Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - September, 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 Sunday, September 30, 2001.

Monday, September 3, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Back in the field again today after 4 days of R & R away from birds and mostly away from the computer. Although every bird would be new for the month which always brings fresh enthusiasm, that enthusiasm was curbed by the fact that it was a major holiday and my main objective was to go somewhere that most people wouldn't go. I birded first in the Sulphur Springs Valley starting at Whitewater Draw then worked my way north to Willcox. I finished up in mid afternoon at the Monastery over in St. David. Since I saw very few people and recorded 93 species, it's fair to say that I had a reasonably successful day.

Shorebird habitat has improved somewhat at Whitewater Draw as the water level continues to drop. Present today were over 70 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, several GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS and a few SPOTTED, LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS. The numbers of BLACK-NECKED STILTS and particularly AM. AVOCETS are down drastically. I found only one AM. WHITE PELICAN but both GREAT and SNOWY EGRETS continue in numbers.

Among the returning winter residents and/or migrants present today were GREEN-WINGED TEAL, N. SHOVELER, N. HARRIER, BELTED KINGFISHER, 2-WILLOW FLYCATCHERS, 1000s of TREE SWALLOWS, MARSH WREN (increasing in numbers, present since 8/22), ORANGE-CROWNED and WILSON'S WARBLERS, lots of LARK BUNTINGS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE (I only have a few earlier fall records for SE AZ), SAVANNAH SPARROW (my second earliest fall date in SE AZ), and many BREWER'S SPARROWS and LAZULI BUNTINGS.

Other species from a total of 60 seen included 7-CINNAMON TEAL (they nested here this year, nest found by Arnie Moorhouse), GREATER ROADRUNNER, SCALED QUAIL, 2-BURROWING OWLS, SWAINSON'S HAWK, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, tons of WESTERN and a few CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, BENDIRE'S THRASHER, YELLOW WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, 6-BULLOCK'S ORIOLES and many YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. 

On my way north through the valley I checked a regular owl roost site and found 1-BARN OWL and 2-GREAT HORNED OWLS. I had to smile because about 3 weeks ago when I visited here specifically for Great Horned Owl, only 6 Barn Owls were present. Murphy's law exemplified. TURKEY VULTURES (heading south) and SWAINSON'S HAWKS were common throughout the valley. 

The big pond at Willcox continues fairly quiet with the highlight being a lone RED-NECKED PHALAROPE among a dozen or so WILSON'S PHALAROPES (in contrast, the nearby sewage pond had perhaps 200-WILSON'S). Also at the main pond were PIED-BILLED and EARED GREBES, NORTHERN SHOVELER and my season first VESPER SPARROW.

I had to work long and hard in the heat of the day to rustle up shorebirds by driving through the grasslands and checking the smaller ponds, most of which were dry. However, I did have some success and turned up a few each GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 1-SOLITARY, 1-BAIRD'S and a couple of small groups of LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS.

Activity at St. David in mid afternoon was minimal and raptors were the most visible species. I saw TURKEY VULTURE, GRAY, SWAINSON'S and RED-TAILED HAWKS and AM. KESTREL. I recorded 30 species including a male WOOD DUCK (I'm not sure if this is the individual with a damaged wing that never left or a returning bird), YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, GILA & LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, BELL'S VIREO, SUMMER TANAGER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, LARK SPARROW and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

Tuesday, September 4, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
After a morning working at the computer, I headed to Carr Canyon to escape the near 100 degree temperature in town. After the monsoons end, September is every bit as hot and dry as June. I birded at and between Reef and Ramsey Vista campgrounds and then spent some time along the trail to Comfort Spring. A few clouds and a light breeze kept the temperature reasonable. I was hoping to say goodbye to Red-faced Warbler until next spring but I didn't find one. In fact, the birding was slow and I had to work for most birds. However, on the plus side, everything that I saw I saw well. 

Among the highlights were excellent looks at stunning male OLIVE and HERMIT WARBLERS and a couple of MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, at Ramsey Vista and near Comfort Spring. Although MacGillivray's nest at high elevations in the White Mountains, they mostly migrate through low elevation riparian areas and this was my first sighting in Carr Canyon. (I have high elevation records elsewhere in the Huachucas.)

Along the Comfort Spring trail I heard a weak "chink" call and immediately said to myself Virginia's Warbler. Shortly afterwards I heard a much stronger "chink" and started second guessing myself with Nashville Warbler. Both species have similar calls with Nashville being "beefier" and usually, noticeably louder. I gave a few NPO toots and was relieved to see both VIRGINIA'S and NASHVILLE WARBLERS fly into the same tree to investigate. 

GREATER PEWEE, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER were all hard to find, and all of them are normally gone by the end of September. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS (many juveniles), SPOTTED TOWHEES (also many juveniles, a.k.a. the poor man's Aztec Thrush) and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS were common. 

42 species seen from 1:00-5:30pm
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, White-throated Swift, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Eastern Bluebird, Am. Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Hermit, Grace's & MacGillivray's Warblers, Yellow-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee, Hepatic & Western Tanagers and Black-headed Grosbeak.

Thursday, September 6, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I started a vacation to places unknown with an unspecified duration. Apart from spending a few days in the White Mountains to see what migration might bring, I don't have any firm plans as to where I will go next. It makes a nice change for me to "wing it" since I'm almost always birding to a schedule. 

On my way to the White Mountains, I detoured to Slate Creek Divide. I've never seen a Gray Vireo in September (I've never looked for one) and wanted to see if they were still around. In contrast to my last trip here about 3 weeks ago when the road to the corral was very slick and dangerous, today the road was very dry and dusty. Since I arrived about 1 hour before dawn, the area was completely silent until a few COMMON POORWILLS starting calling after 30 minutes or so. The next birds to get active were RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS and CANYON TOWHEES. As soon as there was enough light to see, I started looking and listening. They didn't come easily but, after about 1 1/2 hours in the area, I located 3 singing GRAY VIREOS.

During the search I was absolutely amazed to come across a small group of circa 8 PINYON JAYS. I heard them calling in the distance (probably as they left a roost location) and hurried over to find them. The birds were in the large ravine that lies roughly 1/4m to the south west of the corral. I checked on Pinyon Jay status in Maricopa County and found that, although they are very rare, there are a few records for September. Once again, fact is stranger than fiction.

Among the other species in the area were GAMBEL'S QUAIL, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, PHAINOPEPLA, 3-CRISSAL THRASHERS, ROCK WREN, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BUSHTIT,  JUNIPER TITMOUSE, BLACK-THROATED & BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

Next, I birded various locations along the western shore of Roosevelt Lake. I started at Bermuda Flats where I was shocked to find vastly different conditions compared to three weeks ago. The water level is drastically reduced and there's a commensurate reduction in the number of species and individuals. CLARK'S GREBES were still in good numbers but WESTERN GREBES were mostly absent here. (However, over 1000 Western type Grebes were further south near the dam.) The REDDISH EGRET reported yesterday was still present, feeding in the shallows. To see it, go to Bermuda Flats, not Orange Peel. 

At Windy Hill and Grapevine I found numerous DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 50+ AM. WHITE PELICANS, GREAT & SNOWY EGRETS scattered here and there, a few RING-BILLED GULLS and one too-distant-to-identify tern, probably either Forster's or Common based on a size comparison with the gulls. It was blazing hot by 8:00am and landbirds were scarce even at that time. Among those seen were N. HARRIER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO, CRISSAL THRASHER, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, BLUE GROSBEAK, BREWER'S SPARROW and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

I arrived in Show Low in the heat of the day when it was also very windy. I checked a fairly quiet Alan Severson Wildlife area where I found  VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA, WILSON'S WARBLER and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER among very few species. 

The drive over to Springerville on Highway 60 was almost birdless save for two flocks of PINYON JAYS flying over the road at mileposts 366 and 367. The only other species seen were CANADA GOOSE, SHOVELER and GADWALL on a small pond at "The Ranch".

The windy conditions were even worse when I got to Springerville (where I'll be for a few days). I made a couple of brief visits to Becker Lake where migrants were not much in evidence. Species seen included CLARK'S GREBE, WHITE-FACED IBIS, WILSON'S WARBLER and BREWER'S & VESPER SPARROWS. Present in small numbers were RED-WINGED, YELLOW-HEADED and BREWER"S BLACKBIRDS. I recorded a total of 72 species for the day.

Friday, September 7, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I made short visits to several areas to check on migrant activity and thus determine where I should spend my time over the next few days. Since I'm mostly interested in migrants and not area specialties, I focused on riparian areas at low to medium elevations (7000-8500 feet). Specifically, I birded at Wenima and Sipe Wildlife Areas near Springerville, South Fork west of Eager, and at Butler Canyon and West Fork in Greer. (See East White Mountain Birding Locations for info.) Although the wind velocity was down compared to yesterday, looking for small passerines in the blowing bushes and trees was very much an exercise in frustration.  

I gave pride of place to Wenima Wildlife Area and visited there first thing this morning (if only I could figure a way to bird every location at the best time of day).  Migrant activity was very high, albeit with only a few species. I returned late in the day and the activity was still reasonable. MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS were very common (as they were at some of the other places that I went today.)

27 species seen at Wenima WA:
Am. Kestrel, Mourning Dove, N. Flicker, Willow & Hammond's Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Sage Thrasher, Rock & House Wrens, Tree Swallow, Horned Lark, Lesser Goldfinch, Nashville, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Next, I checked Sipe Wildlife Area where it was extremely windy and birds were tough to find. Migrants were much less in evidence here but PINYON JAYS were common. Although I didn't find much here today, this area has lots of potential because of the concentration of deciduous trees around the visitor center and the adjacent riparian area.

18 species seen at Sipe WA:
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, Rufous Hummingbird, N. Flicker, Western Kingbird, Pinyon Jay, Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Bushtit, Horned Lark, Lesser Goldfinch, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Lazuli Bunting and Brewer's Blackbird.

After breakfast at the Country Cafe in Greer, I visited Butler Canyon and West Fork. Disappointingly, both locations had very few birds and nothing in the way of migrants. Highlights were several CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS in Butler Canyon and a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER in West Fork. 

17 species seen in Greer area:
Turkey Vulture, Williamson's Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Pygmy Nuthatch, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Chickadee, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Common Yellowthroat.

South Fork was quite active with migrants despite my less than ideal mid afternoon visit time. PINYON JAYS were absolutely abundant, flying around every which way. I was here for 1 1/2 hours and there wasn't a time when I couldn't hear or see them. Traditionally, this is a good spot to find them but I've been here on a few occasions when I couldn't buy one.

21 species seen at South Fork:
Red-tailed Hawk, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Dusky Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Pinyon Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Am. Robin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Violet-green & N. Rough-winged Swallows, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Vesper Sparrow, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees and Indigo Bunting.

A frustrating day because of the wind. Nevertheless, I recorded a total of 62 species and learned a few more things about where birds migrate through the White Mountains (which is the object of my time here). I also added a few species to my individual location lists, although nothing new to my overall White Mountains list. 

Saturday, September 8, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I spent time at higher elevation with some success. I also checked a number of lakes, but found very few migrant waterfowl.  The temperature was barely 50 degrees as I left Springerville but it was much colder than that when I reached 10,000 feet. After brief (and unproductive) early morning stops at Nelson Reservoir and Nutrioso Creek, both of which were very cold and inactive, I birded for 2 1/2 hours on Escudilla then moved on to Luna Lake where I also spent 2 1/2 hours. In the afternoon, I looped back to Springerville via Sierra Blanca Lake, Big Lake, Crescent Lake and Mexican Hay Lake. The wind continued to be an issue again today, although in truth it was more of a nuisance rather than a serious problem.  

On the way up to Escudilla, my first stop was at Hulsey Lake where it was surprisingly cold. A noisy BELTED KINGFISHER rattled in protest at being disturbed and a couple of still roosting RED-TAILED HAWKS registered their disgust with a few token screams. Deeper in the trees, a GREAT HORNED OWL joined in with a few hoots. As the sun hit the treetops, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, PYGMY NUTHATCHES and RED CROSSBILLS became active and vocal. 

I continued on up the mountain to Terry Flat, one of my favorite White Mountain birding locations. It's not a really birdy spot but the scenery and solitude more than make up for the lack of birds. As it turned out, activity was fairly high in the open area just after the loop roads divide, and I saw a fair number of species in short order. I heard the thin calls of GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS and soon found them as they busily foraged low in the trees, completely ignoring me. I had great close up looks at several pristinely plumaged males. Alongside them were RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES and BROWN CREEPER. I latched on to a subdued chip that stood out from the many calling YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. I followed the call for some distance and in the end my first thought of TOWNSEND'S WARBLER was confirmed. Next, the sharp tick of an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER grabbed my attention -- several of them were foraging in the low bushes along with GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and lots of CHIPPING SPARROWS and DARK-EYED JUNCOS, including many juveniles of the latter two species.

Other species in the same area included HAIRY WOODPECKER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and LINCOLN'S SPARROW. As I was driving back down the mountain, bird activity caught my eye about 0.3 miles below the flat. This is an area that looks out over a deep ravine. At eye level I was able to get 'scope looks at WESTERN TANAGER and RED CROSSBILLS in the tree tops. 

30 species seen on Escudilla:
Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, House Wren, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Mountain Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped & Townsend's Warblers, Lincoln's Sparrow, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) Junco, Vesper Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee and Western Tanager.

My next stop was at Luna Lake, east of Alpine. The lake itself was disappointing with almost nothing in the way of migrant waterfowl present. My woes continued in the pines where I had to work hard for everything that I saw. Infuriatingly, an empid disappeared before I was able to see enough for an i.d. Rather surprising were a small group of PINYON JAYS, the first time that I had seen them here. Of course, they are known as a wandering species and it appears they are already on the move this fall. The only real migrant that I noted was LAZULI BUNTING, although several of the other species that I saw were White Mountain breeders starting to head south.

33 species seen at Luna Lake:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, N. Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Sora, Am. Coot, Pinyon & Steller's Jays, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Marsh & House Wrens, Violet-green, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Lesser Goldfinch, Red Crossbill, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Western Tanager, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

The remainder of the lakes didn't produce much -- Sierra Blanca Lake had nothing and Big Lake had nothing but people. My enthusiasm received a boost at Crescent Lake where I saw a few COMMON MERGANSERS, a soaring adult BALD EAGLE and a lone MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. Mexican Hay Lake took first prize from this group of lakes with a whopping 15 species including a few EARED GREBES, many REDHEADS and 11-WHITE-FACED IBIS.

I finished up by cruising Airport Road and Becker Lake Road in Springerville, looking for migrants. The wind probably subdued anything that might have been present and I saw very little. Not the most inspiring of days bird-wise, but I did see COYOTE, ELK and PRONGHORN plus some great scenery. I recorded 64 species in the process and my three day total stands at 131 with 97 seen in the White Mountains. So far I've seen only typical western migrants with no real surprises. 

Sunday, September 9, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Finally, a day without wind, but it didn't come without a price. Somebody threw the switch for fall last night and the temperature when I left Springerville this morning was 40 degrees, 10 degrees cooler than yesterday. It will be another month (roughly mid October) before Sierra Vista sees a significant temperature drop. Folks that I spoke with at two of the places that I visited today (Sipe Wildlife Area and Sunrise Campground) told me that the overnight low temperature at those locations was 32 degrees. Any birds on the on the fence about migration (no pun intended) might well be heading south very soon. 

After the cold start it was a glorious day in the mountains. I spent the morning at Sipe Wildlife Area, early afternoon in the Sunrise area, and finished up in late afternoon at Becker Lake back in Springerville. I finally found some migrant water birds (including a new bird for my White Mountains list) and lots of migrant landbirds, although nothing out of the ordinary. 

Ironically, at Sipe, the trees around the visitor center held no birds at all save for RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. A couple of days ago they were loaded with birds when the wind was blowing so hard that I couldn't see them! It didn't matter, the trail along Rudd Creek was hopping with birds. N. FLICKER, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, BLUE GROSBEAK, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and LINCOLN'S, CHIPPING & VESPER SPARROWS were all common. Among the fairly common species were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, SAY'S PHOEBE, PINYON JAY, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, LAZULI BUNTING and WILSON'S, ORANGE-CROWNED & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS.. It was also nice to see (and hear) EASTERN (LILIAN'S) and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS, literally side by side. 

56 species seen at Sipe Wildlife Area:
Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Sora, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Pinyon, Steller's & Western Scrub-Jays, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon Wren, Marsh & House Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Mountain Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Western Tanager, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's Blackbird.

Sunrise Lake was teeming with waterfowl, mostly AM. COOTS and AM. WIGEON, but I did find more species here than on any of the other lakes that I've checked so far. However, the highlight was a soaring adult BALD EAGLE that spooked all the coots. The campground was fairly quiet in mid afternoon, species of note were DUSKY FLYCATCHER (my first at this location), numerous CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, a small group of RED CROSSBILLS, and CASSIN'S FINCHES continuing to visit the campground host's feeders.  

39 species seen in Sunrise Area:
Eared Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, N. Pintail, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, N. Flicker, Dusky Flycatcher, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Mountain Chickadee, Horned Lark, Pine Siskin, Cassin's Finch, Red Crossbill, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco and Savannah & Vesper Sparrows.

I almost didn't check Becker Lake due to recent poor results because of the wind. As is often the case when I push myself just a little bit further, I get some type of reward. Today that came in the form of 2-RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, my first real surprise of the trip and a new bird in the White Mountains for me. The birds were at the south end of the lake, near the reeds where it's very hard to see, and I almost missed them. Among the other species present were CINNAMON TEAL, COMMON MERGANSER, 16-WHITE-FACED IBIS, SORA, BELTED KINGFISHER and NASHVILLE WARBLER. Along Becker Lake and Airport Roads I added COMMON NIGHTHAWK, LEWIS'S WOODPECKER and a "flock" of BLUE GROSBEAKS, probably a couple of family groups. 

I recorded 93 species for the day and my 4 day trip list now stands at 145 species with 115 of them seen in the White Mountains. I thought about moving on tomorrow but after such a beautiful day and some decent birds, I decided to stay in the White Mountains for at least one more day.

Monday, September 10, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Back to summer again today, 50 degrees to start the day and 85 degrees in Springerville by late afternoon. A few clouds built up but they were hardly enough to provide shade let alone rain. Today I took a break from looking for migrants to look for some of the area specialties that I hadn't yet stumbled across. On another glorious day I birded first at South Fork then moved on to Greer where I birded at West Fork, Benny Creek and Greer Lakes. In the afternoon I spent some time at Sheep's Crossing and finished up by checking Mexican Hay and Becker Lakes again.

Although activity at South Fork seemed less than my afternoon visit a couple of days ago, I did manage to find GRAY CATBIRD and INDIGO BUNTING, both rare but regular here. Perhaps my most interesting sighting though was a GRAY FLYCATCHER feeding a well developed fledgling. I've found them breeding near Springerville before, but this seems a rather late date to still be feeding young. Among the 30 species that I saw in 2 1/2 hours were GOLDEN EAGLE, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, LEWIS'S & HAIRY WOODPECKERS, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, PINYON JAY (all over the place), CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, NASHVILLE, HERMIT & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and lots of GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES.   

Before breakfast I made a brief stop at West Fork where a 15 minute search along the Little Colorado produced 3-AMERICAN DIPPERS, all foraging together. I didn't pay much attention to other species here but CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were certainly much in evidence.

At Benny Creek, I was pleased to find a DOWNY WOODPECKER shortly after starting on the trail. I saw my first Arizona Downy in almost the same spot a number of years ago. Downies are uncommon enough in Arizona to always be a good find. However, woodpecker-wise, it was about to get better. About 1/2 mile along the trail I heard a THREE-TOED WOODPECKER calling. I moved towards the sound only to hear it in a more distant location. "Oh no", I thought, "I've lost it", at least that's the polite way to say what I thought.. I waited for 5 minutes and my spirits lifted when I heard some soft tapping. I had to scramble up a slope to find them but my reward was a great look at both male and female Three-toed Woodpeckers foraging together. I was close enough to count the toes!  Other species along the trail included DUSKY FLYCATCHER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, HERMIT THRUSH, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and RED CROSSBILL

Tunnel and Bunch Reservoirs at Greer Lakes are usually unproductive but my experience has been that River Reservoir is always worth checking. Present today were 25-DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 2-CANADA GEESE, 16-COMMON MERGANSERS and 1-OSPREY.

I was hoping to find Gray Jays at Sheep's Crossing but that didn't pan out. It was pretty hot there and walking the Mt. Baldy trail didn't seem very appealing. LINCOLN'S SPARROWS (a breeder here) were still present. CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were extremely raucous, they are everywhere right now like Pinyon Jays.

Mexican Hay Lake held  nothing of real note among 14 species present and Becker Lake didn't produce the fairy tale ending of yesterday. I recorded 25 species at Becker Lake including the continuing CLARK'S GREBE, a few EARED GREBES, 2-WHITE-FACED IBIS, BLACK PHOEBE, many VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK and side by side EASTERN and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.     

Tuesday, September 11, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
I spent my last day in the White Mountains birding first in the Green's Peak area then rechecking several areas that I had visited over the past few days -- Becker Lake, Nelson Reservoir, Nutrioso Reservoir, Nutrioso Creek, Luna Lake and Sipe Wildlife area. It was a another warm day, marred by wind in the morning at high elevation.

My first two stops were a washout for different reasons. On Green's Peak the wind was a major problem and I abandoned my search for Blue Grouse. The only bird of note here was CLARK'S NUTCRACKER. At nearby Carnero Lake, I was disappointed to find that the road along the lakeshore has been closed off, making viewing a little more difficult. I moved on and cruised around some of the back roads northeast of Green's Peak where I ran into a "flock" of PLUMBEOUS VIREOS. I estimated at least 6 birds that were moving quickly through the pines, singing constantly. Also present in the same area feeding on roadside berries was a WESTERN TANAGER. An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was perched atop a dead tree in typical fashion. 

A midday check of Becker Lake produced almost 30 species including CLARK'S GREBE, SNOWY EGRET, WHITE-FACED IBIS, SORA, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, SAY'S PHOEBE, WILSON'S, YELLOW & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS and BLUE GROSBEAK.

Nelson Reservoir held nothing of note, Nutrioso Reservoir produced my only NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW in the mountains on this trip. Along Nutrioso Creek, 3-WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS were only my second sighting at that location (my other record was also in September). Also present were migrating LINCOLN'S and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS.

I only checked the water at Luna Lake (not the pines) and found absolutely nothing of note, quite disappointing really since there's usually something of interest here.

I finished the day and my time in the mountains at Sipe Wildlife area. I expected the early evening hours to be active but that wasn't the case. DUSKY FLYCATCHER was the only species that I didn't see here on my last visit. Other species here were SORA, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, PINYON JAY (is there anywhere in the mountains right now where they are not present?), MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, WHITE-CROWNED and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, BLUE GROSBEAK and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

I recorded 63 species for the day bringing my trip total to157, 129 of which were seen in the White Mountains. Tomorrow I'll check a few areas in Northern Arizona before continuing further north.

Wednesday, September 12, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I left the White Mountains and birded my way north through Apache County, Arizona to the four corners area, ending up in Cortez, Colorado. I birded at Lyman Lake State Park, Ganado Lake, Many Farms Lake and Round Rock Reservoir in Arizona; and Totten Reservoir in Colorado. It was a very windy day and my birding was impacted by the wind at all locations except the first.

Lyman Lake is not often very productive, but at this time of year it's definitely a place that should be checked. My visit today was extremely productive with the highlight being 2-SABINE'S GULLS. Among the other migrants present on the water were 20+ WESTERN SANDPIPERS, 1-BLACK TERN and 5 species of swallows.  I would have been happy with just the gull, but I also found a good selection of landbird migrants in the little patches of tamarisks and willows in this rather sparse environment.  One area in particular produced GRAY FLYCATCHER, 6 species of warblers and WESTERN and HEPATIC TANAGERS. 

37 species seen at Lyman Lake State Park:
Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Am. Coot, Spotted, Western & Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, Sabine's Gull, Black Tern, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, N. Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Pinyon Jay, Common Raven, Mountain Bluebird, Rock Wren, Tree, Violet-green, Bank, Barn & Cliff Swallows, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Savannah & Chipping Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Lazuli Bunting and Western Meadowlark.

It was blowing a gale by the time I reached Ganado Lake and scanning the water was next to impossible. The area below the dam was wet and quite lush but, surprisingly, held no migrants. I scratched out 15 species including 1-WESTERN GREBE, a few CANADA GEESE, some common duck species and 1-SORA.

The construction work on dam improvements at Many Farms Lake seems to be completed. Access is as before: take the road that heads east about 100 yards north of the main intersection in town and drive to the southwest corner of the dam. The first road that goes left runs below the dam, take the second road to reach an overlook at the southwest corner of the lake, take the third road to access the southeast corner.

Most birds were at the southeast corner of the lake where the overlook is still some distance away from the water. Birds that I could identify included 8-AM. WHITE PELICANS, 3-WHITE-FACED IBIS, 4-GREATER YELLOWLEGS and 1-RING-BILLED GULL. A number of small shorebirds were present but they were too far away to identify.

Round Rock Reservoir was as birdy as I've ever seen it (and that's not saying much!). Among the 15 species here were 14-WHITE-FACED IBIS and 1-GREATER YELLOWLEGS.

In the continuing high winds, I stopped at Teec Nos Pos only long enough to tick BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE that was traveling at mach 1 as it zipped across my path.

The wind at Totten Reservoir, just east of Cortez, was just as bothersome as it had been in Arizona. I spent a hour here in the late afternoon and managed 20 species including BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, BELTED KINGFISHER, PINYON JAY, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE (can you go anywhere in Colorado without seeing one?) and JUNIPER TITMOUSE.

Thursday, September 13, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Mostly a travel day today as I drove from Cortez, Colorado to Pocatello, Idaho. I made only two birding stops -- McPhee Reservoir, north of Cortez; and Bear River NWR, west of Brigham City, Utah.

In contrast to the very warm temperature when I arrived in Cortez yesterday afternoon, it was downright chilly standing on the shore of McPhee Reservoir this morning. A cold wind was blowing and I was looking into the morning sun, but other than that the conditions for birding were perfect! It didn't really matter because there were very few birds around. I saw WESTERN & CLARK'S GREBES, OSPREY, AM. AVOCET, RING-BILLED GULL and a few other common species.

After a long drive through Utah, punctuated only by COMMON RAVENS, I arrived at Bear River NWR in mid afternoon. The wind was howling strongly and once again I was looking into the sun, this time to the west! Needless to say the birding wasn't great, although the many MARBLED GODWITS and 100s of FRANKLIN'S GULLS were both species that I don't see every day.

I recorded 28 species on the refuge in about one hour:
Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, Redhead, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, N. Harrier, Marbled Godwit, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Ring-billed & Franklin's Gulls, Mourning Dove, Common Raven, Marsh Wren, Savannah & Vesper Sparrows and Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds.

A couple of hours after leaving the refuge I arrived in Pocatello, a place that I visited regularly in my early Silicon Valley days (a manufacturing plant was here). I didn't get much birding done in those days. It had rained heavily today in Idaho and the forecast for southeastern Idaho in the morning is fog and perhaps more rain, so perhaps I won't get much done tomorrow either!. At least it's cool. 

Friday, September 14, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
There are only 2 western states in which I've seen less than 100 species (Idaho and Montana), so I decided to work on my Idaho list for a couple of days. Idaho had always been a "pass through" state for me and my state list of roadside birds only stands at 39 species. Although it's not the best time of year to work on numbers this far north, I should be able to move my list to at least 100. Today I birded my way around American Falls Reservoir spending most of my time around the south end near the dam. After a very foggy start, it was a beautiful day with a high in the 70s and no rain.

The fog was so thick to start with that I couldn't see the water so I birded first at Willow Bay looking for land birds. Migrant activity was quite high and I quickly picked up several warblers -- ORANGE CROWNED, TOWNSEND'S, WILSON'S  and MACGILLIVRAY'S. Also here were GREATER YELLOWLEGS, lots of WESTERN SANDPIPERS, RING-BILLED & FRANKLIN'S GULL'S, BELTED KINGFISHER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE and a few other common species.

Still in thick fog, I negotiated my way through the remains of the "old American Falls" (on the mud flats out by the grain elevator) to the distant water line below the dam. As the sun warmed the air, the fog swirled in and out occasionally revealing the foundations of the old buildings, now part of the reservoir but not currently underwater. Quite an eerie sight. Birds would come into, and disappear from, my view for more than an hour before the fog finally lifted altogether. WESTERN and CLARK'S GREBE'S drifted into view. WHITE PELICANS looked like shimmering ghosts in the morning sun. Many COMMON and FORSTER'S TERNS were close and easy to see, with a couple of CASPIANS here and there. WESTERN and BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS were abundant, PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were also in good numbers as were MARBLED GODWITS. 

Later, below the dam on the Snake River, I added WOOD DUCK and COMMON MERGANSER as well as seeing some of the same migrant warbler species again. Access at the north end end of the reservoir is much more difficult, but species seen there and not at the dam end were GREAT EGRET, WHITE-FACED IBIS, N. HARRIER, SWAINSON'S HAWK and a few ducks and sparrows.

I recorded the following 67 species:
Eared, Western & Clark's Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Am. White Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western, Baird's & Pectoral Sandpipers, Red-necked Phalarope, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed & Franklin's Gulls, Caspian, Common & Forster's Terns, Rock & Mourning Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, European Starling, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-capped Chickadee, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Am. Goldfinch, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird and Western Meadowlark

Although the only birding that I did was around the reservoir, I ended the day having seen 44 new state species bringing my Idaho list to 83. For the most part, I saw only species that I see regularly in Arizona. However, it was nice to see the water birds all in the same place at the same time and in such good numbers. I had to cut off the birding to get some traveling done and I was hoping to make it to Missoula tonight in preparation for some birding in the Idaho panhandle tomorrow. In the end I only made it as far as Deer Lodge, Montana which means an early start in the morning! 

Saturday, September 15, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
As is often the case when you're on vacation, I lost track of the day and only realized this morning that it was the weekend. I didn't want to be in the Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint area on a weekend and, thankfully, I have the flexibility to change things around as I want, so I headed into central Idaho instead. In previous Septembers I've worked on the Birdfinders California tour and my options for travel were limited. This year, the tour wasn't full so the whole month was free, hence this vacation. In fact, last month's tour of AZ was my last tour with them. A couple of weeks ago I told Birdfinders owner, Vaughan Ashby, that in future I would be focusing on my own tours.

I traveled from Deer Lodge, MT to Challis, ID, initially on an unnamed back road then via MT 43 and US 93. My morning birding was in the North Fork area, I took the afternoon off, then birded again in the evening around Challis. It was a beautiful day, a tad warm at times, but by nightfall in (Challis) a thunderstorm fired up and it became wet and windy.

It was cold and and quite foggy as I traveled through Montana early this morning. Birds were few and far between with the highlights being a MERLIN chasing prey over the open terrain near Big Hole National Battlefield, and a bull MOOSE near May Creek campground in the Bitterroots. Other species from 20 seen included COMMON MERGANSER, N. HARRIER, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.

In Idaho, I started from the small town of North Fork and birded the riparian section along FR 03 then worked by way into the mountains on FR 05, eventually returning to North Fork on US 93.  The loop produced a diverse group of species. For me, the highlights in the riparian section were a perched OSPREY, a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK that swooped in and missed whatever it was after, a BALD EAGLE flying along the river, a lightly tapping RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER that took a while to track down, many raucous CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS (even more were at higher elevation), a CEDAR WAXWING feeding two young, a few TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES and a mewing GRAY CATBIRD that was even tougher to track down than the sapsucker! As I climbed in elevation, the chickadees changed from BLACK-CAPPED to MOUNTAIN, and there was a zone where I saw them together in the same tree (responding to my NPO toots).

Along the river and in the mountains I recorded the following:
Mallard, Common Merganser, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Killdeer, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Steller's Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Cedar Waxwing, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Gray Catbird, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon Wren, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped & Mountain Chickadees, Pine Siskin, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee and Western Meadowlark.

The ponds and farm fields around Challis were fairly productive in the early evening, as the clouds started to gather before the thunderstorm. Species here included WOOD DUCK, several (oxymoronically) SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, a bold as brass SORA walking around very close to me, a few fly by SANDHILL CRANES, MARSH WREN and LINCOLN'S SPARROW. My last species of the day was COMMON NIGHTHAWK.

I recorded 60 species on the day and added 20 species to my Idaho list, bringing the total to 103. Mission accomplished, everything else is gravy! It's nice to wander around without any particular destination or target species in mind. This is the time that I remember all those early morning starts for California Gulch and French Joe Canyon, all the chigger bites (that still haven't completely gone) from Kino Springs, and all the slogs up the Scheelite Canyon trail.  

Sunday, September 16, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Today was mostly a driving day due to the fact that I wanted to spend some time in the western mountains and still end up in southwest Idaho (Nampa) at the end of the day. I started from Challis in east central Idaho which meant a long drive because there aren't many east-west route options available (just look at a map!) I traveled almost 450 miles over mostly slow roads, complicated by numerous road works, rock slides and Sunday drivers.

I birded only in two places -- Cascade Lake and the Midvale area which offered quite a contrast in habitat from a mountain lake to dry grassland. As might be expected, there was quite a contrast is species too. Species diversity was quite low but I managed to add 9 more species to my state list, now at 112.

BALD EAGLES and OSPREYS were easy to see around the Cascade Lake. The small and quite dry Davis Reservoir held BUFFLEHEAD and a flock of 30+ RED CROSSBILLS milled around nearby.

In the grasslands east of Midvale I was a little surprised (and pleased) to stumble across a SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. Even though this area is a good location for them, they are still pretty uncommon. I also saw a large covey of CALIFORNIA QUAIL. Driving by a hay shed I spotted a large, dark shape in the rafters and backed up to see two GREAT HORNED OWLS staring at me with eyes wide open. I did well on raptors with several N. HARRIERS, 1-SWAINSON'S HAWK, tons of RED-TAILED HAWKS and a very skittish PRAIRIE FALCON. Ben Cross Reservoir seemed at less than 10% capacity and held only WESTERN & CLARK'S GREBES, GREAT EGRET and few other water birds. However, hundreds of AM. GOLDFINCHES were feeding in the weedy areas around the lake and along nearby roadsides.

I recorded 52 species:
Western & Clark's Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Am. White Pelican, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Swainson's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Sharp-tailed Grouse, California Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Rock & Mourning Doves, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Say's Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Mountain Bluebird, European Starling, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Tree Swallow, Black-capped & Mountain Chickadees, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Goldfinch, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Savannah & Vesper Sparrows, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Monday, September 17, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
A somewhat frustrating day as I finished up in Idaho and moved on to Oregon. I didn't have to travel very far today but because of missed turns and too many wasted miles, I didn't get as much birding done as I wanted to.

I started at Deer Flat NWR near Nampa where I expected to be for a while. Unfortunately, there wasn't much activity on the lake so I ended up doing a little land birding and moved on after 2 hours. It appears that winter wildfowl haven't arrived yet and I didn't see any shorebirds. I recorded only 30 species with nothing of note seen.

Next, I spent some time near Boise looking unsuccessfully for Gray Partridge. Ironically, I found RING-NECKED PHEASANT, CHUKAR (25+ birds in two groups) and CALIFORNIA QUAIL but not a single partridge in a pear tree. However, I did add three state birds on the day -- the pheasant was a state bird, on Boise Ridge I added WESTERN BLUEBIRD, and the last was also my last in Idaho, a PEREGRINE FALCON on I-84 near the state line.  

I didn't get much birding done in Oregon, but a wrong turn that took me to the Snake River was not all bad since it produced the first group of birds -- WHITE PELICAN, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, a ratty looking COMMON GOLDENEYE, a few RING-BILLED GULLS and 1-CALIFORNIA GULL.

It was close to dark when I reached my overnight destination of Burns. I cruised around the fields for an hour looking for Short-eared Owls but came up with only a handful of common species. I tried to make a couple of N. HARRIERS into owls but they remained Harriers.

I recorded 46 species:
Western & Clark's Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Am. White Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Chukar, Ring-necked Pheasant, California Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Ring-billed &, California Gulls, Rock & Mourning Doves, Belted Kingfisher, N. Flicker, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, European Starling, Barn Swallow, Black-capped  &Mountain Chickadees, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

Tuesday, September 18, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
Apart from a visit to Malheur NWR 8 years ago, most of my birding in Oregon has been along the coast, and all has been west of I-5. For a change, on this trip I decided to confine my activities a little more to the east. Today I spent the morning at Malheur NWR and the afternoon making my way west. I ended up in the small town of Chiloquin, north of Klamath Falls. 

The day began well as I entered the refuge at "The Narrows" where I was greeted by a PEREGRINE FALCON. Not much else on the water here (that was the generally the case throughout the refuge) except for a group of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS  and a GREAT EGRET.

I spent about 1 1/2 hours birding the trees around the headquarters area looking for migrants. According to the sighting log there had been some eastern warblers recently, however, migrants were not much in evidence today with only CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, CEDAR WAXWING, a few RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and a GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET of note. The latter two were somewhat of a shock to my system since back in AZ these birds are almost always seen at high altitude. It just goes to show what a little oasis in the desert can do. The most common birds here were AM. ROBINS and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, both species were constantly on the move making life difficult. A dramatic moment was provided when an OSPREY flew overhead at the same time as ca. 100 AM. WHITE PELICANS glided by.

Common species along the central road through the refuge were SAGE THRASHERS and SAVANNAH & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. Also present were a few AM. PIPITS.  Among the species at Benson pond were a family of TRUMPETER SWANS (2 adults, 5 immatures), a few fly-by SANDHILL CRANES and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. At "P Ranch" I found LEWIS'S and DOWNY WOODPECKERS.

I recorded 44 species on the refuge:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Am. White Pelican, Trumpeter Swan, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, N. Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, California Quail, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's & Downy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Cedar Waxwing, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, Sage Thrasher, European Starling, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon & Marsh Wrens, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Am. Pipit, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & Savannah Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

On the drive to Chiloquin I added 6 more species, including CLARK'S NUTCRACKER and WESTERN BLUEBIRD in the Fremont National Forest.

Wednesday, September 19, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
A very chilly start to the morning today as I began birding at Agency Lake near Chiloquin,  certainly the coldest morning of my trip so far. The lake was teeming with birds but it was the large number of AM. WHITE PELICANS that caught the eye. A couple of CANVASBACKS were new for the trip. 

I spent the rest of the morning at Crater Lake National Park, a place that I'd never visited before. Birds were conspicuous by their absence in this environment, however, I was in tourist mode so it didn't really matter. Nevertheless, while admiring the scenery, quite pristine on this crisp, blue sky morning, I saw GOLDEN EAGLE, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER (including one flock of over 50 birds), MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and CASSIN'S  FINCH.

The day went downhill for a while after my visit here, literally and figuratively. I headed for the California coast and all went well until I entered California, south of Grant's Pass on Hwy 199. Here I encountered several lengthy delays due to road work. Not much fun sitting in traffic with the stink of asphalt on a hot day, as the daylight ticks away. Very frustrating! My disposition improved rapidly as I cruised through the giant Redwoods into Crescent City.

After checking into a motel, I headed out to check on a few coastal locations. I was last here in February when I looked unsuccessfully for Rock Sandpiper -- I'm probably a few weeks early to have a chance on this trip. Late afternoon birding on the west coast is mostly an exercise in frustration, trying to maneuver away from the sun, something that's almost impossible to do. Visits to Battery Point and Anchor Way (and places in between) yielded many of the expected coastal species for this time of year including all three western CORMORANTS, BROWN PELICANS as far as the eye could see, lots of WESTERN and HEERMANN'S GULLS, the latter in all shades of plumage, CASPIAN TERN, SANDERLING, MARBLED GODWIT, quite a few COMMON MURRES loafing in calm water just before sunset and a small group of AMERICAN PIPITS foraging in the debris on the beach. 

The wind was blowing hard at Point St. George and I struggled to keep my footing as I walked out onto the rocks (so I could look back towards the coast and not into the sun). BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS were quite common here as were BLACK TURNSTONES. I also found a few SURFBIRDS.  

I recorded the following 55 species for the day:
Pied-billed & Western Grebes, Brandt's, Double-crested & Pelagic Cormorants, Am White & Brown Pelicans, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle, California Quail, Am. Coot, Marbled Godwit, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Sanderling, Black Oystercatcher, Killdeer, Heermann's, Ring-billed & Western Gulls, Caspian Tern, Common Murre, Acorn Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Western Scrub-Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Mountain Bluebird, Am. Robin, European Starling, Red-breasted Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Cassin's Finch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Savannah Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird. 

Thursday, September 20, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
During the morning I remained on the California coast, in Arcata, and then drove inland to Redding. As far as I am aware the Common Greenshank is still present in McKinleyville, just north of Arcata, however, I decided not to go chase it. I find it interesting that many people drove lots of miles just to see this bird, whereas I drove lots of miles not to see it! Either me or the other folks (or both) should perhaps seek treatment. Instead, I did some casual birding in several Arcata locations, starting at a very foggy and chilly Arcata Marsh.  

The tide was way out and very little was on the mud flats save for lots of AM. AVOCETS and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and a few GREATER YELLOWLEGS. Among the birds in the weedy areas and marshes were a few CINNAMON TEAL, a grunting VIRGINIA RAIL, a couple of BELTED KINGFISHERS that didn't seem to be getting along with each other too well, many chattering MARSH WRENS, good numbers of SONG, FOX, SAVANNAH & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, and lots of AMERICAN and a few LESSER GOLDFINCHES.

Outside of the marsh proper in the surrounding fields and sloughs I saw many of the same species and added WHITE-TAILED KITE, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, CASPIAN TERN and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. I was pleased to see the sparrow because I had thought that I might be slightly too early in September to find one.

My afternoon drive on CA 299 was painfully slow and nauseating, caused by major roadwork delays in multiple places compounded by slow logging trucks and RVs. It took me 4 hours to travel 135 miles. By the time I got to Redding I said enough already, tomorrow's another day.

My list for the day was as follows:
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Red-shouldered Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Long-billed Curlew, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Killdeer, Heermann's, Ring-billed & Western Gulls, Caspian Tern, Rock Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Am. Crow, Common Raven, European Starling, Marsh Wren, Barn Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, House Sparrow, Am. & Lesser Goldfinches, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, Golden-crowned and Savannah Sparrows and  Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Friday, September 21, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
As summer winds down, so does my vacation. Today I started my journey home by traveling east from Redding to Lassen Volcanic National Park, south to Lake Almanor and on to Oroville to visit with my son and his family. After that I'll spend a couple of days in Nevada and perhaps a little time in Northern Arizona again before finally heading home. 

I was only at 5000 feet or so, but it was close to freezing at Manzanita Lake at the north entrance to Lassen Park around 8:00am this morning. Quite a shock after the almost 100 degrees in Redding when I arrived there last night! Given the temperature, I was surprised by some of the birds still lingering on breeding territory at the edge of the lake -- MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, SONG SPARROW and FOX SPARROW, demonstrating why migration is so protracted in fall. Given the habitat, an even bigger surprise here was a BLACK PHOEBE, listed as "extremely rare or accidental - negligible chance of observing" on the park checklist. Among the more expected species were WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, AMERICAN DIPPER, RED CROSSBILL and CASSIN'S FINCH.

I continued climbing through the park making a few roadside stops here and there, eventually reaching 8500 feet where the 2 mile trail to Lassen Peak begins (2000 feet higher). Years ago I made that hike, but not today! Another surprise awaited me at nearby Lake Helen when 12-15 LEWIS'S WOODPECKER flew in and paused in the treetops before continuing on towards Mt. Lassen. I've seen large "flocks" of Lewis's around lakes in winter/migration before, but what surprised me here was their choice of habitat -- timberline! 

I recorded the following species in the park:
Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's & White-headed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, Am. Dipper, Am. Robin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Mountain Chickadee, Cassin's Finch, Red Crossbill, Yellow-rumped & MacGillivray's Warblers, Fox, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee and Brewer's Blackbird.

About 1 hour later and a few thousand feet lower, I started  birding at Lake Almanor where the temperature was up around 90 degrees. The north end of the lake was loaded with birds but the low water level meant that they were a long way out, so I asked and obtained permission from the private "North Shore Campground" to walk out to the lake. It was quite a slog in the noontime sun and I was hoping for something good for my trouble. No such luck, just common stuff. Later, at the south end of the lake, I saw my first COMMON LOON of the trip.

I recorded the following species at the lake:
Eared, Western & Clark's Grebes, Am. White Pelican, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Osprey, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Common Loon, N. Flicker, Steller's Jay, European Starling, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Mountain Chickadee, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Brewer's Blackbird.

Saturday, September 22, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
I didn't do any real birding today but a boating/fishing expedition on the rather sterile Lake Oroville yielded  many WESTERN GREBES, 5-DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 1-GREAT BLUE HERON, a few RING-BILLED GULLS and 2-BELTED KINGFISHERS. Among the roadside birds near the lake were WESTERN SCRUB-JAY and ACORN WOODPECKER.

Roadside birds on my drive eastwards from Oroville were RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER and YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE. I had planned to stay in Reno in preparation for birding tomorrow morning at Pyramid Lake. However, I had to drive much further into Nevada than I really wanted to because there were no rooms to be had in Reno, Sparks or Fernley, and I ended up in Fallon!

Sunday, September 23, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
The south end of Pyramid Lake is only 24 miles north of Fernley but first I had to backtrack 30 miles from Fallon. However, I was on the road early and arrived at the lake before dawn. I spent an interesting and eventful morning there but, unfortunately, I was only birding for 3 hours, the rest of the time I was digging myself out (literally) after getting stuck in the extremely dry and loose sand. My own fault, I was driving too slow trying to get a better look at a bird and became completely bogged down. I borrowed a shovel and after what seemed like an eternity of digging and moving sand, I was ready to try to back out. Even with 4x4 low gear, floor mats under the wheels, letting the air out of the tires, and a push from two kinds souls, I only managed to get out at the third attempt! 

I birded only the south end of the lake and along the western edge as far north as Sutcliffe. The water was calm and loaded with birds. Most of them were WESTERN and CLARKS GREBES (1000s, mix not noted) although AM. WHITE PELICANS and RING-BILLED & CALIFORNIA GULLS  were all present in numbers. The best birds were a couple of SABINE'S GULLS. After seeing a few fly-by groups of CANADA GEESE, I almost overlooked a flock of 40-GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE. I was scanning the water and it was only at the last minute that I realized I was hearing a different call overhead. Up until the time that I got stuck, I had noted 4-COMMON LOONS -- more were likely present but I kind of got sidetracked! The only shorebirds I found were on the flats in the southeast corner -- a handful each of LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS. I watched an OSPREY being repeatedly harassed by gulls looking for a free fish -- they didn't get one.

Species seen at Pyramid Lake:
Pied-billed, Eared, Western & Clark's Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Am. White Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Greater White-fronted Goose, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, N. Shoveler, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Am. Coot, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western & Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, Ring-billed, California & Sabine's Gulls, Common Loon, N. Flicker, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, European Starling, Marsh Wren, Barn Swallow, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, White-crowned & Savannah Sparrows, Western Meadowlark and Brewer's Blackbird.

I traveled east on Hwy 50 and stayed in the small town of Austin in the foothills of the Toiyabe Mountains. Highway 50 is dubbed "the loneliest road in America". I've driven this route a few times and although that name is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, there are definitely some stretches with a lot of nothing and nary a bush to take a pee behind. In the evening I made a brief foray into the Toiyabes without seeing anything exciting. Of marginal interest was a flock of BUSHTITS in town -- although their range is throughout Nevada, suitable habitat is a bit patchy to say the least.  

Monday, September 24, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
All good things must come to and end and today I drove directly home from Austin, NV, a distance of 811 mostly non-freeway miles. Even though I stopped only for essentials, I saw enough roadwork to last me a lifetime and the journey took 13 hours. 

My reason for heading into interior Nevada was so I could take a look at the Smokey Valley, which lies between separate ranges of the Toiyable Mountains in the center of the state. The southern end of the valley had lots of water, all of it well to the east of the highway and on private land. I think the area is probably a major migration route but much of it is certainly off-limits to the casual traveler.

In a little under 3 weeks I drove almost 6000 miles, traveled through 7 western states states and recorded 223 species. I saw my share of traffic and hot temperatures, but I also managed to find some solitude, cool temperatures, fresh air and great scenery. A change is as good as a rest so they say, by the way, who are they.

When I arrived home I discovered that both my phone lines were dead. It turns out that someone installing power cables near the house had never heard of "dial before you dig" and had severed a cable somewhere. I'll give credit to QWest on this, they showed up quickly and installed a temporary feed until the damaged cable can be located and repaired.

Sunday, September 30, 2001    Previous Day    Next Day
The problem with taking a long vacation is the work that piles up while your away! I've spent much of the past week catching up on answering e-mail and trip planning for next year. In a few days I'll be traveling again to work in California, but this morning I managed to break free for a very brief session down to the San Pedro. 

Conditions were excellent with an overcast sky, mild temperature and zero wind. I found a fairly typical seasonal mix of residents, continuing summer species, wintering species and migrants. Flycatchers were much in evidence but migrant warblers were largely absent and I somehow missed Vesper Sparrow. I spent 15 minutes birding around the San Pedro House (which was the birdiest area) and then walked a shortened version of my usual route over to Kingfisher pond through the mesquite grassland, looped around the pond and then back along the river. 

The most conspicuous species were CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS and BLUE GROSBEAKS. The grosbeaks and many GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES (some singing)  were plentiful in the weedy areas around the San Pedro House. Also in this area were a few WHITE-CROWNED and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and the usual CANYON and ABERT'S TOWHEES. 

In addition to the many kingbirds I saw a male VERMILION FLYCATCHER, a lingering WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, a couple each DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS, a handful of BLACK PHOEBES and a single SAY'S PHOEBE.

The river trail was largely unproductive and the only birds of note were 1-GRAY HAWK, 2-BELTED KINGFISHERS, 1-MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and 3+ SUMMER TANAGERS. Not much was stirring at Kingfisher pond except for many COMMON YELLOWTHROATS and a small flock of LAZULI BUNTINGS.

I recorded the following in about 90 minutes:
Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Gray Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, House Wren, Barn Swallow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Brewer's Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee, Canyon Towhee, Abert's Towhee, Summer Tanager, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak and Lazuli Bunting.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, September 30, 2001.

Species List

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

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