Dec. Species Seen

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

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

Sunday, December 2, 2007
Out today with Mandy Kachur and Doug Wathen from Ann Arbor, MI. I birded with Mandy earlier this year in March. Our time was limited due to an early flight but we managed roughly three hours apiece at Kino Springs and Patagonia Lake. After a few lousy weather days ranging from grungy to nasty, with heavy skies, rain and high winds, conditions were vastly improved today with plenty of sunshine after a chilly and cloudy start.

It was quite nippy when we arrived at Kino Springs shortly after sunup. Our first birds were both perched in the open -- GREAT HORNED OWL and a still roosting GRAY HAWK. We then had to chip away slowly for a while until activity increased with the increasing sunlight. This was the first time that I've seen Gray Hawk at Kino in December. In fact, I only have 3 records in November and my previous late date here was November 13, 2000. Most birds are gone by early October but there are signs that these birds are staying later with a few December and January sightings along the Santa Cruz drainage in recent years.

Birding ironies seem to be everyday occurrences for me so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we saw GREEN-TAILED, SPOTTED & ABERT'S TOWHEES in the same binocular view and didn't see the common Canyon Towhee all day. Also, we had great views of perhaps 30 LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES in the wash just north of the first pond and didn't see the abundant Lesser Goldfinch all day. Go figure!

I picked up two new location species -- WESTERN GREBE on the larger of the two ponds near the clubhouse; and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH in the clubhouse pines. Also present near the clubhouse were HUTTON'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, both of which are fairly uncommon at Kino.

Other species included GREAT EGRET, lots of AMERICAN WIGEON on the sewage pond, a few TURKEY VULTURES that had drifted east from Nogales, A lone INCA DOVE, at least 3 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, GRAY FLYCATCHER, a hatch year male VERMILION FLYCATCHER, a couple of PHAINOPEPLAS and a PYRRHULOXIA. 60 species from approximately 7:00-10:00am.

Patagonia Lake was a little less active than I had hoped but we still managed a few decent species through 1:00pm. An Elegant Trogon is once again wintering along the creek (seen yesterday) but we didn't have time to look for the bird.

The most activity we encountered was in the willow forest just shy of the creek. A large flock consisting mostly of RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BUSHTIT, BRIDLED TITMOUSE and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH also contained more noteworthy BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER and a late male WILSON'S WARBLER (heard calling for a while and finally seen well). Both warblers are no better than casual in December.

Species in the same general area included HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, singing PLUMBEOUS & CASSIN'S VIREOS (also in campground); several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and a high number of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.

Elsewhere we noted WHITE-WINGED & INCA DOVES, GREATER ROADRUNNER, GRAY FLYCATCHER, 30 LARK SPARROWS and CARDINAL & several PYRRHULOXIAS in the same binocular view.

A male BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER was along the trail about midway between the first and second wash; another bird called from hillside.

Highlight on the water was a male SURF SCOTER at the west end of the lake (first reported yesterday). This was a new location species for me bringing my list of species seen at the state park to 263.  Also present were 4+ "big grebes" including at least one WESTERN GREBE, NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, COMMON MERGANSER and several regular ducks. 55 species in all.

After parting company with Mandy & Doug in Sonoita, I picked up EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in town, several NORTHERN HARRIERS in the grasslands along Hwy 82 and a surprise TURKEY VULTURE almost at the Cochise County line. It's very unusual to see a bird this far east in December.

Monday, December 3, 2007
This morning I spent a few hours in Garden Canyon. The improvement in weather conditions continued today -- after a clear night and frosty start, it was pleasantly warm an hour or so after sunrise but fairly breezy by mid morning.

By far the highlight of my morning was a late CASSIN'S KINGBIRD at the fishing ponds. This was a December first for me in the Huachucas and in Cochise County. What few winter records there are generally come from Santa Cruz and Pima counties. The flight image is quite interesting and a total fluke. The bird was perched on an agave and I followed the "standard procedure" of (1) take a few shots; (2) walk a few steps towards the bird; (3) go to (1). Of course, the trick to playing chicken is knowing when to flinch. If only it were possible to know exactly how to determine the departure point! Still, in this case I liked the image of the bird taking off more than the perched images that I obtained.

With the high numbers of Lawrence's Goldfinches being seen in various SE AZ locations in recent weeks, I was really hoping (actually, expecting) to come across some this morning. Sadly, even though it was very "finchy" at the ponds, I neither saw nor heard any.  However, it was clear that CASSIN'S FINCH numbers were significantly higher today with quite a few males present among the 20 birds that I saw over 90 minutes. PINE SISKINS and LESSER GOLDFINCHES were quite numerous.

Also of the note at the ponds was the odd sapsucker that I found on November 14. Dave Beaudette had already seen the bird this morning and had hopes that it wasn't a hybrid. However, having now seen it well and obtained a fuzzy image, I don't have any doubt whatsoever that the bird is a hybrid. In my comments last month (after seeing the bird only briefly), I said "definitely not a pure Red-naped" rather than "definitely not a pure Red-breasted". The distinction wasn't intentional at the time but my sub-conscious must have been influenced by what I saw. In terms of pattern, the bird actually looks more like a Red-naped but it has way too much red for that species. Looking at the hybrid index scale (0-12), I'd put it at 5 or 6 (moderate black band below the red and a significant amount of white facial pattern).

Other species present among 35 noted were a displaying male ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, the continuing GRAY FLYCATCHER, PHAINOPEPLA, 2 CRISSAL THRASHERS, BRIDLED TITMOUSE & HUTTON'S VIREO (both fairly scarce here), many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, SPOTTED TOWHEE, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and PYRRHULOXIA.

My next stop was the Middle Picnic Area where I was disappointed to find the stream running high after the recent rain. Needless to say, listening for birds was quite difficult. I only managed a dozen or so species with TOWNSEND'S WARBLER the pick of the bunch.

The Lower Picnic Area was even less productive, although 10 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS and a very active and loudly calling HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER were new for the morning. At least two TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS were present but I couldn't rustle up a Painted Redstart.

By the time I reached Lower Garden Pond it was very breezy and I saw hardly any birds at all.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Out today with Tom Delaney and Judy Johnstone from Danville, CA. We looked for rarities (extremely unsuccessfully) on the Old Baldy Trail in the Santa Rita Mountains. Ergo, a short and sour report follows. More outrageous December weather -- it was extremely mild when I left home at 5:30am and it was downright warm on the Old Baldy Trail in the early afternoon.

My drive in darkness over to Madera Canyon to meet Tom and Judy yielded a BARN OWL on highway 83 near the entrance to Las Cienegas.

On the Old Baldy Trail, we worked the area above and below the now famous "X" for a number of hours without a sniff of Aztec Thrush (or any of the other rarities for that matter). Much of the fruiting Madrone in this area is now gone and we didn't even see any American Robins and only a few HERMIT THRUSHES compared to recent visits. The tree a little above the "X" where I saw the Aztec Thrush on November 27 had very little fruit and that was the same for the next 1/2 mile further up canyon. In contrast, the lower part of the trail has lots of Madrone trees laden with ripe fruit. This area had the bulk of the Hermit Thrushes that we saw.

Birds in general were very hard to come by and we didn't see a single mixed flock in the upper area. The best birds were the continuing GREATER PEWEE just below the "X" and a few calling HEPATIC TANAGERS, one seen in the parking area. All three nuthatch species were present and we had good views of a PAINTED REDSTART near the parking area. ARIZONA WOODPECKER and OLIVE WARBLER called from some distance away. Less than 20 species recorded in 6+ hours on the trail. Yikes!

Thursday, December 6, 2007
Out today with Erika Wilson and Kerrie Kirkpatrick from good old Sierra Vista. We spent most of our time grassland birding in San Raphael Valley. Early morning conditions were excellent and it was again surprisingly mild given the overnight clear sky. Calm and clear conditions gave way to increasing high cloud cover and it was fairly windy by early afternoon.

We drove to the valley early via Fort Huachuca west gate in order to be on site just after sunrise. At least 6 NORTHERN HARRIERS and 4 WHITE-TAILED KITES were already active along FR58 before the sun made its appearance.

Our morning began very well at the west end of the valley and it didn't take long to find the "good" sparrows. We enjoyed satisfying scope views of BAIRD'S SPARROWS and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS -- a total of 4 Baird's (2 and 2) and 8 Grasshopper (3 and 5) in two separate locations. Other regulars included SAY'S PHOEBE, HORNED LARK, SAVANNAH & VESPER SPARROWS, EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and fly-by CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS. We later saw a small group of longspurs perched on the fence wires along FR58 (males with extensive, but not intensive, black). A small flock of 6 male WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were at the start of Meadow Valley Flat Road.

We moved on to Bog Hole where we spent a productive 90 minutes despite a bothersome wind towards the end. The pond has plenty of water and marsh habitat is green and healthy; cottonwoods have lost  most of their leaves. Highlights were a female BUFFLEHEAD, 3 fly-by male COMMON MERGANSERS (a valley first for me), a female/immature MERLIN and 2 WILSON'S SNIPES. We also had many close up looks at a couple of constantly active WHITE-TAILED KITES. Other species present among a total of 30 included a calling SORA, adult male and hatch year male VERMILION FLYCATCHERS and numerous MARSH WRENS.

The only bird of note among a dozen species on the drive down Harshaw Canyon Road was a GILA WOODPECKER well into the oak zone.

An early afternoon visit to "the longspur spot" off Upper Elgin Road in the Sonoita grasslands was not productive and not just because of the wind (this is the spot that hosted a Lapland Longspur last winter). It's clear that cattle have not used the area for a while and the overgrown vegetation is not conducive to viewing longspurs (even if present!). We found another nearby location that was a little better (shorter grass and some bare dirt) and eventually turned up 15 CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS in addition to HORNED LARKS, a few sparrows and a LARK BUNTING. My clients from yesterday were leaving as we arrived and may have seen a Sprague's Pipit.

Sunday, December 9, 2007
Heavy clouds enveloped the Huachucas and fresh snow was visible at higher elevations this morning following the latest bout of wintry weather. I had to do some serious ice scraping before heading out to Sierra Vista EOP.

There was a low turnout at the EOP and the birds were in commensurately lower numbers than usual. It was cold and windy and many common species (especially sparrows) went undetected. Raptors were in short supply with only 2 NORTHERN HARRIERS and 3 RED-TAILED HAWKS in evidence and nary a falcon species to be seen, not even a Kestrel. The only species in greater numbers than normal were KILLDEER, HOUSE FINCH and YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER.

Hard to find any highlights but my man of the match award goes to the always delightful BUFFLEHEAD (3 males, 3 females) with assists from LESSER SCAUP (2 males, 2 females) and the wintering ROCK WREN (only briefly vocal and visible today).

The least common species was the (presumed) continuing SWAMP SPARROW that I heard call once.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007
After a couple of dismal days of rain, snow and wind, the winter storm finally moved on today. However, it's still on the cold side and I was once again ice scraping this morning. I decided to check Parker Canyon Lake on the southwest side of the Huachucas (something that I do once or twice each winter). I like to circumnavigate the Huachucas on these trips but the road over Montezuma Pass remains closed. Consequently, I traveled via Fort Huachuca West Gate on outbound and return journeys.

It was a treat for me to head out through the northern section of the Huachucas in daylight, not that I saw much. Heavy clouds covered the mountains down to about 6000 feet and the first real view that I had was of Blacktail Canyon where snow was very evident. Conditions to the north were better and the Whetstone range looked quite spectacular. Although a band of clouds covered the central section of the mountains, I could see the base below the clouds and the colorful peaks catching the morning sun.

I arrived at Parker Canyon Lake at 8:00am and had the place to myself for quite a while. The sun was only just breaking through and I could barely see the far end of the lake through low hanging clouds from my vantage near the store. I stuck at it for 3 hours without seeing anything unusual. I'd hoped for Common Loon and Osprey (both occasional); and Bald Eagle (regular) but saw none of the above (and I hiked over the hills from Rock Bluff to check the Parker Canyon arm of the lake to make sure that I didn't miss anything). While I have to say that the birding was a little disappointing, the spectacular views of the snow covered Huachucas more than made up for that.

PIED-BILLED, EARED & 6 WESTERN GREBES (the latter well in the minority) were the most conspicuous early birds out on the mist shrouded water. The ever present GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES near the store seemed annoyed that I'd disturbed their peace. Fruit eating species were the most obvious landbirds -- several flocks of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, many PHAINOPEPLAS and a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD were present. The pictured female Phainopepla and Mockingbird were definitely not the best of friends. Phainopeplas are very territorial in winter and seem to defend mistletoe from all comers. However, in this case, the mocker was the most aggressive of the two.

Apart from RUDDY DUCK (common), ducks were surprisingly scarce and I only managed about 30 COMMON MERGANSERS and a handful of GADWALL. My walk to the Parker Canyon arm was not particularly productive but I almost managed to vanquish a photographic nemesis -- BELTED KINGFISHER. Almost being the operative word! These birds are super cautious. Anyone who has a managed good photo has my admiration.

The most noteworthy of the 30 species that I saw was a single WESTERN SCRUB-JAY (a first for me at this location). I felt sorry for the bird after it scolded me just for passing by 20 yards away; and was immediately surrounded by a flock of MEXICAN JAYS for its indiscretion. They were on it like a ton of bricks.

On my return I detoured along Canelo Road that leaves Highway 83 at Lyle Canyon Road and rejoins it near the stream crossing in Canelo. This short stretch has some ranch property that I like to check. I counted at least 70 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS in the fields and saw lots of BREWERS & RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS feeding at a corral. This is a good spot to look for Mountain Bluebird but none have been reported yet. Surely, if they are coming this year, the current weather further north should encourage them to come soon.

Heading back through the fort, I almost talked myself out of checking the fishing ponds in Garden Canyon even though the location is only 10 minutes round trip out of my way. I'm glad that decided to go. Activity was quite decent despite the early afternoon hour, perhaps due to the temperature (low 40s). I was delighted to see a male REDHEAD on the Gravel Pit Pond. I knew right away that it was a new species for me in the Huachucas. 

Other species of note included a continuing GRAY FLYCATCHER (present since September), 2 CRISSAL THRASHERS, 2 CASSIN'S FINCHES (male and female) and an HEPATIC TANAGER. It's interesting to note that the thrashers are now quite regular here, yet I didn't see one at all in Garden Canyon until October, 2004 despite many regular visits since 1993. The female plumaged tanager (may have been an immature male) was only my second sighting at the ponds. The sighting was also my latest record in the Huachucas (previously November 19,1997 in Sawmill Canyon).

Schedule Notes
My time in California in 2008 has been extended by an additional client (now March 8-31) and due to AZ clients in early April, the opportunity for further CA clients has now ended. Better luck next year. May is now mostly booked and I only have time during the first few days and a couple of days at the end of the month.

59 species recorded:
Pied-billed, Eared & Western Grebes; Great Blue Heron, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Redhead, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers; N. Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Black & Say's Phoebes; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Bewick's Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers; Western Bluebird, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens; European Starling, House Sparrow, Cassin's & House Finches; Yellow-rumped Warbler, Hepatic Tanager, Spotted & Canyon Towhees; Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows; Dark-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds; Western Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Sunday, December 16, 2007
Apart from one day in midweek, I spent the past cold week slaving over a hot computer working on software projects. It was still cold this morning but cabin fever got the better of me and I headed down to Sierra Vista EOP. The temperature was somewhere in the mid 20s around 7:30am and had risen to 50 degrees by 11:00am under a partly cloudy sky. Unlike last Sunday, there was zero wind and despite the cold (some ponds had areas of ice) it was a much better outing with more birds to see.

By far the best bird was a single SAGE SPARROW at the north end of the ponds where the mesquite ends and more open, scrubby habitat starts. This is only the second year in the last fifteen years that I've seen this species here (two records in December 1998 in a similar location).

A single GREEN HERON was also noteworthy. This is a scarce species at the EOP (I've only seen one in 6 of 15 years) and this was my third December sighting.

Seeing these two species was a strong reinforcement of my credo "when it comes to birds, it rarely pays to be lazy". Given the cold conditions, it would have been easy to stay home this morning but it's these kind of days that often produce less common or totally unexpected species. I suspect that I'm preaching to the choir.

Apart from BUFFLEHEAD (3 males, 7 females) and a fair number of CINNAMON TEAL, the duck population remains about the same. Raptors were more conspicuous today and a PEREGRINE FALCON was back on duty. All of the regular sparrows were seen. SORAS were numerous and vocal in the marsh and a couple of VIRGINIA RAILS were heard grunting.

Other species included 2 EARED GREBES, lots of PINTAILS, 3 LESSER SCAUP, ~20 AMERICAN PIPITS scattered around the various ponds, a couple of LARK BUNTINGS, scads of colorful YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS and 20+ WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

45 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes; Green Heron, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal; Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked & Ruddy Ducks; Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Am. Pipit, Marsh Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens; House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Vesper, Sage, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows; Lark Bunting, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds; Western Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, December 17, 2007
Today I birded at the the southern end of Sulphur Springs Valley. The morning began much warmer than yesterday (even at the coldest point around dawn) and by 1:00pm it was mostly sunny and quite warm compared to recent days.

As on several recent visits, I once again failed to find any Mountain Plovers in the fields bounded by Davis road and Central highway. I worked the various fields from dawn to about 8:30am without sighting a single candidate. I found this extremely disappointing so deep into December. The third field north of Davis on Central highway continues to have the best habitat. I formed this opinion based on visual inspection (lowest cropped, smoothest grass) and KILLDEER count (about 50 birds in this field, very few in any of the other fields). FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were easy to see with perhaps 20 birds distributed across the fields that I checked. I also saw a couple of large flocks of LARK BUNTINGS and many WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

Coffman Road was a little less productive than normal but did produce the only BENDIRE'S THRASHER of the morning.

I spent the next 4 hours at Whitewater Draw. Overall, the birding was quite decent but the last hour or so was ruined by a large party of school kids. Timing is everything. Despite missing a few common birds, I still managed over 50 species

In terms of location rarity, perhaps the best bird was a single winter plumaged adult male AMERICAN GOLDFINCH (I managed a poor photo that was only good enough to scale down as today's quiz bird -- it should have been easy for everyone!). Other less common species were GRAY FLYCATCHER, PINE SISKIN and SPOTTED TOWHEE (only my second record here and perhaps the same bird that I saw last month).

Shorebird habitat continues to improve at the expense of duck habitat. I didn't note any shorebirds apart from KILLDEER when I first arrived but I eventually turned up 15 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 1 GREATER YELLOWLEGS and 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS.

SANDHILL CRANES were plentiful by late morning as they returned in droves from feeding further north in the valley.  The white geese flock flew in around 11:00am and contained 150 SNOW GEESE and 2 ROSS'S GEESE. There could well have been a few more of the latter species but the birds were some distance away and life is too short. 

In the willow grove I watched a female SHARP-SHINNED HAWK catch a MOURNING DOVE and start plucking feathers before the bird was dead. I saw two Sharpies and two COOPER'S throughout the morning. Among the other species in the willow grove were the aforementioned Gray Flycatcher & Spotted Towhee; at least 25 BARN OWLS, 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, 5 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, BEWICKS & HOUSE WRENS, ABERT'S TOWHEE and a handful of PYRRHULOXIAS. The Barn Owls were easy to find in the almost bare trees (I had 17 in view at one time). However, I didn't focus on looking for all the owls present and I'm sure there were a few that I missed. Although the owls were easy to see, they were not easy to photograph because of twigs. I hate twigs almost as much as I hate wind. The guy in the photo wasn't too happy with me and sure let me know about it.

Species around the various ponds included EARED GREBE, CINNAMON TEAL, an immature BALD EAGLE, at least 4 VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, several MARSH WRENS, a few LESSER GOLDFINCHES, lots of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and a couple of COMMON YELLOWTHROATS.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007
First of two days general birding with Bob and Barbara Solomon from Seattle, WA, We won't be looking for any target species; whatever crosses our path will be fine. Today we visited Patagonia Lake State Park and Paton's Yard.

[Mountain Plover note: Imagine my chagrin when I learned that 24 Mountain Plovers were seen in the Davis/Central fields on Monday (the location that I've been checking regularly and as recently as Monday morning!). I took some solace in the fact that the birds were seen in the very field where I expected to see them (mid afternoon, close to the road).]

We spent 4 very pleasant hours at the lake that had few people on this midweek day. The weather was splendid -- clear sky, zero wind; initially quite chilly down by the water and warm by midday. We started near the marina, moved on to the the visitor center and finally hit the trail at the east end of the lake. We didn't make it to the creek but the wintering Elegant Trogon was seen there this morning

Our best bird of the day came in the marsh near the visitor center -- a LEAST BITTERN that quickly flew across the lake and disappeared into the marsh on the other side. At first, I tried to make the bird into a more expected Green Heron. However, the small size and yellow wing patches told the real story. By my records, this is a very irregular species at the lake in winter. Interestingly, I have a couple of January records but none for December before today. They regularly breed in the marsh close to the visitor center but this year they were very scarce.

At the visitor center feeders we found WHITE-WINGED DOVES, several ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS, GILA WOODPECKER, 2 LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES; and female CARDINAL and male PYRRHULOXIA for good comparison. Out on the water at this location we saw PIED BILLED & EARED GREBES, COMMON MERGANSER and 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS on the rocks (as opposed to straight up). An OSPREY working over the lake was only my second December record at this location.

I've lost count of how many hours I've spent looking for those pesky BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS. Today we easily saw a male near the top of the steps beyond the bench (a presumed female was calling nearby). It would appear that in order to get long, satisfying views with zero effort, the key ingredients to success are perhaps not to be looking for the birds and to leave the camera in the car. Also here were ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER and HUTTON'S VIREO.

Species seen along the trail included 8 COMMON MOORHENS, DUSKY & GRAY FLYCATCHERS (excellent close views of the latter), BRIDLED TITMOUSE, the continuing male BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and RUFOUS-CROWNED & LARK SPARROWS.

On the water we noted 2 NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, a handful of CINNAMON TEAL, lots of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, SHOVELER, AMERICAN WIGEON and a small mixed group of LESSER SCAUP & RING-NECKED DUCKS. 60 species in all.

Marion Paton's yard was very quiet for 30 minutes then very busy for 30 minutes. As expected, ANNA'S was the only hummingbird. We were entertained by 4 species of woodpeckers, 5 INCA DOVES, 6 GAMBEL'S QUAIL, an ABERT'S TOWHEE and a female CASSIN'S FINCH ( (but no partridge in a pear tree).

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Out again today with with Bob and Barbara. We visited Sulphur Springs Valley and the San Pedro River. Another splendid day to be in the field. I'll take birding locations for $500, Alex. It's almost the first day of winter -- where can you scrape ice in the morning, be in sunshine and 70 degrees in mid afternoon and see Vermilion Flycatcher and Snow Goose in the same binocular view? Sign me up. But what about June?

We began by checking that infamous field on Central Highway where 15 minutes of careful scanning turned up 2 very hard to see MOUNTAIN PLOVERS huddled up in the grass. I bet it was pretty cold in that field overnight. Among the other species present were the usual FERRUGINOUS HAWKS, a few SANDHILL CRANES (stragglers still heading north from Whitewater Draw), a fly-by LONG-BILLED CURLEW, a distant flock of HORNED LARKS and a large flock of LARK BUNTINGS.

On Coffman Road we added SCALED QUAIL, 10+ EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES, lots of BREWER'S SPARROWS, a few BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS and PYRRHULOXIA. More SANDHILL CRANES and LARK BUNTINGS were present.

Whitewater Draw did not disappoint even though activity was a little less than expected. Highlights were owls -- 3 GREAT HORNED OWLS and umpteen BARN OWLS (I didn't even attempt to count them); eagles -- a perched immature BALD EAGLE and a fly over adult GOLDEN EAGLE; and geese -- 150+ SNOW GEESE (a larger flock than Monday that I once again did not attempt to count), at least 4 ROSS'S GEESE and 7 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE.

Species in the willows and on the trails around the impoundments included many NORTHERN PINTAILS (most numerous duck species), 4 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, GRAY & VERMILION FLYCATCHERS and SPOTTED & GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES. 47 species in all.

A couple of hours working the trails from the San Pedro House in mid afternoon was tough going -- quite warm and very little action. Highlights were 12 CANVASBACKS on Kingfisher Pond, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER in the cottonwoods along the river, and a pristinely plumaged LINCOLN'S SPARROW bathing in the river.

The San Pedro House area had the most activity (all common species). WHITE-WINGED DOVES were in the largest cottonwood (they have become regular here in winter).

Monday, December 24, 2007
Software projects and soccer took a back seat to drop dead gorgeous weather this morning and I headed over to the monastery in St. David. A completely clear sky meant a cold start (low 20s overnight where I live) and the temperature was only 26 degrees when I left home at 8:00am. However, by 10:00am I was able to shed several layers and enjoy the sunshine.

At the monastery, I was hoping to study and learn from the CACKLING GOOSE that was first reported on December 19. The literature on the four members of the "cackling complex" is not very enlightening to say the least. Making matters worse is the fact that I have very little personal experience to draw on. Before today I had only seen three individuals -- a bird at Kino Springs in 1999 (I saw this bird 5 times from January 24 through March  4, 1999); a bird in Santa Maria, California in March 2006; and a bird in Oceano, California in April 2007.

Based on size alone, I'd have to say that the St. David bird is a "minima". Trying to apply the characters that I gleaned from reading Sibley's website notes (and other sources) was an exercise in frustration. I'm not saying that the notes are incorrect or misleading, just confusing. There are very few hard facts and words like "usually, normally, occasionally, sometimes, often, although, but" are liberally interspersed throughout everything that I have read. The bottom line is that color and the absence or presence of a white collar are not definitive. About all I that I could take to the bank is that the "minima" subspecies is the smallest of the small and is probably (there goes one of those words) the only subspecies of Cackling Goose that is safe to call outside of their normal area.

I took a few photos with different equipment in varying light and at different distances; all of which give a different impression of the bird. Here are a couple of my standard type of photos -- image #1 shot tripod mounted with Canon 1D Mark 2 (1.3X focal length multiplier), 400mm lens and 2X converter (effective focal length 1040mm); and image#2 shot hand-held with Canon 20D (1.6X focal length multiplier), 300mm lens and 1.4X converter (effective focal length 672mm).

You'll note that the first image gives a lighter appearance to the bird and you can see some rufous tones showing through on the head. The second image is darker and the head appears almost black. I deliberately made it this way to show that photos can (sometimes/often) be misleading. Obviously, this bird does not have a white collar. The bird is very small and is about the size of a Mallard (many present); no bigger than any and smaller than most. This size comparison shows the bird in the water next to a MALLARD and on the ground, feeding next to an AMERICAN WIGEON.

Now, take at look at this head comparison of the St. David bird versus the birds that I saw previously in California. All birds are about the same (Mallard) size (although you can't tell in these images). Note bill size and that the CA birds have a white collar. Note also that the St. David bird is very rufous about the head. Does this simply mean that it is a juvenile? Perhaps minima does not show a white collar but the California birds were very small and (perhaps incorrectly) presumed minima. All very interesting stuff but I won't be spending the rest of my life looking for answers. By the way, this was the 158th species that I've seen at the monastery.

There were a few other interesting birds present. In fact, I didn't see the goose when I first arrived and spent an hour just wandering around. In the category of "wonders never cease", I managed to get my first ever usable image of a BELTED KINGFISHER. It's not great because I was too far away and wobbling on one knee trying to aim through twigs (did I mention before that I hate twigs, yeah I did). Nevertheless, it's a start and now I can work on getting something better.

Other stuff included a GREEN HERON that I saw after an hour messing around trying to get goose photos (the bird surprised me when it flew out of the marsh just feet from where I was standing); SHARP-SHINNED & COOPER'S HAWKS; more than 30 WHITE-WINGED DOVES; RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (uncommon here in winter), GRAY FLYCATCHER (very reliable here in winter), a small group of LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES, one ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, numerous ABERT'S TOWHEE'S and side by side CARDINAL and PYRRHULOXIA. 40 species in all.

40 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Green Heron, Cackling Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Sharp-shinned & Cooper's Hawks; Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves; Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers; Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser & Lawrence's Goldfinches; Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers; Abert's Towhee, Song & White-crowned Sparrows; N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Western Meadowlark.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas everyone. I made a short and largely unproductive visit to Garden Canyon this morning. Although it was about 15 degrees warmer than yesterday morning, it actually felt much colder because of the wind (and you all know how I love the wind). I almost turned around and headed home when I realized how windy it was. In retrospect, that's probably what I should have done (it's not like I don't have anything else to do!). You know it's a bad day when you can't find a Mexican Jay or a Chipping Sparrow in Garden Canyon.

At the fishing ponds, ducks were much easier to see than landbirds and pickings were most definitely slim. However, there was one very good exception. I heard a distant "chup" call and thought "surely not", but off I went to investigate. My faith was rewarded because in almost the same location as December 12, I found a continuing female HEPATIC TANAGER. The sighting once again extended my latest record for the Huachucas. A nice Christmas gift for braving the wind. Why on earth the bird is hanging around here I can't imagine, although it's obviously finding enough food. The tanager stood out like a beacon in a bare and very twiggy tree where it seemed to be foraging successfully. I took lots of obstructed photos and managed nothing usable.

As I drove further up canyon, I stopped to allow a small group of SCALED QUAIL to cross the road. The birds didn't run and just ambled slowly across the road immediately in front of me. When I thought they had all crossed, I started to move forward and almost nailed a straggler -- the lucky bird actually walked underneath the car without being harmed by the rear wheels.

No report tomorrow -- Boxing Day soccer bonanza from the old country.

Thursday, December 27, 2007
I was scheduled with a client today but we postponed for a day or so to allow the current cold front to move through and (hopefully) allow the wind to die down. Being the dumb shit that I am, I went out anyway and headed over to Sulphur Springs Valley. Guess what, it was cold and windy. Apart from the wind and low temperature, it was a fantastic morning and viewing conditions were excellent.

After a spate of nights in the 20s (perhaps lower in the valley), large expanses of water at Whitewater Draw are well frozen. I can tell you that the wind blowing in over the ice on the westernmost dike was pretty damn cold at 8:00am this morning. Yikes! The upside was that I got to enjoy the icecapades, sometimes called "shorebirds, meadowlarks, sparrows and pipits on ice".

Ducks were congregated in the open water areas and easy to see. Most of the expected wintering species were present with PINTAIL and GREEN-WINGED TEAL most numerous. I particularly enjoyed a male CINNAMON TEAL and an always delightful male BUFFLEHEAD (almost snagged a photo but the bird spotted me at the last moment and skedaddled). Three RING-BILLED GULLS were sitting on the ice. No geese present from 8:00-10:00am.

Landbirds and shorebirds seemed more numerous than of late. Perhaps it was just that they were easier to see out on the ice. I noted 15+ LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 50+ LEAST SANDPIPERS and at least 6 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS (probably many more) working the edges of the impoundments. You can tell there's a stiff wind blowing up the rear of the pictured bird.

I watched a female COMMON YELLOWTHROAT picking dead bugs of the surface of the ice. 50 HORNED LARKS were foraging at the water's edge. A bright red VERMILION FLYCATCHER seemed incongruous against its icy surroundings. This SAY'S PHOEBE had a tenuous hold on its perch and was very soon battling the wind as it foraged (optimistically in my view) in typical phoebe fashion. I cranked up the shutter speed and battled the wind myself in an attempt to capture the SAY'S PHOEBE in flight. The image turned out quite well.

Raptors were not particularly conspicuous and the only bird of note was an immature BALD EAGLE. I also saw COOPER'S & SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS along with the usual RED-TAILS and HARRIERS.

In the willow grove I saw 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS (another in the barn) and many BARN OWLS (I didn't even think about counting them let alone attempt to count them). A single GREAT BLUE HERON (has been scarce here recently) was on the interior pond. GRAY FLYCATCHER continues -- I watched the bird foraging successfully in the sheltered environment of the willows. It's having an easy time compared to the Vermilion and Say's that I saw earlier.

After leaving Whitewater (where I recorded 48 species), I spent a couple of hours cruising the back roads east and north towards Elfrida. Lee Road had a PRAIRIE FALCON and very little else. Surprisingly, given the windy conditions, I did pretty well on sparrows. I found a single SAGE SPARROW in with many BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS and would have settled for that as the sparrow of the day. However, that honor eventually went to CASSIN'S SPARROW. In Arizona, this is a tough bird to come across outside of the breeding season and I wouldn't fancy my chances of targeting one on a cold and windy day in December (or even a nice day!). I was driving along slowly, trying to listen, when I heard the bird's excited chipping, soon to be followed by the bird as it perched in a bare mesquite for about 10 seconds.

I finished up with a check of the fields on Central Highway (north of Davis) where I was able to find FERRUGINOUS HAWKS, LONG-BILLED CURLEWS and MOUNTAIN PLOVERS.

Sunday, December 30, 2007
Out today with Nancy and Mike Boyce from MI who I've birded with on three previous occasions. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Spring's and Paton's Yard with the objectives of seeing a good variety of species and finding a few photo opportunities for Mike. Having postponed this day last week, today we reaped the rewards of a splendid weather day. After some overnight lows that dipped into the teens recently, conditions are now more typical for SE AZ in winter. I had to do some windshield scraping this morning and the afternoon high was close to 70 degrees. Mike was able to take advantage of many photo opportunities and we recorded a total of 90 species.

Birding at Patagonia Lake was a little slower than I had hoped for, perhaps due to a later than normal start. Our time along the creek was very unproductive in general and we didn't stumble into the wintering Elegant Trogon. Nevertheless, after five hours of slow and steady birding we came across 65 species.

In terms of seasonal rarity, a male WILSON'S WARBLER was perhaps the best bird (they are quite scarce in winter in SE AZ, although perhaps on the increase at this season). Less common species for the location were a couple of male COMMON GOLDENEYES on the far northwestern arm of the lake; a single male CANVASBACK seen somewhat surprisingly along the creek and 6 MONTEZUMA QUAIL sunning themselves on the dry hillside near the creek split.

We had good views of several regulars including VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA, numerous COMMON MOORHENS, GRAY & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and BLACK-THROATED SPARROW

Other species included lots of EARED GREBES, both cormorant species, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, 4+ male CINNAMON TEAL, the usual flotilla of COMMON MERGANSERS, COOPER'S HAWK, WHITE-WINGED & INCA DOVES, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, a decent sized group of AMERICAN PIPITS foraging in the mud, GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES and NORTHERN CARDINAL feeding on a barrel cactus. Not a bad last shot for 2007. Actually, I managed several better images but I liked this pose.

At Kino Springs we limited our birding to the clubhouse area. Highlights of 40 species were COMMON MERGANSER (scarce here despite a deep pond); RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, GILDED FLICKER, GRAY FLYCATCHER, 2 CRISSAL THRASHERS, a continuing (presumed irruptive rather than local) RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and a small group of LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES.

It was quite warm here in mid afternoon yet some ice persisted in the shade of the cattails that line the large pond. We watched a beautiful male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and a not so beautiful but charismatic MARSH WREN foraging on the ice.

Marion Paton's yard was popular with people and birds. A few less common species were present among 27 species seen. Bar far the best bird was an immature male BLUE GROSBEAK that made a few feeder visits. Although a common summer bird, Blue Grosbeaks are casual at best in winter and I only have 3 personal records in December. WHITE-THROATED SPARROW made a brief appearance (this is a rare but regular bird in SE AZ and seems to show up at the Paton's most winters). A few PINE SISKINS visited the Niger seed feeder and a SPOTTED TOWHEE skulked just once.

More regular fare included GAMBEL'S QUAIL, WHITE-WINGED & INCA DOVES, ACORN WOODPECKER, ABERT'S TOWHEE and LAZULI BUNTING.

A very nice day of "winter" birding.

Monday, December 31, 2007
First of three days of target birding with Mike Smith from Anchorage, AK. The original plan for this morning was to head to Sulphur Springs Valley. However, since Mike had picked up Mountain Plover and Sage Sparrow on his way down from Phoenix, we had some flexibility and time to play with. Two consecutive sightings of the now-hard-to-find Green Kingfisher on Saturday and Sunday prompted us to invest time in a trip to Arivaca Cienega. Unfortunately, we (and many other birders) didn't see the bird. Since the rest of our day went equally miserably, it's hard to imagine how things could have panned out any worse.

The drive from Sierra Vista to Arivaca Cienega took almost two hours and we then spent 3 hours looking for the kingfisher. We noted 30+ species during the search including SORA (heard), a GREAT HORNED OWL roosting in plain sight, great looks at GRAY FLYCATCHER, half a dozen or so AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and a SWAMP SPARROW. Gray Flycatcher was actually a target bird and was the only redeeming feature of the day.

After leaving the refuge, we checked the stream crossing in town then drove the Ruby Road to Peña Blanca Lake. Some areas of the road as far as the California Gulch turnoff are in very bad condition with several rutted sections and one particularly difficult water filled stream crossing to negotiate, This wasn't an easy drive in a small rental vehicle and definitely not recommended. The section from the gulch turnoff to Peña Blanca is in normal condition.

Can it get any worse? You bet! Peña Blanca Lake is the capital of the universe for Red-naped Sapsucker in winter (and the main reason why I chose to take this route), but could we find one today? Almost three hours of searching didn't produce a single sapsucker. At one point we heard tapping from what was almost certainly our prey but couldn't locate the bird. Still, since I've seen as many as 30 of them here, we should have been able to find several. What should have been a stop of a few minutes took the remainder of our day and we just made it back to Sierra Vista by nightfall.

Upon our arrival at the lake, a heard only CANYON WREN set the tone. The bird seemed just a few feet away but we could not lay eyes on it. In contrast, a nearby ROCK WREN was easy to see. All of the tapping that we managed to turn into sightings turned out to be LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS (at least 5) and FLICKERS. We came across 30+ species with little of note save for HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (a winter regular at the lake).

Definitely not a high note to end 2007.

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

Dec. Species Seen

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

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