Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - May, 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 Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Wednesday, May 3, 2006
First of two days with Rob and Lisa Pavey from Menlo Park, CA who I've birded with on one previous occasion. We spent our time in the Huachucas visiting Garden and Carr Canyons. Our focus was as much on photo opportunities as it was on finding specific birds. A partly cloudy and much cooler day. The temperature of 85 degrees in mid afternoon was 10 degrees less than yesterday.

[Fort Huachuca Access Note: Amazingly, it is no longer necessary to go into the office near the gate to get a pass. However, all the usual paperwork is still required as you go through the gate (license, registration and proof of insurance -- or rental contract in lieu of the last two); and the rules regarding Foreign Nationals still apply. I don't know the full details of this change or how long it will last. It seems almost guaranteed to cause delays at the gate. I'll post more as learn more.]

Initially, we worked on trying to find ELEGANT TROGON in Garden Canyon and I was quite surprised by how long it took. We started at and above the upper picnic area (UPA) then walked down canyon for about 3/4 mile. Of course, a calling male was around the UPA when we returned. The bird was calling from some distance away but eventually came into the sycamores at the UPA. As far as I can tell, there aren't any females in this area yet.

Although activity in the canyon seemed subdued early this morning, we eventually came across 50 species. Perhaps the best bird for this location was COMMON GROUND-DOVE at the fishing ponds -- only my third record in Garden Canyon. Two birds (possibly a breeding pair?) were present. 

Migrants and wintering species that won't be around much longer included RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (week 2), CASSIN'S VIREO (week 4) and LINCOLN'S SPARROW (week 2). The dates refer to my own late dates for these species in Garden Canyon.

Other species included calling WILD TURKEY, GREATER ROADRUNNER (2), a pair of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, DUSKY-CAPPED & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS & WARBLING VIREOS, ORANGE-CROWNED, LUCY'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & WILSON'S WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER & BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Activity around the Reef area of Carr Canyon was already subsiding by the time we arrived around 11:00am and we had to work for almost every species that we found. Exceptions were BAND-TAILED PIGEON, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (still quite common -- I usually see them here through week 3) and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. We focused on Red-faced Warbler but struck out.

Highlights included an overhead ZONE-TAILED HAWK, a close GREATER PEWEE and a first summer HEPATIC TANAGER that didn't quite seem all there. Kids! 30 species in all.
 

Photos: All taken from some distance with far less than ideal light. Elegant Trogon 1  Elegant Trogon 2  Grace's Warbler  Hepatic Tanager

70 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Zone-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Elegant Trogon, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, Greater Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Hammond's, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Plumbeous, Cassin's, Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Lucy's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Grace's & Wilson's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Lark & Lincoln's Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and  Bullock's & Scott's Orioles.

Thursday, May 4, 2006
Out again today with Rob and Lisa. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and Patagonia Roadside Rest Area. Back to sunny skies again today, although a slight breeze kept the temperature tolerable. 92 degrees in Sierra Vista by mid afternoon.

With a few notable exceptions, the departure of winter species at Patagonia Lake is very evident. The recent drop in water level at the east end of the lake has left an extensive area of mud that was being used by regular COOTS and MOORHENS along with 4 SORAS, a VIRGINIA RAIL and a few LINCOLN'S SPARROWS (the latter three all near the end of their stay here). Out on the water, a female COMMON MERGANSER and a couple of GREEN WINGED TEAL continue. Both were May firsts for me at the lake and the Merganser was my first for May in SE AZ. I think the bird may be injured -- prior to this year I'd never seen one after the first week in April. A least one RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET from the bazillions that wintered here was still present along with fair numbers of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.

Less common species for this location were both migrants -- SNOWY EGRET (9/8) and SWAINSON'S THRUSH (4/3, all in May). The numbers represent my total records and number of years recorded during the 13 years that I have been birding at the lake. Other migrants noted were SPOTTED SANDPIPER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, WARBLING VIREO, TOWNSEND'S & WILSON'S WARBLERS, WESTERN TANAGER and LAZULI BUNTING.

Regulars to varying degrees included 3 NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET (still incubating, I think), all three AZ myiarchus, uncountable BELL'S VIREOS singing incessantly, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, many SUMMER TANAGERS, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW. We didn't look for Black-capped Gnatcatcher. 74 species in all.

At Kino Springs first pond, we checked a flicker nest hole and saw a female NORTHERN FLICKER (or possible hybrid) and a male GILDED FLICKER hanging out of the hole at different times. Among the other species noted here were GREAT EGRET and COMMON GROUND-DOVE.

Proving the theory that "the good ducks are on the furthest pond", we found 5 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS on the easternmost sewage pond. However, a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE at the shoreline was a better find. This is the first time that I've seen this species in SE AZ in May. There was an unprecedented influx of them this past winter and it appears that some may stick around (birds are still being seen in Paton's Yard and at San Pedro River Inn). A few have been present year-round north of SE AZ for the past three years or so. This used to be a very rare bird in AZ and a winter only bird.

A stop at he Roadside Rest Area was instantly productive when we saw the male ROSE-THROATED BECARD working on the new nest. The bird has been very busy since my last visit and much progress has been made. I sure hope a female shows up to use the nest! Although easy to see, the becard is far from easy to photograph with the nest swaying in the wind. In fact, at around 80 feet away it's pretty much at the limit of my hand-held equipment. For those who haven't seen a becard nest, you can gain some perspective from this image of the bird standing on the nest. A big nest for a relatively small bird and it still has a long way to go before it's done.

90 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested & Neotropic Cormorants, Great Blue Heron, Great & Snowy Egrets, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Black & Turkey Vultures, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, Broad-billed & Anna's Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern & Gilded Flickers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Rose-throated Becard, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Swainson's Thrush, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer & Western Tanagers, Abert's Towhee, Rufous-winged, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Friday, May 5, 2006
Out today with Stella Miller and Simone DaRos from Syosset, NY. We birded in Carr Canyon and on the San Pedro River with a flexible and, let's say, dynamic target list. It was another completely blue sky day becoming quite warm and windy in the afternoon. My two favorite weather conditions.

After a delayed start due to a slight cock-up on the motel front, we headed to Carr Canyon where a splendid singing PYRRHULOXIA greeted us in the mesquite-grassland. We continued on up the mountain and spent several hours in the vicinity of Reef. The birding here was excellent with plenty of activity, particularly from warblers. As is often the case, GRACE'S WARBLER was the easiest "specialty" to find. However, even VIRGINIA'S WARBLER showed us some mercy today and a regular individual perched openly for almost a minute -- a lifetime for this species. Migrant TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS were very common and we also saw 4-5 HERMIT WARBLERS. The only warbler that we had to work seriously for was OLIVE WARBLER. Our reward for some physical effort was a beautiful adult male, you know, one of those cracking orange-headed individuals that I often speak about. We didn't focus on Red-faced since the ladies had already seen one -- this was fortunate since we didn't stumble into the bird. YELLOW-RUMPED, BLACK-THROATED GRAY (very conspicuous and common, singing everywhere) and PAINTED REDSTART rounded out the warblers.

HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS remain quite numerous and were very accommodating working low to the ground, perching on picnic tables and rocks. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS were not very vocal but we did see a singing individual looking quite buffy in the sunlight. We had great views of a very close but silent GREATER PEWEE. This is a bird that won't win any beauty prizes but has tons of character. Later in the morning, the bird obliged us with a few choruses of José - José - José María.

Other species included the continuing flock of BAND-TAILED PIGEONS constantly roaming around the campground; a trilling fly-by male BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, a handful of RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS that will likely be gone by the end of the upcoming week; singing HERMIT THRUSH; lots of AMERICAN ROBINS chasing each other around; a few WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS (not often seen in the campground proper); several PLUMBEOUS VIREOS singing their raspy song; the same first summer male HEPATIC TANAGER that I photographed earlier in the week; just one singing WESTERN TANAGER; many SPOTTED TOWHEES and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Driving back down the mountain we added DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER and had wonderful close up views of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS as they whizzed by at very close range. Conversely, singing CANYON & ROCK WRENS were too far away to see.

A late morning stop in the lower canyon oaks was generally unproductive, although we managed good looks at HUTTON'S VIREO and improved on DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER. 50+ species in all in the canyon.

It was warm and windy on the San Pedro (highway 90 area) between noon and 2:30pm and we struggled to find common species. We heard and finally saw one SUMMER TANAGER, heard several but didn't see a single BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and dipped on Lucy's Warbler completely. On the plus side we had wonderful looks at a soaring SWAINSON'S HAWK.

The San Pedro House feeders had plenty of customers including GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES and a rather sad looking male BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK that seemed to be missing a chunk from the top of its head (perhaps an accipiter victim?). Several COMMON GROUND-DOVES were close to (but not directly associated with) the feeders.

Thrushes are generally very scarce on this section of  San Pedro so to see HERMIT THRUSH (11/8) and SWAINSON'S THRUSH (7/5) was a rare occurrence. The birds were foraging side by side in a shallow, muddy section of the river. The numbers represent my total records and number of years recorded during the 14 years that I have been birding on the river. All of the Swainson's sightings and most of the Hermit sightings have been in May. The only other uncommon species was WHITE-THROATED SWIFT that I've only recorded 8 times on the river, mostly in May.

A brief stop at a very windy Sierra Vista EOP didn't produce a Yellow-headed Blackbird. However, I doubt that they have all gone since I regularly see them through mid May.

84 species recorded (italics heard only):
Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Hammond's & Buff-breasted Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Plumbeous, Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Hermit, Grace's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Green-tailed, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Sunday, May 7, 2006
First of two days of target birding with Steve Mauritz from Lake Oswego, OR and George Gerdts from Bainbridge Island, WA. Today we visited Sycamore Canyon then made short stops at Kino Springs and Patagonia Lake State Park.

The outing marked the start of my more grueling season. I was up at 3:00am and on the road by 4:00 to meet the guys in Sonoita; we began the hike down a chilly Sycamore Canyon at 5:55am. Our early start paid immediate dividends -- we heard RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singing as we arrived at the confluence with Montana Canyon at 6:25am. Unfortunately, the bird quickly moved high up onto the north slope of  Montana (where the sun was hitting). Boo. Fortunately, our initial disappointment was short lived. Hooray. Over the next hour, we tracked the warbler as it moved around quite rapidly while foraging mostly high in oaks and singing almost on a continuous basis. This was somewhat atypical since this species often spends much of its time foraging in low vegetation while singing in short bursts spaced at relatively long intervals.

We didn't focus much on other species as we followed the warbler around and my record keeping was substantially below my normal standards . Among the species seen or heard were a briefly vocalizing NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL just south of the warbler spot, lots of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS screaming overhead making it difficult to listen for the warbler, BROAD-BILLED, BLACK-CHINNED & BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, CANYON & ROCK WRENS, HERMIT & WILSON'S WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, SUMMER & HEPATIC TANAGERS and SCOTT'S ORIOLE. Only 31 species in all during a short visit.

I'll introduce this next paragraph with an apology to all past and future Montezuma Quail clients:
After an uneventful hike out, we left Sycamore trailhead at 8:15am. Nothing of significance along the dirt section of the Ruby Road save for my first of season BRONZED COWBIRD. That changed shortly after we hit the blacktop at Peña Blanca Lake. Someone said "doves in the road". I looked and immediately said, no MONTEZUMA QUAIL! A pair of birds slowly crossed the road and started feeding on the grass verge. We stopped, set up the scope and enjoyed great views as the birds continued to feed. Afterwards, we drove slowly forward and ended up parallel to the birds 10 feet away -- the quail will often stay put like this if you stay in the car. The location was 0.3m west of mile marker 9 (they'll be right there when you go, honest).

It's often said that the key to finding this species is not to look for it -- and there is definitely more than an element of truth in this statement. We certainly weren't looking for the bird today. In fact, in the vast majority of cases you don't find them, they find you. My own experience bears this out in spades. I've seen the quail ~250 times and I'll bet that 240 of those sightings have been completely serendipitous.

Our time at Kino Springs first pond produced plenty of birds but little target bird success. First, at the Gilded Flicker nest, we saw only the female (or hybrid) Northern Flicker. No sign of the male Gilded. We then roamed around the mesquite habitat where there are a lot of short trails (many of which are ill-defined) and saw numerous COMMON GROUND-DOVES. At one fork we split up and I immediately found a perched male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE. Unfortunately, the bird flew before anyone else saw it. Drat!

A migrant SWAINSON'S THRUSH was a new location species for me, #213 at Kino Springs. Other species included GREAT EGRET, GREEN HERON, GRAY HAWK, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, great looks at YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, GREEN-TAILED, CANYON & ABERT'S TOWHEES and LAZULI BUNTING.

We finished up with a very brief visit to Patagonia Lake State Park for a couple more species. BOTTERI'S SPARROW was easy to find even in the heat of the day and NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET at a nest was pretty much a forgone conclusion.

83 species recorded:
Neotropic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, N. Pygmy-Owl, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Black-chinned & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpecker, N Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black Phoebe, Hammond's, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Violet-green Swallow, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Rock & Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Swainson's Thrush, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, European Starling, Bell's & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's, Yellow, Hermit, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic & Summer Tanagers, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Lark, Black-throated & Song Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds and Scott's Oriole.

Monday, May 8, 2006
Out again today with Steve and George. We journeyed beyond the scene of yesterday's Sycamore Canyon crime to California Gulch (boy, I really look forward to driving along the Ruby Road). It was a rare afternoon start so we could work on Five-striped Sparrow followed by Buff-collared Nightjar. It's always a tough decision to make an afternoon/night visit for a potentially tough sparrow and optimum time for the nightjar; versus a middle of the night/morning visit with a narrow nightjar window and a relatively easy sparrow. I've had success both ways but no matter which way you go it's a scheduling issue. On this occasion, even though we had 50% success, I'd have to say that my first of season visit qualified as a bad day at the office since we failed on the primary target.

I met the guys in Sonoita at 1:30pm. They had a good morning picking up Rose-throated Becard at the nest that we didn't get to yesterday and the male Gilded Flicker at Kino Springs that we missed (alas, no Ruddy Ground-Dove). After the always delightful drive, we started walking into California Gulch from the south end shortly after 4:00pm. At 85 degrees, the temperature wasn't bad at all and soon became very pleasant in the shade (sunset is early below the steep walls of the gulch). It didn't take long to find our first FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW at the 5th stream crossing, a fairly reticent individual. Our next encounter was between the 2nd and 1st crossings where we found a wonderfully cooperative bird. However, since every silver lining has a cloud, here's mine: Learning from yesterday's Montezuma Quail sighting when my camera was on the kitchen table, today I brought it along. Unfortunately, being the dumb shit that I am, I left it in the vehicle when we entered the gulch and missed the photo opportunity of a lifetime -- an unobstructed, singing bird 10 feet away for several minutes. Many expletives deleted.

A note on conditions: Even though the entire Pajaritos are extremely dry including all along California Gulch Road, there is some standing water in the gulch proper between the first and second stream crossings. I've noted in previous years that this area is usually the last place to dry up. Generally, the area west of Nogales is drier than I've ever seen it, even more than the drought year of 1996.

We didn't record a lot of birds in the gulch and most were residents or breeding regulars such as GRAY HAWK, GREATER ROADRUNNER, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, ASH-THROATED & BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, CANYON & ROCK WRENS, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER and HOODED ORIOLE. The only migrants noted were HERMIT WARBLER and WESTERN TANAGER.

We moved the short distance over to the old Oro Blanco site around 6:00pm. Conditions were almost perfect -- zero wind, clear sky, constant 1/2 moon and we were the only folks present. Over the years I've found that early evening nightjar performance is directly related to moonlight and we had good light even with 1/2 moon. Unfortunately, despite all these factors in our favor, the only Buff-collared Nightjars that we heard were NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS. They can do a very good imitation. A disappointing end, especially since there was a first of season report of Buff-collared Nightjars calling about a week ago. COMMON POORWILLS called on time starting around 7:25pm and we saw one on the Ruby Road on the drive home.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006
First of three days with Paul and Mary Mayer from Chicago, IL. We'll be working on a short list of targets for Paul and a much longer list of possibilities for Mary. I birded with Paul once before on a cold and snowy day back in January, 2001. Today was far from cold and the afternoon temperature climbed into the 90s in Sierra Vista. We began in Carr Canyon and finished up in Garden Canyon.

As we climbed Carr Canyon early this morning, the normally spectacular view of Sierra Vista and the San Pedro Valley was marred by an ugly layer of smoke. As far as I could tell, the source was in Mexico. Fortunately, our birding wasn't affected at all and we found the typical target species around Reef without too much trouble. We had excellent looks at most target species including GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS VIREO building a nest in the same tree as last year, OLIVE, GRACE'S & RED-FACED WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, several male and female HEPATIC and a couple of stunning male WESTERN TANAGERS.

Among the continuing migrants and wintering species noted were HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and ORANGE-CROWNED, TOWNSEND'S & WILSON'S WARBLERS.

Other species (from a total of 50 recorded in Carr) included BAND-TAILED PIGEON, GREATER ROADRUNNER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, HAIRY & ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, all three regular jay species, BROWN CREEPER, HUTTON'S VIREO, VIRGINIA'S, YELLOW-RUMPED & BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, many BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO

[Fort Huachuca Access Note: You only need show your license as you drive through the main gate (temporary pass obtained with your rental agreement or registration/proof of insurance is no longer required). This may change without notice. The official line on Foreign Nationals is still the same -- no entry without an appropriate escort.]

After birding our way through the grassland and lower oaks, it was late morning and starting to warm up by the time we arrived at the upper picnic area (UPA). As I expected, we had to work a little for ELEGANT TROGON before obtaining good views of a calling male. However, a much better bird for me was an absolutely stunning male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK in the central "magic" willow at the UPA (so named because I once saw 20 species in the tree simultaneously). The grosbeak status in SE AZ is "rare transient and casual in summer and winter". Personally, I have 8 AZ records in 6 different years. I have two previous Huachuca records in Scheelite Canyon, one of which was in January of this year. I wonder if it's the same bird?

We recorded 40 species in Garden Canyon including a pair of soaring SWAINSON'S HAWKS, WILD TURKEY, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, EASTERN MEADOWLARK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (all seen in mesquite-grassland except the turkey at UPA).

Our evening owling session was a mixed bag (as is often the case). We had great looks at one of our primary targets -- WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL but didn't even hear Western Screech-Owl, nor Whip-poor-will. A couple of GREAT HORNED OWLS called and several pairs of ELF OWLS were chattering in different locations.

80 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Gambel's Quail, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Elf Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee,  Say's Phoebe, Hammond's, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Olive, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Lucy's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Grace's, Wilson's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Lark Sparrow, Yellow-eyed Junco, Rose-breasted & Black-headed Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Thursday, May 11, 2006
Out again today with Paul and Mary. We visited Madera Canyon, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest and the Paton's in search of a handful of species. Another warmish day above 90 degrees in Sierra Vista. An abbreviated report today.

We departed Sierra Vista at 5:00am and drove directly to Madera Canyon. The only bird of note along the way was CASSIN'S SPARROW on Box Canyon Road. The male FLAME-COLORED TANAGER duly obliged us on arrival at Madera Kubo around 6:30am. The bird was singing its heart out and I could hear its loud, raspy song as soon as we left the Amphitheater parking area. Learn to differentiate Flameboy's song from Western Tanager (not difficult) and you will easily find this bird (of course, it has to be singing!). Sacrilegiously, we left the area almost immediately and only saw a handful of species including HOODED ORIOLE and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER. The downside of target birding.

Our next stop was Kino Springs where we searched unsuccessfully for Ruddy Ground-Dove (spending a total of three hours at the first pond, clubhouse area and sewage pond). I've seen one at the first pond and sewage pond recently and a singing bird was at the clubhouse yesterday.

I recorded a total of 66 species during the search including GREAT EGRET, 5 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS (sewage pond),  BLACK VULTURE, GRAY HAWK (at first and clubhouse ponds);  6+ COMMON GROUND-DOVES, BELTED KINGFISHER; male GILDED FLICKER near the nest; my first-of-season TROPICAL KINGBIRD (clubhouse area); BANK SWALLOW, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK, LAZULI BUNTING and a surprise SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

The Scott's was only my second record in the riparian habitat at Kino in 325 visits. My previous sighting was in July which is more of an odd record than today's bird, a likely migrant. Belted Kingfisher and Lincoln's Sparrow are coming to the end of their stay in SE AZ, although neither are "late".

At Patagonia Roadside Rest Area, the male ROSE-THROATED BECARD was fairly vocal and easy to locate near the nest area. The new nest seems substantially complete and we didn't see the bird go near either the old or new nests. THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS were calling but we failed to see them. However, a trip to Marion Paton's yard resulted in a sighting.

91 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Black & Turkey Vultures, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern & Gilded Flickers, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Tropical, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Rose-throated Becard, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Bank, Cliff & Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer, Western & Flame-colored Tanagers, Green-tailed & Canyon Towhees, Cassin's, Lark, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds and Hooded, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles.

Friday, May 12, 2006
The third and last day with Paul and Mary began well in the Chiricahuas and ended somewhat disappointingly in the Huachucas. We saw only 2 of 3 target species although we did pick up a decent bonus bird. Another short report today.

We left Sierra Vista at 5:00m and drove directly to the Chiricahuas. Not many birds seen along the way -- of note were a fair number of LARK BUNTINGS in breeding plumage and PINE SISKINS feeding on flowering thistle along Highway 181. By 8:00am we were heading back again having had great looks at our targets -- NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL and MEXICAN CHICKADEE.

Even with everything going our way and a fast drive back, the temperature was almost 90 degrees when we started up Scheelite Canyon a little before 11:00am. I worked hard for almost four hours checking the lower, middle and upper roosting areas but was unable to find a Spotted Owl. What a slog. It's my guess that the young are about to (or have) hatched and that both birds are near the nest away from the normal roosting areas. That's my story and it sounds plausible so I'm sticking to it!

It wasn't all doom and gloom though. We had good looks at a pair of soaring GOLDEN EAGLES as we drove through Garden Canyon. Scheelite gave us an excellent bonus when we came across a pair of MONTEZUMA QUAIL for an uncommon 3 quail species day. Male seen in flight as it rocketed away; good view of the female as she lollygagged before waddling up the canyon slope. Future clients be forewarned: I may have used up a fair amount of my lifetime Montezuma Quail karma during the past week. Other birds in the canyon in the heat of the day included ELEGANT TROGON, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER and RED-FACED WARBLER.

59 species recorded:
Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Golden Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Scaled, Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, N. (Mountain) Pygmy-Owl, Elegant Trogon, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N, Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee,  Say's Phoebe, Cordilleran, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Canyon & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Black-throated Gray, Hermit, Wilson's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Bullock's Oriole.

Sunday, May 14, 2006
First of three, possibly four, days with a client who wishes to remain anonymous, let's call him J.D. We birded together previously for 6 days a number of years ago with good success. However, on that trip we didn't focus on night birds and missed a few others because of fire related forest closures.  Some rare afternoon birding for me today  -- we didn't get started until the heat of the day (in the 90s) and the temperature was still 98 degrees in Sierra Vista at 5:00pm.

I spent all of late Friday, my entire day off on Saturday and all of this morning recovering from a hard drive crash on my primary computer. Fortunately, I'd suspected that it was about to happen and had already ordered and received a new drive. Nevertheless, it didn't alleviate all the tedious grunt work of installing Windows and application software and restoring and verifying my own data. Definitely not what I wanted to be doing with my free time. By the way, unless you are extremely fortunate, this will eventually happen to you. Can you say backups?

Not surprisingly, we had to work for a while to find our two targets in Carr Canyon. Eventually, though, we came across one each of GREATER PEWEE and BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER -- both birds were completely silent. Only 24 species in all including many BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and TOWNSEND'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & GRACE'S WARBLERS.

Our evening owling session went very well. After a frustrating 10 minutes trying to see ELF OWL in dense foliage near a nest, the bird took pity on us and hopped onto a bare branch. Excellent looks from about 15 feet. WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS started off very vocal but the bird we followed stopped calling. However, just as we were about go after another individual, a soft bark led us to the bird. Just as with the Elf Owl, we had very good looks at a bird that had been sitting close by in silence for almost 10 minutes. 

Monday, May 15, 2006
Day two with J.D. We put in 16 field hours over a 20 hour period working on a handful of target species. Although we had good overall success, the early session was by far the most productive  In order, we visited Sycamore Canyon, Patagonia Roadside Rest Area, Kino Springs, Sulphur Springs Valley and the Chiricahuas.

We left Sierra Vista shortly after 4:00am and arrived at the confluence of Sycamore and Montana Canyons at 6:45am. Hummingbirds were the most obvious species bathing in the shallow water running over the bedrock and we observed BROAD-BILLED, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S, COSTA'S and BROAD-TAILED. I waited around, listening intently until I heard the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singly loudly about 200 yards south. We rushed down there and for the next 15 minutes we had many excellent looks at the warbler as it worked its way back to the confluence. The bird perched openly and sang almost constantly. An excellent start to our day.

Among the other birds seen were ARIZONA WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED, ASH-THROATED & BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, PAINTED REDSTART and scads of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS. We also heard GRAY HAWK and SCOTT'S ORIOLE. 36 species in all.

Once again, I have to introduce what happened next with an apology to all those who believe that MONTEZUMA QUAIL does not exist. Not 5 minutes (~1/4m) after we left the warbler and started hiking out, we encountered a pair of quail on the east side of the canyon very close to the trail. Killer looks at male and female.

But wait, as they say in the annoying commercials. Not only.....but also a second pair of quail on the blacktop section of the Ruby Road east of Peña Blanca Lake. The birds crossed the road and slowly walked up slope at mile 5.5. You can't make this stuff up people.

We then drove directly to Patagonia Roadside Rest area where the male ROSE-THROATED BECARD  was fussing around the new nest, apparently without doing anything useful.

We backtracked to Kino Springs where a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE was singing as we stepped out the car at the clubhouse. About 15 minutes worth of tracking produced decent looks at a male and a female. As I mentioned a few days ago, this is typically a winter species in AZ, although there are a few (increasing) exceptions. It's possible that the presence of a pair at this late date might result in a first breeding record for Santa Cruz County.

After an afternoon break, we headed to the Chiricahuas via Sulphur Springs Valley. As I expected, we dipped on Crissal Thrasher but didn't have any trouble picking up EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (lots in Elfrida). Valley migrants included MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER on Lee Road.

Two targets on Pinery Canyon Road in the Chiricahuas. We had instant success with our first attempt to see WHIP-POOR-WILL -- these birds were very common and vocal for several hours. However, we couldn't turn the good karma with us for most of the day into FLAMMULATED OWL success. We located ~6 of them but, unfortunately, most were too far away on difficult terrain. The only owl that we got close to flew away after a few minutes and before we could lay eyes on the bird. Several WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS and a SPOTTED OWL rounded out the night sounds.

A tremendous windstorm began at 9:45pm and convinced us that it was time to call it a day. We rolled into Sierra Vista at midnight having seen 6 of 8 targets for the day.

84 species recorded:
Black & Turkey Vultures, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrel, Scaled, Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Flammulated Owl, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Spotted Owl, Whip-poor-will, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Black-chinned, Anna's, Costa's & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn, Ladder-backed, Arizona, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated& Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Rose-throated Becard, Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Summer & Western Tanagers, Canyon Towhee, Rufous-crowned, Lark, Black-throated & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds and Bullock's & Scott's Orioles.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Out again today with J.D. Today's report is very short and definitely not sweet. We put in lots of hours and struck out on both our target birds (although J.D. picked up WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD at Beatty's during our afternoon break).

After precious little sleep, we started early at Patagonia Lake State Park where we failed to find Black-capped Gnatcatcher. I noted about 45 species as we wandered around the washes and mesquite areas. The only migrants were WILSON'S and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS.

In the late afternoon we traveled to the old Oro Blanco Mine site near California Gulch, arriving there at 7:00pm. We stayed until 10:15pm and didn't get a sniff, sight nor sound of Buff-collared Nightjar. It's a pity we couldn't hang around for moonrise but sleep is definitely becoming a factor.

The nocturnal proceedings began with a fly-by COMMON NIGHTHAWK. A few COMMON POORWILLS called briefly about 30 minutes after sunset but they soon went quiet and we didn't hear them again. Three or four WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS (family group?) called at 9:00pm and a few whistled imitations got the better of their curiosity. We had a decent look at one (probable) young bird, we'll call him curious George. Scant reward for our time and effort.

Back in Sierra Vista at 1:30am.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Fourth and last day with J.D. A short day with both targets found. We birded on the San Pedro and in Ash Canyon. Although monsoon like clouds built over the Huachucas this morning, they had more bark than bite and only a few sprinkles fell in Sierra Vista.

We started late (7:30am) on the San Pedro and worked the Del Valle Road and West Garden Wash. It took a while but we finally found a perched up CRISSAL THRASHER that I heard and J.D. saw (I wasn't too hopeful of this one at this season even though Garden Wash is a good location). I recorded a total of 50 species including  a couple of LESSER NIGHTHAWKS, DUSKY & GRAY FLYCATCHERS, ROCK WREN, a calling RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW (SPRNCA species #233 for me) and a singing BOTTERI'S SPARROW.

The Gray Flycatcher was close to my latest sighting date in SE AZ --  I have one other sighting on May 17 and one on May 19. Dusky is also getting late -- I have one other May 17 sighting with May 21 being the latest.

We finished up with a visit to Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast where I hadn't been for some time (my personal preference is not to spend much time at feeders). However, this is one of the best overall setups around (for all species, not just hummers) with great viewing conditions. Well worth your time to visit. Thanks to Mary Jo for her hospitality.

We didn't have to wait too long to see (female) LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD along with 4 other hummer species. ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, WILSON'S & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS and WESTERN TANAGER were also in the yard.

Over the 4 days we saw 13 target species -- Montezuma Quail, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Elf Owl, Whip-poor-will, White-eared & Lucifer Hummingbirds, Greater Pewee, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Rose-throated Becard, Crissal Thrasher and Rufous-capped Warbler. We missed 3 species -- Flammulated Owl (heard only), Buff-collared Nightjar and Black-capped Gnatcatcher.

After J.D. departed for the airport, I did some grocery shopping, got a much needed haircut and caught up with my record keeping. Can I sleep now?

Thursday, May 18, 2006
First of two days with Don and Kate Woodward from Bowie, MD. We birded at Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs and Paton's yard without looking for anything in particular. It was another warm day that started with clear skies and ended with monsoon like clouds that produced a few sprinkles.

Nothing spectacular at Patagonia Lake State Park, just a solid 60 species. A brief stop along the entrance road produced good looks at BLUE GROSBEAK and BOTTERI'S, RUFOUS-CROWNED & BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS (all singing). Highlights of very few species on the water were a lone WESTERN GREBE, a few BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS and the usual NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS. Highlights among the regular breeding species were NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, BROWN-CRESTED & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS in the same tree, fledged VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, abundant PHAINOPEPLAS and good looks at YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. Migrants noted were SPOTTED SANDPIPER, WARBLING VIREO and WILSON'S & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS.

At Kino Springs, a singing male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE was again in the trees at the club house. Easy to locate but not easy to see in the pines. GRAY HAWK was very easy to see perched in the open. The BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK population is now (at least) 11 birds, also easy to see on the sewage pond.

Marion Paton's yard produced a few species very close to the end of their stay in lowland SE AZ -- PINE SISKIN, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LINCOLN'S & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. Not many hummers present. VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD put in an appearance. Great looks at BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

76 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Western Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Gray Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Phainopepla, Bewick's Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Rufous-crowned, Lark, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds and Bullock's Oriole.

Saturday, May 20, 2006
Out again today with Don and Kate. We birded in Carr and Garden Canyons in the Huachucas. As on Thursday, we were looking for a representative selection of SE AZ species rather than any specific birds. The conditions were similar to recent days -- extremely warm with clear skies to start and monsoon-like afternoon clouds producing a few sprinkles.

We began shortly after sunrise in Carr Canyon. The drive up to Reef produced two COOPER'S HAWKS and close views of a curious HUTTON'S VIREO. Birds at Reef overlook included several WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, a singing but unseen VIRGINIA'S WARBLER (what else is new?), PAINTED REDSTART and a (presumed) pair of RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS.

We moved on to Reef Campground which was perhaps 15-20% percent occupied. Either the U.S.F.S. has lifted the campfire restriction (shocking if the case) or campers are blatantly ignoring the restriction (equally shocking). We worked the campground and associated trails for several hours and weeded out many of the expected species.

A note on BAND-TAILED PIGEONS. In my experience, Carr Canyon is one of the better places to find this species in SE AZ. They are normally well distributed between Reef and Ramsey Vista and along the trail to Comfort Spring. Although they sometimes show up in mid April, they normally don't arrive in any kind of numbers at this elevation until mid to late May. However, this year is very different. A decent sized flock has been present in Reef Campground since early April and that flock must now number almost 100 birds. You've heard the exaggerated expression "I was kicking them out of my way" -- well, today that wasn't much of an exaggeration.

While BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS weren't exactly conspicuous and in-our-faces (no singing, just a few "pit" calls), we did eventually find a fair number of them including a pair of birds feeding young at a nest in a juniper. GREATER PEWEE was also mostly silent, just a few "peek-peek" calls to help with tracking. A pair of DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS were also in the campground.

Quite a few migrant HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS have been present in the campground in recent weeks. Today we noted only one bird. This is close to my latest sighting date for all of SE AZ (May 25, 2004 in Scheelite Canyon). The following graphic shows how they decline in the Huachucas as May progresses (data covers 1993 to present).

Warblers were not very vocal. Fortunately though, just enough to lead us to a beautiful male OLIVE WARBLER; ditto for RED-FACED WARBLER singing and foraging at close range. VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was surprisingly vocal yet as elusive as ever and we only saw one in flight. We watched a GRACE'S WARBLER foraging on the ground (I've seen this species do so regularly) and had great views of several PAINTED REDSTARTS. We also saw BLACK-THROATED GRAY and a migrant TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. Singing from Black-throated Grays (singing their heads off until recently) had noticeably diminished now that they are nesting.

PLUMBEOUS VIREOS were the most vocal species. Sadly, a nest in a regular tree that a pair were working on recently had fallen to the ground. HEPATIC and WESTERN TANAGERS were both seen well as was YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. Thankfully, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS seemed unusually low in numbers.

Best bird for me was a fly-by PEREGRINE FALCON seen in a couple of open locations near Reef. Amazingly, when I checked my records it was only my second sighting in Carr Canyon and my fifth in the Huachucas. Despite my personal paucity of records, they probably nest in at least one of the mountain canyons (although perhaps not annually).

The temperature was 95 degrees as we entered Garden Canyon close to noon and I fully expected that ELEGANT TROGON would be difficult to track down. When I saw that the Upper Picnic Area had a major function with scads of noisy people I was downright dismayed. I needn't have worried. Almost immediately we found a very tolerant, softly calling male just above the picnic area near the yellow gate. The reason soon became clear -- the male was courting a nearby female. We stayed with them for 30 minutes and had many excellent looks at both birds.

We finished up with more wonderful looks, this time of a pristine adult male SCOTT'S ORIOLE. As an ear birder, I appreciate and can find something of interest in the song of almost every species that I hear. However, the song of Scott's is simply delightful and definitely up there among the best vocalizations.

66 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Peregrine Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Mourning & White-winged Doves, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Hammond's, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Cactus, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Lucy's, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Grace's, Wilson's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Scott's Oriole.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Out today with Dave Kubitsky from Lititz, PA. We birded together once before in March, a scant 10 years ago! Time flies like crazy, Fruit Flies like a banana. We visited Carr and Garden Canyons in the Huachucas then finished up on the San Pedro River in search of a dozen potential target species. A couple of days ago, Tucson officially reached 100 degrees for the first time this season. Yesterday was extremely windy and about 20 degrees cooler. Today it was back to calm winds, clear skies and a temperature somewhere in the mid 90s in Sierra Vista. Too damn warm for me.

The day began well just beyond Reef in Carr Canyon with great looks at a singing RED-FACED WARBLER, one of our main targets. After some initial difficulty, we added GREATER PEWEE and BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. A stop to look at another Greater Pewee closer to Ramsey Vista produced my best bird of the day. I first heard the strident calls of EVENING GROSBEAKS then saw a couple of them in flight. The location (about 1 mile from Reef) was very close to where I saw them several times last year and I suspect that they are nesting in the area. About 20% of my ~110 records for this species in SE AZ come from Carr Canyon.

Next, we worked the trail to Comfort Spring in search of Northern Pygmy-Owl, a reliable location for this species. Unfortunately, we dipped out today. I've found that their responsiveness drops sharply deep into the breeding season, as it does with many species in fact. However, I'm happy (and apologetic) to report that my recent good karma with MONTEZUMA QUAIL continues. Serendipity struck again and we had great looks at a pair of them (my 5th such stumbling-into event in recent weeks). Hard to be disappointed with that! We also picked up RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW but failed to see a very reticent CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER. Conversely, an uncharacteristically cooperative VIRGINIA'S WARBLER obviously hadn't got the "skulking 101" memo. More EVENING GROSBEAKS were near the spring. 53 species in all and we probably missed a fair few since we were focusing on target species.

Garden Canyon was our next destination. We arrived early enough to hear a BOTTERI'S SPARROW still singing as we drove through the grassland. A quick stop produced excellent close range views. A male ELEGANT TROGON was on duty at the Upper Picnic Area, now devoid of the weekend crowds. The bird was giving its soft "love call" that is used (among other things) to entice a female to check out a cavity. A female was seen by others but we didn't see it.

It was a tad toasty on the San Pedro but we managed to find both our targets plus a bonus. We heard GRAY HAWKS in a couple of places and a little bit of effort produced a sighting. A singing (if you can call it that) TROPICAL KINGBIRD was easy to see at Kingfisher Pond. It was at the pond that we found a very unexpected RUDDY GROUND-DOVE. A male was singing from exposed perches in various locations around the pond, as if it were defending territory. COMMON GROUND-DOVES were also singing. Even though the basic tonal quality of both birds is similar, the phrasing and cadence is very different so it's easy to tell them apart. As I've mentioned previously, there was a major influx of Ruddy Ground-Doves during the past winter and it appears that some might stay to nest (Kino Springs has a pair).

90 species recorded:
Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled, Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Buff-breasted, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Tropical, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Canyon Wren, Bewick's Wren, House Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Plumbeous, Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Evening Grosbeak, Virginia's, Yellow, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Grace's, Wilson's & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Rufous-crowned & Song Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's & Scott's Orioles.

Thursday, May 25, 2006
My busy spring season is starting to wind down now. As things stand, I have one more client day in May and 5 in early June then it's "hasta la (Sierra) vista" baby for my June escape. At least, I think so. Several factors may combine to keep me at home. I've finally got my computer back to normal and caught up with most of my email so today I said "enough of this nonsense" and headed out -- my first day in the field on my own for exactly a month.

I decided to check what was happening in Sawmill Canyon this morning, a location that I've neglected recently. Forgive me Father, it's been 6 weeks since my last visit. The conditions were calm and refreshingly chilly in the shade by the cabin a little before 6:30am; depressingly warm as early as 7:30am and 97 degrees back in town at noon.

During the drive up Garden Canyon, I detected BOTTERI'S SPARROWS singing in multiple locations in the mesquite-grassland. It's worth noting that the birdfinding guides are somewhat misleading about your chances for this species prior to their breeding during the July-August rainy season. In reality, they arrive in late April and regularly sing throughout May and into June in order to establish territories. I've heard them on the Fort, on the San Pedro and at Patagonia Lake recently.

Other regulars in the grassland included ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, SAY'S PHOEBE, CASSIN'S & WESTERN KINGBIRDS, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, LUCY'S WARBLER, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK (fairly common, several singing), PYRRHULOXIA, EASTERN (LILIAN'S) MEADOWLARK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Further up canyon I detected SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS in 4 separate locations (birds were already paired up at the two locations that I checked). Plenty of early morning vocalizing from WILD TURKEY, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, HEPATIC TANAGER and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Sawmill Canyon is tinder box dry and I'm a little surprised that it hasn't been closed. I spent about three hours in the canyon and focused on detecting BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS. I found only five pairs which is on the low side. However, there are probably far more than this -- they aren't singing much right now and it's necessary to pick up on their "pit" calls that can be almost inaudible at a distance. I found two nests including one being built -- either a second clutch or a failed nest?

At least 4 ELEGANT TROGONS were present. Two calling males in the lower canyon and a male and female about one mile along the trail. ARIZONA WOODPECKERS were quite vocal and I came across at least five. Three or four GREATER PEWEES were initially vocal and quiet by 8:30am. ZONE-TAILED HAWK is nesting in the canyon for only the second or possibly third year in the last fourteen (at least in the first mile of the canyon). The photo is large and is best viewed using to take advantage of all your available screen height.

A lone PINE SISKIN near the cabin was the best bird for me -- it extended my latest spring sighting date for Sawmill by exactly one week (previously May 18, 1995). I'm easily pleased. Less common species for this location included WILD TURKEY, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER and WESTERN TANAGER.

As I left, a large group (three van loads) were clearly violating the canyon group limit of 12 (maybe they had special permission). Obviously a high quality tour.

Back in Garden Canyon, a male ELEGANT TROGON was sitting by the roadside as I drove by the Upper Picnic Area. I stopped at the Middle Picnic Area to try my luck photographing SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. Even though I found a couple of active and fairly cooperative birds, several factors combined to frustrate me (is there any other way with photography?). I managed a front view from an acute angle and a rear view in the shade.

40 species recorded in Garden Canyon; 32 in Sawmill Canyon; 55 in all:
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Zone-tailed & Red-tailed Hawks, Wild Turkey, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lucy's, Black-throated Gray & Grace's Warblers Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Botteri's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Friday, May 26, 2006
This morning I visited Holy Trinity Monastery in St, David and Willcox Ponds. A somewhat terse report today.

Although I've been routinely visiting St. David Monastery for 14 years now, most of my visits are "casual" as I travel to Willcox and I don't have thorough seasonal coverage. In particular, I don't come here much during the warmer months so I was hoping to add to my total of 155 species seen in 95 visits. Even though I couldn't make that happen, there were a couple of highlights. First up was my season first MISSISSIPPI KITE in a cottonwood at the main pond. Next, drum roll please -- this BROWN CRESTED FLYCATCHER was completely unaware that it had the honor of being my 400th species photographed. On the other hand, image #2 of a different individual was just an also ran.

PHAINOPEPLAS and YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were quite common. Less common species for this location were EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (established here for 3 years now) and NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET (seen for past 5 years). Migrants noted were ~6 WESTERN TANAGERS (some singing) and a couple of WILSON'S WARBLERS. I watched a pair of BELL'S VIREOS busily toing and froing as they fed begging youngsters in a nest.

43 species recorded at Holy Trinity Monastery, St. David:
Green Heron, Mallard, Mississippi Kite, Gray Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Vermilion, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer & Western Tanagers, Abert's Towhee, Lark & Song Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

My arrival at the central viewing area (high spot near the old pier) on the north shore of Willcox main pond coincided with a fly-by LEAST TERN. The flight photo is "documentary quality" at best. In reality, it could have been taken anywhere (but at least I didn't put the Pope and Pamela Anderson in the background). As far as I'm aware, although Least Tern occurs with some regularity in SE AZ (most often at Willcox in May), the species has yet to be documented as breeding in the state. Personally, I have four records at Willcox during the last two weeks of May in four different years (96, 00, 01, 06); two May records at Whitewater Draw in 2001 and one May record at Patagonia Lake in 1999.

Other decent birds in the same area were 30 WILLETS (the highest number that I've seen together in AZ) and 2 (possibly 3 or 4) RED-NECKED PHALAROPES.

30 species recorded at Willcox Pond:
4 Eared Grebe, Great Blue Heron, 2 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 2 White-faced Ibis, 4+ Cinnamon Teal, 1 N. Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Gambel's Quail, Am, Coot, 3 Black-necked Stilt, 10+ Am. Avocet, Killdeer, 1 Long-billed Dowitcher, 4 Spotted Sandpiper, 30 Willet, 1 Least Sandpiper, ~10 Wilson's Phalarope, 2+ Red-necked Phalarope, 1 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Least Tern, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Barn Swallow, N. Mockingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, House Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, May 27, 2006
Out today with a group from Sonoran Audubon Society based in the Phoenix area. We birded in Carr and Garden Canyons in the Huachucas. There was little hint of windy conditions when I met the group in town, yet by the time we reach Reef it was blowing a gale and I wasn't hopeful of finding any birds at all.  Sheer persistence won the day and we managed to see a number of the specialties despite the low overall total of only 50 species. Another short report today.

In Reef Campground, we managed great looks at BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER feeding young at a nest. This is was the only individual seen all morning and had I not known the nest location I think we would have struck out due to the conditions. Many BAND-TAILED PIGEONS continue in the campground. Nearby, a singing RED-FACED WARBLER was on duty in a regular spot and duly obliged us with a close range performance. Ditto for PAINTED REDSTART.

We moved to another spot with denser pines and firs to minimize the impact of the wind and found that a few birds had the same idea. Here we watched a silent GREATER PEWEE swooping low to the ground to feed and, after some effort, had wonderful looks a beautiful male OLIVE WARBLER that constantly sang as it foraged. Other species in this location included a DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER taking nest lining to a cavity, WARBLING VIREO, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, a pair of HEPATIC TANAGERS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Fortunately, there were very few trogon seekers when we arrived at the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon. On the down side, there wasn't any evidence of a trogon. We had to work for a while but we eventually found a male ELEGANT TROGON escaping the wind by working low to the ground in an area of dense oaks and junipers. We followed the bird around for a while until everyone had a decent look.

It was interesting to note that a WILD TURKEY answered when the trogon called. The tonal quality of both birds is similar and I've witnessed the same behavior a number of times. ARIZONA WOODPECKER and nesting PAINTED REDSTARTS were the only other birds of note at the picnic area.

[Fire News: A few fires started today (including one in the southwest section of the Huachucas) and I'm sure the windy conditions won't help firefighters. I heard that the road through Coronado National Memorial over Montezuma Pass is closed (this is at the south end of the Huachucas). Another fire began northeast of Peña Blanca Lake.]

50 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Wild Turkey, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Plumbeous, Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Olive, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Yellow-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, May 28, 2006
This evening I was out again with the Sonoran Audubon group for an owling session that we postponed yesterday due to the windy conditions. Given our results, it's a pity that it wasn't windy tonight.

I was hoping that an ELF OWL pair that I have been monitoring would be feeding young and there would be constant activity. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case -- it seems that nesting is running behind this year (at least for this pair), perhaps due to the dry conditions. Anyway, all we got was about 10 minutes worth of sporadic calling and some quick, undetected movement when the birds first became active about 30 minutes after sunset.

Although we had a couple of close encounters with WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS (the easiest owl to locate and see), none of the group laid eyes on a bird. At this stage in their breeding season it's more difficult to entice birds close to the road and walking into the woods at night is not the easiest thing in the world to do. Consequently, the chances of seeing them (especially with a large group) are considerably diminished. One very angry sounding bird flew across the road and another approached within 20 yards or so. C'est la vie.

The only other nightbirds heard were a few WHIP-POOR-WILLS.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006
This morning I checked the San Pedro River (Hwy 90 area) on what may be my last personal birding day in SE AZ until late August. My immediate future is well mapped out with some near term work commitments followed by out of state vacation in June then more work commitments in SE AZ and the White Mountains in July and August. However, even at this late stage, I haven't decided whether to travel in June -- although England's poor performances in World Cup warm up games may just tip the scales! Midfield guile and upfront firepower are both woefully inadequate.

My session on the river this morning (5:30-9:30am, 57-82 degrees) was very pleasant and time well spent. The return on my investment was excellent, more in terms of quality than quantity. I started near the San Pedro House where BOTTERI'S SPARROWS were singing in the mesquite grassland. Despite the unwanted attention of a stray dog, I managed to photograph a BLUE GROSBEAK (common throughout) catching the early morning light. I then walked south along the Del Valle Road and east down Garden Wash to Black Phoebe and Kingfisher (K) Ponds. I lingered at K Pond for an hour then spent some time on the river, took a second look at K Pond and finished up walking north along the river. I saw a few noteworthy species, both in absolute terms and within the context of my personal records on the river.

VIRGINIA RAIL
A bird in the dry grass at the north end of K Pond was probably the best of the bunch. Amazingly, this was only my second record on the San Pedro RNCA (previously May, 1994 so it's been a while!). I assume the bird is heading north along the river.

KILLDEER
Do I hear so what? Well, they are actually quite scarce in this neck of the woods. I've only seen them in 9 of 14 years with 18 records total. One bird was at K Pond.

RUDDY GROUND-DOVE
I think my suspicions of breeding may just pan out. Today I saw a male at K pond and male and female at the San Pedro House.

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
My first of season bird and actually my reason for birding on the river today. I was hoping to find my first May record for the river and that's the way it panned out. In reality, they've probably been around for a few days. It's interesting to note that these birds pass through Texas in April and have been on territory in the northern and eastern states for some time. The birds that breed in SE AZ typically arrive in late May and early June.

LESSER NIGHTHAWK
One bird briefly working K Pond at 8:30am. They are common here at dusk but unlike Common Nighthawks, they are abroad in daylight much less often.

GREEN KINGFISHER
Seen at K Pond at 6:30am and heard on the river about 200 yards north of the pond around 8:15am. Unfortunately, I only saw the bird perched from behind and couldn't say if it was a male or female. The decline of this species along the river is well known but not well understood (at least, not by me). There have been a few sporadic reports this year but I haven't personally seen one since January (I just need to get out more).

TROPICAL KINGBIRD
I heard one bird at Black Phoebe Pond and saw a (presumed) pair at K Pond. In fact, they were conspicuous and hard to miss as they regularly sallied forth over the water from the snags on the west edge of the pond. Possible (speculative) explanations are 1) there are only two birds -- perhaps planning to nest at Black Phoebe Pond while preferring to feed at K Pond; or 2) there are territories at each pond with at least 3 birds currently present. In previous years (every year since at least 1994), this species has nested at K Pond. However, now that the introduced beavers have decimated the habitat, there may not be enough big trees (although the previous nest tree is intact).

PHAINOPEPLA
Extremely scarce along this section of the river and I've only seen them in 6 of 14 years with 7 records total. A flock of 8 heading south near K pond was exceptional. Interestingly, I saw a report of 7 birds flying south along the river at San Pedro River Inn and it's tempting to assume that they were the same group.

I saw most of the regular breeding riparian species that one might expect at this location and time of year including calling GRAY HAWKS from nest sites on the east side of the river, ~10 COMMON GROUND-DOVES, many VERMILION and several raucous BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S & YELLOW WARBLERS all singing, uncountable YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS and a few ABERT'S TOWHEES, SUMMER TANAGERS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

Migrants, on the other hand, are definitely dwindling and today I only came up with one PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER (confirmed by voice) and 3 WILSON'S WARBLERS.

59 species recorded at SPRNCA (Hwy 90 area): SPRNCA bar-graph
Great Blue & Green Herons, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Gray Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Killdeer, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Lesser Nighthawk, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Green Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Tropical & Cassin's Kingbirds, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Phainopepla, Bewick's Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Black-throated & Song Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

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 Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Species List

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

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