July Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - July, 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 Friday, July 31, 2009

Monday, July 6, 2009
Today I headed into the field for the first time since I returned from my June road trip. Although I've been back for a week, I've had plenty of catching up to keep me busy and I certainly didn't need much encouragement to stay home on a holiday weekend. This morning I did some routine birding in Garden Canyon. I confined my activities to low elevation locations and didn't venture beyond the upper picnic area.

Although the monsoon season started early, I didn't see any significant impact in the portion of the Huachucas that I covered today. The middle picnic area stream crossing is completely dry. The upper picnic area crossing has some standing water but water is not running across the road. Both fishing ponds have low water. For now, the monsoon seems to have abated and there's a mostly dry and hot week ahead. Today in Sierra Vista began mild (70 degrees at 5:30am), partly cloudy and very humid. The temperature is close to 100 as I write these notes in the early afternoon.

I did a very informal (yet informative) survey of Botteri's and Cassin's Sparrows by listening as I cruised slowly through the mesquite grassland. I didn't take any side roads in an attempt find all birds. On the main blacktop road I heard 21 BOTTERI'S SPARROWS and just 1 CASSIN'S SPARROW. By my results since 1993, this kind of disparity is normal so early in the season. My theory on why this is the case follows.

Being a migratory species, Botteri's feels the need to "get it done". After they arrive in April, Botteri's Sparrows sing throughout May and into June to establish and maintain territories. Then, the starter's pistol only need be cocked to trigger breeding and this occurs with the first significant rain. Conversely, the resident Cassin's can afford to wait for optimal conditions for breeding and they appear to do so. Cassin's can often be heard singing much later in the season when Botteri's are not singing at all or are singing much less. This reasoning seems very plausible to me and I'll stick with it until I hear something more substantial.

It's a little early for migrants so I didn't linger at the fishing ponds. At the main (Gravel Pit) pond I saw a MALLARD family, GREAT BLUE HERON stalking unsuspecting prey, KILLDEER, an immature male VERMILION FLYCATCHER and recently fledged YELLOW WARBLERS. A male ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD was on a regular perch. I heard a couple of MONTEZUMA QUAIL calling back and forth from a nearby hillside.

In addition to BOTTERI'S SPARROWS, other vocal and conspicuous species in the grassland were many NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS, perhaps 5 BLUE GROSBEAKS and lots of EASTERN MEADOWLARKS. I also saw GREATER ROADRUNNER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S & WESTERN KINGBIRDS; several VERDINS, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, CANYON TOWHEE and RUFOUS-CROWNED & LARK SPARROWS. Later in the morning on my return I added a soaring SWAINSON'S HAWK in with a few TURKEY VULTURES.

After leaving the grasslands, I spent the remainder of my time at the upper picnic area. Activity was very low to start with but a couple of hours eventually produced most of the usual suspects. ACORN WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER and PLUMBEOUS VIREO were the most obvious species.

At least two ELEGANT TROGONS called; BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and PAINTED REDSTART sang sporadically as did HEPATIC TANAGER (two pairs present) and SPOTTED TOWHEE. Also present were COOPER'S HAWK (nests here each year), HUTTON'S VIREO (including recently fledged juveniles); BRIDLED TITMOUSE, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and many LESSER GOLDFINCHES.

I heard a commotion at a cavity and a short vigil allowed me to photograph a SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. Based on the activity that I witnessed, I think that the flycatchers are still incubating. Quite apart from the partly-sunny partly-shady lighting conditions, this is the type of shot that I always have trouble with - a large bird not perpendicular to the lens. In this case, the bird's tail was closer to me than its head which makes it difficult to keep the entire bird in focus. Normally, I'm always trying to get shutter speed as high as I can for the sharpest image and I usually forget to make the appropriate adjustments for this type of image. Today I remembered.

Prize for best bird of the morning goes to YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO in the large sycamores. I only have two other records in the Garden Canyon drainage of Fort Huachuca -- one from the lower picnic area in August 1999 (perhaps a little more expected there) and another odd sighting in Scheelite Canyon in September, 1998.

At the feeders, I picked up my first returning RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD of the season (a beautiful adult male) along with a male MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, a female BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD and male and female BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS. Nearby, I tracked down a very vocal BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, an uncommon breeder in the Huachucas.

An interesting first morning back at the office.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
First of two days with Steven Fass from Beloit, WI and Anne Spence from San Luis Obispo, CA. Today we visited California Gulch in search of Five-striped Sparrow and Montezuma Quail. We left Sierra Vista at 4:00am and returned at noon. A mostly clear, warm and dry morning with significant monsoon clouds building in late afternoon in Sierra Vista. Very little rain in town through 5:00pm but I think we might get some serious rain this evening.

Monsoon rains have had little impact on the roads I traveled today. Ruby Road remains water free and in excellent condition between Peņa Blanca Lake and the California Gulch turn. The gulch road is also holding up well and is free of water. In fact, the road is dry and dusty. Note that this could change significantly in a single day at this time of year and I don't recommend planning to visit in a small vehicle. In fact, my policy is the same as always -- I simply will not go without a 4x4 high clearance vehicle. The gulch proper was also dry, at least as far as the first stream crossing (I did not go beyond this point).

The start time was designed to put us in quail habitat on Ruby Road shortly after sunrise. Unfortunately, the sheer volume of Border Patrol traffic ensured that we had little chance of seeing a quail. However, I'm happy to say that we saw both targets in the gulch and were in and out fairly quickly. I usually puff and wheeze walking back up Heartbreak Hill, especially when it's warm. I was pleasantly surprised when that didn't happen today, perhaps due to my recent activities in the 12000-14000 feet range. Every cloud has a silver lining.

We heard MONTEZUMA QUAIL calling immediately at the top of the gulch and they continued on and off as we walked down Heartbreak Hill. We tried in vain to see them and it took quite some time before I eventually spotted a male on the ridge east of the first stream crossing. We had excellent scope views of the bird standing on a rock.

FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS were much easier to locate. Several birds were singing on both sides of Heartbreak Hill before we even reached the first stream crossing. Once again we enjoyed excellent scope views.

Other species seen and/or heard on a short visit included GRAY HAWK & COMMON GROUND-DOVE both near the dam; NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, several juvenile and adult VERMILION FLYCATCHERS; multiple DUSKY-CAPPED & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS; LUCY'S WARBLER, RUFOUS-CROWNED & RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS; many singing BLUE GROSBEAKS, a couple of VARIED BUNTINGS and great looks at male HOODED & SCOTT'S ORIOLES.

A very successful outing. [Another milestone in Blue Trogon history today -- the clock rolled past 320,000 miles on Fry Boulevard. No, I didn't take it to the gulch!]

Thursday, July 9, 2009
Out again today with Steven and Anne. We visited Aravaipa Canyon for Common Black-Hawk. When this trip was scheduled back in August of last year, I tried to select a date late enough to ensure that the rainy season would be underway (for an easy Five-striped Sparrow) and early enough to have a chance of seeing the hawk at a nest before fledging occurs. It's quite tricky to pick such a date since breeding times can vary significantly from year to year. The sparrow trip worked out well yesterday and since I've seen Black-Hawks still in the nest on July 10, I was hoping for a good outcome today.

We were in the canyon from 8:30 to 11:45am during which time the temperature ranged from 82 to 95 degrees - not bad for this location. There's plenty of evidence of recent rain and a grader was working the road. A 200 yards stretch of the road already has standing water and more rain could well render that section impassable, at least for a short period. On one visit I was almost trapped in the canyon during a thunderstorm but we had no such problems today (no rain at all).

Although there have been two recent reports of hawks still in a nest, I was unable to find an active nest today and did not see any young birds. However, we did see two adult COMMON BLACK-HAWKS along the creek, 10.9 miles from Highway 77, so it was definitely a case of "mission accomplished".

Canyon regulars included BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER (fairly common and vocal); PURPLE MARTIN (very common and conspicuous); YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, BLUE GROSBEAK and HOODED ORIOLE. I recorded 30 species during the search.

After leaving the canyon, we made the short journey north to Winkleman where we made a token effort for Mississippi Kite. It was super hot standing on the footbridge over the Gila River and we didn't stay long. The river is flowing quite well at this point.

Monday, July 13, 2009
This morning I visited the San Pedro River (SPRNCA, Hwy 90 area). It's been a few months since I was here and I was shocked to see the low water level which is certainly lower than I have ever seen before. The river is barely running at a trickle in places and there isn't any surface flow at all where Garden Wash meets the river. A few years ago, surface flow disappeared for the first time at a specific location being monitored to the north of here near Benson. How long before the San Pedro disappears entirely?

The monsoon has become a nonsoon and the warm and dry weather continues. This past weekend was particularly hot and uncomfortable and the temperature was already in the mid 70s as I got started near the San Pedro House just after sunrise. My only real objective for the morning was to see how the dry conditions have affected Botteri's and Cassin's Sparrows. A little over a week ago, many singing sparrows (especially Botteri's) were reported from several areas in SE AZ and I had plenty exactly a week ago (July 6) in Garden Canyon.

This morning I began by listening in several locations in a relatively small area of prime habitat to the south and west of the San Pedro House. I listened for 45 minutes and didn't hear a single BOTTERI'S or CASSIN'S SPARROW, although I was able to see both species with a little effort. I don't think that I'd feel much like singing if I had to live in dry grass at 100+ degrees. I didn't attempt to raise any birds by using song playback.

Next, I headed to Kingfisher Pond; continued on to Black Phoebe Pond; then returned to the San Pedro House by walking north along the river. I had two very pleasant surprises in the form of new location birds.

While two GREAT EGRETS at Kingfisher Pond were not particularly out of place, I had not previously recorded this species on the section of the SPRNCA that I cover on a regular basis (mostly in the vicinity of the Hwy 90 crossing of the river).

However, I was certainly gobsmacked when I saw my second new location species of the morning -- a RUFOUS WINGED SPARROW! This species is essentially unknown in Cochise County in recent years and has never had much of a presence historically. This is only the second location where I've seen the bird in the county and the first was only because I made a concerted effort to find one (see journal for September 12 and September 14, 2007). Those entries have some literature references of historical presence in Cochise County.

There's also an old (1982) record from Charleston mentioned in Taylor's "Bird's of the Huachuca Mountains and the Upper San Pedro River". Although he states that they have since been extirpated, he also mentions that the lack of sightings may be due to "a dearth of observers in suitable habitat". I certainly do not believe that to be the case. This is a bird that sings long and loud and it wouldn't go undetected for 25 years if it were present (and we don't have to count wing beats per second or look at specific frames of video to identify the bird).

No, for whatever reason, the birds apparently withdrew from Cochise County locations as they did from several former locations in Santa Cruz County. Locations such as Kino Springs and Patagonia Lake where they are now re-established (since 1997 at Kino and the early 2000s at Patagonia Lake). Maybe I'll be kicking them out of my way in a few years as I walk the San Pedro trails.

Anyway, I was delighted to find the bird which was in the mesquite-grassland on the north side of the road that parallels Garden Wash, just east of where the road crosses the wash on its way to Black Phoebe Pond. I saw the bird aggressively interact with a Botteri's Sparrow in a mesquite tree then drop to the ground to feed. I didn't hear it sing but I did hear several typical call notes (loud and sharp).

Apart from the egrets and the sparrow and a singing INDIGO BUNTING, it was an otherwise fairly routine few hours with most of the expected riparian species seen. YELLOW WARBLERS and YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were both vocal and common throughout. Three species of kingbirds were present at Kingfisher Pond including two TROPICAL KINGBIRDS (seen but not heard by me, others heard them calling). I detected two calling GRAY HAWKS and at least three calling YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS.

47 species recorded: SPRNCA bar graph.
Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Mallard, Gray Hawk, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves; Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers; N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Vermilion, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers; Tropical, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; Barn Swallow, Bewick's Wren, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, House Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Abert's Towhee, Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-winged, Black-throated & Song Sparrows; Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Monday, July 27, 2009
Today I began a trip to the White Mountains. As is the norm for such trips, I made a stop at Willcox then traveled to the mountains via Hwy 78 through Mule Creek and then Hwy 180 in New Mexico. I stopped at Luna Lake shortly after I crossed back into Arizona.

The weather over the past few weeks has been very hot, mostly dry and definitely miserable. I've been saving my enthusiasm for this trip and I was certainly glad that I hadn't scheduled any clients in the latter half of July after my working road trip in June. The last few days have only produced a little bit of rain in Sierra Vista from a very weak monsoon season thus far. There's another hot week in store for SE AZ to close out July. This should be the heart of the rainy season and if the monsoon doesn't pick up in August we'll be up that well known creek without a paddle. I can only hope for cooler and wetter conditions in the White Mountains. No relief was forthcoming today though. About 80 degrees when I left Sierra Vista at 5:00am, toasty at Willcox when I left at 8:00am; and very warm and sultry at Juniper Hill in Nutrioso (cloudy and almost 90 degrees at 2:00pm).

Shorebird habitat at Willcox is quite good at the moment with plenty of exposed shoreline around most of the periphery of the main lake. Not surprisingly, shorebird numbers and, to a lesser extent, shorebird diversity were excellent. I counted over 200 each AMERICAN AVOCETS and WILSON'S PHALAROPES. The avocets were mostly congregated together and fairly easy to count with just a few scattered groups. The most that I have seen at Willcox is 230 back in September 1997. The phalaropes were well distributed around the pond and more difficult to count. The most I have seen here is 500, also in September 1997.

I estimated (I didn't count accurately) 50 LEAST and 30 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and 40 BLACK-NECKED STILTS. I also noted 2 SNOWY EGRETS, 3 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 5 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 1 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 3 STILT SANDPIPERS and 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS. A lone female SHOVELER was with the regular EARED GREBES, MALLARDS and RUDDY DUCKS.

In the trees on the golf course I picked up calling INCA and WHITE-WINGED DOVES and many EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES. This is only the second time that I have recorded Inca Dove within my Willcox measurement area. White-winged is uncommon here but seems to be increasing. Willcox was one of the first SE AZ locations to host Collared-Dove and the population here now seems to have exploded.

TREE SWALLOW was the only landbird migrant. Other regulars included 2 SWAINSON'S HAWKS, 6+ SCALED QUAIL and at least 10 singing CASSIN'S SPARROWS. 45 species in all.

Along Hwy 78 in Greenlee County I added ACORN WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BEWICK'S WREN, HEPATIC TANAGER and BLACK-THROATED SPARROW (all except the sparrow were near Blackjack Campground).

Clouds gathered and the sky looked ominous as I pulled into Luna Lake at 11:30am.  Unfortunately, the storm threat evaporated and not a drop of rain fell. AMERICAN COOT (abundant), GREAT BLUE HERON (30+) and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT were the most conspicuous birds. Generally, though, bird activity was low around midday. Species of note from only 20 recorded were GREAT EGRET, OSPREY, EARED GREBE feeding young (with one small youngster still being carried around); and migrant RUFOUS and CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS at the tackle shop feeders.

Activity at Juniper Hill was also very low. SPOTTED TOWHEE and PINE SISKIN were the only immediately obvious species. My hosts are away so I needed to fill the feeders before I got any action. It didn't take long before I saw RUFOUS and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, HOUSE FINCH and LESSER GOLDFINCH. The goldfinch was a very spiffy black-backed male (much more common in the White Mountains than in SE AZ; although the green-backed form still predominates).

By days end, hummers were abundant and I added a few feeder and non feeder species including FLICKER, BUSHTIT, a family of ROBINS (male, female & juvenile lined up on a fence); AMERICAN CROW, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and multiple male BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS feeding begging juveniles (I thought it odd that no females were present).

Tuesday, July 28, 2009
This morning I checked Big Lake Lookout and associated trails where, disappointingly, I was unable to find a Dusky Grouse. Last year I had great difficulty finding grouse and ended up with a miserable 1 for 13 between Big Lake Lookout and Green's Peak. This year I'm determined not to spend as much time looking for the bird and I may just try twice at each location. The warm weather continues and it was way too warm for me by 9:00am even in the high country. I did encounter some rain south of Springerville around midday but not enough to even warrant constant wipers. The temperature dropped from 90 in Springerville to 80 in Nutrioso. Not a big difference, but every little helps as the actress said to the bishop.

A singing male BLUE GROSBEAK greeted me as I poked my head out the door at Juniper Hill this morning. RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS were already vigorously defending the feeders at first light. There are many adult males present at the moment and they fight with each other as well as the BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS.

Passing through Eagar I noted EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES and WHITE-WINGED DOVES sitting close together on a wire in apparent harmony.

I always enjoy driving along Highway 261 on my way up to Big Lake, especially the high (9300 feet) meadow areas beyond Mexican Hay Lake. Today I noted HORNED LARK, VESPER SPARROW and EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS (the latter three species were all singing). Seeing both meadowlark species together is not uncommon in the White Mountains, although both species have their preferred separate areas as well.

At Big Lake Lookout, I spent three hours trying to rustle up a grouse to no avail. Highlight of that effort was a loudly tapping RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER well off the trail about 500 yards below the lookout. This was unusual on two counts. Firstly, this is a very uncommon species at this location; and secondly, light tapping is the norm for Red-naped. I stalked the bird for some time hoping for something better and I was surprised when I finally tracked it down.

ROCK WREN is a regular breeder here but I'm always a little surprised to see them. They seem a little out of place in spruce-fir habitat -- but there are plenty of rocks. A far cry from tundra where they also breed. Rocks are the common denominator! Also of note were a handful of RED CROSSBILLS. While certainly more expected here, I haven't seen them very often at this location.

Standard fare included HAIRY WOODPECKER, several CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS (still quite vocal); GOLDEN CROWNED KINGLET, the ubiquitous MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES found throughout the White Mountains; all three NUTHATCH species; screeching STELLER'S JAYS, many HERMIT THRUSHES and a few RED-BACKED JUNCOS. I encountered thrushes foraging on the ground in several locations but I didn't hear any singing.

As I started driving down from the lookout, I came across this WESTERN TANAGER in the road. The bird refused to move and I had to back up and negotiate around it. The reason for this behavior soon became obvious -- the tanager had discovered a treasure trove of big, juicy (I imagine) bugs and obviously didn't want to risk losing them! Although I was forced to shoot out of the car window at a bad angle and in poor light, the image is quite reasonable. How would you like that for breakfast!

A short stop at nearby Crescent Lake yielded OSPREY (but not a hoped for Bald Eagle); scads of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS including many juveniles; a lone WHITE-FACED IBIS, WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS (also with a high juvenile contingent); and a handful of common species. BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS were common around the lakeshore.

During an otherwise unproductive stop at Becker lake, I noted a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE that perhaps represents this species continued comeback in the area (absent for a number of years until last year).

Juniper Hill birds were about the same as yesterday. VIRGINIA'S WARBLER is normally a "heard only" here since I don't bother to pursue them. However, today I had an excellent view with zero effort.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Today I visited Green's Peak for another miss on Dusky Grouse. I followed that with a brief check of West Fork in Greer and a really brief check of Nelson Reservoir. More of the same weather wise -- very warm in the afternoon and barely a threat of rain despite some monsoon-like clouds.

I know of three folks who have visited Green's Peak in the last week or so and have seen Dusky Grouse. Unfortunately, it didn't happen for me today despite over three hours of effort (and I do mean effort at 10000+ feet). It was quite windy at the top but I don't think the conditions contributed to my failure. I certainly didn't feel cheated by missing the grouse and I very much enjoyed my time here as well as the birds and the views.

This is not a bird rich environment so my tally of 22 species was quite respectable. The lower slopes had lots of VESPER SPARROWS and a presumably still-roosting SWAINSON'S HAWK (although it flew shortly after I shot this image). I don't have very many records for Swainson's in the White Mountains.

All the remaining species were "up top" and included AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, the usual dicky birds -- chickadees, kinglets, nuthatches and juncos; and a couple of surprises.

While searching for grouse, I heard a metallic chip and immediately said to myself -- RED-FACED WARBLER! Now, if you know Green's Peak, you'll realize that this is not your typical place for this species (certainly at the top of its elevation range in AZ). I stopped looking for grouse and spent almost an hour following the bird around trying to get a photo to document the event. Unfortunately, the bird mostly stayed high so it was a frustrating exercise. Although I finally managed an image, it's not sharp due to the fact that the light was very poor (slow shutter speed) and I was shaking after all the huffing and puffing. I think the bird is a juvenile (weak red), perhaps from a nearby nest site. Interestingly, this is the second time that I have encountered Red-faced Warbler in this location (two birds, one singing in late August 2007).

Not to be outdone, an immature VIRGINIA'S WARBLER popped into view. This is an abundant species in streamside willow habitat throughout the White Mountains and I never expected to see one here (ergo, a location first). However, birds need to get from A to B in migration and I have seen one at Big Lake Lookout (similar habitat but 1000 feet lower in elevation compared to Green's Peak). Other less common location species were RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE and WESTERN TANAGER.

After a late breakfast/early lunch at the Rendezvous Diner in Greer (recommended), I had a quick look at West Fork. WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and CLARK'S NUTCRACKER were right in town (Main at Rohrer). Further south along FR 575 (continuation of Main St.), I heard numerous MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS in the willows alongside the river and watched one bird feeding a fledgling. Also in this area were a singing OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and a small flock of RED CROSSBILLS (three of the birds that I managed to view were adult males).

I spent the rest of the day complaining to myself about the heat.

Thursday, July 30, 2009
Today I gave early morning dibs to Sheep Crossing, a location that I haven't visited for three years. Due to construction (still ongoing but Hwy 273 is open), it's been three years to the day (July 30, 2006) since I last visited here. After spending three hours on the trail, I then spent a couple of hours on the 97 trail at South Fork. I certainly got my exercise for the day. Not quite as warm today due to more cloud cover, but still warm, dry and uncomfortable by midday.

The habitat in the vicinity of Sheep Crossing provides one of the better (if not the best) high elevation birding experiences in the east White Mountains. Elevation at Sheep Crossing trailhead is ~9200 feet and climbs to almost 11400 feet at the top of Mt. Baldy. I only went a short distance today -- I'll save the 14 mile round trip hike for later in the trip (maybe!). The first mile of the south trail has a nice mix of Spruce-Fir-Aspen and a decent amount of Ponderosa for this elevation. Throw in the extensive willow habitat along the Little Colorado River and it makes for a decent diversity of birds.

Construction changes include a new bridge over the river on Hwy 273 and some "improvements" to the first section of the south trail. The person who made the decision to create a wide cinder/gravel trail is obviously not an ear birder. Fortunately, it only runs for a couple of hundred yards. Also, there's a new fence paralleling the riparian area that obviously cost time and money to install -- and it's totally useless. It might keep a few kids out but after the fence ends it's easy to walk back into the riparian area and I saw plenty of fishermen doing just that today. Why spend money on a fence that has no apparent purpose. Perhaps it isn't finished. Anyway, I wish the Forest Service would spend a few bucks clearing the Greer West Fork trail that is blocked in many places by fallen trees. End of rant.

Apart from checking out the area after construction, my main objective was to locate GRAY JAY, a very localized species in Arizona. I heard one or more birds about 0.3 miles along the trail but it wasn't until 0.7 miles that I finally saw two birds. This location is shortly after the Sheep Crossing trail joins the main 94 Mt. Baldy trail. Apart from achieving my objective, I had an enjoyable walk and had the trail to myself for quite a while.

Early bird activity was high. NORTHERN FLICKERS were abundant. They were mostly hidden in the grass until I almost stepped on them. I didn't count but there must have been at least 50, probably more than 100. I did pretty well on woodpeckers with 2 AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS, several HAIRY WOODPECKERS and both RED-NAPED and WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS seen.

CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS were very common and vocal and I had to work to pick out a DUSKY FLYCATCHER.

GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES (not very vocal) and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS (plenty of song) both breed here and both were numerous

MACGILLIVRAY'S and VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS were both numerous. However, a lone WILSON'S WARBLER was much more interesting. This is a species suspected of breeding here (may even be confirmed by now). However, a bird at this date could certainly be an early migrant.

I heard AMERICAN DIPPER on the outbound walk and stopped to look for them on the way back. The pictured juvenile was against the bank in the shadows and I was wobbling on a plank in the water. The things I do to bring you entertainment. BELTED KINGFISHER was in the same vicinity at the second bridge (a couple of hundred yards south of the main bridge on 273).

In addition to the usual common forest species, I also saw 6+ WARBLING VIREOS in the willows and a noisy flock of RED CROSSBILLS made several passes during my time on the trail. 30 species in all.

I didn't get started on the South Fork 97 trail until 10:00am so activity was already on the wane. My main objective here was to locate a Northern Pygmy-Owl. Most of my White Mountain records are from this location but I was unsuccessful today.

Highlights of my time on the trail were 2 GOLDEN EAGLES (adult and immature soaring over the ridge near the trailhead); several CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS including one preening in a pine at close range; and GRACE'S & RED-FACED WARBLERS.

An evening sortie on the county roads west of Nutrioso produced 8 LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS to end a good woodpecker day. I also saw lots of WESTERN & MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS.

Friday, July 31, 2009
Out today with Judy Pike from Bisbee, AZ, currently summering in Greer. We've birded together a number of times in SE AZ. Although we had a few target species (grouse, woodpeckers and nutcracker), the purpose of the outing was also to introduce Judy to some birding locations. We visited Green's Peak, Sheep Crossing and finished up in Greer. Clouds built up a little earlier today and it was a little cooler. I even saw some light rain in the afternoon in Nutrioso.

I arrived in Greer a little early and checked Bunch Reservoir at Greer Lakes. This is a good post breeding spot for RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and I quickly found an adult and an immature. I was hoping the birds would still be there later in the day.

After meeting Judy, we drove north out of town on Hwy 373. About 1/2m from Hwy 260 a sapsucker flew across the road and we were able to stop and track down a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER without too much trouble. Trees in this area showed evidence of sapsucker activity. A good start to the morning.

Compared to my efforts at Green's Peak on Wednesday, today was short and sweet. A group of birders were already in the power line cut and had just seen a grouse cross the cut and disappear. I decided to walk into the trees rather than wait and that strategy quickly paid off when I relocated an adult male DUSKY GROUSE wandering around. All present got to see it again before it slipped away. We left after spending less than 30 minutes at the top. Timing is everything, but you already know that. The birding group were from Canada and they had tried to hire me in SE AZ (but I was up here). They were using my website White Mountain data (with success, obviously).

We headed over to Sheep Crossing where I was hoping to replicate my results of yesterday. What a difference a day makes! We started birding here at 8:30am and activity was extremely low (yesterday I started at 6:30am). We still had an enjoyable outing.

Two AMERICAN DIPPERS (adult and juvenile) were at the second bridge and provided great walk-away views. Shortly after moving on, we came across 3 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS (adult and two juveniles) and had a few peek-a-boo views as the birds stayed on the opposite side of the trunks. Decent views in the end. That was the end of our woodpecker success, no Three-toed today.

No song at all today from GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LINCOLN'S SPARROW, although we did see both. CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER was much less vocal and inconspicuous but we did see a couple of them. DUSKY FLYCATCHER was heard only.

Warblers were scarce and we only saw a couple of MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS. We heard a screeching CLARK'S NUTCRACKER but never laid eyes on the bird. Ditto for an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER giving its pip-pip-pip call.

We finished up on Main Street in Greer at Rohrer Road (near the former Four Seasons building, now part of the Greer Lodge monstrosity). Initially, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER played hard to get but they can't stay quiet for long. We stumbled into a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and the Nutcrackers called as we admired the sapsucker. Two birds were present -- an adult giving its loud grating call and a whining juvenile.

Now it was time to enjoy lunch at the Rendezvous Diner. Later, as I picked up my vehicle, the last birds of the morning were BELTED KINGFISHER and a male Black-backed LESSER GOLDFINCH at the small sewage pond just off Hwy 373 on CR 1027.

The rain encouraged me to go out again in the late afternoon. I looped through Sipe Wildlife Area from back to front entrance and then checked Nelson Reservoir on my return to Nutrioso.

A short stint at the Sipe feeders produced all the expected hummers -- RUFOUS (abundant), BROAD-TAILED (common), BLACK-CHINNED (1 female) and CALLIOPE (1 male). Also around the visitor center were 2 adult and 4 recently fledged SAY'S PHOEBES, lots of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and a few WESTERN TANAGERS. Elsewhere I noted VIRGINIA'S WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LAZULI BUNTING. Near the Hwy 260 front entrance I saw a flight of 33 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS. 20 species in all at the wildlife area.

I arrived at Nelson Reservoir just in time to see an adult BALD EAGLE make a very poor attempt to scoop up a fish with its feet. At the same time, an OSPREY flew by with a large fish in its talons (and perhaps a smile on its face). I noted 20 species just before nightfall, perhaps the best of which was BANK SWALLOW (the least common swallow in the White Mountains).

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Friday, July 31, 2009

July Species Seen

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

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