Feb. Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 2009 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 Saturday, February 28, 2009

Sunday, February 1, 2009
Florida trip, Day 11: Daytona Beach to Tallahassee; Trip List: 142 (+2)
Today was mostly a travel day since I needed to make progress north in preparation for my return home on Tuesday. However, I also had a couple of objectives for the day -- try to improve on Red-cockaded Woodpecker images and to try for an American Oystercatcher image.

Although it was a mild 40 degrees when I left Daytona Beach at 6:00am, the temperature was down to freezing just 15 miles inland and a very brisk 29 degrees when I started birding in Ocala National Forest at 7:30am. Three perched up and cold looking FLORIDA SCRUB-JAYS were my first birds of the day.

While working on the woodpeckers last week, I quickly learned how to detect them by listening for their very unwoodpecker-like calls (an excited chatter, rather like a loud Pygmy Nuthatch). Once you've got this, it makes finding them much more likely as opposed to simply listening for tapping or looking for trees with white paint marks (which seems a bit like cheating to me). My audio learning experience certainly paid dividends today as I quickly located a number of RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS (somewhere between 4 and 6). Just as last week, the birds stayed fairly high in the pines. However, this time I was using a tripod and bigger lens so I fared a little better and probably have a "publishable image" to my current standards.

I found the birds in a very woodpeckery area. PILEATED WOODPECKER was the most common species (outnumbering the Red-Cockaded). I also saw several RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, DOWNY WOODPECKER and YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. Other birds in the area included BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH and lots of PINE WARBLERS. The distant bugling of SANDHILL CRANES piqued my interest. I'd have loved to stick around to explore the area more but, as Robert Frost said, "miles to go before I sleep".

I continued west to my next destination of Shell Mound near Cedar Key. This was a very pleasant drive through farm country on CR 316 in Marion County. Long time photo nemesis EASTERN BLUEBIRDS lined the road in places. Once again, I wished that I could linger. As it turned out, I might as well have lingered. I didn't get a sniff of a photo opportunity of AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER at Shell Mound; the birds were way too far away.

I did pick up a couple of trip species for my trouble -- a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS and a few RED KNOTS. Other birds on the flats included BLACK SKIMMER and WILSON'S PLOVER.

I saw more FLORIDA SCRUB-JAYS as I left Shell Mound. Three hours later I was in Tallahassee.

Monday, February 2, 2009
Florida trip, Day 12: Coastal areas south of Tallahassee; Trip List: 146 (+4)
Regular readers will be aware of my obsession with Murphy -- and with good reason. If it's possible, he gets his licks at a higher than normal rate when I'm travelling. Take today for instance. I'd planned a casual day for my last day of birding in Florida with the hope of improving on images of a few common species. Fat chance. It was a dreary, cool, windy and at times wet day and the clouds never lifted all day.

Despite the conditions, I spent the morning hours enjoying the birds at St. Marks NWR where I birded last week at the beginning of my trip. Between 8 am. and noon I recorded 60 species without seeing anything unusual. New trip species were COMMON GOLDENEYE,  BONAPARTE'S GULL, GREAT HORNED OWL and SONG SPARROW (how have I missed one over the past couple of weeks!). As last week, I was struck by the lack of duck species diversity and numbers -- very few individuals were present of the species that I did see.

After leaving the refuge, I made several stops as I birded my way down the coast as far as St. James Island (really a peninsula). Shell Point and Marshes Sands County Park were largely unproductive with just the typical coastal species present (although Shell Point yielded new-for-the-trip BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD). I was disappointed not to be able to scan the gulf and harbor from Alligator Point. This land is now owned by The Nature Conservancy and access was blocked.

Bald Point State Park was productive and I even tried some photography despite the really poor light. High tide roosters included CASPIAN TERN, BLACK-BELLIED, SEMIPALMATED, WILSON'S and PIPING PLOVERS; RED KNOT and fair numbers of WILLETS, RUDDY TURNSTONES, SANDERLINGS and LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS. DUNLIN was the most numerous species.

I scanned the bay for scoters (no success) and found only 10+ COMMON LOONS, plentiful BUFFLEHEADS and RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS and a few diving FORSTER'S TERNS.

Not the day I'd planned for my last full day but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Florida trip, Day 13: Tallahassee to Sierra Vista; Trip List: 148 (+2)
The journey home. I've always hated flying (I did a lot of it back when I wore a suit and tie) and these days it's even more of a hassle. However, as such days go, it wasn't bad at all. My Southwest flight was early evening from New Orleans to Las Vegas; then Las Vegas to Tucson. Consequently, I had plenty of time to drive over to New Orleans from Tallahassee. With this drive, I've now driven almost the complete length of I-10 over the years. For the geographically challenged, I-10 runs east-west from Jacksonville, FL to Santa Monica, CA. The bit that I'm missing is Jacksonville to Tallahassee. I'd actually planned to drive this route but a Purple Sandpiper at Ponce Inlet a couple of days ago foiled my plans. If I hadn't managed to photograph a bird there, I would have continued north to Jacksonville to try again (where they are perhaps more regular). Anyway...such is life. Purple Sandpiper image versus driving from Jacksonville to Tallahassee on I-10 (left and right hands outstretched, palms up, alternately going up and down).

Murphy gave the knife a little twist today -- clear and sunny -- would have been a great day down on the coast. Quite chilly though, with temps hovering around the freezing mark along the I-10 corridor until well beyond Mobile, Alabama. Sunny all the way to New Orleans.

I made just one scheduled birding stop at Shepard State Park in the city of Gautier, Mississippi -- and it was a productive stop. The park seemed to be mostly for RV camping but it also has a few trails amidst extensive pine and some broadleaf habitat. I found a number of the usual suspects of this habitat type including RED-BELLIED & DOWNY WOODPECKERS; CAROLINA CHICKADEE, CAROLINA WREN, TUFTED TITMOUSE, BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH and the omnipresent PINE WARBLERS (what a cracking song they have!). A swampy area with lots of dead wood produced a trip first WOOD DUCK. I inadvertently flushed 4 birds as I walked the trail.

Although I'd packed all my photo gear, I deliberately left the 40D-300mm hand-held combo easily accessible in case I found photo opportunities. I'm glad that I did because I was able to finally get a starter shot of a Caroline Chickadee and perhaps even Brown-headed Nuthatch. However, I was more pleased to get my first images of EASTERN BLUEBIRD. Over the years I haven't had a sniff of this species even though it's a resident in southeast Arizona and a bird that I see regularly. A dapper WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was another trip bird -- and the last; 148 was the final number.

My flights were on time and I finally hit the hay back in Sierra Vista at 3:00am. I'll put together a Florida trip report with photos as my schedule allows.

Friday, February 6, 2009
Back on duty in SE AZ today with Rick & Starr Stevens from Billings, MT, who I've birded with on two previous occasions. We spent all of our time in Sulphur Springs Valley -- the morning hours casual birding at Whitewater Draw; the remainder looking for Sage Sparrow, our only target of the day. The weather has been sunny and warm since I returned home; 84 degrees in Sierra Vista yesterday and the same in Tucson (17 degrees above average!). Today was a little cooler and quite breezy after mid morning. Thankfully, some much cooler (and wetter) weather is headed our way in the next few days.

Most of the usual suspects were present along Coffman Road and at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area. Several flavors of sparrows were plentiful along Coffman and we also saw SCALED QUAIL and lots of LARK BUNTINGS.

This is a good time for thrashers and we saw a singing CRISSAL THRASHER near the entrance to Whitewater, with a BENDIRE'S perched just a few yards away .

The goose flock came in early this morning (around 10:00am) but stayed well out of positive identification range. It wasn't until 11:00am when they came much closer that we could pick out at least 3 ROSS'S GEESE from the 150 or so SNOW GEESE.

GREAT HORNED and BARN OWLS were present (one of each); the latter was very tough to see deep in the willow grove.

Shorebirds noted were 6 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 11 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 3 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS and at least 40 LEAST SANDPIPERS scattered around the various impoundments.

A lone EARED GREBE was a February first for me at Whitewater. I have plenty of records from September through December and a few in January; none before today in February.

We noted only two VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, adult and immature males.

After leaving the wildlife area, we journeyed a little further north in the valley and worked very hard before finding a lone SAGE SPARROW (it took almost two hours of effort, working slowly through a mile of habitat). The windy conditions certainly made our task more difficult as did lots of BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS. However, persistence often pays and we eventually prevailed. This species is fairly numerous and usually easy to find north of Tucson and well west of Phoenix; numbers this far south are always much lower.

A few FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were at the usual Central Highway -  Davis Road fields. A lone TURKEY VULTURE was a major surprise at the same location. This may be one of the Douglas population or, more likely, an early migrant taking advantage of the warm weather. This species doesn't usually arrive in Cochise County until late February. However, as I mentioned last month, I was shocked to see a bird in my Sierra Vista neighborhood on January 20.

Saturday, February 7, 2009
Out today with Andy Shell from Redmond, WA and Bob Pietrusiewicz from Sierra Vista. This was our seventh time birding together and it was definitely our least productive outing by a large margin. Sinaloa Wren and Rufous-capped Warbler were our targets for the day. In addition to only hearing the wren, we saw very few birds to enjoy. If fact, of the 30 species listed below, only 9 were actually seen. Even allowing for the fact that it was windy and our focus was very narrow, results were still extremely poor. [Weather: cooler (mid 70s), partly cloudy and windy after 10:00am.]

We began on Blue Haven Road in Patagonia. After a vigil of 45 minutes, I was surprised to hear the the SINALOA WREN briefly sing (for some months now the bird has been calling occasionally, but not singing). This occurred at 8:16am shortly after a tour group left. Location was across the creek directly opposite the "cut bank". We left almost immediately without waiting around to see if the bird would appear.

We drove directly to Florida Canyon and hiked to the "warbler spot", arriving there at 10:15am. It was very windy and with so much movement of the vegetation and wind noise, I knew we would be in for a tough time. Even under perfect conditions it can be difficult to detect ground-dwelling Rufous-capped Warblers unless they vocalize. Despite the conditions, I was disappointed to only stay a short while (we left at 11:30am). However, the client is always the boss. Another birder had been been present since 8:30am without success.

Monday, February 9, 2009
The nasty Sunday weather left snow in the Huachuca Mountains well below 6000 feet. This morning began partly sunny and cold with increasing wind as the morning progressed. I had to do some serious ice scraping before I could drive off this morning; so much so in fact that I broke my scraper!

Out today with Ron Bussian and Cris Winters from Valatie, NY. Our principal targets were Spotted Owl and Northern Pygmy-Owl. We started in Sawmill Canyon where at least 2 inches of snow lay on the ground, 3 inches or more in places. We had to trudge through the snow and work systematically for an hour before locating a NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL. Although we had decent views of the bird calling from a pine, we could certainly have benefited from being a little closer. The bird had other ideas and flew off as we climbed a snowy slope.

While in Sawmill, I learned that Williamson's Sapsucker was also a target species (future clients take note, please tell me *all* targets in advance since it may not be easy to make adjustments in the field). Tracking the sapsucker was made difficult by the sound of melting snow and the crunching underfoot. However, after about an hour (more trudging through the snow), I managed to track down a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. Unfortunately, Ron was just a couple of seconds too late getting to the right spot. The bird flew off and we were unable to relocate it.

Apart from Woodpeckers, birds were scarce. ARIZONA WOODPECKERS were quite numerous (I heard at least six, none pursued). We saw ACORN WOODPECKER and RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER; heard FLICKER.

The easy Spotted Owl that has been around in Garden Canyon for a couple of months was AWOL this morning so we had no choice but to head up Scheelite Canyon. I worked hard in the lower canyon and lower roosting area without success. Ron and Chris decided not to head any further up canyon (conditions underfoot were treacherous) so we dipped. If anyone had told me at the start of the day that we would only see one owl, I'd have said Spotted. Wrong!.

More rain and snow are on the way and the predicted high in Sierra Vista tomorrow is only 40 degrees (quite a contrast from 84 last week). Fortunately, my next client is a few days away which gives me time to finish up my record keeping and trip report for the recent Florida trip.

Saturday, February 14, 2009
Out today with long time client Bill Lindley from London, ON. We've birded together on 5 previous occasions dating back to the '90s, most recently for the Crescent-chested Warbler about this time last year. Our target today was the Sinaloa Wren in Patagonia. It took a while but we finally saw the bird, albeit very briefly (is there any other way way with this pesky bird!).

We left a reasonably mild Sierra Vista shortly after 6:30am and started birding on Blue Haven Road in Patagonia at 7:25am with the temperature a brisk 20 degrees. I can tell you that it didn't feel anywhere close to comfortable for several hours. Several birders were already present and more came and went throughout the morning. There was pretty good coverage along the road from just east of the "cut bank" to well west. Unfortunately, the wren failed to reward the combined efforts of all present and nobody saw or heard the bird throughout the morning. By noon, almost all parties had left.

General bird activity was very low. Species present throughout the morning (seen and/or heard) included RED-TAILED HAWK, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, SONG SPARROW, ABERT'S & CANYON TOWHEES; LESSER GOLDFINCH and NORTHERN CARDINAL.

Bill and I gravitated to a location about 200 yards west of the cut bank and hung out for a while. There was some occasional song from BEWICK'S WREN and appearances from RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BRIDLED TITMOUSE and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. At 1:05pm I saw a bird fly in and said "that's a wren". Bill saw the rufous tail and I saw part of the head before the bird disappeared just a few seconds later. We stayed until 1:30pm hoping for a better view that never came. However, the bird called very briefly just before we left -- the only vocalization that I heard the entire time.

A successful yet far from satisfying experience (but definitely better than getting skunked). On the drive home, we saw a PRAIRIE FALCON in the Sonoita Grasslands along Highway 82.

Sunday, February 15, 2009
Out today with the Edge/Mann family -- Deb, Sarah and Neal from Washington DC and Tucson. We met in Sonoita where EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were easy to see. The day was the antithesis of my day yesterday. Instead of spending all available hours looking for one bird in a localized area, we birded in the Patagonia area looking at everything that came our way. Every bird was good and we saw a few "good" birds. Variety is the spice of life.

We began at a quite cold and mostly cloudy Patagonia Lake State Park around 7:30am and stayed there until noon. The temperature moderated but the clouds increased and it was a grey and gloomy day.

We spent the first 90 minutes in the marina/day use/visitor center area at the west end of the park. The regular (now annual) adult BALD EAGLE was in its roosting spot on the island near the spillway. EARED GREBES were very numerous (at both ends of the lake). BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD was the only hummer noted at the visitor center where a very tame PYRRHULOXIA was hanging out along with a couple of CANYON TOWHEES.

A few NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS worked the marina area. Rough-wings are harbingers of spring in SE AZ -- my average first sighting date overall is February 22; earliest February 6. Limiting the data to the lake, the early date holds but the average arrival is March 7 with only 3 February records.

Shortly after watching COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and SWAMP SPARROW in the marsh at mouth of the second wash, we were able to see the wintering male ELEGANT TROGON in the mesquite bosque (thanks to James McKay of Mesa for getting us on the bird). Later, the bird had moved closer to the fourth wash. Elegant Trogon has become an institution at the lake in winter and this is the tenth (calendar) year that I have seen one here. GRAY FLYCATCHER was easy to see but we needed to track down a calling ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER (both in the bosque).

Proceeding along the trail we added BELTED KINGFISHER, LADDER BACKED WOODPECKER, PLUMBEOUS VIREO (2), ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and a small flock of AMERICAN PIPITS.

Activity was very high in the willow forest further along the trail. Here we saw the EASTERN PHOEBE (very briefly), a male HEPATIC TANAGER and a male SCOTT'S ORIOLE along with a handful of other species including a flock of BRIDLED TITMICE and HUTTON'S VIREO. I failed to lay eyes on a Brown Creeper by a few seconds (would have been species #265 at the lake!).

COMMON MERGANSERS, SHOVELERS and RUDDY DUCKS were common on the lake and we also saw a few BUFFLEHEADS and LESSER SCAUP. I was surprised not to find any cormorants of either species. Immaculately plumaged GREEN-WINGED TEAL and CINNAMON TEAL were confined to the marshy shallows.

Returning on the trail we came across a male BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER near the second wash; and a second male HEPATIC TANAGER, a much brighter individual than the earlier bird.

We made a brief sortie over to Kino Springs where a beautiful male VERMILION FLYCATCHER duly obliged in the club house pines. Lots of AMERICAN WIGEON on the largest pond. KILLDEER, GREATER ROADRUNNER and a singing CURVE-BILLED THRASHER (great close up views) were new for the day.

A final stop at a very quiet Paton's Yard produced ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, lots of LESSER GOLDFINCHES, a few PINE SISKINS and a colorful LAZULI BUNTING.

Monday, February 16, 2009
First of two days with Martha Folk and Susan Roberts from Columbia, MO. We birded at Patagonia Lake State Park until early afternoon then finished up with a brief stop at Paton's. It was a sunny and warm spring-like day and the park was busy on this holiday.

Results were similar to yesterday, although we did miss Elegant Trogon and Scott's Oriole (both seen by others). While looking for the trogon in Nutting's Wash, I heard the mewing calls of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER and we were soon able to track down the bird (a male) and enjoy good views. We saw several PLUMBEOUS VIREOS (mesquite bosque, willow forest), HEPATIC TANAGER (willow forest) and EASTERN PHOEBE (big willow at bottom of steps). Numerous GRAY and a single ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER were seen along with BALD EAGLE, HUTTON'S VIREO and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.

I noted several more species today for a total of 64. Among those that I didn't find yesterday were 2 COMMON GOLDENEYES near the visitor center, several AMERICAN WIGEONS, a PEREGRINE FALCON strafing the marshy shallows and scaring the ducks; HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (willow forest), several TREE joining the NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS; WILSON'S WARBLER (my first February record) and ABERT'S TOWHEE. I also saw a small falcon in flight that was almost certainly a Merlin (a rare species at the lake -- I only have 5 personal records).

Activity in Marion Paton's yard from 1:30-2:30pm was higher than yesterday despite the warm conditions. Highlight was a beautiful male MERLIN perched in a tall cottonwood (Merlin is pretty scarce here too -- I have 7 records at this location). I was able to get the scope on the bird for many to enjoy. Earlier, 2 BLACK VULTURES soared low over the yard as did a COOPER'S HAWK. This is a little early for Black Vultures to have ventured over to Patagonia from Nogales (only my second February record in the yard). GRAY FLYCATCHER was another less common yard visitor.

Regular feeder moochers included a few INCA DOVES, a stunning male ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD that evoked many ooh's and aah's from the crowd; several PINE SISKINS, side by side CARDINAL & PYRRHULOXIAS and 2 LAZULI BUNTINGS.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Out again today with Martha and Susan. We birded in Sulphur Springs Valley and Carr Canyon in the Huachucas. It was a decent weather day; mostly sunny, breezy and 10 degrees cooler than yesterday (~60 degrees in mid-afternoon).

Highlights of our time cruising around the valley roads were several FERRUGINOUS HAWKS on Central Highway, many SCALED QUAIL, no less than 8 GREATER ROADRUNNERS (7 on Coffman); excellent views of BENDIRE'S and CRISSAL THRASHERS; the usual sparrow species plus CANYON & GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES; scads of LARK BUNTINGS, fly-by CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS on Bagby; and both EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

A short visit to Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area for VERMILION FLYCATCHER (2 seen) also yielded 10 CINNAMON TEAL, 16 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER. GREAT HORNED OWL and a smattering of ducks. We didn't look for Barn Owl.

An early afternoon visit to oak-juniper habitat in Carr Canyon was quite productive given the time of day. Species seen here included ACORN & ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, PHAINOPEPLA, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, 4+ OLIVE WARBLERS and 2 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Out today with Bill Drummond and 16 members of Brookline Bird Club from MA. I've worked with Bill and his groups on two previous occasions. Spotted Owl was our only "hard target" of the day; anything else would be gravy. The weather cooperated and it was a beautiful, blue sky day; not too warm and zero wind.

We didn't leave town until mid morning and it was just after 11:00am when we started up Scheelite Canyon. GREATER ROADRUNNER and HEPATIC TANAGER were singing and calling respectively in Garden Canyon near the canyon entrance.

The trek up Scheelite trail was fairly quiet and the only birds seen were HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. BRIDLED TITMOUSE, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and HUTTON'S VIREO. Among the heard only species were CANYON WREN (later seen very well), WESTERN SCRUB-JAY and PAINTED REDSTART.

I made a thorough search of the lower roosting area without success and only found some much-less-than-fresh whitewash. Here we go again I said to myself when I knew we needed to go higher up the canyon. Since 80% of my owl sightings are in the lower area, there's also the realization that the chances for success are now significantly lower.

However, today was a "reverse Murphy" day. I played a hunch and decided to check a specific tree in the middle roosting area before proceeding to the upper area. I found a pair of SPOTTED OWLS roosting in a small pine tree adjacent to the tree that I was checking (henceforth known as the "Brookline Pine"). What are the odds that after so many visits to the canyon (900+), I would find an owl in a new roosting location? [Statisticians chime in -- but I guess you would need to know how many potential roost locations there are. Good luck with that.] Furthermore, the birds were in a pine tree -- although I've seen Spotted Owls roosting in pines in other canyons, this was a first for me in Scheelite. Apart from Pinyon Pine, there aren't many pines in Scheelite until you get above the area normally frequented by the owls.

A calling ROCK WREN near the owls represented a scarce occurrence for the canyon (I only have 10 records in 5 different years). Additional species on the return walk were BUSHTIT, BROWN CREEPER and a heard only ARIZONA WOODPECKER.

Although Painted Redstart is a common breeder in Scheelite and can sometimes be found in winter in nearby Garden Canyon, they usually do not return to Scheelite until March (average first sighting March 17). Today's bird was only my second February record (also 2/15/2000).

Bill stayed in Garden Canyon and while we were gone he saw a male ELEGANT TROGON near the upper picnic area. We briefly tried to relocate the bird without success.

The drive back to town through the lower grassland yielded a flock of 20-ish WESTERN BLUEBIRDS.

We spent late afternoon (~3-5pm) in lower Carr Canyon where activity was not as high as yesterday in the early afternoon. OLIVE WARBLERS were present and calling but only one person managed to lay eyes on a bird. ARIZONA WOODPECKER was a real pill and we had to work long and hard (plenty of physical effort on a slope) before everyone saw a bird (excellent views in the end).

Other species included a singing WHITE-WINGED DOVE, numerous ACORN WOODPECKERS, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, our second HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER of the day; and great looks at a very cooperative RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW perched in the open for everyone to enjoy.

I've added a Florida Trip Summary and published all the images that I shot during the trip.

Saturday, February 21, 2009
First of two days with Mark and Dottie Johnson, Glen and Diane, all from Madison, WI; and Don from Sierra Vista. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and Paton's Yard. It was a glorious "winter" day, chilly early and depressingly warm in the afternoon.

Peak snowbird season is approaching and that plus a weekend day ensured that plenty of people were at the lake today. Oh joy. Lots of birders afield too but I heard only one third hand report that the Elegant Trogon was seen. We certainly gave it some time and effort and came up empty. The birding wasn't as good today compared to my two visits earlier in the week. We managed 62 species from 8:00am to 1:30pm, by which time it was very warm.

Highlights were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and PAINTED REDSTART along the creek; BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER in Nutting's Wash.

Other species included 4 BUFFLEHEADS (1 male); BALD EAGLE seen in flight late morning, not on its usual perch; PEREGRINE FALCON perched down by the spillway; easy to see GRAY FLYCATCHERS throughout; a lone HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, a few PINE SISKINS and a male WILSON'S WARBLER, all three along the creek; a couple of PLUMBEOUS VIREOS in the mesquite bosque; and a lone female YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD at the visitor center.

Nobody that we met had seen the Green Kingfisher or Louisiana Waterthrush. Hepatic Tanager was seen.

Species Notes:
Red-naped Sapsucker is an uncommon migrant at the lake and generally rare in the winter months. I only have three February sightings and today was the latest. Painted Redstart is a rare spring migrant, usually seen sporadically in March and April. This is the first year that I have seen one in February. Yellow-headed Blackbird is rare at the lake. My records show that it is present in low numbers February through mid April.

A visit to Kino Springs was ill-fated. I've never seen as many people there (function at the club house area) and parking was at a premium. We wandered around in the heat and failed to come up with Vermilion Flycatcher. In fact, bird activity was minimal. New species for the day included INCA DOVE, SAY'S PHOEBE and PHAINOPEPLA.

Marion Paton's yard was slow for a while before the birds became active. We eventually managed over 20 species. Two spectacular male ANNA'S were the only hummers during our visit. Otherwise, it was the usual suspects including INCA & WHITE-WINGED-DOVES; GAMBEL'S QUAIL, many LESSER GOLDFINCHES and a few PINE SISKINS at the Niger feeder; a nicely plumaged LINCOLN'S SPARROW, side by side CARDINAL & PYRRHULOXIA and two male LAZULI BUNTINGS.

In the front yard, a CURVE-BILLED THRASHER was continuously singing and a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE called. The large cottonwood again held a MERLIN but I don't think it was the same bird that I saw a few days ago.

Sunday, February 22, 2009
Day 2 with a slightly smaller group comprising of Mark, Dottie and Glen. We visited Sulphur Springs Valley, the Mule Mountains and Carr Canyon in the Huachucas. Afternoon clouds brought some relief today and the temperature only reached the high 70s.

[As I write these notes on Monday morning, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES are competing vociferously with the singing WHITE-WINGED DOVES. Methinks that I'd better get used to this.]

We had some early success in Sulphur Springs Valley with wonderful views of BENDIRE'S THRASHER (foraging on the ground at close range); and two perched up CRISSAL THRASHERS (walk-away scope views). As is often the case, several GREATER ROADRUNNERS were present on Coffman Road but we dipped on Scaled Quail.

Lots of LARK BUNTINGS and a perched MERLIN were at the entrance to Whitewater Draw. Our short and successful visit for VERMILION FLYCATCHER produced three birds (adult male and two immature males).

Unusually at this season, two GREAT HORNED OWLS were roosting together in the barn and I wonder if their nesting attempt has failed. We were unable to find any Barn Owls looking from the periphery of the willow grove.

The rapidly drying impoundments are currently providing ideal habitat for migrant shorebirds but it's still a little early for that. A few LEAST SANDPIPERS and 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS were present. A couple of RING-BILLED GULLS were the only migrants noted. Ducks are not impressed with the reduced water level (no diving species seen) and ~10 CINNAMON TEAL in two separate groups were the best birds. A lone SANDHILL CRANE foraged on the flats and numbers in the air throughout the south valley were well reduced -- many have already begun their journey north.

Next, we turned our attention to SAGE SPARROW. Although they can be found in northern sections of SE AZ through March, they generally leave southern Cochise County by the end of February (Feb 25 is my latest sighting date). I was a little concerned that they may already have departed, especially with the very warm weather, but we only needed 15 minutes of effort to get a decent view of a lone bird.

Returning south, we could only find two immature FERRUGINOUS HAWKS in the fields at Central and Davis. Perhaps many have already departed?

In the Mule Mountains, only a modicum of effort in the heat of the day was required to find BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW.

We finished up in lower Carr Canyon where el sonido de la música méxicana drowned out the birds. What makes people think that leaving the car door open with the radio blasting away is acceptable behavior in a national forest?  Nevertheless, we were able to locate and briefly see OLIVE WARBLER (sub-adult male). Unfortunately, we couldn't repeat the dose with Arizona Woodpecker and didn't so much as hear a bird. Even the MEXICAN JAYS had made themselves scarce. Species around the picnic area included ACORN WOODPECKER, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, PHAINOPEPLA, BUSHTIT and SPOTTED TOWHEE.

71 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Gadwall, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal; N. Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks; Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Gambel's Quail, Sandhill Crane, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & White-winged Doves; Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Anna's Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Black & Say's Phoebes; Vermilion Flycatcher, Horned Lark, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus, Rock & Bewick's Wrens; Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers; Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive Warbler, Spotted & Canyon Towhees; Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Sage, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows; Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds; Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, February 27, 2009
First of two days with Matt Hysell from St. Joseph, MI. Although this trip was set up almost six months ago, our focus has shifted from the original targets to the current set of rarities. Today we visited Slaughter Ranch east of Douglas. A partly cloudy and cooler (high 70s) day compared to the record breaking heat earlier in the week.

We took advantage of the late opening time at the ranch (10:00am) to first look for thrashers in Sulphur Springs Valley. By working the Coffman, Bagby, Central and Lee loop were were able to get excellent views of BENDIRE'S THRASHER and decent looks at two CRISSAL THRASHERS.

Sparrows were much in evidence and we saw less common (for the area) GRASSHOPPER and LINCOLN'S in addition to the regular BREWER'S, VESPER, SAVANNAH and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS. Other species seen driving the above mentioned roads included MERLIN, a few SANDHILL CRANES (most seem to have departed); EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, several GREATER ROADRUNNERS perched up and very tolerant; GREAT HORNED OWL on a nest; VERMILION FLYCATCHER, lots of LARK BUNTINGS and EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

Upon reaching the ranch about 10:20am, we had a reverse Murphy thing going on -- both the BLUE BLUE MOCKINGBIRD and two RUDDY GROUND-DOVES were being seen 100 yards or so southeast of the main pond. The Mockingbird was close to the ground in dense hackberry habitat and was quite difficult to see well. We managed a few decent views before turning our attention to the nearby Ground-Doves that were much easier to see as they perched up and preened next to a few INCA DOVES. I was briefly able to relocate the Mockingbird again a little later but the bird soon disappeared without us improving on the view. Many folks were looking for the bird at this time so timing was indeed everything. It's been quite some time since I've seen Blue Mockingbird (in AZ in 1995 and a few times since in Mexico). A pleasant change to see a mega-rarity without a major vigil (we'll see if that pans out again tomorrow).

Among the 25 species seen at the ranch during our short (1 hour 15 minutes) stay included a half dozen male CINNAMON TEAL, male and female VERMILION FLYCATCHERS checking out nest sites; and 10+ AMERICAN PIPITS. This is a very pleasant place to bird and it's a shame we couldn't stay longer.

Our next stop was in the Mule Mountains where BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW proved a tough nut to crack in the heat of the day (took about 90 minutes). Also seen were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, CACTUS, ROCK & CANYON WRENS; ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and several RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS.

During a brief stop at the San Pedro House in mid-afternoon, our day ended with a major surprise. A single NUTMEG MANNIKIN was feeding on the ground under the feeders at the southeast corner of the house. I'm not sure if these birds are established anywhere in Arizona (Phoenix, perhaps?). It was certainly a first in the state for me (I have seen them only in CA). It would be interesting to know the origin of this impressive little bird (non-countable, of course, if you are into listing, but definitely worth seeing).

Saturday, February 28, 2009
Out again today with Matt looking for Sinaloa Wren, Rufous-capped Warbler, Black-capped Gnatcatcher and Spotted Owl. We were successful with all except the wren. More of the same sunny and warm weather after a chilly start.

Lots of people were already gathered at the now famous "cut bank" on Blue Haven Road in Patagonia when we arrived at 6:30am this morning. It was still gloomy enough for GREAT HORNED OWLS to be hooting. Anticipation was high after yesterday's report of the wren singing with the expectation of more of the same as spring approaches. Sadly, apart from some brief song at 6:50am mostly masked by a loudly singing CARDINAL (and some subsequent calls heard by others), the SINALOA WREN failed to oblige the hopeful crowd. Overall, my experience with this bird has been quite poor -- seen a handful of times (always briefly), heard a few times, and missed a few times. Given the location of the bird on inaccessible property and not being able to entice the bird using playback, in truth it's really nothing more than a "Hail Mary". We moved on at 8:00am.

Our next stop was Florida Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. We reached "the warbler area" at 9:40am where others had been present since 8:30am without success. After thinking that I could hear the bird but not being able to pin it down, I definitely heard a RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singing vigorously from the north slope at 10:00am. Fortunately, we soon saw the bird perched up on an Ocotillo. I headed down canyon to call back a group who had left 5 minutes earlier while Matt enjoyed a scope view. Location was perhaps 50 yards upstream from where the canyon makes a sharp left turn (as you head up canyon).

We soon departed with the intention of heading to Patagonia Lake for the gnatcatcher. However, that plan soon changed. As we rounded a corner below the water tank near Florida Work Center, a couple of birders who had left just before us were looking at what turned out to be a female BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER. We spent a few minutes making sure that it was a Black-capped (amount of brown, bill size, bill color) and then had positive confirmation when a male Black-capped (already getting his black cap) joined the female and they foraged together.

Our new next stop was Scheelite Canyon in the Huachucas. As with my last visit earlier in the month, I made a thorough search of the lower roosting area before concluding that we needed to go higher. Lots of fresh whitewash gave me pause about proceeding, but I couldn't will a bird into existence. I decided to check the same location in the middle roosting area where I found a bird in a new tree on that last occasion. Lo and behold, there sat a very indifferent SPOTTED OWL that could barely be bothered to turn around to look at us. We were able to get a couple of other owl seekers (who had already gone further up canyon) on the bird .

Although the canyon wasn't heavy with species, there was a definite spring feel and plenty of song in the afternoon sunshine. The delightful song of CANYON WRENS bounced off the canyon walls in several locations; WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were back on territory, soaring and screaming above the 1/2 mile cliffs; we saw a singing PAINTED REDSTART in the same area and HUTTON'S VIREOS were singing their rather monotonous song in the lower canyon.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Saturday, February 28, 2009

Feb. Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 2009 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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