Sept. Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - September, 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, September 27, 2007

Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Back on duty in good old SE AZ after my summer White Mountain escape (White Mountain trip summary). Today was the first of four days with Terry Bronson from Fremont, NH who has lots of new bird possibilities. We spent the entire day in the canyons of Fort Huachuca. After a sunny start, the day became very cloudy and relatively cool.

Lower Garden Canyon was very birdy early this morning and it took us almost four hours to reach Sawmill Canyon. WESTERN KINGBIRDS were super abundant and they must have had a very successful breeding season. CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS were definitely in the minority. VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS are gathering in numbers as they do at this time every year. Plenty of song from BOTTERI'S SPARROWS (some carrying food, presumably to young still in the nest) and some were still singing at 3:30pm. RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS and a few BLUE GROSBEAKS were also singing in the grassland. I was surprised not to hear a single Cassin's Sparrow.

Also in the mesquite-grassland were calling SCALED QUAIL, a calling CRISSAL THRASHER near the fishing ponds, adult and immature VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, PHAINOPEPLA, a few migrant WESTERN TANAGERS; GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES, migrant/wintering CHIPPING, BREWER'S & LARK SPARROWS and LAZULI BUNTING.

Further up canyon, we picked up the usual dickey birds plus PAINTED REDSTART, a singing male SCOTT'S ORIOLE and several HEPATIC TANAGERS at the middle picnic area. The noisy calls of SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS led us to the stream crossing at the upper picnic area (and two separate groups were further up canyon). All will likely be gone in the next few days (my latest SE AZ record is September 15). We also found ARIZONA WOODPECKER, PLUMBEOUS & CASSIN'S VIREOS, numerous NASHVILLE and a couple of BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS. All told on the outbound and return journeys we recorded 50 species in Garden Canyon.

In stark contrast, Sawmill Canyon was very quiet (as it often is at this time of year). Fortunately, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS vocalized enough for us to locate them and we enjoyed good views. We improved on the views of ARIZONA WOODPECKER and PAINTED REDSTART and came across a few YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS. A lone HERMIT THRUSH was just a tad early for this location (they normally show up in mid month). MEXICAN JAYS eventually led us to a GREAT HORNED OWL that was a location first for me after almost 15 years of birding in the canyon.

Scheelite Canyon was mostly quiet although we did encounter a few active spots. We didn't check the entire canyon and I didn't find a Spotted Owl in the locations that we did check. Highlights were 3, possibly 4 ELEGANT TROGONS, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER and several warbler species -- ORANGE-CROWNED, several NASHVILLE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, TOWNSEND'S, 2 HERMIT and WILSON'S; and 3 extremely close PAINTED REDSTARTS.

Other species in the canyon were RED-TAILED HAWK (quite rare here), BAND-TAILED PIGEON, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY (all heard only); WESTERN & HEPATIC TANAGERS, 6 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and a singing RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW. 27 species in all.

Thursday, September 6, 2007
Out again today with Terry on what was a very dreary, gray and soggy morning in southeast Arizona. Birding was difficult to say the least but we stuck at it and eventually managed to see a decent selection of birds. I don't mind the rain at all but constantly wet optics I can do without.

We began at Patagonia Lake State Park where conditions were perhaps at their worst. We avoided walking the muddy trails and wet grass and concentrated our efforts along the entrance road and at various vantages along the lakeshore. Sparrows were the first order of business. As yesterday, BOTTERI'S SPARROWS were very vocal and easy to see. Not so CASSIN'S, we heard a few singing but only managed a brief view of a distant bird. We also heard RUFOUS-CROWNED and saw RUFOUS-WINGED, BLACK-THROATED and LARK SPARROWS. Among the other species in the grassland were GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES and numerous BLUE GROSBEAKS.

VARIED BUNTINGS were easy to find but we could certainly have used better light to view this very colorful bird. One of the birds we found was perched up and singing while another was down in the grass feeding youngsters. Since we didn't walk the trails, passerines were at a premium. We saw NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS in a couple of locations, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER (heard only), NASHVILLE and YELLOW WARBLERS, SUMMER (heard) and WESTERN TANAGERS and a few common species. Close inspection of a wire full of BARN SWALLOWS produced one BANK SWALLOW.

Among the birds out on the water and in the marshes were 5 EARED GREBES, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (Neotropic not detected), GREEN HERON, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, GREAT EGRET and CINNAMON TEAL. 55 species at the State Park in 3.5 hours.

Kino Springs was slightly less soggy and quite productive (50 species, 2.5 hours). At least two TROPICAL KINGBIRDS continue near the club house and we found a total of three GRAY HAWKS, one at the first pond and two at the Santa Cruz bridge beyond the club house (we had to work hard for these but eventually ended up with killer views). Seven BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS were at the larger of the two club house ponds along with COMMON MOORHEN, two SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, BELTED KINGFISHER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, my season first MARSH WREN and VARIED BUNTING.

At the first pond we found numerous calling SORAS, a calling CRISSAL THRASHER that flew across the road and out of sight, BANK SWALLOW, WARBLING VIREO, ABERT'S TOWHEE, RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW (wonderful, close up views), scads of LAZULI BUNTINGS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Marion Paton's yard was alive with hummingbirds (and bees!). Five species, most females/immatures -- BROAD-BILLED were most common (plenty of males of this species) closely followed by BLACK-CHINNED (one male) with a couple each of VIOLET-CROWNED, RUFOUS and ANNA'S. An immature COOPER'S HAWK on the wood pile probably kept other species subdued. WHITE-WINGED DOVES (flying pigs) were numerous at the seed feeders and a few INCA DOVES worked the spillage on the ground.

In Sonoita we picked up SWAINSON'S HAWK (also plenty on Hwy 90 north of Sierra Vista) and our final stop of the day at Las Cienegas quickly produced a perched GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.

Friday, September 7, 2007
Day 3 with Terry. We began at Whitewater Draw in Sulphur Springs Valley then spent some time in the Chiricahuas before finishing up at Willcox. The day promised more of the same in terms of weather and it was indeed raining as we left Sierra Vista before dawn. However, conditions improved as we traveled east and we managed to stay dry apart from some light rain during a short thunderstorm at Rustler Park.

We were on the road early enough to pick up LESSER NIGHTHAWK as the first bird of the day.

Our initial birding along an active Coffman Road at the southern end of the valley was very productive. Highlight was a couple of well seen CRISSAL THRASHERS, initially seen perched up in mesquite then foraging on the road. BREWER'S SPARROWS were very common here. Others included SWAINSON'S HAWK (common everywhere today), EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, migrant YELLOW & WILSON'S WARBLERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and BLACK-THROATED & SAVANNAH SPARROWS.

Whitewater Draw (high water) was also very productive and a couple of hours birding here was way too little time. We didn't enter the south willow grove (and it may not have been possible anyway) and didn't check some of the water areas. Nevertheless, we still turned up 60 species. The most interesting bird was a lone BAND-TAILED PIGEON, my first at this location and one of my few lowland records in SE AZ.

Highlights were all three "regular" EGRET species, an estimated 70 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE that flew in around 8:00am, 2 BLACK TERNS, GREAT HORNED & BURROWING OWLS, PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, BENDIRE'S THRASHER, 2 CRISSAL THRASHERS and many YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Other species present included 22+ WHITE-FACED IBIS, a smattering of ducks (7 species, PINTAIL most common), 12 BLACK-NECKED STILTS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, lots of (uncounted) WILSON'S PHALAROPES scattered around the various ponds, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, ORANGE-CROWNED, YELLOW & WILSON'S WARBLERS, ABERT'S TOWHEE, a small flock of LARK BUNTINGS, my first LINCOLN'S SPARROW of the season, BLUE GROSBEAK a few LAZULI BUNTINGS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

GOLDEN EAGLE on highway 181 near Turkey Creek was an excellent bonus bird. In the mountains we had to work hard for MEXICAN CHICKADEE, heard on Pinery Canyon road and eventually seen at Rustler Park after a lengthy chase as the rain threatened. By comparison, the often elusive JUNIPER TITMOUSE was relatively easy to find on the Paradise road. We encountered NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL three times including a well seen individual on the Pinery Canyon road.

Among the other species in the mountains were BAND-TAILED PIGEON at Rustler, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER near Paradise, HAMMOND'S & GRAY FLYCATCHERS, GRACE'S & TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS, VESPER SPARROW and a small group of RED CROSSBILLS at Rustler. 50+ species in all.

Willcox had a decent selection of shorebirds despite high water. A short stop (~1 hour) in late afternoon produced 30+ species. However, it's necessary to check the temporal ponds in order to give yourself the best chance weeding out shorebirds and this obviously takes lots of time. Least common species was a lone winter plumaged FORSTER'S TERN. Among the shorebirds that we noted were 1 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 3 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, 3 STILT SANDPIPERS and 4 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES.

Saturday, September 8, 2007
Fourth and final day with Terry. Our objectives for the day were to turn 5 heard-only species into sightings (80% success) and to add whatever other species that we could without traveling too far. We split our time between the San Pedro and Carr Canyon. A much warmer day (~90 degrees in Sierra Vista); clear and sunny to start, increasingly cloudy and humid as the day progressed; no rain.

It's been a couple of months since I was on the San Pedro so I wasn't quite sure of the conditions. As usual at this time of year, the trails are very overgrown and walking in some areas was difficult. Thankfully though, mud due to recent rain was not much of an issue. To minimize problems, we spent most of our 4+ hours away from the river corridor along the del Valle road and in the washes. We turned up over 60 species including a few less common for this location including NORTHERN CARDINAL, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

BREWER'S SPARROW was by far the most conspicuous species throughout the mesquite-grassland, an area that was alive with birds. A few BOTTERI'S SPARROWS were singing but we only heard a brief burst of song from CASSIN'S SPARROW and never managed to locate the bird. Other species seen in this habitat included COMMON GROUND-DOVE, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, a migrant DUSKY FLYCATCHER, several ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, many WESTERN and a few CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, a couple of WESTERN TANAGERS, ditto for MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and plentiful BLUE GROSBEAKS & LAZULI BUNTINGS, particularly the bunting.

At a very muddy brown kingfisher pond we only saw BELTED KINGFISHER, although I saw a report that a Green Kingfisher was seen here on Friday. Green Kingfisher has seriously declined on the San Pedro over the past ten years and is now mostly a late fall and early winter bird.

Species in the dense vegetation along the fast flowing and equally muddy brown river were not conspicuous. About half of the species detected were heard-only including GRAY HAWK, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (I briefly saw a juvenile) and SUMMER TANAGER. Among the species seen were WARBLING VIREO, WILSON'S WARBLER and LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

We didn't arrive in upper Carr Canyon until late morning so, not surprisingly, birds were hard to come by. We persevered and eventually turned up a handful of targets including GREATER PEWEE and a few warblers -- great views of an adult male OLIVE WARBLER and decent views of a couple of GRACE'S WARBLERS. We tracked a calling and constantly moving VIRGINIA'S WARBLER for 30 minutes but never managed more than a fleeting glimpse. Perhaps the highlight though was a flight view of a SHORT-TAILED HAWK approximately mid way between Reef and Ramsey Vista.

Other species present at Reef campground and/or along the road beyond Reef included ACORN, HAIRY & ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, PLUMBEOUS & HUTTON'S VIREOS, HEPATIC TANAGER, SPOTTED TOWHEE and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Although we missed a few species that are thin on the ground at this time of year, e.g. Lucy's Warbler, over the four days we recorded more than 180 species and Terry picked up almost 80 new species.

Monday, September 10, 2007
Web site notes: I've changed the size of the location bar graph displays. Please see site changes for more info. I've also updated my birdfinding guide review to reflect the the just released 7th edition of Tucson Audubon's "Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona".

Out today with Betty Blackstock from Tucson, AZ. Our focus was on identification techniques and we didn't look for anything specific. We spent time on the San Pedro and in Garden Canyon. A mostly sunny day in the 80s, not much in the way of cloud buildup but still a little humid.

Highlights on the San Pedro were my first RUDDY GROUND-DOVE of the season, a female just east of the San Pedro House (SPH); and a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO and NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET both in the largest cottonwood west of the SPH. I only have a couple of personal September records for the dove but there have been a few present near Hereford for several months. The Cuckoo was a particularly good bird since it becomes quite scarce in September and is often difficult to see even in peak season. My own latest record is September 27, 2002 at Kino Springs. The Tyrannulet was also a good bird since it's quite scarce at this location.

As on my visit on Saturday, we spent most of our time away from the river (running even higher today). BREWER'S SPARROWS, BLUE GROSBEAKS (still singing) and LAZULI BUNTINGS (mostly females) all continue common. All three regular towhees were easy to see, particularly GREEN-TAILED. Still some sporadic song from BOTTERI'S SPARROW. Migrants included DUSKY FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, LUCY'S WARBLER, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER (fairly common) and WESTERN TANAGER.

Garden Canyon was generally quiet but a little effort at the upper picnic area produced ARIZONA WOODPECKER, PLUMBEOUS & HUTTON'S VIREOS, NASHVILLE (common), BLACK-THROATED GRAY (2), TOWNSEND'S (2-4) & WILSON'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART.

A single SWAINSON'S THRUSH was a season first for me. This is a bird that I see far more as a spring migrant than fall (41 of my 46 SE AZ records are from May and June).

Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Today's report is unlikely to interest anyone except the serious student of Arizona birds (or perhaps county listers). For years I've intended to look for Rufous-winged Sparrow in Cochise County and today I finally did just that. I'm happy to report that not only did I find the bird, I was also able to confirm breeding.

While locally common in some areas of its restricted range in SE AZ, there's little in the literature to suggest that Rufous-winged Sparrow has anything more than a fleeting presence in Cochise County. Birds of Arizona (1964) doesn't show them at all in Cochise, the Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Arizona (1983) lists sightings near Tombstone in 1973-74. The Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas (2005) shows them as possible breeders in the Tombstone area and along the Pima-Cochise border.

With almost 15 years of birding throughout Cochise County under my belt without so much as a sniff of the bird at my regular haunts, I realized that I would have to get off the beaten path to have a chance (duh). I figured that the western foothills of the Whetstone Mountains would be a good place to look but, unfortunately, access is poor. I opted for the northern foothills where there is some limited access.

I headed south of I-10 on  J Six Ranch road (I-10 exit 297) and it didn't take long to locate several RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS about 2.5 miles south of I-10 and 1.2 miles east of the Pima-Cochise border. Habitat was a sandy wash in a moderately dense area of mesquite grassland (less dense than areas where I typically see these birds in Santa Cruz and Pima Counties); elevation was almost 4500 feet. I saw adults feeding fledged young and also heard several other birds singing. I first detected them via their often given piercing call that I liken to a "sucked in" whistle (i.e. a whistling sound produced by sucking in air, not blowing). This call is sometimes described as "seep".

A single CLAY-COLORED SPARROW in with BREWER'S SPARROWS was a just icing on the cake, a bonus bird for my efforts. Other species in the same area (quite birdy at 6:30am) included many GAMBEL'S QUAIL, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, a silent ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, HORNED LARK, three species of wrens, CANYON & GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, CASSIN'S (singing), VESPER, LARK and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, 20 LARK BUNTINGS, PYRRHULOXIA, several singing BLUE GROSBEAKS and a few migrant BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, WESTERN TANAGERS and LAZULI BUNTINGS.

A good few hours of birding turned into a really good day when I watched England beat Russia 3-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier. Man cannot live by birds alone, although I give it a damn good try.

Thursday, September 13, 2007
Today I took a road less traveled and birded north along Leslie Canyon Road from Douglas to Rucker Canyon Road; returning south via highway 191 with a brief stop at Whitewater Draw. Leslie Canyon Road parallels the very eastern edge of Sulphur Springs Valley and traverses the Swisshelm Mountains. There aren't any special birds to be expected here but a change is as good as a rest so they say. Besides, it's fall migration time and anything can show up anywhere.

I didn't see anything unusual but the sheer numbers of migrant SWAINSON'S HAWKS and BREWER'S SPARROWS were certainly impressive. Of note in Douglas were a few BLACK VULTURES and my first of season WESTERN MEADOWLARK. Black Vultures are almost unheard of in Cochise County but there's been a small enclave in Douglas for several years -- I saw a few soaring about a mile north of Mexico. The meadowlark was singing about 4 miles north of town along with BOTTERI'S SPARROWS.

By far the most common species along the southern section of Leslie Canyon Road was BLACK-THROATED SPARROW. I also noted SCALED QUAIL, several ROADRUNNERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, VESPER SPARROW, a few LARK BUNTINGS and WILSON'S WARBLER. In the juniper section further north I picked up CRISSAL THRASHER and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY. In the more open areas I saw lots of WESTERN KINGBIRDS and lesser numbers of CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, a mixed flock of ~400 swallows - mostly VIOLET-GREEN with a few TREE and CLIFF; and 4 singing BLUE GROSBEAKS. I recorded 35 species along the total length of the road from Douglas to Rucker (~30 miles).

An early Ferruginous Hawk in the fields along Rucker Canyon Road didn't make itself known to me (my earliest record in the valley is September 21 in 1997). SWAINSON'S HAWKS and LARK BUNTINGS were common. Almost 100 CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS were gathered on Central Highway.

By late morning it was very warm and I didn't spend much time at Whitewater Draw. Even allowing for my short stay, there were obviously far fewer birds out on the water compared to last Friday. Highlights were 30 AVOCETS, at least 50 each CINNAMON TEAL & PINTAIL, 3 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, GREAT HORNED OWL, MARSH WREN, BENDIRE'S THRASHER, a few LAZULI BUNTINGS and a flock of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

90 degrees when I returned to Sierra Vista -- June is making a comeback as it always does at this time of year.

Friday, September 14, 2007
Accompanied by Dave Beaudette, this morning I returned to the location where I found Rufous-winged Sparrows on Wednesday. If anything, the birds were more numerous and vocal today. After a relatively quiet start, we found a few pairs of singing adults and several juveniles. It's interesting to compare how juveniles look in life versus what is shown in books. In fact, most of the field guides that I own don't even show juveniles. Only the illustration in Sibley correctly portrays the extent of the streaked underparts. Also, the cheek of juveniles, while quite buffy, is not as well defined as most illustrations. Of course, these are all age related characters so illustrations can only represent a snapshot in time. I managed one shot of a juvenile RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW. Note the dark bill, shown pale in both the Sibley and Rising books. Unfortunately, the image doesn't show the extensive breast and belly streaking at all. Next time.

BREWER'S SPARROWS were less evident today but LARK SPARROWS were very numerous and more than made up for the deficit. Other sparrowy denizens of the mesquite grassland were GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES, CASSIN'S, VESPER, BLACK-THROATED & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and LARK BUNTING.

Other species noted included a silent and secretive ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, a calling and unseen CRISSAL THRASHER, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER and a singing BLUE GROSBEAK. About 20 species in the wash area containing the Rufous-winged Sparrows.

We bailed out early (already warm and uncomfortable by 8:30am) and after leaving the sparrows in peace, we visited the nearby Benson Wastewater Treatment Plant. Although I've driven by many times, this is an area that I have not visited before. Shorebird habitat is currently minimal because of fairly high water (just a few feet of shoreline along part of the periphery of the interior pond). While I'd have to say that it's definitely worth checking en route to Willcox, it's probably not worth going out of your way to visit unless a rarity is present. I'll certainly make it a regular stop if I'm passing by with time to spare.

Today we recorded 30 species in roughly the same number of minutes. Highlights were singletons of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (southernmost pond) and SOLITARY SANDPIPER (interior pond). We also saw GREAT EGRET, AMERICAN WIGEON, RING-NECKED DUCK ~5 SPOTTED, a few LEAST and 3 juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS; 30+ WILSON'S PHALAROPES, a handful of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, an immature female VERMILION FLYCATCHER, a fly-by SAVANNAH SPARROW and a small flock of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS including two dead without any obvious cause of death visible.

Monday, September 17, 2007
First of two days with Anne Jennings and Sharon Duggan from Berkeley, CA. After some really torrential rain yesterday afternoon and throughout much of the evening, I was worried that we wouldn't be able to do any birding at all today, especially with a 50% chance of rain forecast for today. As things turned out, we visited Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons on Fort Huachuca and managed to avoid rain entirely even though at times it seemed liked we would be soaked at any moment. Unfortunately, we did have to contend with intermittent windy conditions.

We started with a check of Garden Canyon fishing ponds where the highlights were a swimming SORA, a male MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LAZULI BUNTING. About 20 species in all including CINNAMON TEAL, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S & RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS feeding on flowers, WILSON'S WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAK.

Among the species in the grassland were NORTHERN HARRIER and COOPER'S HAWK. A soaring SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was a little further up canyon.

A stop at the middle picnic area produced PAINTED REDSTART and we picked up PLUMBEOUS VIREO at the upper picnic area.

Next, since Elegant Trogon was our primary target, we proceeded directly to Scheelite Canyon. Post breeding (and particularly in September), Scheelite is a reliable location for trogons, much more so than Garden or Sawmill Canyons. It's not often that I visit Scheelite without Spotted Owl being the main target. Eventually, we managed multiple views of male and female ELEGANT TROGONS as reward for some steady effort over several hours (the birds ranged from 1/4m to 1/2m).

For good measure, we also found a pair of SPOTTED OWLS in the lower roosting area. We spent some time at the pools above the lower roosting area but it was quite windy and we saw nothing at all there. Except for CANYON WREN and PAINTED REDSTART, most of the other species in Scheelite were heard-only including ARIZONA WOODPECKER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY and HEPATIC TANAGER.

We didn't get to Sawmill Canyon until noon and the downside of visiting Scheelite first was readily apparent. Birds were really quiet and we even had trouble finding YELLOW-EYED JUNCO (just a fleeting glimpse of one individual). Given the time of day and wind noise, it was hardly surprising that I was unable to detect Buff-breasted Flycatcher. Nevertheless, there's still a fair chance that a few birds could still be present. Some years they leave Sawmill by mid September but I have quite a few records later in the month and even a few in early October. Very little in the canyon save for ACORN & ARIZONA WOODPECKERS and the usual MEXICAN & STELLER'S JAYS.

Generally a quiet day in the mountains with most birds hard to come by. However, any day with Elegant Trogon and Spotted Owl has to be considered a good day.

56 species recorded:
Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks; Am. Kestrel, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Spotted Owl, Black-chinned, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds; Elegant Trogon, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers; N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes; Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; Violet-green & Barn Swallows; Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens; Curve-billed Thrasher, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays; Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Plumbeous & Hutton's Vireos; Lesser Goldfinch, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Green-tailed, Spotted & Canyon Towhees; Chipping Sparrow, Yellow-eyed Junco, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting and Red-winged Blackbird.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Out again today with Anne and Sharon. We birded at Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and Paton's Yard. The morning began quite cool (low 50s) with clear skies and warmed to the mid 80s with increasing clouds as the day progressed.

Patagonia Lake was very productive this morning and we tallied 75 species from 6:30am to 10:30am. We worked first on sparrows and had good views of all species seen -- BOTTERI'S (still a fair number of them singing), RUFOUS-CROWNED and VESPER in the grassland along the entrance road; RUFOUS-WINGED & BLACK-THROATED closer to the lake.

Next we worked on VARIED BUNTING, a species nearing the end of its stay. Once again we enjoyed multiple good views of a male. We also picked up LUCY'S WARBLER, a species that is super common earlier in the year but far from guaranteed this late in September. Other species noted before entering the park proper included WILLOW & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, WESTERN TANAGER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Very few waterfowl present on the lake and I didn't detect Neotropic Cormorants for the second consecutive trip. Shorebirds are never plentiful here so 4 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and 5 LEAST SANDPIPERS were a good return. OSPREY and BELTED KINGFISHER worked over the lake. We saw GREEN HERON and SORA in he marsh.

We did pretty well on flycatchers and added NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY, GRAY & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS plus the usual phoebes and VERMILION to those already seen.

Migrant ORANGE-CROWNED & NASHVILLE WARBLERS supplemented summer resident YELLOW WARBLER & YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and resident COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

GRAY HAWK, BELL'S VIREOS (as elusive as ever) and SUMMER TANAGERS are still present.

BARN SWALLOWS (also at Kino) numbered in the thousands with very few other swallow species noted.

Highlight for me at Kino Springs was a male LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH in the weedy habitat at the club house pond. This was my earliest fall record in SE AZ and only my third September record.

We had to work for a while to locate GRAY HAWK. None detected near the club house or beyond along the Santa Cruz. We eventually heard a couple at the first pond and saw one bird in flight. Other species included GRAY FLYCATCHER, LARK SPARROW and LAZULI BUNTING.

Marion Paton's yard was fairly quiet in the early afternoon but we did pick up 5 species of hummingbirds including a couple of VIOLET-CROWNED.

Friday, September 21, 2007
This morning I decided to check on migration happenings at Willcox. Due to a combination of relatively cool conditions (by Willcox standards) and plenty of birds, I ended up spending more time than I had anticipated and didn't get to any of the other places that I had planned to visit. I started before dawn at 6:00am when it was delightfully cool and didn't leave until 11:15am by which time it was starting to get uncomfortable. I began with a quick circuit of the main pond then spent some time working the golf course pond and trees looking for landbird migrants. Later in the morning I did a couple more laps of the main pond.

Shorebird diversity was quite decent and many individuals were present, a much better showing than on my last visit on September 7. Shorebird habitat is quite spotty around the periphery of the main pond but overall it's quite reasonable. The temporal pond near the golf course pond has all but dried up. Duck diversity remains very low. More migrant warblers than I expected were present. For the most part, wintering sparrows have not arrived yet.

Highlights were a few less common species, some of which I managed to document with a photo, albeit not very good quality images for various reasons. Species worth a special mention were:

GRAY HAWK - juvenile at the golf course pond. A new location species for me. This isn't really a species that I expected to see here but there are certainly enough trees to entice a migrating bird to take a break. The photo was taken from almost 100 yards away and the bird was in the shade (translation: no detail).

BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER - still mostly in alternate (breeding) plumage. I first detected this bird on the golf course along with tons of KILLDEER. Later, the bird moved to the main pond where I was able to get a photo (just one before the bird flew). I had to shoot through grass so the image again lacks detail. The bird was calling loudly and could hardly be missed. Black-bellied Plover is casual in spring, rare in fall with most records in October. Personally, I have 1 spring and 11 fall records scattered over 14 years.

DUNLIN - one winter plumaged individual at the main pond. This is one of the rarest regular migrants/wintering species and usually doesn't arrive until October. Today's sighting was my earliest for SE AZ (previously October 2, 1994 also at Willcox).

SABINE'S GULL - an juvenile bird that has an injured wing. The bird stayed fairly close to shore where it seemed to be able to feed successfully. I never saw it fly but it could swim without problems. Although you really can't see the drooping wing very well in the image, the injury appears fairly serious and chances are good that the bird won't be able to move on. Sabine's Gull is an irregular fall transient in SE AZ with most records from September and October. I'm averaging sightings every other year (10 records in 7 of 14 years in 5 locations). I suspect the bird is annual somewhere in the state.

You might be interested to learn that there's some predictability of its arrival. I monitor quite a few lists and last week I noted that Sabine's Gulls were being seen in Wyoming and North Dakota. They appeared in multiple SE locations just a couple of days later. This has also been the case in previous years. As Yogi reputedly said "you can see a lot just by observing".

The golf course pond had a few migrants including 5 species of warblers -- several ORANGE-CROWNED, WILSON'S & MACGILLIVRAY'S and singletons of YELLOW & BLACK-THROATED GRAY (new location species for me). I also saw BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, 2 immature male VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. The pond and marsh also hosted calling SORA & VIRGINIA RAIL, a very active and noisy BELTED KINGFISHER and a MARSH WREN. A few VESPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS were in the adjacent grassland habitat.

WILSON'S PHALAROPE was by far the most common (actually abundant) species on the main pond (also on the sewage pond back at the highway), perhaps over 500 in total. LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were also very common (100+). A lone SEMIPALMATED PLOVER was my first of season (detected by its chu-weet call). Other species included 1 WILSON'S SNIPE, 2 STILT SANDPIPERS and 10+ RED-NECKED PHALAROPES.

An interesting, educational (some useful data gathered) and productive morning.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Out today with Hans Spieker from Glenview, IL who I've birded with on one previous occasion. Today we visited the Chiricahuas and Willcox looking for a few target species and photo opportunities. Of 9 feasible target possibilities -- Red-necked Phalarope, Sabine's Gull, Black Tern, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Williamson's Sapsucker, Mexican Chickadee, Cassin's Vireo, Red Crossbill, and Hermit Warbler, we located 6 but saw only 4. It was a fairly cool morning (cloudy and mid 50s at Rustler Park); 85 degrees at Willcox in the early afternoon. A short report today.

Our drive through Sulphur Springs Valley produced a fair number of migrant SWAINSON'S HAWKS but they are definitely thinning out as the end of September approaches.

MEXICAN CHICKADEES were plentiful along Pinery Canyon Road and at Rustler Park. We picked up NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL at Rustler Park but the bird played hard to get and was extremely difficult too see high in the trees. Other targets here were a heard only fly-by RED CROSSBILL and several HERMIT WARBLERS in a fast moving flock that I saw briefly but Hans unfortunately missed.

Other species in the mountains included SHORT-TAILED HAWK (Rustler), BAND-TAILED PIGEON and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (Pinery Canyon); several HEPATIC TANAGERS and numerous OLIVE WARBLERS at both locations.

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and the continuing injured juvenile SABINE'S GULL were our two successes at Willcox. Shorebird numbers were way down from last Friday and we certainly didn't spend any time sifting through those that were present.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
I didn't have much time to allocate to birding today so I decided that a close to home visit to Garden Canyon fishing ponds was in order. With the increasing number of sightings of Lawrence's Goldfinches (including my own earliest ever record at Kino Springs on September 19), I was hoping to find that species at the ponds today (my earliest record at this location is September 30). Although I wasn't successful with the goldfinch, I did find a few less common species. Today was the warmest day for some time in the Sierra Vista area.

By far the best species was a single VAUX'S SWIFT that made just one pass over the gravel pit pond. I was fortunate to be looking up at just the right time. The swift is a rare to uncommon (at best) migrant in southeastern Arizona, especially in the eastern region where it is actually quite scarce. I only have a total of 4 records in Cochise County and today's sighting was #3 in the Huachucas.

Of particular note was a calling Abert's Towhee. As far as I am aware, there are no records for the Huachucas even though this is an abundant species on the not-too-distant San Pedro river. Unfortunately, since I was unable to track down the bird, I am not going to count what would be an unprecedented record for me (and in current literature). Interestingly, it's listed as common in Birds of Fort Huachuca (1981). What's wrong with this picture? By my records there are numerous inconsistencies in this publication, perhaps as a result of the coverage area which is not strictly in the mountains (includes locations east of highway 90). In fact, reading between the lines, it appears to me that some species are included because of their presence on the San Pedro (which would explain the common status for the towhee). I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has seen Abert's Towhee in the Huachucas proper.

Other less common species at this location were singletons of GRAY FLYCATCHER, ROCK WREN and LUCY'S WARBLER.

Both of the ponds have plenty of water but only the larger Gravel Pit pond had any waterfowl. At least six SORAS were at the smaller pond. The abundant weedy habitat around the ponds was frequented by LAZULI BUNTINGS, BLUE GROSBEAKS, GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES and a smattering of sparrow species including my first of season WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.

Thursday, September 27, 2007
Out today with Dan and Erin Gertiser from Commerce Township, MI. With lots new bird possibilities on the menu, I chose to visit Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs and Paton's yard. After a cool (almost cold) start at the lake, the day warmed to 90 degrees.

Despite the lateness of the season, we were able to find a few lingering species at Patagonia Lake. With the exception of resident RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS (many singing) and a very cooperative pair of  RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS, most sparrows were somewhat reticent and we hard to work a little to see them, especially BOTTERI'S SPARROW. What a difference a week makes.

The normally elusive BELL'S VIREO was surprisingly easy to see and VARIED BUNTING wasn't particularly difficult (although we only saw immature males that are not as colorful as adults). Migrant WESTERN TANAGERS were very numerous.

Flycatchers were not plentiful. In addition to the usual kingbirds and phoebes, we had great looks at NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET (detected and tracked via its "eek" call), a single GRAY FLYCATCHER and a couple of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS.

ORANGE-CROWNED was the most conspicuous warbler species. Others included singletons of NASHVILLE & BLACK-THROATED GRAY and a few YELLOW & WILSONS.

A migrant OSPREY was the only bird of note over the water. Not much in the way of waterfowl yet and I didn't detect Neotropic Cormorant for the third consecutive trip this month. 65 species in all.

A late morning session at a warm Kino Springs was productive (40 species, 1 hour). At least one GRAY HAWK continues at the first pond. No success with Lawrence's Goldfinch; even LESSER GOLDFINCH was scarce despite lots of good looking habitat. SORA was easy to see at the club house pond.

Highlights were a family group of BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS and my first of season RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. Less common location species were a migrant OSPREY and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS at a feeder..

We finished up in Marion Paton's yard where we enjoyed the hummingbirds -- numerous BROAD-BILLED and BLACK-CHINNED, two VIOLET-CROWNED and at least two ANNA'S. There's still at least one GRAY HAWK in the area. ACORN WOODPECKERS were at the seed feeders.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Thursday, September 27, 2007

Sept. Species Seen

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

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