Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - June, 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, June 28, 2006

Thursday, June 1, 2006
Out today with Mike O'Malley from Clarksville, TN who I've birded with on three previous occasions. All of our previous outings were in November so we have a new suite of birds to look for on this trip. Today we birded a number of places in Santa Cruz County and managed to see all of the "hard" target species that we sought. It was a calm, blue sky day with temperatures ranging from 48 to 99 degrees in the locations that we visited.

We began along the entrance road to Patagonia Lake State Park where our target BOTTERI'S SPARROW and VARIED BUNTING were easy to find. Great looks at both species. The Botteri's photo is interesting (even though the bird was having a bad feather day) and shows a richly colored individual, especially so with reverse early morning light. We didn't enter the park proper and recorded about 25 species along the road including GREATER ROADRUNNER, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, continuing migrant WILSON'S WARBLERS and BLUE GROSBEAK.

Next, we drove directly to Madera Canyon and soon saw the male FLAME-COLORED TANAGER with its female WESTERN TANAGER partner at a nest. Both photos are just "record shots". Even though the female tanager seems to be sitting on the nest, it was back a forth a few times as if it were still working on the nest. Flameboy was singing a rather gentle, scaled down version of its normal loud and raspy song and could easily have be missed (by sound alone).

Other species in the area (including a quick check of Santa Rita Lodge) included MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, several BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, a loudly singing WARBLING VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and a calling but unseen SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

An hour at Kino Springs produced excellent looks at both our target species -- a very vocal GRAY HAWK perched very cooperatively at the nest tree near the club house (we didn't check the first pond nest); and a pair of TROPICAL KINGBIRDS in the club house pines that were also very vocal and only slightly less cooperative. Other species here included GREAT EGRET, 6 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, GILDED FLICKER, BROWN-CRESTED & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, COMMON & RUDDY GROUND-DOVES, INCA DOVE and BRONZED COWBIRD.

A short stop at Patagonia Roadside Rest Area resulted in decent looks at the male ROSE-THROATED BECARD visiting the nest several times around noon. We also tracked down a calling HOODED ORIOLE. The usual WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS and CANYON WRENS were across the street.

We finished up in Marion Paton's yard where THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD was easy to see perched atop the nest tree. Hummingbird activity wasn't particularly high and we had to wait a little while for VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD to put in an appearance. About 20 regular species were present over a 45 minute period.

During an afternoon break, Mike picked up WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD at Beatty's and LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD at Ash Canyon Bed & Breakfast.

Our evening session was considerably less successful than the day had been, although we started out well on Moson Road with at least 12 LESSER NIGHTHAWKS seen. In the mountains we saw WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL and heard COMMON POORWILL, WHIP-POOR-WILL and ELF OWL.

96 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common & Ruddy Ground-Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Elf Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Whip-poor-will, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Magnificent & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Gilded Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Tropical, Cassin's & Thick-billed Kingbirds, Rose-throated Becard, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous, Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's, Yellow, Black-throated Gray & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western & Flame-colored Tanagers, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Rufous-crowned, Lark, Black-throated & Song Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Varied Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds, Hooded, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles.

Friday, June 2, 2006
Out again today with Mike. We birded in Carr and Garden Canyons in the Huachucas and on the San Pedro River. After a pleasant start, it was a fairly uncomfortable day weather-wise. Although early morning clouds and smoke haze kept the overnight low above 70 degrees (10 degrees above average), the upside was that the daytime temperature didn't rise as quickly as normal. Clear skies prevailed after mid morning until a monsoon type cloud buildup occurred in the afternoon and the temperature climbed to almost 100 degrees  We even had some thunder and a few sprinkles later in the day. [Fire note: the fire on the southwest side of the Huachucas is under control; fire crews from CA were leaving this morning.]

We had 10 target birds for the day and managed to see them all with varying degrees of difficulty. The morning began well in the sycamore zone of lower Carr Canyon with a pair of active and vocal SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS. Just a little further up the canyon, our next target bird success came in the form of a beautiful male SCOTT'S ORIOLE, in fact two of them singing to boot. The drive up the mountain yielded a few other species including still-roosting TURKEY VULTURES and RED-TAILED HAWK, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER (very uncommon here but it's a good year for them -- I'm seeing many more than usual), a calling ARIZONA WOODPECKER, several VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS and a RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW singing while perched on a large boulder.

We resumed our search for target species in Reef Campground and the nearby trails. Despite tinder dry conditions and fire restrictions, someone who had used a campsite had left a fire burning. Why are there more horse's asses in the world than there are horses? Although we had to work for a few species, we eventually weeded out and had good views of our targets --  BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER (building a nest), GRACE'S WARBLER, wonderful close range views of a singing RED-FACED WARBLER and brief but decent looks at an ever elusive VIRGINIA'S WARBLER after the usual dance that I always go through with this bird. We heard and lost GREATER PEWEE a couple of times before catching up with a silent bird building a nest and all the looks that we wanted.

Among the other species encountered during our search were plenty of continuing BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, a pair of HAIRY WOODPECKERS at a nest, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, numerous PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, great looks at OLIVE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, TOWNSEND'S and HERMIT WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS, SPOTTED TOWHEE and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Seasonal note: Both the Townsend's and Hermit Warblers were June firsts for me in Arizona -- no doubt due to a combination of the fact that they are essentially all gone by the end of May and the fact that I have birded far less in June in AZ than any other month. Looking at published information, the ABA birdfinding guide shows no records for Townsend's in June and the TAS guide shows three records; neither guide shows any June records for Hermit. Bottom line -- a couple of good birds.

We moved on to Garden Canyon where it took about 30 minutes to round up an ELEGANT TROGON. Eventually, we had a very cooperative male sitting near what I think is the selected nest hole. The bird remained in the same location for about 15 minutes - mostly just sitting quietly and eyeing the two dorks below it; occasionally calling softly to the female in the nest cavity and finally preening before it flew away.

Mike is also interested in photography and uses Canon equipment. In fact, it was after seeing his equipment back in 2002 that I purchased my first 10D and 100-400mm lens. Anyway, I've had my camera with me for the past couple of days and was able to use it again today. Even though the trogon was wonderfully cooperative and Mike had great life looks, photographically it was a different story for several reasons. The bird was sitting in the shade (who can blame it?), there were a few twigs to contend with and the location was just a little too high. I really notice the height when I have to hold the weight of my current equipment (~ 8 lbs) above my head for any length of time. Anyway, the bottom line is that, even with image stabilization, getting any kind of a low noise, detailed image with a shaking camera and low shutter speeds is next to impossible. This is especially true when I want to publish large size vertical images for which the trogon is well suited. I took lots of shots and decided to publish three even though I'm not really happy with the quality for the reasons discussed above. Use to view them. 

Now we were down to just one target bird for which I decided to visit Lower Garden Canyon Pond. The pond is located about 1/2 mile from the main Garden Canyon road along the Aerostat road. The heat was now starting to bite but we persevered around the (dry) pond until we eventually found ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. The bird was silent and was fortunately spotted behind us by Mike after we had walked right past it. Other birds here in this mesquite-willow-cottonwood area included nesting RED-TAILED HAWK; ACORN, GILA and LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS; BELL'S VIREO, LUCY'S & YELLOW WARBLERS, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

With all target species seen, we "treated" ourselves to some casual birding on the San Pedro. We spent a stifling couple of hours (12:30-2:30pm, temperature close to100) at the San Pedro House, along the river trail and at Kingfisher Pond. Surprisingly, we recorded 35 species and I even picked up a new location bird. What first appeared to be a vulture turned out to be a ZONE-TAILED HAWK, species #224 for me on the SPRNCA. This proves the statement "you never know what you might see" which has been proven many times by many people. You just have to get out outside and do the work! The bird was just north of the pond with two TURKEY VULTURES.

A CURVE-BILLED THRASHER has chosen a very open location for its nest in a Cholla near the San Pedro House (this is a large image so use for best viewing). A few days ago when the bird was absent I noted 3 eggs in the nest. I hope the bird is very tolerant because the nest is within feet of where almost every visitor will park. It's also without shade so the sun will beat down on it mercilessly every day. This BARN SWALLOW was definitely feeling the heat despite perching in the shade of the house. COMMON GROUND-DOVE was the only ground dove we saw near the house (although we didn't look hard for Ruddy).

TROPICAL KINGBIRDS vocalized a few times at Kingfisher Pond but remained hidden apart from one distant view. Conditions here were barely tolerable, although this "MEXICAN" MALLARD hybrid found it as easy as standing on a log. GREEN HERON was also at the pond. SONG SPARROWS were very common and conspicuous foraging in the river bed. By the way, the water level in the river is as low as I've seen it since I moved to Sierra Vista in 1993.

Among the other species noted were a calling YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, a singing WARBLING VIREO, plenty of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, YELLOW WARBLERS and YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS; and quite a few ABERT'S TOWHEES.

89 species recorded:
Green Heron, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Zone-tailed & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled Quail, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Black-chinned Hummingbird, 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 & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Tropical, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Bell's, Plumbeous, Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Lucy's, Yellow, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Hermit, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Spotted & Abert's Towhees, Rufous-crowned & Song Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's & Scott's Orioles.

Sunday, June 4, 2006
First of three days with Rick and Barb Nau from Emmet, ID. Normally, I don't work this far into June but Rick arranged this trip a long time ago to ensure that I'd be around!. Over the next few days we'll be looking for a handful of target species. Today we birded in Carr Canyon in the Huachucas and Pinery Canyon in the Chiricahuas; then finished up with a brief visit to Willcox Pond. Although the day started quite warm and definitely Junesque, the conditions eventually became more like July than June. Clouds built from mid morning onwards and the temperature in Sierra Vista at 2:30pm was a little over 100 degrees. Shortly afterwards, the temperature dropped as light rain fell for a while and the wind picked up considerably.

Although we could potentially find all three targets for the day in the Chiricahuas, I decided to start in Carr Canyon to make sure that we didn't fail on RED-FACED WARBLER and OLIVE WARBLER. The plan worked and we ended up with wonderful close range looks at singing males of both species. Red-faced was quite easy and we found a bird in a regular spot near Reef at the first attempt (we also heard them in a couple of other territories). However, we had to do a fair amount of work for Olive Warbler (ironically, a few days ago when I didn't "need" one they were singing in multiple locations). We first caught up with a singing sub-adult male (yellow headed guy -- they take a couple of years to attain the orange plumage). We threw him back and continued to pursue another bird that turned out to be, you guessed it, a cracking orange-headed adult male. This is one good looking bird. Have I mentioned that before?

Joining the BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS that have been around for a while, BRONZED COWBIRDS have now moved into the higher elevations of the canyon. Bronzed are far less common than Brown-headed at this elevation and they tend to arrive later and leave earlier. We watched a female walking along fir and pine branches, presumably looking for nests. Regulars noted included COOPER'S HAWK & SULPHUR BELLIED FLYCATCHER in the lower canyon, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED & CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, all three regular JAY species, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & GRACE'S WARBLERS, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO (common, singing) and HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS.

The drive through Sulphur Springs Valley yielded just a few species including SWAINSON'S HAWK, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES in Elfrida and scads of WESTERN KINGBIRDS.

I was hoping to avoid having to visit the higher elevations in the Chiricahuas and that's the way it worked out. I heard a singing MEXICAN CHICKADEE fairly low down on Pinery Canyon Road and we were able to track it down. The bird soon stopped singing and just sat there very still for about 5 minutes, possible close to a nest. These birds are much easier to find in fall, winter and spring when they travel in noisy flocks. During the breeding season they are much more difficult to detect.

Although not a target species, we managed to track down and see a calling NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL. Otherwise, we didn't see or hear anything not already located in Carr Canyon. 

We returned to Sierra Vista via Willcox where we did a rather skimpy cruise around the main pond. Best birds were 4 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, a species generally not present in June (northbound birds have passed through, too early for southbound birds). At the time I thought it was a new SE AZ species for me in June but it turned out that I have a late June record. Also of note was a male REDHEAD, casual in SE AZ in June.

77 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, N. Shoveler, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Western Sandpiper, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, N. Pygmy-Owl, White-throated Swift, Blue-throated Hummingbird, Acorn & Arizona Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Cordilleran, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped, Brown-crested & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Barn Swallow, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mexican Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Black-throated Gray, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhee, Black-throated Sparrow, Yellow-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Monday, June 5, 2006
Day 2 with Rick and Barb. We visited Sycamore Canyon and California Gulch for a couple of target species. I had a bit of a dilemma deciding which bird to go after first, Rufous-capped Warbler or Five-striped Sparrow (the birds are separated by a combined walk and drive of ~90 minutes). I chose to start with the warbler figuring that the regular and more numerous sparrows would be easier to find later in the morning. As things turned out, we could not have scripted the morning better. The conditions were mercifully cloudy and cool for June and we had fantastic looks at both our target species. Definitely not one of Murphy's better days.

We left Sierra Vista at 3:45am and parked at the Sycamore Canyon trailhead at 5:45am; After a short hike we arrived at the Sycamore/Montana confluence at 6:15am and immediately heard the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singing about 200 yards to the south. We hurried towards the sound and for the next 30 minutes we tracked the bird as it continued south beyond the second set of spires and back north again. We had many fleeting views as the bird actively foraged and sang almost continuously at high, middle and ground level locations. Eventually, our persistence resulted in killer looks.

As we were leaving, another party headed in had seen Montezuma Quail but we didn't see the bird. Among the 35 species that we recorded on this super short visit were ARIZONA WOODPECKER, ASH-THROATED, DUSKY-CAPPED, BROWN-CRESTED & PACIFIC SLOPE-FLYCATCHERS, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, ROCK WREN, WARBLING VIREO, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, SUMMER & HEPATIC TANAGERS, BLUE GROSBEAK & HOODED & SCOTT'S ORIOLES.

While not unprecedented in early June, two Pacific-slope Flycatchers were a personal first for me in SE AZ in June. Had they not been calling, I might have been temped to assume they were Cordilleran (although as Benny Hill quite rightly said, never assume because when you do you make an ASS out of U and ME.

I was delighted to have seen the warbler early so that we could get into California Gulch before the heat started to bite. However, it was a relatively cool day so we probably could have burned more time on the warbler if necessary. Even so, it was a tad warm slogging back up Heartbreak Hill.

We found two singing FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS in regular locations -- one high on the east slope at the first stream crossing and another much lower in the east slope gully at the second stream crossing. We spent about 15 minutes at the second crossing and the bird approached to within 15 feet and sang to us from an open perch at eye level. After a few minutes, the bird hopped down and began foraging on the grass verge (still singing) and eventually on the road just a few feet from us, apparently completely indifferent to our presence.

A great morning. We arrived back in Sierra Vista around 12:30pm with clearing skies and a temperature of 97 degrees.

Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Third and last day with Rick and Barb saw us down to just one target bird -- Black-capped Gnatcatcher. Although we've batted 1000 over the past couple of days with all five target species seen, I was afraid that our streak would come to an end today. However, I'm happy to report that wasn't the case. Early success at Patagonia Lake gave us the luxury of some casual birding (what a concept) at Kino Springs, Roadside Rest Area and Paton's yard. Another warm day (100 in Sierra Vista at midday) with monsoon like clouds and some token rain in the late afternoon and early evening (dropping the temperature to 80 degrees).

We left Sierra Vista at 4:30am so we could get started shortly after first light at Patagonia Lake. We worked methodically through the washes, listening diligently, until success came our way at 7:00am when we heard the calls of a pair of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS. The birds were at the base of the hillside about 100 yards north of Nutting's Wash -- a location where I saw them several times last year. We watched male and female foraging fairly close to each other and calling regularly. The male still has a black cap. I'm not sure about their breeding success at the lake this year. I found two failed nests earlier in the year and since then I haven't had any confirmation of nesting by personal observation or by reports from others. In fact, there have been very few sighting reports of any substance.

After finding the gnatcatchers, we took a look the lake and found a few more species to add to those already seen during the search. We left the lake at 8:30am having recorded 61 species. Best bird of the morning for me was a female COMMON MERGANSER which is totally unexpected in June (perhaps one previous record). This is a species that winters in reasonable numbers at the lake and typically leaves in early April. The lone female continued into May and was still present today. I wonder if it might be injured? Also of note were a "flock" of 10 GREAT EGRETS. Although they are regular here, I typically only see one or two of them. We saw a fly-by flock of 6 gulls but were unable to identify them.

BOTTERI'S, RUFOUS-CROWNED, RUFOUS-WINGED & BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS; BLUE GROSBEAK and VARIED BUNTING were all singing. Other species included 1 WESTERN GREBE, a few BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, 3 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, several fledged groups of NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS, a calling PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, all three regular myiarchus species, a singing WARBLING VIREO still at low elevation, scads of YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

We moved on to Kino Springs where TROPICAL KINGBIRDS were very vocal and conspicuous near the club house. Fledgling COMMON RAVENS from the nest at the first pond were perched together near the nest. Among the other species recorded were GREAT EGRET, one male and two female CINNAMON TEAL, GRAY HAWK, GILDED FLICKER and COMMON GROUND-DOVE.

A short stop at the Roadside Rest Area at 10:00am quickly turned up a male ROSE-THROATED BECARD posing nicely near the nest. Although there was a single report of a female recently, as far as I'm aware there haven't been any subsequent reports confirming the presence of a female..

We stayed at the Paton's Yard for 45 minutes which was the time required to see VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD. A single THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD was perched atop a nearby dead cottonwood. I recorded about 30 species including SUMMER TANAGER, ABERT'S TOWHEE, a few LARK SPARROWS and BLACK-HEADED & BLUE GROSBEAKS.

This was my last scheduled day of work until July 2, but who's been looking forward to that. I'll be sticking around at least through the weekend to watch the opening World Cup games. After that, I'll decide whether to remain at home, head to New Hampshire and Maine as planned, or travel to the "old standby" of Wyoming. In the meantime, I may or may not venture out to do some local birding. Reports may be sporadic or non existent until I get off the dime and make a decision. I used to be decisive but now I'm not so sure.

86 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Western Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Black & Turkey Vultures, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Gilded Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Black Phoebe, Tropical, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Rose-throated Becard, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Phainopepla, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Botteri's, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Lark, Black-throated & Song Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Varied Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and  Hooded & Bullock's Orioles.

Wednesday, June 7, 2006
I decided that, as long as I'm still in SE AZ, I might as well collect some much needed June data and I spent my first day of vacation enjoying a beautiful morning in Carr Canyon. I started up the canyon just after sunrise (5:30am) and for the first couple of hours (6:00-8:00am) I had the Reef area all to myself -- silence, solitude and very fresh conditions after last night's rain. The birds seemed to like it as well and I found most of the expected species, many of which were singing. 64 species in all.

Bird activity in the lower canyon at first light was very high and I found 20 species before the first stream crossing just by driving slowly and listening. SCALED & GAMBEL'S QUAIL were calling almost side by side; noisy BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS were hard to miss along with several singing BLUE GROSBEAKS. A couple of pairs of SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were above the second stream crossing.

I didn't have any real objectives and I just wandered round taking inventory and photographs (I haven't used my new 400mm DO lens very much yet so I'm still getting used to how it functions with the EOS 1D). I worked Reef campground, several of the nearby trails and about a mile of the road leading to Ramsey Vista. Activity remained fairly high until I headed down the mountain at 11:15am.

BAND-TAILED PIGEONS remain very common and super skittish but I managed to "sneak up" on the bird in the photo. Why they persist in the campground beats me, they must dread weekends. Apart from the problems of distance and height in the tree, this type of pose represents my most difficult challenge -- getting enough depth of field to keep the whole bird in focus (I focused on the neck markings instead of the eye).

Until today, I've never managed to get a useful image of a "cracking, orange-headed" OLIVE WARBLER that I'm always ranting about. I had to stay with the bird for 30 minutes just to get a semi-decent image. The bird was constantly on the move (making it difficult to keep in focus) and never stopped singing the whole time. I fared much better with a very cooperative DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER. This is a large image, best viewed with . It's also one of my higher quality images, even after compression, proving once again that there's no substitute for being close and having good light. HUTTON'S VIREO was also fairly cooperative.

BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS were very vocal and conspicuous at every stop that I made. Sadly, the nest that I saw being built on my last two trips has not survived the wind and rain. GREATER PEWEES were much more vocal today than they have been in recent days, perhaps rejuvenated by the rain (I certainly am). BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS are present in very high numbers this year and they were singing heartily everywhere. It was hard to listen for other birds in a couple of locations because of the din. I found all of the expected warblers but didn't come across any migrant stragglers. Surprisingly, RED-FACED WARBLERS were not as vocal today and I only turned up birds in two of the four territories that I checked.

The temperature dropped to a pleasant level in late afternoon as the clouds built up. There was a decent thunderstorm with significant rain during the early evening hours and it's still raining at 9:00pm as I write these notes. Hopefully, this very unseasonable weather will keep the forests open until the real monsoons begin.

64 species recorded in Carr Canyon:
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, White-throated Swift, Magnificent, Black-chinned & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped, Brown-crested & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Plumbeous, Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Black-throated Gray, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Yellow-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Brown-headed Cowbird and Scott's Oriole.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Although I don't have any birds to report, I've had lots of inquiries asking why I haven't posted so I thought I'd better post an update. I've spent the first week of my vacation at home watching 3 world cup games per day and wrestling with computer problems. As you may remember, a few weeks ago I had to replace a hard disk and go through all the software installation crap that goes along with such an event. Well, last weekend my main computer became infected with a nasty virus that was so bad I decided to start from scratch by reformatting  the hard disk and doing the whole software install thing all over again. Definitely not how I wanted to be spending my vacation. Nevertheless, as of Monday I was still intending to head to New Hampshire and Maine starting yesterday. Not so fast said the computer gremlins -- disaster struck again and my laptop developed the same virus so I had to waste another couple of days getting that squared away (since I didn't want to travel without it). What a nightmare week!

Anyway, I'm back to normal (at least computer wise) and will be heading north to Wyoming starting on Saturday. I'm upset that my road trip time will be limited (work begins again July 2), but shit seems to happen to me more than most people. A couple of England wins have mitigated things a little, although their performances have been quite poor. Days have been warm in Sierra Vista -- yesterday it was 104 at noon at the location that I monitor, "only" 95 today! . The Medicine Bow mountains and Beartooth Highway beckon.

Notes on the England game today against Trinidad & Tobago for UK readers and perhaps some others who follow soccer: I've watched all the games on Univision because the commentators on ESPN/ABC just don't get it -- balls are not "served" in football and nobody is ever "offsides" (cringe). During today's game, the Univision commentators referred to Peter Crouch as "El Roboto" because of his recent antics. However, after his glaring misses today, I can think of several other names even if he did finally score (thankfully, sans robotics). Beckham and Gerrard were lethargic and essentially invisible for much of the game (so ironic that Gerrard would score one of his trademark goals). I don't think that I've ever seen Lampard play as badly as he did today -- terrible passing and finishing. As for Michael Owen, was he on the pitch? Today they were playing St. Dunstan's and only managed to win 2-0. I can't see them faring well against the likes of Brazil. Perhaps the only good news is that Rooney is fit to play. If England win the world cup, I'll start chasing stakeout birds again and give up routine birding (I think that I'm safe). For all those that disagree, I have donned my flame retardant underwear.

Saturday, June 17, 2006
Road Trip, Day 1 (Arizona-Utah-Colorado-Wyoming): 38 species
Today I traveled to Wyoming by way of Northern Arizona (Phoenix-Flagstaff-Kayenta-Monument Valley); eastern Utah (Bluff-Blanding-Monticello-Moab); and northwestern Colorado (Loma-Rangeley-Craig). I made Wyomingfall in Baggs then headed east to Saratoga, a very scenic route through a part of the Medicine Bow National Forest that I hadn't traveled before. Pity I was too tired to really enjoy it.. My "normal" routes are either  I-25 through New Mexico and Colorado or I-15 through Utah. However, I really dislike driving through Denver and Salt Lake so I decided a change was in order (actually, I've done a similar route before). I left home last evening and tried to time my arrival in Monument Valley so that I would have starkly backlit, silhouetted rocks before dawn and richly colored, red rocks as the sun came up.

I don't have any target birds on this trip so I'll simply enjoy whatever I see (however, I might just stumble into a Black-billed Cuckoo!). I plan to work on extending my knowledge of Wyoming birds and birding locations as well as take a few photos if the opportunity arises. Today I ended up in Saratoga, WY ready for birding my way east to Laramie through Medicine Bow National Forest tomorrow. I'm looking forward to some cool weather and snow (I actually encountered a little snow just off the roadside today). Next, I'll spend a day getting to Sundance in NE Wyoming where I'll be for a few days. Afterwards, I expect to head west to the NW part of the state and the Beartooth Highway (more cold temps, plenty of snow and hopefully Black Rosy-Finches and Pine Grosbeaks to enjoy). I may make the westerly swing through Montana for a change.

Today was a tough day -- 1050 miles traveled with 20 hours on the road including a little birding and photography (and rest!) time. Not many birds to report -- best birds were SAGE SPARROW and SAGE THRASHER just over the border into Utah  (I didn't look for them in similar habitat in Arizona); MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS in Colorado and Wyoming; and a host of common roadside species including BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE..

38 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Swainson's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff Swallow & Barn Swallows, N. Mockingbird, Sage Thrasher, Mountain Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Loggerhead Shrike, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Virginia's & Yellow Warblers, Western Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping, Vesper & Sage Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Western Meadowlark and Bullock's Oriole.

Sunday, June 18, 2006
Road Trip, Day 2 (Wyoming): Day List: 86 species; Trip List 98 species
I started my first full day of birding in Wyoming for another year with a quick visit to Storer-Saratoga Lakes Wetland at the north edge of town (Saratoga). I then worked my way slowly through Medicine Bow National Forest along highway 130 as far as the small community of Centennial, where I spent the night. In the late afternoon and early evening I checked several of the Laramie plains lakes. It was a very pleasant, mostly blue sky day marred only by windy conditions at high elevation.

Saratoga Lake had plenty of fisherman on this weekend day and most of the birds that I found were in the smaller ponds and marshy areas. Among the birds noted were WHITE PELICAN, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, CINNAMON TEAL, OSPREY, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, TREE SWALLOW and MARSH WREN (probably all breeders here except the Sandpiper). I enjoyed excellent close range looks at a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD that was determined to stand its ground as I pointed by lens towards it. I wonder what birds think in such cases? BELTED KINGFISHER was definitely not quite as tolerant and I still haven't photographed this species! SAGE THRASHER and VESPER SPARROW were in the adjacent sage habitat.

I spent about 8 hours traversing highway 130 west-east from where it begins south of Saratoga over to Centennial, a stretch of 42 miles. The habitat changes en route are fairly dramatic starting in a verdant valley with lush, green fields, riparian growth, wet ditches, etc. Next comes some drier, sagebrush habitat then pines, aspens and creekside riparian followed by spruce-fir and eventually high alpine above treeline. The descent on the east side is similar except that the "low elevation" bottoms out into high plains grassland stretching ~30 miles from Centennial to Laramie.

Birds in the valley included SWAINSON'S HAWK, WILSON'S SNIPE, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER (North Platte River), CLIFF SWALLOW, HOUSE WREN, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, YELLOW WARBLER and SAVANNAH SPARROW.

In the sage zone I added expected species such as SAGE THRASHER, BREWER'S & VESPER SPARROWS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD.

The unmistakable song of WARBLING VIREO immediately tells you that Aspens are close. Other species noted as I climbed were BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (singing their heads off all day), HERMIT THRUSH and PINE SISKIN.

The song of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW signals the approaching alpine zone where I also saw and heard the first YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, CASSIN'S FINCH and DARK-EYED (Gray-headed) JUNCO. Compared to previous years that I've birded here, the snow melt is well advanced and there is already a significant growth of willows and wildflowers. I paused at the Medicine Bow Peak Viewpoint and enjoyed a few moments of solitude -- just minutes after I took this photo the parking lot was crawling with people. All of the high elevation lakes below Medicine Bow Peak (12,000 feet) are essentially ice free, including Lake Bellamy shown in this shot. All this despite the fact that I'm here earlier than any previous trip.

That's not to say that there isn't any snow, far from it. Just beyond the summit I picked up AMERICAN PIPIT foraging on a snow sheet. At Sugarloaf recreation area I had to negotiate a few snowbanks to get to Libby Lake. However, my reward was some great looks at several SLATE-COLORED FOX SPARROWS singing side by side with LINCOLN'S and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and WILSON'S WARBLERS. I had to get my feet wet in the snowmelt to negotiate a decent sun angle to photograph the Fox Sparrows. Delightful stuff, especially since it was almost bug free. You'll note from the photo that the race here is probably the most "slate-colored" of all, with the gray color on the head, nape and all the way down the mantle. Some Slate-colored races have very little slate color except for the head. This second image of a different individual shows that some have a breast spot and do not show yellow on the lower mandible. By the way, these birds are not carrying food for young (way too early for that), they are just feeding themselves from the boggy ooze.

Disappointingly, despite the early melt year, the road to Brooklyn Lake is still closed. I could have walked in but I'd already scrambled over enough snowbanks for one day (not easy above 10,000 feet). Than, serendipity struck -- twice! At the point that I chose to turn around (parking area for North Fork Trail #390), I heard the soft whistles of GRAY JAYS. I walked a few hundred yards along the trail trying to stalk them for a photo. However, the birds (I found 3) easily had my measure and always stayed well in front of me. As I pursued them, out of the corner of my eye I noticed what turned out to be an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER zoom past me. I turned my attention to the woodpeckers (I saw two) and tried my luck with them. Between the two species I spent an hour of my life and still may not have obtained a publishable image -- but it was fun.

Before hitting the lakes, I explored some new roads that are not convenient to do when coming from Laramie (the main reason I chose to stay in Centennial). It wasn't the best time to find birds but Fox Creek Road (that links Hwy 11 near Albany to Highway 230 at Woods Landing) looks very promising. This is a lush riparian area, although unfortunately it's mostly private property so birding must be done from the road.

When I reached the plains, I started at Twin Buttes Wildlife Area (Big Hollow Road access) where I immediately noticed a FORSTER'S TERN. I quickly figured out that the bird was making repetitive passes along an irrigation ditch so I positioned myself camera ready and said "okay bird, just fly by one more time". It duly obliged and I said, "okay bird, just fly by one more time". As anybody who has ever tried to photograph a bird in flight will attest, the chances of success are slim (even when prepared) and I didn't fare very well, especially against a background of gray and white clouds. As I waited for the Tern, I noticed a female BREWER'S BLACKBIRD on a fence post carrying food. The bird seemed agitated (quite unusual for this placid species) and I soon realized that it must be waiting to deliver food to a nest. I backed away and left it in peace missing out on another pass from the Tern. I hope the Blackbird appreciated my sacrifice. I consoled myself with the fact that one good turn deserves another (groan). This trip first AMERICAN AVOCET worked a nearby irrigation ditch.

Twin Buttes Reservoir had AMERICAN WIGEON, GADWALL, SHOVELER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, WILLET, lots of WILSON'S PHALAROPES (almost all females), ~10 CALIFORNIA and a lesser number of RING-BILLED GULLS and a few McCOWN'S LONGSPURS.

Next, I checked a few small ponds before heading over to Meeber Lake which was the most productive water area that I checked (despite lots of fishermen). Among the decent selection of species here were a few PIED-BILLED, many EARED and a single CLARK'S GREBE, plenty of WHITE PELICANS, a lone male COMMON MERGANSER, fly-by SANDHILL CRANES and 10 FORSTER'S & 6 BLACK TERNS,

I finished up by checking Lake Hattie. This is the largest body of water in the area and usually the least productive (since human intrusion is the greatest here). However, today there was only one water skier and very few other folks around. Not that it helped. I scanned and scanned to no avail trying to pick up a Western Grebe that is normally so reliable at this location. On the plus side, other "regulars" such as BANK SWALLOW and McCOWN'S  LONGSPUR were both on duty.

My last bird of the day was BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD at the Old Corral Hotel back in Centennial. A very enjoyable day.

86 species recorded:
Pied-billed, Eared & Clark's Grebes, Am. White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Osprey, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Sandhill Crane, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Wilson's Phalarope, Ring-billed & California Gulls, Forster's & Black Terns, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Horned Lark, Tree, Violet-green, Bank, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House & Marsh Wrens, Sage Thrasher, Mountain Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Black-capped & Mountain Chickadees, Gray Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Cassin's Finch, Pine Siskin, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Savannah, Fox, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) Junco, McCown's Longspur, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Western Meadowlark, Common Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, June 19, 2006
Road Trip, Day 3 (Wyoming): Day List: 56 species; Trip List 111 species
Today I started on the old River Road northwest of Laramie then traveled to Sundance in the northeast part of the state. I stopped along the way at Glendo State Park and finished up with an afternoon visit to the Bear Lodge Mountains northwest of Sundance. It's perhaps just as well that I had to spend time traveling today because, apart from the early morning session, it was very windy for much of the day. Sundance was calm but afternoon clouds brought some thunderstorm activity and a little rain.

The "Old River Road" (CR 51) leaves Hwy 287 about 7 miles north of Laramie and roughly follows the Laramie river northwards (although it's only occasionally in sight) to the "town" of Bosler. This is a good place for some of the plains-grassland birds such as Mountain Plover and Longspurs. I've done this route a number of times (always in June) and have never missed Mountain Plover.  However, as I've mentioned before, it's very tough with just one pair of eyes and having to do the driving as well (see journal for June 20, 2005). Note: although the best plover habitat is at the north end, I always drive south to north because of better early morning viewing conditions (at least in June.).

Even though the roadside ditches and ponds are all dry, habitat for most species remains pretty decent. Today I took about 3 hours to cover the 17 miles of this route. I saw most of the hoped for/expected birds and recorded a total of 37 species. Just when I thought my eyes were about to crap out after being constantly alert (and many false alarms with critters in the grass), I found just one MOUNTAIN PLOVER. Location was on the west side of the road 3.5 miles from Hwy 287 in Bosler. In other words, I'd covered 13.5 miles at a snail's pace! This road is so mosquito laden that it's really impractical to have the windows open at such a slow speed. Anyway, I prevailed and I even braved rolling down the window to get a record shot (the bird was a fair distance away).

By the time I found the plover I'd already seen many other species including SWAINSON'S HAWK, 5 FERRUGINOUS HAWKS (1 dark phase), WILLET, many CALIFORNIA GULLS, BREWER'S SPARROW, LARK BUNTING; and many McCOWN'S & a few CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS. In Bosler, I added a very cooperative roosting COMMON NIGHTHAWK and SAGE THRASHER.

I said goodbye to the plains for another year and took Highway 34 east to I-25 at Wheatland. This is not a particularly birdy drive and by far the best species was a suicidal BROWN THRASHER that flew across the car at mile 38. My day went a little pear shaped after this. I debated whether to visit Ayres Bridge, a delightful spot near Douglas or Glendo State Park. I chose the latter because I've never visited there before and Douglas was a little out of my way. Bad choice! The state park wasn't what I had hoped for (very little riparian habitat) and it was way too windy for birding anyway (white tops on the reservoir). A pair of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were at the intersection of "C" and Warren Streets in Glendo.

I didn't stay long and proceeded to zigzag my way east and north to Sundance. Get out your map. First, I traveled due east on Meadowdale Road (east side of Glendo Reservoir) which was loaded with LARK BUNTINGS all the way to Hwy 270. Nothing of note as I drove north on 270 and only SWAINSON'S HAWK east on 18/20 to Lusk. A pair of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were on 8th street in Lusk. From here I drove north on Hwy 85 through Newcastle and eventually picked up Hwy 585 to Sundance. My fortunes took a turn for the better in Four Corners just south of the 85/585 split.

With the westward influx of DICKCISSEL this year, I figured that this was my only real hope for a Wyoming state bird on this trip. I heard their unmistakable sound and did a U turn to check them out (about 4 birds singing). I also heard more as I drove north on Hwy 585. Later, as I headed into the Bear Lodge Mountains, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW and lots more DICKCISSELS were singing along the first mile of FR 838 (access road into the mountains off Hwy 14 just west of Sundance).

I  traveled about 9 miles into the mountains (a little beyond Warren Peak Lookout) where the elevation is around 7000 feet and the habitat is mostly Pine and Aspen. Among the birds that I noted were singing DUSKY FLYCATCHER, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, the odd one or two WARBLING VIREOS <g> and the White-winged form of DARK-EYED JUNCO.  I dropped down to Ogden Canyon which adds some high elevation creekside habitat to the mix. I picked up more MACGILLIVRAY'S and a singing AMERICAN REDSTART that was very elusive to track down.

56 species recorded:
Mallard, N. Pintail, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Swainson's, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, Willet, California Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Tree, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Sage & Brown Thrashers, Mountain Bluebird, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Am. Crow, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Pine Siskin, Am. Goldfinch, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Am. Redstart, Western Tanager, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper & Grasshopper Sparrows, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, McCown's & Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Dickcissel, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Western Meadowlark.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Road Trip, Day 4 (Wyoming): Day List: 55 species; Trip List 128 species
This morning I birded south and east of Sundance then took the afternoon off to watch England play Sweden and catch up on record keeping. Another disappointing performance by England;  a 2-2 draw after twice leading is just not World Cup winning material. However, it places them atop their group with two wins and a draw which ensures that they play Ecuador and not Germany in the first knockout round. Even so, it's just a matter of time before I can focus my attention fully on birds again!

Sundance is located at the edge of the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. Apart from Devil's Tower, the area is relatively non commercial and natural. This is completely opposite to South Dakota which has sickeningly commercialized "their" Black Hills (Custer stuff, Presidents heads in rocks; Caves, etc.). If there's a buck to be made from it, it's being done. Of course, everybody has to make a living. I've heard that some folks are making a good living from birds (I just wish I was one of them). But I digress.

Sundance is a very scenic area with plenty of rolling grassland and pine covered hills, all very easy on the eye. Birdwise, it's located at an interesting crossroads of eastern and western birds. It's the kind of place that I could live. However, what about the winters? When I see signs that say "road closed when flashing, return to Sundance" it translates into "Stuart Healy, return to reality".

The area was very fresh this morning after last night's rain. I started on the Moskee Road about 5 miles east of town and worked my way back to Hwy 585 via a couple of Forest Roads (872 and 876). This is a route that I've done a few times now and it usually yields a nice mix of pine forest and grassland birds. However, I certainly wasn't prepared for the grassland birding spectacle that I encountered today. Unbelievable numbers of  DICKCISSELS wherever I went (this individual is richly colored in the early morning light). On one 7 mile stretch I counted over 100 and that's just what I could detect from the roadside (here's one singing in a pine tree). The Wyoming Birdfinding Guide lists them as Uncommon and Irregular; I read between the lines as "mostly not present". This year is exceptional. I've always found GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and sometimes found BOBOLINKS on this route and both were present today; the former in high numbers. LARK BUNTINGS were also present in higher than normal numbers (although I really don't have enough data).

Among the other species noted were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and DUSKY FLYCATCHER both approaching the eastern edge of their range; GRAY CATBIRD, many MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS taking advantage of boxes, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, WESTERN TANAGER, SPOTTED TOWHEE, LARK BUNTING, LARK SPARROW and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

My next destination was along Sand Creek Road which is a few miles further east near the South Dakota state line. It was a little late when I got here and activity was somewhat subdued. Nevertheless, I picked up a few birds with an eastern flavor -- EASTERN KINGBIRD, BLUE JAY, RED-EYED VIREO (sing baby, sing), OVENBIRD and ORCHARD ORIOLE (first spring male, tomorrow it will be a first summer male). Not to be outdone, western birds chipped in as well -- RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, ROCK WREN, LAZULI BUNTING and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. More widespread species included DOWNY WOODPECKER, HOUSE WREN and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH.

I finished up by working my way back to Sundance via a forest road marked on my DeLorme Map but not marked on the road itself. I eventually found "Rifle Pit Road" which led me through grassland and pines and some dangerous encounters with USFS Fire Trucks driving way too fast for the conditions. My reward came in the form of a BROWN THRASHER that I was able to photograph, only my third in Wyoming. Lots more DICKCISSELS and a few BOBOLINKS were along this road.

55 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-naped Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock & House Wrens, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Mountain Bluebird, Am. Robin, Black-capped Chickadee White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous, Warbling & Red-eyed Vireos, Am. Goldfinch, Yellow Warbler, Ovenbird, Western Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Vesper, Lark, Grasshopper & Song Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Dickcissel, Bobolink, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Western Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's & Orchard Orioles.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Road Trip, Day 5 (Wyoming): Day List: 69 species; Trip List 133 species
Today I birded north and west of Sundance; first in the Bear Lodge Mountains then along Barlow Canyon Road north of Devils Tower; and finally along Little Missouri Road in northern Crook County (see journal for June 18, 2005 for some brief notes on these roads). At the end of the day I traveled west to Buffalo where I'm staying for a couple of nights.

I drove north into the Bear Lodge Mountains about 11 miles on FR 838 (to the crossroads a few miles past Warren Peak). From here I took FR 847 west down the mountain for 17 miles to State Route 24 near Devils Tower. I've mentioned FR 838 before on June 19 and on June 16, 2005. FR 847 was a new road for me and it turned out to be very enjoyable birding without producing anything special. As the road drops, the canyon widens and riparian habitat increases. The lower section is very wide with ranchland, ponds and rocky bluffs. This is a good alternate route from Sundance to Devils Tower without the traffic (much slower, of course, especially so if you stop for birds!).

DICKCISSELS and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were in full voice in the lower section of FR 838. I also noted EASTERN KINGBIRD and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. You can't miss WARBLING VIREO higher up the mountain. PLUMBEOUS VIREOS were few and far between. I heard a few of the usual suspects including DUSKY FLYCATCHER and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. Apart from the views and solitude (I didn't see a vehicle until about 6 miles from SR 24), on FR 847 I enjoyed playing photographic cat and mouse with a GRAY CATBIRD (the catbird won). I fared a little better with an ever flitting AMERICAN REDSTART. I also enjoyed watching a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE picking bugs of the road and seeing a ROCK WREN in very amusing circumstances. I was passing through some very  unlikely Rock Wren habitat when I heard one singing. Whoa! I stopped the car to make sure that my ears weren't lying to me. Trees were in abundance everywhere save for one very large field. Somebody has got a little Devils Tower thing going with a small pile of rocks in the middle of the huge field. Guess what, there was a friggin' Rock Wren sitting on that pile of rocks. More evidence to support the statement "if you build it, they will come". From where though? In this case, I ran into Rock Wren habitat a few miles down the road.

A ranch pond about 5 miles from SR 24 made for an interesting stop. DICKCISSEL #999 for the trip was singing its heart out. An EASTERN KINGBIRD and a RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD were vying for the highest vantage point in a dead tree overlooking the pond. A male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and a small group of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES added color. Dissenting voices came in the form of the rather nasal and peevish call of a BLUE JAY and a complaining KILLDEER (do they every not complain?).

Barlow Canyon road produced many of the same species that I saw here last year. DICKCISSEL and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were the notables among ten new species that I saw along the route this year. I haven't come across many COMMON GRACKLES in my Wyoming travels so far but several were in exactly the same place as last year. Ditto for OSPREY, presumably the same pair (they sure didn't like it when  I stopped to look at them). These species were all along the first few miles. Other species included MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, BOBOLINK, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. 

One of the reasons that I took this route again (which isn't exactly on the way to anywhere), was to check on a couple of species that I found last year. I was successful in finding both of them again although not in the same locations. First up was EASTERN BLUEBIRD hanging out between New Haven and Mule Creek, where the road drops down the to the level of the Little Missouri Valley. Based on the status information that I have, this species has declined in Wyoming and isn't present in easily accessible places (which this most certainly is not).

However, I was more intrigued by FIELD SPARROW. I didn't realize it at the time of my June sighting last year, but this species is not known to be a breeder in Wyoming and there are only April and May records. I found at least 6 birds at Mule Creek and they definitely exhibited breeding behavior by territorial singing and trying to lead my away from where they didn't want me to go. I was able to get a photograph for the record. The area was also loaded with CHIPPING and LARK SPARROWS to confuse the issue. Other species included NORTHERN HARRIER, PRAIRIE FALCON, DOWNY WOODPECKER and ROCK WREN.

I was hot and tired after doing battle with the Field Sparrows and my level of diligence driving along the Little Missouri Road was well below acceptable standards. Consequently, I know that I missed some potential field birds because I didn't stop to do any scanning. Shame on me. I recorded ~20 species along 30 miles of road. Then I drove 175 miles to Buffalo. My wake up call is for 4:30am. Yikes. This is vacation, vacation is my friend (or is that fiend). Now you know why the journal is running behind.

70 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Downy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, Rock & House Wrens, Gray Catbird, Eastern & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Black-capped & Mountain Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Plumbeous Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Pine Siskin, Am. Goldfinch, Am. Redstart, Ovenbird, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Spotted Towhee, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Field, Vesper, Lark, Grasshopper & Song Sparrows, Black-headed Grosbeak, Dickcissel, Bobolink, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Western Meadowlark Common Grackle and Bullock's Oriole.

Thursday, June 22, 2006
Road Trip, Day 6 (Wyoming): Day List: 61 species; Trip List 140 species
This morning I spent several early hours birding along Clear Creek in Buffalo and the remainder of my day birding and sightseeing in the Bighorn Mountains to the west of town. Another very pleasant day (SE AZ it isn't); partly cloudy and cool at times in the mountains.

[First, since someone asked, a note about why I'm taking care to be specific about the roads that I'm using. A few days ago while in the Medicine Bow National Forest, I met someone who was using the journal entries from my previous Wyoming trips as a guide for his trip. I had referred to a generic road name and he was unable to find it (fortunately, he bumped into me and I clued him in). I didn't really feel guilty since he didn't even have a decent map nor the Wyoming Birdfinding Guide - WBG (as out of date as it is, don't leave home without it), Are you reading this Chuck? Nevertheless, I'm trying to be more fastidious about such matters in my notes. Forgive me all those who will never travel this way.]

The riparian habitat along Clear Creek was perhaps the best (albeit very slim) chance that I have of finding a Black-billed Cuckoo. Although they are present in the state, Wyoming is hardly the best place to target this species (otherwise I would probably have seen one with the number of trips that I have made!). Today I checked a couple of locations along the creek without success. I didn't expect to find the bird and I wasn't disappointed because I enjoyed the birding. By the way, the city of Buffalo has a trail system along the creek with several access points. Unfortunately, there's no info in the WBG about this and the trail map is not on the web (but it is available at the Chamber of Commerce). Consequently, I was working blind.

I started along a very small section of Clear Creek adjacent to the Heritage Park Wetland on the east side of town close to I-90 exit 58; accessible via Stockyard Road off Hwy 16. I got the impression that this section of the creek is little used because the trail was quite overgrown. The highlight here was a couple of what I'm calling juvenile HOODED MERGANSERS (second image of one bird). Status for this species in WBG is "uncommon winter visitor and migrant" with an old breeding record from 1929. This particular spot on Clear Creek has ideal breeding habitat. Among the other species were SPOTTED SANDPIPER pottering around the rocks, a fitz-bewing WILLOW FLYCATCHER (trip first), CEDAR WAXWING and GRAY CATBIRD.

Next, I birded Clear Creek Area D that I found completely by accident. This area is on the west side of town; accessible via Turkey Lane off Hwy 16 (3 miles west of the 16/87 intersection). Drive a few hundred yards south down Turkey Lane and turn right into the parking lot immediately after crossing the creek. Before getting out of the car, I spotted a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and a HOUSE WREN both visiting their respective nest cavities (not in the same tree). A round trip stroll of ~1.5 miles produced a nice selection of ~20 species (most of them singing) including LEAST FLYCATCHER, CEDAR WAXWING, AMERICAN ROBIN carrying food, AMERICAN REDSTART, OVENBIRD, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and LAZULI BUNTING. The Ovenbird ran me ragged and I never got a sniff of a photo opportunity. How can a bird sing so loudly right in front of me (teacher-teacher-teacher) and still remain invisible? Clever bird -- must have had a good teacher (groan)..

I continued westward on Hwy 16 into the Bighorn Mountains and Bighorn National Forest. Initially, apart from a couple of stops to view the scenery, I traveled directly to the community of Ten Sleep about 65 miles from Buffalo. This is the first time that I have traveled this road and I have to say that it quite similar to the Hwy 14 route into the Bighorns, northwest of Sheridan. However, the Hwy 16 route climbs less dramatically than the steep escarpment of Hwy 14. Beyond the crest, the descent on the drier west side is more scenic and has more varied habitats. The very dense, homogenous forest on the west side is less attractive visually and doesn't support many bird species. This is the same on both roads.

I doubled back from Ten Sleep and made my first mountain birding stop at Meadowlark Lake. The birding here wasn't particularly productive but I did find a female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER at Bull Creek campground. This location has to be close to the eastern edge of the range for this species. My only other Wyoming sightings are from Yellowstone. SAVANNAH SPARROWS (trip first) were singing in South Cove near the ski lift.

Continuing east, I made a brief stop at High Park Lookout just for the views then I left Hwy 16 to return to Buffalo via Crazy Woman Canyon (marked as Road 33). This turned out to be a good decision for the spectacular rocky scenery alone. In addition, I had a very interesting bird -- HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. The bird was located in the first parking/camping pullout on the right, barely 1.5 miles from Hwy 16. I heard the bird singing and said to myself, that's no DUSKY FLYCATCHER which is very common (almost abundant) in Wyoming. However, the first empid that I saw was a Dusky. Hmmm, now I'm intrigued because I knew the song that I heard was wrong for Dusky. I wandered around and eventually hear the "pip" call of a Hammond's. Now I was happy. Even though one might get fooled by the similar sounding songs (Hammond's is raspier), the calls are quite different "pip" versus "whit". Eventually, I figured out what was going on -- Dusky and Hammond's were paired together. Confusing Huskies will be raised! I watched the birds interact a few times. Okay, why is this so danged interesting? Well, the status of Hammond's in the WBG is "rare in the western mountains -- Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks" (and I have seen them there). The Bighorns are a far cry from there. However, there is precedent because the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory folks have documented them in the Bear Lodge Mountains (Black Hills) near Sundance, first detected in 2003.

I continued down the canyon and recorded a handful of other species including HAIRY WOODPECKER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (trip first) and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. After a steep descent, the tight canyon opens up dramatically about 5 miles from Hwy 16. Instant flat grassland. I worked my way back to Buffalo via a circuitous route so I could check a few reservoirs and Ranch ponds. Nothing of note to justify the extra gas money but any day with a beautiful YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD can't be bad.

61 species recorded:
Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow, Least, Hammond's & Dusky Flycatchers, Horned Lark, Tree, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, Rock & House Wrens, Gray Catbird, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Black-capped & Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Pine Siskin, Am. Goldfinch, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Am. Redstart, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Spotted Towhee, Chipping, Vesper, Savannah, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Lazuli Bunting, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Friday, June 23, 2006
Road Trip, Day 7 (Wyoming): Day List: 65 species; Trip List 145 species
Today I worked north from Buffalo to Sheridan and birded entirely in low elevation locations -- grassland, ranchland, creeks and ponds. This part of Wyoming is very lush, much more so than just about anywhere else in the state. Plenty of rolling hills and vegetated draws as well as many creeks, some densely vegetated. Another fine weather day, perhaps just a little bit too warm.

I started birding on the Wagon Box Road that runs NE from Hwy 87 to the small town of Story. Access is off Hwy 87 less than 2 miles from I-90 exit 44. I've worked this route a number of times and it always produces a mix of eastern and western species. If anything, today was a little slow compared to previous visits. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in the community of Kearny was an area first for me. BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, LEAST FLYCATCHER (they just need a few trees), HOUSE WREN, AMERICAN ROBIN, YELLOW WARBLER, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, RED-WINGED & BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS and COMMON GRACKLE were all common as they are on most of the back roads in the area. RING-NECKED PHEASANT and WILSON'S SNIPE are both reliable here. Eastern species noted were EASTERN KINGBIRD, GRAY CATBIRD (fairly common), VEERY, AMERICAN REDSTART and OVENBIRD. I also saw CROW, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, SPOTTED TOWHEE, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and PINE SISKIN.

Along Bird Farm Road (County Road 28, also off Hwy 87 near the town of Big Horn), I added WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH (both common throughout much of Wyoming), SAVANNAH & GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and BOBOLINK. Bird Farm Road runs into CR 30 and here I found my first DICKCISSEL since leaving the Sundance area. Looking at range maps, this is definitely quite far west for them.

On the grounds of Bradford-Brinton Museum (located near the intersection of 335/103 ~3 miles southwest of Big Horn), I found a booming COMMON NIGHTHAWK. What a great sound this is. I wish that I could hear it more often. Although I've seen a quite a few nighthawks on the trip so far, I hadn't heard anything other than the "peent" calls until today. CEDAR WAXWINGS and many of the species already mentioned were present here.

About 1/2 mile west of 335/104, I found some great riparian habitat along Little Goose Canyon Road. Unfortunately, access to Little Goose Creek is all on private ranch property. However, I did pickup up a trip first (male) CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD and a singing male LAZULI BUNTING.

I then worked north to Sheridan on Beaver Creek Road (CR 87) where I picked up more BOBOLINKS, another great sounding bird.

After a rare-for-me sit down lunch, I headed back south towards Buffalo for a visit to Lake De Smet (backtracking I know but I didn't want to "waste" the early morning hours here). Rather than take I-90, I traveled south on Hwy 14 (east of I-90) and worked a couple of east-west roads that link I-90 to Hwy 14. Meade Creek Road was quite interesting and productive. Almost immediately, I happened along this AMERICAN GOLDFINCH in a natural setting. Such a delightful bird (very common in Wyoming) and I wish that I could have managed to get closer for a higher quality image (the bird had other ideas). I also saw RING-NECKED PHEASANT, EASTERN KINGBIRD, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and a handful of common species. More DICKCISSELS were at the intersection with Hwy 14. Lower Piney Creek Road was very washboarded and not at all birdy. Give this one a miss.

I've birded Lake De Smet a handful of times, mostly in June and once in winter; neither are the best times to be here I'm sure. I saw nothing of real note among ~20 species. New for the day were WESTERN GREBE (trip first), DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, CANADA GOOSE, 10 RING-BILLED and 1 CALIFORNIA GULL, SAY'S PHOEBE (trip first), BANK SWALLOW, HORNED LARK and VESPER SPARROW. I also saw some spectacular aerobatics from a NORTHERN HARRIER and a RED-TAILED HAWK. The harrier was the aggressor and contact was made.

There was some heavy cloud build up and thunderstorm activity in Sheridan in the early evening. Not much rain but the event produced the most in intense rainbow that I've ever seen. A good end to a so-so day.

65 species recorded:
Western Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Ring-necked Pheasant, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Ring-billed & California Gulls, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Calliope Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Least Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Horned Lark, Tree, Bank, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Cedar Waxwing, House Wren, Gray Catbird, Veery, Am. Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Am. Goldfinch, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Am. Redstart, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Spotted Towhee, Chipping, Vesper, Savannah, Grasshopper & Song Sparrows, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Dickcissel, Bobolink, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Saturday, June 24, 2006
Road Trip, Day 8 (Wyoming-Montana-Wyoming-Montana): Day List: 37 species; Trip List 147 species
Today marked the start of my second week on the road. It was also the start of what I consider the highlight of my time in Wyoming -- a visit to the Beartooth Highway. As much as I like this area, I always seem to spend so little time here. On this trip I've fixed that by staying two nights in Red Lodge, Montana (the closest decent lodging to the Beartooth). After a fast drive from Sheridan via Billings and Red Lodge (much quicker than traveling through the Big Horns and Cody, etc. in Wyoming), I was able to spend much of my day on the highway. I'll be back again tomorrow and I have as much of Monday as I want to allot to bird here again.

Despite the paucity of birds in the alpine environment along the Beartooth, I have a strong affinity for this area and other such high elevation areas. I wish there was also a paucity of humans but, unfortunately, my schedule put me here on a weekend. Consequently, there's a very narrow early morning grockle free window and (because of my travel time) I wasn't able to take full advantage of it today and I encountered lots of tourists and locals on the highway. It's tough to listen for/sneak up on birds when there are Harley-Davidson bikers who refuse to grow up blasting shit-kickin' music, dogs running on the snow and such. However, the sight of displaying AMERICAN PIPITS and copulating BLACK ROSY-FINCHES goes a long way to mitigating the negative aspects of being here on a weekend. What more could you want? Well, maybe some coffee and a granola bar.

I spent much of my time in the alpine zone (snow, rocks and grass, no trees or even shrubs) where, even if you have a great day, you might manage 10 species. I saw 5 -- COMMON RAVEN, AMERICAN PIPIT, ROCK WREN, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and BLACK ROSY-FINCH. Compared to previous visits at the same time of year, there is very little snow close to the road this year. This is congruent with what I saw in the Snowy Range last weekend. In fact, the only significant snow close to the road is at the east summit and I saw the highest numbers of Rosy-Finches here (~6). All in all I saw perhaps 15 scattered around. AMERICAN PIPITS were very common and I obtained a marginal photo (lacks detail because I couldn't get close enough). Note that the bird in the image shows no streaks at all in breeding plumage which make it the alticola race. I was also able to photograph a COMMON RAVEN sitting on a boulder around 10,500 feet, surveying its kingdom (large, use ).

Although the west summit is essentially snow free, there are a few snow banks and snow fields as you head west and I saw a few  Rosy-Finches about 0.8 mile below the summit. I predicted to myself that as soon as I encountered the slightest amount of vegetation, I would pick up the first WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. This occurred around 10,300 feet about 3 miles below the west summit. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, AMERICAN ROBIN and KILLDEER were the next species to appear.

I made a brief stop at Island Lake where I added SPOTTED SANDPIPER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, PINK-SIDED JUNCO and CHIPPING & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS. I added GRAY JAY and WILSON'S WARBLER during another brief stop at Beartooth Lake. I plan to spend more time at these locations on Monday when there should be less people around.

I returned to the alpine zone and enjoyed more antics from the Rosy-Finches and Pipits not to mention the antics of the tourists. The weather changed dramatically during the 6+ hours I was in the mountains. Mostly blue sky with a few puffy white clouds for effect turned into very ominous rain clouds moving east at a good clip. By the time I headed down at 3:30pm, thunder began. Bright sunshine in Red Lodge -- the mountains make their own weather.

A day of few birds but, quite honestly, they are a little superfluous in this environment. I doubt that it would be everybody's cup of tea but it sure is mine. I took lots of scenery shots although I know that even the best images can't compare to actually being there. Back in Red Lodge, PINE SISKIN and CASSIN'S FINCH greeted me in the parking lot of the Best Western. Tomorrow I'll get another late start -- before heading out I'll be watching England beat Ecuador.

37 species recorded (underline=new for trip):
Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, N. Flicker, Least Flycatcher, Cliff Swallow, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock Wren, Mountain Bluebird, Am. Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Gray Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, Black Rosy-Finch, Cassin's Finch, Pine Siskin, Am. Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed (Pink-sided) Junco, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds and Common Grackle.

Sunday, June 25, 2006
Road Trip, Day 9 (Montana-Wyoming-Montana): Day List: 21 species; Trip List 148 species
I don't have much to report today apart from bad news, certainly not many birds. I wasted the entire morning watching another mediocre England performance in a 1-0 win over Ecuador (a trip first RED CROSSBILL was calling in the Best Western parking lot and I almost abandoned the game to go look at it). England are now in the quarter finals despite not playing well in all four games to date. They seem to be determined to win ugly. As in the other games, players like Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham were found wanting and for long periods I didn't even know they were on the pitch. Typically, though, a "bend it like Beckham" special won the game (one of the few times that he actually got the ball over the first defender). Time to pack it in I think -- or come to the states (old European and South American soccer players never die, they just fade away in MLS). End of rant.

I finally left Red Lodge at 11:00am and headed directly to the alpine zone of the Beartooth Highway in Wyoming. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but even more tourists were present than yesterday. Despite the hubbub, I quickly found AMERICAN PIPIT and BLACK ROSY-FINCH at the edge of the quickly melting snow at the East Summit. Not much chance of a photo opportunity so I loaded up my backpack, tied on a roll-a-stool and hiked about a mile from the road to a snowfield (not an easy task around 11,000 feet and I had to stop to catch my breath many times).

When I reached the snowfield, I soon found pipits and finches then disaster struck. Without warning, my camera and lens went their separate ways. The lens that I'm currently using (400mm DO) is heavy enough that the strap attaches to the lens, not the camera. This being the case, it was the camera that fell not the lens. The camera still had the 1.4X extender attached and it was the extender that had somehow worked loose from the lens. This simply shouldn't happen without pressing the release lever. Anyway, it did and the camera and extender obeyed the law of gravity. I was hoping that the rock they hit would be a soft one. No such luck -- the extender took the hit and the glass shattered. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the story and I now have focusing problems and image stabilization problems using the lens and camera (sans extender of course). I tried various combinations of lenses and my other camera (20D) in an attempt to figure out the problem. I think it must be the 1D Mark II camera because the lens never hit anything. The bottom line was that I didn't get much else done today. While I was checking equipment, this AMERICAN PIPIT landed nearby (note how well the plumage color matches the dirty snow).

Is it just my imagination or do I get more than my fair share of problems? To add insult to injury, tomorrow I start my southbound journey. I have three more days left  in Wyoming and expect to get home late on June 29. I can hardly wait to start visiting California Gulch and Oro Blanco mine again. On the plus side, my month in the White Mountains starts in a couple of weeks.

21 species recorded (underline=new for trip):
N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Tree & Barn Swallows, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock Wren, Am, Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Black Rosy-Finch, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warbler and Chipping & White-crowned Sparrows.

Monday, June 26, 2006
Road Trip, Day 10 (Montana-Wyoming): Day List: 62 species; Trip List 153 species
Today I made my final visit to the alpine habitat on the Beartooth highway for another year. I followed that with a drive along Chief Joseph Scenic Highway which is as spectacular as the Beartooth Highway, just in a different way. I then worked my way south to Riverton with a couple of stops to check lakes in Cody and Boysen Reservoir near Shoshone.

Monday, Monday. Unlike the Mamas and the Papas, I can trust this day to produce less folks in the field. Just to make sure, I was up with the larks (and Rosy-Finches) and arrived at the east summit on the Beartooth just as the sun was providing some welcome warmth -- it was chilly!. The runoff water that I was squelching through yesterday was well frozen this morning! Although days in Red Lodge have been around 80 degrees, it's much cooler up here at ~11,000 feet. The overnight low temperature at Island Lake was 36 degrees and that location is almost 1500 feet lower than the summit. Daytime high yesterday was 57 degrees. I'm not looking forward to Arizona. I hope the monsoon season starts early.

Bearing in mind that scenery photos can't come close to being there, perhaps the images that follow will give you an idea of why I like this area so much.

Here's the view at the East Summit as I arrived. As you can see, there's not much habitat here! AMERICAN PIPITS were displaying as I got out of the car and quickly pulled on my sweater. After photographing a distant BLACK ROSY-FINCH enjoying the sun's first rays atop a rock, I started working the edges of the snow. Ten minutes of searching produced three more birds that were quite flighty. I lost and found them a few times until I finally came across this bird that seemed intent on feeding. Even though it allowed me to get fairly close, the little stinker simply would not sit still. I took lots of shots and managed one decent image. What a great bird this is.

The lack of noise from people and cars really helped me to detect birds easily today. I didn't hear a vehicle for 90 minutes. Also, being up here early, there were many more birds around (numbers of individuals) than my last two late morning/afternoon visits. I even came up with a whopping 7 species in the alpine zone -- HORNED LARK, AMERICAN PIPIT, ROCK WREN, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, COMMON RAVEN, BLACK ROSY-FINCH and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. In fact, all were present simultaneously at the east summit.

Just below the west summit, I got a great look (and an average photo) of a MOUNTAIN GOAT. Almost before I could react and get the camera on it, the goat was gone. I climbed up some rocks and couldn't believe how the animal was able to navigate what was incredibly steep terrain and disappear in just a few seconds. One slip and it's a long way down. I do not want to be reincarnated as a Mountain Goat. Black Rosy-Finch yes. The Marmoty things were also more conspicuous today. Here's a view of Long Lake from just below the west summit.

I spent so much time up top that I had to skimp on my visit to Island Lake and I skipped Beartooth Lake. At Island Lake, I got sucked in by a MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE that insisted on posing in fine style and will probably be my favorite photo of the trip. A few typically raucous CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were present along with MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, PINK-SIDED JUNCOS, numerous WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and SPOTTED SANDPIPER on the lake. Disappointingly, I didn't have enough time to hike the trail looking for Pine Grosbeak. There's only so many hours in a day and days in a vacation.

As I dropped down the mountain, "low elevation birds" like WILSON'S WARBLER put in their 2 cents (elevation is all relative). Just before the turnoff to Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, I investigated Lily Lake Road (Road 130)  -- habitat here is sage with mixed conifers and aspens. Camera shy BREWER'S SPARROWS were plentiful and singing (the bird in the photo posed for a millisecond, my reward for 30 minutes of stalking!). Other expected denizens of this habitat were VESPER SPARROW and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. The view of Pilot Peak from this road is spectacular.

The drive along Chief Joseph Scenic Highway was, well, as scenic as ever. I stopped at the bridge over the Yellowstone River where I watched many WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS (trip species) doing their high speed thing. VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS shared air space with them; the sound of a  HERMIT THRUSH drifted down from the trees. I stopped again at Dead Indian Pass, a reliable location to look down on COMMON RAVENS posing for photos. These images are of a juvenile (at least I think so because it was begging mercilessly) and an adult that was ignoring it (large, use ).

Alkali Lake in Cody was reasonably productive with 3 FRANKLIN'S GULLS joining the "standard" CALIFORNIA and RING-BILLED GULLS. A family of CANVASBACKS were a mild surprise. A few AMERICAN AVOCETS worked the shoreline. Beck Lake and the adjacent reservoirs were not productive.

The high speed journey south on SR 120 to Thermopolis yielded nothing of note and I didn't stop again until I reached the Hwy 26 causeway across Boysen Reservoir, just east of Shoshone. There's a convenient, shady pullout here that overlooks a productive wetland. I turned up 25 species in half an hour. Highlights were CLARK'S GREBE (first detected by its single note call); many WHITE PELICANS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL (trip first); 3 GREATER YELLOWLEGS (a little odd in June perhaps); WESTERN KINGBIRD (after seeing so many Easterns in recent days); and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

A flurry of birds to end a very pleasant day. I continued on to Riverton for an overnight stay. My arrival coincided with a major power outage that knocked out all the stop lights on the main drag and at the Comfort Inn. My laptop batteries just about lasted until power was restored.

62 species recorded:
Western & Clark's Grebes, Am. White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Turkey Vulture, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Ring-billed, California & Franklin's Gulls, Rock Pigeon, Common Nighthawk, White-throated Swift, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Am. Pipit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, Rock Wren, Mountain Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Black-capped & Mountain Chickadees, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Black Rosy-Finch, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Western Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Common Grackle and Bullock's Oriole.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Road Trip, Day 11 (Wyoming): Day List: 75 species; Trip List 160 species
Today I began with a cursory look at Ocean Lake, located northeast of Riverton. Next, I explored some new territory at the southern end of the Wind River Range southwest of Lander. Around midday, I traveled east and spent some time in sagebrush habitat northeast of Farson. In the afternoon, I headed south into Rock Springs for an overnight stay. I finished up with a brief evening sortie into the pinyon-juniper habitat south of town. A fine weather day that ended with an evening thunderstorm and light rain.

Ocean Lake is a decent sized body of water (approximately 4 x 4 miles at its widest points) situated in a ranching and agricultural area. I visited here just once before in June last year. Compared to that visit, today was less productive. I birded in the northeast corner for best morning viewing. Among the species that I found on the water were several CLARK'S GREBES, WHITE PELICAN, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, a fly-by SANDHILL CRANE and RING-BILLED & CALIFORNIA GULLS. There's a fair amount of marsh here and MARSH WRENS were quite common. Birds in the scattered wooded and brushy areas and sage included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, LARK BUNTING, BREWER'S & LARK SPARROWS, LAZULI BUNTING and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

I'd planned to travel south to Lander on SR 132 which turned out to be closed. I opted to head north on Hwy 26 to pick up highway 287 then I noticed a short cut that could potentially save me about 15 miles. I started down Bighorn Flat Road until I encountered a rickety old suspension bridge with slats waving in the breeze. It was marked "Maximum weight 5000lbs. Bridge is unsafe, use at your own risk". Now, knowing the many misadventures that I've had, I baulked at this and turned around with my tail between my legs. I can just imagine a local resident seeing this and saying "these Arizona birders have no balls at all".

South of Fort Washakie on Hwy 287, I came across Ray Lake. The main body of water was devoid of birds but a marshy pond and wetland close to the road had some activity. Among the birds here were lots of GADWALLS, a trip first REDHEAD, singing MARSH WRENS and singing (groaning) YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

South of Lander, just before the 287/28 split, is the inappropriately named "Dry Lake". Today, as it was last year, this decent sized but apparently shallow body of water had plenty of birds (morning viewing is difficult since the lake is on the east side of the highway). Nesting EARED GREBES were plentiful. Several pairs of CINNAMON and (trip first) BLUE-WINGED TEAL cruised the periphery.  RUDDY DUCK was another trip first. The only shorebirds that I noted were a lone GREATER YELLOWLEGS and a handful of WILSON'S PHALAROPES. Other species present included CANADA GOOSE, REDHEAD and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

From here I took SR 28 west through a relatively low elevation section of the Wind River Range. I took this route for the first time last year but didn't stop in the mountains. Today I took the time to smell the roses and explored some side roads through the rather grandiosely named community of Atlantic City and South Park City. The general elevation here is in the 7500-8000 feet range with grassland, upland (short) sage, some rocky bluffs, scattered conifers and aspens and some riparian. It was interesting to see species such as CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and SAGE THRASHER in close proximity. YELLOW and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS sang from the riparian brush. ROCK WREN?, well they're almost everywhere with a rock in Wyoming. MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD is always a delight to see and they too are plentiful throughout the state. WARBLING VIREO -- did I mention Aspens?

After this pleasant detour, I rejoined SR 28 and made like a bread truck (hauled buns) over to Farson (the continental divide is on this road at 7550 feet). I've birded the sagebrush habitat northeast of Farson several times and I wasn't expecting much in the heat of the day. Actually, the weather wasn't too bad with a few clouds and sprinkles keeping the temperature down. I worked my way along Farson 2nd East towards Eden Reservoir. This first few miles are small farms/ranches with irrigated fields. Birds here included a pair of LESSER SCAUP in an irrigation canal (pictured male is probably a second year bird), SWAINSON'S HAWK, HORNED LARK; lots of WESTERN MEADOWLARKS (the state bird of Wyoming and with good reason); and a BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD perhaps looking for divine intervention.

Eden Reservoir produced the biggest surprise of the trip. This is a fairly shallow, alkaline body of water with extensive, yucky white flats that glisten in the sun. I was doing my best to scan in difficult conditions (bad light and bugs!) and finding plenty of KILLDEER and smaller Killdeer. Wait a minute, these are not baby Killdeer, they're SNOWY PLOVERS!  Status of this species in the 13 year old WBG is "Rare migrant mostly seen in the eastern part of the state; certainly one of our rarest birds. One nesting record in 1990 from southwest Wyoming". Oh dear, now I'll have to walk out there to try for a photo. I eventually found 4, possibly 5 adults and 3 downy youngsters. I couldn't get really close enough for a photo without sinking into the "ground" and the light was awful. Nevertheless, I managed a couple of poor but diagnostic photos -- adult with young and adult.

Other shorebirds present were several AVOCETS,  WILLETS and WILSON'S PHALAROPES. I also saw a Dowitcher species that struck me as Short-billed. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good enough look before the bird disappeared from my view. Besides, I was too busy with the plovers.

At a nearby ranch (friendly owner), I was able to photograph a very indifferent COMMON NIGHTHAWK and a considerably more alert SWAINSON'S HAWK (looking quite different from the Swainson's that breed in southeast Arizona). I got the impression that I could have picked up the Nighthawk had I so desired. Among the other birds here were WESTERN KINGBIRD, SAGE THRASHER and BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE. I've seen Greater Sage-Grouse near this location but not today.

After a welcome drink and ice cream at Farson Mercantile (man cannot live by birds alone), I drove 40 miles south to my overnight destination of Rock Springs. Although the weather closed in as the afternoon progressed, I went ahead with my plans to head into the pinyon-juniper habitat south of town (more on this location in tomorrow's journal). Despite the rain and gloomy conditions, I was able to see GRAY VIREO, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER. and SAGE SPARROW.

75 species recorded (underline=new for trip):
Eared & Clark's Grebes, Am. White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Sandhill Crane, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Snowy Plover, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Wilson's Phalarope, Ring-billed & California Gulls, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, Horned Lark, Tree, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock, House & Marsh Wrens, Sage Thrasher, Mountain Bluebird, Am. Robin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Gray & Warbling Vireos, Am. Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow & MacGillivray's Warblers, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Lark Bunting, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Sage, Savannah & Song Sparrows, Lazuli Bunting, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Road Trip, Day 12 (Wyoming-Utah-Colorado-Arizona): Day List: 48 species; Trip List 168 species
I stayed the last night of my Wyoming trip in Rock Springs so I could spend some time birding in the pinyon-juniper habitat not far from town and still have time to make the long drive home in one shot (it's about 1000 miles).

Southwest of Rock Springs, Little Firehole Road (dirt) leaves Hwy 191 just a few miles south of Interstate 80 and winds its way south, eventually returning to Hwy 191 via County Road 33. The habitat here is an interesting mix of sage, juniper hills and rocky bluffs which attract a number of species not found anywhere else in Wyoming. Take a look at the range maps for species such as Western Scrub-Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Virginia's Warbler, Black-throated Sparrow and Scott's Oriole. These birds barely reach into Wyoming in this area and some of them are not guaranteed to be present every year. Several other species such as Gray & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher and Black-throated Gray Warbler have a slightly wider range in southwestern Wyoming and are found here regularly.

The general attractiveness of the habitat, the ease of birding and the tenuous range situation outlined above make for enjoyable and interesting birding for which the expression "you never know what you might see" definitely applies. I've birded here each June since 2001 and seem to manage a new species each trip. Earlier this month, GRAY VIREO was discovered here and I easily located two birds last night and again this morning. I have to say that the birds were far more cooperative than those that I've seen in other states and the light was also good for a photo (a Murphy gets screwed moment). It's interesting to note that the WBG doesn't even mention this species for the state (nor is it shown as being present here in most range maps). However, there have been a few recent sightings in the state further east, just north of the Colorado state line. Black-throated Sparrow and Scott's Oriole were also seen here earlier in the month but I wasn't able to find them today.

I did have success with GRAY (common) and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, SAY'S PHOEBE, BEWICK'S WREN (common), BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, JUNIPER TITMOUSE, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, VIRGINIA'S & BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and BREWER'S SPARROW & SAGE SPARROW (both common). I'd seen all of these species here before except Virginia's Warbler (and, of course, the aforementioned Gray Vireo).

PLUMBEOUS VIREO and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER were both easy to find and semi-cooperative. Then I went "a bird too far" by pushing my luck trying to photograph VIRGINIA'S WARBLER. Unfortunately, they were just as nasty as the birds in Arizona -- singing away and leading me in circles. Ditto for JUNIPER TITMOUSE. I came across several of them hiding in plain sight in junipers.

The Gray Vireo and Virginia's Warbler were both new state birds for me and at this point I thought I was done for another year. However, because of a wrong turn, I stumbled into yet another state bird. When I reached CR 33 (paved), I thought that I was at Hwy 191 and turned right (south). A left turn would have taken me to Hwy 191 in short order. I've made the same mistake at this spot before but obviously hadn't learned from it. After about 10 miles, I entered Flaming Gorge Recreation Area at which point I realized my mistake and pulled over to figure out what to do. While cursing and consulting the map, I heard a BLUE GROSBEAK singing. Just across from where I was parked was a brushy gully and I was able to track down the bird and get a decent image despite being some distance away. While I was stalking the grosbeak, this BREWER'S BLACKBIRD took offence to my presence. Do you think it's a little pissed off?

Take a look at the range map for Blue Grosbeak -- although it has a fair presence in the southeast part of the state, it barely sneaks into southwestern Wyoming. The WBG doesn't mention any records for this part of the state. So, another good bird on two fronts (state bird for me and a good record to boot) and a good way to finish up my birding in Wyoming for another year. I turned around, headed back to Hwy 191 and pushed south towards Utah. A singing PLUMBEOUS VIREO was the first bird after crossing the state line and a quick stop at Flaming Gorge Dam produced a few more species -- OSPREY, CLIFF SWALLOW and ROCK WREN.

Now I had to face the reality of the long drive home through Utah, Colorado and Northern Arizona. In Colorado, I stopped to eat lunch on Lookout Mountain Road, just off SR 139 below Douglas Pass (8240 feet). SR 139 is a good birding road between Rangely to the north and Loma near Interstate 70. While stopped, a BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD almost flew into the car and a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER flew back and forth several times, perhaps foraging and delivering food to a nest. No way I was offering my Subway sandwich.

After I reentered Utah, I left Interstate 70 on SR 128 near Cisco and took the scenic route to Moab along the Colorado River (I've traveled this route just once before). Great views such as this are the reward for a slightly longer drive with a little more traffic.

My final "decent" bird of the trip was PINYON JAY near Tsegi Canyon (about 10 miles west of Kayenta in Northern Arizona). I rolled into Sierra Vista at 6:30am on June 29. The entire trip was 4150 miles (about 50% of which were in Wyoming). The Trogon is now over 286,000 miles and survived the adventure admirably. I did have to keep putting gas in the tank though. Very expensive gas at that.

47 species recorded (underline=new for trip):
Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Gray & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Rock & Bewick's Wrens, Mountain Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Juniper Titmouse, Western Scrub-Jay, Pinyon Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Gray, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, House Finch, Virginia's, Yellow & Black-throated Gray Warblers, Western Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper & Sage Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbirds.

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

Species List

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

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