May Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - May, 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 Thursday, May 31, 2007

Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Out today with Ed Hess and Kellie Guerrette from Scarborough, ME for a few target species in the Huachucas. A short report today.

Four targets in Carr Canyon early this morning -- GREATER PEWEE was fairly vocal and easy to see atop high perches; BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER was initially tough to see and hear but quite common and vocal as the morning progressed; OLIVE WARBLERS were really quiet today and we had to work hard to find two individuals (alas, both were sub-adult males); we found RED-FACED WARBLERS singing in two regular territories and eventually had great views after a modicum of effort.

GREATER ROADRUNNERS have moved to their high elevation breeding locations -- at least 4 were singing today. Since VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was surplus to requirements today, we saw a roadside bird with zero effort. All the other resident and migrant warblers of the habitat were seen. ~50 species recorded.

ELEGANT TROGONS were really easy to locate and see at the upper picnic area (UPA) in Garden Canyon at 10:30am. Male and female were sitting within feet of each other calling back and forth. The male then entered a cavity and tried to entice the female to enter by calling from within for almost 15 minutes (typical behavior at this season). She showed absolutely no interest and after the male finally gave up and emerged again, the birds flew off to another tree.

Also at the UPA, a migrant OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was working atop a high snag in typical fashion and we had great flight views of two soaring adult GOLDEN EAGLES.

In Scheelite Canyon. a pair of SPOTTED OWLS were very easy to find in the lower roosting area. Unless they plan to start very late, it appears very likely that the owls will not nest this year.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Out today with Mason Flint from Snoqualmie, WA for my second visit of the season to California Gulch. Five-striped Sparrow was our only target. Do you think we started early? (is the Pope German? did United lose 3-0 to Milan today?).

A couple of COMMON POORWILLS were on the dirt section of Ruby Road around mile 6, well illuminated by the full moon. Closer to Ruby, around mile 14, we flushed what I believe was a BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR. The bird was bigger than a Poorwill, was not a Nighthawk and the flight pattern was okay for the Nightjar. Unfortunately, the bird quickly disappeared so we couldn't be sure -- "one that got away".

Despite the decidedly chilly temperature in the gulch just after sunrise, it didn't us take long to locate a couple of FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS between the first and second stream crossings. Vocalizations were weak and sporadic but certainly enough to point us in the right direction. Although initial views were brief and distant, we eventually had excellent close views of additional birds near the first stream crossing.

Among the other birds recorded in the gulch during a short visit were a couple of COMMON GROUND-DOVES, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, all three AZ Myiarchus species including my first of season BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, ROCK & CANYON WRENS, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, several female LAZULI BUNTINGS and HOODED & SCOTT'S ORIOLES.

Back on the Ruby Road, serendipity struck extremely serendipitously (oddly enough, often the case) when we encountered a pair of  MONTEZUMA QUAIL in the middle of the road (dirt section, ~mile 3.5). We just about managed to stop in time but the front wheels could only have been inches from the birds. They did not flinch and backing up a few feet produced wonderful views of these delightful, if somewhat goofy, birds until they finally decided to waddle across the road and up the hillside.

On the return journey, we spent a couple of late morning hours at Patagonia Lake looking unsuccessfully for Black-capped Gnatcatcher. We focused all of our efforts in the first and second washes and associated hillsides (site of my own recent sightings as well as others). We covered a fair amount of terrain but didn't even have so much as a single vocal or visible false alarm.

Limited time and habitat coverage restricted the species that we recorded to about 50 and included a continuing CLARK'S GREBE, the usual NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, GREAT EGRET, 10+ RING-BILLED GULLS, WHITE-THOATED SWIFTS soaring over the lake (not particularly common here but sometimes present Feb-May), my first of season WARBLING VIREO (finally!), many singing LUCY'S WARBLER'S, migrant ORANGE-CROWNED, BLACK-THROATED GRAY and still annoyingly abundant WILSON'S WARBLERS, WESTERN TANAGER and many BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS.

Thursday, May 3, 2007
First of two days of target birding with Lois and Bob Jones from Nashville, TN. On a clear and sunny day, we visited Carr and Garden Canyons in the Huachucas. Cool and calm at Reef during the early morning hours, windy later; warm in Garden Canyon by late morning.

Some of the high elevation species are now becoming a little more difficult to locate as they get into their nesting activities. OLIVE WARBLER in particular was a real pill this morning and we didn't hear much singing or calling. Eventually we managed to track down one briefly singing sub adult male that sat in plain view for about 30 seconds. Unfortunately, Lois didn't get on the bird and we failed to find another. We fared better with our other two warbler targets -- BLACK-THROATED GRAY and RED-FACED WARBLERS. After some initial difficulty, we had a great view of Red-faced singing its out out on a regular perch.

Flycatchers were much easier, especially GREATER PEWEE. They are still singing strongly and easy to see atop their lofty perches, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS were numerous but not particularly cooperative; good views in the end though. Ditto for DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER.

Many of the regular breeding species were seen along with migrant LAZULI BUNTING, TOWNSEND'S & HERMIT WARBLERS. Best bird for me was a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE seen on the drive up the mountain. I only have five May records in SE AZ, four in the Huachucas and one from Patagonia Lake that is also my latest spring departure date (5/8/99).

It was quite late by the time we reached Garden Canyon. Fortunately, our only target here was ELEGANT TROGON. We had to work a little longer than of late to track down a couple of birds but we had very good views of both male and female. Judging by their behavior, I don't think that this particular pair has chosen a nest cavity yet.

<soapbox>A brief comment on the driving standards of some birders in Garden Canyon. Whenever I'm driving on a dirt road and I see birders (or anyone for that matter) along the road, I always try to be courteous by slowing down so as not to cover everyone with dust. Some members of a convoy belong to a birding tour group were definitely not courteous today.</soapbox>

Friday, May 4, 2007
Out again today with Lois and Bob. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and Paton's yard. It was a moderately warm day becoming cloudy and windy as the day progressed. Although we found 10 target species for the day (my estimate before a ball was kicked), our experience was somewhat marred by less than perfect and/or brief views.

Target successes at Patagonia Lake were 7 fly-by BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS (5 and 2);  an immature plumaged GRAY HAWK in flight; a male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE seen briefly drinking from the creek; excellent close range looks at NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, a fairly cooperative HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, a decidedly uncooperative PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER (the only one we found today) and many LUCY'S WARBLERS.

Other species from 70+ recorded in 4.5 hours of wandering around included a very crisp CLARK'S GREBE (and possibly a Western), both regular CORMORANT species, 7 AMERICAN AVOCETS (very scarce at the lake by my records), SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, GREATER ROADRUNNER, many VERMILION FLYCATCHERS in various phases of nesting (fledged young being fed as well as nests being built for a second brood); raucous BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, a singing migrant TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and HOODED & BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

At Kino Springs, we improved on the views of a couple of species -- 15 golf course grass-grazing BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS allowed close approach and we saw an adult GRAY HAWK both perched and in flight. On the down side, a very approachable female GILDED FLICKER continued the trend of the day. The bird simply would not show its underwing linings nor undertail coverts for more than a microsecond every few  minutes.

Noteworthy at Kino were a flock of 20+ migrant WHITE-FACED IBIS at the first pond -- I've only recorded them here 6 times (5 spring, 1 fall) in 358 visits over 15 years. The only lingering species noted were a few singing WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS.

We finished up the targets for the day with a well seen VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD in Marion Paton's yard and briefly seen BRONZED COWBIRD on the green in town.

Sunday, May 6, 2007
First of two days with Paul Lazarus from Tonawanda, NY. We'll be target birding for a wide range of species. We visited Carr, Garden and Scheelite Canyons in the Huachucas. The high (45mph+) winds of yesterday subsided and it was sunny and fairly calm day.

The drive up Carr Canyon road once again yielded TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE (probably the same bird as a few days ago, now two days shy of my latest spring date).

Even though it was quite chilly (mid 30s) in Carr Canyon just after sunrise, there was plenty of bird activity in the vicinity of Reef. Over a period of about four hours we chipped away slowly but surely and eventually saw all the expected species. OLIVE WARBLER was again the most difficult warbler of the day and we needed to work long and hard in three different territories before getting great looks at an adult male. The often-difficult-to-see VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS were not singing at all today (nor on my last trip) but a distinctive "chink" call led us to bird foraging on the ground and we had brief but diagnostic views. All the other regular warblers were seen quite well without too much effort -- BLACK-THROATED GRAY & GRACE'S (both singing throughout), RED-FACED (singing in two regular territories), PAINTED REDSTART and multiple migrant TOWNSEND'S & HERMIT WARBLERS.

GREATER PEWEE (very vocal), BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS were all seen well. HEPATIC TANAGERS (fairly common) and WESTERN TANAGERS (a few) were singing in multiple locations. Surprisingly, we found only one singing PLUMBEOUS VIREO; HUTTON'S VIREOS were quite numerous and vocal.

Driving back down the mountain, a PEREGRINE FALCON flashed across the road in front of us then stayed to soar allowing us time to get good views. 48 species in all in Carr Canyon.

In Garden Canyon, it didn't take long to locate a calling ELEGANT TROGON -- great views of a perched male near the upper picnic area. Other species here included ARIZONA WOODPECKER, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (scarce here, fairly common in the lower canyon).

After the fierce winds of yesterday, I expected the owls to have chosen one of their "wind protected sites" in Scheelite Canyon -- usually an oak close to a cliff face or similar sheltered area. By my own results and reports that I have received from others, the owls have been regularly present and easy to find in the lower roosting area recently. Not so today though and most birders would probably have missed them. After a thorough search of the lower roosting area, I located a pair of SPOTTED OWLS in a roost location often used in windy conditions (in the middle area, well tucked away). Fortunately, I was able to get a couple of other parties on the birds.

Other species in the canyon included ARIZONA WOODPECKER, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, my first of season CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS soaring overhead, CANYON WRENS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and HEPATIC TANAGERS (all of the latter group singing).

The drive up and down Garden Canyon (and a stop at the upper picnic area for the Trogon) yielded over 30 species. Best bird was a migrant GRAY FLYCATCHER in the mesquite-grassland. I only have a handful of records in Garden Canyon -- mostly late migrants in May with the latest record being May 19 in 1995.

Our evening session was very productive. Uncountable numbers of LESSER NIGHTHAWKS were active just after sunset at Sierra Vista EOP. In Carr Canyon we saw COMMON POORWILL on the road, GREAT HORNED OWL in flight and had great looks at ELF OWL and WESTERN SCREECH-OWL. However, we didn't hear a single call from Whiskered Screech-Owl -- the most common and usually the easiest owl to see and hear.

A good day -- especially since Manchester United won the EPL championship. Hey, even better, West Ham may survive the drop.

Monday, May 7, 2007
Out again today with Paul. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest Area, Paton's Yard and a couple of locations in the Sonoita Grasslands. After a moderately warm  and calm morning, clouds and wind increased and early evening rain fell in Sierra Vista. We managed to find 9 target species (Gray Hawk, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Tropical & Thick-billed Kingbirds, Black-capped Gnatcatcher and Botteri's & Rufous-winged Sparrows). A short report today with just a few sightings that were noteworthy for me.

BLACK TERN - a single winter plumaged individual (just starting to darken up) at Patagonia Lake (a new location bird for me, #261). This species is mostly a fall migrant in SE AZ and I only have a handful of spring records from Willcox (1), Whitewater Draw (2) and Sierra Vista EOP (3). There was also a lone (unidentified) gull seen in flight, possibly a California Gull.

THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD - Paton's Yard.

TROPICAL KINGBIRD - my first of season at Kino Springs (not detected here on May 4). I've seen a couple of reports of this species from elsewhere this week with comments about them being early. I'm not sure of the basis for this because the bar graphs in both SE AZ birdfinding guides show them as arriving at the beginning of May. Ergo, an early May arrival means "on time". I also have three April week 4 records.

BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER - Patagonia Lake (bottom of steps at mouth of first wash). Female seen, second bird calling.

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW - singing at Las Cienegas and on Upper Elgin Road.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007
First of four days with Susan and Warren Jones from Winston-Salem, NC; and Janet Bass from Tarzana, CA. I've birded with Susan once before on a cold and snowy day back in January. Although the weather was better today (mild and clear to start, warm by mid morning, clouds and sprinkles by midday), the result was the same. Exactly as on that January day, we spent six hours at Patagonia Lake State Park looking unsuccessfully for Black-capped Gnatcatcher.

Yesterday I stumbled into the Gnatcatchers without even looking for them. Unfortunately, six hours of working the washes and standing on several hillsides didn't produce so much as a false alarm today. I suspect that the birds are nesting again and in quiet mode.

Despite our focused efforts and limited habitat coverage, I managed to record 60 species at the lake. Gone were the Black Tern and large gull of yesterday. They were replaced by a FORSTER'S TERN (my 4th record at the lake, 3 in spring) and 16 WILLETS. Where was today's CLARK'S GREBE yesterday when I needed it but found only Western (not seen today).

Noteworthy species were a calling SORA (scarce after mid May -- I haven't seen or heard one at the lake since March 5) and 15 CEDAR WAXWINGS (my latest spring record is May 21, 2004 in Patagonia).

Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Out again this morning with Susan and Warren for another crack at the gnatcatcher. Janet joined us for an evening expedition to the old Oro Blanco mine site near California Gulch.

At Patagonia Lake State Park, we tried a "stay in one place" strategy today. We made the ridge between the first and second washes our base camp then focused our attention on the first wash and surrounding hillsides. I'm happy to report that our patience (and perhaps more importantly, persistence over multiple trips) paid off in spades. After a couple of hours of looking and listening, I heard the unmistakable call of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER and we soon enjoyed wonderful close range views of the male calling and foraging at 7:45am. Contradicting the statement "at first I didn't see the bird very well and then it flew away", our experience today was "at first we saw the bird quite well and then it flew towards us"; almost too close for optics in fact. A well earned bird and a very satisfying end to Susan's quest for this species --  6 hours during a day with me in January, 6 hours on her own the following day, 6 hours again yesterday and two hours today. As I'm so fond of saying, if you don't buy a ticket you won't win the raffle.

A shorter and even more focused visit than yesterday resulted in fewer species recorded (55), but not by much. In addition to the gnatcatcher, species recorded today and not yesterday were my first of season BLUE GROSBEAK, TOWNSEND'S & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, BREWER'S SPARROW (2 days shy of my latest date at the lake), BOTTERI'S SPARROW and SCOTT'S ORIOLE. A calling SORA was present; no gulls nor terns noted but I didn't spend much time looking at the water.

Our trip to Oro Blanco mine was a major disappointment (no moonlight and very little activity, at least through 9:30pm when we threw in the towel). BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR called very briefly at 7:30pm and 8:00pm and we heard a few sporadic calls from COMMON POORWILL and WESTERN SCREECH-OWL.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

In the late afternoon, an hour of effort on the Pinery Canyon road produced a very obliging NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL. The bird perched in the open for what seemed like an age and we enjoyed scope views for as long as we wanted. Roadside birds included well seen MEXICAN CHICKADEE and RED-FACED WARBLERS; and CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS (calling in several locations). About 30 species between Hwy 181 and the campground.

It's that time of year again when the circus comes to town (in the form of tour groups and private parties all competing to see the same birds). Tonight, I tried to avoid them as best I could but our paths inevitably crossed. Unfortunately, the presence of multiple parties ensured that our evening session was as frustrating as it was unsuccessful. I'm sure the other parties felt exactly the same. The otherwise excellent conditions -- mild (after a warm day) and zero wind counted for naught. Seeing Flammulated Owl is tough enough when everything is going for you; with multiple playbacks and flashlights in use, it's well nigh impossible. Still, it's a free canyon and everyone has the right to be there. Timing is everything.

Even allowing for tapes, at least 6 FLAMMULATED OWLS were present between the campground and Onion Saddle, probably as many as 10. Most birds were deep into the forest and essentially inaccessible. We only got close to one bird near the side of the road. In my experiences in this area, this is quite typical. Many WHIP-POOR-WILLS and a couple of WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS were calling.

Friday, May 11, 2007
Fourth and final day with Susan, Warren and Janet. Long day = short report.

We had a successful trip to Slate Creek Divide in Mariposa County where GRAY VIREO was easy to find and see at close range. Despite our late arrival time (9:30am) when it was already pretty warm, multiple vireos and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS were singing.

Back in SE AZ, our evening soiree into Carr Canyon easily produced a pair of ELF OWLS at a nest site. 

Sunday, May 13, 2007
First of five days with Don and Cindy Mothner from Weston, FL. We'll be spending time on general birding and photography -- not a target bird in sight. Today we visited Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons in the Huachuca Mountains. A clear, mild and pleasant morning; quite warm and partly cloudy by early afternoon (90+ in Sierra Vista). Highlights only:

Garden Canyon:
A lone low elevation WILD TURKEY, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S VIREO, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT & BLUE GROSBEAK all at the fishing ponds; SCALED QUAIL in several grassland locations; great views of ELEGANT TROGON at the upper picnic area (copulation occurred just before we arrived); my first of season SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER (the rubber-ducky bird) calling at the middle picnic area; several singing and chasing PYRRHULOXIAS in the lower grassland.

Sawmill Canyon (fairly quiet):
A few calling WILD TURKEYS, conspicuous GREATER PEWEES; a colorful BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER building a nest; ELEGANT TROGON near the cabin; HAIRY (uncommon here) and several ARIZONA WOODPECKERS; a pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS; numerous GRACE'S WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Scheelite Canyon:
A pair of SPOTTED OWLS were just about as easy as it gets to find this morning. After several warm days, I figured they would be in a shady spot and that's how things turned out. The birds were about 80 feet off the main trail on the "Cave Trail" but easily seen from the main trail. I'm now convinced the owls will not nest this year (every other year is normal). BLACK-THROATED GRAY, VIRGINIA'S and RED-FACED WARBLERS were present in the canyon.

Monday, May 14, 2007
Out again today with Don and Cindy. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and Paton's Yard without an agenda. More of the same warm weather. Selected species:

Patagonia Lake (65 species):
WESTERN & CLARK'S GREBES, a group of 7-SPOTTED SANDPIPERS; LAUGHING GULL, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET (young in nest); BOTTERI'S & RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS (singing and easy to see); BLACK-THROATED SPARROW (feeding fledged young); many conspicuous YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS and HOODED ORIOLE.

I managed a documentary quality image of the Laughing Gull -- a casual visitor with less than 20 accepted records for southeast SE AZ (most in spring). Today's bird was my 4th record in SE AZ, first in spring and a first for me at the lake: #262 and counting.

Kino Springs:
GRAY HAWK, GILDED FLICKER, TROPICAL KINGBIRD and BRONZED COWBIRD (shot from some distance, a photo first for me means lower standards!).

Paton's Yard:
THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Day three with Don and Cindy. Although we started a little later than is my norm in Carr Canyon this morning, the combination of higher elevation and partly cloudy skies helped to maintain bird activity for a while. Super warm by mid afternoon. My bad karma with camera equipment continues. Today I was heartily sickened when I fell and damaged my 400mm DO lens. There goes another couple of days worth of income.

Selected species in Carr Canyon:
BAND-TAILED PIGEON on the road up to Reef (they've been scarce so far this year in Carr); a migrant OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER at Reef (occasional song), constantly singing GREATER PEWEES, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, a singing sub-adult male OLIVE WARBLER, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, great looks at  BLACK-THROATED GRAY & RED-FACED WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART.

After a quiet couple of weeks, Olive Warblers were quite vocal this morning in multiple locations.

We made a lunchtime visit to Ash Canyon B&B where hummingbird activity was fairly low. I stayed for 45 minutes during which time Lucifer Hummingbird was a no show. Don and Cindy stayed on after I left. ARIZONA WOODPECKER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE were easy too see. Thanks to Mary Jo for her hospitality.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Day four with Don and Cindy. Today we visited Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area at the southern end of Sulphur Springs Valley and the highway 90 area of the San Pedro River. Conditions were very pleasant under clear skies for much of the morning. The temperature climbed and clouds built steadily through mid afternoon when a brief thunderstorm and light rain provided a little cooling; heavy hail later in the day (far from a Monsoon I'm afraid).

Whitewater Draw is mostly a winter birding area and I don't get the chance to visit here very much at other times. However, spring migration holds plenty of promise at this relatively underbirded site and the lack of an agenda provided an opportunity to visit today. A couple of hours wandering around were quite productive even though I wasn't able to thoroughly sort through all the distant stuff. Species of note were VIRGINIA RAIL (fairly scarce at WWD -- I didn't record them here at all until 2005 and only have 15 records since then); LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER (starting to get late for this species) and LEAST TERN (a fairly rare transient -- I've recorded them 8 times in the past 15 years in SE AZ, all in May).

Other species among 42 recorded were an immature BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, 20+ WHITE-FACED IBIS, BLUE-WINGED & CINNAMON TEAL, a few GADWALL & SHOVELERS, COOPER'S & SWAINSON'S HAWKS, a few SCALED QUAIL; lots of AMERICAN AVOCETS; 40+ WILSON'S PHALAROPES, several singing EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES; a single GREAT HORNED OWL (didn't search for Barn Owl); ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BLUE GROSBEAK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

There was more human than avian activity on the San Pedro but we managed to get off the beaten path and rustle up 40 species despite the poor time of day. A calling DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER near Kingfisher Pond was a bit of a surprise -- only my 2nd record at this location in many visits. ASH-THROATED and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS were far less gobsmacking.

At least two and possibly three TROPICAL KINGBIRDS were present (one at Kingfisher Pond, two at Black Phoebe Pond). They have nested here since the early 90s to my knowledge. I'm not sure of their arrival date this year, but it's usually later than 60 miles to the west at Kino Springs. Over the years, I've noted significant differences in migration dates between the Santa Cruz and San Pedro Valleys, particularly for the early arriving species such as Lucy's and Yellow Warblers. The difference is less noticeable for later arriving species such as Brown-crested Flycatcher and Tropical Kingbird.

The only migrants noted were a skulking MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and a few singing WARBLING VIREOS. A lingering WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was at the San Pedro House (my latest record for this location is May 22).

YELLOW WARBLERS and YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were very common, SUMMER TANAGERS less so. A couple of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were of note -- I have less than 10 records on the river.

Thursday, May 17, 2007
Fifth and last day with Don and Cindy was spent in the Santa Rita Mountains. A very pleasant day, albeit a tad warm by 2:00pm.

We worked our way slowly across the mountain along Box Canyon Road where raptors provided the highlights. On the outbound journey we saw a soaring adult GOLDEN EAGLE; later in the day a PRAIRIE FALCON was eating prey while perched on a low fence post close to the road. We also had decent looks at ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, CANYON and ROCK WRENS and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW; photos of all.

Florida Wash was quiet even at 8:30am and nothing of note was present. BELL'S VIREOS and LUCY'S WARBLERS were still vocal; a single WILSON'S WARBLER was the only migrant noted.

The very vocal and spectacular FLAME-COLORED TANAGER (aka "Flameboy") couldn't be missed about 150 yards above the Kubo gift shop (~11:30am). It always puzzles me why a crowd gathers near near the gift shop when the bird is singing its lungs out just up canyon. I can't believe that I was the only one hearing the bird. Anyway, we had great views and Don should have some decent photos.

A brief jaunt along the Vault Mine Trail around midday didn't produce any rubber-ducky birds; just a calling ELEGANT TROGON.

Thursday, May 24, 2007
In a bizarre combination of circumstances involving four separate clients, a single scheduled day off turned into 8 days off. Not good news for my creditors. Shit happens. I used the unexpected time to work on non-birding matters. This morning I spent a few hours on the San Pedro and then made a short visit to Sierra Vista EOP. We're inching closer to the dog days of June and the temperature in Sierra Vista was already above 80 degrees by 7:30am. There ain't no cure for the summertime blues according to Eddie Cochran, but New Hampshire, Maine and Wyoming might do the trick for me.

I was hoping for late migrants on the river this morning but all that I could come up with were a couple of singing WARBLING VIREOS and three WESTERN TANAGERS. Interestingly, a couple of the tanagers (male and female) were involved in what seemed like courtship behavior with the male singing from various perches over a 200 yard section of the river with the female in close attendance. As far as I know, there are not any low elevation breeding records in SE AZ so these birds are probably just late migrants. Looking at my own records, this was my latest spring sighting date on the San Pedro (I've seen them previously through the first three weeks of May). Migrant Warbling Vireos are regular in low elevation locations into early June.

BLUE GROSBEAK (15+ in the mesquite-grassland) and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (40+ along the immediate river corridor) were the most conspicuous species that I noted as I wandered around. Many individuals of each species were singing loudly in their respective habitat zones.

SAY'S PHOEBE, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, BUSHTIT, LESSER GOLDFINCH, LUCY'S & YELLOW WARBLERS, ABERT'S TOWHEE and SONG SPARROW all had fledglings in various stages of development.

Summer breeders and residents (most of them vocalizing) included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER (quite a few around);  TROPICAL KINGBIRD (pair at Kingfisher Pond); BELL'S VIREO, BOTTERI'S & BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

My 400mm DO lens is "in the shop" so I looked for photo opportunities using my "old clunker" 100-400mm lens. Only a briefly perched ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER (so-so image) and a BARN SWALLOW on a hot wooden roof (decent image) were anything like cooperative. Although the swallow might appear to be begging, it was, in fact, singing.

Apart from construction work, very little was happening at Sierra Vista EOP. Best birds were a couple of HORNED LARKS (a possible breeding pair). While fairly common here in winter, I don't see them very often during the breeding season. However, I have records from every month except August as you can see in the SVEOP bar graph. 

Documentation note: I've added an image of the May 14 Laughing Gull to the photo documentation section -- scroll down the index to gulls.

Friday, May 25, 2007
This morning I spent a few hours in lower Garden Canyon. I mostly confined my activities to the mesquite-grassland where I checked the Fishing Ponds (rapidly losing water) and Lower Garden Pond (dry, but plenty of vegetation and birds). I spent very little time in the oak/sycamore zone -- just brief visits to the middle and upper picnic areas. I didn't have an agenda other than to confirm whatever breeding activity that I could and to look for migrants and photo opportunities.

Just as yesterday on the San Pedro, BLUE GROSBEAKS were very common and singing throughout -- I stopped counting at 25. Also as yesterday, I encountered migrant WARBLING VIREOS and WESTERN TANAGERS in low elevation locations -- however, here they are much closer to their higher elevation breeding habitat.

BOTTERI'S SPARROWS were singing over a 4 mile stretch starting near the range control building. ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS were slightly less vocal but common throughout and easy to detect. SCALED QUAIL and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS were very vocal in the regenerating controlled burn areas. BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS (uncommon in lower Garden) also seemed to like the burn areas. I noted both "P" birds -- a few PYRRHULOXIAS and PHAINOPEPLAS.

An early check of the fishing ponds yielded plenty of LUCY'S WARBLERS, WESTERN TANAGER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and BRONZED COWBIRD.

Birding at Lower Garden Pond and the immediate surrounding area was very interesting, productive and enjoyable. An hour wandering around here produced 30 species including a juvenile RED-TAILED HAWK at a nest (here's a different pose and closer image); several MONTEZUMA QUAIL, GREATER ROADRUNNER, a juvenile GREAT HORNED OWL, GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS; all three regular myiarchus flycatchers including some really raucous BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS (are there any other kind?); a silently foraging WARBLING VIREO, several singing YELLOW WARBLERS (limited but dense breeding habitat here); a few more WESTERN TANAGERS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

I found the juvenile Red-tail's behavior of interest since Red-tails are normally afraid of their own shadow. In this case, even though it moved around a bit, the bird never looked like flying during the 15 minutes or so that I was shooting images. Perhaps it's because I was walking around where it could see me for about 30 minutes before I tried for a photo and the bird was already used to me. Perhaps it hasn't developed a fear of humans yet. Silly bird. Ditto for the owl -- the bird just swiveled its head to eyeball me as I moved around.

Further up canyon, a SUMMER TANAGER was of note at the middle picnic area -- perhaps at the upper end of its breeding habitat in this location since I only rarely see them above this point. SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were active and vocal starting here and continuing up to the upper picnic area. An ARIZONA WOODPECKER drummed in a sycamore near the stream crossing where a WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE was building a nest. I heard BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, SPOTTED TOWHEE and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW singing.

I stepped out of my vehicle at the upper picnic area to find a COOPER'S HAWK immediately above me. I'm not sure which of us was more surprised but I was only able to shoot one image before the bird bolted. They nest at this busy location every year. I didn't hang around for long and didn't see or hear any trogons. Species noted included ACORN WOODPECKER, PLUMBEOUS & HUTTON'S VIREOS, HEPATIC TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Saturday, May 26, 2007
First of three days of target birding with Joan and Jim Clapp from Hebron, KY who I've birded with on two previous occasions. Most of our birds today were in the Huachucas with warblers being the main focus. I hadn't realized that this was a holiday weekend but I soon found out when we arrived at a very crowded Reef campground in Carr Canyon. How murphyesque is that after I've just had a bunch of idle days due to cancellations. It was fairly quiet for a while until the kids woke up and cranked up -- then listening for birds was far from easy. Thankfully, though, we found all of our target species without too much effort.

OLIVE WARBLER and RED-FACED WARBLER took the most time but we ended up with good views of both species, especially the latter singing at close range and eye level. Our other targets were PLUMBEOUS VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & GRACE'S WARBLERS and BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. We left the flycatcher until last until they became more active and had a great view in the Sawmill Spring trailhead parking lot.

Among the other species in the campground and associated trails (where I rarely see any birders) were 5+ BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, several singing GREATER PEWEES including one struggling to consume a rather large bug; several WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES, HUTTON'S VIREO, WESTERN TANAGER, many SPOTTED TOWHEES and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS (both species singing throughout) and a few BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS.

Species in the lower canyon included COOPER'S HAWK, WILD TURKEY, ACORN WOODPECKER, PYRRHULOXIA and BLUE GROSBEAK.

We finished up the morning session in the mesquite scrub adjacent to del Valle road near the San Pedro House at 10:00am. A few minutes getting scratched up with the temperature in the high 80s resulted in good looks at LUCY'S WARBLER.

Our evening session in lower Carr Canyon was not very successful despite almost ideal conditions (5/8 moon, mild after a warm day, mostly calm and, surprisingly, very little vehicular traffic).  We saw zero bats, heard none of the regular nightbirds and had I not known about ELF OWL nest sites (this year I have three), I doubt we would have seen an owl at all. These normally chatty birds became active at 7:40pm with virtually no vocalizations. We had good looks at pair of birds fussing around a nest cavity but there was no indication of young being fed.

I've had similar experiences in ideal conditions at this time of year and always attribute this to the phase of nesting when birds decide that "discretion is the better part of valor"; i.e. staying silent and not behaving territorially when feeding young is the best way to remain undetected. Contrast tonight with the opposite experience earlier this year on March 31.

Species vocalizing well after sunset included ACORN WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED & SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Birds along Coffman Road included lots of SCALED QUAIL scurrying hither and yon; 3 COMMON GROUND-DOVES (2 males); good looks at a perched BENDIRE'S THRASHER and a singing BLACK-THROATED SPARROW.

We lingered 2+ hours at Whitewater Draw and eventually tallied over 40 species despite the late afternoon hour and difficult viewing whenever the sun made an appearance. A lone female COMMON MERGANSER and a SORA represented the most noteworthy species. The merganser was my latest sighting in Cochise County (and would have been my latest for SE AZ but for a bird that lingered into June at Patagonia Lake in 2006). Most wintering birds are gone by mid April with stragglers sometimes present until early May. This bird will have to get off the dime quite soon because the water won't be deep enough for much longer. The Sora was my latest SE AZ sighting (casual after mid May but no definite nesting records to my knowledge).

Also of note were a single ABERT'S TOWHEE (I have sporadic sightings at WWD for the past 5 years which represents a range increase for this species) and a lone YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD (I have a June record at WWD)

Among the waterfowl and waders were SNOWY EGRET, a juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, 12 WHITE-FACED IBIS, a pair each of BLUE-WINGED and CINNAMON TEAL; a few lingering NORTHERN SHOVELERS and 6 REDHEADS (both species have nested in SE AZ); a couple of RUDDY DUCKS; 5 BLACK-NECKED STILTS, many AMERICAN AVOCETS, 20+ LONG-BILLED CURLEWS and a lone SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

Other species included 3 GREATER ROADRUNNERS, BARN OWL, BLUE GROSBEAK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

On this holiday weekend, the Pinery Canyon circus (in the vicinity of the campground) was about as I expected and there were probably as many birders playing FLAMMULATED OWL calls as there were owls. Hearing the bird was enough and we detected at least 3, perhaps 4 real owls. It doesn't take much practice to figure out which is which (volume, location and such). Calling WHIP-POOR-WILLS were absolutely abundant and we briefly saw one close bird. No other nightbirds were heard at this location.

On Portal Road, just below town, we had a great view of a COMMON POORWILL working in our headlights for a couple of minutes. At least 3 GREAT HORNED OWLS were on Stateline Road.

61 species recorded (43 at WWD in italics, * heard only):
Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Mallard, Blue-winged & Cinnamon Teal; N. Shoveler, Redhead, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks; Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Scaled & Gambel's Quail; Sora, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Long-billed Curlew, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & *Inca Doves; Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Barn, *Flammulated & Great Horned Owls; Common Poorwill, Whip-poor-will, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Vermilion & *Ash-throated Flycatchers; Western Kingbird, Barn Swallow, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's & Curve-billed Thrashers; Am. Robin, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Abert's Towhee, *Black-throated & Song Sparrows; Blue Grosbeak, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds; Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Bullock's Oriole.

Monday, May 28, 2007
Third and last day with Joan and Jim saw us travel to the old Oro Blanco mine site in the Pajarito Mountains for a shot at Buff-collared Nightjar. I had fervently hoped that the bird wouldn't return this year but I've already done several trips this season and there are more in my future. I had decided to leave this this trip until today figuring it would represent the best chance for the least number of people present over the holiday weekend. Although we paid the price last night, we reaped the reward tonight.

It was a warm day and the temperature when we left Sierra Vista at 4:00pm was in the mid 90s. Birds along the way were few and far between and mostly seen in the air -- RED-TAILED & SWAINSON'S HAWKS and CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS on highway 90 as we left town; KESTREL, TURKEY & BLACK VULTURES, COOPER'S HAWK and COMMON RAVEN along highway 82; and a beautiful GRAY HAWK perched atop a mesquite on South River Road in Nogales.

Along the Ruby and California Gulch roads we added CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, ROCK WREN, CANYON TOWHEE, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK, HOODED ORIOLE and a handful of others.

As we arrived at the old mine site at 7:15pm, I felt good about our prospects. Hearing the nightjar is one thing, seeing it is another story altogether. Over the years my success in terms of sightings has been highly dependent on three factors -- 1) the phase of the moon; 2) weather conditions; 3) the number of other parties present. Tonight the moon was almost full and was high in the sky, conditions were calm and mild and we were the only people present.

A few bats and a dozen or so species including VERMILION FLYCATCHER and HOODED ORIOLE kept us company as night fell. Among them was a HOUSE WREN that seemed really out of place, as a check of  my records later confirmed. Although they are a common breeder in the mountains of SE AZ, I don't have any low elevation records after May 11 -- and even that is a late date considering they start arriving in the higher elevations of the mountains in March and are common by April. Perhaps they breed in the Pajaritos, although my records certainly don't support this (no records from mid March to September before today). One to ponder.

COMMON POORWILLS started to call at 7:40pm and a BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR first fired up a minute or so before 8:00pm. Apart from a silent few minutes, the bird called continuously until we left at 8:25pm. It didn't take long to locate and we managed to see the bird very well (initially perched in a mesquite and then in flight). Any sighting of this species, fleeting or otherwise, should be considered a major victory. As I've mentioned before, I hear the bird far more often than I see it. Tonight we beat the odds and even made it back to Sierra Vista by 11:30pm.

On the way home we saw 5 COMMON POORWILLS along the Ruby Road including great views of a bird sitting on the blacktop.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007
First of two days with Randall Mains from Phoenix, AZ who I've birded with on one previous occasion (for a couple of days last September). We're also scheduled in the White Mountains in a couple of months. Today our targets were Spotted Owl and Buff-breasted Flycatcher in the Huachucas. Although we saw both species, it certainly wasn't without some effort. We also came across a few "bonus" birds that are always good to see.

[Fort Huachuca Access Note: Since my most recent visit last Friday, the method of visitor access has changed (the road to the visitor center is now barricaded off and, currently, you cannot get a pass there). The procedure (today at least) is as follows. Drive through the main gate where the security people will detect that you don't have a sticker or temporary pass displayed and will direct you to the adjacent security check area. Here you will need to show your normal paperwork -- drivers license, registration and proof of insurance. It was a big mess this morning at 5:45am with no semblance of a line to determine the order that people are processed. SNAFU exemplified. I predict that this system wont last long in its present form.]

Among the species noted as we drove through lower Garden Canyon grassland were SAY'S PHOEBE,  VERMILION & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, CANYON TOWHEE, a nicely perched up and singing BOTTERI'S SPARROW, PYRRHULOXIA, BLUE GROSBEAK and a beautiful male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

After entering the sycamore zone, we added ACORN & ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, a perched and calling male ELEGANT TROGON, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER. 5+ SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, scads of WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES, PLUMBEOUS VIREO and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

In Sawmill Canyon, we had to work for an hour to locate our first BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER (mostly silent, sporadic calls and song) then enjoyed many good views over the next 15 minutes. The first two bonus birds of the day came during the search -- a soaring ZONE-TAILED HAWK and a WHIP-POOR-WILL that we inadvertently flushed from its roost. Two very loud and continuously calling male ELEGANT TROGONS were present along with a number of canyon regulars including ARIZONA WOODPECKER, GREATER PEWEE, STELLER'S JAY, HEPATIC TANAGER and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

A fair amount of physical effort was required in Scheelite Canyon before we located a pair of SPOTTED OWLS in the middle roosting area. [The owls have been missed by a few birding parties recently as they seek shady locations further up canyon.] The owls were in a little used tree (two previous sightings) and I needed a double check to find them since they were using a different location within the tree than previously.

After a miserable start to the year with three back to back owl misses in January, I've now bounced back with a more respectable 13 for 18 (1 for 4 in January, 2 for 3 in February, 4 for 5 in March, 2 for 2 in April and 4 for 4 in May). Still a long way short of my overall success rate of 93%.

Our third bonus bird was a male MONTEZUMA QUAIL seen well on the way back down canyon just above the 3/8 mile marker. Other species included soaring WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS; a male ELEGANT TROGON calling for much of the time we were in the lower canyon; CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER on a regular territory, WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS high on the slopes, a very close PAINTED REDSTART; and male and female HEPATIC TANAGERS.

Back in Garden Canyon, GOLDEN EAGLE was our fourth bonus of the day -- 2 birds soaring above the cliffs (where they nested) just below Scheelite.

Thursday, May 31, 2007
Out again today with Randall. We visited Carr Canyon where Whiskered Screech-Owl was our only target. The bulk of our time was spent casual birding and trying to see everything that we heard.

We left town early and soon had excellent views of a very cooperative WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL perched in the open at 4:40am (after the first bird that we found disappeared without a trace). COMMON POORWILL and WHIP-POOR-WILL were vocalizing close to the owl and close to each other. We still had some darkness left so we tried to see ELF OWL. The first nest site that we visited had no activity at all (fledged?); fortunately, a second site paid dividends.

Among the birds active in the pre-dawn gloom were ACORN WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED & SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS and noisy MEXICAN JAYS (a.k.a. sky rats). A COOPER'S HAWK was perched in a regular roost location.

We returned to Hwy 92 at the bottom of the canyon to wait for daylight then slowly worked our way back up canyon through the mesquite-grassland and residential district, looking for whatever was on offer. Activity in this section of the lower canyon during the first hour of daylight was very high and we heard and saw plenty of species. Mostly common stuff, of course, but nevertheless interesting -- such as a pair of BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS taking lining material into a utility pole hole as a FLICKER poked its head out of another hole less than a foot away! GAMBEL'S and SCALED QUAIL scurried around (and the latter perched up on a rock pile to call); GREATER ROADRUNNER just strutted its stuff on the blacktop. A low elevation HEPATIC TANAGER seemed a little out of place for the date. Three BAND-TAILED PIGEONS were less surprising -- they are tardy this year and haven't worked their way up to higher elevation yet.

Wire birds included side by side WESTERN & CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS and singing BLUE GROSBEAK and PYRRHULOXIA.

In addition to untold numbers of MOCKINGBIRDS, birds of the mesquite-grassland included GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, PHAINOPEPLA, CACTUS WREN, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, CANYON TOWHEE, singing BOTTERI'S & RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS; and a fly-by SCOTT'S ORIOLE (Scott's also seen in two locations at higher elevation).

WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were already active as we climbed higher. A stop at the overlook near Reef produced good views of a singing ROCK WREN and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS swirling around below us.

Although we came across close to 50 species in the lower canyon quite easily, most of the remainder we had to work for in the vicinity of Reef. As has been the case quite often recently, OLIVE WARBLER was the most difficult warbler of the day (very little vocalization) and we probably worked for an hour on two individuals before getting a decent view. However, as usual, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER wasn't far behind in the "elusive little bugger" department. By comparison, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, GRACE'S & RED-FACED WARBLERS (fantastic views) and PAINTED REDSTART were all easy to find today. Not surprisingly, we didn't find any high elevation migrant warblers as June approaches (although last year I saw Townsend's and Hermit on June 2 in Carr Canyon, both records for me).

Other regulars included ARIZONA & HAIRY WOODPECKERS, GREATER PEWEE (numerous, very vocal), BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, many BROWN CREEPERS, STELLER'S JAY, PLUMBEOUS (fairly quiet) & HUTTON'S (vocal) VIREOS, WESTERN TANAGER, the usual scads of SPOTTED TOWHEES; and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO & BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (both singing throughout).

Decidedly less regular, and for the second day in a row, we stumbled into a pair of MONTEZUMA QUAIL (although we didn't quite get as good a look as yesterday). Earlier, we had heard their somewhat eerie quavering calls and had settled for a heard only.

A very productive morning to finish up May.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Thursday, May 31, 2007

May Species Seen

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

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