.

80 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Hooded & Common Mergansers, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Spotted Owl, Violet-crowned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gilded Flicker, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Tree & Violet-green Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's & Marsh Wrens, , N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & White-throated Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, February 17, 2006 
Out again today with Joan and Jim on what was the first real taste of winter. A very gray day with heavy, low clouds, rain and the first snow of the season. Oh, and for good measure it was also windy from late morning onwards. We visited Sulphur Springs Valley and the Chiricahuas for a number of target species. Although we probably did quite well under the conditions, it was nevertheless a very frustrating day for me because we missed several "easy birds".

We began on Coffman Road where it was calm and fairly mild (high 40s) under heavy cloud cover. Little did we know this was going to be the best weather of the day. Our first couple of targets came quite easily and quickly in regular locations -- SCALED QUAIL and SAGE SPARROW; and we had wonderful looks at both species. The sparrow is usually quite scarce in the valley but this year has been better than most. Our next target, CRISSAL THRASHER, took quite some time to find but we ended up with reasonable scope looks at a couple of perched up birds.

Among the species on the Coffman-Bagby-Central-Lee search route were SANDHILL CRANE (they probably won't be around in numbers much longer), EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, GREATER ROADRUNNER, BENDIRE'S THRASHER and gobs of LARK BUNTINGS.

We continued on to Central Highway where I was pleased to find that MOUNTAIN PLOVERS are still present (~12 birds noted in the second field north of Davis). They typically leave by mid February and my latest Sulphur Springs Valley sighting date is February 22. FERRUGINOUS HAWKS and EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were also present here.

After checking Rucker Canyon Road for Sage Thrasher without success, we headed to the Chiricahuas. The low clouds worked in our favor on highway 181 as a small flock of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were forced to forage fairly low. However, the closer we got to the mountains the more obvious it became that the weather was going to become and issue. Despite increasing wind, the lower section of Pinery Canyon Road was very productive and we soon found our target WESTERN (many) and MOUNTAIN (~10) BLUEBIRDS along with a few EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, CEDAR WAXWING, 3 flavors of DARK-EYED JUNCO and CARDINAL. Mountain Bluebirds have been extremely scarce in SE AZ this winter (I've seen precious few reports) and today's birds were my personal first sighting.

Although we went uphill, the day went downhill from this point onwards. As if the wind wasn't enough, rain soon began and there was nary a bird to be seen as we searched for Mexican Chickadee and Yellow-eyed Junco. A stop at Pinery Canyon Campground produced RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, one lousy and brief look at a YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and heard only MEXICAN CHICKADEE. The chickadees were coming towards us but the arrival (and poor etiquette) of a tour group perhaps ruined our chances of seeing them. Anyway, for whatever reason the birds retreated and were never heard from again. As we continued higher, the rain turned to sleet and by the time we reached Onion Saddle it was snowing heavily. Common sense prevailed and we decided to turn around at this point.

We continued to try for Mexican Chickadee as we headed back down the mountain and eventually got some reward for our efforts. Not a chickadee, but a very cooperative NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL responded to my tooting and provided us with walk-away looks. Some clouds have silver linings.

On the journey home, we added GREAT HORNED OWL and another BENDIRE'S THRASHER on Central Highway. The valley was now very wet with poor visibility so we actually lucked out on the morning session.

50 species recorded:
N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled Quail, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, N. Pygmy-Owl, White-throated Swift, Red-naped Sapsucker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Horned Lark, Cedar Waxwing, Cactus Wren, Bendire's & Crissal Thrashers, Eastern, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Mexican Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, Canyon Towhee, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Sage, Savannah & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed, Oregon & Pink-sided) & Yellow-eyed Juncos, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's Blackbird.

Monday, February 20, 2006 
Out today with Stephen and Judy Taylor, traveling birders loosely based in TX and CO. We birded at Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs and Paton's Yard looking for a number of target species. I noted a light dusting of snow on the highest peaks of the Huachucas as a result of Friday's inclement weather. I sure hope we get some more before "winter" is over. After a nippy start (32 degrees at Patagonia Lake) with zero wind and clear sky, the day clouded over (mid 60s) and gusty winds picked up in mid afternoon. A short report today.

We failed to find the trogon at Patagonia Lake but did well on other typical targets such as GRAY (common) and DUSKY-FLYCATCHERS, BLACK-TAILED (hillside above bench) & BLACK-CAPPED (3rd wash) GNATCATCHERS and RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW.

We didn't bird here thoroughly and didn't check the west end of the lake so ~60 species was respectable. Highlights included the continuing male GREATER SCAUP, VIRGINIA RAIL and WILSON'S SNIPE both out in the open; VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD near the trailhead (I have a few spring records here), ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER near the steps, great looks at MARSH WREN, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER to complete the gnatcatcher trifecta; and lots of sparrows (both in terms of species and numbers of individuals) including LARK & SWAMP SPARROWS.

At Kino Springs, we were rewarded for persistence with good looks at RUDDY GROUND-DOVE in the bare trees at the club house pond. GREAT EGRET and 4 HOODED MERGANSERS continue at the first pond. ~40 species in all.

The Paton's Yard again had plenty of visitors. Broad-billed Hummingbird was a no show in the hour that we spent there. VIOLET-CROWNED and ANNA'S were regular visitors along with 2 male and 2 female LAZULI BUNTINGS. Less common species included BUSHTIT and ROCK WREN.

80 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Hooded & Common Mergansers, Ruddy Duck, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Violet-crowned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Gray, Dusky, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Tree & N. Rough-winged Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Blue-gray, Black-tailed & Black-capped Gnatcatchers, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Lark Bunting, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006 
Out today with John O'Neill from Kansas City, MO who is currently spending a month in Tubac. We visited San Rafael Valley and Sulphur Springs Valley in search of three target species. We put Baird's Sparrow and Bendire's Thrasher to the sword but Long-eared Owl is probably still chuckling at us. The weather cooperated and it was a calm, sunny and pleasant day to be out and about. When I left home at 5:30am to meet John in Patagonia, the temperature in Sierra Vista was a crisp 32 degrees. It was just a tad cooler at 20 degrees when we arrived at the west end of San Rafael Valley at 6:50am; and a balmy 58 degrees by noon when we left Whitewater Draw.

Although sunrise was a few minutes before 7:00am, the fact that the sun is now further north means that the Huachucas block the sun for a while and it was probably 7:15am before sparrows started popping up. After scanning a bazzilion SAVANNAH SPARROWS for what seemed like an age, we found a BAIRD'S SPARROW at 7:45am and enjoyed great scope views of a good looking individual for a little over a minute. The difficulty of manipulating the scope with numbed fingers for the past half hour didn't seem to matter now.

After a drive east, we resumed birding near Whitewater Draw at 9:45am and it didn't take long to find our target BENDIRE'S THRASHER. Once again, we had great scope looks at a singing bird from close range.

Unfortunately, that was the end of our success. We entered Whitewater Draw and proceeded directly to the south willow grove. Despite a thorough 2 hour search, we failed to find the Long-eared Owl that has been present here on and off for a couple of months. However, knowing how they can "disappear" when roosting against a trunk, the sad truth is that the bird could well have been there.

We didn't see very many other species at Whitewater Draw other than those that were obvious on the walk to the willows and those present in the grove. Among the ~30 species seen or heard were a fair sized flock of SNOW GEESE (too far away to determine if Ross's were present), CINNAMON TEAL, BARN OWL (willow grove), a couple of GREAT HORNED OWLS (old sideless barn), GREATER YELLOWLEGS, lots of SANDHILL CRANES, GRAY & VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, LARK BUNTING and PYRRHULOXIA.

Thursday, February 23, 2006 
First of three days of target birding with Tom and Margot Southerland from Princeton, NJ who I've birded with on one previous occasion (back in 1997). When we set up this trip about 6 months ago, other than Black-capped Gnatcatcher it wasn't clear what we would looking for. However, a few targets have now materialized and we'll be chasing around a little. Consequently, don't expect much in the way of detailed reports over the next few days.

Today was an easy day as we visited Patagonia Lake for Black-capped Gnatcatcher and Kino Springs for Ruddy Ground-Dove. Afterwards, our reward was an hour of casual birding at the Paton's. Another very sunny and pleasant day, becoming a tad windy in mid afternoon (mid 60s in Sierra Vista).

We started fairly late at Patagonia Lake (~8:00am) and it took about an hour to track down a pair of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS calling and foraging in the area of the saddle between 2nd and 3rd washes. The male of this pair is just starting to acquire his black cap. We were in and out in less than two hours and recorded 40 species with nothing of note that I haven't reported recently.

At Kino Springs, we didn't have to work long to find the flock of INCA DOVES and 5 RUDDY GROUND-DOVES near the club house. We then walked round the smaller section of the club house pond. Species here included GREAT EGRET, CINNAMON TEAL, CANVASBACK, LESSER SCAUP, GILDED FLICKER (trees by swimming pool), VERMILION FLYCATCHER, TREE, VIOLET-GREEN and N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, BREWER'S, LARK & RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. We didn't stop at the first pond but I did see a HOODED MERGANSER as we drove by on the way out.

The usual suspects were in Marion Paton's yard including GAMBEL'S QUAIL, BROAD-BILLED, VIOLET-CROWNED and ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS, LAZULI BUNTING, ABERT'S & GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and side by side CARDINAL & PYRRHULOXIA.

76 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Hooded & Common Mergansers, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Gilded Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Gray & Vermilion Flycatchers, Tree, Violet-green & N. Rough-winged Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Rock & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & White-throated Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, February 24, 2006 
Today was a long day afield today with Tom and Margot for a couple of target species -- Streak-backed Oriole and Rufous-backed Robin. We left Sierra Vista at 4:00am and returned at 8:00pm having seen only the Oriole.

The day began well enough at Gilbert Water Ranch where it didn't take long to find the STREAK-BACKED ORIOLE along Tiger Moth Trail (8:30am). In fact, someone had placed a few oranges in a mesquite and the bird was already staked out by Jim Burns. I managed what I would call a documentary quality photo.

This was only my second visit to this delightful location -- I wish it were on my regular beat (although I wouldn't want to be here in June). Unfortunately, we  were unable to spend much time sifting through the plentiful birds present. Among the 30+ species noted were GREAT & SNOWY EGRETS, CINNAMON TEAL, AMERICAN AVOCET, BLACK-NECKED STILT, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, BURROWING OWL, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, PHAINOPEPLA and many ABERT'S TOWHEES.

We resumed birding at Boyce-Thompson Arboretum State Park (3 miles west of Superior on highway 60 in Pinal County) at 10:00am. We met a couple of birders and received some immediate good news that the Rufous-backed Robin had been seen at 8:30am in the fruiting Olive trees near trail marker #43. The bad news was that we failed to relocate the bird. Apart from a one hour lunch break, we worked the habitat eastwards past the Herb Garden into the riparian area and back again umpteen times until closing time at 5:00am. Talk about walk yourself silly. I've seen a Rufous-backed Robin numerous times here in years past and I fully expected to be successful today. However, it wasn't to be. Had I known about the oranges at Gilbert Water Ranch, I would have started at the Arboretum and gone after the Oriole second. Without that knowledge, I worked on the premise that it would be easier to find the Robin later in the day (shady at the Arboretum, very open at the Water Ranch). That theory bombed seriously.

We focused on very limited habitat and recorded only 32 species in 6 hours. HERMIT THRUSH, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and ABERT'S TOWHEE were the most common species. Others included COMMON GROUND-DOVE, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, ROCK & CANYON WRENS, a fair number of LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and NORTHERN CARDINAL.

A day that exemplified the type of birding that I dislike the most - chasing stakeout birds. Very little skill involved. That's why it's called work.

Saturday, February 25, 2006 
The third and final day with Tom and Margot was reserved for Rufous-capped Warbler in Sycamore Canyon. Unlike yesterday, there was zero margin for error with just one bird to find. Also unlike yesterday, I was looking forward to using my knowledge of the bird gained from the experience of my many visits to French Joe Canyon. In fact, I saw the warblers a total of 99 times there before they finally departed - just couldn't make it to 100. Someone today suggested that I start over in Sycamore Canyon. However, despite the fact that I like the bird very much (lots of character and attitude) and the present location is a far easier physical proposition than the hike into French Joe, I doubt that I have that many trips left in me. I also think that there's a fair chance the bird will move deeper into the canyon during the summer months.

We left Sierra Vista at 5:00am and started the trail into the canyon at 7:15am when it was finger numbing cold. Only three other birders and a couple of UDAs/drug runners were in the canyon at this time. We walked steadily and listened carefully up to a point just beyond Montana Canyon then began to work back up canyon. I thought I heard the bird around 8:30am near "the spires" but it didn't repeat. Between 9:00am and 9:15am, I heard the bird 3 times ("ticking" and singing) near Montana Canyon. A fair crowd had now gathered but not a single other person heard the bird during this period and I'm sure nobody believed me. I told Tom and Margot where to focus their attention and, several minutes later, movement from the warbler was detected. With the now focused attention and help of everyone present, all parties eventually had good looks at the bird. It constantly amazes me that people chase after rarities without doing any homework about the vocalizations and habits of their target. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have seen this bird without first detecting it calling or singing.

Anyway, after first being elusive in typical fashion (including moving completely undetected from one place to another), the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER put on a great show by singing from exposed perches. Exposed, that is, until I tried to get a photograph after everyone had great looks at the bird. The image isn't very good but is about the best that I managed from just a handful of shots taken. This second image shows a pose that is typical of the species, very much like a wren or a gnatcatcher.

After staying with the bird for a while, we returned to the parking area at 11:00am. By now it was pretty warm and the crack of noon club were just getting started, completely unaware of how we froze our asses off several hours earlier. A successful morning and a good way to end the trip for Tom and Margot who have just spent some time birding in Japan. They left happy having seen 4 of 5 target species  -- Black-capped Gnatcatcher & Ruddy Ground-Dove on Thursday, Streak-backed Oriole yesterday and, of course, Rufous-capped Warbler. The less said about the Robin the better.

Other species recorded in the canyon included RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, ROCK WREN, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006 
Out today with Bob Fox and Dana Duxbury from Andover, MA, who I've birded with on five previous occasions; and Cynthia Pruett from Tucson. As has been the case on most of our recent outings, there weren't any lifers around for Bob and Dana so our focus was on state birds. We birded in Sulphur Springs Valley and the Chiricahuas and managed to find 3 of 4 targets -- Long-eared Owl, Mountain Plover and Carolina Wren (missed Long-billed Curlew that has been present in less numbers than usual in SE AZ this winter). It was a mild and sultry day under some high clouds (80 degrees in Sulphur Springs Valley in late afternoon).

We began on Central Highway where I was delighted to find that MOUNTAIN PLOVERS were still present in the second field north of Davis. This was my latest sighting in the valley. Several FERRUGINOUS HAWKS, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE and many LARK BUNTINGS were also present.

Next, we drove directly to the Southwest Research Station in the Chiricahuas where it didn't take long to find CAROLINA WREN in the creekbed behind the main buildings (store, etc.). This is probably one of the rarest birds in AZ at the moment and it was also a state bird for me as well as everyone else. The bird has been present since September, 2005 but I haven't bothered to look for it before today.

The weather in the mountains was much better than the snowy day I spent here recently and MEXICAN CHICKADEES were easy to find. Others seen or heard on the quick return journey included plentiful BUSHTITS,  WESTERN BLUEBIRD, PHAINOPEPLA, OLIVE WARBLER, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

It was quite warm when we resumed birding at Whitewater Draw at 2:30pm and several thousand SANDHILL CRANES were loafing in the fields. We made a quick loop around the ponds seeing a variety of species including 50 SNOW and 2 ROSS'S GEESE, CINNAMON TEAL, 2 AMERICAN AVOCETS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 20+ LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS, VERMILION FLYCATCHER and AMERICAN PIPIT.

We then moved on to the south willow grove where we found not one, but two LONG-EARED OWLS. I haven't had a lot of success finding the single bird that has been roosting here on and off for several months. Just a few days ago I searched for two hours. Today it was two for the price of one. A good way to end the day. BARN OWL was also in the grove.

71 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Snow Goose, Ross's Goose, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, N. Pintail, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled Quail, Sandhill Crane, Sora, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared Owl, Acorn Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Carolina, Bewick's & Marsh Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's & Curve-billed Thrashers, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan Raven, House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Olive & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Savannah, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos and Pyrrhuloxia,

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 2006 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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