Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - March, 2002 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

Bottom of Page

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, March 31, 2002.

Sunday, March 3, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
Out today with Katie and John Wertz from Muskego, WI. We birded at Patagonia Lake, Kino Springs, Patagonia Roadside Rest area and the Paton's yard. It was crystal clear and below freezing as I left Sierra Vista this morning and although the day warmed up enough for shorts, it was still nippy in the shade due to the blustery conditions that developed by mid morning. I was hoping for some early migrants, such as Lucy's Warbler, but the leaf out simply isn't sufficient to support them yet, at least in the places we visited.  These birds come when they come because they know something!

Apart from GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS there wasn't much activity when we began at the lake at 7:15am. A little work at the west end produced a handful of species including COMMON MOORHEN, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, GREEN-TAILED and SPOTTED TOWHEES and PYRRHULOXIA. We chipped away and after four hours we had managed 55 species.

We spent a fair amount of time along the (very non-birdy) creek looking unsuccessfully for the wintering ELEGANT TROGON, only to run into someone who had just seen the bird along the marsh trail as we were leaving. We eventually saw the bird well and I took several quick half-frame filling shots that unfortunately turned out to be out of focus! I've worked with enough photographers to know that birding and photography don't mix well, add the fact that I was working and the degree of difficulty in terms of time goes up a notch. You get the picture (I didn't, pun intended). The location of the trogon today was in the mesquite bosque not far from where the trail drops to lake level.

Along the marsh trail we had good looks at SORA and excellent looks at VIRGINIA RAIL. Other marsh trail birds included now common VERMILION FLYCATCHERS back on territory, GRAY and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, the usual BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES, AMERICAN PIPIT, MARSH WREN and SWAMP & LINCOLN'S SPARROWS.

Lake activity was low, probably due to weekend boaters, but the usual NEOTROPIC and a few DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were present along with many COMMON MERGANSERS and a few EARED GREBES. A sign of impending spring came from VIOLET-GREEN and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS working over the water.

An hour at Kino Springs produced 25 species but only added a handful of duck species and ABERT'S TOWHEE to the birds already seen. The wind was more noticeable here. 

During a quick stop at the Roadside Rest we only heard the hoped for WHITE-THROATED SWIFT but had a good look at CANYON WREN.

In the Paton's Yard, VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD was easy to see as usual, here's one contending with a few bees. Also present were COMMON GROUND-DOVE, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, a female LAZULI BUNTING, PINE SISKIN, a couple of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER feeding on an orange (now you know where they get their name). No sign of Ruddy Ground-Dove.

Day list (77 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Common Snipe, Killdeer, Rock, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, White-throated Swift, Violet-crowned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Violet-green & Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Pine Siskin, Am. Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted & Abert's Towhees, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, March 4, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
First of three days with Mick Walker from Newtown, CT. We replicated much of yesterday's birding by visiting Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia Roadside Rest area and the Paton's yard. 

Even though the temperature was a little above freezing leaving Sierra Vista this morning, it was bitterly cold at the lake when we began due to high winds. Fortunately, the wind soon dropped and it was very warm by mid morning. We birded here for over 4 1/2 hours and turned up 60 species, 5 more than yesterday. The most noticeable difference was in flycatchers -- the calmer conditions produced multiple GRAY FLYCATCHERS and both DUSKY and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, neither of which I saw yesterday. VERMILION FLYCATCHER was very conspicuous and at least one ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was present.

The ELEGANT TROGON was in the same location as yesterday in the mesquite bosque. The bird was extremely accommodating and I even managed a photo although, unfortunately, from the rear and in the shade the entire time! 

Less boat traffic produced more waterfowl species and we noted small groups of NORTHERN PINTAIL, REDHEAD and LESSER SCAUP, and a pair of CINNAMON TEAL along with the regulars. SORA, VIRGINIA RAIL and SWAMP SPARROW were all easy too see.

WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were again hard to see at the Patagonia Roadside Rest, CANYON and ROCK WRENS were a little more accommodating. Both BLACK and TURKEY VULTURES were overhead.

Activity in the Paton's yard was almost zero when we arrived but it soon picked up and we saw some decent birds, although not a single hummingbird visited the feeders during the 30 minutes that we were there. Highlight was a single female RUDDY GROUND-DOVE with a few COMMON GROUND-DOVES and many INCA DOVES. Also of note was WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, fairly scarce in AZ in winter. AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, PINE SISKIN and LAZULI BUNTING continue.

Day list (81 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black & Turkey Vultures, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Rock, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Ruddy Ground-Dove, White-throated Swift, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Hammond's, Gray, Dusky, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Canyon, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green & N. Rough-winged Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow
Am. Pipit, Pine Siskin, American & Lesser Goldfinches, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, Swamp, White-crowned, White-throated & Chipping Sparrows, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, March 5, 2002    Previous Day    Next day
Day 2 with Mick Walker. We spent most of the day in the Sulphur Springs Valley and finished up with a brief visit to St. David Monastery. A mostly calm day that was very warm in the afternoon after the usual chilly start. The fire that started in the Huachucas last Friday now seems completely out of control and is burning strongly on both sides of the crest between Miller and Carr Canyons. Thick clouds of smoke are pouring from the mountain top and it looks ugly from anywhere that you look. There are no signs of aircraft fighting the fire and it may be that someone has decided to "let it burn" (pure speculation on my part). It breaks my heart to think of how much habitat is being destroyed.

SANDHILL CRANES are still present in numbers and we saw 1000s throughout the valley. In some years, most of the cranes have left by early March so it was good to see so many of them. RED-TAILED HAWKS also continue plentiful including a fair number of rufous-morph individuals.

We began birding on a cold Frontier Road where we saw just a few common species before moving on to Coffman Road. CURVE-BILLED and BENDIRE'S THRASHERS were easy to see along with GAMBEL'S and SCALED QUAIL. However, the highlight was the continuing ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK at the entrance to Whitewater Draw. I made many attempts at "digiscoping" this very cooperative bird, all of them turned out quite poor. Also near the entrance was a pale MERLIN that initially grabbed me as richardsonii. I changed to mind to columbarius for a minute and then reverted to my first choice.

Whitewater Draw was very quiet save for a flock of 17+ mostly male CINNAMON TEAL and about the same number of GREEN-WINGED TEAL. Sparrow activity was fair and we saw LARK BUNTING (starting to acquire breeding plumage), SONG, LINCOLN'S, WHITE-CROWNED, SAVANNAH, BREWER'S, VESPER and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS. 

On Mormon Road we saw a 2-HARRIS'S HAWKS and 2-GREAT HORNED OWLS in regular spots. Rucker Canyon Road had far more FERRUGINOUS HAWKS than on my last visit when I speculated that perhaps many had left. Today we saw perhaps as many as 20 birds throughout the valley. A dark-morph juvenile was on Courtland Road. Also on Rucker we saw an immature SHARP-SHINNED HAWK nail what was probably a LARK BUNTING, a bird that was abundant there. The hawk held its struggling prey on the ground with its feet for about 5 minutes before deciding to eat. Further north in the valley we added BARN OWL.

Our last birding of the day was at a very warm St. David Monastery. We walked right up to the LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, apparently glued to the big central cottonwood where it always seems to be. Other birds here included the continuing beautiful male WOOD DUCK, VERMILION & GRAY FLYCATCHERS and lots of twittering LESSER GOLDFINCHES. 

Day list (65 species recorded):
Wood Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, Harris's, Red-tailed, Ferruginous & Rough-legged Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Rock & Mourning Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Lewis's, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Say's Phoebe, Gray & Vermilion Flycatchers, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Bendire's & Curve-billed Thrashers, European Starling, Cactus Wren, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds and Eastern & Western Meadowlarks.

Wednesday, March 6, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
Day 3 and final day with Mick Walker. A much warmer start to the day with an afternoon temperature in the low 70s, held down by the smoke from the fire in the Huachucas which continues to spread and has now reached upper Ramsey Canyon. There are a number of trails closed due to the fire including many starting from Miller and Carr Canyon roads, both of which are now closed. Beatty's remains open but Ramsey Canyon Preserve is closed. 

Extracts from a Forest Service press release:
The fire has been determined to be human caused, possibly by a warming fire by hunters, campers, or travelers through the area. It is burning in the 7,000-foot elevation in oak and mixed conifer, primarily ponderosa pine. Steep, rugged terrain; low relative humidity; high winds; low dry fuels; increasing temperatures, and shortage of resources continue to pose a challenge, according to incident management team officials.

Approximately 200 people are assigned to the fire. These include two 20-person hotshot crews, four 20-person type II hand crews, two Forest Service engines, six water tenders, five helicopters, two air tankers, two air attack planes, one lead plane, and 76 support personnel. For public safety, these trails are temporarily closed: Miller Canyon Trail; Hunter Canyon Trail; Lutz Canyon Trail; Crest Trail; Oversite Canyon Trail; Ida Canyon Trail; Sunnyside Canyon Trail; The Nature Conservancy's Hamburg Trail; and Pat Scott Trail.

We began with a brief visit to the Mule Mountains in Bisbee where BLACK-CHINNED and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS were easy too see. Other species seen here included WHITE-WINGED DOVE, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, ROCK & CANYON WRENS and AMERICAN ROBIN.

We spent the rest of the day in the Huachucas birding in Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons where we could see firefighting aircraft constantly flying back and forth. We started in Sawmill Canyon to focus on woodpeckers and ended up seeing 2 out of 3 targets. We spent most of our time here slowly walking the trail listening for tapping, made difficult by occasional gusty winds. It was almost two hours before we found RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and ARIZONA WOODPECKER about one mile into the canyon. We also light heard tapping on a regular Williamson's Sapsucker tree (glistening with fresh sap) but the bird got away from us.

Heading back down canyon we stumbled into a pair of MONTEZUMA QUAIL and enjoyed a very good but brief view before they waddled off into the grass and out of sight. Ironically, this happened fairly low in the canyon with Red-naped Sapsucker and Arizona Woodpecker in the nearby trees! Where were they two hours ago?

Also in the canyon were a group of a dozen or so mostly wing-tagged WILD TURKEYS and the usual common species including STELLER'S JAY, HUTTON'S VIREO, BROWN CREEPER, BUSHTIT, BRIDLED TITMOUSE and DARK-EYED (Gray-headed & Oregon) & YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS. About 10 days from now the first Buff-breasted Flycatchers should be back.

Next, we visited Scheelite Canyon where SPOTTED OWL was easy to find, although just one bird today after several recent sightings of a pair (perhaps the female may already be on a nest?). The owl was in a formerly regularly used tree (about 10% of all sightings) that I haven't seen an owl in since January, 2000. It's interesting how their habits change so radically, perhaps due to the arrival of a new bird. The canyon was fairly quiet in the early afternoon and only my first-of-season BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD (a male zoomed by us) was of note from 13 species recorded.

We finished up in Garden Canyon where we were able to locate a beautiful PAINTED REDSTART at the middle picnic area (they sometimes overwinter in this location). Also in Garden, at the upper picnic area, was a LINCOLN'S SPARROW, a species that is quite scarce here. 

Day list (49 species recorded):
Red-tailed Hawk, Wild Turkey, Montezuma Quail, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Spotted Owl, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Acorn, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, Am Robin, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Painted Redstart, Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos, Lincoln's, Black-chinned & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, March 8, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I was scheduled out with Chuck and Kris Carlson from Dallas, TX who I last birded with on a cold and blustery day about this time last year. Unfortunately, it was another windy day so we postponed for a few days. On the plus side, despite the high winds, the fire in the mountains seems to be dying down.

We had planned to spend the entire day in the Huachucas and it was reasonably calm at 7:30am when we started in Garden Canyon. However, after 30 minutes at the lower picnic area we called it a day, figuring it would be much worse in Sawmill Canyon. Even though it was very windy, the picnic area was loaded with birds including a large flock of MEXICAN JAYS, a handful of STELLER'S JAYS continuing at low elevation, and a large mixed species feeding flock consisting mostly of CHIPPING SPARROWS and OREGON & GRAY-HEADED JUNCOS. A few WESTERN BLUEBIRDS and PYRRHULOXIAS, struggling in the wind, added a little color.

As we headed back down canyon, a group of seven PRONGHORN were right by the side of the road. 

Saturday, March 9, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
First of two days with Jim and Rita Coleman from Portland, OR.  I was up at the crack of night again and on the road at 2:00am to meet Jim and Rita in Goodyear. Our target birds for the day were thrashers at the "thrasher spot" near Buckeye -- Bendire's, Crissal and Le Conte's, with the latter being most important since the other two are relatively easy to come by in multiple locations. We had a very successful morning and managed to see all three species well by 9:30am, fortunately so because by this time the temperature had risen considerably!.

We arrived at Baseline/Salome at 7:00am, 15 minutes earlier than my last visit at the end of February. Despite the chilly conditions there was plenty of activity, mostly from WHITE-CROWNED, BREWER'S, BLACK-THROATED and SAGE SPARROWS and vocalizing VERDIN and BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER. Not much else during our time here -- RED-TAILED HAWK, MOURNING DOVE, CACTUS WREN, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, HOUSE FINCH and ABERT'S TOWHEE.

Shortly after wandering into the scrub, at 7:05am to be precise, I spotted a perched LE CONTE'S THRASHER catching some early morning sun. The bird was only 100 feet away from us and quickly dropped to the ground with only Rita and I having seen it. We worked the area for 45 minutes and eventually relocated the bird perched on a fencepost. This time we were rewarded with a good scope look for a couple of minutes and some brief song. Of course, the bird dropped as soon as I removed the lens cap from my camera. 

BENDIRE'S THRASHER had been singing the entire time that we were looking for Le Conte's and all we needed to do was maneuver into a position with the sun at our backs in order to see the bird well, in fact a pair of them. Another satisfying scope look.

Finally, we turned our attention to CRISSAL THRASHER, a bird that we had seen in the distance about 30 minutes earlier during the search for Le Conte's. We had to work hard and do quite a bit of walking but we eventually found a pair of them about 1/2 mile into the scrub, across the street east of the main thrasher area. Yet again, we enjoyed a satisfying scope look. The thrasher gods smiled upon us today.

Sunday, March 10, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again this morning with Jim and Rita. We spent an unsuccessful few hours in the San Rafael Valley where, unlike yesterday, the longspur gods didn't smile upon us. It was a calm and depressingly warm day for early March. Smoke is still pouring from the western side of the Huachucas and the fire also seems to have progressed further down Ramsey Canyon on the eastern side. 

We cruised quite a few miles in the valley and checked several stock ponds without even hearing a Chestnut-collared Longspur, a bird that I had fully expected to find easily. My records indicate that they are around regularly through the third week in March and irregularly through the end of the month. At this time of year in 2000 I recorded 800-1000 of them. Not so today though, and it appears that the birds have begun their move north early this year, perhaps due to the very mild conditions.

Wintering sparrows were in very low numbers and we saw just 1-WHITE-CROWNED and a handful each of VESPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS. Raptors were also conspicuous by their absence with just a couple of NORTHERN HARRIERS and AMERICAN KESTRELS seen. Only HORNED LARKS and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS were common. Stock pond birds included KILLDEER and a pair of LESSER SCAUP, a new valley bird for me. Surprisingly, I have a record for Greater Scaup but not Lesser. 

Monday, March 11, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Chuck and Kris Carlson from Dallas, TX, rescheduled from last Friday. We birded at Peņa Blanca Lake and Madera Canyon. It was a warm, spring-like day with plenty of bird song at both locations.

Peņa Blanca Lake was fairly active and there was plenty to keep us interested during our 2 1/2 hours of birding here. Most of that time was spent near the Lower Thumb picnic area where I briefly spotted the VARIED THRUSH high in an oak tree. Although the bird has been present since late last year, I really didn't expect to find it today, figuring it had perhaps moved on since there had been no recent reports (I last saw it on January 11). That was the good news and the bad news. For over an hour we stalked the bird (i.e. it led us a merry old dance) before we finally managed a decent look.

I picked up three first-of-season species here -- a male LUCY'S WARBLER that took me a few seconds to put a name to (it was feeding on the ground with BRIDLED TITMICE), two beautiful male BULLOCK'S ORIOLES perched high in a leafless cottonwood (I would have missed them had they not been chattering), and a lone BARN SWALLOW.

[For the data freaks and record keepers among you, the Lucy's ties my previous earliest sighting date of 03/11/99 (I have first sighting records on March 12 in '94 and '98). The Bullock's was my earliest sighting date beating my old record of 03/17/00 by six days (I normally don't see them until April). The Barn Swallow ties my previous earliest sighting of 03/11/99 (ignoring a few winter records, my average return date is March 17). All in all, this limited sample of 3 species indicates that birds may be arriving on the early side this year. The mild weather would certainly support this for short distance migrants.]

VERMILION FLYCATCHERS were already busy building a nest but no other flycatchers except BLACK and SAY'S PHOEBES were noted. The oaks around the lake are one of the most reliable places for RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER in winter and we saw several of them even though we didn't cover much area today. HUTTON'S VIREOS and HOUSE FINCHES were singing their hearts out.

On the way to the Santa Rita Mountains, a brief stop at Amado sewage pond yielded lots of RING-NECKED DUCKS and a pair each of AMERICAN WIGEON and LESSER SCAUP.

Santa Rita Lodge was alive with birds that just about outnumbered the people present here. Typical fare around the feeders included scads of ACORN WOODPECKERS, MEXICAN JAYS, BRIDLED TITMICE and HOUSE FINCHES. Less common species here were lots of PINE SISKINS and LESSER GOLDFINCHES.

I picked up a couple more season firsts here -- several beautiful male BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS, a species that doesn't get much press because it's so common, and an immaculate looking male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. In the canyon behind the cabins we were able to track down a calling and very cooperative ARIZONA WOODPECKER that posed at close range.

Day list (56 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Am. Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Broad-billed, Anna's, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Phainopepla, Varied Thrush, Am. Robin, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Rock, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos, N. Cardinal, Bullock's Oriole and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, March 12, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
I spent much of this very warm day catching up on paperwork until the indoor temperature climbed to 85 and I decided it was time to quit! I had two options: climb up on the roof to de-winterize my swamp coolers, or, go birding. I postponed the roof job until another day and chose the latter.

From 4:00-6:00pm I birded in Garden Canyon between the upper picnic area and the fishing ponds. Needless to say, activity was pretty low. Most of the birds were near the ponds, although the highlight was a small group of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS at the lower picnic area.

I recorded the following 26 species:
Gadwall, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn Woodpecker, Say's Phoebe, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Western Bluebird, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, White-crowned Sparrow, Canyon Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark

Wednesday, March 13, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
For the first time in a while, I visited French Joe Canyon this morning  I was hoping for some early migrants and, of course, Rufous-capped Warbler. 

The canyon was fairly quiet and the only migrant that I noted was my season first Nashville Warbler, one day earlier than my previous early date of 03/14/97 at Patagonia Lake.

I focused around the upper spring and the dry waterfall above the spring for several hours but didn't see or hear Rufous-capped Warbler. It was a little windy but, nevertheless, I think I would have heard it if present. My last sighting was August 27, 2001 (I didn't visit the canyon in September). My visits on October 19 and November 21, 2001 didn't produce a warbler and  I haven't seen any recent reports, so it's likely that the bird(s) didn't winter here this year.

It was a beautiful, albeit warm morning in the canyon. Water is absent from the entire stream bed and the only water present is in the trough in the lower canyon and at the upper spring where most birds (including the Nashville) were concentrated. White-throated Swifts and Violet-green Swallows were back on territory, chattering and soaring above the cliffs. 

I recorded a rather low total of the following 25 species.
Sharp-shinned Hawk, White-throated Swift, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Scrub-Jay, Hutton's Vireo, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Nashville Warbler, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, N. Cardinal and Pyrrhuloxia.

Friday, March 15, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Brrrrh, back to winter this morning! After a number of unseasonable 80+ degree days in Sierra Vista recently, yesterday was very windy and didn't get much above 60 degrees. The upshot was that this morning began below freezing for the first time in a while, just 30 degrees as I left town at dawn and only in the mid 50s by noon.

I decided to visit Sawmill Canyon in hopes of seeing an early Buff-breasted Flycatcher. Although they normally do not arrive until the end of the third week of March, my earliest sighting is March 16 so I was hopeful of extending that by one day, especially since they are a short distance migrant and the weather has been so warm. I was unable to find one despite searching for over 3 hours, which is perhaps just as well for the flycatchers because they would have had a rude awakening. The road near the cabin had patches of ice and it was well below freezing when I arrived at 7:15am. Cassin's Kingbird and Grace's Warbler were also on my wish list for the day but, once again, not a sniff. 

The weather dealt me a double whammy -- very cold early on such that nothing was stirring or calling, becoming windy once the temperature climbed so that I could hardly hear anything at all! Talk about heads you win, tails I lose.

The most obvious and vocal species in the canyon were jays -- tons of MEXICAN and a fair number of STELLER'S JAYS. Eventually, several HUTTON'S VIREOS started to sing, but beyond that it was tough going and I had to work for every species, all 18 of them. A few WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were my first here in March (they are quite uncommon in Sawmill from April through July). As I looked for woodpeckers, I stumbled into a flock about 10 WILD TURKEYS and the usual titmice, bushtits, nuthatches, creepers, kinglets, juncos and a few fly-by PINE SISKINS. After a while I tracked down a couple of RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS and at least 3 ARIZONA WOODPECKERS.

A little roadside birding in Garden Canyon produced VERMILION FLYCATCHER (uncommon here), WESTERN BLUEBIRD and a handful of common species similar to those I had already seen in Sawmill. The remainder of the birds that I saw were at the fishing ponds and in the lower grassland.

I recorded the following 38 species in Garden and Sawmill Canyons:
Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Am. Coot, White-throated Swift, Red-naped Sapsucker, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed & Oregon) & Yellow-eyed Juncos, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlark.

Saturday, March 16, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Bob Williford and Stacy Bonn from Phoenix, AZ who I've birded with on three previous occasions. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Peņa Blanca Lake and Paton's yard. Although it was a little warmer leaving Sierra Vista this morning (34 degrees at 6:00am), it was finger numbing cold for the first hour at Patagonia Lake, especially near the water. The temperature never really climbed significantly, despite the fact that it was a nice sunny day, and it became quite blustery as the day wore on.

At Patagonia Lake, the highlight for me was a PEREGRINE FALCON perched on a pole near the main entrance. It was my first Arizona Peregrine of 2002 as well as species #235 for me at the state park. 

There was a definite spring-like feel to the state park this morning with lots of singing RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, singing and sky-dancing VERMILION FLYCATCHERS everywhere we looked, five species of swallows working the northeast corner of the lake, and numerous ORANGE-CROWNED and  increased numbers of recently arrived LUCY'S WARBLERS. I picked up three more season firsts with BELL'S VIREO (March 18, 12, 29), CLIFF SWALLOW (March 24, February 26, April 18) and YELLOW WARBLER (March 11, February 28, March 18). The dates shown are average, early and late first-sighting dates in Southeast Arizona from my own database. 

The wintering male ELEGANT TROGON continues -- the bird was calling and easy to track down and we saw it well, albeit from a distance since we chose not to pursue it. Nearby, a SWAMP SPARROW was walking around on the ice. A few hours later in the same location, a couple of VIRGINIA RAILS were walking around in the open, bold as brass. BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS have been scarce at the lake this year and a male in the marsh was the first that I've seen here for some time.

The state park was quite birdy and we recorded the following 64 species in 4 hours.
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Rail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray, Dusky & Vermilion Flycatchers, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Marsh & Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Tree, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, Chipping & Black-chinned Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

We continued on to Peņa Blanca Lake to look for the Varied Thrush that I last saw on Monday. We didn't find the bird, which was hardly surprising given the number of fishermen and families present and the fact that the bird is very flighty and spooks easily. The highlight here from 20 species seen was a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER that did a hover feeding maneuver just a foot off the ground, very close to us.

On the way home we stopped at a very crowded Paton's Yard and bailed out after just a few minutes. A male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD and a COOPER'S HAWK that zoomed in and quieted things down were the highlights from 20 species seen.

Sunday, March 17, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
I haven't had a chance to check Willcox ponds for quite some time so this morning I headed over there by way of St. David.

It was cool at the Monastery when I began birding shortly after 7:00am but positively balmy compared to the conditions at Patagonia Lake yesterday morning. I stayed for about an hour and saw numerous regular species typical of the season including the male WOOD DUCK, a pair of COOPER'S HAWKS building a nest, BELTED KINGFISHER, the continuing LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, GRAY FLYCATCHER, GREEN TAILED and ABERT'S TOWHEES and lots of LESSER GOLDFINCHES and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. I was a little disappointed not to find any migrants.

I recorded the following 37 species:
Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Black Phoebe, Gray & Vermilion Flycatchers, Chihuahuan Raven, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Conditions at Willcox were quite blustery and it was a tad on the chilly side close to the main pond. The best birds were a couple of EURASIAN WIGEON in with the hundreds of AMERICAN WIGEON. One is the obvious hybrid that has been present for a couple of winters (completely pink flanks, no gray), the other is close to pure (I say close because there is a slight pinkish area in the otherwise gray flanks). The birds were feeding on the golf course grass which was well populated with large numbers of HORNED LARKS, VESPER & SAVANNAH SPARROWS and lesser numbers of SCALED QUAIL, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, LARK BUNTINGS and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS. 

On the main pond that held large numbers of RUDDY DUCKS and NORTHERN SHOVELERS and a few NORTHERN PINTAIL and COMMON MERGANSERS,  I enjoyed the dozen or so BUFFLEHEADS, always a delight to see.

I recorded the following 37 species:
Eared Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Am. Kestrel, Scaled Quail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, N. Mockingbird, Cactus & Marsh Wrens, Tree & Barn Swallows, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, House Finch, Lark Bunting, White-crowned, Savannah & Vesper Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, March 19, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
A weak storm rolled in last night and although the clouds looking menacing, they produced very little precipitation in town and left just a light dusting of fresh snow on the higher peaks of the Huachucas. Against my better judgment, I headed to Sawmill Canyon this morning, again hoping for an early Buff-breasted Flycatcher. 

Remembering how cold it was just a few days ago, I delayed my start to make sure the sun was hitting the canyon. The temperature was quite reasonable at 8:15am and by the time that I left two hours later the light snow cover had almost completely melted. I spent some time looking for woodpeckers and had many false alarms caused by the dripping noises of the snow melting from the trees. However, I did manage to find at least 3-RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, 1-ARIZONA WOODPECKER and a number of NORTHERN FLICKERS drumming strongly. I have now failed to find a Williamson's Sapsucker on three consecutive visits.

The canyon was generally fairly quiet and I recorded only 15 species. Singing birds were HUTTON'S VIREO, BEWICK'S WREN, BRIDLED TITMOUSE and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. Both MEXICAN and STELLER'S JAYS were common and noisy as they milled around the Fish & Game seed feeder that had also attracted a small flock of WILD TURKEYS.

A handful of duck species and a BELTED KINGFISHER continue at the fishing ponds in lower Garden Canyon. Two pairs of CINNAMON TEAL here were a first for me in the Huachucas.

Wednesday, March 20, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
Out with Tom and Michele Strange from La Crosse, WI who I've birded with once before back in April 1999. Today we birded in the Sulphur Springs Valley and in the Huachucas on what turned out to be quite a warm day.

We began shortly after sunrise around Whitewater Draw where it took much longer than I expected to find BENDIRE'S THRASHER. On the plus side we had excellent looks from close range and hardly even needed binoculars let alone a scope. Not long afterwards we had the opposite experience with CRISSAL THRASHER -- a bird was conveniently perched up and singing right where I decided to stop. However, we had to be content with a somewhat distant scope look.

Whitewater Draw seems remarkably silent now that all the Sandhill Cranes have departed but the ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK is still hanging in there. Other species in the area included GREAT HORNED OWL, SCALED & GAMBEL'S QUAIL, GREATER ROADRUNNER, numerous LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, CACTUS WREN, a small flock of LARK BUNTINGS, a few BREWER'S, VESPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS, CANYON TOWHEE, PYRRHULOXIA and lots of BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS. 

Our original plan had been to head to the Chiricahuas but after burning too much time on thrashers we decided to head into the Huachucas instead. We started in a very warm Sawmill Canyon that didn't have a trace of yesterday's snow. We had no trouble at all in locating a pair of very cooperative ARIZONA WOODPECKERS and then burned almost two hours looking in vain for Red-naped Sapsucker. Yesterday I saw three of them! However, since this is the time of year that they start to move out (check the Sawmill bar graph) it was perhaps not that unexpected.   

We finished up in Scheelite Canyon to look for Spotted Owl. The log showed at least 4 recent misses on the owl including yesterday and even today. It's tempting to assume that if the owl has been missed on a day that I'm looking for it that it won't be in an obvious location. However, I long since learned not to put much stead in failures by others so I kept an open mind. Amazingly, we found 2 SPOTTED OWLS roosting in separate trees about 20 yards apart, both of which seemed rather obvious looking up canyon yet fairly well concealed looking the other way. Here's a shot of one of them roosting directly over the trail. Although you can't really tell from this view because it was taken from an elevated location, the bird was completely hidden from trail level by the leaves that you see, yet blatantly obvious when viewed from behind. Anyway, we were well satisfied having slogged up the canyon in the heat of the day. 

Other birds in the canyon included WHITE-THROATED SWIFT and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS back on territory, a calling migrant DUSKY FLYCATCHER, and a pair of PAINTED REDSTARTS singing and chasing each other around.

Thursday, March 21, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
A Red-throated Loon was reported from Willcox yesterday and this morning I headed out early to look for the bird. This is an extremely good bird for SE AZ (most state records are from the Colorado river area), but certainly not unprecedented. I had the good fortune too see one on November 9, 1996, also at Willcox.

I arrived at the very cold main pond a little before sunrise at 6:15am and almost immediately found a COMMON LOON. Remembering my previous experience here with Red-throated Loon (that individual was with a Common Loon), I kept on looking for some time without success. After about 1 1/2 hours the Common Loon left.

A large flock of 36-RING-BILLED GULLS were present when I arrived but they left fairly quickly. A few hours later, another group of gulls flew in that turned out to be 5-RING-BILLED and 2-CALIFORNIA GULLS.

As the sun was rising over the mountains, a adult GOLDEN EAGLE flew over the pond and over my head, heading north. I followed it in the scope -- after taking a circuitous route, the bird circled back and perched on a pole near the golf course.  

I located the "almost pure" EURASIAN WIGEON on the golf course grass. No sign of the obvious hybrid bird.

I birded from 6:15-10:15am and turned up the following 50 species:
Eared Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, 20+Buffleheads, 3-Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Golden Eagle, Scaled Quail, Am. Coot, Common Snipe, 5-Am. Avocets, Killdeer, 41-Ring-billed Gulls, 2-California Gulls, Common Loon, Mourning Dove, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Marsh Wren, Tree & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, 8+Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Lark Bunting, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, March 23, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I headed into the Huachucas to check for Buff-breasted Flycatcher again. I didn't make it -- when I reached Garden Canyon I had to turn around because vehicle access was blocked until mid morning due to Thunder Mountain Marathon race activities. Instead, I headed down to the San Pedro.

It was surprisingly warm at 7:30 am. near the San Pedro House (high 50s), and it felt spring-like and definitely in sync with the calendar. Conditions were very pleasant until a strong wind kicked in and birding was difficult by the time that I left at 9:30am. In terms of birds, the numerous singing and sky-dancing VERMILION FLYCATCHERS and fairly common and singing YELLOW WARBLERS were the main indicators of spring. 

The only migrant passerine that I noted was a single YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER that was of the "Myrtle" race. The bird got my attention because of its more metallic chip than "Audubon's". Wintering species are still around in some numbers 

I recorded the following from 7:30-9:30am (the vast majority in the first 30 minutes):
Mallard, N. Shoveler. Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks. Gambel's Quail. Am. Coot. Mourning & White-winged Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Chihuahuan Raven, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Song, White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

Sunday, March 24, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
The temperature was about 10 degrees cooler this morning (47 degrees at 6:30am) and the wind was significant right from the start. Today I actually made it up to Sawmill Canyon but I might as well have stayed at home. 

When Buff-breasted Flycatchers arrive they can usually be found at and below the cabin. Present in that location today were a bunch of people camping -- goodbye silence and birds. (Note to self, write on blackboard 100 times: when not working, stay home on weekends.) I find it interesting that the Game Management folks on Fort Huachuca forbid the use of tapes or calling in this "sensitive area", but making as much noise as you want and use of ATVs is apparently not considered a problem.

In the canyon proper, the wind was blowing hard enough such that listening for birds was just an exercise in futility. I stayed around for an hour hoping the campers would leave or the wind would drop, neither of which happened. The only bird of note was a singing PAINTED REDSTART. According to my records, on average they move into Sawmill from lower elevations on March 22). I also saw 12-15 WILD TURKEYS in three separate groups.

Tuesday, March 26, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Pat and Juanita Tate from Annapolis, MD who I've birded with three times before, twice in March and once in June. Today we tried for four main target birds -- Rough-legged Hawk, Red-naped Sapsucker, Crissal Thrasher and Black-chinned Sparrow and managed to see 3 out of 4. 

We began near Whitewater Draw where we had to stay focused and work for 30 minutes to locate a CRISSAL THRASHER in a spot that only took seconds to find one last week. In the end, we had very good looks at a singing bird that eventually cooperated well. Shortly afterwards we had no trouble at all in seeing the ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK that's been around since last November. 

Whitewater Draw proper had very little water and not many birds. Highlights were 4-CINNAMON TEAL, 2-AMERICAN AVOCETS, 8-RING-BILLED GULLS, VERMILION FLYCATCHER and a SWAMP SPARROW.

As we left Whitewater and traveled south on Central Highway, my first SWAINSON'S HAWK of the year perched on a roadside pole was a welcome sight. Spring is indeed here.  

Our next birding was in the Mule Mountains, near Bisbee, where we located several singing BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS in no time at all. Other species here included ANNA'S and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, ROCK WREN and a beautiful (singing) adult male SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Our run of success came to an end at the southern end of the Huachucas where we searched in vain for Red-naped Sapsucker. Consolations came in the form of two groups of MONTEZUMA QUAIL, 3-4 birds and 6-8 birds, and my season first BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. Other species included a calling HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER that was easy to track down and several soaring WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS.

We recorded the following 66 species from 6:00am to 2:00pm.
Cinnamon Teal, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Cooper's, Swainson's, Red-tailed & Rough-legged Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Montezuma Quail, Least Sandpiper, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Anna's & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Hammond's & Vermilion Flycatchers, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Rock, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped & Black-throated Gray Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, Swamp, White-crowned, Savannah, Chipping, Black-chinned, Vesper & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Scott's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

Wednesday, March 27, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
For the past week or so I've checked Sawmill Canyon regularly trying to get accurate return dates for some key birds. I visited on March 15, 19, 20 and 24. Being a glutton for punishment, this morning I headed up there once again. A warmer day with an early temperature over 50 degrees rising to the mid 70s after only a couple of hours.

There was much more vocal activity in the canyon when I began birding shortly after 7:00am, and after an hour or so I finally got some payback for my recent efforts. First came a couple of BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS followed 30 minutes later by a GREATER PEWEE. Both species sang briefly and there was considerable calling from the Buff-breasted Flycatchers. I was also hoping for Grace's Warbler but I guess I shouldn't be too greedy.

With today's data included, my records show the following first sighting dates (the dates given are average, early and late first sightings in Sawmill Canyon only). I have earlier dates for both species elsewhere.
 
Buff-breasted Flycatcher: March 24, 17, 31          Greater Pewee: April 10, March 24, April 20

Other species in the canyon today included at least 4 ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, a few AMERICAN ROBINS and a calling HERMIT THRUSH (both of which I hadn't seen on the last few visits), several singing PAINTED REDSTARTS & YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS and the usual common pine-oak birds.

Thursday, March 28, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Dick and Pat Wylie from St. Thomas, ON. A cloudy but fairly warm day becoming very windy in the early afternoon with a few sprinkles later. We birded at Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and the Paton's Yard.

Patagonia Lake was quite birdy today and signs of spring were everywhere with many of the cottonwoods and willows well leafed out and full of birds.  The campground was absolutely full, probably due to the upcoming Easter weekend and/or spring break. When we left at noon there was a line of 20 cars waiting to get in. Fortunately, we didn't see many people on the trail. 

YELLOW-RUMPED, LUCY'S and YELLOW WARBLERS were all abundant and BELL'S VIREOS were common and singing throughout. Season first birds for me were a couple of calling LEAST BITTERNS (in the marsh just after the trail drops to lake level), a pair of vocal but hard-to-see NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS along the creek trail, and both WESTERN and CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS. Along the marsh trail, PHAINOPEPLAS were remarkably common but for the first time in a while, Sora and Virginia Rail were neither seen nor heard. 

Migrants included BUFFLEHEAD, RING-BILLED GULL, TREE SWALLOW and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. Among the continuing winter species were COMMON MERGANSER, DUSKY FLYCATCHER and over 20 AMERICAN PIPITS.

Kino Springs was extremely windy and lacking in birds with only 2 or 3 GRAY HAWKS of note.

The Paton's Yard was packed with people in the early afternoon but wasn't very active bird-wise, although we did see five species of hummingbirds and a couple of gorgeous male LAZULI BUNTINGS.

Day list (76 species):
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Least Bittern, Black & Turkey Vultures, Cooper's, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Dusky Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Cactus, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted & Abert's Towhees, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, March 29, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
Out today with Donna Poppe from Redondo, WA. A much cooler but similar day to yesterday with midday wind and afternoon sprinkles. We birded at Patagonia Lake and Madera Canyon.

With a few exceptions, bird activity at Patagonia Lake State Park was similar to yesterday although we only birded for 3 hours as opposed to 5 yesterday. People activity was also the same and the campground continues full. NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS were much more vocal and easy to see in several locations. LEAST BITTERNS were calling at both ends of the lake. WHITE-WINGED DOVES also seemed more abundant and vocal. Species seen today and not yesterday were VIRGINIA RAIL, GRAY & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, VIOLET-GREEN and CLIFF SWALLOWS and my season first WILSON'S WARBLER. Other species included the usual NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS which seem to be increasing in numbers, a couple of RING-BILLED GULLS, WESTERN and CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, numerous VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, and hard to miss if you tried BELL'S VIREO and LUCY'S, YELLOW & YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.

Next we visited Madera Canyon, probably my least favorite birding location. Santa Rita Lodge was loaded with people (what else is new) but the birding was quite reasonable. Among the birds around the feeders were ACORN WOODPECKER, BROAD-BILLED, MAGNIFICENT, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH and lots of PINE SISKINS.

It was interesting to watch a male SCOTT'S ORIOLE continually defend "its" orange half against a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. The Scott's would make a beeline for the Bullock's whenever it made an attempt at the orange. Further up canyon a couple of male Scott's got along well as they sang and foraged together. What a beautiful song they have.

We looked in particular for PAINTED REDSTART and managed to find several of them including great views of a (presumed) pair interacting. Foraging nearby was a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. We spent much of our two hours here looking unsuccessfully for Arizona Woodpecker. 

Day list (78 species):
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Great Blue Heron, Least Bittern, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Broad-billed, Magnificent, Black-chinned, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's & Black Phoebes, Hammond's, Gray, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Bullock's & Scott's Orioles, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, March 30, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
After a day of chores, paperwork and several hours at the computer, I used the last hour or so before dark to bird on the San Pedro (Hwy 90 crossing). It had been a hot day and it was still too warm for my liking even in the late afternoon.

Although bird activity was understandably low, I was still expecting to see a few migrants. However, the only birds that I could put in that category were BELTED KINGFISHER and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and even they could easily have been over-wintering individuals.

VERMILION FLYCATCHERS were very common. A lone BARN SWALLOW was my first March sighting here; they become fairly common in April.

I recorded the following 30 species from 5:00-6:40pm.
Mallard, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Hammond's & Vermilion Flycatchers, European Starling, Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, N. Rough-winged & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, White-crowned & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed , Canyon & Abert's Towhees and Red-winged Blackbird.

Sunday, March 31, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day   
Nowadays my birding falls into three categories: (1) birding for work (guiding), (2) birding for research (data collection) and (3) birding for fun. Sadly, the latter is by far the lowest on the totem pole. Even my research birding is suffering somewhat and is becoming a serious scheduling problem for me (I know, your heart just bleeds for me!). I could have worked with a number of clients today but I ended up turning away business in order to check on  returning birds. Furthermore, after working for the next couple of days I'll be heading to the White Mountains to look at early migration up there.

Today I considered going to French Joe Canyon but in the end I decided that a visit to the Huachucas had more value. I visited Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons and got it done before the Easter Sunday crowds became too much of a problem. It was another really warm day -- the temperature in town was a mild 46 degrees at 6:30am, up to 74 degrees by 11:00am and 95 degrees by 3:00pm. Yikes, this is Sierra Vista in March! Definitely not fair.

Even so, I needed a sweater in Sawmill Canyon just after 7:00am as I looked and listened to no avail for Grace's Warbler (their average return date is March 29). However, all was not lost because I did find several species that have moved into the canyon right about on time -- GREATER ROADRUNNER (singing), CASSIN'S KINGBIRD and SCOTT'S ORIOLE (singing). Normally I see the Cassin's in lower Garden Canyon about a week or so before they move up to Sawmill, but not so this year.

BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS are now common and I heard and saw them chasing each other around in multiple locations. The canyon continues to increase in activity and species present today included WILD TURKEY, several ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, singing HUTTON'S VIREOS, BROWN CREEPERS, BEWICK'S WRENS and AMERICAN ROBINS, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and numerous singing PAINTED REDSTARTS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS.

Next, I headed to Scheelite Canyon where I again struck out on my primary target -- Virginia's Warbler. Their average arrival date in Scheelite is April 4 but is highly variable with early and late dates of March 21 and April 25. The other common breeding warbler in Scheelite is BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and I found quite a few singing individuals. Their average return date is March 29.

Of course, I also looked for the SPOTTED OWLS  -- this very sleepy looking pair were extremely easy to find today. The combination of light and vegetation wasn't conducive to a great photo, but what the hell, I took one anyway.

Among the other birds in the canyon were BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, lots of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS screaming as they soared over the cliffs, calling WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, a singing CANYON WREN, several pairs of singing PAINTED REDSTARTS and the usual common species.

As I headed back down Garden Canyon, a beautiful male ELEGANT TROGON was a pleasant surprise. In the same location was a foraging ARIZONA WOODPECKER and a couple of PAINTED REDSTARTS that are now common in all their usual haunts.

The trogon was along the creek just up canyon from the upper picnic area. Although this is a regular breeding location, this is the first year that I have seen one in Garden Canyon in March. Their average arrival date here from my own records is April 19.  Prior to today's sighting, they have been remarkably consistent with arrival dates varying from April 13 to 25. Even allowing for my sample interval of 2-4 days, this is an early sighting. Of course, this could be an over wintering bird rather than a new arrival. However, I haven't seen one in the Huachucas since January 5, 2002 in Scheelite Canyon.

All in all a good morning, despite not being able to confirm the arrival of Virginia's and Grace' Warblers.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, March 31, 2002.

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - March, 2002 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

Top of Page