Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - July, 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 Monday, July 31, 2006

Sunday, July 2, 2006 
Out today with Jim Schlickenrieder from Butler, NJ. Jim has been birding in SE AZ for a week so today was a clean up day. Although we had some success, results were not particularly good. It was a partly cloudy and relatively cool day with some rain around 2:15pm as I got home. Speaking of rain, I'm happy to report that the monsoon season officially began on June 28 and there have been several days with a decent amount of rain in the Sierra Vista area.

We left town at 4:00am for an owling session in the Huachucas. We had fairly immediate success with WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL and saw a cooperative bird very well. WESTERN SCREECH-OWL was another story. Although the bird called constantly, it remained on private property and we had to let that one go. Furthermore, time was running out with daylight approaching -- one of the downsides of early morning owling. We also saw GREAT HORNED OWL and heard WHIP-POOR-WILL and COMMON POORWILL.

Next, we journeyed to Patagonia Lake State Park where we searched unsuccessfully for Black-capped Gnatcatcher. However, we only spent 90 minutes and made just one pass through the various washes. I recorded 40+ species including 8 GREAT EGRETS, GRAY HAWK, a constantly calling YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, all three myiarchus species, LUCY'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK and several VARIED BUNTINGS. Sparrows were in good voice -- BOTTERI'S, CASSIN'S, RUFOUS-CROWNED & RUFOUS-WINGED were all singing. BLACK-THROATED SPARROW was feeding young in a nest located in a Cholla immediately next to the trail near the bench. With all the places to choose from, why do birds so often build their nests in exposed and seeming vulnerable places?

We didn't fare any better a Kino Springs and our search for Ruddy Ground-Dove was unsuccessful, although we did pickup GILDED FLICKER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. I recorded 45 species here including a few BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, INCA & COMMON GROUND-DOVES, TROPICAL KINGBIRD and VARIED BUNTING.

A quick stop near Marion Paton's house in Patagonia soon produced great scope views of a THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD perched in the nest tree.

We finished up with a trip to French Joe Canyon for Black-chinned Sparrow. Although I've visited the canyon many times, it's been a while since I was here following the departure of the Rufous-capped Warblers (I've only made about 10 trips since the birds left). At least one, possible two MONTEZUMA QUAIL were calling from a distant hillside as we drove in, too far away to work with. By the way, the road sure hasn't improved.

We had great looks at BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW but not without some physical effort. I was hoping to find the sparrows low in the canyon and we did hear at least two of them. Unfortunately, those birds just sang a couple of times and never materialized. Consequently, we had to walk further (about a mile into the canyon) to find a cooperative bird. Of course, this was during the warmest part of the day!

I recorded 25 species including a GREAT HORNED OWL being harassed by dickey birds; and regulars such as ROCK & CANYON WRENS and SCOTT'S & HOODED ORIOLES. Definitely not regular and a major surprise to me was a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET near the parking area. It was a location first for me, #148 in French Joe Canyon.

Speaking of location firsts, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in Huachuca City was another.

Well, as expected, big name players failed again and England were knocked out of the world cup. Consequently, I won't have to chase rarities (whew, what a relief!).

I've modified the June journal to include the final days of the Wyoming trip and modified the daily entries to include photos and photo notes where applicable. I've also added a trip summary with links to a trip list and photo list.

88 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Gambel's Quail, Montezuma Quail, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Western Screech-Owl
Whiskered Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Common Poorwill, Whip-poor-will, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gilded Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated, Brown-crested & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Tropical, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Phainopepla, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Canyon Towhee, Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Black-chinned, Lark, Black-throated & Song Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Varied Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed &
Brown-headed Cowbird and Hooded, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles.

Tuesday, July 4, 2006   
First of two days with Mike Mahler and Chris Barrigar from Michigan. Today we birded in Carr, Garden and Scheelite Canyons in the Huachucas. The day began cloudy, cool and quite pleasant until the temperature climbed enough for the humidity to become a factor.

Our main target in Carr Canyon was VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and we went through the usual rigmarole of stalking a bird (or being led around, depending on perspective). Eventually, the bird capitulated. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER also played a little hard to get but we ended up with decent looks at close range. We settled for a more distant view of a singing GREATER PEWEE. While not a target (or because it wasn't), we enjoyed great looks at an orange-headed male OLIVE WARBLER.

Other species included PEREGRINE FALCON soaring over the Reef overlook, scads of BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, a singing GREATER ROADRUNNER, many low soaring WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, HAIRY WOODPECKER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & GRACE'S WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, oodles of SPOTTED TOWHEES and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Back on Hwy 92 not far from Carr Canyon, we spotted not one but two PEREGRINE FALCONS perched on roadside poles (at first I thought they were Swainson's Hawk's). I think that Peregrine's may have bred in Carr this year and these may have been birds from that nest.

Garden Canyon was alive with sparrow activity and both BOTTERI'S and CASSIN'S were singing and easy to see in the lower mesquite-grassland. Among the other species here were SWAINSON'S HAWK, GREATER ROADRUNNER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, SAY'S PHOEBE, WESTERN KINGBIRD, many MOCKINGBIRDS, LUCY'S WARBLER, RUFOUS-CROWNED & LARK SPARROWS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Scheelite Canyon was very humid when we started our ascent and 3 hours later it was even more humid and fairly warm. I was aware of several recent sightings in obvious locations in the lower roosting area and I was hoping for such a result today. Not for us though. I found lots of fresh whitewash but no owl. I double checked and triple checked some locations before reluctantly deciding to trudge on. After a brief check of the middle area, we slogged to the upper area where I found a well tucked away SPOTTED OWL. A wonderful close range view of an unobstructed bird was ample reward for our efforts.

A singing WHITE-WINGED DOVE struck me as a little odd here. With good reason as it turns out because this was species #111 for me in the canyon. Also in the canyon today were 3 UDAs, a singing ROADRUNNER, 2 WHIP-POOR-WILLS (both seen) that flushed from trailside roosts, 2 calling ELEGANT TROGONS (one seen), a male ARIZONA WOODPECKER, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, a delightful PAINTED REDSTART doing its thing without regard for our presence and a calling HEPATIC TANAGER. 20 species in all.

68 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Rock and Band-tailed Pigeons, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Spotted Owl, Whip-poor-will, White-throated Swift, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran & Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Barn Swallow, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's 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 Raven, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Lucy's, Black-throated Gray & Grace's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned & Lark Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Wednesday, July 5, 2006 
Out today John & Neil Gilbert from Beverley Hills, MI (young Neil is attending the VENT Camp Chiricahua starting tomorrow). We visited Sycamore Canyon and California Gulch for Rufous-capped Warbler and Five-striped Sparrow respectively. Heavy rain in Sierra Vista last night didn't cause the fireworks display to be canceled and my early night was somewhat negated. The rain was just about tapering off when I got up at 2:00am. I met John and Neil at 4:00am in Nogales to get our adventure underway.

The word "adventure" hardly begins to describe our experience in Sycamore Canyon this morning. The rain has had an immediate impact and the stream was flowing heavily throughout the first mile of the canyon that we traversed. After trying to stay dry at the first couple of crossings, it soon became apparent that our efforts were futile and we simply sloshed through all the other water areas that we encountered.

When we reached "the warbler area" at the confluence of Montana Canyon at 5:40am, I was dismayed not simply by the amount of water that was flowing here, but by the noise. I knew there was little chance of hearing the bird even if it ventured down to its regular haunts, something that I seriously doubted. I drew on my experiences in French Joe Canyon and decided that the best bet of finding the bird would be high on the south slope of Montana Canyon. Although this is a difficult place to reach, once we had detected the bird the steep slope didn't seem like much of a deterrent. Fortunately, it was cloudy and cool. We persevered in tracking the bird and were eventually rewarded with great looks as the warbler sang loudly while perched in the open near the base of the cliffs. I never tire of seeing this delightful bird.

Other species in the canyon included GRAY HAWK, lots of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, all three myiarchus species, SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, ROCK & CANYON WRENS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK & HOODED ORIOLE.

After sloshing back to the parking lot, we journeyed on to California Gulch. Even though the gulch has received some rain, the traditional puddles have a long way to go before they fill up and the area below the dam still has very little standing water. Ditto for the gulch proper . Several KILLDEER were working the green above the dam. Two perched GOLDEN EAGLES (one definite immature) were a nice bonus about halfway along the 4 mile drive down California Gulch Road. We started walking down Heartbreak Hill at 9:30am and were back at the vehicle an hour later having had good looks at FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW (present at the first and second stream crossings) and VARIED BUNTING.

I arrived home at 2:00pm very ready to put my feet up, turn on the DVR and watch France beat Portugal in the second World Cup semi final (they play Italy on Sunday in the final). I have to say that after a couple of bad opening games, France seem to have improved tremendously and they are the best team in the tournament for me. Now, for an Englishman to say that, you know it must be true.

51 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Golden Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Common Poorwill, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated, Brown-crested & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Phainopepla, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Bell's & Hutton's Vireos, House Finch, Lucy's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Canyon Towhee, Rufous-crowned, Five-striped & Black-throated Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Varied Bunting, Brown-headed Cowbird and Hooded & Scott's Orioles.

Thursday, July 6, 2006 
Out again today with Mike and Chris continued from Tuesday. We left Sierra Vista at 1:00pm for an afternoon/night visit to California Gulch and the old Oro Blanco mine site. Mike and Chris were in Sycamore Canyon yesterday morning when I was there and got to see the Rufous-capped Warbler. Later in the day they visited Patagonia Lake and managed to find Black-capped Gnatcatcher so they had a good day. Today's trip was successful but could definitely have been better.

The temperature was in the high 90s as we passed through Nogales but a stop on South River Road easily produced RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW. A pair of GRAY HAWKS on Ruby Road near Sycamore Canyon were the only birds of note on the remainder of the journey.

We parked at the top of California Gulch at 4:15pm where it was ~90 degrees and cloudy. Very soon we were enjoying great looks at FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW -- a couple of birds were singing between the 1st and 2nd stream crossings and we stayed with them for quite some time. The road through the gulch is raised here which makes for a good vantage point. Chris tried some digiscoping and I also tried to get some shots. I've received a new 1.4X converter to replace the one destroyed while on vacation. However, I'm currently using my standby 20D camera until I can get the 1D II repaired. Unfortunately, from a photographic standpoint, the completely cloudy conditions were not good at all. However, as Yogi Berra once said, I never saw a bird that I couldn't try to photograph. Note the terrible depth of field at f5.6.

Shortly before 6:00pm we moved on to the old Oro Blanco mine site which was overrun with cows. Very noisy cows I might add; and they became a serious problem as night fell. I'm not sure which was worse, listening difficulties or the BUFF-COLLARED MOCKINGBIRDS. Although the 5/8+ moon was favorable, Murphy's law came into effect about 30 minutes after sunset when clouds completely obscured the moon. On the plus side, it didn't rain and the wind was calm. COMMON POORWILLS had just started to call before the moon disappeared. BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR called briefly around 8:15pm about 1/2 mile north of the mine. We moved to that location and the bird called again a couple times when the moon reappeared (only to disappear again PDQ). The guys were happy with a heard only and we left at 9:20pm arriving back in Sorry Vista at 12:15pm..

As I said, successful but could definitely have been better.

38 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Killdeer, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Common Poorwill, Buff-collared Nightjar, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, Mexican Jay, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lucy's Warbler, Summer Tanager, Rufous-winged, Five-striped & Black-throated Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Varied Bunting, Brown-headed Cowbird and Hooded Oriole.

Friday, July 7, 2006 
First of three days with Steve Sherwood from MI and Jessica Sherwood from NY. This is our third time birding together; we'll continue next week in the White Mountains. Today we departed Sierra Vista at 1:00pm and replicated yesterday's itinerary with considerably more success. The rain began a little earlier today and although it did impact us in California Gulch, we reaped the benefit of clear skies in the evening at the old Oro Blanco site.

We made a brief stop at Las Cienegas and only needed to leave Hwy 82 by a couple of hundred yards to get great views of a singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.

Another brief stop at Patagonia Roadside Rest area to work on ear birding didn't produce a Becard, just regulars such as GRAY HAWK, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE,  DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, CANYON WREN, YELLOW WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and SUMMER TANAGER.

Light rain on the Ruby Road was apparently to the liking of MONTEZUMA QUAIL and we encountered two pairs. First pair on the blacktop section at mile 5.8; another pair on the dirt section just east of Ruby at mile 14.5. The latter pair just sat by the roadside close to the vehicle but it's hard to get a clear photo with a shutter speed of 1/80s in the rain! In between those birds we stopped near the entrance to Sycamore Canyon for another listening session -- GRAY HAWK was vocal here and we had good looks at BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER.

The rain picked up as we turned onto California Gulch Road and it was obviously that the road has seen a decent amount of rain since yesterday. Many of the traditional puddles have increased in size and depth. Our timing in the gulch proper was such that we managed a decent scope look at FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW just before the rain increased in intensity. We waited it out for a while and were rewarded with excellent close range looks at another sparrow as we walked back up Heartbreak Hill. Other species included BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, ROCK WREN, BUSHTIT, LUCY'S WARBLER, VARIED BUNTING  and HOODED ORIOLE.

After we moved on to the old Oro Blanco mine site, the rain stopped, skies cleared and we had plenty of moonlight after sunset. A few less cows than last night still presented a listening challenge. BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR first called at 8:20pm about 1/2 mile north of the mine. Fortunately, the bird continued to call for 10 minutes which allowed us to track it down while deftly navigating through the cow shit. Our reward was a view of the bird perched atop a mesquite as well as a flight view. The nightjar then moved around a bit (still calling regularly) and we had even better views as the bird sat on a rock for 5+ minutes, east of California Gulch Road. A second bird was calling on the west side of the road.

Another party was in the canyon and I helped them get on the bird, something that I'm never obliged to do when I'm working with a client. After what happened next, I might not be inclined to do it again. Whenever I'm working on night birds, I always try to put peripheral beam light on a perched bird, never the full beam. I held the light until everyone had seen the bird and then we left. The other party then proceeded to continue to illuminate the bird and take multiple flash photos. I got on their case and they stopped. Arizona plate 032 VCH (may have been a rental).

This is my last working day in southeast Arizona until mid August (not a moment too soon). For the next month I'll be working in the White Mountains, exchanging Five-striped Sparrows and Buff-collared Nightjars for Three-toed Woodpeckers and Blue Grouse. Actually, it's now Dusky Grouse according to the recently published 47th AOU supplement. Perhaps it's a good split because the birds actually look different from the other half of the split, the Sooty Grouse.

I head to the White Mountains on Monday so look for my reports to resume on Tuesday.

46 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Montezuma Quail, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Poorwill, Buff-collared Nightjar, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Western Wood-Pewee, Vermilion Flycatcher, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Horned Lark, Phainopepla, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Bushtit, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Canyon Towhee, Cassin's, Rufous-crowned, Five-striped, Black-throated & Grasshopper Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Varied Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird and Hooded Oriole.

Monday, July 10, 2006 
White Mountains Day 1: Day List 90
Today I traveled to the White Mountains where I'll be through August 7. A little over half my time in the mountains will be working with clients. The remainder will be research and taking time to smell the roses. I tried to arrange the working days evenly throughout the period but that idea  never got out of the starting gate and most of the work is at the back end. Oh well. Despite the fact that today was a travel and settling in day and I didn't do much birding, I still managed to see a fair number of species.

As is often the case when I head to the White Mountains, I made a brief stop at Willcox. Unfortunately, none of the gull goodies seen recently were present for me. The entrance road (Rex Allen Jr. Drive) was fairly active at 6:30am with ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, at least 4 CASSIN'S SPARROWS and BLUE GROSBEAK all singing. A few SCALED QUAIL were calling and feeding on the golf course grass.

Adult and juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS were numerous and conspicuous at the golf course pond. Also present here were at least 10 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. Among the species at the main pond were WHITE-FACED IBIS, 35+ AVOCETS, 25+ BLACK-NECKED STILTS, a smattering of LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS, 2 BAIRD'S and 1 SPOTTED SANDPIPER, approximately 70 WILSON'S PHALAROPES and more CASSIN'S SPARROWS..

The monsoons seemed to have deserted us at the moment and it looked like it was going to be a warm day in southeast Arizona if the conditions when I left at 7:30am were anything to go by. I continued northeast and spent some time in the pines near Blackjack Campground on Hwy 78 in Greenlee County. Birds here are typically very similar to the mountains further south and among the species that I noted were WESTERN BLUEBIRD, BRIDLED TITMOUSE,  MEXICAN JAY, GRACE'S WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and HEPATIC TANAGER.

Conditions at Luna Lake were very pleasant when I arrived at ~11:30am.  I checked the open water, shoreline, east end pines and tackle shop feeders and turned up 45 species in less than two hours. Species here included lots of BROAD-TAILED & RUFOUS and one CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, a location first ACORN WOODPECKER; WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS both feeding young (tree cavity for Western, eave of a building for Mountain); MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, scads of PYGMY NUTHATCHES, STELLER'S JAY, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, a few RED CROSSBILLS, PINE SISKINS at the feeders, WESTERN TANAGER and RED-BACKED JUNCOS.

WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER greeted me at Juniper Hill. Sadly, the bird lay dead near my front door and I couldn't see any obvious cause of its demise. Not a lot of activity here in the heat of the afternoon although SPOTTED and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES were both singing. I also saw WESTERN SCRUB-JAY and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD.

90 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Spotted, Western, Least & Baird's Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Lewis's & Acorn Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Rock Wren, Bewick's Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, House Sparrow, Plumbeous Vireo, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped & Grace's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Cassin's, Chipping, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006 
White Mountains Day 2: Day List 67  Trip List 109
My plan for "an easy morning" checking on a couple of species didn't materialize and I had to work far more than I had expected. I was up at 4:00am and on the road shortly after 5:00am, returning to Juniper hill around 2:30pm. After a cool start (50 degrees) the day warmed to 90 degrees and the monsoon cloud build up didn't produce any rain.

BLUE GROSBEAKS were singing along Hwy 260 in Eagar and a WHITE-WINGED DOVE was at 260 and Main. The White-winged was only my third record in the White Mountains (the other two sightings were in Nutrioso). Of course, my time here is limited so they are probably scarce but regular. Not to be outdone, a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was at 260 and 261 (Big Lake Road) near the Little Colorado. YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was calling here.

I continued up the mountain past the completely dry Mexican Hay Lake to Crescent Lake at the intersection with Hwy 273. I paused briefly here and noted a dozen or so DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and a few COMMON MERGANSERS. 

Big Lake Lookout was my first destination where I figured I might have a little trouble finding DUSKY GROUSE (doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Blue Grouse). Based on the size and development of the young grouse that I saw last year in early August, and assuming the birds are on the same schedule this year, they may still be on eggs or the young are very young. Either way, I didn't expect much activity. I worked the area for well over an hour and walked myself silly at 9300 feet before finally stumbling into an adult male. I think I may have been a grouse in a past life because the bird simply would not walk by choice into a sunny patch. I had great difficulty getting a photograph. First of all, I was too close with a 400mm lens even after removing the 1.4X extender. I considered going back to the car for a smaller lens but decided against that because I didn't want to risk losing the bird! The next problem was light, or rather the lack of light. I constantly have difficulty getting decent depth of field while maintaining a decent shutter speed in poor light. DOF problems are exaggerated with a large bird such as this when it's not parallel to the camera as in this shot, which was the best image that could salvage from 50 shots taken.

While looking for the grouse, I was amused by the antics of an immature female HAIRY WOODPECKER that didn't quite seem to know what it was doing. Although a fairly common bird even in SE AZ, this was a photo first for me. The bird insisted on posing in atypical style, although Murphy still had a say because light was again a problem. This second image adds to my theory about the bird being confused.

Other birds here included 7 WILD TURKEYS, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, all three nuthatches and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE.

I moved on to the Three Forks Burn and walked myself silly again, this time not finding AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. I decided to check a nearby, slightly less burned area where I found the birds in August last year and bingo, male and female foraging silently. If only I'd done this first! During the search, I spotted this CLARK'S NUTCRACKER atop a dead tree. I took a shot without really expecting it to be useful because of angle and distance. However, I was able to use the image.  I saw most of the same birds as at Big Lake plus the nutcracker, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and RED CROSSBILLS.

On the way back I did a more thorough check of Crescent Lake and picked up OSPREY, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and SAVANNAH & VESPER SPARROWS.

Back down the mountain on Hwy 261, I took a side road into Ponderosa Pine, Pinyon Pine and Pinyon Juniper habitat and instantly found what I had hoped to find -- GRAY FLYCATCHER. I now have circumstantial evidence from 5 different years that this species is breeding on the north slope of the Mogollon Rim. Also present in the same habitat were WESTERN BLUEBIRD, BUSHTIT, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, GRACE'S WARBLER and WESTERN TANAGER.

Continuing with the CLARK'S NUTCRACKER theme, my third sighting of the day was a new Juniper Hill yard bird (at least for me).

67 species recorded:
Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Gadwall, Common Merganser, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Dusky Grouse, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Olive-sided, Gray & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, House Wren, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous Vireo, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped & Grace's Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping, Vesper & Savannah Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Blue Grosbeak, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006 
White Mountains Day 3: Day List 55  Trip List 117
Out again today Steve & Jessica Sherwood, continued from last week. We focused on a few species in high elevation habitat duplicating some of what I did yesterday with less success. A fairly warm day with a some afternoon clouds and a few sprinkles at Juniper Hill in the early evening.

VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS are obviously on the move since I saw one in the yard at Juniper Hill before leaving this morning.

After meeting Steve and Jessica in Eagar, we ticked EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE for the day as we left town. We headed directly to Big Lake Lookout and ended up birding there twice with early morning and early afternoon visits without getting a sniff of Dusky Grouse. Obviously, everything that I've learned about finding Blue Grouse no longer applies. Very disappointing, at least for me. Steve got a lifer anyway when I told him about the split, since he's seen "the old Blue Grouse" in the right locations for Sooty and Dusky.

Despite the miss, this is a pleasant location to bird in the early morning when nobody else is around and we enjoyed the place and birds that we did find. These included RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and WARBLING VIREO that I inexplicably missed yesterday, OLIVE-SIDED & CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, all three nuthatches, BROWN CREEPER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, the wonderful song of HERMIT THRUSH, later seen; a recently fledged family of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and DARK-EYED (red backed) JUNCO.

In between visit to the lookout, we birded at the Three Forks Burn. Much more effort than yesterday was needed before we finally tracked down a couple of AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS (adult male and immature male). The process is simple in concept:

do
  walk a little
  listen a lot
  hear a woodpecker?  is it a three-toed? done.
loop

However, with the many extraneous noises of other birds, critters and insects, it's not as easy to implement in practice. Even the sound of needles crunching under my feet is a problem for me and I try to stand on rocks whenever possible. Nevertheless, we persevered and prevailed after 90 minutes. I scurried back to the car which was 3/4 mile away to get my camera and managed a usable image despite working into the light. Count the toes.

Actually, I shouldn't complain about the amount of effort needed because WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, another target species, flew in to check us out and we had great close range views of an adult male with zero effort. Among the other species in and around the burn were SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, a few RED CROSSBILLS and WESTERN TANAGER.

Before returning to Big Lake Lookout, we journeyed south about 8 miles to East Fork of the Black River. I was hoping to pick up a Red-faced Warbler here but the place was pretty dead. BELTED KINGFISHER and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER were new for the day and I also saw another SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.

55 species recorded:
Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Common Merganser, Turkey Vulture, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Williamson's Sapsucker, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Olive-sided & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Horned Lark, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Western Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern & Western Meadowlarks.

Thursday, July 13, 2006 
White Mountains Day 4: Day List 63  Trip List 126
Today was the third and final day with Steve & Jessica. We focused on a few species with more success than yesterday although we failed again on Dusky Grouse. A very warm day by White Mountain standards. Plenty of clouds and humidity later in the day but still no rain.

Pinyon Jay and Red-faced Warbler were our main targets so I decided that a visit to Sipe Wildlife Area was in order. We started by working the entrance road where the habitat mainly consists of Pinyon Pine and Pinyon Juniper with a few Ponderosa Pines. We found PINYON JAYS in a couple of places but had to settle for distant views. I love the call of this species. Other birds along the road included ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, JUNIPER TITMOUSE in multiple locations; and a couple of singing PLUMBEOUS VIREOS.

Rudd Creek Trail produced more and slightly closer PINYON JAYS on the slopes below the bluffs; TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE,  a couple of beautiful WESTERN TANAGERS starting to lose their red headed breeding plumage; GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LAZULI BUNTING.

Beyond the Sipe boundary in the National Forest, Rudd Creek Canyon (my name) is a reliable breeding location for RED-FACED WARBLER. However, we had to settle for an immature Orange-faced Warbler since we couldn't rustle up an adult. By the way, Red-faced is much easier to find in southeast Arizona. We also found CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, a couple of VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS, HEPATIC TANAGER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Green's Peak was our next destination. Our relatively short late morning visit didn't  produce a Dusky Grouse despite considerable physical effort at 10,000 feet. In fact, there were very few birds present here and the best sighting was an eye level view of a hovering SWAINSON'S HAWK.

Sunrise Lake was very disappointing. First, the very low water level ensures that birds are quite distant. Add to that the lousy viewing conditions caused by midday heat shimmer. I couldn't even confirm a Mallard! We drove around the lake to check from several vantage point and didn't see any hoped for gulls or shorebirds. Lots of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and breeding EARED GREBES.

We finished up at Sheep's Crossing in the early afternoon. A couple of AMERICAN DIPPERS were easy to find and we watched their comings and goings for a while. I was surprised to find that the birds were still feeding young. These birds breed early in the White Mountains with young by late May; so this is either a second clutch or perhaps a failed first nesting attempt.  MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS called from the Willows.

I had to make a run to Show Low after we were done to ship my EOS-1D to Canon for repair. Back at Juniper Hill around 6:00pm I was ready to relax and watch the BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS battling for feeder supremacy. WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS visited the bird bath.

63 species recorded:
Eared Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes, Cordilleran & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green & N. Rough-winged Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Am. Dipper, House Wren, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Pygmy Nuthatch, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, Plumbeous Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Friday, July 14, 2006 
White Mountains Day 5: Day List 76  Trip List 129
And on the 5th day, Healy played. After a travel day, a scouting day and two client days, today I followed my own agenda. It was another very warm day in the mountains (95 degrees in Springerville when I quit at 1:30pm) and the air was filled with a yucky haze that could well have been smoke. Although the monsoon started early, it's been AWOL for about a week now.

An OSPREY was working over the water at Nelson Reservoir as I drove by early this morning. I usually check Nelson regularly on my White Mountain trips, especially since it's only 6 miles from where I'm staying at Juniper Hill. However, you're unlikely to see any reports on this trip. First of all, the shallow south end of the reservoir below the south parking area (where all the best action usually occurs) is indeed shallow, in fact it's a field! Also, major work is being done in the parking area.

I started at Rudd Creek #3, my name for a small drainage about a mile north of Nelson Reservoir. The habitat here is mainly Pinyon pine, Pinyon juniper and Ponderosa with rocky bluffs and a few cottonwoods. My main objective was to confirm breeding GRAY FLYCATCHER. I saw the birds here in 2004 and 2005 and they were easy to find again today. One bird was defending territory strongly and I all but know they are breeding here, I just can't prove it. I watched and waited hoping that they would lead me to a nest or I would see them feeding young. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Drat. However, there was a silver lining during this frustrating episode. I had one of those "Murphy gets screwed moments"  when this very close TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE perched obligingly in perfect light allowing me to get a detailed image. Note: this is a large image and is best viewed with .

Although I failed to confirm breeding for the flycatcher, I was able to confirm the presence of JUNIPER TITMOUSE at this location again (probably breeding here also). I recorded almost 30 species in this rather small area including ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, ROCK WREN, PINYON JAY, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and GREEN-TAILED & SPOTTED TOWHEES.

Next, I checked Becker Lake where it was already quite warm and loaded with fishermen by 8:30am. I found nothing of note on the water nor the surrounding (sparse) habitat. Lewis's Woodpecker used to be reliable in the cottonwoods here but I haven't seen them in quite a while. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE seems to be well established in the south residential section of Becker Lake Road.

I headed into the mountains for my first visit of this trip to Greer. In between birding sessions along East Fork and West Fork, I enjoyed a late breakfast at the Rendezvous Diner. I was amused by a card in the restaurant "If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments".

East Fork was very productive even though I only birded from a roadside pullout and didn't work the willows. I enjoyed the antics of a couple of juvenile RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS interacting with a WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. The ratty looking bird in the photo appears as though it was playing peek-a-boo. Pity the light wasn't better.

I was hoping to find VIRGINIA RAIL which is quite reliable here and a spontaneously grunting bird obliged, no trolling necessary. Other species among 25 that I recorded were CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and VIRGINIA'S WARBLER 

West Fork was much quieter around midday and AMERICAN DIPPER was the best bird. As yesterday, I was surprised to find that young are still being fed in the nest. Other species here included WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, both Kinglets, numerous MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS and under-my-feet RED-BACKED JUNCOS. For those unfamiliar with this race of junco, note that it looks very much like a Gray-headed Junco but without the typical light colored junco bill. Perhaps someone who knows about bugs can tell me what the bird is carrying.

In the evening after it had cooled down somewhat, I spent the last hour of daylight birding in the Nutrioso area. LEWIS'S WOODPECKER used to be as certain here as any bird can be. However, I've noticed a decline in recent years and tonight I found only one despite checking five locations. Highlight in town was a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER perched on a wire next to two EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES.

The water level at Nutrioso Reservoir is very low and sludgy. CANADA GOOSE was the most conspicuous species (50+) followed by CINNAMON TEAL (12+). The only shorebird I could pick out as darkness fell was SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

An enjoyable day but definitely way too warm. Bring back the rain!

76 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Lewis's Woodpecker, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray, Cordilleran & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Am. Dipper, Rock & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Song Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Saturday, July 15, 2006 
White Mountains Day 6: Day List 51  Trip List 131
Today I essentially took a day off and only put in a half shift of birding in several low elevation locations. Unlike recent days that have begun cool and cloudless, it was already warm and cloudy quite early today and we finally got some rain in the early afternoon. Not much at 7000 feet but I'm hoping the mountains did a little better.

More out of diligence than expectation, I began at Wenima Wildlife Area just north of Springerville. This is better place for migrants than for breeding species and migrant activity here probably won't be strong until August.  BLUE GROSBEAK and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT are both breeders here and both were singing. You don't (or at least I don't) often see Chats perched completely in the clear so I salvaged this image of a distant bird. Speaking of salvaged images, check back to yesterday for Red-backed Junco.

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS were conspicuous and very vocal making it difficult to listen. However, I did pick up on the "chink" note of VIRGINIA'S WARBLER  I hear CANYON WREN at Wenima more often than I see it but today I had an excellent look at a juvenile that had ventured down to the trail. I also heard ROCK WREN.

Bird activity was very low and with the temperature already at 85 degrees so was my enthusiasm. I returned to the parking area and immediately heard a sound that perked me up -- MONTEZUMA QUAIL. Unfortunately, the bird was calling from the practically inaccessible ridgeline of the rocky bluffs. By my results, Montezuma Quail is a fairly scarce resident in the White Mountains and this represented a new location for me (although I know that others have seen them here). I've seen them at Nelson Reservoir, nearby Quarry Canyon and at South Fork.

After a quick check of Airport and Becker Lake Roads, I headed to Sipe Wildlife Area. Image my chagrin when I happened upon ~100 PINYON JAYS close to the road as I dropped down to the Sipe visitor center. I couldn't buy a close view here on Thursday. YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were conspicuous near the visitor center pond..

I wanted to check the trees at the visitor center which are usually good for post breeding/migrant Red-naped Sapsuckers. However, all the tapping that I investigated turned out to be adult and juvenile HAIRY WOODPECKERS, perhaps 6 in all. A singing BLUE GROSBEAK was clearly marking his territory by circling the area (this is a late breeding species). Other species here included BROAD-TAILED & RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS visiting the many hummingbird feeders, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, WESTERN (feeding young in a nest box) & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and WESTERN TANAGER.

Apart from hummingbirds, feeder action at Juniper Hill has been slow so far. However, young of the year PINE SISKINS and SPOTTED TOWHEES showed up today.

51 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Montezuma Quail, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Black & Say's Phoebes, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Rock & Canyon Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Western Scrub-Jay, Pinyon Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Sunday, July 16, 2006 
White Mountains Day 7: Day List 77  Trip List 137
This morning I made my first visit of the trip to South Fork then checked several locations around Springerville including Becker Lake. The day began fresh and about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday after the rain. Following a pleasant, sunny morning, light rain fell in the afternoon

I again noted WHITE-WINGED DOVE  on Hwy 260, 1/2m east of Main street in Eagar.

The birding at South Fork was slow and steady rather than spectacular and I eventually turned up 45 species in little over 5 hours. A poor return on my investment you might think. However, I spent a disproportionate amount of that time (3+ hours) on Trail 97 (above the campground) looking in vain for Northern Pygmy-Owl. The lower riparian area was quite productive and here I found a couple of species that I was hoping to find plus a bonus bird.

I was surprised to find zero activity in the upper grassland that normally produces species such as Horned Lark, Vesper Sparrow and Mountain Bluebird. As I dropped into the rocky canyon area, ROCK WREN sang right on cue. My surprise bird followed in short order as I dropped down to river level -- a MONTEZUMA QUAIL flew across the hood of my vehicle and it was almost a case of "quail on glass"! Shortly afterwards, I heard the quail calling and tracked the sound to a bird atop the rocky bluffs. This is a very distant image and is included for the novelty value.

Okay, enough of this frivolity, now it was time to get to work. My first objective was to find GRAY CATBIRD which took all of 5 minutes. Unfortunately, after seeing the bird well I was unable to keep its interest and never saw it again. Next, I worked on INDIGO BUNTING which took almost an hour to find. In the end I had to settle for what I assume is a first year breeding bird -- singing strongly but quite ratty looking; having not yet attained full adult breeding plumage. I was satisfied with the bird after I played Devil's Advocate and tried to make into a hybrid Indigo x Lazuli. Although the photo isn't great, it's a photo first for me so it makes the cut.

While looking for the bunting, I happened upon this LESSER GOLDFINCH feeding in a very photogenic setting. This is one of my better photos, more for the setting and composition and the candid shot than for the image quality. Other species in the riparian area included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, WESTERN TANAGER, SPOTTED TOWHEE and BLACK-HEADED & BLUE GROSBEAKS.

I probably walked about 2.5-3 miles along trail 97 before abandoning my quest to raise a Northern Pygmy-Owl. The most common (actually abundant) species along the trail was PYGMY NUTHATCH and there were always some calling or in view. I saw several woodpeckers of various flavors -- lots of FLICKERS, 4-5 WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS, many HAIRY WOODPECKERS and one female DOWNY WOODPECKER. I managed one documentary quality image of the Downy before it flew. The bird was in a very dark location as you'll see from the shutter speed. Downy is the least common of the White Mountain woodpeckers.

TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE'S were numerous thanks to several recently fledged family groups. Given the amount of riverside habitat that I walked, warblers were almost non existent. This was the only disappointing aspect of the morning since I normally find Red-faced here. I managed a couple of MACGILLIVRAY'S and a half dozen VIRGINIA'S. Among the other species were WILD TURKEY, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, BUSHTIT, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, BROWN CREEPER, STELLER'S JAY, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS and lots of RED-BACKED JUNCOS.

Driving back through the riparian area, I heard a singing WARBLING VIREO. This is a species that is normally at epidemic proportions in the White Mountains yet I have seen only one before today on this trip and this was the first that I've heard. Ditto that for Ruby-crowned Kinglets that have been very scarce. Either these species are actually present in greatly reduced numbers or it's the stage of their breeding cycle when they are not singing.

Back in Springerville, I checked Airport Road where I noted YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and BLUE GROSBEAK at the Little Colorado bridge. Becker Lake Road yielded WESTERN KINGBIRD and a glued-to-the-wire EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE ('til I need one, of course). At the last second, I turned into Becker Lake after almost deciding to give it a miss. My reward was an adult BALD EAGLE in the long established nest tree (although I don't know if they nested here this year).

In the evening I checked various Nutrioso locations looking for LEWIS'S WOODPECKER. This time I found none in town and just one at a regular location on Auger Canyon Road. This spot is on private property and if the bird isn't in a particular tree visible from the road it can easily be missed (I missed it when I last checked).

I finished up with a check of Nutrioso Reservoir  where I noted a dozen common species. The last bird of the day was my Nutrioso area first PEREGRINE FALCON at the intersection of Auger Canyon Road and Hwy 180, presumably in transit and roosting there for the night.

77 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Wild Turkey, Montezuma Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Lewis's, Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers, Williamson's Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Rock & Canyon Wrens, Gray Catbird, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Vesper Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Bunting, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, July 17, 2006 
White Mountains Day 8: Day List 70  Trip List 143
This morning I birded in the Alpine area at Luna Lake and along the San Francisco River. Another cool and fresh start under cloudy skies; becoming sunny by mid morning and cloudy with thunderstorms (no significant rain) in the afternoon.

While enjoying my morning coffee and watching the feeders at Juniper Hill just after sunrise, I noticed some significant movement in the bushes about 45 yards away. I raised my binoculars then quickly reached for my camera. Here's what was staring back at me. Quite common in the White Mountains but this was my first for the trip.

My main objective at Luna Lake was to find OLIVE WARBLER. Although far better found in Southeast Arizona, this species occurs regularly (albeit sparsely) in the White Mountains. By my results, Luna Lake is a decent place to look for the bird. I headed directly to an area where I've found them in the past and wandered around listening carefully. It's an extensive area and it took about 30 minutes before I heard several birds calling (although I was only 10 minutes direct walking from the car). I tracked down two juveniles and an "orange-headed adult male". I threw the juveniles back and followed the adult. Unfortunately, the light was crap because of the clouds and the bird insisted on staying deep in the pines. Nevertheless, I managed a usable image, especially since I haven't previously been able to document this species in the White Mountains. I burned at least 45 minutes on this exercise in photographic frustration.

Other species in the pines included two small groups of RED CROSSBILLS (fairly reliable here, but I only had fly-by views), family groups of HOUSE WRENS and PLUMBEOUS VIREOS (and several singing Plumbeous Vireos), scads of chattering PYGMY NUTHATCHES (do these birds ever shut up and sit still?), GRACE'S WARBLER and RED-BACKED JUNCO.

For a number of years now, a SANDHILL CRANE has summered at Luna Lake (I have records starting in June, 1999). I missed the bird last Monday but today it was calling and easy to find. I also realized that I made a mistake in thinking that I've been seeing an immature, something I couldn't reconcile since it has returned each year. The penny finally dropped today and I realized that it is a "stained adult" (stained with what I don't know). Note: The photo is not of the Luna Lake bird but does show the stained plumage.

After seeing the crane, my thoughts turned to BALD EAGLE and I pointed the scope towards the nest tree. I really didn't expect to find one there since the birds will long since have fledged (assuming they nested here this year). Lo and behold, an adult was flying towards me! Let's think, what else do I need to see.

Next, I checked the lake and shoreline where I found nothing of real note, just the expected ducks, geese and cormorants and 4 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS in scattered locations. Southbound ducks and migrant shorebirds are not really showing yet. YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were few and far between. Several flavors of swallows worked over the water inclduing trip first TREE SWALLOW and PURPLE MARTIN.

I moved on to the Tackle Shop/Store/Boat Rental place which has as many seed and hummingbird feeders as most Southeast Arizona feeding stations. Hummingbirds were swarming every which way. BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS were present in about equal numbers and I noted just one immature male CALLIOPE. I photographed all three species either on the feeders or as they staged in the pines, but wasn't happy with my results.

WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS were also swarming here (five constitutes a swarm for this species). I managed so-so images of male and female. This is one of the species that field guide author's have in mind when they write "the female is somewhat duller". I also got very close to a fearless immature SAY'S PHOEBE. Here's a decent shot looking at the front of the bird (large, use ).

By the time I left I'd recorded 53 species at the lake in 3 hours.

I moved on to the San Francisco River which parallels FR 249 (the road to Big Lake) shortly after it leaves Hwy 180, a few miles north of Alpine. River is too strong a word and at this point it's just a creek. Anyway, I've seen Red-faced Warbler here before and I looked hard for one today to no avail. However, there was quite a bit of activity to keep me interested. Fly-by BAND-TAILED PIGEONS were near the intersection of FR 249 and Hwy 180. Among the species that I noted along the river were lots of FLICKERS, HAIRY WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, OLIVE-SIDED & CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, plenty of PURPLE MARTINS vocalizing in the trees as well as soaring; all three Nuthatches, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER (including begging juveniles); and an immature WARBLING VIREO working the willows with plentiful VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS. Just a short distance from the dense creek habitat I noted ACORN WOODPECKER and WESTERN TANAGER.

70 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Bald Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn & Hairy Woodpeckers, Williamson's Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Purple Martin, Tree, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, House Wren, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & Grace's Warblers, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 
White Mountains Day 9: Day List 42  Trip List 143 (no change)
Out today with Ken and Linda Bielek from Phoenix, AZ who I've birded with once before back in August, 1998. Today our targets were Dusky (formerly Blue) Grouse and American Three-toed Woodpecker. Disappointingly, we struck out on both of them. We birded at Big Lake Lookout for two hours and the Three Forks Burn for three hours and came up empty. Ken and Linda took it pretty well but I was devastated. I knew the grouse would be iffy but I fully expected to find the woodpecker (and we may well have done so had we continued). Perhaps I've  been relying on the burn too much for the past couple of years and it's time to start working the regular areas again. I'm scheduled with Ken and Linda again next month in SE AZ for Montezuma Quail, another easy bird.

A mostly cloudy day with moderate rain in the Nutrioso area in mid afternoon. Our focus on specific species in high elevation habitat meant that birds were few and far between today:

A fishing OSPREY and lots of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS on Crescent Lake as we drove by early this morning. MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, HORNED LARKS and VESPER SPARROWS in the fields.

CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS were feeding fledged young at Big Lake Lookout. Also here was a location first RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER that had definitely wandered from wherever it bred (they breed at Three Forks which isn't far away). Also present was a recent fledged TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. I've seen some well developed juveniles recently which indicates a decent amount of variation in nesting dates.

Not much activity at the burn save for lots of FLICKERS. Three false alarms with very lightly tapping HAIRY WOODPECKERS were hard to take, especially so when working on difficult terrain to track the buggers down. Don't they know they're supposed to bang the tree hard? A fly-by CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, a look at a singing OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and a few common species were our only reward.

Definitely a bad day at the office. As if that were not enough, I received an email from Canon stating that my EOS 1D II warranty repair was going to cost $300 because the problem was caused by impact damage. No shit, and it was the malfunction of a Canon extender that caused that damage. I called them and it's clear that they don't believe that an extender can accidentally release itself and I have to send in the extender so they can investigate. I wonder how much data they have on folks carrying a heavy EOS 1D II attached to a heavy 400mm DO with an extender in between. I fear that the outcome will not be good for me. I could pay and get it fixed but the chances of getting a refund are pretty slim if I go that route. Meanwhile, I'm without the camera. If anyone has experience with circumstances such as these, I'm all ears.

42 species recorded:
Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Red-naped Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Olive-sided & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Horned Lark, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, House Wren, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Eastern Meadowlark and Bullock's Oriole.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 
White Mountains Day 10: Day List 74  Trip List 146
This morning I birded several locations in the Greer area then checked Sheep's Crossing and Sierra Blanca Lake. The day began cloudy following last night's rain and it was the coolest morning of the trip so far. Late morning was sunny but clouds and rain returned by mid afternoon. Hooray!

I started in Butler Canyon which is a good place for woodpeckers. Although Three-toed breeds here, I think they move elsewhere post breeding and I didn't detect any. I did find a few other woodpeckers though starting with a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER still feeding young in an Aspen cavity. The noise made by the occupants of the cavity acted like a beacon. Next, I came across a juvenile male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER that seemed to be part of a (presumed) family group. A juvenile female NORTHERN FLICKER was also in a family group.

Among the other birds in the canyon were WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, HOUSE WREN, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, RED-BREASTED, WHITE-BREASTED and a bazillion hyperactive PYGMY NUTHATCHES (including this one that paused for a few milliseconds), RED-BACKED JUNCO and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

West Fork had some of the same species plus CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and scads of MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS (this one made a mistake by (almost) perching in the clear). I didn't look for Dipper because a late breakfast at the Rendezvous Diner beckoned.

Greer Lakes yielded the usual OSPREYS, WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and PLUMBEOUS VIREO.

By the time I reached Sheep's Crossing, conditions were very gloomy with a few sprinkles just starting. Nevertheless, I was able to rustle up a few species including juvenile DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, RUBY-CROWNED & GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, AMERICAN DIPPER still feeding unfledged young, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and singing LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

I moved on to the Three Forks burn to take another crack at those pesky Three-toed Woodpeckers. Unfortunately, heavy rain stopped play. I waited for almost an hour before throwing in the towel.

I continued east on FR 249 to Sierra Blanca Lake where I had to wait 30 minutes for a 5 minute rain free window. This is one of the few lakes with a decent marsh and it's usually good for VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA, both of which I was able to confirm (heard only, I didn't walk out through the wet grass!).  I was also pleased to find a pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL in with the fairly numerous CINNAMON TEAL. I only have a handful of records for Blue-winged in the White Mountains. I noted a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS up and preening after the rain. An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was doing the same atop a snag.

I continued east and added PURPLE MARTIN near Hwy 180 then finished up in Nutrioso. I heard BLUE GROSBEAK singing on Nutrioso Creek. Soggy BAND-TAILED PIGEONS and EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were near the post office. Sadly, no Lewis's Woodpeckers.

An enjoyable and productive day despite the rain.

74 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Gadwall, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Purple Martin, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Am. Dipper, Rock & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous Vireo, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlark and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Thursday, July 20, 2006 
White Mountains Day 11: Day List 67  Trip List 147
A very fresh morning after the rain but the clouds didn't last long and it was back to sunny skies and warm temperatures again today. Very light rain fell in Nutrioso in the early evening. My day was messed up because of a flat tire. I checked Sierra Blanca Lake on the way to the Three Forks Burn then spent some time at Sheep Crossing. I finished up at Becker Lake.

The most convenient route to Three Forks from where I'm staying at Juniper Hill in Nutrioso is FR 249 which takes me past Sierra Blanca Lake. I stopped for 15 minutes and enjoyed considerably better conditions than yesterday's soggy visit. I saw most of the same birds including BLUE-WINGED TEAL and heard VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA. However, AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER was a notable addition. Two drumming birds were a significant distance from the road in the trees to the southwest.

I moved on to the Three Forks Burn just a few miles to the west and soon heard another drumming AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. It was again some distance away and I decided to drive as close as I could before starting to track it down. It was at this point that I noticed that I had a flat tire. "Gosh darn it" I said. The thought of walking after the bird crossed my mind but I took care of the tire first. Back in December I promised myself that I would buy an hydraulic jack to replace the crank type that came with the car. I normally procrastinate about such things but thankfully, this time I followed through. Today I got a chance to use the jack for the first time. I was in an awkward location so I really appreciated the ease of use -- it took less than 15 minutes to install the spare and I expended very little energy in the process. If you don't own one, get one!

VESPER SPARROW and EASTERN MEADOWLARK serenaded me as I worked and a couple of CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS stopped by to check me out. Who's this dork?

I continued west and made a brief stop at Crescent Lake. SWAINSON'S HAWK was a new addition to what I've been seeing here in recent days. An OSPREY worked over the lake and CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS screeched from the trees. A lone SPOTTED SANDPIPER in with several KILLDEER almost escaped my attention.

I arrived at Sheep Crossing a little later than I expected but still had a decent few hours here. By the way, I'm using Sheep Crossing from now on and not Sheep's Crossing. Various maps have it both ways but the sign at the location is Sheep Crossing. Okay, I'm glad we got that sorted out.

I checked first on AMERICAN DIPPER which was still beavering away delivering food to increasingly noisy youngsters. Fledging can't be far away. I saw a number of the typical denizens of the habitat here (spruce-fir-aspen and willow riparian along the Little Colorado) including RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, OLIVE-SIDED & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, RED CROSSBILL, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

GRAY JAY was the best species that I noted. I watched four of them silently glide in from a heavy spruce area not far from the highway (Hwy 273). I didn't fare to well with my photo attempts. The Gray Jays were tragically outnumbered and harassed by STELLER'S JAYS (contact made) and it didn't take long before they vanished as quickly as they had arrived. Gray Jay is "the fluffy and gentle jay" and definitely my favorite. The Mt. Baldy trail above Sheep Crossing is a fair place to see this very uncommon and local White Mountains resident (look at a range map, there's a dot in this area). Most of my sightings are some distance along the trail and I've only seen them this close to the road at Sheep Crossing proper a few times.

I also photographed a juvenile STELLER'S JAY (note the brown feathering) and a CHIPPING SPARROW carrying food. I always strive (rarely successfully) to eliminate obstructions when taking photos. However, in the case of the jay, I think the image has more character because of the vegetation. Chipping Sparrows are the Rodney Dangerfield of the sparrow world so this one's for Rodney.

Before leaving high elevation habitat I made a disappointing stop at Sunrise Lake. The water level is now so low that the east end shallows are completely separated from the rest of the lake. Lots of GREAT BLUE HERONS and CANADA GEESE were loafing here.

While getting the tire fixed in Eagar around noon, I checked Airport Road, Becker Lake Road and Becker Lake in Springerville. However, since the temperature was in the 90s, my heart wasn't really in it by this time. Becker Lake Road yielded BULLOCK'S ORIOLE on the first pass and EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE and (drum roll) WHITE-WINGED DOVE as I returned. I've now seen White-winged in Eagar and Springerville. I picked up my certificate which I'll take to Starbucks along with $5 to get a Latte.

67 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Swainson's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Red-naped Sapsucker, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Olive-sided & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Am. Dipper, Rock & House Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Gray & Steller's Jays, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping, Vesper & Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Blue Grosbeak, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds and Bullock's Oriole.

Friday, July 21, 2006 
White Mountains Day 12: Day List 81  Trip List 150
Out today with Claire English from Vancleave, MS. Claire is spending next week in southeast Arizona so our focus today was on species not likely to be seen on that trip. In order we visited Sheep Crossing, several locations in Greer, Big Lake Lookout, Three Forks burn, several locations in Nutrioso, Sipe Wildlife Area and Becker Lake. It was a fairly decent weather day, although we were impacted by rain in the afternoon.

Driving up to the high country we picked up MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE.

The primary target at Sheep Crossing was AMERICAN DIPPER which was still feeding unfledged young, Species noted in the willows along the west fork of the Little Colorado were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, ORANGE-CROWNED, VIRGINIA'S and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE & LINCOLN'S SPARROW. Species in spruce-fir habitat included OLIVE-SIDE & CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, both Kinglets, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE and HERMIT THRUSH.

In Greer we worked to find a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER but only came up with at least 3 females. Even the normally raucous and easy to find CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS required a modicum of effort. Among the other birds in Greer were fly-by BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, PYGMY NUTHATCH and a family group of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS.

Big Lake Lookout was a bust around midday and we had to contend with plenty of noisy folks visiting the fire tower. However, if my recent results are anything to go by, this didn't impact the outcome -- no grouse. We couldn't even lay eyes on a constantly calling RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Species noted during a 90 minute search included CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, a colorful WESTERN TANAGER on the ground and the usual RED-BACKED JUNCOS.

Our arrival at the Three Forks burn coincided with some on and off light rain which made listening for tapping difficult. Although I heard Three-toed Woodpecker here yesterday, we were unsuccessful today. On a positive note, I'm happy to report that Ken and Linda Bielek (my clients on Tuesday) returned to this location on Wednesday and found a male Three-toed. We enjoyed scope views of a very white-rumped OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER but couldn't lay eyes on fly-by RED-CROSSBILLS.

After a quick stop at Sierra Blanca Lake (rain stopped play), we continued east to Nutrioso. As I expected, no Lewis's Woodpeckers in town but we did get a perched view of BAND-TAILED PIGEON seen earlier only in flight.  The usual EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were present. We were successful with what seems to be a reliable (touch wood) LEWIS'S WOODPECKER on Auger Canyon Road. We cruised a few neighborhood locations looking for unsuccessfully for Pinyon Jays and picked up BUSHTIT and PLUMBEOUS VIREO. A Juniper Titmouse eluded us (what else is new!).

We enjoyed better target species success at Sipe Wildlife Area where we immediately found WESTERN SCRUB-JAY; played cat and mouse with JUNIPER TITMOUSE before seeing them on the ground; and had a poor look at just one PINYON JAY! A few days ago I saw a flock of ~100 at this location. That's life. The usual MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were in the area and the late afternoon gloomy conditions were to the liking of 8 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS.

Our final stop at Becker Lake easily produced YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. Species on Becker Lake Road included EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, WESTERN KINGBIRD, NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD and LARK SPARROW. A couple of tiny sparrows (potential Brewer's) got away from us. Although it's perhaps a little early, I regularly see them here in migration and typically don't see Chipping here until later in the year.

81 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Nighthawk, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Lewis's Woodpecker, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Am. Dipper, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous Vireo, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Saturday, July 22, 2006 
White Mountains Day 13: Day List 65  Trip List 150 (no change)
Out today with the Gunter family -- Jim and Eloise from Houston, TX who I've birded with once before; and Mike, Susan, Evelyn (8) and Clementine (6) from Fremont, CA. Evelyn and Clem were very keen and knowledgeable young birders, especially when it came to scientific names (not my strong point)!  A slow paced day on which we birded at Sheep Crossing, several locations in Greer; and at Sipe Wildlife area. Conditions were cloudy and cool at 6:00am, very pleasant until early afternoon and very warm when we quit at 3:00pm.

Sheep Crossing is a popular fishing spot and a normal Saturday would see the area well populated by fishermen. However, a non-native fish elimination program currently ensures poor fishing and we had the place to ourselves for most of the 2 1/2 hours that we spent here. Our arrival produced a delightful surprise. I've been seeing and hearing fly-by RED-CROSSBILLS in various locations over the past couple of weeks. Today, in a moment of pure serendipity of the highest order, we parked next to four of them! Two males and two females were feeding on the ground in the gravel parking area and we had wonderful close range views.

AMERICAN DIPPERS were on duty as usual and we saw two birds foraging in and flying up the river. I think the youngsters have now fledged because the cheeping noises were coming from somewhere along the riverbank and not from the nest location in the culvert tube. A bonus from the railroad grade was a great view of an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER showing the not-often-seen orange crown.

We also enjoyed good looks at several of the area regulars including RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, DUSKY & OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS, HERMIT THRUSH and particularly cooperative GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LINCOLN'S SPARROW. Among the other species here were BELTED KINGFISHER, HOUSE WREN, both kinglets, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, STELLER'S JAY and PINE SISKIN.

After a slow start, Butler Canyon in Greer was very productive. RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS were busy feeding very noisy young in the nest cavity that I discovered a few days ago. We also had peek-a-boo then good looks of an eventually cooperative male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER (I couldn't buy a male yesterday).

After we had seen PLUMBEOUS & WARBLING VIREOS and VIRGINIA'S & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, I heard a distinctive song and decided to pause to listen again before I announced the bird. Sure enough, it was a beautiful RED-FACED WARBLER. We stayed with the bird for 30 minutes as it sang and foraged, mostly in Fir, occasionally in Aspen.

Other species in the canyon included HAIRY WOODPECKER, a female WESTERN TANAGER feeding a begging juvenile, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, PYGMY NUTHATCH and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

We moved on to "downtown" Greer where we enjoyed many CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS near Greer Lodge. We also saw several male and female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS, BROAD-TAILED & RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS and lots of PINE SISKINS, all at feeders; CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER and a singing RED-BACKED JUNCO.

By the time we reached Sipe Wildlife area it was getting a tad toasty (90+ as we passed through Eagar). MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were easy to see in the junipers along the entrance road and we also managed to track down JUNIPER TITMOUSE. Unfortunately, no sight nor sound of Pinyon Jays.

We finished up in the shade of the trees at the visitor center. Entertaining us here were lots of hummers here of the usual two species, WESTERN BLUEBIRDS feeding young in nestboxes, HAIRY WOODPECKER, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES, many LESSER GOLDFINCHES and singing BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

When we returned to Eagar at 3:00pm, the temperature at my regular monitoring spot was 99 degrees. I needed to run an errand in Pinetop and soon encountered a cooling rain as I climbed into the mountains. The rain stayed with me and the temperature back in Eagar at 5:00pm was a delightful 76 degrees. The only birds of note were a couple of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS in McNary (they can often be seen near the pond just east of town).

65 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Am. Kestrel, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's & Hairy Woodpeckers, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, Northern Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided,  Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Am. Dipper, House Wren, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Red-faced Warblers, Western Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping, Vesper, Lark & Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, July 24, 2006 
White Mountains Day 15: Day List 53  Trip List 150 (no change)
Yesterday I took a day off. No birding except for the occasional glance at the Juniper Hill back yard feeders. A fairly warm day with a thunderstorm and  rain in the evening.

Today was the first of five days with Dave Cope from McLean, VA. We'll be plodding slowly through the White Mountain specialties as well as taking time to enjoy everything that we see. Today we focused on riparian habitat along the Little Colorado at Sheep Crossing and in Greer. Of course, in this neck of the woods you automatically get Ponderosa, Spruce, Fir, and Aspen habitat as well depending on the actual location. A cloudy start produced the coolest morning of my trip so far -- enough me for to don a sweater for the first time. The sun eventually broke through and the temperature in Eagar was 94 degrees when we quit at 3:00pm. Thunderstorm activity and rain began in Nutrioso around 5:00pm. I hope this monsoon pattern stays for a while.

Sheep Crossing produced a couple of  surprises this morning -- WESTERN KINGBIRD (along Hwy 273 just before dropping down to the river) and a female plumaged (possibly a juvenile) BULLOCK'S ORIOLE near the railroad grade. Definitely not birds that I expected to see here at 9300+ feet. Two more species for my Mt. Baldy area list.

Otherwise, it was standard fare. We noted AMERICAN DIPPER flying along the river and should have paid more attention since we didn't see them later in Greer. The young have definitely fledged as they have in Greer. DUSKY FLYCATCHER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LINCOLN'S SPARROW were all seen well. Among the other species from 25 recorded here were GREAT BLUE HERON, MALLARD, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, HAIRY WOODPECKER, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET feeding fledged young; and calling CLARK'S NUTCRACKER.

In Greer, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS are still feeding young in the nest cavity in Butler Canyon. However, heads poking out of the hole and a feeding interval of almost 30 minutes mean that fledging can't be far away. Last week the feeding interval was 3-5 minutes.

East Fork yielded brief but decent looks at VIRGINIA RAIL (two very vocal birds with some spontaneous "Ka-dick" calls that drew our attention).

CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were easy to see in town. Scads of habitat to choose from but a CHIPPING SPARROW was feeding young in a nest in a small conifer just feet from the road.

We checked both bridges (Four Seasons and Red Setter) and walked the river without seeing or hearing American Dipper. Young were still being fed in a nest under the Red Setter Inn Bridge as recently as July 14. Good looks at BELTED KINGFISHER and VIRGINIA'S WARBLER from the bridge.

While walking along West Fork, we had good but brief looks at a couple of MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS; poor and brief looks at RED-FACED WARBLER! We encountered several female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS, no males. RUFOUS and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS were very common.

An OSPREY was working over Nelson Reservoir as I drove back to Juniper Hill in Nutrioso.

53 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Williamson's & Red-naped Sapsuckers, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Am. Dipper, House Wren, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping & Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 
White Mountains Day 16: Day List 60  Trip List 150 (no change)
Out again today with Dave. My pitiful results on Dusky Grouse continued and we struck out at both Green's Peak and Big Lake Lookout. However, after the poor start, we recovered well and had a good day. In order we visited Green's Peak, Crescent Lake, Big Lake Lookout, Three Forks, Sierra Blanca Lake and the Nutrioso area. A cloudy day at high elevation, partly cloudy at low elevation. The promise of an early evening thunderstorm petered out.

The road leading to Green's Peak (FR 117) yielded typical species such as WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, HORNED LARK, VESPER SPARROW and EASTERN MEADOWLARK.

We spent an unproductive couple of hours on Green's Peak wandering around in vain looking for Dusky Grouse. Most of the action was close to the tower where lots of birds were taking advantage of the plentiful seed left by Lana who wasn't on duty today. CHUKAR was a major surprise here and its status has to be questioned. Although they occur in far northern Arizona, I don't think there are any "legal" records further south. Presumably the bird was released somewhere in the area for "sport". The bird had survived a fairly major attack and a good portion of the its back feathers were missing down to the flesh. It was feeding happily, called a couple of times and didn't seem bothered by our presence. This would be a state bird for me so, needless to say, it doesn't appear on my day list! A few juvenile BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and scads of RED-BACKED JUNCOS (adults and juveniles) were taking advantage of the seed bonanza. The only birds of note were fly-by RED CROSSBILLS.

En route to Big Lake Lookout we stopped briefly at Crescent Lake and observed lots of GREAT BLUE HERONS and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, COMMON MERGANSER and a couple of OSPREYS, one of which dove to (successfully) catch a fish and almost hit a cormorant.

Despite failing again on the grouse, two hours at the Lookout were interesting enough. Among the species here were CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and a recently fledged family of WARBLING VIREOS still begging but not getting much attention from the adults.

During a brief stop at Three Forks we had great looks at a couple of ROCK WRENS and an OLIVE SIDED-FLYCATCHER, constantly calling and singing..

Further east in the burn, I was a little apprehensive about our chances for AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. However, I'm happy to report that my fears were unfounded and we found a very cooperative immature male after only 15 minutes. The bird was intent on feeding and we were able to approach close enough to count its toes. The bird intermittently flashed yellow on the head as it foraged. From behind it was easy to see the brownish tones shown by immature birds, although the head was quite black. A second bird called nearby. Also nearby were a couple of HAIRY WOODPECKERS that thankfully didn't lead us astray. Fly-by RED CROSSBILLS teased us for the second time today (we'll get 'em sooner of later!).

A quick stop at Sierra Blanca Lake produced a scope look of a perched up YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD just before it dropped back in the marsh. SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL both called and PIED-BILLED GREBES are still nesting. CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS screeched from some distant location.

Near Nutrioso we picked up 3 LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS and 4 ACORN WOODPECKERS in close proximity. So much for my theory that Acorns are perhaps responsible for the decline of Lewis's in the area. However, Acorns have certainly increased in this area since I started birding here in 1994.

61 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Gadwall, Cinnamon Teal, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Lewis's, Acorn, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Horned Lark, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rock Wren, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark and Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 
White Mountains Day 17: Day List 62  Trip List 150 (no change)
Day 3 with Dave. Today we stayed at low elevation which in these parts means around 7000 feet. We visited Sipe Wildlife Area, Wenima Wildlife Area and South Fork. Unlike yesterday, we had a productive morning and a much less productive afternoon. It was a fairly warm day under partly cloudy skies and a little uncomfortable at times. An evening thunderstorm produced some moderate rain that fell throughout the night.

We began at Sipe WA where we spent an interesting 5 hours working the various habitats and recording 50 species. Our main target here was PINYON JAY of which we found about a dozen (or rather, they found us as is often the case with this species). I never tire of hearing this bird's call.

The morning began well when we stopped to look at LARK SPARROWS in the first trees after driving through the grassland. Almost immediately, I heard a GRAY FLYCATCHER singing and then a PLUMBEOUS VIREO. We had good looks at both species (adult and juvenile in the case of the vireo). Other species along the mostly Pinyon Pine and Pinyon Juniper lined entrance road were WESTERN KINGBIRD, WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and a very surprising flock of ~8 PYGMY NUTHATCHES foraging in junipers. In southeast Arizona, I don't have a single record away from higher elevation forested environments, even in the harshest of winters. There's always something new to learn.

The feeders at the visitor center were swarming with hummingbirds which is good news for hummingbird event visitors this weekend. In short order we saw RUFOUS (by far the most common), BROAD-TAILED and CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS. The WESTERN BLUEBIRDS using the many boxes here were still feeding young. CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER also breeds here and was very vocal.

Rudd Creek trail yielded the PINYON JAYS and plenty of other species including TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, several WESTERN TANAGERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, a vigorously singing BLUE GROSBEAK and a couple of BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

Back at the visitor center area we added HAIRY WOODPECKER, BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES and an immature male LAZULI BUNTING.

Driving back through the junipers our target was JUNIPER TITMOUSE which we soon heard. Obtaining a decent view required being run ragged by the little buggers.

We needed to stop in Eagar to get a flat tire fixed (see, it's not just me) and while there we checked Becker Lake Road (EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, 4+ WESTERN KINGBIRDS and even more MOCKINGBIRDS) then made a brief visit to Wenima WA for YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT which we saw well. ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was calling here.

It was fairly warm by the time we began at South Fork in the early afternoon. Our initial target here was CANYON WREN in the first rocky area. Although we found an active bird very quickly, only I got to see it before it went to ground. ROCK WRENS, on the other hand, were very vocal and visible. Murphy wouldn't have it any other way. PINYON JAYS were calling across the canyon from a location too far away to view them. PLUMBEOUS VIREO was singing.

While tracking a sadistic SPOTTED TOWHEE in the densely vegetated area below the campground, I spotted a silently foraging RED-FACED WARBLER that very quickly got away from us. As we tried unsuccessfully to relocate the warbler, the towhee perched in plain sight for killer looks. Among the other species here were CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and WESTERN TANAGER.

A female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD sneaked in to the feeders at Juniper Hill while the many male RUFOUS were absent during the rain. This is the first one that I've seen here on this trip (I've seen a few a Luna Lake and Sipe).

62 species recorded:
Cinnamon Teal, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray, Cordilleran & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Black & Say's Phoebes, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Rock & Canyon Wrens, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's & Pinyon Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous Vireo, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Tanager, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Thursday, July 27, 2006 
White Mountains Day 18: Day List 71  Trip List 152
Day 4 with Dave. Today we visited Terry Flat, Hulsey Lake, Luna Lake, several location in Nutrioso and Quarry Canyon. We got a little closer to Dusky Grouse (seen in flight) but it still doesn't go in the win column. After last night's rain that finally ceased around 4:00am, it was a cloudy, fresh and and cool start to the morning. It was quite windy for the first few hours at Terry Flat and fairly warm by mid afternoon. The (hopefully) now regular thunderstorm and rain began in Nutrioso around 8:00pm.

We began at Terry Flat, a 5.5 mile loop around a spruce-fir-aspen lined 10,000 feet meadow adjacent to Escudilla. Although this is one of my favorite spots in the White Mountains, I generally can't justify client visits here because of the paucity of birds. Consequently, I tend to neglect it when doing "research birding" as well. I've seen Dusky Grouse and American Three-toed Woodpecker here but neither can be termed reliable at this location (to bird here, you simply drive the loop and stop in good habitat or wherever you hear birds).

On Tuesday, I learned that Boston birder Dexter Hunneman had seen a Dusky Grouse here. Consequently, we decided to give it a try this morning. After about 2.5 miles of driving and stopping (counterclockwise around the loop), we saw a DUSKY GROUSE fly out of a stand of aspens and across the road into a densely forested area. We tried to locate the bird to no avail. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET was also a target and they are very common here. Nevertheless, we had plenty of trouble laying eyes on them. Other species included DUSKY & CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, lots of RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and BROWN CREEPER.

A brief stop at Hulsey Lake yielded BELTED KINGFISHER.

The primary target at Luna Lake was Olive Warbler. Unfortunately, we got sidetracked with a group of RED CROSSBILLS that led us a merry old dance through the ponderosas and we walked miles just to to get a brief perched view (quite a contrast to my experience at Sheep Crossing on July 22). Anyway, the Olive Warbler fell by the wayside.

We recorded 35 species at the lake including a wonderful flight view of BALD EAGLE, the lost and lonely SANDHILL CRANE, 5 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, scads of hummers of the usual two species plus male and female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS; a constantly pipping (not just pip-pip-pip) OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and a softly singing PLUMBEOUS VIREO.

We stopped in Nutrioso hoping for Band-tailed Pigeon. To my amazement, a lone juvenile LEWIS'S WOODPECKER was near the post office along with the usual EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES. I haven't seen Lewis's here recently.

We checked Los Pinos de Paz (a neighborhood west of town) where BAND-TAILED PIGEON is regular and turned up just one bird.

A 15 minute stop at Nutrioso Reservoir produced 20 species including a couple of trip firsts -- RING-NECKED DUCK and GREATER YELLOWLEGS.

We finished up in Quarry Canyon (my name for a rocky canyon south of Nelson Reservoir) where we couldn't raise a Canyon Wren. ROCK WRENS were common as were LARK SPARROWS. The scant vegetation held VIRGINIA'S WARBLER (I've seen them here before, post breeding).

I haven't spent a lot of time watching the feeders at Juniper Hill so far on this trip. Late this afternoon, I sat quietly in the yard and at least one juvenile AMERICAN ROBIN found me unobtrusive because it landed on my head! These images of a female BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and a juvenile RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD were my reward for sitting out in the sun. I noted a single Black-backed LESSER GOLDFINCH among the many Green-backed. WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS called nearby but were not bold enough to stop in and say hello until I went inside.

71 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Dusky Grouse, Sandhill Crane, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Band-tailed Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Acorn & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Rock Wren, N. Mockingbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Plumbeous Vireo, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlark & Brewer's Blackbird.

Friday, July 28, 2006 
White Mountains Day 19: Day List 70  Trip List 155
In terms of target birds, the fifth and final day with Dave was a washout (literally). The mountains were socked in for much of the day with plenty of rain at higher elevations. Our visits to Big Lake Lookout and the Sunrise area were rained out and, of necessity, most of our birding was confined to lower elevation dry locations. A tough day but we persevered and Dave managed to pick up a couple more lifers. I even managed to pick up a new species for my White Mountains list.

Encouraged by a sighting of Dusky Grouse at Big Lake Lookout on Wednesday, we headed up there this morning despite the adverse conditions. As things turned out, this wasn't a good idea.  Wet and windy conditions greeted us at the lookout and it didn't take long before heavier rain drove us away. This is a scary place to be during a thunderstorm! We heard a few species including TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE but I don't remember seeing a single bird!

Conditions to the east looked somewhat better so we headed in that direction with the intention of looking for Gray Jay at Sunrise. Earlier, on our way to the Lookout, we couldn't even see Crescent Lake. Now it was a little clearer and a quick look produced OSPREY and the usual DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and GREAT BLUE HERONS.

The rain had stopped by the time we reached Sunrise Campground and a few patches of blue sky promised better things to come. Alas, that didn't pan out. We wandered the campground even though the presence of only a handful of soggy occupied campsites pretty well guaranteed that we wouldn't find Gray Jay. In fact, for a while there was hardly a bird stirring. Our persistence paid off when a check of yet another bunch of MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, PYGMY & RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES yielded a beautiful HERMIT WARBLER. As I'm fond of saying, when it comes to birding, it rarely pays to be lazy! This was my first July record for Hermit Warbler in the White Mountains; I have a few records in September.

Also in the vicinity of the campground were CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, calling CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, WARBLING VIREO and fly-by RED CROSSBILLS.

It was now clear that we needed to walk the trail up the mountain to have any chance of finding find a Gray Jay. Unfortunately, the clouds had returned and rain was imminent so prudence dictated that we forget about that. Reluctantly, we headed over to Sunrise Lake in search of less glamorous prey. Although our arrival on the north shore coincided with the onset of rain, cruising around paid off with great looks at several singing SAVANNAH SPARROWS.

Okay, now what to do? We decided to get off the mountain and still leave our options open for a return. South Fork fit the bill; not too far away and it was dry! The birding here was pretty decent and it got off to a good start when I almost stepped on a couple of MONTEZUMA QUAIL. Although the birds rocketed away in typical fashion, we had a good look at a female about 10 minutes later. Over the past couple of days we've tried for CANYON WREN several times without success. Today we rectified that situation with great views of a curious juvenile. We also caught up with a flock BUSHTITS (actually, they caught up with us), another bird that had eluded us until today. Other species here included ROCK WREN, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE (South Fork is a good location for this species), WARBLING VIREO foraging almost on the ground under a juniper, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SPOTTED TOWHEE and BLUE GROSBEAK.

It was now almost 12:30pm and we decided to head back to Sunrise. As soon as we cleared the trees and reached 9000+ feet in the meadow area, we could see that Sunrise was still socked in so we did an about face. A trip into Greer seemed feasible (8500 feet) but it was raining there and we had to rejig once again.

Back to low elevation! We cruised Becker Lake Road looking for a close WESTERN MEADOWLARK to study. We found an obliging individual along with the regular MOCKINGBIRDS, WESTERN KINGBIRDS and a few NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS.

Becker Lake yielded a soaring OSPREY, 6 BLACK TERNS working low over the water and great close up views of a singing BLUE GROSBEAK