Aug. Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - August, 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 Friday, August 31, 2007

Wednesday, August 1, 2007
White Mountains Day 6: Day List 67   Trip List 158 (+5)
First of two days with Dave Beaudette from Sierra Vista, AZ. Although this is only our third time birding together as guide and client, we've bumped into each other and birded together a few times on various trails in SE AZ. Dave's objectives for this trip are an introduction to the White Mountains and some state birds. Good birding weather for much of the morning (cloudy and cool) turned to rain at 12:30pm in the high country. Low elevation locations were sunny and dry until later in the day.

We spent most of our time in the Big Lake-Three Forks region. We began with a brief yet productive stop at Crescent Lake. Birds here included COMMON MERGANSER, OSPREY, 3 BALD EAGLES (2 adults and an immature), an immature NORTHERN HARRIER and a single CLARK'S NUTCRACKER that we didn't have to look for, it found us.

Conditions at Big Lake Lookout couldn't have been more delightful -- damp, fresh, cool and calm at ~9300 feet. We soon enjoyed great views of a male DUSKY GROUSE in almost the same location as last Saturday (some distance down the trail beyond the lookout). The bird was very confiding which is often the case with this species. I think it wanted to walk up the trail and was waiting for us to leave!  Priceless stuff; for everything else there's Mastercard. Other species included HERMIT THRUSH, PYGMY & RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and BROWN CREEPER (very close views).

A flying start but, sadly, we couldn't sustain the success. We spent 4.5 hours in two different burn areas and didn't get a sniff of American Three-toed Woodpecker (one burn near Big Lake had two drumming birds on Saturday). This is not easy birding either, it's necessary to walk on sloping terrain (steep in places) mined with downed branches and rocks. RED CROSSBILLS were fly-bys at both burns.

Before returning to town, we stopped briefly at South Fork in an (unsuccessful) attempt to get a jump on tomorrow by finding Pinyon Jay and/or Gray Catbird. I'd hoped to get the Three-toed and Dipper today so we're two birds behind. Nevertheless, despite only partial success with principal targets, we had a very enjoyable outing and Dave picked up a few state birds.

Grouse notwithstanding, perhaps the highlight of the morning was an immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK pursuing some unfortunate bird that we didn't identify. This happened just as rain chased us away from a burn near Three Forks.

Thursday, August 2, 2007
White Mountains Day 7: Day List 79   Trip List 163 (+5)
Out again today with Dave. Despite the fact that we were dodging rain all day (mostly successfully), we managed to recover from yesterday's misses and hit all but one of today's targets.

We began at South Fork where it didn't take long to find at least two GRAY CATBIRDS including one fledgling still begging for food. Confirmation of breeding methinks. PINYON JAY was a tougher nut to crack and we actually had to spend time birding for a while (what a concept) before hearing some distant birds. Eventually, they came closer and we saw three perched in a Ponderosa near South Fork Ranch.

Other species recorded while the jays so rudely kept us waiting included OSPREY, adult and immature RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, ROCK & CANYON WRENS, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, displaying YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, WESTERN TANAGER, LARK SPARROW and BLUE GROSBEAK.  About 40 species in all from 6:10-7:30am.

We moved on to Greer where we immediately found a juvenile AMERICAN DIPPER in town and avoided a potentially time consuming search along the river in West Fork. BAND-TAILED PIGEON and surprisingly quiet CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were also in town.

We made the decision to head to Sunrise Campground for Gray Jay and American Three-toed Woodpecker. Apart from the "nigh on impossible" Pine Grosbeak, Gray Jay is the toughest of the White Mountain specialties and there are limited places to look (especially now that Sheep Crossing and the Mt. Baldy area are both inaccessible due to road construction). 

After some delay getting a permit on the reservation due to computer problems (and looking briefly at the lake which had 4 WESTERN GREBES), we arrived in the campground just in time for the rain to start. The campground was almost deserted so there was no choice but to walk the trails to seek jays. Fortunately, given the soggy conditions, we only needed an approximate 1/2 mile walk. First up though, light tapping led us to a very cooperative adult male AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER and we enjoyed fantastic, walk away looks. Several minutes later and only 200 yards from the woodpecker we had good looks in bad light at one (yes, one!) GRAY JAY. It sounded like there were more but only one materialized.

Now we were down to just one state bird target for Dave -- Downy Woodpecker. Sheep Crossing is the place that I've seen them most often but we had to settle for second best West Fork in Greer. We worked the less populated section further upstream from the main fishing area (this trail actually goes to Sheep Crossing after a long walk!). I tried some NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL toots in an attempt to rustle up a DOWNY WOODPECKER  Although we only heard the woodpecker (twice, briefly), we managed decent looks at an owl that took umbrage to being disturbed and flew in to investigate. Otherwise, the trail was generally quiet and the only bird of note was an uncharacteristically perched-in-the-open MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. We bailed out just in time to escape some heavy rainfall that prevented us from checking Greer Lakes.

Off the mountain, our final destination for the day was Sipe Wildlife Area. No targets here, just a quick trip in the early afternoon to introduce the location to Dave. Among the species noted were a family of CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and a female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE carrying food with youngsters chattering nearby.

Rain began in earnest as I drove back "home" to Nutrioso from Springerville. I pulled into the driveway at Juniper Hill just in time to see a new yard bird streaking over my head -- PEREGRINE FALCON. Have I ever mentioned that timing is everything? All things considered, Murphy got screwed today. Just hope that you are not with me when he takes his revenge.

Overall, I'd have to say that the two days were very successful and Dave went home impressed with the White Mountains and with 9 state birds. The only miss was Downy Woodpecker which is the hardest woodpecker to target in Arizona and always a bit of a Hail Mary. Fortunately, it's rarely a target being such a common bird in most states.

79 species recorded:
Western Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Am. Coot, Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons; Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves; N. Pygmy-Owl, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds; Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Downy, Hairy & Am. Three-toed Woodpeckers; N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Black & Say's Phoebes; Horned Lark, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows; Golden-crowned Kinglet, Am. Dipper, Rock, Canyon & House Wrens; Gray Catbird, Western & Mountain Bluebirds; Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches; Gray, Steller's & Pinyon Jays; Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous Vireo, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow & MacGillivray's Warblers; Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Tanager, Spotted Towhee, Chipping, Vesper & Lark Sparrows; Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks; Lazuli Bunting, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks; Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Friday, August 3, 2007
White Mountains Day 8: Day List 55   Trip List 163 (+0)
Although I've seen American Three-toed Woodpecker on two out of three attempts during my first week in the White Mountains, I don't feel like I have "nailed down" a reliable location (not so easy to do after the breeding season). Consequently, despite the fact that I'd planned a day off today, I decided to return to the burn near Three Forks where I failed to find a bird on Wednesday. The day began with mostly sunny skies but heavy fog made for very poor visibility above 8500 feet at 6:00am. Clouds increased as the morning wore on and rain fell by midday. Pleasant conditions prevailed for much of the afternoon (cloudy, 70 degrees).

I walked a little further into the burn today than I normally do and I'm happy to report that my efforts paid off extremely well. I found lots of activity in a section of burn that I hadn't investigated before. In fact, if anything there was too much activity and I didn't know which way to turn first. Since Three-toeds tend not to make as much noise as other species, I gave priority to light tapping. Over a period of several hours I weeded out at least 3 AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS (including an adult male), 4-5 HAIRY WOODPECKERS, 1 male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and umpteen NORTHERN FLICKERS. Not a bad haul. However, even without the birds it would have been a good outing -- the early morning sun caused lots of "steam" to rise off the damp vegetation which created an eerie effect through the burned trees with glimpses of blue sky as a backdrop.

In addition to woodpeckers, lots of dickey birds were in the burn with PYGMY NUTHATCHES being most abundant. Others included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE,  flyover PURPLE MARTINS;  numerous HOUSE WRENS including recent fledglings; MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, BROWN CREEPER, raucous CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, a singing PLUMBEOUS VIREO, RED-CROSSBILLS occasionally flying back and forth, WESTERN TANAGER and plentiful DARK-EYED "red-backed" JUNCOS. The nearby meadows held WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, PINE SISKINS (abundant), YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and a few EASTERN MEADOWLARKS. About 30 species in the vicinity of the burn.

A check of Sierra Blanca Lake soon revealed that duck migration hasn't hit this location yet. I heard calling SORAS (many) and VIRGINIA RAIL.

I checked for LEWIS'S WOODPECKER as I returned to Nutrioso and found two in typical locations several miles from town -- one atop a utility pole and the other in a dead pine tree.

In the afternoon I spent some time checking the feeder visitors at Juniper Hill. Just before dark, I found an immature male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK that clearly stood out among the plentiful BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS. After seeing an adult male a few days ago, I now have to wonder if there was a nest nearby. As far as I know, there aren't any breeding records in Arizona. I suppose the possibility of hybridization can't be ruled out. I'll try to get a photo if the bird returns.

I didn't see many species today and this was the first day that I didn't add to the trip list. However, it didn't matter one little bit, I was more than happy with the Three-toed Woodpeckers.

Saturday, August 4, 2007
White Mountains Day 9: Day List 67   Trip List 163 (+0)
First of two days with Kip Whitefield from Chicago, IL who I've birded with on three previous occasions in SE AZ. On this trip we have 6 targets -- Dusky Grouse, Williamson's Sapsucker, Am. Three-toed Woodpecker, Calliope Hummingbird, Am. Dipper and MacGillivray's Warbler. In a quirky twist to the proceedings, we'll be working on the birds in systematic order as listed above. Today we successfully looked for the first four and had excellent views of each one. It was a decent morning for birding (cloudy, calm, mild and dry) and that lasted until about midday when the rain began.

My morning began well with a BALD EAGLE in flight over Nelson Reservoir as I drove over to Springerville.

In the Big Lake area, DUSKY GROUSE obliged us without too much effort although today it was much further down the trail below the lookout. After some initial searching along the trail, I suggested that Kip stay put while I continued searching elsewhere (just as much chance the bird would come walking up the trail as not). Sure enough, Kip saw the bird while I was gone and I was able to relocate it for myself when I returned. Not much else noted during the search save for a constantly calling OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (a monotonous and repetitive "pip pip pip" for 30 minutes) and a briefly calling CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER.

We moved on to the burn near Three Forks where I spent time on woodpeckers yesterday. Just as yesterday, hard work and persistence were required for success. However, persistence is my middle name and I've never been afraid of hard work. We quickly found a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER then it was time for some grunt work. It seemed like an age at the time but it "only" took two hours to locate a quietly tapping  immature male AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. The activity level in the burn was much less today -- very few NORTHERN FLICKERS and just one heard only HAIRY WOODPECKER. Thankfully though, the two key birds were present.

We continued east on FR 249  to Alpine then on to Luna Lake where I knew our final target for the day would be significantly easier than the first three. We soon saw two male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS at the feeders and at least one female was present along with lots of BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS.

We made a quick check of the lake before the rain began and then called it a day, a good day at that. No sign of the wayward Sandhill Crane today. GREAT EGRET and a small flock of LARK SPARROWS were the least common species noted.

Juniper Hill visitors today included an immature female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, a couple of WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, a juvenile GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and a male LAZULI BUNTING.

Sunday, August 5, 2007
White Mountains Day 10: Day List 61   Trip List 164 (+1)
Out again today with Kip. We birded in Greer for a couple of hours during which time it was sunny and pleasant. It was fortunate that we only had two birds to find because today was probably the wettest so far during "birding hours". Heavy rain fell over a wide area for much of the morning and early afternoon. Before meeting Kip I checked Becker Lake then later in the morning I checked Sunrise Lake.

My very brief early morning check of Becker Lake produced 3 BLACK TERNS working low over the water (still sporting a fair amount of black) and a CLARK'S GREBE at the south end of the lake. On Airport and Becker Lake Roads I found many EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, 10 WESTERN KINGBIRDS, 3 ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, a few LARK SPARROWS, 3 singing BLUE GROSBEAKS, singing EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Along the road to Greer (Hwy 373), a couple of OSPREYS were on a nest at Hall Creek. STELLER'S JAY'S and CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were conspicuous when I arrived in town to meet Kip. Although we started out looking for AMERICAN DIPPER along West Fork, we actually saw MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER first to spoil the hope of seeing all six of our targets in systematic order (thus, the trip was a complete failure). After checking around the bridges in town for about 30 minutes, we then worked methodically upstream for 30 minutes along the very soggy trail before finding a cooperative Dipper. Two male MacGillivray's were typically skulky but we still managed satisfactory, close range looks at both birds.

Before leaving town I looked at River Reservoir (usually the most productive of three reservoirs that form the Greer Lakes complex). Very little out on the water and 20+ DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were the most conspicuous species. HAIRY WOODPECKER and a few RED CROSSBILLS were in the pines.

Some serious clouds were forming up in the high country and I was fortunate to be able to check Sunrise Lake before the rain began. Still no sign of migration up here and I didn't see any shorebirds at all. Several hundred AMERICAN COOTS have been the most numerous species on the lake on each of three visits over the past week. RING-NECKED DUCK and RUDDY DUCK were the only ducks that I noted. I counted 170 CANADA GEESE.  Many EARED GREBES and 4 WESTERN GREBES continue. MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were in the meadows around the lake where I heard and saw many singing VESPER SPARROWS and a few singing SAVANNAH SPARROWS.

Unbelievable rain and hail on Hwy 260 as I headed off the mountain with visibility down to a couple of car lengths.

No sign of the adult or immature Rose-breasted Grosbeaks over the past couple days at Juniper Hill. Among today's visitors were EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, an immature female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER (perhaps the same bird as yesterday), MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and SPOTTED TOWHEE. I've been hearing towhees singing on the property but today was the first day that I've seen one venture to the feeders.

Monday, August 6, 2007
White Mountains Day 11: Day List 71   Trip List 169 (+5)
After working with my first group of clients, today begins a stretch of time to myself before I pick up with clients again at the back end of the trip. For the most part, I plan to focus on low and mid elevation areas where migrants are most likely to be passing through. Based on what I've seen so far during my first 10 days, passerine migration is minimal. I've seen some seasonal movement of species that breed in the area but very few "real" migrants. Today I worked riparian and pinyon juniper-ponderosa pine habitats and found very few signs of migration. The day began sunny and much warmer than at anytime over the past 10 days. However, as been the case on most days, clouds built up steadily and rain began my late morning. Dry and much cooler by evening.

I started birding along Airport Road in Springerville where I spent far too much time. As I drove slowly past the bridge over the Little Colorado listening to the regular BLUE GROSBEAKS singing, I head the distinctly different song of an INDIGO BUNTING. I should have been satisfied with a heard only because these little suckers can really hide. Thirty minutes later I regretted my decision to track it down! A second pass down the road several hours later yielded a single WHITE-FACED IBIS in a flooded field behind Safeway.

After seeing ten Western Kingbirds on Becker Lake Road yesterday, I didn't see a single one of them today (despite two passes several hours apart). Perhaps the rain washed them south. No terns or big grebes noted on the lake. The only definite migrants were 50+ TREE SWALLOWS, my first of the trip.

I walked about 3 miles at Wenima Wildlife Area for scant reward in terms of migrants. The only warblers noted were VIRGINIA'S and MACGILLIVRAY'S. Wilson's and Orange-crowned should be passing through by now, especially the latter, but didn't see or hear either. The most common birds were BLUE GROSBEAK and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, both vocalizing strongly and still very much in breeding mode. I saw a few LAZULI BUNTINGS and one INDIGO BUNTING.

Highlight of the morning was a vocalizing male MONTEZUMA QUAIL that I managed to track down standing erect on a rock. I snapped this first image from some distance to make sure that I got something. I then moved a little closer and shot an improved image of the bird sitting on a rock. The images aren't very good but I'm sure that the thousands of birders who haven't seen this species would say that any  image of a Montezuma Quail is a good image. I then tried to stalk the bird to get something better. That was an exercise in frustration I can tell you. I spent more time trying to keep my footing on the rocky hillside than I did looking for the quail.

After checking Water Canyon and Saffel Canyon south of Eagar, I worked my way back to Nutrioso via FR 85 that passes through some splendid Pinyon-Juniper habitat, eventually reaching the back entrance to Sipe WA (I didn't go there today).

In the canyons I found a juvenile SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, HAIRY WOODPECKER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, HOUSE WREN, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and a few SPOTTED TOWHEES.

In a particularly birdy section of Pinyon-Juniper and Ponderosa habitat, I picked up a couple of trip firsts -- 2 GRAY FLYCATCHERS and 2 female HEPATIC TANAGERS. Among the other species that made for an interesting hour of birding were a very confiding female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, a flock of 50+ noisy PINYON JAYS flying all around me, an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER atop a snag in typical fashion, several TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES also perched high and in the clear, many WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, a singing GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and a chattering mixed flock containing MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, PYGMY NUTHATCHES and an immature BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER.

I finished up with a check of Nelson Reservoir that was surprisingly devoid of herons and waterfowl despite the increased water level. Four flavors of swallows worked over the water and a CANYON WREN sang from high up on the rocky slopes.

There was a dramatic drop in PINE SISKINS at Juniper Hill today. I wonder if the heavy rain claimed some victims. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE is becoming a frequent visitor and definitely bullies the MOURNING DOVES.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007
White Mountains Day 12: Day List 65   Trip List 172 (+3)
As yesterday, I began by checking the Becker Lake area in Springerville then spent some time at Grassland Wildlife Area west of Eagar. Although it was a mostly cloudy day, this was the first day without any significant rain during the daylight hours since I started this trip. It was also a warmer day. Skies cleared by early evening and the rain stayed away.

I worked my standard route of Airport Road and Becker Lake Road then spent a couple of hours at Becker Lake. Some early morning light drizzle soon fizzled out. Plentiful mosquitoes have benefited from the rain and they were certainly a problem in the vegetation along the eastern shore of the lake. However, unlike yesterday, I picked up a few migrants for my efforts.

Becker Lake road yielded DUSKY and ASH-THROATED  FLYCATCHERS and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. The latter two were also at the lake in addition to GRAY FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, many VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS, WILSON'S WARBLER (finally!), WESTERN TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. Nothing new on the water save for 8+ CINNAMON TEAL. 40 species in all.

Grassland Wildlife Area lies less than 7 miles from Becker Lake as the crow flies but the habitat is quite different. The name is a little misleading because the wildlife area has a fair amount of pinyon-juniper habitat, rocky bluffs, a couple of ponds and some deciduous growth in addition to grassland. I've birded here a handful of times now and it's certainly a worthwhile place to visit. Grassland species would perhaps be more in evidence in late fall; today I found PJ residents and a few migrants.

While the undoubted highlight was the spectacle of many BURROWING OWLS in the grassland (I counted 20 and probably missed many more), I also enjoyed the variety of species present in PJ habitat. I noted WESTERN BLUEBIRD, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, JUNIPER TITMOUSE a few WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, 50+ PINYON JAYS and a lone CLARK'S NUTCRACKER. It was interesting to watch the Pinyon Jays attacking the Nutcracker (contact made) and chasing AMERICAN KESTRELS..

Species in the vicinity of the first pond were RUFOUS-HUMMINGBIRD, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, GRAY & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, WARBLING VIREO, 10+ VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS, 6+ YELLOW WARBLERS, 2 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, 3 LAZULI BUNTINGS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

At the larger pond I saw GREAT BLUE HERON, OSPREY (only a fly over, there isn't enough here for the bird), SPOTTED SANDPIPER and KILLDEER. 32 species in all.

After my comments about lack of herons and waterfowl yesterday, a stop at Nelson Reservoir yielded 6 GREAT BLUE HERONS and 85 MALLARDS. A couple of SPOTTED SANDPIPERS were present.

PINE SISKINS returned in numbers to Juniper Hill today. It's interesting to note the amount of yellow present in the young birds. In some it's so extensive they could easily be mistaken for Yellow-rumped Warblers in flight.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007
White Mountains Day 13: Day List 68   Trip List 173 (+1)
A trip first greeted me this morning -- bright sunshine and a cloud free sky. Most folks would probably disagree but I'd much rather have a cloudy day for birding. A cloudy day means that  I don't have to bother maneuvering to get the sun behind me to view birds or worry about my shadow spooking a bird. A few clouds developed as the day progressed but there was never a real threat of rain and the day warmed to about 80 degrees in Nutrioso.

I spent about 5 hours at Sipe Wildlife Area this morning. I birded along the main entrance road, at the visitor center, along Rudd Creek trail, in Rudd Creek Canyon and in the junipers near McKay Reservoir - about 5 miles of walking all told.

Birds in the pinyon-juniper and grassland approaches were not plentiful but I picked up a few HORNED LARKS, many WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, CHIPPING, VESPER and LARK SPARROWS and EASTERN MEADOWLARK.

The visitor center feeders were jumping with hummingbirds. Female BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS were definitely the most numerous (very few males) although female RUFOUS and a fair number of males were not far behind in abundance. With patience I weeded out a few females and one male CALLIOPE. The trick in the White Mountains at any feeder setup is to exceed 3 species. Today I managed that with a female BLACK-CHINNED. Magnificent is about the only other real possibility.

In the trees and shrubs I found a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, a male MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, several WESTERN TANAGERS and a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE

LAZULI BUNTING was the most numerous species along Rudd Creek trail. VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was the next most common and I managed an image decent enough to allow me to throw away the marginal photo-first image from a few days ago. I came across this nicely posed immature TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE that sat still for a few seconds. You'll note that the spotted juvenile plumage has all but disappeared. The bird seems to be having a bad hair day (actually, a bad head day since it appears that a decent sized chunk is missing -- but it's just an illusion!).

Rudd Creek trail also produced WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, SPOTTED & GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES and a small flock of RED CROSSBILLS atop the pines.

In Rudd Creek Canyon (on National Forest land beyond the Sipe WA boundary), I saw another WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and added HAIRY WOODPECKER, several singing CANYON WRENS, all three nuthatches (PYGMY most common), STELLER'S JAY, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and several families of DARK-EYED "Red-backed" JUNCOS.

PINYON JAYS were plentiful. Some along Rudd Creek, a few on the bluffs of Rudd Creek Canyon and many on the slopes above McKay Reservoir. I had to smile (a really wry smile, mind you) remembering the events of my visit on July 29. For the second day in a row I was surrounded by squawking jays and couldn't manage a single image. All you have to do is look at them sideways and off they go.

McKay Reservoir is dry apart from one small section and I didn't see a single bird on the water or around the edges.

As I returned to Nutrioso, a quick check for migrants at Nelson Reservoir turned up HEPATIC TANAGER and several LAZULI BUNTINGS.

An evening sortie around several Nutrioso neighborhoods was reasonably productive. I found LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS in three separate locations including one that I almost overlooked -- a tree full of BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS also had a Lewis's hiding in plain sight.

Nutrioso Reservoir looked devoid of birds at first blush but a few minutes with the scope produced a CINNAMON TEAL and 5 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS in addition to the usual CANADA GEESE (only 8 today), MALLARDS and KILLDEER.

EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES and BAND-TAILED PIGEONS were right in town along with 5 species of swallows and PURPLE MARTIN. Many colorful LAZULI BUNTINGS were along Nutrioso Creek, some foraging on the blacktop.

Thursday, August 9, 2007
White Mountains Day 14: Day List 60   Trip List 173 (+0)
Inspired by yesterday's improved weather conditions, I decided to hike the Escudilla Trail today. I would have preferred the Mt. Baldy trail but it's currently not easily accessible. Essentially, this is my annual medical checkup. It's less expensive than a visit to the doctor and the results are immediate and easily interpreted. If I make it back down with all limbs intact and not too many aches and pains, I'm in decent shape. Since you're reading this I must be okay, although I must confess to being a little pooped out. I wouldn't want to do it again tomorrow. Perhaps I shouldn't have walked 5 miles yesterday (but at the time I didn't have a cunning plan to visit Escudilla today).

This is not really a trail for birding (although there are some good possibilities). No, it's more for scenery and solitude and I found both in abundance. Just me, a few Elk, squirrels, birds and wildflowers. The trail begins at 9560 feet near the start of Terry Flat loop and ends three miles distant at Escudilla Lookout at10,877 feet. The numbers are from U.S.F.S. blurb, my GPS differed. Weather-wise, it was a typical weak monsoon pattern type of day. Widespread blue sky at the start of the day and short lived thunderstorms and moderate rain in the early afternoon. More rain fell in the evening -- perhaps there's life in the old monsoon dog yet.

I started the trail at 6:15am and my round trip was approximately 5 hours. I spent 45 minutes at the top and a little time birding, mostly on the return. The sky was mostly cloud free and I had fantastic views at the top from 8:15-9:00am; just a few clouds starting to form.

Birds are somewhat superfluous in an environment such as this. However, there were a few highlights among the 17 species that I encountered. Top of the list was a well seen female NORTHERN GOSHAWK in flight at close range, not a species that I get to see very often in SE AZ. I also enjoyed an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER (detected by its drumming near the Lookout) and several small groups of RED CROSSBILLS; mostly in flight but occasionally perched. A male BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER foraging in a spruce at 10,500 feet was unexpected. I have one other high elevation record from the Mt. Baldy trail

MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS were the most common species. CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were down below at Terry Flat but not seen on the trail.

When I reached highway 180, I decide to visit Luna Lake since I was already halfway there. I only checked the lake and feeders and didn't walk the trails (duh). I spent some time at the feeders trying to get hummingbird flight shots. I tried this yesterday at Sipe with poor results. It's difficult to get the bird in focus and freeze the action and avoid getting other birds or feeders in the frame. I learned a little from my mistakes of yesterday and fared a little better today. My best effort was of an immature male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. I suppose I should say immature Rufous/Allen's but would I have the luck to photograph an Allen's in the White Mountains? I also managed an image of a female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD but this isn't as good because I wasn't able to freeze the action (even with a shutter speed of 1/2000s). Lots of BROAD-TAILED and a female BLACK-CHINNED were also at the feeders. My second consecutive four hummer species day!

At the lake I managed to find the sneaky SANDHILL CRANE resting in the long grass. GREAT EGRET continues and hasn't moved more than a few feet in a couple of weeks. Ducks continue to stay away in droves (I saw one CINNAMON TEAL and one MALLARD). I recorded about 30 species including EARED GREBE, OSPREY, SORA, SPOTTED SANDPIPER and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

A cruise through Nutrioso turned up some of the usual suspects. Two LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS eyeballing each other from opposite sides of a utility pole were the pick of the bunch. Do these guys have something against trees? Among the also rans were BAND-TAILED PIGEON, WESTERN TANAGER, LAZULI BUNTING and BLUE GROSBEAK (some weak song, perhaps they are starting to wind down their breeding activities).

Friday, August 10, 2007
White Mountains Day 15: Day List 74   Trip List 175 (+2)
This morning I checked the Becker Lake "complex" on my own then I was joined by my hosts at Juniper Hill, Ken and Karen Struthers. Together we visited the Grassland Wildlife area followed by a trip to nearby South Fork then finished up on Airport and Becker Lake roads back in Springerville. The weather treated us well -- high, thin clouds kept the temperature down and direct sun was only occasional.

Driving slowly down Becker Lake road, I encountered a couple of GREATER ROADRUNNERS. One bird crossed the road in front of me and the other bird became isolated. I inched along as it slunk through grass, trying to reach its buddy, until I eventually managed a photo. It was actually quite amusing to see how the bird tried to outsmart me. At one point it stopped behind a bush and attempted to double back. I reversed to foil its plan. The whole thing ended when someone blasted by in a truck. WESTERN KINGBIRDS and LAZULI BUNTINGS were fairly common.

A quick check of the lake produced OSPREY, EARED GREBE and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD then I moved on the nearby wildlife area. Species typical of any location with riparian habitat along the Little Colorado included BLUE GROSBEAK, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. Migrants noted were NORTHERN HARRIER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and LAZULI BUNTING. Lots of LESSER GOLDFINCHES and PINE SISKINS fed on the abundant thistle.

We spent a very pleasant 3 hours at the Grassland WA. Birds were never plentiful but we had a decent selection of 30 species. BURROWING OWLS were less numerous today but at least 12 were visible when we left around 11:00am. Other species noted in the grassland were AMERICAN KESTREL, WESTERN KINGBIRD, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, a flock of ~40 HORNED LARKS and plentiful EASTERN MEADOWLARKS well distributed throughout the area.

The flock of noisy PINYON JAYS continues on the juniper slopes. As on Tuesday, they came close without every offering a viable photo opportunity. Other species in pinyon-juniper habitat included GREATER ROADRUNNER (heard only, singing and bill-clapping); TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE (calling regularly during our stay, seen a couple of times), BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BUSHTIT, JUNIPER TITMOUSE and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.

Among the birds present near the first pond were ASH-THROATED, DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS, VIRGINIA'S & YELLOW WARBLERS, LAZULI BUNTING (a widespread migrant at the moment, most individuals still retain a muted version of breeding plumage similar to the pictured bird) and several female BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

The larger pond (no surrounding trees) had only KILLDEER and SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

At South Fork, our stroll along trail 97 above the campground was interrupted by the loud chip of a HOODED WARBLER. Over a period of 15-20 minutes we played cat and mouse with the bird (actually, the other way around) as it ranged 150-300 yards from the trailhead and back again. The bird stayed very low in the vegetation and apparently only called when it moved. I saw the bird briefly a couple of times. The black areas were extensive on the throat and head but not "jet black". Therefore, I think it was likely a first fall male. However, since some adult females can look very similar to males, I can't rule out that possibility. This was a state bird for yours truly (I've never chased any of the birds that have appeared in SE AZ over the years). It took me 15 years to see one in Arizona, for Ken and Karen it was a case of beginners luck.

Selected other species seen during a very brief visit were OSPREY, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, PYGMY & WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and LARK SPARROW.

As I drove back to Nutrioso, I forced myself to checked Nelson Reservoir  (pickings here have been slim). WHITE-FACED IBIS and PLUMBEOUS VIREO were my reward.

After a very slow period, migrant activity is now showing signs of picking up.

Saturday, August 11, 2007
White Mountains Day 16: Day List 55   Trip List 175 (+0)
This morning I checked around Becker Lake then headed north into the plains grassland. A take it easy kind of day. Whenever possible, I try to steer clear of popular places on weekends unless there's a really good reason to do otherwise. A clear and sunny morning gradually became cloudy and there was a mild afternoon thunderstorm and some light rain.

A small flock of VESPER SPARROWS were the only new species that I detected in the vicinity of Becker Lake (perhaps an indication of movement from their breeding habitat which is not too far away). WESTERN KINGBIRDS were in double figures. LAZULI BUNTINGS remain common and at least one AMERICAN GOLDFINCH continues in the large thistle field that has lots of PINE SISKINS and LESSER GOLDFINCHES.

In the grasslands some 10 miles northwest of Springerville, I cruised around looking for migrants that were as lost as I was. This is serious HORNED LARK country and I saw many flocks of them. Two rufous morph SWAINSON'S HAWKS broke the monotony of "it's just another COMMON RAVEN". I also saw NORTHERN HARRIER, RED-TAILED HAWK and KESTREL. Prairie Falcon would be a strong possibility here.

Eventually, I found a wetland area that had a small marsh and a decent sized pond. In addition to typical stuff like PIED-BILLED GREBE, MALLARD, RUDDY DUCK, COOT and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS, I counted 8 CINNAMON TEAL and 17 male WILSON'S PHALAROPES (the first since I left Wilcox pond over two weeks ago).

In similar grassland habitat northeast of Springerville (but with more rocky areas and a few scattered junipers), I found CANYON WREN, a fledgling ROCK WREN and a singing LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE that wasn't happy about being disturbed by the big blue trogon. A small oasis of cottonwoods held a WESTERN TANAGER.

While eating lunch at Juniper Hill, I heard the unmistakable calls of PINYON JAYS and looked outside just in time to see one flying by. They have been seen here from time to time but it was a new location species for me. LAZULI BUNTINGS were regular at the feeder today.

Business note: due to a cancellation, the weekend dates of August 25 and 26 are available.

Sunday, August 12, 2007
White Mountains Day 17: Day List 58   Trip List 175 (+0)
This morning I worked along the Rudd Creek drainage about a mile north of Nelson Reservoir then checked a few areas in Nutrioso. Weather conditions were similar to yesterday -- sunny in the morning with increasing clouds in the afternoon. An intense early evening thunderstorm produced short lived rain and hail that quickly dropped the temperature from the low 80s to 70 degrees -- very refreshing. The monsoon season isn't over yet.

I found HOUSE WRENS at all (low elevation) locations that I checked today indicating a significant movement from higher elevations.

A quick stop at Nelson Reservoir before I started in Rudd Creek yielded a calling SORA. Although they breed in the marsh here, this was the first that I've detected on this trip in 8 visits so the bird was perhaps a migrant.

Rudd Creek #3 (as I so concisely call it) doesn't have a significant amount of riparian habitat and isn't likely to attract much in the way of migrants. The area is best visited during the breeding season. Nevertheless, I gave it a fair crack today and spent 3.5 hours slowly working forth and back along a one mile stretch of the drainage. The creek was running well and the surrounding vegetation showed evidence that a significant amount of water had flowed through here recently. I found a few migrants (most were probable local breeders, either here or nearby) and recorded 35 species.

In decreasing order of abundance, the most common species were LESSER GOLDFINCH and PINE SISKIN (both feeding on thistle);  MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, CHIPPING SPARROW, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER (40+),  TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE (singing and calling throughout); LAZULI BUNTING (mostly males), BUSHTIT, HOUSE WREN and LARK SPARROW. I also noted 4-5 each BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS and HEPATIC TANAGERS.

I found singletons of WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, GRAY and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and WESTERN TANAGER.

On the rocky slopes, ROCK (5+) and CANYON WRENS (3) were easier to hear than see. PINYON JAYS were calling in several locations but I didn't attempt to see them. WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS made their presence felt (what a lovely noise NOT!).

Birds can be mean. While taking a break, I scanned the rocky ridgeline of the canyon and spotted an AMERICAN KESTREL perched on a prominent rock. To me, at least, the bird was just sitting there minding its own business but that didn't mean jack to a small band of CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS. They took turns to buzz the Kestrel and caused it to leave its rocky vantage and fly about 200 yards to perch atop a juniper. Not satisfied, the Nutcrackers followed it and drove it away once again. I could see absolutely no reason for this. Perhaps any raptor is perceived as a threat but I can't envisage a situation where a Kestrel would take on a Nutcracker. That would seem foolhardy. But then again, I'm neither a Kestrel nor a Nutcracker. This grasshopper still has much to learn.

In the Nutrioso area, I picked up LEWIS WOODPECKERS in a couple of locations, PINYON JAYS at the reservoir along with three species of swallows; numerous LAZULI BUNTINGS along the creek and CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER in town..

Also in town, I saw more evidence of avian nastiness -- a gang of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS attacking a lone MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD.

Monday, August 13, 2007
White Mountains Day 18: Day List 70   Trip List 176 (+1)
Time marches on inexorably and I'm now past the halfway point of my 5 week stay in the White Mountains, boo friggin' hoo. Today I visited Greer then checked Sunrise Lake, Becker Lake & Nelson Reservoir and finished up at Sipe Wildlife Area in mid afternoon. Following a sunny and pleasant morning, we had two major thunderstorms with rain and hail for the price of one today.

I decided to spend a little time on photography in Greer this morning. I was hoping to get a decent image of CLARK'S NUTCRACKER but none of the many birds present crossed paths with the business end of my lens. Clear skies and few people encouraged me to stick around and I was guilty of "wasting" the entire morning. My only photographic consolation was MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER (quite a few were present along West Fork which was generally fairly quiet).  Among the other species present in Greer were OSPREY, 6+ BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, and my first ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER of the trip.

I arrived at Sunrise Lake at noon just in time for some light rain -- a precursor of things to come. I worked around the lake for an hour or so and picked up 6 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, the first shorebirds of the trip apart from SPOTTED SANDPIPER (present here today and every day at most areas with water). Due to the low water level, I had to walk out 1/2 mile to confirm the Westerns. Also present were a single WESTERN GREBE, many EARED GREBES, 200 CANADA GEESE, a few REDHEADS, a couple of NORTHERN HARRIERS, lots of HORNED LARKS and a few VESPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS. 25 species in all.

As I headed back down of the mountain, I could see some serious storm activity ahead of me. At Becker Lake, for the first time on this trip (maybe ever!) there wasn't a single fisherman. The place was absolutely deserted. Unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy the unexpected solitude because the storm hit within minutes. Driving conditions heading south out of town were very difficult.

Amazingly, by the time I reached Nelson Reservoir I was through the rain. I immediately noted a few very bedraggled looking storm impacted birds (normally, passerines are not obvious here). In particular, this GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE looks very much the worse for wear while this LESSER GOLDFINCH had recovered some decorum. Note that the goldfinch is a "black-backed" individual. I've never done a formal survey but, unlike southeast Arizona, they represent a significant percentage of the population in the White Mountains. HOUSE WREN, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and SPOTTED TOWHEE were also present. PINYON JAYS called from the distant ridge. At least two SPOTTED SANDPIPERS were on the flats which look good for shorebirds. Just need some!

Although it was close to 3:00pm, bird activity was decent after the rain so I decided that a check of Sipe Wildlife Area was in order (the back entrance road is not far from Nelson). Along the road I picked up GRAY FLYCATCHER, a very bedraggled ROCK WREN, the usual WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE mixed in with over 100 AMERICAN ROBINS, a flock of BUSHTITS, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and a VESPER SPARROW that had escaped the effects of the rain.

I had hoped that the trees near the visitor center would be hopping with migrants but, compared to the entrance road, it was very quiet. Lots of BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, of course, but not much else was obvious. I persevered for a little while and picked up WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, YELLOW WARBLER, WESTERN TANAGER, LAZULI BUNTING and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

I thought the rain was done for the day but a 5:00pm doozey hit Nutrioso and I recorded my lowest daily species total of the trip at Juniper Hill. The group of Black-headed Grosbeaks that were ever present have perhaps begun their move southwards -- I haven't seen them now for a couple of days.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007
White Mountains Day 19: Day List 21   Trip List 176 (+0)
After three weeks continuously in the field in SE AZ and the White Mountains, it was time to catch up on mundane matters today. I spent most of the day working at the keyboard and the only birds that I recorded were on Juniper Hill property. Therefore, it's a good time to summarize the birds here. It was a fairly warm, partly cloudy day and rain didn't arrive until 6:00pm.

Habitat at Juniper Hill and surrounding area is predominantly juniper (duh) but there's also a few pines and some deciduous trees, low vegetation, grass, seed feeders and hummingbird feeders. There's an intermittent creek and a fair sized pond is not far away. A review of my records showed that I have recorded birds on the property for a total of 87 days since 2004. Most of that time has been in July and August. I've also spent time here (in decreasing order) in June, September, April and May. During this time I've recorded a total of 67 species. To date on this trip, I've recorded  46 species. The top ten species most often recorded (in decreasing order) have been: Broad-tailed Hummingbird, American Robin, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Rufous Hummingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Pine Siskin, Spotted Towhee, Black-headed Grosbeak and Mountain Bluebird.

Today I managed to add 3 new property species -- migrant YELLOW WARBLER and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and a couple of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS, probably from the nearby Nutrioso population. Although Lewis's seem to prefer old pines and cottonwoods for nesting, they don't really need trees after breeding (as most woodpeckers do). In summer they spend most of their time flycatching from atop utility poles, which is where I saw the birds today. 

Wednesday, August 15, 2007
White Mountains Day 20: Day List 73   Trip List 177 (+1)
Today I returned to target birding mode in the high country with visits to the Big Lake and Three Forks areas. In the late afternoon I checked Nelson Reservoir and Becker Lake. Today was the warmest day for a while -- a sunny morning, afternoon clouds and minimal rain in the evening.

I took the back road from Nutrioso to the Big Lake area (FR 81 to FR 249) and made a brief stop at Sierra Blanca Lake. Typical roadside birds included NORTHERN FLICKER (an abundant species in the White Mountains), VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (ditto), WESTERN BLUEBIRD (ditto again), STELLER'S JAY, COMMON RAVEN, PINE SISKIN, CHIPPING SPARROW and DARK EYED JUNCO. I also saw GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET and WESTERN TANAGER.

At the lake I added 8+ CINNAMON TEAL, a couple of RING-NECKED DUCKS, many calling SORAS, a few CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS and a flock of noisy AMERICAN CROWS.

Big Lake Lookout is usually fairly quiet but today it was alive with birds. Most were MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES and RED-BREASTED & PYGMY NUTHATCHES. I also saw HAIRY WOODPECKER, a couple of RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS and my first migrant HERMIT WARBLER of the season.

DUSKY GROUSE was ridiculously easy to find today. This is my fourth attempt of this trip (3 successful with clients) and since I was on my own, I had my trusty camera handy. I've learned from previous photographic cock-ups that a long lens and teleconverter are not required for this bird -- if you see it at all it's usually close. Consequently, I was prepared with my backup 20D and 300mm f/4 lens. Poor light was the only problem. Image #1 is of the bird strolling around the parking lot like it owned the place (and in the bird's mind I'm sure it does). Image #2 is of the bird up in a tree (light was really an issue here). It might seem obvious, but had I not seen (or rather, heard) the bird fly up into the tree I would likely not have found it, or it would have taken a month of Sundays! Given the poor light, the images are quite decent.

I continued west to check Crescent Lake that, at first blush, seemed devoid of birds. I didn't find anything spectacular but 30+ minutes of effort produced ~20 species. Most notable was a LEWIS'S WOODPECKER atop a snag on the forested knoll on the south side of the lake. I don't have many high elevation records for this species and only one previously in the Big Lake area. Other stuff included OSPREY, an immature BALD EAGLE, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, many immature WESTERN BLUEBIRDS and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS bathing at the edge of the lake, VESPER SPARROW and a handful of BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS.

A quick check of Big Lake revealed what is almost always the case (more fishing boats than birds, even on a Wednesday). DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, COMMON MERGANSER and EASTERN MEADOWLARK were the only new species that I could weed out.

I backtracked east to the Three Forks burn area to do battle with three-toed. A quick stop at the Three forks bridge produced the second high elevation LEWIS'S WOODPECKER of the day, ROCK WREN (a breeder here) and a couple of migrant YELLOW WARBLERS.

It was indeed a battle today for AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. Unfortunately, dilly-dallying along the way at the lakes, etc., meant that I was getting a late start. It was quite warm and uncomfortable in the burn and the noise level from squirrels, bugs and PYGMY NUTHATCHES was a real problem for me trying to listen for light tapping. I wonder how many Three-toeds I walked past before finding one after 2+ hours of effort. I could easily have given up and I probably should have done so. Other species present from a total of 20 included CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and 10+ RED CROSSBILLS.

Back in Nutrioso I picked up a couple more LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS in typical habitat. Three EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were at Juniper Hill (I've only seen one at a time previously).

My late afternoon quest for migrants yielded ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at Nelson Reservoir while Becker Lake had 10 WHITE-FACED IBIS, 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, 7 BLACK TERNS and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH.

Business note: the cancellation dates of August 25 and 26 are now taken and no longer available.

Thursday, August 16, 2007
White Mountains Day 21: Day List 74   Trip List 181 (+4)
Today I visited an area that I call "the south White Mountains". I took the Blue River Road that heads south near Luna Lake, then looped back northwest from Blue Crossing on FR 567 to highway 191 then back to Luna Lake. There's a tremendous diversity of habitat along this route and some spectacular, rocky scenery. This is an area that I've birded infrequently because it doesn't have any of the White Mountain specialties. It's gobsmacking to realize that, despite the fact that it's less than 14 miles as the crow flies from Luna Lake to Blue Crossing, the vegetation and birdlife are more akin to southeast Arizona than to the White Mountains. The area is significantly lower in elevation (around 6000 feet at the Blue River) and is consequently warmer and has more insect life. The PJ country adjacent to the river is denser than just a few miles further north and is richer in bird diversity.

If I play games and just list a partial selection of species that I saw (and I'm in the mood for such a game), you might be fooled into thinking I was in, let's say, Carr Canyon in the Huachucas. For example, along the Blue River Road dropping in elevation from 8000 to 6000 feet I saw BAND-TAILED PIGEON, ACORN WOODPECKER, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, CANYON WREN, HEPATIC TANAGER, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and PAINTED REDSTART. However, throw in species like COMMON MERGANSER (my best photo effort yet of this species), SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and you'll know that we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

The Tutt Creek Trail, not far from Blue Crossing, has a different set of species. Some of the birds present here were GRAY FLYCATCHER, BEWICK'S WREN, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BRIDLED & JUNIPER TITMICE (or Titmouses, if you prefer), MEXICAN JAY and PLUMBEOUS & HUTTON'S VIREOS.

By the way, how many of you would have correctly named the Gray Flycatcher in the photo? Be honest! However, there's no arguing with the call -- a dry "whit" (like Brit humor) and the characteristic downward wagging tail.

Some of the species in both sets mentioned above barely make it 20 miles north. Others wouldn't be seen dead there (or maybe that's the only way they would be seen there!). I noticed definite differences in the voices of a couple of species compared to southeast Arizona birds. The song of Bewick's Wren is slower and the trill notes are spaced further apart. I've detected this difference before in the song but today I also noticed a difference in the call note. They have many calls but one seems to say the birds name, a two syllable byew-ick (like the car, Buick). Today's birds gave a three syllable call, very similar to the pi-ti-tic of a Western Tanager, only less harsh. Mexican Jays (a.k.a. Sky Rats) sounded far less obnoxious than their SE AZ cousins. The calls are higher pitched, less "beefy" and altogether less grating.

The morning weather had been excellent (if a little warm) but storm clouds were gathering as I approached Luna Lake. I managed 30 minutes worth of lake and feeder watching before the rain began and saw 25 species. Ducks have finally appeared -- 12 SHOVELERS and 7 PINTAILS were present (and I saw a few GREEN-WINGED TEAL further south). The usual tremendous trio of hummingbirds were at the feeders -- many BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS and a couple of CALLIOPE. Among the other species were EARED GREBES with tiny youngsters, GREAT EGRET, 2 OSPREYS, 6 RED CROSSBILLS, a few LAZULI BUNTINGS and a fair number of adult male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS still hanging around (I've been seeing mostly immatures).

I managed to get ahead of the rain as I crossed Alpine Divide and picked up a few species in Nutrioso, including LEWIS'S WOODPECKER and an unexpected SPOTTED SANDPIPER along the creek. The rain caught up to me with a vengeance as I arrived at Juniper Hill. Timing is everything so I've been told.

Friday, August 17, 2007
White Mountains Day 22: Day List 83   Trip List 181 (+0)
Today I visited Becker Lake (twice), South Fork, Benny Creek in Greer, Green's Peak and Nelson Reservoir. The weather continues much the same -- sunny in the morning with increasing clouds in the afternoon followed by a thunderstorm and rain. The only variables are when the rain starts and the intensity. Today it was 5:00pm and not very heavy.

South Fork was productive this morning. Lots of birds were active along the entrance road through the grassland (an area that can often be very quiet). Mostly common stuff like WESTERN KINGBIRD, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, CHIPPING & VESPER SPARROWS and EASTERN MEADOWLARK. The rocky section had ROCK WREN.

I worked the riparian area near the bridge and had some unexpected photographic success. Almost immediately, I was able to track down a DOWNY WOODPECKER after hearing its whinny call. This is the first that I've seen on this trip (previously heard only). Believe it or not, Downy is the most difficult "regularly" occurring woodpecker to find in Arizona! Shortly afterwards, I came across an uncharacteristically perched in the open GRAY CATBIRD, a rare and local nester in Arizona. Given that I was standing on tip-toes and shaking trying to get my lens above the vegetation without spooking the bird, I was amazed to get a reasonably decent image under poor light conditions. It's a little soft but the pose is field guide quality. An OSPREY was perched on a snag making occasional flights in my direction so I decided to try for a flight shot. The bird took off and disappeared behind a ridge and I pointed my lens skyward and waited. I saw a large bird appear from behind the ridge and clicked away. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Osprey -- however, I ended up fluking a decent flight shot of a GREAT BLUE HERON.

I watched a PEREGRINE  FALCON put on a fantastic display of aerobatics over the same ridge from whence the heron came. The bird twisted and turned and dove vertically then rose again quickly. No prey items were in sight so perhaps the bird was just practicing or simply having fun. The falcon eventually perched atop a juniper and I was able to get a scope view. The next action took me by surprise -- a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK that I'd seen earlier chasing WESTERN TANAGERS attacked the Peregrine and an aerial chase ensued.

Other species near the bridge included MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and BLUE GROSBEAK.

Further up the road, near South Fork Ranch, I added HAIRY WOODPECKER, a small flock of PINYON JAYS, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and HEPATIC TANAGER.

At the campground, the stream noise was so loud that I almost turned around immediately and left. I talked with the campground host who told me that this was the highest water he had seen here in 7 years. I've been coming here since 1994 and I certainly can't recall so much water in the river. I'm not sure why I decided to walk up the trail but I did. I was completely gobsmacked to find that the HOODED WARBLER was still present! I could hardly hear its loud chip above the noise of the water and I only got a brief glimpse of the bird. I then spent 30 fruitless minutes trying to get a documentary image and didn't even come close.

After a late breakfast/early lunch in Greer, I worked the willows along Benny Creek looking for migrants. There's plenty of water in the creek but the flow was gentle and noise minimal. Rain seemed imminent so I didn't carry a camera. The rain stayed away and I missed some excellent photo opportunities. Despite the noon hour, warbler activity was good. I found 2 ORANGE-CROWNED, VIRGINIA'S, YELLOW-RUMPED, MACGILLIVRAY'S, 2 WILSON'S and 2 RED-FACED WARBLERS all working a dense area of willows about 1/2 mile along the trail. Among the other species along the trail were singletons of WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY & CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS and WARBLING VIREO.

My next destination was Green's Peak, a location that I haven't visited at all on this trip since I've had good success with Dusky Grouse at Big Lake. I didn't expect to find a grouse at 2:00pm in the afternoon and I didn't expect to find much of anything at 10,000+ feet. I was half right. Good sized groups of TURKEY VULTURES and COMMON RAVENS were soaring over the peak in the heat of the afternoon. DUSKY FLYCATCHER was a mild surprise, but a dozen RED CROSSBILLS were more expected. An AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER was ample reward for my exertions at this altitude on a full stomach (not recommended).

I checked nearby Carnero Lake that had lots of fishermen and few birds, although I did see EARED GREBE on a nest, REDHEAD, OSPREY and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

My morning visit to Becker Lake had produced only the regular stuff. A late afternoon visit yielded an adult BALD EAGLE (coexisting peacefully with an OSPREY) and 3 BLACK TERNS.

Finally, at Nelson Reservoir a duck other than MALLARD -- a lone GREEN-WINGED TEAL. With several species seen yesterday elsewhere, it now seems clear that southbound ducks are finally arriving in the mountains.

Saturday, August 18, 2007
White Mountains Day 23: Day List 61   Trip List 181 (+0)
This morning I reversed the route that I did on Thursday. I traveled south of Alpine on Hwy 191 then took FR 567 to Tutt Creek. I returned via the Blue River Road and finished up at Luna Lake. A sunny and warm morning led to rain before midday and a cool afternoon.

Corvids were the early birds on FR 567. As I dropped in elevation I saw  STELLER'S JAY, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.

The route reversal was designed to put me at Tutt Creek at an early hour. A couple of days ago I birded my way along the Blue River and by the time I arrived at Tutt Creek it was already quite warm and activity was waning. FR 567 is a slow, scenic and potentially dangerous road with steep drop-offs that make Carr Canyon look like a city street. It took me exactly an hour from Juniper Hill to cover 35 miles (35 minutes for the final 7 miles down FR 567). The earlier start paid off and I almost doubled the number of species that I recorded on Thursday (33 versus 17).

Among the species not seen a couple of days ago were male and female MONTEZUMA QUAIL, a preening OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (perched on a low snag giving me a chance for a photo), a few PURPLE MARTINS, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, WARBLING VIREO, at least 10 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, GRACE'S WARBLER, HEPATIC TANAGER and LARK SPARROW.

Species seen both days included ACORN WOODPECKER, GRAY FLYCATCHER, BEWICK'S WREN, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, JUNIPER & BRIDLED TITMICE, MEXICAN JAY and PLUMBEOUS & HUTTON'S VIREOS.

Plumbeous Vireos were very common including at least 10 together in a loose group (many singing), 20 in all. The two titmice species were very close together (almost in the same tree) in habitat that was far from textbook for either species (but better for Juniper). A good reinforcement of the old cliché "birds don't read books". Bird by it.

I spent over 3 hours at Tutt Creek and it was quite warm on the Blue River by 10:00am (there's no such thing as a free lunch) -- a reminder of what I have to look forward to in a couple of weeks when I return to southeast Arizona. I didn't spend any foot time birding along the river and the only bird of note was a BRIDLED TITMOUSE located 2.5 (windy road) miles south of the Apache County line. The road climbs away from the river at this point and there's really no practical way from the road to determine if the titmice are present further upstream in the bottom of the drainage. Perhaps there's a hike upstream in my future (on another trip).

Luna Lake was surprisingly devoid of fisherman for a Saturday. Several SORAS were calling from the marsh below the main parking area. An adult BALD EAGLE was the best species and the usual three hummers were at the tackle shop feeders. By the way, the tackle shop has just been sold. I talked to the current and new owners today and learned that the feeders will be maintained as a condition of the sale.

Sunday, August 19, 2007
White Mountains Day 24: Day List 64   Trip List 181 (+0)
I didn't do very much birding today, just a few early morning hours checking riparian habitat around Springerville and Nutrioso. A sunny and warm morning followed by rain in mid afternoon.

Two less common Juniper Hill birds greeted me as I left this morning at 5:45am -- fly-bys of 2 GREAT BLUE HERONS and a CANADA GOOSE, probably heading to a nearby (private) pond. I'd seen the herons heading in the opposite direction just before dark last night.

I've been expecting to see Brewer's Sparrows every time that I've checked Becker Lake Road but still nothing. My earliest record here is August 5 with a fair number of records during the first two weeks. WHITE-WINGED DOVE was the least common species this morning.

I noted a big push of migrant MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS today with sightings at multiple locations. They were most numerous at Wenima Wildlife Area and since I only checked several hundred yards of the south trail and counted at least 10, the total number of individuals on the property is likely to significantly higher. I also saw them at Becker Lake Wildlife Area, on Becker Lake Road and at the lake itself.

VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was the second most common warbler at Wenima and I also saw YELLOW, ORANGE-CROWNED and WILSON'S WARBLERS. Other migrants were WESTERN TANAGER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LAZULI BUNTING.

Highlight at Wenima was a great view of a male MONTEZUMA QUAIL calling atop a rock, my third encounter on this trip. BLUE GROSBEAKS are still singing but YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS are now very quiet by their standards. I watched a CANYON TOWHEE feeding fledged young. EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were side by side at a roadside puddle. ROCK & CANYON WRENS and HORNED LARKS were in the nearby rocky grassland habitat

Along Nutrioso Creek, I picked up my first ACORN WOODPECKER in the Nutrioso area on this trip. I then proceeded to dip on LEWIS'S WOODPECKER. However, I found three across the highway at Nutrioso Reservoir. Who says that you can't have your cake and eat it too? I went years without any consistent Acorn sightings in the Apache County section of the White Mountains until they became somewhat regular in 2003 and subsequent years. All told, I've seen them in 10 of the past 14 years. Of course, they are fairly common 20 miles to the south.

Best sighting of the day  -- the word "Algerbra" on the ticker-tape type display at the school in Springerville. Not satisfied with the three "R"s, these guys are trying to go one better.

Monday, August 20, 2007
White Mountains Day 25: Day List 54   Trip List 182 (+1)
My how time has flown -- my days of leisure are almost over. Not many days left until the end of the month when I return to SE AZ and for nine of those days I'll be working with clients. Today was the first of two days with Pauline Yeckley from San Francisco, CA. Pauline has enough new bird possibilities such that visiting different habitats rather than hard target birding is a good strategy. Although it wasn't really the plan we started, we spent all of our time at Sipe Wildlife Area. Today's was the warmest day so far since I arrived in the mountains on July 27. Mostly clear skies and no rain.

We struck gold as we drove along the Sipe entrance road early this morning. After I heard PINYON JAYS, we parked and gave chase and didn't return to the car until two hours later. Not only did we see the jays multiple times (at least 100 birds, perhaps many more), we also encountered plenty of other species in the same area that kept us fully occupied. Very much a case of too fast, too furious. A group of CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS and a lone and very vocal RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH were somewhat unusual in relatively low elevation pure PJ at this time of year. PYGMY NUTHATCHES too, although I have seen them here before. BUSHTITS, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES and JUNIPER TITMOUSE were all quite numerous; the latter was very elusive for a while. PLUMBEOUS VIREO was also elusive until it eventually capitulated and provided excellent views. BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER remained a heard only. A fly-by TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE barely paused long enough for us to see it. Warblers didn't go unrepresented in this in this extensive mixed flock and we saw a couple of BLACK-THROATED GRAY, a trip first TOWNSEND'S, great views of VIRGINIA'S and very brief views of ORANGE-CROWNED.

Our next stop was the visitor center area. Several WESTERN TANAGERS were in the apple trees and we also saw a male RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and male and female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS. The hummer feeders hosted lots of BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS (mostly females and immatures with just a few adult males) and several female CALLIOPE and female BLACK-CHINNED. Other common species included loads of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS working over the pond, a few AMERICAN ROBINS and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and many LESSER GOLDFINCHES & PINE SISKINS at the seed feeders.

Rudd Creek trail wasn't super productive (especially since it was already beginning to warm up when we got started). Highlights were great looks at LEWIS'S WOODPECKER (uncommon at this location), an immature TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and a few LAZULI BUNTINGS. A small flock of RED CROSSBILLS were flighty and very elusive and we eventually stopped running after them. Other species on the trail included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, many WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, YELLOW WARBLER, SPOTTED TOWHEE and heard only MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD had so far eluded us and we eventually saw only one bird at a distance on the back entrance road.

On the Greenwood cutoff road adjacent to the back entrance, we had good looks at ROCK WREN, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and, after a long and frustrating chase, an immature GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE practicing the art of singing while remaining concealed.

An excellent outing.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
White Mountains Day 26: Day List 63   Trip List 182 (+0)
Out again today with Pauline. We spent the day general birding at high elevation, although we did focus on Dusky Grouse and American Three-toed Woodpecker (neither seen). The warm weather continued and it was 85 degrees around midday, even in the high country.

Lots of activity in the meadows along highway 261 as we headed towards the Big Lake area. HORNED LARKS were the most numerous species but MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS weren't far behind. YELLOW-RUMPED FLYCATCHERS were flycatching from the roadside flowers.

At Crescent Lake we watched an adult BALD EAGLE fly low over the water and deftly scoop a good sized fish off the surface. The eagle then flew to a large rock on the lakeshore and proceeded to devour its breakfast. Quite a sight. An OSPREY was also present along with WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, VESPER SPARROWS and BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS.

We got to Big Lake Lookout fairly late by my recent standards and didn't locate Dusky Grouse. Species noted here were WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, all three nuthatch species, BROWN CREEPER, RUBY-CROWNED (seen) and GOLDEN-CROWNED (heard only) KINGLETS, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and fly-by RED CROSSBILLS.

It was very warm and noisy at the Three Forks burn by late morning and the only woodpeckers we found were FLICKER (very common) and HAIRY WOODPECKER. Several CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were present and we finally got a decent look at a perched RED CROSSBILL for several minutes. PYGMY NUTHATCH was the most common of the 24 species we detected in the burn. A herd of ELK and a COYOTE added some variety.

During a brief stop at Sierra Blanca Lake, we heard many calling SORAS (well into double figures) but saw none.

An immature DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, a handful of GREAT BLUE HERONS, an OSPREY and a MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER were at a very warm Nelson Reservoir.

We finished up with short visit to Grassland Wildlife Area where we hoped that BURROWING OWLS would be viewable in the heat of the afternoon. We found 6 of them along with a few bonus birds, all in close proximity along a fence -- CASSIN'S & WESTERN KINGBIRDS, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. The grasslands held HORNED LARKS and VESPER & LARK SPARROWS.

PINYON JAYS put in an early evening appearance at Juniper Hill.

63 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Burrowing Owl, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds; Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; Horned Lark, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows; Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets; House Wren, Western & Mountain Bluebirds; Am. Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches; Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Pinyon Jays; Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers; Spotted Towhee, Chipping, Vesper & Lark Sparrows; Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks; Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
White Mountains Day 27: Day List 63  Trip List 185 (+3)
Out today with Dave Kubitsky from Lititz, PA who I've birded with on two previous occasions in SE AZ. We visited Big Lake Lookout, Nutrioso, Sipe Wildlife Area, Lyman Lake State Park and Grassland Wildlife Area in search of few target species -- Clark's Grebe, Dusky Grouse, Lewis's Woodpecker, Calliope Hummingbird and Pinyon Jay. It was another warm morning followed by a weak afternoon thunderstorm and some light rain (no lasting cooling effect).

On the way up the mountain, the meadows on Hwy 261 were again loaded with birds. We didn't stop to check but most were HORNED LARKS. An OSPREY was working over Crescent Lake as we drove by. An adult female WILD TURKEY with 8 youngsters in tow were along FR 249 just west of the Big Lake turn.

After four successful visits on this trip, for the second day in a row I failed to find a Dusky Grouse at Big Lake Lookout. We started an hour earlier than I did yesterday and put in 2.5 hours without success. Perhaps the male Dusky Grouse has changed its habits with the change in weather or the approaching fall season. An AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER in the parking lot was scant consolation. I picked up two new location birds -- my third high elevation BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER of the trip and a calling HEPATIC TANAGER. The only other bird of note was a lingering immature CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER (a breeder at this location). 20 species in all.

Driving east to Nutrioso, an immature BALD EAGLE was at Sierra Blanca Lake.

LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS were easy to find near Nutrioso (4+ seen) along with two ACORN WOODPECKERS. Somewhere in the distance, CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were calling.

A fifteen minute vigil at the Sipe feeders yielded at least two CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS (females, I haven't seen a male since August 8). BROAD-TAILED, RUFOUS and BLACK-CHINNED were also present.

A mid morning drive-stop-listen procedure along the Sipe entrance road soon paid dividends. We enjoy decent looks at several PINYON JAYS, including a very insistent immature bird that seemed perfectly capable of fending for itself. MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were in the same area.

The Clark's Grebe that was at Becker Lake earlier in the month seems to have left so we decided to make the short drive north to Lyman Lake State Park. The first stop that we made produced 2 WESTERN GREBES at the north end of the lake. Unfortunately, the road to the south end of the lake was closed so we had to abandon the search.

On the drive back south on Hwy 191, a chance stop at a small roadside pond was very  productive. Among the species noted were 8 WHITE-FACED IBIS, 9 AMERICAN AVOCETS, 20ish YELLOWLEGS, mostly LESSER and at least one GREATER, 1 WILSON'S SNIPE and perhaps as many as 20 WILSON'S PHALAROPES.

Dave and I parted company at the Grassland Wildlife Area where 6 BURROWING OWLS were sitting out in the afternoon sun.

I'm sure you'll be thrilled to learn that the spelling of "Algebra" at the school has been corrected.

Friday, August 24, 2007
White Mountains Day 29: Day List 81  Trip List 186 (+1)
As you probably noticed, no birding yesterday. I was unwell and never left Juniper Hill all day. Not the way I wanted to spend one of my few remaining free days. The only saving grace was that I picked up two new species for Juniper Hill -- a migrant BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER and a fly-by flock of RED CROSSBILLS. The monsoon briefly returned with rain and hail in the early afternoon.

As things turned out, I didn't spend today the way that I wanted either. I had planned to head north to Concho and Ganado Lakes. However, since I've had two consecutive Dusky Grouse misses at Big Lake after a run of four successes, I decided that it was time to give the old standby of Green's Peak a fair crack of the whip. For years this is where I went for grouse before Big Lake became my place of choice.

BLUE GROSBEAKS have really quieted down over the past week but a bird was singing as I drove through Eagar this morning.

I left Juniper Hill at 5:25am and reached Green's Peak at 6:10am. A really bad smell on the road up the hill turned out to be a dead calf that the COMMON RAVENS and TURKEY VULTURES were enjoying. It's not often that I see RED CROSSBILLS without hearing them first but, as I stepped out of my vehicle at the top of the peak (10,200 feet), 6 birds flew into a spruce and began feeding. I enjoyed scope views of male, female and immatures. I later heard and saw a flock of 20.

As I started working the power line cut, the sound of a singing RED-FACED WARBLER took me by surprise. First, that it was in this location at all and second, that it was singing (actually, two birds were present). I've noticed in SE AZ that this species sings just before departing. I huffed and puffed on the steep slope but saw only a couple of HAIRY WOODPECKERS and a few common dickey birds -- GOLDEN-CROWNED  & RUBY CROWNED KINGLETS,  MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, PYGMY & RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, BROWN CREEPER and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. After hearing the sound of falling pine cones, I traced it to squirrels at the very tops of the trees rapidly dislodging the cones, presumably for later retrieval. After about 90 minutes of effort, my prospects didn't look good.

However, I looked around and didn't see a fat lady singing. I changed locations and very soon bumped into a family group of  DUSKY GROUSE (4 well developed immatures and an adult female). The youngsters quickly headed for the trees and the female followed a little later. I tracked them down and got a few photos but nothing any better than I already have. Now the morning was looking a little better.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I checked Carnero Lake that usually doesn't have much in the way of ducks. I saw a couple of OSPREYS, EARED GREBE at a nest and a few flighty RED CROSSBILLS.

After a late breakfast at the Rendezvous Diner in Greer, I spent some time in a very quiet West Fork. Although I quickly found an immature AMERICAN DIPPER, I then proceeded to piss away an hour trying to get a photo. The bird simply would not budge from the shadows where it alternately foraged and preened. Other birds around town included BAND-TAILED PIGEON, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and a surprise EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (a location first for me). Is there anywhere that these birds won't go? I think not. A fast flying PEREGRINE FALCON was also in town.

I decided that a check of Sunrise Lake was in order and this turned out to be a good idea. Migrant duck and shorebird activity was pretty decent. The shallow eastern end of the lake has picked up some water and at least 250 GREEN-WINGED TEAL and 50 PINTAILS were present. Over 200 CANADA GEESE were out on the grassy flats where an adult BALD EAGLE watched the proceedings. I spent some time scanning with the scope and turned up WHITE-FACED IBIS, 5 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and 2 WESTERN SANDPIPERS. Fortunately, storm clouds were brewing so viewing conditions from distance were okay. Elsewhere I noted a lone WESTERN GREBE, 12 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 12 SHOVELERS, 20 GADWALL, 1 RING-NECKED DUCK, HORNED LARKS, VESPER SPARROWS and EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. 35 species in all.

My next stop was Becker Lake where the only species of note was a single SNOWY EGRET. I watched an OSPREY and a RED-TAIL have a mid air altercation that soon fizzled out. Migrant YELLOW WARBLERS worked the vegetation at the lake edge.

During a brief late afternoon check of Nelson Reservoir, I picked up CINNAMON TEAL, 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, BLACK PHOEBE, several flavors of swallows and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER.

PINYON JAYS were calling when I arrived at Juniper Hill and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was singing. I had decent looks at a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER that stopped by for a few minutes. WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAK on the nearby county road rounded out the day's birds.

81 species recorded:
Pied-billed, Eared & Western Grebes; Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, White-faced Ibis, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal; Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked & Ruddy Ducks; Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Dusky Grouse, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, Spotted & Western Sandpipers; Band-tailed Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds; Red-naped Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Horned Lark, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Cliff & Barn Swallows; Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets; Am. Dipper, Western & Mountain Bluebirds; Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches; Brown Creeper, Steller's & Pinyon Jays; Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Virginia's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Red-faced Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Spotted Towhee, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows; Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks; Eastern & Western Meadowlarks; and Brewer's Blackbird.

Saturday, August 25, 2007
White Mountains Day 30: Day List 77  Trip List 186 (+0)
First of two days of target birding with Richard Lasky from Tucson, AZ. Today we looked for 7 species --  Dusky Grouse, Williamson's Sapsucker, Am. Three-toed Woodpecker, Am. Dipper, Pinyon Jay, Clark's Nutcracker and Red Crossbill. We had a pretty good outing and managed 6, the grouse lives to fight another day. We lucked out on the weather which was relatively cool and overcast for much of the morning and the rain held off until we finished in mid afternoon.

I picked up Juniper Hill property species #70 as I left this morning -- a migrant HOUSE WREN.

I had a dilemma regarding the grouse -- return to Green's Peak and try to stumble into the family that I saw yesterday or stick with Big Lake Lookout that has been so reliable until recently. I chose the latter and we struck out even though we worked more of the area than is normally necessary. It was very quiet up there at 9300 feet under gray skies and the only bird of note was HERMIT WARBLER.

We fared much better in a burn near Three Forks that was very active at 9:00am. CLARK'S NUTCRACKER announced its presence as soon as we arrived. Shortly afterwards we saw a perched RED CROSSBILL, albeit at the very top of a tall tree. Best of all, it only took about 20 minutes to locate and see an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER at close range. Amazingly though, as we tried to maneuver into a better viewing  position (and looked away for a very short period), the bird managed to slip away. No matter.

We moved on to Sipe Wildlife Area where we again had good success. We found a pristine looking male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER near the visitor center (an immature lacking red on the throat). At one point the bird was in the same tree as a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and there was a little argy-bargy. Other migrants included a female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD perched in low scrub along the back entrance road, (my first away from feeders on this trip), ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, ORANGE-CROWNED, YELLOW, WILSON'S, and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, WESTERN TANAGER, a calling GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, LAZULI BUNTING and a chattering but unseen BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Out in the PJ habitat we heard and pursued PINYON JAYS (perhaps as many as 100) but never really managed a satisfactory view despite the investment of some physical effort. Further down the road we located more of them (a smaller group this time) and managed a decent view.

Our final destination of the day was West Fork in Greer. After checking the bridges in town, we walked the river in increasing drizzle and finally saw AMERICAN DIPPER after kids walking in the water flushed the bird our way. Other birds in the area included OSPREY, BELTED KINGFISHER, WARBLING VIREO and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER.

We encountered a thunderstorm and heavy rain as we returned to Eagar where the streets and parking lots were awash. After I left Richard, I stopped at Nelson Reservoir before the rain hit. Among the migrants that I noted were WHITE-FACED IBIS, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HOUSE WREN, VIRGINIA'S and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS. Also present were CINNAMON TEAL, BLACK PHOEBE and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

Sunday, August 26, 2007
White Mountains Day 31: Day List 67  Trip List 188 (+2)
Out again with Richard.  Today we had 4 targets -- Dusky Grouse (again!), Golden crowned Kinglet, Gray Jay and Gray Catbird. We located all four but only saw three. It was a beautiful morning after some early overcast; warm by midday. Storm clouds gathered by late afternoon and i