April Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - April, 2007 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, April 30, 2007

Monday, April 2, 2007
I had penciled in a few days in the White Mountains starting tomorrow but the chance disappeared when a client needed to reschedule from today to Wednesday. However, since it was still snowing up there a couple of days ago and it's really too early for any significant migration, I wasn't too disappointed. I took the opportunity to visit Patagonia Lake State Park (for a change) where I enjoyed almost 6 hours of wandering around without any agenda whatsoever. A sunny and mild morning turned into a warm day with a few high clouds.

First bird of the day was a GREAT HORNED OWL calling in my yard at 5:00am, an unusual occurrence where I live. The grasslands near Sonoita yielded SWAINSON'S HAWK and EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were in town. Loud "chi-beer" calls announced the presence of several CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS as I drove through Patagonia where TURKEY and BLACK VULTURES were still roosting.

Around 6:20am, soon after I started down the road to Patagonia Lake, the sweet song of CASSIN'S SPARROW got my attention and I was able to find and see the same bird later, at noon! I wonder if the bird sang all morning?

There was plenty of action at the lake today but I didn't see anything really unusual. I started by checking the west end of the lake from the day use area near the marina where an AMERICAN ROBIN was a mild surprise as I stepped out of the vehicle. After photographing a TURKEY VULTURE perched on a pole, I turned away for a minute to find this BLACK VULTURE on the same pole! Out on the water I noted 40 LESSER SCAUP, 2 BUFFLEHEADS, 2 OSPREYS and 7 RING-BILLED GULLS -- none of which were present when I checked again shortly before midday. A single LEAST BITTERN was calling near the visitor center where CASSIN'S and WESTERN KINGBIRDS were squabbling.

I did fairly well on flycatchers today with the two kingbirds, BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES, many VERMILION, 3 DUSKY-CAPPED and 2 ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS. I came across ~6 NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS including a pair busily working on a nest in a tree that is used annually by this species. The only definite migrant was a calling PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER and the only wintering species noted was a single GRAY FLYCATCHER.

Apart from YELLOW-RUMPED, LUCY'S and YELLOW WARBLERS that were all very common, I was disappointed with the lack of warblers -- I saw only 3 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS and just one ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.

Sparrows were not particularly conspicuous. CHIPPING and WHITE-CROWNED remain common and I noted a few BLACK-THROATED, singing RUFOUS-WINGED and RUFOUS-CROWNED, a few SONG and just one LINCOLN'S.

At the northeast corner of the lake, I took advantage of a "field guide" NEOTROPIC and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT photo opportunity. Although I was too far from the birds for any real detail, the educational value of the image far outweighs what it lacks in quality. I couldn't pass up this side by side view with almost identical poses showing the size difference (among other things) between the two species. These two side by side BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS were in the same area. This species typically returns to the lake in late March or early April and at least three birds were present today.

Before leaving, I returned to check the west end of the lake where I found a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, the only oriole of the day and my 80th species of the morning at the lake.

On my way back to Patagonia, a brief stop at the Roadside Rest for White-throated Swift was unsuccessful. However, I saw 10+ AMERICAN ROBINS and 4+ CEDAR WAXWINGS feeding on hackberries and a silently foraging HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER.

Hummingbird activity in Marion Paton's yard was fairly decent. I saw the usual seasonal suspects -- many BROAD-BILLED & BLACK-CHINNED, VIOLET-CROWNED, ANNA'S & RUFOUS and my first of season (male) CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD. My earliest ever sighting in SE AZ is March 31 and I have a handful of records at the Paton's in April. Colorful, eye-catching LAZULI BUNTINGS were also on duty. Noisy GRAY HAWKS were just west of the yard -- their calls have a quality that gives the impression they are seriously in harm's way.

105 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested & Neotropic Cormorants; Least Bittern, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal; Mallard, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Black & Turkey Vultures; Osprey, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks; Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves; Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned, Anna's, Calliope & Rufous Hummingbirds; Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers; N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Hammond's, Gray, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers; Black & Say's Phoebes; Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; Horned Lark, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, Cactus, Canyon, Bewick's, House & Marsh Wrens; N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens; European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Black-throated Gray Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Canyon & Abert's Towhees; Cassin's, Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Black-throated, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows; Lark Bunting, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Bullock's Oriole.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Out today with Mark and Mary Westra from White Bear Lake, MN. With the change of seasons, it was a case of back in the old routine today with visits to Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons in the Huachucas (although it's still a tad early for many mountain species). More of the same weather-wise with continuing above average temperatures.

We didn't have a firm agenda or any specific targets so we started at the Fishing Ponds then dawdled our way up Garden Canyon. In the vicinity of the ponds, CASSIN'S and WESTERN KINGBIRDS were easy to see but we had to work for our first ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. Also here were a RED-TAIL on a nest, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, a calling LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, a male VERMILION FLYCATCHER, several perched NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, a nicely perched and singing CRISSAL THRASHER (very uncommon here), BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, numerous LUCY'S WARBLERS, a smart looking BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and a singing RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW eventually seen well.

Further up canyon we added KESTREL, HAMMOND'S & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and EASTERN MEADOWLARK.

It was already fairly warm by the time we reached Sawmill Canyon at 9:30am and we had to work for everything that we found. None more elusive than GRACE'S WARBLER -- quite common and singing throughout and a master of staying concealed in pine needles. We won by attrition and picked up an ARIZONA WOODPECKER in the process. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER was also difficult and we only heard one bird singing after a considerable amount of walking (I'm sure they were more vocal earlier in the morning). We eventually saw the bird well.

Other species in the canyon included a pair of CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, AMERICAN ROBIN, BROWN CREEPER, the usual STELLER'S and MEXICAN JAYS, HUTTON'S VIREO, PAINTED REDSTART and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. A Zone-tailed Hawk was seen earlier but we missed it (perhaps the same bird that nested here last year).

A brief stop at the pictograph site yielded WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS working over the cliffs, a singing CANYON WREN and another PAINTED REDSTART (much in evidence everywhere today).

It was certainly warm as we began the trudge up Scheelite Canyon at noon. The reward for our efforts was a pair of easy to find SPOTTED OWLS in a regularly used location. The birds were snuggled up together and we witnessed some amorous behavior. Not a lot of other activity in the early afternoon. Apart from more PAINTED REDSTARTS, numerous BLACK-THROATED GRAY (singing primary and alternate songs), TOWNSEND'S and ORANGE-CROWNED were the only warblers encountered.

Back in lower Garden Canyon, we made an effort to find a PHAINOPEPLA (heard only earlier) but could only come up with a female. TURKEY VULTURE, SAY'S PHOEBE and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE were the only other birds noted in the heat of the afternoon.

61 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves; Spotted Owl, White-throated Swift, Anna's Hummingbird, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers; N. Flicker, Hammond's, Buff-breasted, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers; Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; N. Rough-winged Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens; N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers; Am. Robin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays; Chihuahuan & Common Ravens; House Sparrow, Hutton's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's & Grace's Warblers; Painted Redstart, Rufous-crowned & Chipping Sparrows; Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos; Eastern Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, April 8, 2007
Out today with Rick and Stephanie Lux from Webster, NY. We visited the southern end of Sulphur Springs Valley and Garden Canyon in the Huachucas without looking for any specific birds. The morning hours were cooler than of late under cloudy skies; becoming warmer by late morning as the clouds disappeared.

The fields and back roads around Davis and Coffman Roads and Central Highway were quite productive early this morning. SWAINSON'S HAWKS are now back in numbers and we had great views of perched and low flying birds. A stop to look at the GREAT HORNED OWL nest on Davis (now with young it seems) also yielded scope views of a singing CASSIN'S SPARROW in a nearby mesquite. At least 20 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS were in the fields on Central along with scads of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, SCALED & GAMBEL'S QUAIL, WESTERN KINGBIRDS and LARK BUNTINGS were seen in multiple locations. MOCKINGBIRDS were singing up a storm everywhere that we went and CURVE-BILLED & BENDIRE'S THRASHERS were well outnumbered. Sparrow numbers are down but we did see the usual BREWER'S, VESPER and WHITE-CROWNED.

Whitewater Draw was also quite productive despite the paucity of ducks. Among the 50 species seen here were 12 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, GREAT EGRET, an immature BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, a couple of CINNAMON TEAL, 6+ AMERICAN AVOCETS, 2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, small flocks of LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS, 10+ RING-BILLED GULLS, 2 FRANKLIN'S GULLS, 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS, a single and elusive BARN OWL in the main willow grove, a few VERMILION FLYCATCHERS and the usual YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and sparrows.

Garden Canyon was fairly busy on this Easter Sunday and all the picnic areas were occupied. In the lower grassland we noted SCALED QUAIL, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and RUFOUS-CROWNED (singing) & LARK SPARROWS. We spent most of our time near the upper picnic area which wasn't too productive in the early afternoon. Highlights were a soaring GOLDEN EAGLE and decent looks at DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART. Other species included BUSHTIT, BRIDLED TITMOUSE and lots of singing HUTTON'S VIREOS.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Out today with Jerry Bertrand from MA and Tasso and Stephen from England for a very long day in the field.

Our early morning visit to Carr Canyon produced a major surprise. As we drove slowly through the lower mesquite-grassland, listening to and looking at common species, I was completely taken aback to to hear the distinctive chips, sputters and bouncing ball song of a BOTTERI'S SPARROW. Over a period of 15 minutes, we watched the bird moving around in a small area, perching on mesquites and singing as if staking out a territory. Tasso was able to get a decent photo. Although this species does not typically arrive until May, there is evidence over the years of earlier and earlier arrivals. I have a few April week 4 records but this beats my early date by 14 days!

Other species in the lower canyon included GAMBEL'S QUAIL, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, CACTUS WREN and PYRRHULOXIA. Driving up the mountain we added BAND-TAILED PIGEON.

Carr peak was enveloped in clouds and it was surprisingly chilly in the vicinity of Reef. Initial bird activity was very low and we had to chip away steadily to dig out even the common species. Eventually, we managed a number of the expected regulars for this early in the season including a completely silent GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER (not very vocal), OLIVE WARBLER (more vocal and common as the morning wore on), VIRGINIA'S WARBLER (as elusive as ever) and GRACE'S WARBLER.

Among the other species recorded were ARIZONA & HAIRY WOODPECKERS, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, BROWN CREEPER, STELLER'S JAY, several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, DARK-EYED (Oregon) and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS and lots of singing (and skulking) SPOTTED TOWHEES.

Back in the lower canyon, a daytime ELF OWL was a pleasant surprise. We stopped to check out a couple of FLICKERS on a pole and Stephen noticed the owl poking its head out of a hole, presumably also checking out the flickers! A good end to our time in the canyon (50 species recorded).

After a break, we headed out again to Sulphur Springs Valley and the Chiricahuas. The scrub adjacent to Comfort Inn produced LUCY'S WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and a number of common species as well as a beautiful SWAINSON'S HAWK, soaring overhead.

Our arrival at Whitewater Draw coincided with the onset of strong winds that never abated (and certainly ruined our evening). Among the species seen while battling the wind were BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, CINNAMON TEAL, 3 BLACK-NECKED STILTS, many AMERICAN AVOCETS, a handful of LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, LEAST & SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, 2 FRANKLIN'S GULLS, GREAT HORNED and BARN OWLS, VERMILION & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, WESTERN & CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS almost side by side, BANK & VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, AMERICAN PIPIT and ABERT'S TOWHEE (perhaps now a regular here following a little range expansion).

LARK BUNTINGS and BREWER'S SPARROWS continue very common on Coffman Road.

We arrived in the Chiricahuas quite late and Pinery Canyon Road (my favorite birding road in the Chiricahuas) was almost devoid of birds. The late hour and windy conditions made finding MEXICAN CHICKADEE very difficult and we ended up with an extremely poor view of just one individual. We then dipped miserably on Flammulated Owl which was our only target species of the day. I normally don't work on this species until May and I wasn't optimistic of our chances even with good conditions. In the wind, it was a washout -- we didn't hear any nightbirds at all.

Although it was a good day overall, the ending was certainly a downer, especially when the rental vehicle starting acting up on the way home. [Here's a tip that may help others who rent a Trailblazer SUV (since it would appear from the help we got from Avis that the problem is regular -- kudos to them for a quick solution but a manual in the car would have been good too.). The vehicle became permanently stuck in 4WD (even though we hadn't used it) and high gear wouldn't engage -- thus our speed was severely limited without causing high revs. No amount of switching to 2WD or AUTO rectified the problem. The solution is to turn off the engine, restart, put the gear shift in neutral -- then move the dash switch over to 2 (CTRL-ALT-DEL for PC users). After some thinking and flashing lights, the vehicle switched to 2WD.]

Thursday, April 12, 2007
First of two days target birding with David Patick from Huntington, WV. It was a terrible day to be out birding -- extremely windy all day apart from a brief respite during mid morning. As you all know, as an ear birder, I absolutely hate birding in the wind. We ended up with 9 targets species seen which is 9 more than I expected when I was standing at Reef at 7:00am where it was blowing a gale. A short report today. My next day off isn't for a while so reports may get shorter and not be published daily.

We began in Carr Canyon where it took an inordinate amount of time to track down our targets. Ironically, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was our first success -- normally the peskiest and most difficult to see of the easy warblers. After being extremely vocal on Monday, we had to work long and hard to find a mostly silent OLIVE WARBLER today. On the plus side, it was a "cracking, orange-headed adult male". We also had to work diligently before finding a silent BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. It probably wasn't a fun day for them, being the the smallest of the empids and trying to battle the wind. They have my sympathy. Comparatively speaking, GREATER PEWEE was fairly easy to find and we saw a few of them, mostly working deep into the trees. The only break we got all morning was stumbling into a pair of HEPATIC TANAGERS (FOS for me).

Other species included GREATER ROADRUNNER (lower canyon), HAIRY WOODPECKER, STELLER'S JAY, HUTTON'S VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, many GRACE'S WARBLERS (the only species that was really vocalizing), a stunning male HERMIT WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Our original plan was to visit Scheelite but David decided to risk a trip to Sulphur Springs Valley where we had more potential. As I expected, it was windy out there but we did manage to see a number of targets in the vicinity of Whitewater Draw -- 2 BARN OWLS (tough to see in the windy willows), a lone SCALED QUAIL at the site host's feeders, a rather reticent but inquisitive BENDIRE'S THRASHER (further north in the valley) and the can't miss LARK BUNTINGS.

Other species from 40 noted at Whitewater Draw (muddy brown water draw today) were GREAT EGRET, a female BUFFLEHEAD, a few LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, RING-BILLED GULL, 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS, BELTED KINGFISHER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, BANK SWALLOW and my first of season CASSIN'S VIREO.

Friday, April 13, 2007
Out again today with David. It's that time of year again and I was up at an ungodly hour for my season first trip to California Gulch. We followed that with visits to Kino Springs and Patagonia Lake. After some overnight rain in Sierra Vista, it was a mostly cloudy day in all locations. Thankfully, wind wasn't an issue today. I only have time for a cursory report that doesn't begin to do justice to a good day in the field.

California Gulch:
At least 3 FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS seen near the first stream crossing. A couple of birds were chasing each other around. Vocalizations were typically sporadic and subdued for this early in the season but enough to alert us to their presence. Also in the gulch proper were a few COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRDS and several singing but too-far-away-to-see BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS (rare here). Elsewhere we saw 2 MONTEZUMA QUAIL (top of heartbreak hill) and GRAY HAWK, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, DUSKY-CAPPED & GRAY FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS VIREO and HOODED ORIOLE all near the dam (another Gray Hawk and Gray Flycatcher were near the entrance to Sycamore Canyon). About 40 species on a short visit

Kino Springs:
A midday visit didn't produce the hoped for Black-bellied Whistling-Duck. Common migrants were, well, common -- with several flavors of swallows and ORANGE-CROWNED & WILSON'S WARBLERS most noticeable. A YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD calling from the marsh represented the least common species for this location. 45 species in all.

Patagonia Lake:
We needed two bites at the cherry to see a rather reticent BOTTERI'S SPARROW but ended up with excellent, close range views of a perched bird. My sighting earlier in the week plus another sighting on the same day in Arivaca together with today's bird shows that Botteri's Sparrow has arrived in southeast Arizona significantly early across a wide front. Other birds in the grass were RUFOUS-CROWNED, VESPER & GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS.

Unfortunately, we dipped again on the Whistling-Duck as well as a hoped for Common Black-Hawk but were able to pick up NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET at the nest. Shorebirds are never plentiful at the lake and a single colorful WESTERN SANDPIPER (with a few LEAST) was only my second record at this location and my first in spring. Other species during a whistle stop visit included 7- LESSER SCAUP, a calling VIRGINIA RAIL, numerous GRAY FLYCATCHERS, a calling PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER and my season first YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. 60 species in all.

102 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes; Double-crested & Neotropic Cormorants; Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked & Ruddy Ducks; Lesser Scaup, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks; Am. Kestrel, Montezuma Quail, Virginia Rail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Spotted, Western & Least Sandpipers; Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves; Common Ground-Dove, Broad-billed, Black-chinned & Costa's Hummingbirds; Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers; N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Gray, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers; Black & Say's Phoebes; Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's & Marsh Wrens; N. Mockingbird, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens; European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's & Plumbeous Vireos; House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees; Botteri's, Rufous-crowned, Five-striped, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Grasshopper, Song & White-crowned Sparrows; N. Cardinal, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds; Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Hooded & Bullock's Orioles.

Saturday, April 14, 2007
Out today with Gordon Chastain from Indianapolis, IN for a handful of target birds in the Huachucas (Spotted Owl, Elf Owl, Elegant Trogon and Buff-breasted Flycatcher all seen; Western Screech-Owl heard only). Another early start for a pre dawn owling session.

It was quite chilly in the mountains early this morning but it only took a few minutes to see a female ELF OWL poking her head out of the nest hole and then get great views of the male perched nearby. Next, we turned our attention to WESTERN SCREECH-OWL. Unfortunately, we didn't have the same kind of success. After about 15 minutes of work enticing the bird away from private property into a location on FS land where we could view it, someone who I recognized came driving up the canyon and stopped at the critical moment -- I glimpsed the owl in flight as it flew away in the increasing light. Drat (or words to that effect). We continued for a little while but daylight eventually foiled our efforts (one of the reasons why I prefer to do my owling at night). The only other night bird heard over a period of an hour was COMMON POORWILL.

Our next stop was Sawmill Canyon. Despite a brisk temperature of 35 degrees, a male ELEGANT TROGON was calling as we stepped out of the vehicle and it only took a few minutes until we enjoyed good views of a first summer bird (belly not solid red). This bird has been in the canyon since at least March 17.

We had to be patient before BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS became active but then we had excellent views of a couple of birds working in low junipers and grass. Other stuff in the canyon included ARIZONA WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, a "flock" of at least 4 HERMIT WARBLERS (somewhat of an oxymoron), singing GRACE'S WARBLERS & PAINTED REDSTARTS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.  20 species in all.

We continued on to Scheelite Canyon for the star of the show. Although it was apparent that owls had been using the lower roosting area quite extensively in recent weeks (lots of fresh whitewash and various markers in different locations consisting of sticks and rock piles), my search of the entire lower area didn't result in an owl. <soapbox> PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, IF YOU FIND AN OWL, DO NOT PLACE  A MARKER. Since it is only valid for a day, the marker will only serve to confuse birders that follow. Unless I get rid of them, they just continue to litter the canyon and have no lasting value. </soapbox>

It was tempting to think that I had simply missed the bird and to keep on looking. However, since it has been really windy for a few days now, I figured that the birds would be in a location that offered some shelter. I had such a place in mind and decided to continue on up canyon. My hunch paid off -- I found a pair of SPOTTED OWLS in a well tucked away location. However, they were in a tree where I had seen an owl only once before (9 years ago!) immediately adjacent to the tree that I thought they might be using (which is used frequently). Seeing the pair together perhaps shoots down the theory that the owls are nesting this year (unless they are going to start late).

We met two other parties coming up the canyon as we left (including my client for the past two days) and I did my best to explain the well concealed location in the middle roosting area  If either party reads this, please let me know if you found the birds.

About 20 species in the canyon including a couple of HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS and a singing WHITE-WINGED DOVE -- only my second record in Scheelite. Very odd.

We finished up with a brief stop at the fishing ponds where we bolstered our list for the morning without seeing anything unusual. RED-TAILED HAWK on a nest, male ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD and a pair of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS (both species likely nesting here), ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, LUCY'S WARBLER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE were among 20 species seen in the lower canyon.

Sunday, April 15, 2007
Out today with Paul and Pattie Mansz from Rothesay, NB, who I've birded with once before; and Linda and Scott from Philadelphia, PA. We birded in Carr Canyon and on the San Pedro. Another windy day to contend with. Enough already.

As if the wind weren't enough, there was also a fire burning in Carr Canyon this morning (creating a fair bit of fire truck traffic). By the time we left at 10:00am, the canyon was closed. The fire was located between Reef and Ramsey Vista (closer to the latter), approximately 1/2 mile west of the road. I'm not sure of the cause but homo sapiens is a safe bet.

It was windy from the start and birding was far from easy. As usual, persistence was the key and we chipped away until we had bagged a few prizes. Best bird for me was my first of season RED-FACED WARBLER on my third visit to the canyon this week. We had great views of the bird, a real beauty singing its heart our for a long time. Although nothing came easy, we eventually enjoyed good views of most of the specialties that we found including GREATER PEWEE (plenty of singing today), BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER (not much singing), OLIVE WARBLER (male feeding female), VIRGINIA'S WARBLER (unusually cooperative, perched high and foraging in the open for several minutes), GRACE'S WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER (male and female in two locations) and 2 singing adult male SCOTT'S ORIOLES.

Other species included ELF OWL (poking its head out of a nest hole in the lower canyon), ACORN, ARIZONA (heard only) and HAIRY WOODPECKERS, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY (heard only), TOWNSEND'S & HERMIT WARBLERS, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and SPOTTED TOWHEE. 37 species in all, quite a good result considering the persistent wind.

It was also windy on the river and we stayed as sheltered as possible by walking back and forth along the cottonwood gallery from the San Pedro House to Kingfisher Pond. The birding was very patchy -- long stretches with almost no birds and a few places with lots of activity. Best bird was a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER for a couple of reasons -- it's getting late for this species (most are gone by mid April, although I do have one mid May record); and this was my first spring record on the San Pedro (it's mostly a fall and early winter bird in this location).

We had hoped for a few migrants but only a couple of HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS and a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER obliged us. I also picked up my first of season SUMMER TANAGER. We had a few more warblers -- ORANGE-CROWNED, LUCY'S, YELLOW & WILSON'S WARBLERS and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT for a decent (by Arizona standards!) 14 warbler day. Unfortunately, we missed the hoped for MacGillivray's.

Other species among 40 seen on the river were a beautiful, wind assisted SWAINSON'S HAWK zipping by at great speed, VERMILION & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, SAY'S & BLACK PHOEBES, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, CANYON & ABERT'S TOWHEES, LINCOLN'S & BREWER'S SPARROWS and PYRRHULOXIA.

Given how windy it was earlier, I was very surprised that we were able to go owling in the evening. Fortunately, the wind dropped and Carr Canyon was open. We failed miserably on Whiskered Screech-Owl (just the briefest of calls) despite covering lots of  territory. This often happens when the birds are in the nesting phase. However, we had good success with WESTERN SCREECH-OWL and ELF OWL -- good views of both species and Paul was able to get photos. We also heard GREAT HORNED OWL, SPOTTED OWL, COMMON POORWILL and WHIP-POOR-WILL. Although it was frustrating not to get Whiskered Screech (the most common and usually the easiest owl to locate and see), it was nevertheless a good end to the day.

Monday, April 16, 2007
First of 7 days of target birding with Brian Hobbs from Strathroy, Ontario. Most of our time will be spent in California sandwiched between a day at either end in Arizona. Brian has birded in both states before so we have an oddball list of species to find. Today was short on birds but very successful and Murphy got screwed in several ways. First, Brian's flight was on time. Second, it was unseasonably cool in the Phoenix area. Third, we found all three target species.

We left Tucson around noon and started birding at Slate Creek Divide at 3:00pm where it was pleasantly cool and only slightly breezy. Multiple GRAY VIREOS were singing near the corral as we stepped out of the car and it didn't take long to get an excellent close up view of this rather drab but full-of-character species. Our secondary targets actually took a little longer but we eventually saw and heard several BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES.

Other species recorded on a short visit included ZONE-TAILED HAWK (overhead flight view), HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, PHAINOPEPLA, multiple BLUE GRAY-GNATCATCHERS, SPOTTED & CANYON TOWHEES, LARK SPARROW and several singing SCOTT'S ORIOLES.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Day 2 with Brian. We started at "the thrasher spot" near Buckeye in Maricopa County, AZ then headed west to Ventura on the California coast. It was pleasantly cool early this morning; mid 60s-mid 70s for much of the journey west; and breezy and quite chilly in Ventura in late afternoon.

Although I've had success in late April and even early May with Le Conte's Thrasher, I was a little apprehensive about our chances for this bird so late in their breeding season. However, as I've said many times, if you don't buy a ticket you won't win the raffle. After a short drive from west Phoenix, we started birding at 6:15am and plodded around for over an hour covering lots of ground without a hint of a thrasher nor much of anything else. At 7:30am, I spotted a LE CONTE'S THRASHER scurrying around on the ground. Unfortunately, Brian had wandered off checking other spots and only I saw the bird. At this point I feared the worst. It had been tough enough to locate once, could we do it again? Another 30 minutes passed without success until I spotted it again on the ground -- then 10 minutes later the bird took pity on us by perching up and allowing long, satisfying scope views. Phew! I managed an image from some distance before the bird dropped back to the ground, nothing more than a "record shot" really.

The area was generally very quiet and only a few birds were conspicuous (certainly not the thrasher!). Species noted included HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, 2 ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, 3+ WESTERN KINGBIRDS, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, several LUCY'S WARBLERS, a male WILSON'S WARBLER, many singing BREWER'S SPARROWS and ABERT'S TOWHEE. 17 species in all.

Now came the long drive west along I-10 then 210, 134 and 101 to Ventura. Always a delight. The only species of note on the journey was a group of 25 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS circling over I-10 in La Paz County.

After checking in to our Ventura motel, we resumed birding in Marina Park around 4:00pm. The wind was a problem for an hour and made for difficult scanning. Fortunately, we only had a couple of target species -- BLACK TURNSTONE (fairly common and easy to find) and BLACK OYSTERCATCHER (just one bird seen after about 90 minutes of searching the breakwaters and rocky areas).

Other species from 30 recorded in a couple of hours included 2 PACIFIC LOONS, many WESTERN & CLARK'S GREBES (side by side views), scads of BROWN PELICANS loafing on the rocks, a small flotilla of SURF SCOTERS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, MARBLED GODWIT, several WHIMBRELS at close range, a few SURFBIRDS and SANDERLINGS, the usual WESTERN GULLS, a couple of ROYAL & FORSTER'S TERNS and AMERICAN PIPIT.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Day 3 with Brian. After a couple of successful and Murphy free days, we took it on the chin today. It was a beautiful morning in Ventura but the lack of people in Island Packers parking lot at the harbor told its own story. Due to high swells some distance out, our trip to Santa Cruz Island was cancelled. Having had this happen on several occasions in the past, I had anticipated such an event and scheduled a backup trip on Friday. However, Brian decided not to return and stick with "Plan A" so it was a case of bye-bye Island Scrub Jay and a handful of potential pelagic species. A fly-over PURPLE MARTIN was the only bird of note in the harbor.

After making sure  to pick up YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE (our only target species of the modified day), we spent the remainder of the day casual birding in San Luis Obispo County (probably my favorite birding area in California). Unfortunately, the weather became increasingly worse as the day progressed and we saw some very high wind and wave action in Morro Bay at the end of the day. Not being much of a sailor, I was sure glad that we hadn't gone out on a boat today!

I've never missed the Magpie along Alisal Road in Solvang but we had to work a little to see them today. We cruised the road as far as Nojoqui County Park (seeing lots of birds along the way) but it wasn't until the return trip that we saw 4 magpies in the same locations we had checked just an hour ago. Among the species seen or heard during the search were CALIFORNIA QUAIL (very common), BAND-TAILED PIGEON, NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER, PACIFIC-SLOPE & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, several flocks of CEDAR WAXWINGS, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, WRENTIT, OAK TITMOUSE, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, WARBLING VIREO, CALIFORNIA TOWHEE, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

We continued north to Oceano where, despite increasing wind, we enjoyed a couple of hours of pleasant birding in the willows, pines and beach dunes. Among the 40 or so species that we recorded were CLARK'S GREBE, ROSS'S GOOSE (possible hybrid), CACKLING GOOSE, WHIMBREL, MARBLED GODWIT, NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER, WRENTIT, several CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, WILSON'S WARBLER, CALIFORNIA TOWHEE and HOODED ORIOLE.

Our final destination for the day was Morro Bay where the birding was definitely challenging in the wind. We scanned the bay from Los Osos; then checked Morro Bay State Park; and eventually ended up on Coleman Drive near the rock where the waves were really severe. A couple of coastguard boats seemed to be doing some scary practice work -- I almost puked just watching them!

On the plus side, the nasty conditions had driven in a few birds -- we saw several PIGEON GUILLEMOTS and a couple of PARASITIC JAEGERS at fairly close range.

In a calmer section of the bay, lots of WESTERN and CLARK'S GREBE'S had gathered along with EARED GREBES in close to full breeding plumage and even a surprise RED-NECKED GREBE (this species becomes quite rare the further south one travels in California). As you can see, the bird wasn't very close at all to breeding plumage. On the rocks, I was able to get very close to a BLACK OYSTERCATCHER and obtain my best image yet of this species.

Other species in the bay included several COMMON LOONS and RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS and the usual pelicans, cormorants and gulls.

A decent day despite the disappointment of not being able to go after Island Scrub-Jay.

Thursday, April 19, 2007
Day 4 with Brian. Today we birded in eastern San Luis Obispo county then moved south to LA. After a chilly start, it was a mostly sunny, cool and wind free day.

Our initial focus was on Lawrence's Goldfinch. It's been my experience that this species is easier to find in winter flocks in Arizona (in flight winters) than it is as a breeder in California where its much more capricious. We worked steadily along Highway 58 checking suitable locations with stock ponds. For a while, most of the goldfinches seen were LESSER GOLDFINCHES. However, at one such area, I spotted a lone male LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH (no Lessers present). Brian was a short distance away and by the time he reached me the bird was nowhere to be found -- shades of Le Conte's Thrasher! We continued working east without success until we reached La Panza ranch where we eventually found a male LAWRENCE'S along with many LESSER. By the way, the ranch manager was very friendly and even invited us on to the property -- many thanks! As it turned out, we didn't need to take advantage of the offer and saw the bird from Pozo road.

The journey along Hwy 58 traverses some beautiful habitat (oaks and rolling hills) and is sparsely populated. I've birded this area a few times but only in winter, so it was a nice change for me to see a few summer breeders along with the typical resident species. Birds along the highway included WHITE-TAILED KITE, several groups of WILD TURKEYS, CALIFORNIA QUAIL, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, BELTED KINGFISHER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER,  many WESTERN KINGBIRDS, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, OAK TITMOUSE, YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE, SAVANNAH SPARROW, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Further along Hwy 58 is the Carrizo Plain which is mostly a winter birding area. However, our next target is resident here and we had no trouble at all seeing SAGE SPARROW in short order without having to go as far as Soda Lake. Among the few other species noted were a handful of AMERICAN AVOCETS, a large flock of LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, a few scattered HORNED LARKS, several LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES and WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

After a long drive south, we resumed birding on the Palos Verdes Peninsula where we had to persevere for a while in order to get satisfying views of a male ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD. Other species present included RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, CEDAR WAXWING, several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and HOODED ORIOLE.

For our next target, we braved the afternoon commute to East LA where SPOTTED DOVE was easy to find. The Palos Verdes Peninsula used to be a sure bet for this species but not any more (see my report from last March). I learned from that lesson and it sure paid off today.

Lots of driving but we managed to see all four targets that we sought.

58 species recorded:
Mallard, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Red-shouldered & Red-tailed Hawks; Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, California Quail, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Long-billed Curlew, Western Gull, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons; Spotted & Mourning Doves; Anna's & Allen's Hummingbirds; Belted Kingfisher, Acorn Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Cliff Swallows; Cedar Waxwing, N. Mockingbird, Western Bluebird, Wrentit, Bushtit, Oak Titmouse, Loggerhead Shrike, Western Scrub-Jay, Yellow-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser & Lawrence's Goldfinches; Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Spotted Towhee, Sage, Savannah & White-crowned Sparrows; Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds; Western Meadowlark, Hooded & Bullock's Orioles.

Friday, April 20, 2007
Day 5 with Brian. We spent the morning in the San Gabriel Mountains north of LA; drove south to San Diego for some mid afternoon birding; and then headed east to El Centro. We couldn't have picked a worse day to be in the mountains. Highway 2 (Angeles Crest Highway) is usually closed in the higher elevations (7000+) until May but we didn't even make it that far! With the temperature at 29 degrees and snow falling heavily enough to start sticking, common sense prevailed and we restricted our birding to slightly lower elevations. By the time we left, the snow level was down to 4500 feet. Below that, rain was heavy and widespread and stayed with us all the way to San Diego. We finally lost it after dropping down into the desert approaches to El Centro.

We had three targets in the mountains. Disappointingly, the Chilao visitor center is currently closed on weekdays and with the lack of free food available at the feeders, I thought that we had lost our opportunity for an easy quail (if there is such a thing). Not the case! During a chance roadside stop for what turned out to be a STELLER'S JAY, we saw a handful of MOUNTAIN QUAIL very close to the road. WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKERS were easy to see around the visitor center and in the campground but we struck out on Red-breasted Sapsucker here and at several other locations.

Birds recorded around Chilao and above included BAND-TAILED PIGEON, ACORN WOODPECKER, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, WRENTIT, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, PYGMY NUTHATCH, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW and DARK-EYED (OREGON) JUNCO.

Lower down the mountain at Switzer Picnic Area in the pouring rain we added PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS and LAZULI BUNTING.

Our only target in San Diego was ELEGANT TERN and we found a slew of them in the South Bay. All we had to do was get soaking wet through to see them. Other species here included a handful of BRANT, OSPREY and lots of DUNLIN in breeding plumage,  About 20 species in all -- I'm sure we would have found lots more had it not not been for the rain.

On such a diabolical day to be birding, 3 out of 4 targets was a good result.

Saturday, April 21, 2007
Day 6 with Brian; our last full day in California. We birded at the Salton Sea and in the San Jacinto Mountains then traveled east to Blythe.

Two targets for the morning. We began in Calipatria at the intersection of Sperry and Eddins for RUDDY GROUND-DOVE. I last saw them here in September 2004  but they have probably been here much longer than that. Several birds were singing around 6:45am but difficult to see in the dense trees at this location. After 30 minutes of searching we saw male and female walking around on the blacktop. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, MOURNING & INCA DOVES and COMMON GROUND-DOVES rounded out the selection here in paloma paraiso.

YELLOW-FOOTED GULL was our only other target. We checked several locations along the south shore working east to west before finding a single (3rd year?) bird near Obsidian Butte. Adios Salton Sea. It was a real shame that we had to move on so quickly without being able to spend any quality time in this bird rich area. Such is the lot of the target birder. Some of the species seen during our search were CLARK'S GREBE,  PEREGRINE FALCON, CALIFORNIA, HERRING, & BONAPARTE'S GULLS, CASPIAN TERN and BURROWING OWL. A paltry 25 species in all (a full day here could easily have produced 100+).

Our targets in the mountains were Red-breasted Sapsucker and Pinyon Jay, although we didn't spend much time looking for the former. After spending some time at Hurkey Creek Campground, we worked the area to the south for a few miles along highway 74. I've seen Pinyon Jays here in the past but they are not particularly common (even though they are regular, or at least as regular as this capricious jay can be). The process of driving along and listening was made very difficult by constant Saturday afternoon traffic. Nevertheless, after about 30 minutes of such nonsense, I heard the very faint calls of distant PINYON JAYS. We walked about a half mile or so into the habitat and managed to obtain close, perched views. Hallelujah! A well earned bird.

Hurkey Creek Campground yielded a nice selection of 30 species including BAND-TAILED PIGEON, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, a migrant HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, OAK TITMOUSE, our first WESTERN TANAGER of the trip, a few LARK SPARROWS and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. A campground employee told us about a female Williamson's Sapsucker visiting his feeder but we didn't see the bird.

At the end of the day we journeyed east to Blythe (last major town on I-10 in California) to make our travel back to Arizona tomorrow a little easier. After checking into a motel, we had about an hour of daylight left and decided to indulge ourselves to see what we could find. I've never birded here before and didn't have any info in print so we were flying blind so to speak. We worked west of town and south of I-10  -- this is a mainly agricultural area of homogenous habitat with some irrigation ditches, tamarisk and other scrubby vegetation.

We managed a respectable 40 species. MOURNING DOVES, WESTERN KINGBIRDS, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS ,WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and several flavors of swallows were the most common species. Highlights were BURROWING OWL, a couple of LESSER NIGHTHAWKS, 20+ VAUX'S SWIFTS, a skulking MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, several ORANGE-CROWNED & WILSON'S WARBLERS, numerous singing BREWER'S SPARROWS and a handful of LAZULI BUNTINGS.

Sunday, April 22, 2007
Day 7 and final day with Brian. A late flight meant that we could enjoy a leisurely travel day back to Tucson. After spending a short time birding around Blythe in the same areas as last night; we exited I-10 on the Salome Highway (resisting the temptation to look for Le Conte's Thrasher again!); headed south down Old Highway 80 to Gila Bend; east on I-8 to Arizona City; criss-crossed our way south through the Santa Cruz Flats to Red Rock; stopped briefly at Marana Pecan Grove and finished up in the late afternoon at Sweetwater Wetland in Tucson.

The area around Blythe wasn't as productive as last night, although we did add a half dozen species to our "Blythe list" -- WHITE-WINGED DOVE, GILA WOODPECKER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, VERDIN, ABERT'S TOWHEE and SONG SPARROW for a total of 46 (not bad since most of our time here was spent sleeping and eating!).

Arlington yielded about a dozen roadside species. A stop at Gillespie Dam on Old 80 in mid morning produced 20 species including GREAT & SNOWY EGRETS, BLUE-WINGED & CINNAMON TEAL, BLACK-NECKED STILT, LEAST, WESTERN & SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

As expected, the trip through Santa Cruz Flats (mainly a winter birding area) wasn't very productive at all in the middle of the day. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES and WESTERN KINGBIRDS were common throughout. 10+ NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS were at the lake in Arizona City. A short wander around in mesquite scrub on Sunland Gin Road turned up COOPER'S HAWK, GRAY FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S VIREO, MACGILLIVRAY'S & WILSON'S WARBLERS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. Greene Reservoir Road gave us BELTED KINGFISHER, HORNED LARK, ABERT'S TOWHEE and LARK SPARROW.

It's been a while since I visited Marana Pecan Grove (and, after today, it will be a while before I go again). Mosquitoes outnumbered birds by approximately a billion to one and they were nasty little buggers. Ever seen two birders run like crazy back to their car being chased by mosquitoes? The only birds new for the day were NORTHERN HARRIER and PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER in the grove and a flock of WHITE-FACED IBIS on Trico Road.

Sweetwater Wetland seemed very quiet in the heat of the late afternoon (~85 degrees and the warmest temperature we had seen all week). Highlights of 30 species seen before we boogied to the airport were GREEN HERON, CINNAMON & BLUE-WINGED TEAL, SORA, COMMON MOORHEN, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (on the early side of its arrival date range but certainly not early), our first BANK SWALLOW of the trip and a singing BELL'S VIREO.

Thus came to end our adventure. Over 7 days we traveled 2300+ miles; saw a total of 200+ species and found 17 target species (missing only Red-breasted Sapsucker of the birds that we actively sought).

Monday, April 23, 2007
Out today with Nolan Lameka from Arlington Heights, IL. We visited Sulphur Springs Valley and Carr Canyon looking for photo opportunities. An otherwise sunny and pleasant day was spoiled by wind in the mountains.

Our time in Sulphur Springs Valley was short but productive for photos. On Coffman Road, Nolan was able to get images of male LARK BUNTINGS in breeding plumage (several large flocks present), BREWER'S SPARROW (lots of birds still around singing their bubbly, twittering song) and SCALED QUAIL. Other species along Coffman included SWAINSON'S HAWK, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, a pair of COMMON GROUND-DOVES, an always entertaining GREATER ROADRUNNER, BENDIRE'S THRASHER and a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

It was windy out on the dikes at Whitewater Draw and we didn't spend much time looking at the water. Among the readily apparent species we noted were a handful of BLUE-WINGED TEAL, CINNAMON TEAL, many distant AMERICAN AVOCETS, a few LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, SPOTTED & LEAST SANDPIPERS, BELTED KINGFISHER and VERMILION FLYCATCHER.

The usual pair of GREAT HORNED OWLS were present and Nolan also managed images of BARN OWL (two present in the willows). EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were singing in the willow grove and may be nesting at this location.

A mid morning to early afternoon session in Carr Canyon was also productive for photography and Nolan managed images of a number of specialty species. The best bird (for me) while seeking photo opportunities for Nolan was TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. They have been a little scarcer than usual this winter (at least in the Huachucas). Looking at my records from over the years, I see an increase in mid to late April that can likely be attributed to birds that wintered further south starting to head north.

Among the breeding canyon regulars seen today were ELF OWL, GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, OLIVE WARBLER (not singing as much now), BLACK-THROATED GRAY, GRACE'S WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART, RED-FACED WARBLER (great views), HEPATIC TANAGER and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Migrants noted were several HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, CASSIN'S VIREO, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and several HERMIT WARBLERS.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007
First of two days with Andy and Ellen Stepniewski from Yakima, WA. We spent a short morning in Carr Canyon looking for a few target species (Greater Pewee, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Virginia's Warbler and Red-faced Warbler seen; Cordilleran Flycatcher missed).

Our early morning drive up the canyon was fairly uneventful save for the sweet song of a SCOTT'S ORIOLE, eventually seen well atop an oak.

I decided to start with VIRGINIA'S WARBLER. As I've mentioned many times, this species is consistently the most difficult regular breeding warbler to see well. It's not scarce, quiet, or hard to find, but it is a master at staying out of your optics. Although you can have instant success on any given day, try looking for the bird 50, 100 or several hundred times such as I do and you'll encounter difficulty over 90% of the time. Today was certainly in this category. We heard the first bird singing as soon as we stepped out of the vehicle at Reef but it was easily an hour before we laid eyes on one.

In contrast, GREATER PEWEE and BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER were seen well with minimal effort. RED-FACED WARBLER was AWOL from a regular territory near Reef but we had great views on the Comfort Spring trail. Unfortunately (and as I expected), I failed to find Cordilleran Flycatcher in a regular breeding location near Comfort Spring. This is a species that typically does not arrive until early May and I haven't seen my first of season bird yet. Some years the bird is early and I have records as early as April 24 and many during the final week of April. Sadly, not today though.

We also recorded a number of the usual suspects as we searched for targets including all three regular jay species, several HAMMOND'S (a common migrant throughout SE AZ at the moment), DUSKY-CAPPED & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, OLIVE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, TOWNSEND'S, HERMIT, GRACE'S & WILSON'S WARBLERS, HEPATIC TANAGER, SPOTTED TOWHEE, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Out again for a longer day with Andy and Ellen. On a sunny and quite warm day (~90 degrees in mid afternoon), we visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest Area and Marion Paton's Yard. In addition to working on a handful of target species (Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Botteri's Sparrow and Rufous-winged Sparrow seen; Thick-billed Kingbird missed), we tried to add to Andy and Ellen's overall trip list that was already close to 200 at the start of the day. We saw lots of birds today and this very brief report doesn't do justice to the day.

Before entering the state park proper, we spent a little time ensuring that we saw BOTTERI'S and RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS and enjoyed decent looks at both species. MONTEZUMA QUAIL were calling from a nearby hillside with scattered oaks (only my 9th record at this location).

Next, we spent an inordinate amount of time (3 hours) working on BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER before finding a female on the hillside well south of the first wash.

NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET was relatively easy to see even though they are now fairly quiet during their incubation phase. When they are not singing, I find that the best way to locate them is to listen for their rather soft "eeek" call (of course, it also helps if you know a nest location!).

Other species among 77 recorded at the lake were 2 AMERICAN WHITE-PELICANS, 4 WESTERN GREBES, 1 CLARK'S GREBE, the usual NEOTROPIC and a few DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, wonderful views of a soaring COMMON BLACK-HAWK; the common and expected migrant empids -- PACIFIC-SLOPE, HAMMOND'S, GRAY & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS (listed in order of decreasing abundance); lots of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, DUSKY-CAPPED & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS; CASSIN'S & WESTERN KINGBIRDS, CASSIN'S VIREO, 8 warbler species including 357 WILSON'S WARBLERS (okay, I exaggerate to make a point); many SUMMER TANAGERS and a migrant WESTERN TANAGER.

We saw five swallows species (missed Tree) and I was surprised to learn when I returned home that BANK SWALLOW was a new location species for me, my 260th at the state park.

It was pretty warm yet surprisingly birdy at Kino Springs in the early afternoon. We recorded almost 60 species including GREAT & SNOWY EGRETS, super looks at GRAY HAWK, 6 duck species, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, INCA DOVE and good looks at an out-in-the-open YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

A visit to the Roadside Rest Area (MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER) and a cruise along Blue Heaven Road didn't produce my first of season Thick-billed Kingbird.

Marion Paton's yard had plenty of human and avian customers. Highlights here were VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD, a very close DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, plentiful and colorful LAZULI BUNTINGS and a male SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Thursday, April 26, 2007
First of two days with Susan Ryan from Mill Valley, CA. We visited some of the same locations as yesterday with an entirely different agenda. On a slightly cooler day, we spent less hours doing some relatively slow paced casual birding and recorded considerably fewer species.

Let me start by mentioning a few ironies for the reading pleasure of yesterday's clients. Almost the first bird down by the lake near the visitor center was a calling LEAST BITTERN; later in the morning a migrant OSPREY was working over the lake -- both of which we could have used yesterday. At the east end of the lake, we stumbled into a female BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER with at least one youngster in tow near the bench at the start of the trail (yesterday, 3 hours of effort were required!).

Other species present today and not seen yesterday included 2 CATTLE EGRETS (only my third record at the lake, first in spring), 6 GREEN HERONS and a HOODED ORIOLE. On the other side of the coin, migrant flycatchers were few and far between today compared to yesterday.

Those "masters' of skulk" BELL'S VIREO (singing throughout) and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (several vocal birds in the willow forest) were both very difficult to track and see in the leafy vegetation. SUMMER TANAGERS are now common.

At Kino Springs, 2 GREAT EGRETS and 2 SNOWY EGRETS were at the first pond where we had excellent views of a perched GRAY HAWK. Also present were GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and a few LARK SPARROWS.

A migrant PLUMBEOUS VIREO in the club house pines was only my 5th record in 5 different years over the past 15 years of birding at this location.

SCOTT'S ORIOLE and LAZULI BUNTINGS continue in Marion Paton's yard. RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was the only hummer present today and not seen yesterday.

83 species recorded:
Pied-billed, Western & Clark's Grebes; Double-crested & Neotropic Cormorants; Great Blue & Green Herons; Great, Snowy & Cattle Egrets; Least Bittern, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Cooper's & Gray Hawks; Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves; Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned & Rufous Hummingbirds; Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers; N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Hammond's, Vermilion & Dusky-capped Flycatchers; Black Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows; Phainopepla, Bewick's & Marsh Wrens; N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Verdin, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's & Plumbeous Vireos; House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees; Botteri's, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Lark, Black-throated, Song & White-crowned Sparrows; N. Cardinal, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hooded, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles.

Friday, April 27, 2007
Out again today with Susan. We visited Garden and Carr Canyons in the Huachucas. A calm, sunny and fairly warm morning becoming cloudy in the afternoon.

It's that time of year again and the ELEGANT TROGON show in Garden Canyon is well underway. It was hard to determine exactly how many birds were present near the Upper Picnic Area (UPA) early this morning. However, we heard plenty of enthusiastic calling from multiple birds and had great views of male and female at close range.

Other activity wasn't significant but there were a few interesting birds around. While pursuing a calling TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE (not seen), we flushed a small group of ~6 MONTEZUMA QUAIL. As is almost always the case in such circumstances, all that we saw was their ass end as the birds rocketed away. Also of note was a calling HOODED ORIOLE -- my first in Garden Canyon.

Other species around the UPA included numerous DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, HAMMOND'S & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, a few singing PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, 4+ singing BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, a brief appearance from a pair of HEPATIC TANAGERS and a couple of SCOTT'S ORIOLES.

In the lower grassland we drove by a perched up ROADRUNNER that didn't flinch and managed scope views of a singing CASSIN'S SPARROW and a singing PYRRHULOXIA.

The current situation with Botteri's and Cassin's Sparrows is interesting and puzzling. Both species share similar grassland habitat in southeast Arizona and breed during the rainy season (July-September). Resident Cassin's Sparrows often sing in early spring (usually in late March) and this year they have been observed doing this in multiple locations well into late April. I used to think that it needed to be a wet spring for this to happen but this is obviously not the case. Summer resident Botteri's Sparrows have arrived extremely early and have been heard singing in many places over a large part of their summer range. I'm not sure what is going on but I can't help but think that the two events are connected. You have much to learn, Grasshopper.

Birding in Carr Canyon was very good this morning and we saw most of the typical high elevation species. I must have paid my dues on VIRGINIA'S WARBLER this month because today we had a decent view with zero effort. It's about bloody time. OLIVE WARBLER (mostly silent) was perhaps the most difficult warbler today but we ended  up with good looks of an "orange-headed" adult male. We could not have wished for better views of a stunning RED-FACED WARBLER singing its heart out at close range. GRACE'S WARBLER was its usual tree top self, although over time we saw enough of them to obtain good views. The "also-rans" put on a good show -- it's hard not to be impressed with crisp spring male TOWNSEND'S and HERMIT WARBLERS; perhaps not so much with ORANGE-CROWNED and WILSON'S.

The warblers together with close views of ARIZONA WOODPECKER, GREATER PEWEE and its initially endearing yet eventually annoying Jose Maria song, the diminutive BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, colorful HEPATIC TANAGERS and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS in full song, many singing SPOTTED TOWHEES and evil looking YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS provided an array of birds to excite any visitor (if not, check your pulse).

Migrant HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS were quite numerous. Migrant LAZULI BUNTINGS are fairly scarce at high altitude (even though they breed high in some locations) and a calling bird was only my 4th April record around Reef.

68 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Montezuma Quail, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves; Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Ladder-backed, Hairy & Arizona Woodpeckers; N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Hammond's, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers; Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Bewick's & House Wrens; N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens; Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos; House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Hermit, Grace's, Wilson's & Red-faced Warblers; Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted & Canyon Towhees; Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows; Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Hooded & Scott's Orioles.

Monday, April 30, 2007
Out today with Pat & Juanita Tate from Annapolis, MD who I've birded with on five previous occasions. We visited Whitewater Draw and Carr Canyon for a handful of targets and to enjoy whatever came our way. A clear and warm morning out in Sulphur Springs Valley; increasing clouds and a little windy in Carr Canyon in the early afternoon.

We left Sierra Vista at 5:00am to allow a few hours of birding time in the valley and still be able to make it up to Carr Canyon by late morning. A slow drive down Coffman Road shortly after sunrise produced SCALED and GAMBEL'S QUAIL, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, GREATER ROADRUNNER, plenty of LARK BUNTINGS in breeding plumage and a few singing BREWER'S SPARROWS.

At Whitewater Draw, we began by working the north end of the main body of water, accessed by walking west from any of the sportsman's access roads on Coffman (gulls and other species would simply have been too far away to identify with confidence without so doing). A bonus for the extra effort was my best bird of the day -- a very well marked CLAY-COLORED SPARROW with a few BREWER'S SPARROWS. Other sparrows in the mesquite-grassland were a singing CASSIN'S SPARROW, a lone BLACK-THROATED SPARROW and a fair number of SAVANNAH SPARROWS, some with very yellow eyebrows.

We also saw OSPREY & SWAINSON'S HAWK in flight, a couple of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, perched BENDIRE'S & CRISSAL THRASHERS, singing HORNED LARKS and soon to be departing female BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS.

Birds of the open water and shoreline were quite plentiful and included ~70 WHITE-FACED IBIS, a few BLUE-WINGED TEAL, a pair of REDHEADS, a couple of female/immature male BUFFLEHEADS, COMMON MOORHEN, 2 BLACK-NECKED STILTS, a handful of LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 2 fly-by LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, 6+ SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, perhaps as many as 200 well scattered WILSON'S PHALAROPES (including some colorful females), 44 RING-BILLED GULLS and 5 FRANKLIN'S GULLS looking pretty in pink. Of note was a possible American Bittern -- just not seen well enough to be absolutely certain of its identity (although dark flight feathers were seen well as the bird flew away, never to be relocated).

Elsewhere we added 2 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS (adult and immature), a handful of common duck species, numerous EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, BARN OWL, GREAT HORNED OWL and several BULLOCK'S ORIOLES. We recorded a total of 68 species at Whitewater Draw

Compared to my recent early morning visits, activity in Carr Canyon was fairly subdued around 11:00am. I wish I could figure out how to be in two places at the same time. Nevertheless, we saw our primary target HERMIT WARBLER with little effort as well as want-to-see-again RED-FACED WARBLER and PAINTED REDSTART (the latter required some effort to see well).

We recorded about 40 species (many heard only) including scolding ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, my first of season WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, OLIVE WARBLER and numerous unseen BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and HEPATIC TANAGERS.

[I've added a brief summary of the recent California trip -- just click the "Trip by Date" link in the main index (top left of this page) to access.]

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Monday, April 30, 2007

April Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - April, 2007 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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