Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - March, 1999 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 Tuesday, March 30, 1999.

Tuesday, March 2, 1999     Previous Day    Next Day
March continues where February left off -- unseasonably warm! The temperature was again in the high 70s in Sierra Vista this afternoon. It was depressing today to see folks buying new pads for their swamp coolers, a reminder of what's in store for the next 8 months. However, since I've seen plenty of snow in March and even into late May in SE AZ, I'm not giving up on winter yet!

I have quite a bit of time to myself now until I get busy again in mid-month, but today I made only a brief visit to the sewage ponds. The only bird of note among the 30 species that I saw was the ever reliable PRAIRIE FALCON. However, I don't expect it to stick around much longer.

Over in Wal-Mart parking lot, a reliable spot for various flavors of blackbirds, I saw the strangest sight. In the midst of all the cars, a lady was feeding bread to a motley crew of GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES, BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS!

Wednesday, March 3, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
I spent two hours on the San Pedro this morning without seeing very many species (37), probably due to my late start time of 9:30am. I was quite surprised by the number of people on the river. The most activity that I saw was at the small water seep near the San Pedro house. In no time at all at this spot I recorded 17 species including GAMBEL'S QUAIL, PYRRHULOXIA, LARK BUNTING, GREEN-TAILED, CANYON and ABERT'S TOWHEES, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and LESSER GOLDFINCH.

On the walk east from the San Pedro house, the grass and weeds were alive with sparrows including WHITE-CROWNED, BREWER'S and VESPER. The sound level from the singing of the latter two was almost deafening! As I reached the river, the first bird that I saw was a brilliant male VERMILION FLYCATCHER, they will soon become abundant. My walk along the river did not yield much -- MOURNING DOVES singing everywhere, LADDER-BACKED and GILA WOODPECKERS, BLACK PHOEBE, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, MARSH and BEWICK'S WRENS, SAVANNAH and SONG SPARROWS and a few other common species. Kingfisher pond was well populated with fisherfolk and few birds, but a handsome male BUFFLEHEAD was certainly nice to see.

Thursday, March 4, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I did the rounds in south Santa Cruz County starting at Patagonia Lake State Park followed by Kino Springs and Nogales Sewage Ponds. I then doubled back to the Paton's Yard and finished up by birding through Harshaw Canyon and the San Rafael Valley. I was on the road for about 11 hours, traveled 160 miles and recorded 105 species. I had high hopes of seeing some early migrants but it didn't happen. All in all though, a pretty good day.

Despite the lack of new summer residents/migrants, there were plenty of signs that Spring has really sprung at Patagonia Lake (7:15-11:30am, 72 species). Three flavors of swallows were working over the lake -- in order of decreasing abundance they were TREE, N. ROUGH-WINGED and VIOLET-GREEN. Throughout the entire area VERMILION FLYCATCHERS are now really thick, and at one spot I had 6 males in view at the same time! I also heard two birds singing for the first time this year -- GREATER ROADRUNNER and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. Even the RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS that don't breed here were in full voice. Many RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS were displaying in the marsh and even the normally "get along well together" CHIPPING SPARROWS were fighting!

The winter empids were harder to come by today but I eventually found 4 DUSKY, 3 GRAY and 2 HAMMOND'S.  Along the creek trail, one Hammond's in particular caused me some problems. Although the bird had many of the characters that I look for, the bill appeared too long. Just when I thought that it might be a hybrid Hammond's x Dusky (and it still may have been), the bird starting calling and it spoke Hammond's!  As I was watching the Hammond's, I heard the "kip" notes of a WINTER WREN immediately behind me, but didn't turn to look lest I lost the flycatcher. However, the wren stuck around and I soon saw it foraging completely in the open, about 200 yards from the lake. My previous sightings this year have been about 1/2 mile along the creek in heavy debris. I also saw 3 ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS (all calling).

An interesting bird was AMERICAN ROBIN. They are quite rare at the lake and I only see them here perhaps once or twice each year. My last sighting was March 28 last year.

The area that I now affectionately call "Nutting's Wash" was very active today. This is the wash that begins where the Nutting's main hangout was and continues a few hundred yards to where it dead ends at a (currently dry) waterfall. There is a small seep here that many birds use and I sat quietly to see what would come by. In a period of 15 minutes, the following species drank from the seep: GILA WOODPECKER, NORTHERN FLICKER, MOCKINGBIRD, HERMIT THRUSH,  RUFOUS-CROWNED, BLACK-THROATED and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS and CANYON TOWHEE. I later saw Black-chinned Sparrows feeding in the marsh.

Still present on the lake were many EARED GREBES some already in "good" breeding plumage, at least 25 NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, GREAT EGRET, increasing numbers of CINNAMON TEAL, 20+ REDHEADS, 18+ COMMON MERGANSERS, and a few LESSER SCAUP. New arrivals were 2-RING-BILLED GULLS.

Although I spent only 50 minutes at Kino Springs I recorded 40 species with very little effort, most of which were the same as at the lake. New birds here included continuing CANADA GEESE (1 minima) and a large flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES

At Nogales Sewage Ponds, a 40 minute cruise around the ponds produced 35 species including 1-SNOW GOOSE, many CANVASBACKS, a few BUFFLEHEADS, 9-RING-BILLED GULLS and a handful of SPOTTED SANDPIPERS (the only shorebirds that I saw).

Activity in the Paton's yard was low in mid-afternoon but I did see VIOLET-CROWNED and my first BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD of the year. A few PINE SISKINS continue.

As I arrived at the Vaca Ranch Corral close to 4:00pm, activity appeared to be zero. Not a single bird to be seen! I waited around and soon heard a lone CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR that flew past me to the nearby stock tank. A couple more CCLOs came into the corral and soon a group of 20 or so came in and started feeding. This encouraged me to start scoping the longer grass and I eventually found a McCOWN'S LONGSPUR in with HORNED LARKS.

Saturday, March 6, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I birded in Sawmill Canyon for the first time this month. The ice in several locations in Garden Canyon and near the Sawmill cabin has finally gone. Conditions early today were quite variable -- mostly cloudy with some sunny periods; mostly windy with some calm periods. I began on the main trail  where, apart from the continuously noisy MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS, the canyon was very quiet. The only exceptions were at least three singing HUTTON'S VIREOS that have obviously decided spring is here (I also heard them singing in Garden). I tried in vain to listen for Williamson's Sapsucker, but given that they make very little sound and with so much wind noise, there could have been a dozen and I would not have found them. The only other species that I saw on the main trail were a very raucous STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, a silent RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE perched high in typical fashion, in this case atop a leafless sycamore, and a few RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, BROWN CREEPERS and a HERMIT THRUSH.

However, when I returned to the cabin area there was plenty of activity. One of the cottonwoods in particular, already budding out even at this elevation, had a large flock of PINE SISKINS, a handful of CASSIN'S FINCHES and a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. All were actively feeding and allowed me to approach closely without flushing. Feeding on the ground were the usual JUNCOS and I saw OREGON, GRAY-HEADED, PINK-SIDED and YELLOW-EYED. Working in the pines and junipers were a flock of BUSHTITS, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH and another RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (3 in all). Several BEWICK'S WRENS were singing from the slopes. Also present was a single AMERICAN ROBIN and a few NORTHERN FLICKERS, making a total of 18 species.

With so little springlike activity and birds like Cassin's Finch and Townsend's Solitaire still present, it seems hard to believe that Buff-breasted Flycatchers could be back in the canyon in less than two weeks (I've seen them as early as March 16).

Monday, March 8, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
After yesterday's "mini-winter-in-a-day" that produced high winds, the first measurable rain of the year (at least  where I live), and some snow in the mountains, conditions returned to "normal" today. I dropped off the "trogon" for service and walked down Fry Blvd. to pick up a rental vehicle. The temperature was 45 degrees, the air was extremely clear, and the vista of blue sky with a backdrop of the lightly snow-capped Huachucas, punctuated by wispy clouds, was magnificent. As I walked, I had the chance to observe a few urban birds that usually represent nothing more than padding for a day list. Even here in town, spring has sprung for the birds. Almost every block had a singing NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER or HOUSE FINCH. Even the HOUSE SPARROWS were "singing" -- at least, a kind of cohesive, urgent triplet of chirps that passes for song. A pair of CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS were spooning, perched on the crossbar of a lamp pole. Since they were next to Long John Silver's, perhaps they were aspiring Fish Crows. A group of Urban Falcons aka, ROCK DOVES, were strutting their stuff on the roof of Star Buffet where I had breakfast. An interesting walk.

A late morning visit to Sierra Vista sewage ponds yielded only 25 species and was fairly uninspiring. This is the period when wintering birds are dwindling and spring migrants are still few and far between. TREE SWALLOWS were the only migrants that I saw. Apart from MALLARDS, duck numbers seemed well down and few CINNAMON TEAL and a lone CANVASBACK were the pick of the bunch. Raptors were also lacking and I saw only RED-TAIL and COOPER'S HAWK. Sparrows are still hanging around with small flocks of WHITE-CROWNED, SAVANNAH and VESPER. In the marsh were MARSH WREN, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and the usual RED-WINGED and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

In the late afternoon, I visited Scheelite Canyon where I almost missed SPOTTED OWL. Although the bird was roosting in a regularly used tree, it was in a new location within the tree and very hard to see. In fact, so hard to see that I did not find it when I looked on the way up, and so ended up checking the middle and upper areas. In cases such as this I always remember Smitty's words: "if you miss it on the way up, double check on the way down". That credo certainly paid off today

Spring always comes to the mountains last of all, but there were definitely a few more signs today. WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS have returned to Scheelite -- they were soaring and chattering noisily over their breeding area at the half mile mark. BAND-TAILED PIGEONS are still present and calling in the upper area. On my return down Garden Canyon, a PAINTED REDSTART was visiting the site of last year's nest at the upper picnic area.

Tuesday, March 9, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
Today I made a short visit to the Monastery in St. David where I again struck out on migrants (unless you include the hordes of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS!). Winter species still present include a few ducks and grebes, BELTED KINGFISHER and GRAY FLYCATCHER. I also saw GREEN HERON, a species that usually breeds here. Regulars included LADDER-BACKED and GILA WOODPECKERS, BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, VERDIN and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

Thursday, March 11, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days with David and Doreen Lawson of Calgary, AB. A fairly cold morning that warmed quickly, but in the end a day that was marred by high winds. A four hour session at Patagonia Lake State Park (7:00-11:00am) yielded 60+ species, including 3 new returnees - a few BARN SWALLOWS in with the swarming N. ROUGH-WINGED, TREE and VIOLET-GREEN working over the lake, a couple of LUCY'S WARBLERS, and many YELLOW WARBLERS seemingly singing and foraging in every willow. In the week since my last visit, vegetation has greened up considerably and other foraging warblers included abundant YELLOW-RUMPED and 10+ ORANGE-CROWNED.

We did not look hard for flycatchers but it certainly seemed like winter empids were down in numbers and we saw only 2-GRAY and 1-DUSKY, plus the usual other flycatchers including 2-ASH-THROATED and scads of VERMILIONS. 

Despite seeing over 60 species, activity was generally a little less than I expected. On the lake, at least 25-NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS and 23-COMMON MERGANSERS continue. Marsh activity has decreased dramatically and for the second consecutive visit, rails were neither seen nor heard. Even the MARSH WRENS were mostly quiet.

Among the other species that we recorded were LESSER SCAUP, CINNAMON TEAL, MOORHEN, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, ROADRUNNER, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, RUFOUS-CROWNED,  BLACK-CHINNED, LINCOLN'S and SWAMP SPARROWS.

The Paton's had many customers (birds and people) and BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS were plentiful and aggressive. However, VIOLET-CROWNED appeared only 2 or 3 times between 12:30 and 1:30pm and there was only one quick ANNA'S visit. Also present were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, PINE SISKIN, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and GREEN-TAILED and ABERT'S TOWHEES.

In Harshaw Canyon, a GILDED FLICKER was somewhat of a surprise near the Hale Ranch. In the San Rafael Valley, MCCOWN'S LONGSPURS continue at the Vaca Ranch Corral. Heading home, a lone TURKEY VULTURE in the Huachucas was the first I've seen in the mountains this season.

Friday, March 12, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with David and Doreen Lawson of Calgary, AB. We began in a breezy and chilly Sawmill Canyon around 8:20am and stayed until 11:00am. Bird activity was mostly centered around and below the cabin and we spent very little time in the main canyon. We had no particular target birds in mind and just enjoyed the 22 species that we found.

Our best bird was undoubtedly EVENING GROSBEAK. I first heard their strident calls some distance away, but two males were kind enough to fly into a nearby pine and sit in the open until we walked away from them. An unknown number of others were still calling in the distance. They are a rare nester in the Huachucas and I found nests in Sawmill in 1994 and 1995. I've seen them here every year since, and they have probably nested again, although I have not seen any in the canyon since July 28, 1998.

After we finished birding in the canyon and around the cabin, we walked down below the cabin but found very little except STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER. I went back to get the vehicle and as I returned, Doreen said "I just heard an owl that sounded like what you were whistling before". It didn't take long to find a very cooperative NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL sitting in the clear near the top of a dead juniper.

Other species included STELLER'S, MEXICAN and SCRUB-JAYS, HUTTON'S VIREO, PYGMY NUTHATCH and OREGON, GRAY-HEADED, PINK-SIDED and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. I was very surprised to find a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW feeding on the seed that is spread around here for the Turkeys. My first in Sawmill and species #108 for the canyon.

On the way back to town, a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER was calling and working the area opposite Scheelite Canyon entrance.

In the afternoon we spent a pleasant few hours birding the grounds at Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon -- thanks to Tom Beatty for his hospitality. We saw a total of 24 species with hummingbirds represented by BROAD-TAILED, ANNA'S and RUFOUS (Magnificent is also present but we did not see it from 1:45-4:00pm). Elsewhere we found EASTERN BLUEBIRD, CASSIN'S FINCH, my first-of-the-year-in-the-mountains HEPATIC TANAGER, and PAINTED REDSTART. A somewhat surprising bird here was ROCK WREN.

Saturday, March 13, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 3 days with Hartsell Cash of Winston-Salem, NC. We began with a fairly short visit to Patagonia Lake State Park that was loaded with people today, including lots of birders. Although our focus was primarily on flycatchers, we managed to pick up a few first-of-season birds and recorded a total of 72 species from 7:35-10:00am.

Flycatchers were a little easier to find today, but that may just be because that was our main goal. We saw 1-HAMMOND'S, 4-DUSKY, 2-GRAY, BLACK & SAY'S PHOEBES, scads of VERMILIONS, 2-ASH-THROATED and my first CASSIN'S KINGBIRD of the year. However, I was surprised not to find (or at least hear) a Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet.

The creek trail was good to us and, as we looked for Hammond's, we found a PAINTED REDSTART (my first at the state park, I guess I don't get out enough) and my first CASSIN'S VIREO of the year. The Redstart was species #201 at the park, again nudging the San Pedro River (now at 200) for top honors in species seen by me at a single location.

A nice bonus bird was ELEGANT TROGON. However, today it was not along the creek trail as in recent weeks, but in the dense mesquite bosque about 1/8m after the trail drops to lake level. My guess is that the bird was in this location for Hackberries.

Other species seen today included SNOWY EGRET, VIRGINIA RAIL (scarce here recently), BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD, BLUE-GRAY and BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS, and 2-SWAMP SPARROWS. Both ORANGE-CROWNED and YELLOW-WARBLERS continue in good numbers, but after finding Lucy's Warbler here a couple of day's ago, I was surprised not to come across them today. I really also expected to see my first Bell's Vireo today.

Next, we headed over to Peña Blanca Lake where we able to find the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN without much difficulty. After a  short and fruitless search in the area where the bird has been reported recently, I remembered a location where I found one back in January, 1996. Amazingly, in almost the same spot as 3 years ago, there was the Robin! Initially we struggled to see the bird as it preened, well hidden in a dense tangle. Later, while sitting at a picnic table, we enjoyed great close up views as the bird openly foraged in the leaf litter. Other birds at the lake included HAMMOND'S and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS.

Sunday, March 14, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with Hartsell Cash of Winston-Salem, NC. We left town at 4:00am to head north in search of Le Conte's Thrasher. In deciding whether or not to make this trip, I had told Hartsell that I would be shocked if we didn't see the bird. Although I wasn't shocked, let's just say that I was very surprised!

After a long drive, we began birding at "the thrasher spot" west of Buckeye at 7:30am. The area was about as dead as I've ever seen it -- total silence and no movement. After 45 minutes we had seen only a fly by PRAIRIE  FALCON, a perched GREATER ROADRUNNER, a perched but silent CRISSAL THRASHER, and a few BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS that provided some half-hearted song.

At 8:15pm we heard a LE CONTE'S THRASHER singing fairly close to our location in the northwest corner of the area. It took us about 30 seconds to locate the bird perched in a mesquite, just at the moment that it stopped singing. We were only able to get a 'scope view for about 30 seconds, at which point the bird dropped to the ground, never to be seen or heard again. Pretty much, that was our only view. What a contrast to my last visit on February 20 when I had a walk-away view of a continuously singing bird! We soldiered on until 9:50am but only came across two other birds -- 1 running on the ground in the SE section, and another perched up briefly in the SW section. Other species that we saw were NORTHERN HARRIER, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, VERDIN, and a briefly perched up and singing BENDIRE'S THRASHER. A grand total of 9 species! Although we did find our target bird, I felt cheated by the scant reward for our investment in time and mileage.

On the way home we stopped for 30 minutes at the Paloma Ranch. We did not see the Ruddy Ground-Dove and even the INCA DOVES that have been plentiful throughout the winter were down in numbers -- we saw only 4.

Monday, March 15, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 3 with Hartsell Cash of Winston-Salem, NC. Since we were headed to Chino Canyon today, I was happy to see cloudy skies this morning. Fortunately, they persisted for most of the day making our hike in and out of the canyon quite pleasant. I've done it in 100+ temps and believe me, today was better! On the negative side, the morning hours were pretty windy and I thought our chances were not very good for the Gnatcatcher.

At  8:30am we parked near the wash (in deference to Hertz) and hiked in, arriving at the lone saguaro at 9:10am. We saw little along the road as most birds were hunkered down in the wind. Most of what moved were BLACK-THROATED, BREWER'S and VESPER SPARROWS, and we had a couple of false alarms with BLACK-TAILED and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS. However, about 200 yards above the saguaro, on the edge of the wash west of the trail, birds came thick and fast. In quick succession we saw CARDINAL, ROCK WREN, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, VERDIN and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW.

On the east side of the trail I heard RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW and we headed over to look for it. This turned out to be a stroke of pure genius on my part <grin> as we immediately heard the "mewing" call of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER. After a few minutes we located the bird, a female, foraging low. This location is fairly close to where a male BCGN and female BTGN nested unsuccessfully (cowbird parasitism) in 1997. Over a period of 10 minutes we alternately lost and found the bird several times as it actively foraged, moving from bush to bush. We lost it completely when it flew across the trail into the wash and headed up canyon. During this 10 minute period the bird called only 5 times, each time a single "mewing" note not unlike that of a California Gnatcatcher, just not as "whiny and insistent". Other characters noted (in addition to a white undertail, of course) were a less conspicuous eye ring and a larger bill compared to a Blue-gray. All other female BCGN that I have seen have been in Mexico, and I must confess to not paying much attention to them as I did today. But, you gotta get it right when it's somebody's lifer! Given the very windy conditions, I'd say we were very fortunate to see this bird today. Including the  hiking time from the "dinky car parking area" (40 mins in, 35 mins out), we were in the canyon for 1 hour 45 minutes and saw a total of 25 species.

After visiting the zoo (otherwise known as the Safeway parking lot in Green Valley), we spent an hour in Madera Canyon. Here we found constant traffic, lots of people talking and shouting, slamming car doors, and those wonderful sounding alarm noises that go off when you leave your door open. Just your typical Santa Rita Lodge quality birding experience. Oh, yes, we did find a few birds including ORANGE-CROWNED and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Heading back to Sierra Vista, a GOLDEN EAGLE was very low over Hwy 82 near Whetstone.

Our last stop of the day was on the San Pedro to look for RUDDY GROUND-DOVE. It did not take very long to find a male in the same location that they have been reported for some time. A female ground-dove was with it, but I did not see this bird well enough to determine if Common or Ruddy. These birds were very hard to see in the grass and they soon disappeared before Hartsell could see them at all. The birds were in the grass where the trail from the San Pedro House meets the fenceline, north of the trail and west of the fenceline. We combed the area for over an hour without ever relocating them again. C'est la Vie. Some you win, some you lose.

Tuesday, March 16, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
A day off today. I decided not to do any birding which turned out to be a wise decision. It was a stormy day that dumped the biggest snow of 1999 (so far!!) onto the Huachucas and probably many of the other mountain ranges. I toyed with the idea of going to Tucson for the Blue-winged Warbler but I soon came to my senses. Apparently, this particular individual is not too spiffy so I said to myself "why drive 80+ miles each way to go look at a poor version of a beautiful bird that I've already seen, just for a state list tick". Why indeed? I started out this year intending to improve on my previous best state year list and to add a few more new state birds. Looks like that new year's resolution has already gone the way of most others.

Wednesday, March 17, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
Out today with Scott Kampmeier of Austin, TX who I've birded with once before. An odd day weatherwise -- mostly sunny in the morning but quite cold for most of the day after yesterday's storm. We encountered light snow in Canelo Hills and in the Mule Mountains and by late afternoon on the San Pedro, heavy clouds gathered again with some thunder and lightning for effect. I wouldn't be surprised see some more snow in the mountains tonight. It was also somewhat of an odd day birdwise. We looked for 10 species and located 8, of which I saw all 8, Scott saw 7 but was only able to count 6!

After some nice vistas of snow capped mountains on our drive to Patagonia, we began at a cold Patagonia Lake State Park at 7:00am. Our target birds here were the three winter empids. Despite the cold conditions it didn't take long to find DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS. At this point I convinced Scott to take a gamble. Since he had missed the Rufous-backed Robin at Peña Blanca Lake yesterday, I suggested that we skip looking for Hammond's Flycatcher here and head to Peña Blanca where I thought we could find both the robin and the flycatcher. He agreed, so we ended up leaving the State Park after a very short visit. We saw 30 species including LUCY'S, YELLOW and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and SWAMP SPARROW.

Shortly after our arrival at Peña Blanca Lake at 8:40am, our first bird while walking down the road to the boat launch was HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER So far so good! Next, in the wooded area west of the boat launch, I inadvertently flushed the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN and it was spotted by another birder. The bird flew into an oak tree and sat preening for several minutes providing us with a very nice view, except we couldn't see the rufous back! The bird then flew east and we spent 30 minutes trying to relocate it without success. I had a hunch that the bird would be in the riparian stretch that parallels the road from the boat launch to the parking lot. Another lucky guess because we found the bird perched on a log in full sun, about 50 feet from where we had parked. This time we enjoyed excellent views. The bird began feeding as we drove away. Other birds among the 25 species that we saw here were COMMON SNIPE, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER and CANYON WREN. 

Our next port of call was the Vaca Ranch Corral in San Rafael Valley. Although many McCOWN'S LONGSPURS were still present, they were relatively hard to see and we had to work through at least 50 females before finding 2 males. Several CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS flew by the corral without stopping.

Along the Fort Huachuca west gate road, a cold looking GOLDEN EAGLE was perched on a phone pole.

Our next stop was at the Garden Canyon fishing ponds where several SORA and our target VIRGINIA RAIL were both present, but neither were very vocal or responsive. Although I saw the Virginia slinking through the marsh, Scott did not see it at all despite a 30 minute vigil. It's quite interesting how Virginia Rails often respond to Sora calls but not their own calls, and today was no exception. Other birds in the marsh were GREEN HERON, MARSH WREN and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

After a fruitless stop at Sierra Vista sewage ponds for Prairie Falcon, we headed over to the Mule Mountains at Bisbee where, for the first time this season, I was unable to locate a Black-chinned Sparrow. With occasional light snow falling  we spent over an hour covering the area quite thoroughly without success. They don't normally move to their beeding areas until the first week in April and may still be present. We encountered 18 species during our search including ACORN WOODPECKER, MEXICAN and SCRUB JAYS, ROCK and CANYON WRENS, BUSHTIT, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, HERMIT THRUSH, HUTTON'S VIREO, SPOTTED TOWHEE and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

Last stop of the day was at the San Pedro River where it was deja vu all over again. In exactly the same place as on Monday (in the grass where the trail from the San Pedro House meets the fenceline, north of the trail and west of the fenceline) we flushed 2-RUDDY GROUND-DOVES. The birds flew about 50 yards and perched briefly in a mesquite, after which we never saw them again. Most definitely not a diagnostic view so it doesn't go in the win column. SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and lots of sparrows of various flavors were in the area.

Thursday, March 18, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Mary Nell and Raul Leyba of Tempe, AZ. After a couple of days of snowy conditions, today was a simply gorgeous day with clear blue skies and a little nip in the air. We visited Sawmill, Miller and Carr Canyons in the Huachucas. The purpose of the day was really to "get away from it all" for my clients, and we did not do much birding. 

Sawmill Canyon had very little activity except for the birds near the cabin feeding on the Wild Turkey handouts. In the main canyon, HUTTON'S VIREO'S continue to sing and we watched a pair of PYGMY NUTHATCHES working on a nest hole. We must have got too close to the nest site of a  pair of STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKERS and they let us know about it. Best birds in the canyon were a pair of OLIVE WARBLERS.

PAINTED REDSTARTS are starting to move up to higher elevations and we saw a pair in Garden Canyon at the pictograph site, a traditional nesting location for this species.

A short mid-afternoon visit to Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon was very productive. At the hummer feeders we saw (and heard!) several male BROAD-TAILED and 1 male MAGNIFICENT. There was also plenty of activity elsewhere on the property including a singing VIRGINIA'S WARBLER in the oaks behind the seating area, many EASTERN and WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, LESSER GOLDFINCH, PINE SISKIN, and a continuing female HEPATIC TANAGER. 

The Virginia's Warbler was a season first for me. It was also my earliest spring arrival date for this species in Southeast Arizona. For the last 5 years 1994-1998, my previous first sighting dates in March were 29, 28, 22, 21 and 24 respectively.    

Saturday, March 20, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Nancy Boyce of MI and Ellie Doty of Benson, AZ. A much warmer day than of late and the Paton's Yard was bordering on hot in mid-afternoon. I also noted significant insect life for the first time this year.

Patagonia Lake was its usual birdy self and we recorded 60 species from 7:00-11:00am. I finally saw my first BELL'S VIREO and BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD of the year. Other species present today that I haven't seen of late were COMMON GROUND-DOVE and CEDAR WAXWING. Along the creek trail, a stunning PAINTED REDSTART continues. The area is now really green and held many foraging warblers, mostly YELLOW-RUMPED (including some "Myrtle" forms) and YELLOW with a few ORANGE-CROWNED. In the marsh, SWAMP SPARROW continues and both BLACK-THROATED and BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS were foraging at the water's edge. Flycatchers were quite active and we saw GRAY, DUSKY, ASH-THROATED, VERMILION (just the odd one or two <grin>), BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES.

Although the Paton's Yard was very warm and inactive for long periods, we "toughed it out" from 12:00-3:00pm. We only saw a total of 32 species, but our real reward were the 7 species of hummingbirds -- BROAD-BILLED (abundant), VIOLET-CROWNED, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S, COSTA'S, BROAD-TAILED (uncommon at best here in migration) and RUFOUS. Not bad for mid March. Also present were COOPER'S HAWK, CEDAR WAXWING, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH and 2 very spiffy looking male LAZULI BUNTINGS.

Sunday, March 21, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
I had not intended to look for the Blue-winged Warbler but for Bob Evans it would have been a lifer, so this morning he and I headed over to Tucson. Along with many others, we searched along the Santa Cruz River without success. However, we only gave it a half-hearted attempt from 7:45 to 9:20am and the bird could certainly still be around.

There were certainly no lack of warblers to check out but unfortunately, most of them were YELLOW-RUMPED and ORANGE-CROWNED. Several LUCY'S were singing and a Nashville was seen by others. The trip wasn't an entire loss for me since I did see a couple of season firsts -- WESTERN KINGBIRD and CLIFF SWALLOW, among the 32 species that we found during the search.

Monday, March 22, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 3 days with Nancy Mathes and Bob Shaper of Cleveland, OH. We birded at Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs, Paton's Yard, Patagonia Roadside Rest, Harshaw Canyon and San Rafael Valley. Our total on this very warm day was close to 100 species including a couple more season firsts for me.

Patagonia Lake again yielded the usual 60+ species in a 3 1/2 hour visit. Wintering GRAY and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS are still present and we also saw N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. However, two male VERMILION FLYCATCHERS provided the most excitement. We watched as the pair dueled for a watching female. They would sit in the tree near the female, fly out and aggressively interact in mid air, and then tumble to the ground. Here's where the fun really began (for us that is). One bird was rather submissive and would lie on its back while the other pinned him down and jabbed at it lightly with its bill. I got the impression that inflicting pain was not the object, but rather to say to the female "hey, look at me, I'm the winner".

Of note, because they have been scarce this winter, was a 20+ flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS feeding on hackberries. Feeding with them were PHAINOPEPLAS and numerous NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS, at least 5 Mockingbirds in one tree! 

Continuing wintering sparrows included CHIPPING, BREWER'S, WHITE-CROWNED, SWAMP and BLACK-CHINNED. The Black-Chinned were singing today so I expect they will be heading out soon.

YELLOW WARBLERS (a breeder here) are now abundant and migrant ORANGE-CROWNED are also plentiful. Recently returned BELL'S VIREOS have increased in numbers and were singing in several locations, and we also saw a single CASSIN'S VIREO.

Birds on the lake are thinning out but the regular NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS and COMMON MERGANSERS are still present in numbers. A single RING-BILLED GULL was present.

Our visit to Kino Springs did not produce the hoped for Gray Hawk, but the raptor show here was nothing short of spectacular. As we birded around the clubhouse pond, a ZONE-TAILED HAWK, spotted by Nancy, glided low overhead and provided great looks. Fortunately, this directed our attention skyward to an area with numerous raptors. In with the RAVENS and TURKEY VULTURES we watched a RED-TAILED HAWK repeatedly dive-bombing a GOLDEN EAGLE as an OSPREY soared above everybody. Quite a sight!

Four species of swallows were working the area -- TREE, VIOLET-GREEN, ROUGH-WINGED and BARN. Sitting up on a brush pile near the pond was a SAGE THRASHER, an uncommon migrant at Kino.

Despite the fact that Paton's yard was crowded with non-birders, we very quickly tallied 6 species of hummingbirds -- BROAD-BILLED, VIOLET-CROWNED, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S, COSTA'S and RUFOUS. Great views of males of all species. Mrs. Paton tactfully tried to coax the people camped out under the seed feeders to move. However, they didn't and, consequently, no birds visited them. I had just mentioned about the possibility of a fly-by Gray Hawk when, hey presto, one started calling in the trees behind us. However, we were unable to see it. No matter, we drove down Blue Heaven Road and just past the sanctuary entrance, I was able to get a pair to fly by in response to my feeble whistled imitation of their call. Or then again, maybe it was just a coincidence!

In the San Rafael Valley at the Vaca Ranch Corral, Longspurs are definitely getting thin on the ground. We had a small flock of around 12-15 female and 1 male McCOWN'S feeding next to the corral, and a few fly-by CHESTNUT-COLLARED.

Tuesday, March 23, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 2 with Nancy Mathes and Bob Shaper of Cleveland, OH We birded in Garden, Sawmill and Miller Canyons in the Huachucas, at Sierra Vista Sewage Ponds and at the San Pedro River. Quite breezy today and somewhat cooler than yesterday, with afternoon highs in the high 70s. Late March is an in-between time for birds, with some of the winter birds moving out and a few of the summer birds arriving. To my clients I must sound like a broken record, repeatedly saying "it might be back" or "I hope they're still around". Yesterday we had good luck with winter and summer birds and today turned out to be the same. Out total for the day was close to 80 species.

We arrived in Sawmill Canyon at 8:00am and after the initial flurry of activity with DARK and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS, MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS, and a brief look at STRICKLAND'S WOODPECKER, we began birding below the cabin in search of more exotic prey. Instant gratification came with excellent looks at an absolutely pristine male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. What a stunning bird this is. Along with Lewis's it's my  favorite woodpecker. The bird was just below the cabin, in a pine that has been a regular haunt this winter.

Now its was time to tune up my ears to listen for BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. When they arrive they are most often found around and below the cabin, so that's where we concentrated our efforts. I was quite hopeful (having seen them as early as March 16), but after 20 minutes it didn't look good. However, as we headed back up canyon, not 50 yards from the cabin was a very buffy looking individual working in a bare tree, and we were able to get good looks at close range. I know these birds are coming back at this time every year, but it's always a thrill to see the first one.

We headed up canyon in search of PYGMY NUTHATCH which we only heard. Other calling or singing birds included HUTTON'S VIREO, BUSHTIT, PAINTED REDSTART (that have finally made it up to Sawmill for the first time this year), and PINE SISKIN. Calling from the eastern side of the canyon were several MONTEZUMA QUAIL, but we did not chase them.

Heading back down Garden at 10:00am we saw another BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER near the pictograph site, at least 6 singing PAINTED REDSTARTS at regular intervals, and perhaps as many singing HUTTON'S VIREOS.

A visit to Sierra Vista sewage ponds at noon was decidedly uneventful, except for the impressive sight of several thousand YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS! Wintering ducks are thinning out but several pairs of returning CINNAMON TEAL were present. We disturbed a COOPER'S HAWK sitting on the marsh fence and, surprisingly, it flew to the ground in the long grass. Perhaps it had prey. Wintering WESTERN MEADOWLARK and SAVANNAH SPARROWS continue.

A one hour visit to Beatty's B&B in Miller Canyon was productive and we saw MAGNIFICENT (2 or 3 individuals), ANNA'S, BROAD-TAILED (many), BLACK-CHINNED and a pristine male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. The female HEPATIC TANAGER that I first saw here on March 12 is still present near the feeding station. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS continue in the apple orchard.

We ended our day with a brief visit to the San Pedro River (Hwy 90 crossing). Winter sparrows continue in force and we saw CHIPPING, CLAY-COLORED, BREWER'S, VESPER, SAVANNAH, LINCOLN'S and WHITE-CROWNED. The Clay-colored was in the grassy mesquite area between the river and the trail, where the trail from SP House meets the river. Since they are quite rare in AZ and I saw one in this location on Jan 12 and Jan 30, there's a good chance that its the same overwintering bird. We saw quite a few PYHRRULOXIAS (fairly common here) and one NORTHERN CARDINAL which is quite rare along this part of the NCA. Also of note was a PEREGRINE FALCON that flew west from the river towards the SP House. 

Wednesday, March 24, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 3 with Nancy Mathes and Bob Shaper of Cleveland, OH. We visited Kino Springs, Peña Blanca Lake, Nogales Sewage Ponds and Madera Canyon, returning home via the Box Canyon Road. Another picture perfect clear blue sky day, 32 degrees passing the Patagonia Roadside rest area at 6:45am, but a little over 80 degrees in Sierra Vista by late afternoon. Hey, it's spring in Southeast Arizona.

We started our day birding around the first pond and wash at Kino Springs, an area that we skipped on Monday. I was hoping for a few migrants but we found little of note among the 47 species seen from 7:10-8:10am. Recent returnees that we did not find here on Monday were a calling GRAY HAWK that greeted us from the dead tree east of the pond, and a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD that was alternately vocal and silent. South of the pond we found a foraging ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and a CASSIN'S VIREO, and in the wash, a GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE..

At Peña Blanca Lake we soon found the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN feeding in the leaf litter in the grassy area along the trail west of the boat launch. Also in the area were 2, possibly 3 HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS. In the oaks, an adult COOPER'S HAWK allowed us to get very close. 

Nogales Sewage Ponds yielded 30 species with no surprises. All the usual suspects were present at Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon, including a male SCOTT'S ORIOLE. Below the lodge, a 3/4 mile walk down the trail was productive, despite the heat of the day, with HAMMOND'S and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, NASHVILLE, TOWNSEND'S and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS. Along Box Canyon Road, the only bird of note was small flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS. After seeing almost none all winter, I've seen these birds several times over the past week.

Thursday, March 25, 1999    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Sylvia and Enoch Johnson, Marian Sainsberry and Jean Leinbach of Green Valley, AZ. Our target bird was the female Black-capped Gnatcatcher in Chino Canyon. In case you think that being a bird guide is all fun and games and high fives, it isn't! Today was an example of one of those not so good days -- I'm just thankful that they don't happen too often.

After getting up at 3:30am, I was on the road at 4:30am to meet my clients in Amado. Next, a painfully slow and rocky one hour drive to the "parking area" near the lone saguaro. We then birded the area fairly thoroughly over the next 4 hours without coming across any real candidates. Then, it was the journey in reverse, empty handed, and tough to take. At least the outbound journey is full of hope!

When we began birding at 7:30am conditions were quite good --no wind, cloudy and cool. However, the birds certainly didn't agree because the canyon was deathly quiet without any birdsong or movement. Although we did eventually find 36 species, "dead" is the right word  to use in describing the activity level. Eventually, the wind picked up and we had a few sprinkles.

It was well over an hour before we saw a gnatcatcher of any species and in the end we only saw BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER (1 male, 1 female, 1 heard), and managed to hear the "spee" call of BLUE-GRAY just once. Not even any false alarms to provide incentive. Quite unbelievable really in an area that should have been loaded with gnatcatchers.

A couple of interesting birds were PAINTED REDSTART and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, both somewhat out of habitat proving that, during migration, birds will take advantage of whatever is available to them. A pair of NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS were very elusive involved in their own chase thing. We tracked them down by their calls, although we did hear a short version of the song a couple of times. That was it for "good" birds, very little else of note. Here's a complete list of what we either saw or heard:

Turkey Vulture (heard only, grin), Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Mourning Dove, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Costa's Hummingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Phainopepla, Northern Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Crissal Thrasher, Cactus Wren, Rock Wren, Canyon Wren, Bewick's Wren, House Wren, Verdin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Finch, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Painted Redstart, Brewer's Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Rufous-winged Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee, Canyon Towhee

Friday, March 26, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
Today was the start of a 10 day vacation to Texas -- a nice break between my winter and summer seasons. Although I had scheduled this time several months ago,  it wasn't until last night that I formulated any semblance of a plan. Since during the time that I'm working I usually have to bird on a schedule, it makes a refreshing change for me to be able to wing it. As the saying goes, a change is as good as a rest. Also, this wasn't really a birding trip and I birded for only four days recording 140 species on my trip list. I had only one target bird -- Brown Jay, which after many trips to the valley truly qualifies as a nemesis bird.

There was a time when I couldn't wait for a day off to go birding but now, sadly, it's just the opposite. I wanted to enjoy the Tejano music scene and to check out the housing and job markets. When I hang up my binoculars (at least for work) I want to start the first day of the rest of my life somewhere else and Texas has some appeal. However, it certainly won't be a climate improvement.

Today was a driving day. I left home at 8:00am and arrived in Kerrville at 8:30pm central time after a trip of 11.5 hours.  Unfortunately, it was "one of those days". After having my vehicle tuned recently, imagine my surprise after only 200 miles when the check engine light came on and the gas mileage dropped by 20%! I was just a tad pissed to say the least, but I found that by keeping below 70mph the problem went away, so I continued. It gets worse. Those of you that have birded with me will know that I use a micro-recorder to record birds and other info while in the field. When I'm on a trip for myself I record all kinds of details -- birds, mileages, times, costs, road info, etc., ad nauseum. Again, imagine my surprise as I started to transcribe to my notebook only to find that my recorder had crapped out. Every bit of info for the day was lost! However, I certainly didn't have many birds to remember and the only bird of note was the first SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER of trip that came in Van Horn.

Two nights in the fairly new Motel 6 in Kerrville. Clean and comfortable. For some folks the only negative might be the rather inconvenient single stairway to the second floor.

Saturday, March 27, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
On other trips to Texas the Hill Country was merely a place to tick Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo, so on this trip I decided to spend some time to enjoy the area. Unfortunately, this was the first day of 3 days of predicted rain. The day began with heavy overcast, drizzle and gusty winds, and that was the best weather of the day. Later, the winds picked up and the rain became heavy with lots of thunder and lightning and tornado warnings to the south.

First order of business was a trip to WalMart for a new micro-recorder, then breakfast, then out into the rain. It was the kind of day that, given a choice, I would have stayed home back in AZ. However, when you're on vacation you have to enjoy yourself whether you like it or not.

I made a loop trip out of Kerrville heading west on 27 to Ingram and Hunt, a side trip to Kerr Wildlife Management area, then south on 39 and 187 to Lost Maples State Park and back to Kerrville via 337 and 16. In pretty miserable conditions I mostly did roadside birding plus a couple of extended stops at Kerr WMA and Lost Maples SP. I was in the field for 9 hours and covered 150 miles. By day's end I had eked out a meager 50 species.

Although it was a Saturday, I had Kerr WMA all to myself. I can't think why the locals weren't out in force here <grin>. I thought it was a little early for Black-capped Vireos but I later learned that there had been a few reports of them at the WMA. However, they certainly eluded me although I must confess to not putting in too much effort. I spent about 2 1/2 hours here with only ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER and GRAY CATBIRD of particular interest among the 25 species that I saw. Sparrows were certainly the most conspicuous birds of the day with LARK being particularly abundant. Others were VESPER, SAVANNAH, CHIPPING, FIELD and CLAY-COLORED.

At one point I thought I saw a HUTTON'S VIREO, a species that I'm very familiar with from AZ. However, since it's so out of range here and I only saw it briefly, I assumed that I'd just mistaken it for a Kinglet. When I returned home I read about the first Kerr County record for this species found on March 29 near Kerrville, so perhaps I did see one after all.

At Lost Maples State Park I was told that no Black-capped Vireos had been reported. I saw my lifer here and it would have been nice to find them again but, despite hiking 5 miles on various trails, I neither heard nor saw any. On the other hand, GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLERS were quite plentiful. I saw at least 6 individuals and heard as many again after I tuned in to their song. Just beyond the pools, where the west trail begins, I heard a familiar sounding "chink" that led me to a couple of LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES at the water's edge. There's no way to miss the thin but loud song of BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS and I came across four of them. ORANGE-CROWNED were also plentiful. My complete list of 50 species for the day was:

Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Black and Turkey Vultures, American Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Rock, Mourning and Inca Doves, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Blue and Western Scrub-Jays, Common Raven, White-eyed Vireo, Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, European Starling, Canyon, Bewick's and Carolina Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Purple Martin, Barn and Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Orange-crowned,  Golden-cheeked and Black-and-white Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, Lincoln's, Savannah, Chipping, Clay-colored, Field, Vesper, and Lark Sparrows, Northern Cardinal,  Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird

Sunday, March 28, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
Because of yesterday's rather soggy and unpleasant conditions, I changed my plans today. Instead of birding in the Hill Country again I decided to head to the valley, working south from Laredo. However, wouldn't you know it, it was a beautiful day. I'm glad I can find birds a little more reliably than the weather guys can predict the weather.

Leaving Kerrville behind I soon picked up SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER on Hwy 173 and eventually HARRIS'S HAWK and CRESTED CARACARA, all of which became common the further south I went along I-35 and Hwy 83 beyond Laredo.

My first birding stop was in San Ignacio at 10:30am. As I walked down the hill at the end of Washington Street, I could hear WHITE-COLLARED SEEDEATERS singing from the cane on both sides. The first bird that I raised my glasses to was a nice singing male. In fact, they were singing everywhere and I soon saw several more. Although I was moving around and so were they, I estimated at least 6 birds singing, mostly from high exposed perches and thus easy to see. Amazing, I've been here many times when I couldn't buy one.

This area is often occupied by local picnickers on weekends but today I had the place to myself, perhaps due to the soggy and  humid conditions after yesterday's rain. Without any effort I found the common birds that you just have to show up for like GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER, COUCH'S KINGBIRD, GREAT KISKADEE, and AUDUBON'S ORIOLE. However, I was a little surprised by a feeding flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS. Calling but unseen were INCA and WHITE-TIPPED DOVES. The only warblers I saw were ORANGE-CROWNED and YELLOWTHROAT. Also present was a singing but hard to see BLUE-HEADED VIREO.

I continued south to Zapata where I wasn't quite sure what to expect at the pond behind the library. On my last visit, in February of 1998, seedeaters were easy to find but since then some "habitat adjustment" has occurred. In fact, there was quite a furore about this on TXBIRDS. Apparently the adjacent land at the golf course had been bulldozed and cleared and I never learned of the outcome. Well, now I know and, at least for birders, it's much better. The trail behind the pond is now a real trail and the old gate has been removed to allow access. The vegetation on the north side has been cleared and the ponds on the golf course are now visible. Habitat was quite lush. There's also a sign saying "Birding Trail" and "Home of the White-collared Seedeater". It seems to me that although the City of Zapata may have dropped the ball initially, Kudos are due to them for a nice save. Must be a birder involved somewhere! If any reader knows the full story, please let me know -- thanks.

As I walked behind the pond I didn't hear any singing but my seedeater magnet was definitely working today. On the wire perched next to a COUCH'S KINGBIRD was a rather scruffy looking male WHITE-COLLARED SEEDEATER. Despite the noon hour the area was very birdy and I saw LITTLE BLUE and GREEN HERONS, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, SORA, RINGED KINGFISHER, GREAT KISKADEE, GREEN JAY, LONG-BILLED THRASHER, FIELD, LINCOLN'S and OLIVE SPARROWS, AMERICAN  GOLDFINCH plus a few others.

After lunch at El Paraiso in Zapata (a family owned place that is always good), I continued south and made short visits to the Falcon Dam overlook, Chapeño and Salineño. High water conditions prevailed and flooding was evident at at the latter two locations with lots of mud. None of them were particularly productive in mid afternoon.

Falcon had the most activity with side by side looks at DOUBLE-CRESTED and NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS as an OSPREY hovered overhead. My first SWAINSON'S HAWK of the year flew by heading north, HARRIS'S and RED-TAILED HAWKS and both VULTURES rounded out the raptors. At Chapeño, LONG-BILLED THRASHER and CASSIN'S SPARROW were both singing. At Salineño, the best bird was RINGED KINGFISHER.

Tomorrow I'll try for my nemesis Brown Jay at El Rio in Chapeño. Although I like the Falcon Executive Inn in Zapata, I had noticed the Roma Inn on a previous trip and, since Roma was a little closer, I decided to give it a try. Big mistake. As the saying goes, when in Roma, do not stay at the Roma Inn. Very poor value at $50 plus tax. Poorly lit, the phone didn't work (and rang every 30 minutes until I disconnected it), and there was only one network TV channel. Other than that, it was perfect. 

Monday, March 29, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
As if a bad room wasn't enough, when I came to check out this morning the credit card equipment was on the blink and I had to wait almost 30 minutes to pay! I was hoping that the delay wouldn't cost me the jay and, fortunately, it didn't.

I arrived at the El Rio RV Park (a glamorous name that overstates the place) at 7:30am and paid my $2 fee. I had birded here numerous times before but always managed to miss the bird. The feeders near the caretaker's buildings were loaded with GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES as I began what was a very short lived vigil. After a few minutes a BROWN JAY slipped in among the grackles and I almost overlooked it, because at first glance it looked like a female grackle (until it spoke!). I wandered down to the camp sites along the river and saw several more jays and a couple of ALTAMIRA ORIOLES plus a few of the more common species.

I headed down river to Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park seeing several CRESTED CARACARAS and HARRIS'S HAWKS along the way. The female Blue Bunting was still being seen at one of the campsite feeders but I did not look for it. I wandered around rather aimlessly from 9:15-11:30am and recorded the following 36 species:

Least Grebe (6 on pond just outside the park), Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Ring-necked Duck, Plain Chachalaca, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, White-winged, Inca and White-tipped Doves, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Couch's Kingbird (lots),  Green Jay, several Blue-headed Vireos, Northern Mockingbird, Verdin, Tufted Titmouse, House Sparrow, Orange-crowned, Nashville, many Black-throated Green, and a few Black-and-white Warblers, Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat, many Lincoln's and Olive Sparrows, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, and one or two <grin> Great-tailed Grackles.

Having skipped breakfast it was now most definitely time for lunch. I discovered "El Rodeo" on a previous trip and my memory served me well, the food was excellent. The restaurant is located on the south side of Hwy 83 west of Mission (after the freeway ends) at the city limit of Palmview. I highly recommend it if you're in the area, and it's even worth going a little out of your way for.

Next stop was Anzalduas County Park. Whoa! Is it cinco de mayo or something? I expected the park to be empty on a Monday but there was a very large gathering with live music going on. With the music plus the noise of scads of grackles, it was hard to hear anything at all let alone warbler chips! I gravitated to the furthest place I could find with habitat and eventually located my first RED-EYED VIREO of the year and several warblers -- BLACK-THROATED GREEN, NASHVILLE, BLACK-AND-WHITE,  and a good bird here at the back end of March -- a BLACK-THROATED GRAY (in the same tree as the B&W); and NORTHERN PARULA (struck out on Tropical that were easy here last year).

A brief stop at McAllen sewage ponds that had very little water yielded a few shorebirds -- LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS, DUNLIN and BLACK-NECKED STILTS.

I ended the day with a short visit to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge which, as usual, was the worst place I visited for mosquitoes. In fact, it was the only place on this trip that I was really bothered by them. Present here were all the common species that I have been seeing plus ANHINGA, BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK and BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD. Scads of BROAD-WINGED HAWKS were streaming north overhead as I left. I took the "B" trail and recorded 36 species from 3:30-5:00pm.

Night at Motel 6 in McAllen. One of the renovated 6's and like a palace compared to last night's fiasco. The freeway and frontage road system here make getting around somewhat difficult at best, and with the road construction currently going on it's definitely no better!. It had been a fairly cloudy, fairly cool day (mid 70s) but shortly after I checked in the heavens opened. Timing is everything.

Tuesday, March 30, 1999    Previous Day     Next Day
My objective for today was to head up to Corpus Christi and I didn't really have a birding plan. I thought about stopping at the Brownsville dump for the Black-tailed Gull but decided against that. After leaving McAllen, a 1 hour 15 minute drive put me at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge at 8:00am. I birded around the Headquarters area and along the 15 mile Bayside Drive. For some reason that I can't put my finger on, I have never really cared much for this place and today's visit didn't change my opinion. The most interesting sight was a LONG-BILLED THRASHER and a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD perched about 1 foot apart in the same tree, both singing their hearts out. A "flock" of 4 OSPREYS sitting on the ground was also a treat. I saw most of the common species again plus quite a few water birds new for the trip, as well as SUMMER TANAGER and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO. I recorded the following 63 species in about 3 hours:

Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Reddish Egret, Tricolored, Little Blue and Great Blue Herons, Snowy and Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbill, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Harris's Hawk, Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, American Coot, Long-billed Curlew, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Western and Least Sandpipers, Dunlin, Black-necked Stilt, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Laughing Gull, Caspian and Forster's Terns, Mourning and White-tipped Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Couch's Kingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Green Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, White-eyed, Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Mockingbird, Long-billed Thrasher, Marsh Wren, Verdin, Tree,   Barn, and Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Tufted Titmouse, Black-throated Green Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lark and Olive Sparrows,  Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

Next came an uninspiring lunch in Raymondville then a drive north along Hwy 77 where I saw WHITE-TAILED KITE and WHITE-TAILED HAWK. I made a brief and disappointing stop at Dick Kleberg County Park in Kingsville. No new birds here, BLUE-WINGED TEAL were common.

After reaching Corpus, I did not do any further birding and my trip list after four days stood at 140. Now it was time for other matters.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page. 
The last update was on Tuesday, March 30, 1999.

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - March, 1999 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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