Sept. Species Seen

Stuart Healy Journal - September, 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 Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wednesday, September 2, 2009
September has a nice ring to it. It's still warm until mid October but the feeling that summer is coming to an end is definitely conveyed to me when September rolls around. Today I spent time in Sulphur Springs Valley starting at Whitewater Draw and ending at Willcox. Although the day was warm and humid under patchy, high clouds, the lack of direct sunlight makes one feel much better (at least this one). I'd originally planned to bird only at Whitewater but the cloudy day prompted me to continue on to Willcox. Normally, when I'm doing "research work", I don't like to visit two major locations on the same morning since results at the second location are always compromised by a late start.

Coffman Road (access road to Whitewater Draw) is a long way from being in winter mode and I encountered very few birds along the 2.5 mile stretch from Davis Road to the Wildlife Area entrance. However, I was able to pick up CRISSAL THRASHER, a few BREWER'S SPARROWS and lots of LARK BUNTINGS. Among the other species were SWAINSON'S HAWK, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, GREATER ROADRUNNER, lots of TREE SWALLOWS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE

In general, habitat at Whitewater Draw is excellent. However, it's currently much better for landbirds and marsh birds than it is for ducks and shorebirds. There's plenty of water but much of it is heavily vegetated. Exposed shore is minimal. Leafy willows and weedy areas are abundant.  Even though I limited my time at Whitewater to only two hours, I was able to record 56 species. It's clear that this valley oasis is attractive to migrants right now.

Highlights were SUMMER TANAGER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. Amazingly, both species were location firsts for me. I know, I need to get out more. Among the other migrants were WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, MACGILLIVRAY'S & WILSON'S WARBLERS and WESTERN TANAGER.

PEREGRINE FALCON and ABERT'S TOWHEE are worth a special mention. Peregrine is quite uncommon at this location (I don't see them here every year and most of my records are from mid September to December). I initially saw the bird perched on a snag then later watched it streaking low across the water towards a flock of WHITE-FACED IBIS. The Ibis took flight and I estimated about 100 birds. The falcon made two passes through the flock but didn't make an attempt to attack.

Abert's Towhee has expanded its range eastward to Whitewater Draw and I have a few sightings each year starting from 2003. Today I saw an adult with a recently fledged juvenile that didn't have much of a clue what to do when it saw me. They have likely bred here in recent years -- this year for sure.

Other species included 2 GREAT EGRETS, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, lots of eclipse plumaged CINNAMON TEAL, 1 AVOCET, 1 SPOTTED & 6 LEAST SANDPIPERS, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, 3 GREATER ROADRUNNERS, 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS, 1 young BARN OWL, HOUSE WREN, a few BREWER'S SPARROWS, scads of LAZULI BUNTINGS, several small flocks of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS and 2 BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

House Wren and Green-tailed Towhee both winter at Whitewater but there's no way to know if today's individuals are just passing through. By my records at this location, the wren is slightly early and the towhee on time.

SWAINSON'S HAWKS were common as I drove north through the valley. LARK BUNTINGS numbered in the hundreds on Lee and Noble Roads.

Shorebird habitat at Willcox is about as good as it gets at the moment and certainly the best that I've seen here since September 1997. Much of the periphery of the main pond has plenty of exposed shoreline and there are large flat areas extending well into the water. Water level is very low and even AMERICAN COOT can stand up in the middle.

Least common location species were CATTLE EGRET (golf course pond), 2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, SANDERLING, BELTED KINGFISHER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, NASHVILLE WARBLER and a few CHIPPING SPARROWS.

Regulars included BLACK-NECKED STILT and AMERICAN AVOCET in fair numbers; LESSER YELLOWLEGS, numerous WESTERN, LEAST & BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, 2 STILT SANDPIPERS, many WILSON'S and at least 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, a lone BLACK TERN constantly on the wing and a small flock of LARK BUNTINGS.

Thursday, September 3, 2009
I only had time for a short outing this morning. I decided to spend that time in Garden Canyon to check on migrants and to determine if Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers were still present. Another partly cloudy morning was followed by dark sky, gusty winds, thunder and a cooling rain in the early afternoon, perhaps caused by the northern edge of Jimena. Unfortunately though, it now seems that the former hurricane won't bring much needed moisture to make up the monsoon shortfall.

Lots of birds worked the vegetation around Garden Canyon fishing ponds and I was hopeful for something unusual. Last year in September I picked up Dickcissel here. Although I had no such luck today, I managed to come up with over 30 resident and migrant species in this small area.

A migrant NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW was actually the least common species (only the second time for me). I saw and heard the bird as I scanned the many VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS hoping for Vaux's Swift.

Other migrants present were ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, SUMMER & WESTERN TANAGERS, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and LAZULI BUNTING (very common).

Although LARK SPARROWS breed in Garden Canyon, they are not particularly common at the ponds. Today they were abundant as they are at many locations right now. I watched adults and lots of immature birds bathing.

Among the regulars were GREAT BLUE HERON, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER (immature male), BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES, CASSIN'S & WESTERN KINGBIRDS (both very common); CANYON TOWHEE and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

Many BLUE GROSBEAKS and a few BOTTERI'S SPARROWS were singing in the grasslands. Surprisingly, I didn't hear Cassin's Sparrow at all (although I didn't go out of my way to find one). Other grassland denizens noted were GREATER ROADRUNNER and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE.

At first blush, a beautiful adult GRAY HAWK perched on a pole in the grasslands below the lower picnic area would appear to be out of place. However, it's not far to the cottonwoods along Garden Canyon creek where Gray Hawks started nesting in 2003, perhaps 2002.

Of all the summer resident flycatchers in southeast Arizona, SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER is the shortest staying as well as the latest to arrive in Spring (generally mid May). Although a few birds sometimes stick around until mid September, many leave by the end of August. My own data shows an average last date of August 26 and an extreme date of September 15. Obviously, sample interval impacts such data collection but there's another factor at play -- detecting departing species is a tough proposition since most species are not vocal at this season. Fortunately, Sulphur-bellied is an exception and I heard their raucous calls as I drove between the middle and upper picnic areas. At least two birds were present.

A migrant OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER that I saw on August 25 & 31 continues in the same area. I was able to compare the bird to a nearby WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE. In the same binocular view, the bulky head and chunky jizz of the Olive-sided were obvious.

I also noted PLUMBEOUS & HUTTON'S VIREOS (both singing); BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS.

It was so nice to drive down Fry Boulevard in the rain this afternoon with the temperature under 70 degrees.

Friday, September 4, 2009
This fine morning I visited the San Pedro RNCA with several low key objectives -- to check on Green Kingfisher; to see if I could stumble into a Painted Bunting; and generally to see what migrants were around. After a brief check around the San Pedro House, I took the "diagonal trail" to Kingfisher Pond then walked back north along the river. The day began cloudless and mild after yesterday's rain (60 degrees at 6:00am). A few clouds built up as the morning progressed and it was 82 degrees when I headed back to town at 11:00am.

I spent from 6:45-9:15am birding my way slowly around Kingfisher Pond starting at the north end. I was encouraged to see a flock of a dozen or so small shorebirds at the south end of the pond. I've never seen very many shorebirds here so I knew I had a chance of a new location species. Little did I know what lay in store! When I finally reached the south end an hour or so later, I was surprised to see how good the habitat was for shorebirds. I was even more surprised when I checked the flock to find 1 SPOTTED, 2 WESTERN, 7 LEAST & 2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and a single SEMIPALMATED PLOVER all conveniently grouped together on a mudflat. All except the Spotted were location firsts. A bold as brass SORA strutted its stuff on the same mudflat as the shorebirds.

I did lots of scanning but failed to find the Green Kingfisher (the bird was last reported in the San Pedro House sighting log on September 1). However, there were plenty of birds to keep me entertained including three species of herons -- 2 GREAT BLUE HERONS, GREEN HERON and an immature BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (all regulars to varying degrees); and a number of regular flycatcher species -- WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, several adult male and female VERMILION FLYCATCHERS; BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBE'S and lots of CASSIN'S & WESTERN KINGBIRDS. I couldn't come up with Tropical Kingbird (my latest record at the pond is September 11).

The only ducks were a couple of MALLARDS and a single GREEN-WINGED TEAL.

Swallows were very common for the first hour until a border patrol helicopter spooked them. Most were TREE SWALLOWS with a smattering of NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED & BARN SWALLOWS mixed in.

As I scanned the dense weedy areas looking for a Painted Bunting (finding only lots of LAZULI and a couple of INDIGO BUNTINGS), I was pleased to lay eyes on a DICKCISSEL at the north west corner of the pond. Dickcissel is a casual to rare fall migrant in SE AZ and I've only managed to see them every other year on average (never at this location before). 5 new location species on the same day!  Do you think that Murphy may right now be plotting devilish ways in which to screw me in the near future?

EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was noteworthy at the pond. I saw a very pale dove perched atop a snag and had just determined its identity when the bird sang to confirm. This was only my third record on the San Pedro (previously at the SP House).

The water level of the river remains very low and with a little zig-zagging I was able to walk in the river bed for long stretches (with wellies I could probably have walked to Mexico). This was a good way to see migrants. WARBLING VIREOS and WILSON'S WARBLERS were both very common. Other migrants were HAMMOND'S & PACIFIC SLOPE FLYCATCHERS and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.

Continuing summer birds included GRAY HAWK, YELLOW WARBLER (still many remaining, typically gone from here by mid month), YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (diminishing vocalizations), SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK (abundant and vocal) and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

HOUSE WREN and BREWER'S & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were the only winter species that I noted. The Lincoln's was my earliest record on the river by 4 days.

Sunday, September 6, 2009
Rain was the biggest rarity at Sierra Vista EOP this morning. Heavy clouds, lightning and increasing rain truncated the regular Sunday outing and probably caused us to miss a few species. Only four (fool)hardy souls turned up. However, apart from getting a little wet, I think we all enjoyed the cool conditions. It's not often that the temperature drops during these outings!

ABERT'S TOWHEE was the best bird for me -- location species #199 after 953 visits. There was a time that I thought I wouldn't reach 200. Now it seems almost certain if I can avoid being run over by a bus. Abert's is on the official EOP checklist but it appears there aren't any actual records.

Four less commonly seen location species were also of note. Listed in order of rarity (personal records shown in parentheses) they were HOUSE WREN (3), RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (4), LONG-BILLED CURLEW (5) and CHIPPING SPARROW (9, 7 in spring). The curlew was a fly over bird, conveniently calling to get our attention. The others were only recorded at the Moson Road access.

Slightly more regular but far from common were LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER and several YELLOW WARBLERS (typically only seen here as a fall migrant).

Shorebirds/waders were well represented for this location. In addition to the curlew and phalarope, we also saw 21 WHITE-FACED IBIS, 1 WILSON'S SNIPE, 4 SPOTTED, 2-3 WESTERN, several LEAST and 1 BAIRD'S SANDPIPER.

SORA numbers are up with many calling today (1 seen). A single VIRGINIA RAIL was heard only. GREAT BLUE & GREEN HERONS, at least 5 chattering MARSH WRENS and many RED-WINGED & YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS rounded out the marsh birds.

A male WOOD DUCK posed boldly and uncharacteristically in the middle of open water. GREEN-WINGED & CINNAMON TEAL and NORTHERN SHOVELER were in increased numbers but most winter duck species are still elsewhere.

LAZULI BUNTING numbers were way down today. At least 3 BLUE GROSBEAKS continue to sing. Arriving birds included 12+ BREWER'S SPARROWS and SAVANNAH SPARROW.

Given the weather, it perhaps wasn't surprising that raptors were almost absent. One each PEREGRINE FALCON and SWAINSON'S HAWK were the only birds seen.

I think the official tally was 56 species, I missed Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Green-tailed Towhee.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009
First of two days with Jim Geisler from Hammond, LA. Our only mandate is "to see birds". All of our time was spent on Fort Huachuca in Garden, Huachuca and Sawmill Canyons. It was a rare cloudy morning and we even had some heavy rain (fortunately as we traveled between canyons). Birding was steady and we encountered migrant warblers throughout with TOWNSEND'S WARBLER being the most common species. At least four migrant OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS were seen -- they seem to be more numerous than normal this year.

We began in lower Garden Canyon grassland with a visit to the fishing ponds. Highlights were SOLITARY SANDPIPER (a location first for me, fourth record in the canyon) and a brief VAUX'S SWIFT fly-by. GREEN HERON was only my second sighting at the ponds.

Also seen were 10 WILD TURKEYS, GREATER ROADRUNNER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, SUMMER & WESTERN TANAGERS, BOTTERI'S (many), CASSIN'S & LARK SPARROWS, lots of BLUE GROSBEAKS still singing and LAZULI BUNTING (numbers dwindling).

Driving into Huachuca Canyon, a calling GRAY HAWK remained unseen (a breeder in the canyon for the first time this year). At the 1.7m picnic area, PAINTED REDSTARTS were extremely common and conspicuous, especially young "Blackstarts".

Most of the action was at the picnic area and along the first 1/4 mile of the trail. We saw ARIZONA WOODPECKER, GREATER PEWEE, OLIVE-SIDED, CORDILLERAN & several DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS; we had a good haul of vireos with many PLUMBEOUS still singing away, a lone CASSIN'S, several HUTTON'S & 2-3 WARBLING VIREOS; warblers were scattered around rather than in a mixed flock and comprised ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER.

Back in Garden Canyon as we headed up to Sawmill Canyon in the rain, Jim spotted a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER hanging upside down stuck in a spider's web and was able to rescue the bird.

The heavy rain ceased as we reached Sawmill and we soon encountered a mixed warbler flock. Viewing the birds high in the pines against a gray sky was difficult to say the least. With perseverance and sorting through lots of annoying YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, we found adult and sub-adult male OLIVE, many TOWNSEND'S, a lone HERMIT and a few GRACE'S WARBLERS.

We came across 4 BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS (calling but not singing). EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were quite common and certainly very vocal. Other stuff in Sawmill included ACORN & ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, GREATER PEWEE, HERMIT THRUSH, BROWN CREEPER, WARBLING VIREO and heard only YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS (couldn't lay eyes on a single one of them).

Back in Garden Canyon about 300 yards below Sawmill, we stopped to look at warblers and had great scope views of a calling NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL. Excited birds near the owl included CASSIN'S VIREO, NASHVILLE, HERMIT & WILSON'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART.

Further down canyon, I was hoping to find that SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were still around. Right on cue, a bird called about midway between the upper and middle picnic areas. At least two birds were in the sycamores but probably not for much longer.

A good day at the office with Solitary Sandpiper, Pygmy-Owl and Vaux's Swift being the best birds for me.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Out again today with Jim with the objective of seeing a variety of birds. However, today we put in a bit of effort to make sure we saw Gray Hawk and Varied Bunting. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and Paton Birder Haven. It was a more typical September day that began with a cloudless sky; quite pleasant at the lake early this morning then warm in the afternoon (90+ degrees in Sierra Vista).

Three hours at Patagonia Lake produced 55 species even though we only birded the mesquite areas at the park boundary and then the marina and visitor center area (no trail work). Summer residents and migrants were much in evidence and, as expected, there's very little "winter" stuff yet. We had to work to find VARIED BUNTING and eventually claimed our reward of a colorful male and an independently foraging, drab juvenile. During the search, I was pleased to see a couple of LUCY'S WARBLERS that can be quite difficult to find at this time of year. PHAINOPEPLAS were abundant.

Two MEXICAN JAYS near the visitor center were a little surprising. Although I have a handful of previous records, they have mostly been from the mesquite-grassland areas with scattered oaks that are just outside the park proper. Other less common location species were GREATER YELLOWLEGS and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Regular fare included GREEN HERON, BLACK VULTURE, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET (tough to track down), ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, BOTTERI'S, RUFOUS-CROWNED, RUFOUS-WINGED & BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS (the latter three with young), PYRRHULOXIA, BLUE GROSBEAK (many, still singing) and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Among the migrants noted were WARBLING VIREO, ORANGE-CROWNED & WILSON'S WARBLERS and WESTERN TANAGER.

At Kino Springs, we finally laid eyes on male LAZULI BUNTINGS with some color (sightings yesterday were all of female and immature birds). The weedy areas around the club house pond had many of them. Migrant WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE and WILLOW FLYCATCHER were also present here. A (local breeder or migrant?) YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was in a small tree in the parking lot. VERMILION FLYCATCHERS provided photo ops.

We tracked down two ratty looking GRAY HAWKS in the cottonwoods at the sewage pond. 6 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS were also present (two adult and four immature birds).

At the dry, heavily overgrown first pond we saw COMMON GROUND-DOVE, VARIED BUNTING and heard MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. 40 species in all.

A singing EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE greeted us at Paton Birder Haven, quickly followed by several singing INCA DOVES. It didn't take long to see the expected hummers for this time of year -- BROAD-BILLED, VIOLET-CROWNED, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S & RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS.

LESSER GOLDFINCHES were abundant; no Lazuli Buntings noted here (perhaps because there's plenty of natural food available).

As yesterday, we saw a decent selection of species and a total of 120 species over the two days.

Friday, September 11, 2009
Today I visited Willcox, the Chiricahua Mountains and Whitewater Draw. It was another very warm late summer day with some late morning rain in the mountains.

I left home early enough to see LESSER NIGHTHAWKS still feeding by the lights of the Border Patrol station on highway 90 north of Sierra Vista.

My plan was to get to Willcox just before dawn and I was able to do that. In terms of shorebirds, my results were a little disappointing. Although shorebird habitat remains excellent, diversity has dropped quite a bit and the number of birds is way down from last week. I also failed to find a few recent species such as Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Ruddy Turnstone. However, taking everything into account, I did okay with 61 species seen including two new location species. Willcox is well known for its rapid species turnover and later in the morning Black Tern, Red Knot and Dickcissel were seen. Had I reversed my day, things may have been different. I just didn't fancy being there in the heat of the afternoon.

Shortly after I arrived a PRAIRIE FALCON streaked across the golf course and spooked lots of birds. Fortunately, it didn't take long for things to settle down.

I began at the golf course pond that was hopping with migrants as I had hoped. Warblers were very conspicuous. The most common species were ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, YELLOW and WILSON'S WARBLERS and I also saw MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

Saving the best for last, an unexpected VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was a new location species for me. While Virginia's is a common breeding species in the mountains of SE AZ, reports of lowland migrants are few. Personally, I've amassed 14 records -- Kino Springs (2), Patagonia Lake (1), Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary (2), San Pedro River (8) and Willcox (1).

RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was my second new location species of the morning. Willcox is most definitely not a place for hummers and I only have a couple of Black-chinned sightings.

Other species at the willow and salt cedar lined, marshy pond and various locations on the golf course included PIED-BILLED GREBE, adult and juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 2 SWAINSON'S HAWKS, numerous EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, 2 GREATER ROADRUNNERS, 3 LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, an immature female VERMILION FLYCATCHER, MARSH WREN, BREWER'S, LARK, SONG & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS; PYRRHULOXIA, a few LAZULI BUNTINGS and scads of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

The main pond held an assortment of ducks, waders and shorebirds including EARED GREBE, 5 WHITE-FACED IBIS, a few PINTAILS and CINNAMON TEAL, lots of SHOVELERS, BLACK-NECKED STILT, a dramatically reduced quantity of AMERICAN AVOCETS; 10 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, WESTERN, LEAST, BAIRD'S (most common) and a handful of STILT SANDPIPERS; moderate numbers of WILSON'S and a few RED-NECKED PHALAROPES.

Around the periphery of the pond I found HORNED LARK, recently returned SAVANNAH SPARROWS and my first of season VESPER SPARROWS.

After a pleasant drive over to the Chiricahuas punctuated only by my second NORTHERN HARRIER of the season, I spent a little time enjoying the scenery at Chiricahua National Monument. I've only visited here a few times and the last time was 12 years ago! The rock formations are as spectacular as I (vaguely) remembered. Birds were sparse (15 species) and included BAND-TAILED PIGEON, CANYON WREN, SPOTTED TOWHEE and BLUE GROSBEAK.

As I exited the monument and started up Pinery Canyon Road, I bumped into Tony Godfrey who pointed out a WILLOW FLYCATCHER. Continuing up the canyon I saw a few more flycatchers -- both kingbirds, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER.

MEXICAN CHICKADEES were vocal and conspicuous in several places starting just after the Pine Camp turnoff, particularly at Onion Saddle and again at the Barfoot-Rustler split. Mixed flocks contained PLUMBEOUS & HUTTON'S VIREOS, WHITE-BREASTED & RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO (photo is of an immature, note the weak yellow eye and diminishing streaks).

Other roadside birds included CASSIN'S VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & GRACE'S WARBLERS; and high elevation LAZULI BUNTINGS (most migrants in SE AZ are in the lowlands, although I have a fair number of mountain records).

I stopped at Pinery Canyon Campground and was surprised to find that all the picnic tables have been removed and the ground left very rough. This was never much of a campground and now it has poor utility even as a place to park. Well done U.S. Forest Service.

A spontaneously calling immature NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL was in the campground. The bird stayed very high in a pine and I had great difficulty in obtaining a rather poor image. The angle was so steep (almost vertical) that I had to lean back with two tripod legs off the ground; no stability at all. Add backlighting and distance and you'll see why I couldn't get a good shot.

Higher up the mountain, at the split, I added WILD TURKEY, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, HAIRY WOODPECKER, PYGMY NUTHATCH and OLIVE WARBLER.

I backtracked down Pinery Canyon and headed to Whitewater Draw. My drive south through Sulphur Springs Valley was virtually birdless apart from WESTERN KINGBIRDS.

It was stifling at Whitewater Draw in mid afternoon and I only lasted an hour. I could see stormy weather in the Mule Mountains to the west and I was hopeful that the rain would move swiftly east. No such luck.

I was pleased to find a migrant GRAY HAWK that was a location first for me. Later (after checking the logbook), I learned that the bird had been around for a few days.

My diligence was far from high as I walked around the berms and it was tough to find birds. The main body of water has lots of marshy habitat and at first I couldn't see any waterfowl at all. However, by the time I was done, I'd seen at least 200 CINNAMON TEAL. Simply amazing how this number of relatively large birds can remain concealed. Other species included GREAT BLUE HERON, 24 WHITE-FACED IBIS (perhaps many more hidden), 4 AVOCETS, 2 SPOTTED and 5 LEAST SANDPIPERS.

In the willows I noted YELLOW & WILSON'S WARBLERS; 6+ BLUE GROSBEAKS, many LAZULI BUNTINGS and my season first WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. Elsewhere I saw 2 SWAINSON'S HAWKS, 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS, lots of LARK SPARROWS and a few LARK BUNTINGS. 30 species in all.

110 species recorded:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes; Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks; Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Wild Turkey, Am. Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, Spotted, Western, Least, Baird's & Stilt Sandpipers; Wilson's & Red-necked Phalaropes; Rock & Band-tailed Pigeons; Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, N. Pygmy-Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds; Acorn, Ladder-backed & Hairy Woodpeckers; N. Flicker, Olive-sided, Willow, Hammond's & Vermilion Flycatchers; Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; Horned Lark, Tree, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows; Canyon, Bewick's & Marsh Wrens; N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches; Loggerhead Shrike, Steller's & Mexican Jays; Chihuahuan & Common Ravens; European Starling, House Sparrow, Plumbeous, Cassin's & Hutton's Vireos; Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Virginia's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Grace's, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Spotted Towhee, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows; Lark Bunting, Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks; Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, September 13, 2009
Good weather and good birding at Sierra Vista EOP this morning. Overnight rain petered out and the pleasant start time temperature of 59 degrees was the lowest for some time. The morning remained mostly clear and warmed to a very tolerable 82 degrees by quitting time. September is a good month for species diversity and recent weeks have seen species counts in the mid 60s (it wasn't long ago that I broke 60 for the first time at this location). Today was the best day ever with a good mix of residents, migrants and arriving wintering species that combined to produce a total in the mid 70s. This is an excellent result given the rather sparse habitat (nowhere near as good as Sweetwater Wetland, for example, where totals are often over 80). It now seems that 80 is a reasonable target at the EOP (at least in September and October).

It was a good morning for personal firsts and EOP firsts. In fact, I picked up 4 new location species taking my EOP total to 203. New for me were WILLOW FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO (at least two birds), NASHVILLE WARBLER and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

Migrant Willow Flycatchers are more common than normal throughout SE AZ this season. I'm also seeing Warbling Vireos with regularity and Nashville Warblers are close to abundant. Resident Rufous-crowned Sparrows are easily found in the nearby Huachucas. The closest place to the EOP where I've seen them is on the dry hillsides adjacent to Garden Wash, west of the San Pedro and south of Hwy 90 (a straight line distance of perhaps 3 miles from today's bird).

Other less common species today (personal records in parentheses) were BELTED KINGFISHER (2), VAUX'S SWIFT (2), OSPREY (3), EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (4), BELL'S VIREO (4), WESTERN TANAGER (4) and COMMON GROUND-DOVE (5).

It was difficult to determine how many Vaux's Swifts were present. Although we never saw more than one bird at any time, single birds were seen 5 or 6 times in scattered locations over a period of 3+ hours. Excellent close up views of this uncommon migrant were had by all. All the regular AZ swallows were present.

A flock of 40 flyover GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were the first birds of the day. They were identified by a process of elimination rather than definitive field marks. A few winter in SE AZ; September and October are peak migration months.

WOOD DUCK continues but wintering ducks are still not plentiful. Waders/shorebirds were minimal today and included 7+ WHITE-FACED IBIS, 3 SPOTTED & 5-ish BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS; and a single WILSON'S PHALAROPE with an injured leg/foot.

Landbird migrants/wintering species present (in addition to those already mentioned) included YELLOW (surprisingly numerous including many immature birds) & WILSON'S WARBLERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, BREWER'S (fairly common, scattered in small groups), VESPER, SAVANNAH & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS; small numbers of LARK BUNTINGS and perhaps a couple of LAZULI BUNTINGS (numbers have really plummeted).

Among the species seen most weeks (though not for much longer for the hawk and kingbirds) were SWAINSON'S HAWK, PEREGRINE FALCON, both Phoebes and Kingbirds; LARK SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK and lots of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Species that are not seen on every trip included SCALED QUAIL, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, PYRRHULOXIA and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (2 adult males and 3-4 recently fledged birds).

The official tally was 76 species, I missed Sharp-shinned Hawk, House Wren and Lucy's Warbler.

Monday, September 14, 2009
This morning I made my first trip of the season to San Rafael Valley. It's really a little early for this location (longspurs usually arrive next month) but I wanted to check on Baird's Sparrow. I also visited Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest Area and Paton Birder Haven.

Baird's has turned out to be "special project" species for me and over the years I've worked on advancing my knowledge of arrival dates (same for Buff-breasted Flycatcher and Botteri's Sparrow). It's interesting to look at the bar graph data in the old birdfinding guides. The 1989 edition of Lane's "A Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona" shows Baird's Sparrow present from the beginning of October. The 1990 edition of Tucson Audubon's "Birds in Southeastern Arizona" shows them present starting mid October. I think the data was incorrect simply because of poor coverage. Let's face it, you have to be a special kind of stupid to head into the grasslands in September to look for a needle in a haystack (insert picture of me here). Current editions of both guides now reflect reality. 

Last year I established a personal early date of September 4. I have several records later in the month and I was hoping to fill a gap in my data by confirming their presence today. The weather cooperated with a calm morning (wind is bad anywhere for birding, especially so in the wide open grasslands).

I left home at 5:00am and headed out through Fort Huachuca west gate. On the drive through the valley on FR 58, BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were both season firsts near Vaca Ranch corral.

I started birding at the west end of the valley at 6:20am when it was quite cool. I found the first BAIRD'S SPARROW at 6:30am and was able to get a poor quality photograph that will serve only as an example of plumage for this date. Further searching produced three more through 7:15pm then none at all after that through 8:00am.

Activity was generally very low. Apart from HORNED LARKS and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, sparrows were the only conspicuous species and even they were localized. SAVANNAH SPARROWS well outnumbered VESPER SPARROWS. I also saw a handful of GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and a couple of LARK BUNTINGS that are rare here.

Of interest to me were lots of LARK SPARROWS, a personal first in the grasslands (where the habitat is far from typical for them). This year I'm seeing more Lark Sparrows than I've ever seen before in SE AZ. Also of note were many BREWER'S SPARROWS, a species that I've only seen in the valley on two previous occasions.

The drive down Harshaw Canyon was very pleasant and few short stops produced a total of 25 species. I was pleased to see my season first RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, a pristinely plumaged individual. NASHVILLE WARBLERS were the most common migrant. Resident species seen included ACORN WOODPECKER, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, SPOTTED TOWHEE and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

It was quite warm by the time I reached Kino Springs and at first I regretted my choice of destination (Patagonia Lake was the alternative). I worked the dry first pond for a while then moved on to the club house area. Two hours of casual birding produced 50 species. I was unable to find any water birds at the large club house pond and I even missed the oft-present Whistling-Ducks on the sewage pond. Resident and summer species made up the bulk of what I saw and migrants weren't very numerous.

Highlights were excellent views of 2 GRAY HAWKS at the first pond (perched and in flight) and 2 VAUX'S SWIFT'S working over the club house pond. It seems that there's a significant push of migrant Vaux's at the moment since they are being reported from multiple locations.

Migrants included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, NASHVILLE and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS (casual in spring, uncommon in fall at Kino).

Among the other species were BLACK VULTURE, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, CRISSAL THRASHER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SUMMER TANAGER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, several singing RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS, lots of BLUE GROSBEAKS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

A quick stop at Patagonia Roadside Rest Area produced 20 species including DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, CANYON WREN, a noisy flock of MEXICAN JAYS (irregular here); BELL'S VIREO, 3+ WARBLING VIREOS, multiple NASHVILLE, YELLOW & WILSON'S WARBLERS; YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (great views of this often secretive species); and at least 4 WESTERN TANAGERS.

I didn't see anything unusual at Paton Birder Haven. CHIPPING SPARROWS don't typically arrive here until October but this year they were early and several were present today. VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRDS were aggressive towards the other regular hummers but GILA and ACORN WOODPECKERS were top dogs at the hummingbird feeders.

A successful day in terms of my main objective. Although I also found a good variety of species, I was a little surprised not to have come across a single empid in any of the locations that I visited.

92 species recorded:
Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Black & Turkey Vultures; Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks; Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning & Inca Doves; Common Ground-Dove, Vaux's Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned & Rufous Hummingbirds; Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers; Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black & Say's Phoebes; Vermilion & Dusky-capped Flycatchers; Cassin's & Western Kingbirds; Horned Lark, Tree, Violet-green, Cliff & Barn Swallows; Canyon & Bewick's Wrens; N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers; Eastern Bluebird, Am. Robin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell's & Warbling Vireos; House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Nashville, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers; Green-tailed, Spotted & Canyon Towhees; Rufous-crowned, Rufous-winged, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark, Savannah, Baird's, Grasshopper & Song Sparrows; Lark Bunting, N. Cardinal, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks; Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged, Yellow-headed & Brewer's Blackbirds; Eastern & Western Meadowlarks; Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bullock's Oriole.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
This morning I visited the San Pedro RNCA spending most of my time at Kingfisher Pond. I'd never seen Vaux's Swift on the San Pedro and figured that with so many birds around at the moment I had a good chance to see one flying over the pond if I hung around long enough. Well, I put in a half shift and didn't get a Swift. Obviously not long enough. I also failed to turn up Green Kingfisher that was last reported on September 10. It wasn't all doom and gloom though. Kingfisher Pond was a happening place this morning and my time wasn't wasted by any means.

It's official - the 2009 monsoon season (such as it was) is finished. This according to the local weather guys who are never wrong, of course. Today was a calm, clear blue sky day with 6:00am and 11:00am temperatures of 59 and 88 degrees in Sierra Vista.

Of the 61 species that I recorded on my walk through the grassland from the San Pedro House to Kingfisher Pond; 4 hours at the pond; and then the walk back north along the river, 48 of those species were seen at the pond. By far the best bird was a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH (the image is very poor but it does serve to document the bird). Northern Waterthrush is a rare migrant in southeast Arizona in both Spring and Fall; accidental at other times with records for all months except February, March and June. Looking at my own data, I have 13 records in 7 different months from 8 of the last 17 years -- an average of just less than 1 sighting every other year. Just over half of those records (8) are from the San Pedro. I like numbers. Those still awake read on.

I've seen a significant number of INDIGO BUNTINGS in southeast Arizona this year and at least one was present at the pond today. This is normally a rare to uncommon bird (rare in my experience). To emphasize, I've seen 8 this year compared to 19 in the previous 16 years.

For most of the time that I was at the pond, I was entertained by a very active OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER feasting on odonates (note the sneaky use of this word so I don't have to decide between dragonfly and damselfly). Unlike Monday, I had a good flycatcher day with a singing WILLOW FLYCATCHER and several DUSKY FLYCATCHERS (both at the pond); and the always delightful VERMILION FLYCATCHER (with an interesting bug).

The GREAT BLUE & GREEN HERONS and juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON present for a while all continue. Today they were joined by 3 SNOWY EGRETS for a heron big day (for this location!). This was only my fourth Snowy Egret sighting on the SPRNCA, today was the first in fall.

Shorebird diversity has dropped. Present today were KILLDEER, SPOTTED & 4 LEAST SANDPIPERS. Bear in mind that the expected shorebird count at this location on any given visit is 0.

A noisy BELTED KINGFISHER dropped by around 9:15am and stayed about 15 minutes. Other passage birds included OSPREY (present when I first arrived then soon departed); WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW.   

Regular summer species and residents included GRAY HAWK (great views of a soaring bird), COMMON GROUND-DOVE, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (will soon be gone); both kingbirds and phoebes; still singing YELLOW WARBLERS; COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SUMMER TANAGER, ABERT'S TOWHEE, SONG SPARROW, PYRRHULOXIA and BLUE GROSBEAK (including many immature birds).

Among the migrants and wintering species were RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, 6+ WARBLING VIREOS, many NASHVILLE & WILSON'S WARBLERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, CHIPPING, BREWER'S, VESPER & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and many LAZULI BUNTINGS (mostly drab birds showing very little blue). 

Thursday, September 17, 2009
I needed to get some work done on the Blue Trogon this morning so my birding time was limited. I was forced to start late when the temperature was already above 80 degrees. Definitely not my bag of chips. However, even though I only spent a short time in Garden Canyon (mostly at the fishing ponds), I still had a productive outing.

Almost the first bird that I saw was a DICKCISSEL (mediocre image). What followed was like a keystone cops segment. I was only 100 yards from my vehicle when I saw the bird so I doubled back to get a camera. Since the bird was some distance from the closest viewing position, I knew that I would need maximum reach. Consequently, I had to remove the 40D camera body and 1.4X converter from my 400mm lens and setup with the 1D II body and 2X. Of course, it took longer than it should have done with all the fumbling and dropping stuff as I tried to hurry. All set now right? Before leaving the vehicle I tried a test shot and found that the battery was dead. More time lost as I replaced the battery.

I put the lens on the tripod and ran back to where I had seen the bird only to find that it was gone (as I'm sure you were expecting). It's a good thing that nobody was within earshot. Anyway, to cut a long story short, over the next hour I relocated the bird twice and eventually managed to get a poor but acceptable documentary quality image. All told I saw the bird three times and each time it was with a flock of LARK SPARROWS feeding at the edge of the water on the far shore of the gravel pit pond. I had to shoot across the pond so it was just as well that I took the time to get the right equipment. A poor image is better than none.

Dickcissel is a rare fall migrant in southeast Arizona from about mid August through September. They seem to be a little more numerous this year with reports coming in from multiple locations. Over the years I haven't stumbled into them very often. Today was only my 7th sighting in SE AZ  (seen in 5 different years). Interestingly, I saw one in almost the same location at the fishing ponds last September (9/29/2008). Other than the few birds that I have seen in AZ, I have zero experience with fall Dickcissels. I'm calling today's bird an adult female (some chestnut on the shoulder plus too much yellow for an immature bird?). Please correct me if I am wrong.

While trying to relocate the Dickcissel, I happened upon a NASHVILLE WARBLER feeding in low vegetation. This normally uncommon migrant is another species that seems much more numerous than usual this year. It's hard to find a low or mid elevation location where they are not being seen at the moment.

Most of the birds I recorded were around the Gravel Pit pond that still has a fair amount of water. The smaller pond is dry but has plenty of weedy habitat and a small, fairly dense cottonwood grove. Among 30 species seen were WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, both Kingbirds, hordes of LESSER GOLDFINCHES (including some Black-backed types); SUMMER TANAGER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, plenty of BLUE GROSBEAKS and a handful of LAZULI BUNTINGS.

Nothing much to write home about further up canyon where it was deathly quiet. DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER was the only bird of note. Some birds stick around into October but they are much harder to come across after mid September.

Friday, September 18, 2009
This morning I visited Carr Canyon where I confined my activities to the lower canyon and didn't venture any higher than the third stream crossing. Sunny and very pleasant during the early hours. Clouds appeared in the early afternoon and it rained in Sierra Vista for a little while.

I spent a couple of hours working the trail that heads north from the picnic area about .2m above the second stream crossing. All seemed really quiet at first but I eventually weeded out 30 species in this hilly area of grass and rocks with oak, juniper, pinyon-pine and manzanita. Based on my efforts along the trail, I've decided that the ear-birder's corollary to the Yogi-ism "You can observe a lot just by watching" is "You can hear a lot just by listening". I'll call that a Healy-ism. I experienced them both in 15 minutes today.

As I as watched 3 soaring RED-TAILED HAWKS interacting almost directly above me, I noticed a huge number of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS much higher in the sky. I starting sifting through the swallows and after 30 seconds of scanning I found a WHITE-THROATED SWIFT shortly followed by a VAUX'S SWIFT. Well said Yogi. Vaux's Swift was a new location species for me.

Now the listening part. While I was observing the goings on above me, I heard the unmistakable calls of a GRAY HAWK. Due to the location (no Gray Hawks here!), I would normally have been completely gobsmacked. However, a little earlier I'd seen a hawk in a fast power glide heading towards the location of the sound that I was now hearing. At the time I said to myself "wow, that looks like a Gray Hawk" but dismissed it because of the location. I certainly couldn't have called it based on what I had seen but the voice confirmation made all the difference. My second new location species of the morning.

During the time I was "focusing" my ears towards the sound of the hawk, I heard the distant and poorly executed José María refrain of a GREATER PEWEE. It sounded a little "off" and I figured it was a young bird learning to sing. My own whistled imitation sounded much better to me and perhaps to the bird as well since it flew in to check me out.

At one point along the trail I encountered 5 woodpecker species within a few yards of each other -- 6 ACORN WOODPECKERS, 3 LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS and an ARIZONA WOODPECKER; my second of season RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and a couple of NORTHERN FLICKERS. A sixth species, GILA WOODPECKER, was a little further down canyon.

Few migrants were among the mix of permanent and summer residents that I saw. I noted three species of hummingbirds --  female ANNA'S & BLACK-CHINNED and a male BROAD-TAILED;  HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, several very confiding CANYON WRENS bouncing around on the rocks, countless scolding BEWICK'S WRENS, the usual BUSHTITS, BRIDLED TITMICE & WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES; a migrant WARBLING VIREO, 2 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, a singing PAINTED REDSTART and 2-3 HEPATIC TANAGERS.

The only photo that I managed was of a bird that I couldn't identify. A silent "WESTERN" FLYCATCHER" in a potential overlap zone of Cordilleran and Pacific-Slope Flycatchers cannot be named with certainty.

Sunday, September 20, 2009
For the second consecutive week, birding at Sierra Vista EOP was very good this morning. However, it appears that migration for landbirds is past its peak. The weather also cooperated; clouds and light rain held off until later in the day. 

I typically arrive 30 minutes before the official start time to bird the entrance road. Today I started a little earlier and was rewarded with a couple of species that, somewhat surprisingly. were not seen again throughout the morning -- my first of season MERLIN and a NORTHERN HARRIER. This was my earliest Merlin at the EOP by just a few days. My earliest ever record for SE AZ is August 28.

The regular PEREGRINE FALCON put on a good show -- the bird was heard calling; seen perched in a couple of places and seen well in flight. Other raptors included several migrant TURKEY VULTURES, 4-6 KESTRELS, an immature COOPERS HAWK and a couple each RED-TAILED & SWAINSON'S HAWKS.

A few AMERICAN WIGEONS finally showed up to confirm that fall is actually round the corner, Otherwise, the continuing WOOD DUCK and the handful of species that have been around for weeks continue. Two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were present on one of the Moson Road ponds.

Shorebird habitat is fast disappearing as the temporal ponds dry up. 1 WHITE-FACED IBIS, 12 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, a continuing injured WILSON'S PHALAROPE and a handful of KILLDEER were the only birds noted.

With the exception of Swamp, all the sparrow species that usually winter at the EOP are now present. VESPER SPARROWS were particularly numerous today. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and PYRRHULOXIA were both location season firsts. The White-crowned was my first in September at the EOP. YELLOW-HEADED & RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS are already in good numbers but Brewer's Blackbird hasn't arrived yet.

VAUX'S SWIFTS were present for the second consecutive week and it was a treat to be watch them zipping by at close range. No more then 4 were seen at the same time but I definitely got the impression that more were present.

The push of Yellow Warblers has passed and WILSON'S WARBLER was the only migrant warbler seen today. Landbirds were generally well represented highlighted by SCALED QUAIL perched atop a fence, 2 COMMON GROUND-DOVES, an immature female VERMILION FLYCATCHER, multiple singing BELL'S VIREOS, GREEN-TAILED & CANYON TOWHEES, BLUE GROSBEAK, LAZULI BUNTING and 5-8 BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

I recorded 73 species -- 72 identified plus meadowlark species. For much of the year I would simply call any meadowlark the resident Eastern Meadowlark. However, even though I haven't seen a migrant/wintering Western Meadowlark appear at the EOP until early October in any previous year, they are certainly possible. In fact, I've already seen my first of season (in San Rafael Valley last Monday).

Monday, September 21, 2009
This morning I visited the San Pedro again hoping to find a migrant Vaux's Swift. They are everywhere at the moment but once again I failed to find one on the river! As last Wednesday, I spent several hours at Kingfisher Pond where activity was significantly lower than last week. It was a clear, calm and warm morning to get fall underway. The temperature was already 85 degrees when I left at 10:15am.

On my visit last week, I lugged my heaviest lens and tripod down to the pond. As things turned out, I regretted not taking my scope because there were plenty of distant birds that I couldn't identify. Today I left the San Pedro House carrying only my binocular and twice returned to my vehicle to first get hand-held camera equipment and then my scope. Just another version of getting screwed by Murphy -- today I regretted not taking my best photo equipment!

Among the birds at the San Pedro House were RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, the usual raucous GILA WOODPECKERS, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, CANYON TOWHEE and recently returned PYRRHULOXIAS.

GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES were plentiful on my walk down to the pond. At one point I had five in view at the same time. Migrants on the outbound walk through the mesquite-grassland included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE (6 on the day); CASSIN'S VIREO and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER.

Upon reaching Kingfisher Pond I was disappointed by the overall lack of activity. Last week the vegetation around the pond was hopping with birds and I eventually recorded 48 species versus only 30 today. On the plus side, I did see the continuing female GREEN KINGFISHER that has become hit and miss (probably spending more time on the river now as the water runs clearer).

I first detected the bird in the shallow bay at the extreme north end of the pond at 7:20am. Over the next 40 minutes I watched the bird fishing, preening, crapping, yawning and just hanging out. All this occurred within the northern third of the pond and on both east and west sides (mostly east). Although the bird was never really close enough and I only had a small hand-held lens, I shot 75 images hoping that something would be usable. I published 3 of them shot in different locations (click ). I like image #2 that was shot on the edge of light and shadow. The bird has a knowing look as if to say "I know your game". In image #3 the bird is perhaps looking for divine intervention.

At 8:00am the little green gal flew swiftly east towards the river and I never saw her again through 9:00am. A male BELTED KINGFISHER was also present but I never saw any interaction between them.

The heron bonanza is over and 2 resident GREAT BLUE HERONS were the only survivors today. A dozen CINNAMON TEAL were new. They are scarce but remarkably consistent here in September and October. Two very noisy KILLDEERS and two LEAST SANDPIPERS continue.

Continuing boys of summer were YELLOW WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SUMMER TANAGER and BLUE GROSBEAK. At the other end of the seasonal spectrum, a chattering MARSH WREN was right about on time for this location.

Migrants noted were WILLOW FLYCATCHER, WILSON'S WARBLER, a few LAZULI BUNTING and 3 YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. The blackbirds are scarce here even though thousands are present just up the road at Sierra Vista EOP. I have a few fall records concentrated in September; scattered sightings in spring and a few sightings in winter.

I walked back north along the river seeing COOPER'S HAWK, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, PLUMBEOUS & CASSIN'S VIREOS and MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER.

Of interest to me was a small flock of 10+ BRIDLED TITMICE containing a single HUTTON'S VIREO. Although I've seen titmice on the river in every month of the year (and breeding has been confirmed), they are most numerous in winter. It was only 4 years ago (October 2005) that I saw Hutton's on the river for the first time. This species mostly stays in the mountains (descending lower in winter) but also ventures to riparian areas in small numbers in winter (Patagonia Lake for example). Today was my first September sighting on the river (and it certainly seems a bit early for a bird to have left the mountains). What's that saying involving wings and books?

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Today I decided to visit Scheelite Canyon to check on Spotted Owls. I committed the early morning hours to the trip because days are becoming warmer again. In most parts of the country, this is early Fall. In southeast Arizona, it's June in September.

I turned up 25 species during a brief (45 minutes) stop at Garden Canyon fishing ponds. Everything that I saw was to be expected except perhaps for 15 WILD TURKEYS that are uncommon here. I saw two groups of 12 and 3.

Scheelite Canyon was delightfully cool at 8:00am and I enjoyed working my way slowly up the trail. I can't say the same for the return when it was much warmer. I had a sneaky feeling where I might find an owl today (not so much a specific roost tree, more of a general area). After a few warm afternoons, I figured that a shady maple beneath an east facing cliff in the upper reaches of the canyon would be just what the doctor ordered. However, I didn't break my rule and did a thorough check of the lower roosting area before proceeding further. I was ultimately very pleased to find a pair of SPOTTED OWLS roosting in a maple against an east facing cliff! You wouldn't know it from the published image but the area was quite shady and I didn't expect much of a result with a hand-held shot at 1/200s shutter speed. The correct shutter speed should have been 1/100s but I underexposed in order to get a usable image.

By the way, looking through all the images that I shot, I think the bird on the left is not much more than 2 years old.

The canyon was generally fairly quiet (especially the shady walk up) and I only managed a total of 20 species. Notable birds were an immature GOLDEN EAGLE seen in flight and a spontaneously calling NORTHERN (MOUNTAIN) PYGMY-OWL.

A Three Jay Day might have been a Beatles song but it wasn't. [What is the correct title?] MEXICAN JAY and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY are regular in the lower part of the canyon but I was a little surprised to see a STELLER'S JAY in this location so early in the season. HUTTON'S VIREOS & PAINTED REDSTARTS were singing; HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS were both calling. Among the other species were ARIZONA WOODPECKER, CANYON WREN, SPOTTED TOWHEE and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

The only migrants were OLIVE and WILSON'S WARBLERS, both low in the canyon. I've seen Olive Warblers in Scheelite quite a few times in September and I have a few scattered winter records. There's breeding habitat well above the 1 mile area that I normally frequent.

A calling HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER was present in Garden Canyon as I exited Scheelite.

Thursday, September 24, 2009
This morning I visited Willcox where it was downright chilly when I started birding at the golf course pond at 6:00am (10 minutes before sunrise). By Willcox standards, it was still reasonably pleasant when I left at 9:15am. I recorded a very respectable 70 species between the main pond and the golf course.

Judging by my own efforts and reports that I have read, landbird migrant activity in SE AZ has declined significantly in recent days. Consequently, I wasn't expecting too much in the vegetation at the golf course pond (the hotspot in these here parts). Migrants included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, WARBLING VIREO, 10+ ORANGE-CROWNED, 6+ WILSON'S and a single BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER.

Among the other species at the pond (including the surrounding vegetation and on the golf course) were PIED-BILLED GREBE (with several striped youngsters); the long staying NEOTROPIC CORMORANT that I usually fail to see, 6 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 2 SWAINSON'S HAWKS, several calling SORAS, GAMBEL'S and 30+ SCALED QUAIL; lots of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES and a single WHITE-WINGED DOVE; a male BELTED KINGFISHER fishing successfully; NORTHERN FLICKER (rare here); VERMILION FLYCATCHER, my season first RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, many MARSH WRENS that were surprisingly easy to see early on; plentiful COMMON YELLOWTHROATS; CANYON TOWHEE (about as rare as the Flicker); multiple LINCOLN'S & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and the usual RED-WINGED & YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Although shorebird habitat at the main pond remains excellent, the season dictates that the number of individuals and species diversity continue to decline. Best birds today were 4 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS  and 2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS. Also present were at least 6 EARED GREBES, a lone DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, 20 WHITE-FACED IBIS, a few AVOCETS, 20 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a single GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 75+ BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS well outnumbering LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS; 8 RED-NECKED and a handful of WILSON'S PHALAROPES and 3 RING-BILLED GULLS.

HORNED LARKS, VESPER & SAVANNAH SPARROWS were plentiful but I only found a few BREWER'S SPARROWS. My season first AMERICAN PIPIT was my second earliest fall sighting in SE AZ (earliest is September 12, average is October 9).

Over the course of my visit I saw all six regular swallows but never came up with a single Vaux's Swift.

On the way home, a short stop at St. David Monastery was generally unproductive except for GRAY HAWK and a surprise female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (surprise because of the location). It's getting late for Calliope (casual after mid September). I have one late September and two October records).

Friday, September 25, 2009
With only a couple of hours to devote to birding today, I decided to check the mesquite-grassland habitat near the San Pedro House to look for Botteri's and Cassin's Sparrows. Surprisingly, I haven't heard either species at any location this month. Some years they are still active well into September and sometimes into October. I didn't go anywhere near the river or the pond but as far as I know the Green Kingfisher was not seen today. The bird was seen Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

I started with a short stint watching the feeders around the San Pedro House where several winter visitors are now much in evidence. I heard the song of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS as I stepped out of the vehicle and soon found them to be quite numerous. PYRRHULOXIA is another winter regular here and they too are back in numbers. GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE numbers are extremely variable year to year but it already appears that this will be a good winter for them on the San Pedro. I watched a CURVE-BILLED THRASHER bullying both Green-tailed Towhee and Pyrrhuloxia at the feeders.

Among the other species around the house were WHITE-WINGED DOVE (usually present here throughout the winter months), VERMILION FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, the usual hordes of LESSER GOLDFINCHES and SUMMER TANAGER.

I worked the likely areas for my target sparrows and came up empty, seeing only BREWER'S & BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS. While searching, I was pleased to first hear then see a CRISSAL THRASHER, an uncommon resident in the dense habitat bounded by the Del Valle Road and the western section of Garden Wash. Most birders don't visit this area (well away from the river) and the thrasher isn't reported too often. Most of my records are from September to March when I walk my winter route that includes the Del Valle Road.

As I was tracking the thrasher, I saw migrant CASSIN'S & WARBLING VIREOS along with GREATER ROADRUNNER, GAMBEL'S QUAIL, at least 4 VERDINS, several vocal LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, CANYON & ABERT'S TOWHEES and BLUE GROSBEAK.

Back near the San Pedro House, I saw a migrant WILLOW FLYCATCHER and attempted to follow the bird to try for a photo. I became distracted by the calls of a Flicker that turned out to be a GILDED FLICKER, a species that is generally rare on the San Pedro. There are a couple of places on the river where it is somewhat reliable but this isn't one of them. In fact, this was only my 13th sighting in 622 visits (seen in 8 of 17 years). I'd call that rare. I was some distance from the bird so the photo isn't great. However, I wanted a few images to study to eliminate the possibility of a hybrid Northern x Gilded. 

Although I didn't see my target sparrows and not many species, Crissal Thrasher and Gilded Flicker were ample reward for my efforts.

Sunday, September 27, 2009
It was a bright, sunny morning on the dikes at Sierra Vista EOP and only a handful of diehard locals turned out. Days remain warm and it was already up to 86 degrees when we quit at 10:30am. The temperature itself was just about tolerable but the low angle direct sun certainly wasn't. Compared to recent weeks when the birding has been spiced up by migrants, birding today was pretty bland.

PINTAIL was the only new duck arrival. Habitat for peeps has dried up completely and the only shorebirds today were 8+ KILLDEER, a lone WILSON'S SNIPE and 4 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS.

Singletons of GREAT BLUE HERON (quite scarce at the EOP) and WHITE-FACED IBIS were seen in marshy habitat. MARSH WRENS are now common throughout. Many SORAS and a couple of VIRGINIA RAILS were heard. All the usual blackbird species were seen including a couple of female BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS that were first-of-season for the EOP.

For raptors we managed 2-4 KESTRELS, the regular PEREGRINE FALCON, an adult rufous morph SWAINSON'S HAWK, an immature COOPER'S HAWK and 10+ TURKEY VULTURES. No Red-tail, no Harrier. The distant Swainson's went unidentified at the time but I figured out what it was when I hit the books later.

Swallows have dropped dramatically (only 3 species today). No Vaux's Swifts were detected and few (if any) were reported in SE AZ during the past week.

Migrants included ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, a fitz-bewing WILLOW FLYCATCHER and WILSON'S WARBLER.

All the expected sparrows and towhees were present with ABERT'S TOWHEE representing the least common species.

Other landbirds included GREATER ROADRUNNER (very hit or miss at the EOP); GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, a single CASSIN'S and 8-10 WESTERN KINGBIRDS; 3+ BELL'S VIREOS (singing since March and still at it); several brown BLUE GROSBEAKS and 2 female BULLOCK'S ORIOLES.

The official tally was 66 species. I missed Common Moorhen, Cactus & Bewick's Wren's; Yellow-rumped Warbler and Green-tailed Towhee.

Monday, September 28, 2009
Today I visited Sawmill Canyon to check on Buff-breasted Flycatcher. Near record temperatures continue with Tucson at 102 degrees and Sierra Vista in the mid 90s. Not a lot of fun as September draws to a close -- and there's very little relief likely in the near future.

I almost bypassed the fishing ponds in lower Garden Canyon because I didn't want to get sucked in to spending too much time there. At the last minute I hung a right and was glad that I did. With a lack of recent reports, I thought that the swift extravaganza was over. However, a single VAUX'S SWIFT working over the Gravel Pit Pond was almost the first bird that I saw. Published data shows them passing through until mid October. My own latest sighting date is October 4.

Minutes later, I was even more pleased to see a ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. I tried to sneak up on the bird for a photo but only succeeded in flushing it. Drat, or words to that effect. Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a rare migrant in spring and fall (casual at other times).

MEXICAN JAY was also of note at the edge of its habitat zone. I see them here occasionally in fall. Other species at the ponds included a GREAT BLUE HERON in an interesting pose catching the early morning sun (or saying "bless you my son"); 6 WILD TURKEYS, several CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, WILSON'S SNIPE, lots of BREWER'S & CHIPPING SPARROWS (for an identification challenge); LAZULI BUNTING and a singing EASTERN MEADOWLARK. 25 species in all.

I spent 2+ hours in Sawmill Canyon looking for Buff-breasted Flycatcher without success. I focused on areas where late staying birds typically hang out. There's certainly plenty of insect life present to keep flycatchers around. See notes for September 6, 2008 for background info on my Buff-breasted Flycatcher tracking efforts. Over the years I've tried to even out my weekly visits to keep the data meaningful. As you can see from the graphic below, Buff-breasted Flycatcher sightings drop significantly in week 3 with a further drop in week 4. My latest sighting date is October 7.

The most interesting sighting was an immature GREAT HORNED OWL, only my third sighting in Sawmill Canyon. My second (an adult bird) was back on August 7 and I suspect breeding in the area. This is very unexpected given my experience in SE AZ with this species. Looking at my own data, only 3 of the 50 locations where I've seen Great Horned Owls are non-lowland sites. Those three are in the Huachucas -- foothill sightings in Carr and Garden Canyons in addition to the sightings in Sawmill. I can't remember any high elevation reports from the local birding community.

I was surprised how young this bird looks for September. Lowland birds start breeding in winter but perhaps higher elevation breeding occurs later. Note that the bird in the image (shot through a window of branches) doesn't show the slightest hint of "horns". I wonder at what age they become visible?

Sawmill was generally very quiet and I didn't put in much effort to find anything other than the flycatcher. Abundant YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were the most conspicuous species and their constant "whit" calls didn't help me at all. Returning winter species included RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, PINE SISKIN and a few GRAY-HEADED JUNCOS. I noted the usual common resident species while PLUMBEOUS VIREO and HEPATIC TANAGER were the only summer species that I detected in the limited area that I covered. 25 species in all.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
This morning I made a disappointing visit to Whitewater Draw Wildlife area at the south end of Sulphur Springs Valley. I ignored the forecast for windy conditions and paid the price. Trying to use the scope to identify distant birds was an exercise in frustration. I stuck it out for a couple of hours before throwing in the towel. Did I ever mention that I hate birding in the wind? Only a hundred times.

Water levels remain high and waterfowl numbers were impressive on this my third visit of the month. Diversity is still low. GREEN-WINGED & CINNAMON TEAL and NORTHERN PINTAILS were all very common. Best birds were 7 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE. Also present were PIED-BILLED GREBE, a small group of 4-6 EARED GREBES and the usual MALLARDS and SHOVELERS.

In the marshes and out on the mud flats I saw 11 GREAT EGRETS, 2 GREEN HERONS, WHITE-FACED IBIS, 3 AMERICAN AVOCETS, WILSON'S SNIPE, 12 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS and LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS.

Apart from a very active PEREGRINE FALCON constantly putting up ducks and flocks of YELLOW-HEADED & RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, raptors were not conspicuous. Over time I noted several migrant TURKEY VULTURES, a lone OSPREY, 3-4 NORTHERN HARRIERS, my first of season SHARP-SHINNED HAWK terrorizing birds in the willows; 2 SWAINSON'S HAWKS, a handful of RED-TAILED HAWKS and a couple of KESTRELS.

The usual GREAT HORNED OWLS were present but I failed to find a Barn Owl.

This is the time of year when migrant TREE SWALLOWS are abundant at Whitewater and I estimated 2000 birds working over the various ponds. It's quite a spectacle. They are typically present in numbers (growing to 5000+) throughout October before tailing off significantly as November progresses. A few linger into December. I scanned and scanned for other species but only came up with BARN SWALLOW.

In the wind I generally did quite poorly with landbirds and even missed Vermilion Flycatcher. I did okay on sparrows but dipped on thrashers. WESTERN & CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS were both very common. EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were singing. Also seen were GREATER ROADRUNNER, 3-4 LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, a few YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, WILSON'S WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, LARK BUNTING, PYRRHULOXIA and LAZULI BUNTING.

A few Sandhill Cranes have already been reported but I didn't see nor hear any today.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Sept. Species Seen

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

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