Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - May, 2001 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 Thursday, May 31, 2001. 

Tuesday, May 1, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
After working almost every day in April, today was the first of two consecutive scheduled days off. In previous years, when I wasn't as busy as I am now, it was my habit to visit the San Pedro on the first day of each month. I decided to do just that today for some casual birding to recharge my personal batteries. 

About 5 years ago, almost to the date, I saw 86 species in 4 hours on the San Pedro on a day when migrants were everywhere.  Initially, I had hopes of exceeding that number today but in the end I missed too many common "must have" species (proving that no birds are easy) and migrant activity was pretty low. I managed only 67 species. The temperature when I began at 6:15am was 50 degrees and by 9:30am when I quit it was already quite warm, reaching 90 degrees by mid afternoon. I made a quick check of the San Pedro House feeders then walked the Del Valle road to about 1/4 mile past Garden Wash, doubled back to walk the wash towards the river, checked Black Phoebe pond and areas south of the pond, finally hitting the river about 1/2 mile south of Garden Wash.. I then walked north along the river (with a stop at Kingfisher pond) to a point 1/8 mile past the San Pedro House trail.

I was pleasantly surprised by a breeding plumaged AMERICAN GOLDFINCH at the feeders, my latest sighting on the river. Before I reached the Del Valle road I could hear BOTTERI'S and CASSIN'S SPARROWS singing and I soon saw them both -- Botteri's perched atop a mesquite and Cassin's skylarking from the grass. Botteri's normally sing shortly after they arrive (I had my first one of the season last week) but it's a little unusual to hear Cassin's in May.  

I found a handful of species that are not so common on the river -- SCALED QUAIL, GREATER ROADRUNNER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, N. CARDINAL and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Summer species:
 I noted a few summer residents to be quite abundant -- LUCY'S & YELLOW WARBLERS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. Not as numerous but still easy to find were VERMILION, ASH-THROATED & BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS and CASSIN'S & WESTERN KINGBIRDS. I heard only one GRAY HAWK and saw a couple of SWAINSON'S HAWKS.

Wintering species:
Of note was a latish N. HARRIER (all 5 of my first week of May records are from the San Pedro). GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES are still quite common (normally here until the 3rd week in May) and a few WHITE-CROWNED & CHIPPING SPARROWS are still around.

Migrants:
Very little of note in this category -- 1 each PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, PLUMBEOUS & CASSIN'S VIREOS and WILSON'S WARBLER, 2-3 WARBLING VIREOS, 2 MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, plentiful BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and a few LARK SPARROWS. I heard a male BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD go whizzing by and thought it was a little late for this species to be here; but my records show that I have seen them here as late as the second week in May.

My full list: 
Mallard, Green Heron, N. Harrier, Gray & Swainson's Hawks, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Vermilion, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan Raven, Bell's, Cassin's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Bushtit, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, House Sparrow, American & Lesser Goldfinches, House Finch, Lucy's, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, White-crowned, Lark, Chipping, Black-throated, Botteri's & Cassin's Sparrows, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Summer Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Thursday, May 3, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days with Marvin Cooper from Seattle, WA, who I've birded with once before. We spent the morning hurriedly visiting several locations looking for a number of target birds. Our haste was mainly because I wanted to get things done before the wind picked up which it did more and more as the morning wore on, especially at high elevation.

We began with a visit to the San Pedro where we quickly found 4 target species in short order. Both BOTTERI'S and CASSIN'S SPARROWS were singing and perched up in the same locations as I saw them on Monday and we were able to get 'scope views of each bird for as long as we wanted. Shortly afterwards we found a LUCY'S WARBLER foraging and singing in a mesquite, but we had to work a little harder to track down BELL'S VIREO. During this very brief visit, mainly confined to grass and mesquite habitat, we saw only 25 species.

Next, we headed into the Huachucas and quickly found a calling ELEGANT TROGON at a nest site in Garden Canyon. After enjoying the bird for about 5 minutes, we moved higher up canyon and soon located BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER and HEPATIC TANAGER at the upper picnic area. Other birds around included ARIZONA WOODPECKER and PAINTED REDSTART.

As we worked on higher elevation species, the wind became stronger and our task became considerably more difficult. However, one by one we weeded out our target birds starting with an easy GRACE'S WARBLER. We then embarked on multiple chases for VIRGINIA'S WARBLER with many fleeting glimpses. As is often the case, this species proved very elusive and it was some 3 hours later before we finally had a very satisfactory view. In between we picked up our other targets -- GREATER PEWEE and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER (both birds found us!), a couple of beautiful RED-FACED WARBLERS and an OLIVE WARBLER.

During the search we recorded 40 species including my first WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE of the season, many BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS, MEXICAN, WESTERN-SCRUB and STELLER'S JAYS, CANYON WREN, BROWN CREEPER, HUTTON'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, TOWNSEND, HERMIT & YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, WESTERN & HEPATIC TANAGERS, SPOTTED TOWHEE, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and PINE SISKIN.

During our afternoon break, Marvin visited Ramsey Canyon and picked up a few hummingbird species including BERYLLINE.

Our evening owling session was mostly an exercise in frustration. At first it seemed that the wind would be our biggest enemy, but in the end it was the least of our problems. Stream noise, an idiot nocturnal motor cyclist and several other owling parties combined to screw things up. We had to be content with a 20 second look at an ELF OWL perched in a juniper and many heard only WHIP-POOR-WILLS. 

Friday, May 4, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again with Marvin Cooper from Seattle, WA for another day of target birding. A relatively cool but windy day, thankfully calm early in the morning. 

We had 3 target birds in French Joe Canyon but our early start failed to produce a Common Poorwill, often seen sitting on the road in the pre-dawn gloom. We neither saw nor heard one. However, we easily picked up the other two. 

The early start translated into a chilly walk up the canyon and we arrived at the pools below the spring at 6:10am, just as the sun was hitting the area. Bird activity was fairly high but we had to wait patiently until 6:45 before finding RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER. The bird put on a great show this morning, actually flying towards us and over our heads then perching at eye level 12 feet away, staring right at us. We also watched it singing from some snags, otherwise it foraged in the low bushes as usual. 

On my last two visits I had the feeling that possibly two birds were present, and the appearance of the bird today from different directions in quick succession supported that. However, I could only honestly confirm the presence of a single bird when I allowed for its rapid movements. Yesterday, there was a report of two warblers, also accompanied by the information that they "mostly foraged high in the canopy". This leaves me feeling a little uneasy because, in almost 100 sightings, I have seldom seen this ground dwelling warbler go high, except to sing and move from A to B. Fact is stranger than fiction I guess. 

BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW was our other target bird. They were numerous as usual and singing in multiple locations throughout the canyon, so it was just a matter of time before we got a good look. Although we didn't spend much time checking out other birds, we recorded a total of 35 species including WARBLING VIREO, several HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, VIRGINIA'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY and WILSON'S WARBLERS, HEPATIC TANAGER, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and SCOTT'S & HOODED ORIOLES.

A brief trip to Patagonia produced 3 1/2 out of 4 target birds!

Unfortunately, at the state park we only heard LEAST BITTERN. In fact, the bird was calling so loudly that we could hear it in the marsh as we started along the upper east trail shortly after leaving the vehicle. We had better success with our next target, a pair of very cooperative N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS were easy to see. We recorded 35 mostly common species during a short visit here including 5 or 6 NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS, a couple of BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS and a surprise singing AMERICAN GOLDFINCH in breeding plumage.

At the Roadside Rest we had to work hard to get a decent view of BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER in the now heavily leafed-out sycamores. GRAY HAWKS were in the area.

I mentioned to Marvin that BRONZED COWBIRD was regular on the green belt in Patagonia and, almost as we ran out of it leaving town, we found a couple. A good end to a mostly successful day. 

Tuesday, May 8, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
After several days at home due to an injured back (during which time I had to cancel on a  couple of clients), I was back at it today with Hank Ingersoll, Jim Wilson, Fred Beretta and Bill Savory from San Diego & Sacramento, CA and Harrisburg, PA. It was a joyous occasion --  my first trip of the season to California Gulch!

I rose at 2:00am and left home at 3:00 to meet my clients at Peña Blanca lake campground at 4:30. I just about made it after a brief encounter with a border patrol agent. Later, as we drove along the Ruby Road, we picked up 1 live and 1 dead COMMON POORWILL before another encounter with border patrol killed any further Poorwill chances.  

We reached California Gulch road at 5:45am where I noted the first change of the season, signs marking the entrance to the gulch! It's only taken God knows how many years until now to put these babies up. It's a little unfortunate that the placement of the sign (as you come from Nogales) is too far east and will cause many folks to take a wrong turn (a dead end from which it's easy to recover). Ruby Road is washboarded in multiple locations (quite badly in a couple of places); the road into the gulch is in reasonable condition (it's all relative) and there are a couple of places with standing water.

We parked at the top of the gulch at 6:15am and it was exactly 45 minutes later that we found a lone FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW. I had heard a couple of brief calls and was just pointing out a nesting area and a regularly used Sotal perch when Hank said "there's a bird at the bottom of the Sotal", and so there was. Over the next 10 minutes we had several 'scope views of the bird as it moved around and occasionally sang a half-hearted song from a few different perches. There have been recent reports of three pairs but this was the only bird that we saw. We spent about 3 1/2 hours in the gulch proper (working the entire area north-south-north for general birding) and never even heard another sparrow. I attribute this to the fact  that when the birds first arrive, they do some fairly strong singing (probably to establish territories) and then go into to stealth mode until the rains begin. At least, this seems to have been the pattern during the 8 years that I have been making regular visits. There have also been reports of Varied Buntings but we neither saw nor heard any. Normally, it's much later in the month before they appear in numbers.

The area was quite alive with bird song when we began but that quickly subsided as the temperature rose. We recorded the following 41 species within the gulch proper

Turkey Vulture, Gray Hawk, Killdeer, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-billed, Black-chinned & "zinging" Costa's Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, several singing and calling N. Beardless-Tyrannulets, a singing Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebe, Vermilion, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Mexican Jay, Bell's Vireo, Phainopepla, Cactus, Canyon & many Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, many Lucy's Warblers, several Yellow Warblers (south end riparian area),  1-Five-striped Sparrow, many Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, several pairs each of Hepatic & Summer Tanagers, N. Cardinal, loads of Hooded, 1-Bullock's and a few Scott's Orioles and many Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Driving back along the Ruby Road we saw a soaring adult GOLDEN EAGLE.

Thursday, May 9, 2000    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Bill Freeman from Silver Spring, MD who I've birded with once before. It was a weird day weather-wise -- after yesterday's heat there was a very thick layer of pollution? in the sky this morning that persisted for much of the day. It was very warm by late morning but then a cloud layer built up and cooled things off nicely. 

We had a very good morning in French Joe Canyon seeing what now appears to be a mated pair of RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS. We arrived at the pools below the upper spring at 6:35am. Around 7:00am I mentioned to Bill that the bird seems to vocalize regularly and then fall silent for about 30 minutes, so we should be due to hear it. Shortly after that we heard two birds and soon observed them working low on the slopes north of the upper spring. Over a period of 30 minutes we watched the two birds foraging on the ground, in low bushes, and occasionally at mid level in small oaks. They moved around over a distance of approx. 1/2 mile sticking closely together, sometimes as close as 1 foot. I was surprised to hear both birds singing since they otherwise appeared to be a mated pair. After making some inquiries I was able to determine that the female does indeed sing.

Migrant activity in the canyon seems to be pretty much all over and the only birds in that category today were 2-HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, a singing WARBLING VIREO and a latish ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. All the rest were either permanent or summer residents. We recorded the following 42 species:

Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Mourning & White-winged Doves, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Hammond's & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, N. Mockingbird, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Black-throated Gray & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Summer Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Scott's Oriole and Brown-headed Cowbird.

From 10:00am until noon we birded along a very warm San Pedro looking unsuccessfully for Green Kingfisher. Like the canyon earlier, migrant activity was virtually non existent. We recorded 35 species including GRAY HAWK, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and a few remaining wintering species -- YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH.

Thursday, May 10, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Peter & Gill Williamson from Yorkshire, England. A clearer and slightly cooler day than yesterday, turning windy and much cooler in the late afternoon. Pete was particularly interested in owls and we managed to find 5 with 3 seen well. We birded in the Huachucas and on the San Pedro.

We began in Garden Canyon where ELEGANT TROGON was only slightly harder to find than in recent days. We saw male and female at a nest site with good views of the male, excellent views of a male at another nest site, and we heard a third male calling. Activity in and around the upper picnic area was fairly subdued and not many birds were calling. WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE is back and migrant WARBLING VIREO was singing. Regulars included COOPER'S HAWK adding material to the nest, a singing GREATER ROADRUNNER, ACORN and several ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, a female MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, BUFF-BREASTED & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, HEPATIC TANAGER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

SPOTTED OWL was easy to find in Scheelite Canyon very close to the trail, although one unfortunate soul had walked past it and searched the higher areas of the canyon. Today's roost tree is not used much by the owls and my records show all sightings here fall within one week of today's date, one record per year. Very interesting! After seeing the Spotted  Owl we continued on higher up canyon in search of NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL and enjoyed great views of a calling bird, perched in the open. 

We managed a good look at a cooperative VIRGINIA'S WARBLER which never seems easy to do. Among the 23 species that we recorded in the canyon were ARIZONA WOODPECKER, STELLER'S JAY, HERMIT THRUSH, a couple of PAINTED REDSTARTS, numerous singing HEPATIC TANAGERS, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and a singing but unseen SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

We birded on the San Pedro from 11:00am-1:00pm mainly to look for GRAY HAWK, usually not as easy to see here as say Kino Springs, for example. We found one but never managed to see it, just a soaring SWAINSON'S HAWK. YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, SUMMER TANAGERS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLES were extremely abundant. As usual, the first chat was the hardest to see. BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS seem more common here this year. Most interesting to me were a pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL at Kingfisher pond (I only have 2 previous records for the river, both in May 1994) and a late DARK-EYED JUNCO. The only migrants we came across were PLUMBEOUS and WARBLING VIREOS and WILSON'S WARBLER. Continuing wintering species were YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. 

The wind was blowing strongly during our late afternoon visit to Beatty's Guest Ranch and Orchard in Miller Canyon. We managed 6 regular hummingbird species -- BROAD-BILLED, MAGNIFICENT, BLUE-THROATED, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S and BROAD-TAILED plus BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and WESTERN TANAGER.

Our owling session was a series of ups and downs, mostly the latter. It didn't take much time or effort to see a couple of WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS. We located a couple of WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS and at least two pairs of ELF OWLS, however, after plenty of time and effort we saw neither (except for a brief flying view of the Western). Both species were very close at times, especially the Elf, but foliage density and some reticence from the owls defeated us.

Friday, May 11, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 3 days with John and Joan Bramley from London, England. Another day that warmed quickly after a very pleasant cool start in the mountains. Our birding over the next 3 days will be mainly confined to the vehicle and immediate trailside stops, so it will be a little more of a challenge to come up with the birds.

We began in Garden Canyon at 6:30am and left at 10:15am,  recording a total of 50 species. For the first time that I can remember this season, a male ELEGANT TROGON was staking a claim to a regularly used sycamore nest tree at the upper picnic area. However, we had already seen one at a nest site near the middle picnic area.

Birds in the lower grassland included calling SCALED QUAIL, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, WESTERN & CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, singing RUFOUS-CROWNED & BOTTERI'S SPARROWS, my season first BLUE GROSBEAK, LESSER GOLDFINCH, LILIAN'S MEADOWLARK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

We spent most of the time at the upper picnic area without moving more than 50 yards. Nevertheless, we managed good 'scope looks at many species. It's interesting to stay in one place and see what will stop by and perch up when you simply hang around. This is a luxury that I don't often have. Activity here was a little higher than yesterday. Of note was a latish TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, although I have quite a few records through the end of May. Most of the others were regulars including ARIZONA WOODPECKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED & DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS, AM. ROBIN, PLUMBEOUS, HUTTON'S & WARBLING VIREOS, LARK SPARROW and HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS.

A late morning visit to a very warm San Pedro House area without visiting the river yielded 20 species with the highlight being VERMILION FLYCATCHER  Also here were a couple of COMMON GROUND-DOVES, GILA WOODPECKER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD on a nest, BELL'S VIREO, YELLOW WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, CANYON & ABERT'S TOWHEES and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

A midday visit to Beatty's Guest Ranch and Orchard in Miller Canyon was about as quiet as I've ever seen it at the public viewing site. For a while we had only 2 hummingbird species but we ended up with 5 -- BROAD-BILLED, MAGNIFICENT, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S and BROAD-TAILED.  

Saturday, May 12, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again with the Bramleys from London, England. A warm morning with cooler temperatures in the afternoon and a short thunderstorm that brought a few sprinkles. We birded first at Kino Springs and followed that with stops at Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia Roadside Rest area and the Paton's Yard.

Kino Springs was quite birdy and we recorded 60 species from 6:45-10:00am birding only at the immediate roadside of both ponds. I was surprised that we managed good views (in the 'scope no less) of species such as NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, BELL'S VIREO and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. I would certainly have bet against that happening!  We saw most of the regularly occurring species including roosting BLACK VULTURES, 2-BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, GRAY HAWKS at both ponds, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, singing GREATER ROADRUNNER, a "zinging" COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD, plenty of ASH-THROATED, 2-DUSKY-CAPPED and several calling and visible BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, a lone THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD in the mesquite at the east end of the club house pond, COMMON RAVEN feeding young at the first pond (as Gray Hawk screamed from a nearby tree), and BULLOCK'S and HOODED ORIOLES. 

Of particular interest to me were a female WOOD DUCK and a fly-by COMMON SNIPE, both at the first pond. I have one previous Wood Duck record here (also a female) from almost exactly 5 years ago. The Common Snipe was the first that I've seen at this location. I still haven't seen or heard a Tropical Kingbird here yet this season.

We made only a brief stop at Patagonia Lake State Park where we found only 2-NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS and about 20 common species.

The Roadside Rest area had plenty of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS,  two very noisy THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS, two flighty N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS, calling BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, CANYON WREN and a female WESTERN TANAGER 

A nice surprise for me entering the Paton's Yard was a location first BAND-TAILED PIGEON, feeding on the ground with a group of WHITE-WINGED DOVES. Normally this is a foothill and mountain species, however, I have seen them in the Patagonia area before (in town and at the sanctuary). We recorded 32 species in a little over an hour including VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD, BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, a few continuing WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and several BRONZED COWBIRDS.

Sunday, May 13, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Third and final day with the Bramleys from London, England. After a few afternoon sprinkles yesterday, we had considerable rain in the evening that produced fresh conditions this morning. Today was even better -- after a warmish morning, midday rain cooled things down again (we got caught in a mountain hailstorm) and it was only 65 degrees in mid afternoon in Sierra Vista. Hard to beat that in the middle of May!

We started out at 6:30am at the south end of the Sulphur Springs Valley with stops on Frontier and Coffman Roads followed by a visit to Whitewater Draw. Later we headed into the Huachucas.

John really wanted to see a GREATER ROADRUNNER, not a bird that is easily targeted. However, one ran across our path on Davis Road and we saw another perched in a tree on Coffman. Nice surprises were several flocks of latish LARK BUNTINGS (all females except for one jet black male) and a late VESPER SPARROW. Migrating WESTERN TANAGERS (3 males) were also of note in mesquite. A few WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS are still around.

Among the regulars in the mesquite grassland were SWAINSON'S HAWK, GAMBEL'S and SCALED QUAIL, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, CRISSAL THRASHER, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, CACTUS WREN, LUCY'S WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED & LARK SPARROWS, PYRRHULOXIA, LILIAN'S MEADOWLARK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

An hour at Whitewater Draw was very productive and I wish we could have stayed longer. Species here included a few EARED and 6-WESTERN GREBES, GREAT & SNOWY EGRETS, GREEN HERON, CINNAMON TEAL, 2-WHITE-FACED IBIS, several AM. AVOCETS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, 2-FRANKLIN'S GULLS, 1-FORSTER'S TERN, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, CLIFF and N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, HORNED LARK and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. When I first saw the tern (which was always at rest), I was excited because it appeared to be a Common (I have no spring records). However, when I walked around the dikes to get a better view, I reluctantly had to conclude it was Forster's.

As we climbed into the Huachucas, I told Joan and John that RED-FACED WARBLER would be the least likely warbler since we would be working from the roadside only. As it turned out, this was the easiest warbler to find and we had good views of a singing bird that didn't want to leave us. We also had decent views of OLIVE, GRACE'S VIRGINIA'S and TOWNSEND'S. Ironically, the very common BLACK-THROATED GRAY proved hardest to see! 

The clouds built as the morning progressed and around 1:00pm we had a nice downpour including some good sized hail. Except during the rain, most birds were fairly vocal and we had GREATER PEWEES and WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES side by side for a nice comparison plus the usual suspects such as BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, STELLER'S and WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, WESTERN and HEPATIC TANAGERS, SPOTTED TOWHEE, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO and PINE SISKIN. 

Monday, May 14, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 3 days with Bob and Karen Pierson from Baton Rouge, LA. The weather continued as in recent days in atypical fashion, with a warm morning and afternoon sprinkles. We started at Kino Springs at 6:00am and followed that with visits to Patagonia Lake (briefly, just to scan from the overlooks), Patagonia Roadside Rest Area, Blue Heaven Road and the Paton's yard. 

At Kino Springs we were unable to track down a singing RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW. For the umpteenth time this season, I still didn't see or hear a Tropical Kingbird. THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD was vocal and easy to find near the club house where a pair nested last year. A lone female WOOD DUCK continues at the first pond where YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was easy to see for a change and N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET was quite elusive. Several BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS, GRAY HAWKS and DUSKY-CAPPED and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS were at both ponds. 

As usual, we had trouble getting decent views of the ever elusive BELL'S VIREO. Success came soon after we witnessed the birds briefly copulating. The male quickly disappeared but the female obliged us as she sat out in the open preening and smoking a cigarette. 

A check of Patagonia Lake didn't produce the hoped for "big grebes", perhaps the folks on jet skis had something to do with it. Only 1-NEOTROPIC CORMORANT and 2-SNOWY EGRETS were of note. However, on the plus side was a spontaneously singing and perched up BOTTERI'S SPARROW in a regular spot.

WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were abundant at the Roadside Rest area where GRAY HAWK and THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD were easy to see. Even CANYON WREN wasn't too elusive today. Among the other species here were N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, WARBLING VIREO and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

A little time spent on Blue Heaven Road didn't turn up a Zone-tailed Hawk, just more GRAY HAWKS and another THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD..

The Paton's Yard was much quieter than of late. Even hummingbird activity was subdued with only several brief visits from VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD.

Species recorded:
Neotropic Cormorant, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Ruddy & Wood Ducks, Snowy Egret, Great Blue & Green Herons, Black & Turkey Vultures, Cooper's, Gray  & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Common Raven, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, N, Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, N. Rough-winged, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, White-crowned, Botteri's, Rufous-winged & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Summer Tanager, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Hooded & Bullock's Orioles, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle and Bronzed & Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Saturday, May 19, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
After several days at home when I was unable to bird, I was scheduled today with Chris Latt from Memphis, TN. However, a major weather front moved in overnight and it was very cloudy and raining heavily at 6:00am this morning. Fortunately, Chris had some flexibility and we rescheduled for tomorrow. I had a major case of cabin fever so I headed out anyway. I decided to go east to get away from the storm and check a couple of water locations. The rain eased off by 9:00am but when I returned to Sierra Vista at 2:00pm there was a major thunderstorm and a tremendous monsoon type downpour that July would have been proud of.

On my way to Willcox I made a stop at St. David where constant rain kept my visit down to only 25 minutes. Although I saw WOOD DUCK at Kino Springs recently, I didn't expect any of the birds that wintered at St. David to still be there. All had gone except for a male with a damaged wing, obviously unable to leave. It looked quite forlorn in the rain, standing on a branch overhanging the main pond. I recorded 23 common species.

I birded for a couple of hours at Willcox, the first hour in rain when the water conditions were choppy making viewing a little difficult. I'd seen a few WILSON'S PHALAROPES and after some time I returned to them to look for Red-necked. I usually do a quick and dirty check by looking at the bills and as I was scanning through I came upon one bird with a long bill. Even so, it took some time for the realization to dawn that I was now looking at a flock of RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and had just found a Wilson's. If I'd paid attention to the actual birds rather than the bills it would have been immediately obvious!  Other birds of note were a couple of WILLET'S, BLACK and LEAST TERNS and all 6 species of regular AZ swallows. Also present were a couple of Eurasian Collared-Doves but I managed to miss them - this is a bird that I still haven't seen in AZ. Also seen by someone else was Yellow Warbler, a species I have yet to record at Willcox.

Species seen at Willcox, 8:00-10:00am:
10+Eared Grebes, many Ruddy Ducks, Mallard, 2-Cinnamon Teal, 4-Black-crowned Night-Herons, 4-White-faced Ibis, several Scaled and Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, 8-Spotted Sandpipers, 2-Willets, 20-Wilson's & 40-Red-necked Phalaropes, 12-Am. Avocets, Killdeer, 1-Ring-billed Gull, 6-Black & 1-Least Tern, Mourning Dove, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, N. Mockingbird, Tree, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Bank, Barn & Cliff Swallows, House Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

After the 55 mile drive south through Sulphur Springs Valley punctuated only by a handful of SWAINSON'S HAWKS, I birded at Whitewater Draw where conditions were very good -- dry, good light and just a little choppy. Highlights were a large flock of BLACK, 2-FORSTER'S and 2-LEAST TERNS; and a migrant WESTERN TANAGER. A single Franklin's Gull was seen by someone else but not by me, although I saw a couple here last weekend.

Species seen at Whitewater Draw, 10:50am-12:20pm:
10+Eared, 7-Western  & 1-Clark's Grebe, 4-Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, 2-American Wigeon, Mallard, 1-Cinnamon Teal, 1-Redhead, 2-Great & 3-Cattle Egrets, 80+White-faced Ibis, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Scaled Quail, Am. Coot, 3-Spotted Sandpipers, 4-Am. Avocets, Killdeer, 2-Ring-billed Gulls, 30+ (c35) Black, 2-Forster's & 2-Least Terns, Mourning Dove, Vermilion Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, N. Mockingbird, Barn Swallow, House Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Song Sparrow, Western Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

Sunday, May 20, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day 
It made a nice change for me to bum around yesterday looking for waterbirds, something that I rarely get to do when I'm working. Today I was out with Chris Latt from Memphis, TN for a day of fairly casual birding. We spent all of our time in the Huachucas. The stormy weather passed through overnight and we had a much better day weather-wise -- no rain with some midday clouds to keep the temperature down.

It was delightfully fresh and cool in lower Garden Canyon grassland this morning, certainly the BOTTERI'S SPARROWS thought so. I counted no less than 8 birds singing as we drove along, and we stopped to put the 'scope on one of them. They won't win any beauty contests or make the highlight reel, but they can sometimes be tough to get in May so it was a good bird. Several RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS were also in full voice.

ELEGANT TROGON was much harder to find this morning, even at a couple of nest sites where they were no-shows. This is quite typical when their territorial calling activity subsides. Fortunately, we eventually found a male near the upper picnic area that called just enough for us to locate it. SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS arrived last week and we heard them in a few places. A couple of them flew in over our heads as we watched a pair of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS having a set to with a DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER that insisted on checking out the woodpeckers nest cavity.  Among the other species around the upper picnic area were BUFF-BREASTED & CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS & WARBLING VIREOS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, WESTERN TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

The army have made good progress on road repair and it was a treat to walk up to the Scheelite Canyon trailhead on a flat surface. It will be even more of a treat to drive up there (and on to Sawmill) when the work is completed in July. The walk up Scheelite was very cool and the canyon felt moist and fresh after the rain. Even better, SPOTTED OWL was very easy to find and sitting out in the open providing a great view. This was not the case with calling VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and PAINTED REDSTART that remained unseen.

Our trip to higher elevation was mostly an exercise in frustration. We eventually had good looks at GREATER PEWEE perched high atop a snag in typical fashion, an inquisitive HUTTON'S & a warbling WARBLING VIREO, several GRACE'S WARBLERS, a pair of PAINTED REDSTARTS visiting a nest, a pair of HEPATIC TANAGERS and a beautiful male SCOTT'S ORIOLE. However, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and even YELLOW-EYED JUNCO remained elusive with only brief glimpses of both. We heard just one singing OLIVE WARBLER but nothing at all from Red-faced Warbler.

We recorded the following (in the Huachucas) from 6:00am-2:00pm:
Turkey Vulture, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Spotted Owl, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Buff-breasted, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay & Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive, Virginia's, Lucy's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray & Grace's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Botteri's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, Pyrrhuloxia, Scott's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Lilian's Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, May 21, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Day 1 of 2 days  today with Lynn Hemink and Bev Brock from California. Today we looked for Rufous-capped Warbler in French Joe Canyon where it was fairly warm to begin with and warmed quickly as the morning wore on. It was also quite breezy. For the first time in a long time, our early start didn't pay dividends. 

We left town at 4:30am and arrived at the upper spring at 6:15pm. We didn't have to wait too long before hearing RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS, and at this point success looked imminent even though the birds were a considerable way upslope on the north side of the spring. In retrospect, I made a major blunder in deciding not to go after them, instead I chose to wait for the birds to come down. After about 3 or 4 minutes both birds did indeed work their way down slope. Unfortunately, they paused only briefly at the bottom of the canyon before flying across the stream bed into dense vegetation. They soon stopped singing and we lost the opportunity to relocate them. Sadly, we never heard from them again despite patrolling above and below the spring until 11:00am. Today's behavior represents a major change from almost all previous summer visits when the warbler typically vocalizes for 5 minutes at 30 minute intervals. These periods of calling and singing are when almost all sightings occur. The change in behavior is perhaps due to the fact that there are now two birds in breeding mode. Time will tell.  

The day was redeemed somewhat as we drove out of the canyon, at least from my standpoint, when I heard a GRAY VIREO singing close to the road about 1.25 miles above the cattle guard around 12:00pm. We soon found the bird in a juniper on the north side of the road and tracked it as it moved around quite quickly from bush to bush, eventually disappearing to the south heading towards a juniper covered slope. I only have a handful of records for Cochise County (Baker Canyon) and there are probably very few breeding records (in the Chiricahuas) away from this part of the county. Who knows about today's bird -- a late migrant, an unmated male looking for a female or part of a breeding pair? The habitat is far from perfect but it seems passable to me.

The canyon was quite birdy today. LESSER NIGHTHAWK was still active as we drove in but we were a little too late for Poorwill. BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS were singing almost non stop and WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS always seemed to be soaring overhead. A group of 4 recently fledged and very trusting CANYON WRENS on the trail were a nice treat. They were about 75% adult size. ACORN WOODPECKER struck me as a bird that I hadn't seen much here and it turned out to be a new location bird for me.

We recorded the following:
Scaled Quail, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Lesser Nighthawk, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned, Anna's & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Bell's, Hutton's, Gray & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Lucy's Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic Tanager, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, N. Cardinal, Hooded & Scott's Orioles and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tuesday, May 22, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again with Lynn Hemink and Bev Brock from California. We returned to French Joe Canyon and this time our early start paid off well.

We started even earlier than yesterday and our 4:00am departure from Sierra Vista followed by very brisk hike up the canyon put us at the upper spring at 5:30am. It was very heartening to hear RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singing immediately as we arrived. The birds were on the south slope about 100 yards up canyon from the spring. In stark contrast to yesterday, both birds vocalized often over the next 45 minutes and we were able to track their movements fairly well. They ranged up and down canyon but always stayed on the south slope except for a brief foray by one bird over to the big juniper just north of the spring. At one point I had to step aside for a pee and, wouldn't you know it, I saw one of the warblers perched up at close range. Unfortunately, the bird disappeared before the others could get there. No matter, around 6:00am we had great looks at a bird singing its heart out, perched up on a Sotal. We saw the bird again a couple of times before leaving at 6:25.

Our early start also paid off as we drove into the canyon with 4-COMMON POORWILLS and a GREAT HORNED OWL, calling nearby as we parked. Since we didn't stay in the canyon very long, our species list was considerably shorter than yesterday at only 36. 

Now it was decision time. Without access to Carr and Sawmill Canyons, both closed for road repairs, we decided to head to the Chiricahuas for high elevation species, mainly Greater Pewee and Olive Warbler. Unfortunately, we struck out completely on the Pewee, never so much as hearing the bird. Ironically, Sawmill and Carr are excellent reliable places for this species. By way of consolation we had plentiful MEXICAN CHICKADEES in multiple locations, good looks at a male OLIVE WARBLER, several singing RED-FACED WARBLERS and a wonderful eye-level view of a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL being mobbed by Chickadees, BUSHTITS, PAINTED REDSTART and a male MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD. The owl didn't even flinch.

Later in the evening, a short owling session brought our (long) day to a successful end. Barely 5 minutes after leaving the vehicle, a few brief whistles resulted in a pair of our target WHISKERED SCREECH-OWLS zooming in very close to my head. They perched in a nearby tree and we enjoyed good views. A couple of ELF OWLS were flying around and chattering at the same time.

Thursday, May 24, 2001    Previous Date    Next Date
Out today with Ed Kirsten from Tucson, AZ and his son Eric, from Cupertino, CA. Deja vu all over again as I left home at 4:00am for my third trip this week to French Joe Canyon. It was a warm start to the day and by noon the temperature in Sierra Vista was 96 degrees. Bird activity in the canyon seemed very subdued today compared to earlier in the week.

We arrived at the upper spring just after 5:45am to find a RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singing from the north slope. We immediately positioned ourselves on the north slope about 50 yards above the spring only to find that the bird(s) had stopped singing. We stayed in the same position and over the next 45 minutes we tracked the bird by song in various locations on the south slope. Eventually, we had a few perched up views from about 100 yards. Around 6:45, one bird returned to the north slope and we were treated to some wonderful eye-level views from about 15 feet as the bird sang and worked around us. Fantastic! The other bird sang sporadically from the south slope during this time. In the end we committed the cardinal sin of walking away from it.

I only recorded 31 species during our time in the canyon, by far the lowest total of the week. We had 1-COMMON POORWILL on the way in. BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS were perhaps the most vocal bird in addition to the warbler. Working in the leaf litter in the lower canyon was my first SWAINSON'S THRUSH of the season (all my spring migrant records are during May and the first week in June).

Next, we spent some time in Garden Canyon where we had to park at the middle picnic area and walk to the upper picnic area. Construction trucks were fairly numerous and passed by frequently. However, it didn't affect the birding. A male ELEGANT TROGON was calling and we soon tracked it down and enjoyed an excellent view. Several pairs of noisy SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were giving their "rubber ducky" calls. The hardest bird to track down today was BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. A male HEPATIC TANAGER flew in and perched just a few feet from a COOPER'S HAWK. Not far away, a male ARIZONA WOODPECKER was foraging in its nest tree.

We ended the day with a brief visit to Ramsey Canyon where a female BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRD was easy to see on its nest. I was interested to note that the nest is located in an Alligator Juniper tree since the other Berylline nests that I've seen in the Huachucas and Chiricahuas were in Sycamores. 

Friday, May 25, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
I had the day to myself and I took the opportunity to bird at Whitewater Draw. I don't often get the chance to do any water birding while working so it's going to take me some time before I build an inventory of species here. After three trips this week to French Joe Canyon it was also a very welcome change. I never tire of looking for and at Rufous-capped Warbler but, as the saying goes, a change is as good as a rest.

I left home at 4:40am and it was actually quite chilly when I began birding just as the sun was rising. However, it didn't take too long before the area warmed up. My time here was well spent -- very pleasant, interesting and productive.

I birded for 3 1/2 hours and was able to add one new species to my Whitewater Draw list -- a single BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK. The continuing LITTLE BLUE HERON (first seen a few days ago) while technically a new location species for me really wasn't since I saw one here a number of years ago when the area was known as Hyannis ponds. Also of note was a latish BELTED KINGFISHER which was in fact my latest spring record in the southeastern part of the state. 

When I first arrived I flushed some WHITE-FACED IBIS and thought that I saw the LITTLE BLUE with them. After that I didn't think about it anymore until I took a break around 8:00am and bumped into Dick Palmer and company who had just seen the bird. When I resumed birding I was able to relocate it after about 15 minutes. The bird was in the south marsh (tall weeds) to the west of the willow grove.

I'd seen a couple each of FORSTER'S and LEAST TERNS and as I was about to leave I watched another tern fly in and land on the water quite close to me. I was able to study it well and was pleased to find that it was a COMMON TERN, my first spring record in Arizona.

When I got home and starting updating my records, two nice stats popped up. The Common Tern was my 300th bird in Arizona this year to date and May is now the first month during which I've seen 300 species in the state.

I recorded the following within the confines of Whitewater Draw from 5:30am to 9:00am.

2-Pied-billed, 8-Western & 2-Clark's Grebes, 4-Double-crested Cormorants, 1-Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Ruddy Duck, American Wigeon, 10+Gadwall, Mallard, 1-Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, 2-Great Egrets, 2-Green Herons, 4-Black-crowned Night-Herons, 50+White-faced Ibis, Swainson's Hawk, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, 1-Black-necked Stilt, 8+American Avocets, Killdeer, 2-Bonaparte's & 3-Franklin's Gulls, 1-Common, 2-Forster's & 2-Least Terns, Mourning Dove, 8+Common Ground-Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Belted Kingfisher, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, 4-Bank & Barn Swallows, House Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Song Sparrow, Western Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Saturday, May 26, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Mark Citsay & Connie Osbeck from Bayport, MN looking for a few species that they had missed on a previous trip. Three of them were migrants  -- Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cassin's Vireo and MacGillivray's Warbler. I do not have any records for the vireo or warbler in the last week of May and only a few for the flycatcher. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, our results bore out my statistics and we struck out on all three. We did much better on resident birds.

We began on the San Pedro River where our first success came with a BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER in one of the big cottonwoods at the San Pedro House. The bird was calling as we stepped out of the vehicle and it didn't take long to track it down. Migration activity is almost at an end and WARBLING VIREO and WILSON'S WARBLER were the only migrants we came across. Species of note were a singing BOTTERI'S SPARROW near the SP House and a calling TROPICAL KINGBIRD at Kingfisher pond. Since we didn't need to see them, the normally reticent YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were perching up saying "look at me". ABERT'S TOWHEES were abundant.

We recorded the following 40 species from 6:00-9:00am.

Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Gray Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Vermilion, Ash-throated & Brown-crested Flycatchers, Tropical, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, Barn Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song & Botteri's Sparrows, Abert's Towhee, Summer Tanager, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Next came a trip to Garden Canyon. Inexplicably, the road was closed at the middle picnic area and we had to walk up to the upper picnic area. (The road is supposed to be open to vehicles as far as the upper picnic area on weekends.) Despite the mid morning heat (93 degrees by 9:15am) an ELEGANT TROGON was calling below the upper picnic area. We watched a pair of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS bring food to youngsters at the nest cavity. Among the regular species present were BUFF-BREASTED, DUSKY-CAPPED and SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and HEPATIC TANAGER.

Our last stop was at Ramsey Canyon where I was absolutely dismayed to find that the Berylline Hummingbird nest was gone! I was here as recently as last Thursday around noon when a bird was on the nest. It was estimated that the eggs were just a few days away from hatching. I don't know if the nest was destroyed by natural causes or by a predator. I remember the same thing happened last year and a second nesting attempt was made. A female is still visiting the feeders but it didn't put in an appearance between 11:40am and 1:30pm today. Hummers that we did see were BROAD-BILLED, MAGNIFICENT, BLUE-THROATED BLACK-CHINNED and BROAD-TAILED.

Monday, May 28, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Gordon, Douglas and 7 year old Christopher Payne from Ontario, Canada. A fairly warm and windy day that we spent entirely in the Huachucas.

An early start in lower Garden Canyon grassland produced several singing BOTTERI'S SPARROWS and we found one perched atop an Agave. Among the usual suspects here were CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

A very pleasant surprise was waiting as we stepped out of the car at the middle picnic area. A  foraging CASSIN'S VIREO was my first record for the last week of May. I could have used this bird on Saturday! Squeaking in a nearby sycamore were a couple of SULPHUR-BELLIED and one ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. Our walk up to the upper picnic area was almost birdless.

In and around the upper picnic area we found 3 male ELEGANT TROGONS including 2 in the same tree. (Later we found a male and female calling to each other from a nest tree.) Regulars included ARIZONA WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED, DUSKY-CAPPED and more SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, PLUMBEOUS VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, HEPATIC TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE. A little less common for this location were WILD TURKEY and WESTERN TANAGER. 

In Scheelite Canyon we had no trouble finding a single SPOTTED OWL tucked away off the trail. Activity in the canyon was very low and we saw only a beautiful PAINTED REDSTART among 16 species heard.

In the late morning we headed to higher elevation in Carr Canyon where birds were hard to find. During our 3 hours in proper habitat, I didn't hear a single Olive or Red-faced Warbler, probably due to the extremely windy conditions. We recorded about 30 regular species including BAND-TAILED PIGEON, ARIZONA and HAIRY WOODPECKERS, GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, PLUMBEOUS, HUTTON'S and WARBLING VIREOS, GRACE'S, VIRGINIA'S and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, HEPATIC and WESTERN TANAGERS, SPOTTED TOWHEE and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Despite good conditions (a little moonlight and zero wind) our evening owling session was not very successful. It began well enough when a very cooperative WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL flew in and perched nearby as we were in the process of tracking a calling ELF OWL. We never saw that Elf Owl nor any of the others we heard and never even heard at all from Western Screech-Owl. In fact, all activity stopped completely and never resumed. Perhaps a calling GREAT HORNED OWL had something to do with that.

Tuesday, May 29, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Eldon Archer from Phoenix, AZ and friends Jim and Ken from Phoenix and Peter from CT. We left town at 4:00am for a trip to French Joe Canyon.

Our drive from the highway to the parking area produced 1-COMMON POORWILL and 1-LESSER NIGHTHAWK. A brisk hike put as at the upper spring shortly after 5:30am. We positioned ourselves on the north slope and were kept entertained by a number of species until a little after 6:15am when both RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS suddenly burst into song behind us. We immediately headed upslope on a cow trail through dry, slippery gravel and shin-dagger (I'd rate it only about a 3 on a death-scramble scale of 10) and were well rewarded with several views of both birds perched up, their bright yellow breasts catching the morning sun.

The canyon was fairly active this morning and HEPATIC TANAGERS seemed particularly common along with numerous HOODED and SCOTT'S ORIOLES and the usual singing BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS.  Near the spring, a CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER was particularly vocal.

Eldon asked about quail and I told him that I had seen Montezuma here only once so the chances were not good. It's hard to top the warbler but as we were driving out, just below the cattle guard, we happened across a pair of MONTEZUMA QUAIL. We enjoyed great views as first the female then the male waddled across the road in front of us.

I recorded the following species:
Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Lesser Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Anna's Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Hutton's & Warbling Vireos, N. Mockingbird, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Lucy's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Hooded & Scott's Orioles and Brown-headed Cowbird.

A mid morning visit to Garden Canyon was also successful. We managed good looks at a male ELEGANT TROGON and enjoyed the continuing antics of a pair of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS and a pair of DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHERS both with nest cavities in the same snag. The woodpeckers call when they arrive to feed the youngsters which signals an attack from a flycatcher. Pretty amusing stuff. BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER was again a little hard to track down (or rather, to get a good view of) but we persisted and were eventually successful. Among the other species in the area were a single WILD TURKEY and a pair of noisy SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS. 

Wednesday, May 30, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Jim Fowler and Dave Washington from Dearborn, MI. Yet another 4:00am start for my 7th trip of the month to French Joe Canyon. A warm start to the morning and by noon the temperature in Sierra Vista was 95 degrees.

As is typical at this time of year, the drive in to the canyon produced a couple of COMMON POORWILLS, one of which just didn't want to get out of our way and sat on the road until the last possible moment. In similar fashion to yesterday, a brisk hike again put as at the upper spring shortly after 5:30am. The lower canyon was a good 10 degrees warmer than yesterday.

Right on schedule, RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER flew in and began singing at 6:12am. It stayed nearby singing vigorously while all the time remaining low and out of view except for a few brief glimpses. The bird eventually headed upslope and we followed into terrain meriting a 6 on the death-scramble scale. However, this was where the similarity to yesterday ended and we lost the bird without ever getting a satisfactory view. Unlike yesterday, only one bird was present.  

At this point I was not too optimistic about our chances because the warbler's habit of singing every 30 minutes or so seems to have changed radically. I tried to remain diligent and hopeful even though the sound of a bazillion cicadas made it extremely difficult to listen for warbler vocalizations. Around 9:30am, shade was fast disappearing and the temperature was high enough to be uncomfortable. Jim had thoughts of leaving before it became too hot but I convinced him to wait, saying that if we leave we certainly won't see it, if we stay we might (there's my profoundness again). Boy oh boy, timing is everything because at 9:35am I was convinced that I had briefly heard the bird some distance away on the south slope of the canyon. Sure enough, the bird came closer, alternately singing strongly then falling silent a few times. Over the next 15 minutes it sang often and long enough for us to be able track it down and we ended up with an excellent view.

Most of the usual suspects  were present and I recorded a total of 40 species. A couple of species warrant a mention:  BAND-TAILED PIGEON is regular in the canyon in June and today's bird was my first of the season in this location. A calling DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER was somewhat of a surprise since I only have one previous record (in July). The upper canyon has virtually no habitat for cavity nesters and (except for Ash-throated Flycatcher, mostly in the lower canyon) this group is largely absent during the breeding season. 

Today marks the end of my second busy season of the year and I'm looking forward to a break as well as a little birding on my own before work beckons again. June is generally hot and dry and I try not to schedule much work in Arizona during this time. I have a couple of jobs coming up next week and then I intend to spend some time in the White Mountains before I begin a Birdfinders tour of Colorado and Wyoming on June 15. Hopefully, by the time that tour is over the monsoon season will be upon us before I resume work in Arizona again.

Thursday, May 31, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Today was a bit of a scorcher. Even here in Sierra Vista the temperature was close to 100 and it was one of those days that remind me why I would never want to live in Phoenix. I was happy to stay home slaving over a cool keyboard.

I ventured out in the late afternoon to check what was going on at Whitewater Draw. By recent standards my visit was a little disappointing -- I didn't see the Little Blue Heron (although I did see one bird briefly that could have been the Heron) or any gulls or terns, just some basic stuff. The temperature was still uncomfortably warm when I arrived at 5:00pm. so I was pleasantly surprised to see a trio of heat demented birds all perched in the same tree -- a calling GAMBEL'S QUAIL; and BENDIRE'S THRASHER & BLUE GROSBEAK, both singing away.

I stayed an hour and recorded 30+ species including several WESTERN and 1-CLARK'S GREBE, 1-DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, 1-SNOWY, 1-CATTLE and 2-GREAT EGRETS, 5-BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 1-WHITE-FACED IBIS (probably more hidden by the weeds), SWAINSON'S HAWK, SCALED QUAIL, a few nesting AM. AVOCETS, GREATER ROADRUNNER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, SAY'S PHOEBE, WESTERN KINGBIRD and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Thursday, May 31, 2001.

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - May, 2001 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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