Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - November, 2002 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 Friday, November 29, 2002.

Friday, November 1, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
On another sunny and pleasant fall morning I spent a few hours birding at Willcox. I started at the golf course pond, moved on to the main pond and finished up along the road that borders the northern edge of the golf course, always a good place for sparrows. After a couple of hours I had turned up 50 species but I missed the best bird of the day -- just as I was about to leave I met someone who had seen a Bonaparte's Gull. I returned to the main pond where I spent a further hour looking unsuccessfully for the bird. (I have a number of Bonaparte's records here in late October and early November.)

I arrived around 7:30am in time to see a MERLIN that scared up lots of birds before quickly disappearing. A few minutes at the golf course pond produced SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL, SAY'S and BLACK PHOEBES, a lingering CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, MARSH WREN, a lone BARN SWALLOW and various flavors of sparrows.

At the main pond, a group of 5 RING-BILLED GULLS took off as soon as arrived. High numbers of LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and LEAST SANDPIPERS continue and I was able to turn up a couple of WESTERN SANDPIPERS by spending an exorbitant amount of time. At least two AMERICAN AVOCETS continue -- they normally leave Willcox by mid November, as do the dowitchers (perhaps the excellent conditions will keep them around longer this year). 

Among the waterfowl were several EARED GREBES, a lone CANADA GOOSE, a few REDHEADS, 30+ LESSER SCAUP and a female BUFFLEHEAD.

Several (3 or 4) small (10ish) flocks of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS were constantly active around the main pond along with a few HORNED LARKS and AMERICAN PIPITS. I managed to get the scope on the longspurs and they were extremely drab individuals. More than 200 LARK BUNTINGS were in the grass north of the golf course.

I recorded the following from 7:30-10:45am:
Eared Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Merlin, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western & Least Sandpiper, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning Dove, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Marsh Wren, Barn Swallow, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Lark Bunting, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, November 3, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
As I drove through the gate for a quick visit to Sierra Vista WWTP this morning, I realized that something was different but couldn't quite put my finger on what. It didn't take long to figure out that the large tree, often used as a perch by many birds including wintering Merlins, had been chopped down. I'm at a loss to figure out a good reason for this action, just the latest in a series of ecological and other blunders that seem to be SOP here. Obviously, somebody just doesn't get it.

I spent an hour at what can now almost be designated a bird free zone and saw only 14 species. SVWWTP used to be my favorite place to visit, now it's almost heartbreaking to come here. Perhaps when all the work is completed things will improve. The only bird of note today was a PEREGRINE FALCON seen perched and flying to the south of the viewing area. At least 3 NORTHERN HARRIERS worked over the marsh where a handful of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were hanging out. A small group of LEAST SANDPIPERS flew by and set down somewhere out of sight of the viewing area.

Monday, November 4, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day  
This morning I spent some time on the San Pedro river where the conditions were excellent. Unfortunately, the birding was really poor and I struggled to reach 25 species. Most noticeable was the absence of sparrows and birds such as Green-tailed Towhee that are normally quite common at this season. The area between the SP House and the river is normally loaded with sparrows during winter but the seed crop just isn't there this year. 

The highlight of my visit was this NEOTROPIC CORMORANT at Kingfisher Pond, only my second record on the river. The other was also in November on 11/14/96. Since the pond seems like an ideal stopping place for them, I suspect that they are regular here during seasonal movement. However, they probably only stay a day or two so you have to be in the right place at the right time to record them here. Though the bird is a little distant in the photo, you can clearly see the sharp sideways "V" shape behind the bill and the well defined white outline. Among the few other species on the pond were a couple of CANVASBACKS -- a fair size flock shows up regularly every year at this time and stay throughout the winter.

My "reward" for a couple of hours of effort:
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, N. Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Anna's Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Black Phoebe, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Finch, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows and Canyon & Abert's Towhees.

Wednesday, November 6, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day  
First of two days "gentle target birding" with Mike O'Malley from Clarkesville, TN. After a chilly start (32 degrees in Sierra Vista at 6:30am), the day was sunny and warm with an afternoon temperature in the low 80s.

Our day began somewhat inauspiciously at Patagonia Lake State Park where we looked for three flycatcher species. Ironically, we very quickly found a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, arguably the most difficult target at this time of year, but were unable to see the fairly common GRAY FLYCATCHER (we heard several but just couldn't track one down). We struck out completely on Ash-throated Flycatcher.

Although we didn't stay long at the park we recorded 40+ species including a small flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS and (appropriately) a lone TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. Continuing at the deep (west) end of the lake were COMMON LOON and WESTERN & CLARK'S GREBES. Other species included EARED GREBE, NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, GREAT EGRET, REDHEAD, OSPREY, VIRGINIA RAIL, BELTED KINGFISHER, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, AM. PIPIT and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER

We backtracked to Patagonia and immediately saw LEWIS'S WOODPECKER near the Paton's yard. We then waited around the yard for almost 30 minutes before any doves put in an appearance. The reward for our patience was a female and at least 3 male RUDDY GROUND-DOVES. No sign of Violet-crowned Hummingbird while we were there -- perhaps the recent cold nights tipped the scale and the birds left?

We moved on to Kino Springs and again struck out on Gray Flycatcher. Species here included a few BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS (adults and immatures), tons of AMERICAN WIGEON, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, an adult male VERMILION FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD and a few more CEDAR WAXWINGS.

Both TURKEY and BLACK VULTURES found the warm conditions to their liking as we traveled through Nogales. Amado sewage pond yielded ROSS'S GOOSE, REDHEAD, BUFFLEHEAD and a few other ducks.

On Elephant Head Road, a RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW saved us a few miles of driving by calling just as we drove by. As we tracked it down, a nice bonus bird was a CASSIN'S SPARROW, not an easy bird to find outside of their breeding season that ends in September.

Our next stop was at Madera Canyon where we had our most successful birding of the day.  MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD was easy to see at the Santa Rita Lodge feeders (at least 3, perhaps more, were present along with a few ANNA'S). Feeding on the ground along with the regular feeder moochers were 5 female CASSIN'S FINCHES with a single male HOUSE FINCH. We worked hard for Arizona Woodpecker without any success but we did finally track down an immature OLIVE WARBLER that I had heard earlier. In addition to the normal whistled "phew" call, young birds give a "chew or few" call with a tone reminiscent of a Western Bluebird.  HUTTON'S VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and HEPATIC TANAGER were additional target bird successes. Among the other species noted were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and PAINTED REDSTART. All of the above were in the immediate vicinity of the lodge  from 2:00-4:00pm -- away from the lodge bird activity was minimal.

Returning home on the Box Canyon road we stopped to pick up RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, a regular here. It was our eleventh target bird of the day from a total of  92 species recorded.

Thursday, November 7, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Mike. Another beautiful day to be out and about, not quite as cold to start (36 degrees) and not quite as warm in the afternoon (75 degrees). 

We started in the Sulphur Springs Valley and had immediate success on Coffman Road with a BENDIRE'S THRASHER perched up catching the early morning sun. Our second target for this area came about 30 minutes later when a passing vehicle scared up a flock of SCALED QUAIL. A little unexpected here were a couple of PINE SISKINS, the first time that I have recorded this species on the valley floor.

Among the more regular fare were NORTHERN HARRIER, scads of SANDHILL CRANES (streaming north from Whitewater Draw to feed in the valley), CACTUS WREN, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER ,HORNED LARK, LARK BUNTING (1!), BREWER'S, VESPER, WHITE-CROWNED and SAVANNAH SPARROWS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and PYRRHULOXIA.

We stopped briefly at Whitewater Draw where there was very little of note among the 20+ species that we recorded -- a single female BUFFLEHEAD, GREAT HORNED OWL, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, 10 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 25+ AMERICAN PIPITS and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. 

As we headed south towards Bisbee, a flock of at least 30 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were working the field at the northeast corner of Coffman and Bagby roads. It didn't take long in the Mule Mountains near Bisbee to pick up a fairly cooperative BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW.

Our next stop was Sawmill Canyon in the Huachucas for ARIZONA WOODPECKER. Although we saw one almost immediately, it was only a brief look and a further hour of searching didn't produce another. We spent a little time tracking at least two very vocal OLIVE WARBLERS hoping to see an adult male to improve on yesterday's immature. However, despite being very close to the birds, they escaped without revealing themselves. The canyon was fairly quiet in the early afternoon and we recorded only 15 species including RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, 12 WILD TURKEYS, STELLER'S JAY, BROWN CREEPER and PINE SISKIN 

We finished the day in Scheelite Canyon where we found a very contented looking SPOTTED OWL in a regular roost location. Very little else noted save for a calling but unseen ARIZONA WOODPECKER and the always present CANYON WRENS.

Back in lower Garden Canyon, our last birds of the day were WESTERN BLUEBIRD near the lower picnic area and a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD near the fishing ponds. Over the two days we enjoyed some great weather and recorded 123 species while finding 16 target species, just about what we expected to see despite a few failures.

Monday, November 11, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I visited Willcox with a stop along the way at St. David Monastery. After some cold mornings last week, the overnight lows bounced back and today was a wonderful blue sky day, mild to start and warm in the afternoon. I encountered calm conditions until I returned to Sierra Vista in the early afternoon (it's been windy here for a few days).

At the Monastery I was hoping to find that a Lewis's Woodpecker had returned for another winter (one or more has wintered here for several years now). Unfortunately, I didn't see one but since the cottonwoods still have plenty of leaves, even such a large bird would be easy to miss. The birding was slow but steady and my 90 minute session produced 42 species.

Among the regular and expected wintering species were WOOD DUCK, a small flock of WHITE-WINGED DOVES (they are year round here), 2 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, BELTED KINGFISHER, 3 GRAY FLYCATCHERS and a good sized flock of WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. 

Only slightly less expected were PLUMBEOUS & CASSIN'S VIREOS, HERMIT THRUSH and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. Both Cassin's Vireo and Orange-crowned Warbler are regular migrants here in October and November but this is the first time that I've recorded Plumbeous Vireo here in fall. I also have a few November records for Hermit Thrush at this location.

At Willcox, several hundred SANDHILL CRANES were evident near the golf course and to the north of I-10. A group of 4 BONAPARTE'S GULLS were the highlight at the main pond. My records indicate that Bonaparte's Gull migration at Willcox peaks during the second week in November and I have zero sightings after that until May.

Also on the main pond were numerous EARED GREBES, 1 WESTERN GREBE (regular here in October and November), 1 RING-BILLED GULL, 20+ LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, circa 50 LEAST SANDPIPERS and an AMERICAN AVOCET. This is my latest Avocet sighting here (previous late date was November 9, 1996). On the golf course pond I noted a lone (female) BUFFLEHEAD and 4 CINNAMON TEAL (only my second record here in November).

Day list (65 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Eared & Western Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Wood Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Dowitcher, Least Sandpiper, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed & Bonaparte's Gulls, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Cassin's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Hermit Thrush, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Abert's Towhee, N. Cardinal, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Western Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, November 12, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I made my first visit of the season to the San Rafael Valley to look for Short-eared Owl and Baird's Sparrow. I can report 100% success in that endeavor, however, had I said "to find...", I'd have to report 100% failure. Although it was a morning of few species (the valley is not the place for species diversity!), I had a great time -- approximately 80% fun!  Another fine sunny day was marred a little by high winds again. All of the roads in the valley are extremely dry and dusty so it was somewhat of a surprise that 4 out of the 5 stock ponds that I looked at had water, albeit quite low in some cases.

The blankets were heavy but I rose early and drove through Fort Huachuca in darkness to get to the valley early enough to look for still-hunting owls. It was bone-chilling cold as I started scanning the fields near the corral on the southern portion of FR58 about 15 minutes before dawn. I worked this area for a while and then along the east-west section of FR58 without success. I'd have to say this was the part that represented the "not so much fun 20% portion" of my morning.

There was very little activity when I started looking for sparrows at the west end of the valley around 7:15am. However, between 7:30 and 8:30am (when the wind kicked up) there was a tremendous amount of sparrow activity. I was greatly encouraged by this since last year at this time there was so little sparrow activity. I set up shop at a good vantage point and scoped likely looking perches. Various flavors of sparrows kept me busy for an hour -- most were SAVANNAH SPARROWS although I was surprised by the numbers of GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS; at one point I had an amazing 6 of them in view at the same time. VESPER SPARROWS were in low numbers and popped up just now and again Rounding out the sparrows was a lone CASSIN'S SPARROW (they breed in the valley in low numbers but this is the first time that I've stumbled across one here in winter).

Approximately 50 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS in several small scattered flocks and several hundred CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS were present throughout the valley, as were the always abundant HORNED LARKS. 

Meadow Valley Flat yielded a few WESTERN BLUEBIRDS at a stock pond, no doubt from nearby Harshaw Canyon. Among the other winter denizens of the valley that I saw were NORTHERN HARRIER, MERLIN and a GREATER YELLOWLEGS at another stock pond. It's interesting that they winter in the valley where it's so cold and the water is often frozen. Surprisingly (to me at least), I have records here in all the winter months.  

I was tempted to stop at Vaca Ranch Corral, home of the "NO BIRD WATCHING WITHIN 1/4 MILE" sign. My excuse could be that I'm a poor judge of distance! There was quite a bit of activity here so it was disappointing not to be able to stop.

On the way home I scanned fervently for an Eastern Bluebird (the default bluebird in the Huachucas) to make it a three bluebird day. I saw a horribly backlit bluebird in flight in a regular Eastern Bluebird area, but it would have been major league cheating to count it! Still, it was fun to try.

Day list (33 species recorded):
N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Acorn Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chestnut-collared Longspur, White-crowned, Savannah, Grasshopper, Chipping, Vesper & Cassin's Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Thursday, November 14, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Just a brief and uninspiring visit to Sierra Vista WWTP today. Nothing of note seen. Local birders might like to know that I have once again placed a copy of my bar graph data (summarizing about 10 years of sightings) at the viewing platform.

Species seen:
Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, Marsh Wren, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Savannah & Vesper Sparrows, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds and Eastern & Western Meadowlarks.

Friday, November 15, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Dean and Joan Luehrs from Sun City, AZ. On yet another wonderful late fall weather day (not a cloud in the sky, mild to start, 70 degrees in the afternoon and just a little breezy), we traveled a circuitous route through the Sulphur Springs Valley -- Coffman Road, Whitewater Draw, Lee Road, Central Highway, Mormon Road, Rucker Canyon Road, Highway 191, Bell Ranch Road, Kansas Settlement Road and finally, Willcox. 

Despite the fact that we had a productive day, the valley is not yet in "winter mode". Sparrows numbers were very low and raptors, even though we saw a fair few, will still grow considerably in numbers. Waterfowl and shorebirds were both well represented.

Our day began well on Coffman Road with the usual sights and sounds of large flocks of SANDHILL CRANES; both CRISSAL (calling) and BENDIRE'S thrashers conveniently perched in the same mesquite, and a few sparrow species

A couple of hours at Whitewater Draw were enjoyable and quite productive. We had a brief scope view of a perched PRAIRIE FALCON that we were apparently just too close to for comfort; and a long but distant look at a perched MERLIN. Other than NORTHERN HARRIERS, raptors were scarce here. A flock of 28 white geese were mostly SNOW with at least 2 ROSS'S mixed in. Shorebirds checked in with 12 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 30 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, a small group of LEAST SANDPIPERS, 1 DUNLIN and a possible late Stilt Sandpiper (more likely another Dunlin). Others from 35 recorded here included a calling SORA, a stunning male VERMILION FLYCATCHER and another BENDIRE'S THRASHER.

On Lee Road we spotted our first GREATER ROADRUNNER of the day and a fair number of SCALED QUAIL; Mormon Road produced a regular GREAT HORNED OWL but we had to wait until we reached Rucker Canyon Road to find the normally abundant LARK BUNTINGS. As usual, FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were common here. On Bell Ranch Road we added a regular if somewhat uncooperative BARN OWL. At a pond on Kansas Settlement Road we picked up WESTERN GREBE, COMMON MERGANSER and 8 more GREATER YELLOWLEGS amongst a few common ducks. 

Although shorebird activity at Willcox continues to dwindle (even duck numbers were low), our time here was still interesting and productive. On the main pond, about a dozen or so LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS are still present along with perhaps 30 LEAST SANDPIPERS and a single WESTERN SANDPIPER; the  lone AMERICAN AVOCET continues. The only gulls noted were one each BONAPARTE'S and RING-BILLED. At the golf course pond we added WILSON'S SNIPE.

In addition to the more common ducks we saw CINNAMON TEAL, 12 BUFFLEHEADS (1 male), and a few CANVASBACKS and LESSER SCAUP. As we left, a FERRUGINOUS HAWK along the entrance road was only my second sighting at this location.

Day list (75 species recorded):
Eared & Western Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Snow & Ross's Geese, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Scaled Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Wilson's Snipe, Long-billed Curlew, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western & Least Sandpipers, Dunlin, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed & Bonaparte's Gulls, Rock & Mourning Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Cactus & Marsh Wrens, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Lark Bunting, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

Monday, November 18, 2002     Previous Day     Next Day
I birded for much of this beautiful morning at Peņa Blanca Lake where I was hoping to find a Rufous-backed Robin or something equally noteworthy. I didn't succeed in that regard but I spent a very enjoyable 4 1/2 hours (2 1/2 hours of which was walking around the lake) and turned up a few interesting species from a total of almost 50 seen. Although it was quite mild when I left home in darkness for the 90 minute drive, the temperature was barely above freezing (maybe less) when I started birding at 7:15am; by 10:00am it was almost too warm. 

It was a toss up as to the highlight, but a female ELEGANT TROGON probably has to take top honors. The bird was calling softly from the dense oaks and willows along the east lakeshore trail, approximately 1/2 mile from the boat launch. However, more interesting to me was a slate-colored FOX SPARROW that was foraging in moist leaf litter in a wooded cove along the west lakeshore trail, approximately 3/4 mile from Upper Thumb Picnic area.  I tried unsuccessfully to get a documentary photograph, even though the bird was of the expected schistacea race that is rare but regular in SE AZ every winter. This particular individual had an extensive gray mantle and wings with  reddish-brown limited to the primaries. Last year I saw a very rare in AZ "sooty" race (a bird that I saw regularly when I lived in Washington), although I'm sure nobody believed me because another race was seen in the same area. However, I note that this year a "sooty" bird is at Boyce-Thompson.

Even more of a treat were the many RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS of which I saw at least 25, perhaps as many as 30 distributed around the lake, mostly along the west side. Peņa Blanca Lake regularly has very high concentrations of this species every winter. HERMIT THRUSHES were also very common and widespread while WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were patchily common. Also of note was my first SWAMP SPARROW of the season (in the marsh near the boat launch) and a latish OSPREY (although they sometimes overwinter in SE AZ). The bird was actively (and successfully) fishing for much of the time that I was there.

I recorded the following 48 species at Peņa Blanca Lake from 7:15-11:45am
Pied-billed Grebe, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Cooper's Hawk, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Elegant Trogon, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Hammond's Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Mexican Jay, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Canyon, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco, Fox, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, Chipping & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, N. Cardinal, Great-tailed Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

On the way home I made a short stop at a very warm and very quiet Paton's Yard where I briefly saw (for a few milliseconds) a female RUDDY GROUND-DOVE. 

Wednesday, November 20, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I made a routine visit to Sawmill Canyon where my primary objective was to search for Williamson's Sapsucker (up to 4 birds usually winter in the canyon). The weather continues unseasonably warm and it was a very mild 55 degrees when I left town this morning. Even so, ice was present in the shady spots along upper Garden Canyon road.

The extremely windy conditions in Sawmill couldn't have been worse for finding sapsuckers -- both Red-naped and Williamson's are usually light tappers and Williamson's rarely calls in winter. Given today's conditions, the only way I was going to find one was to see it flying by or visiting a sapwell. Although I spent 3 hours checking locations that are regularly used every year, I came up completely sapsuckerless and I didn't find fresh sap on a single tree. Perhaps the mild weather is keeping them further north. Later on in the season, when active trees are known, finding them is often just a matter of spending enough time at a sapwell location. 

On average in November, I see both sapsucker species on 60% of all visits to Sawmill, but today I saw neither. However, I didn't go home woodpeckerless because ARIZONA WOODPECKERS made up for the shortfall -- they were definitely in double digits with 6 seen and numerous others heard. It was very frustrating to repeatedly track down tapping only to find "just another" Arizona Woodpecker (sometimes I can't buy one even in Sawmill where they are common). I also saw a few NORTHERN FLICKERS and a single ACORN WOODPECKER 

As I was listening for tapping during a lull in the wind, I heard the distant whistled "phew" call of an OLIVE WARBLER. I headed over to the location of the sound and found a mini flock of them. It was difficult to estimate exactly how many, but I saw 3 beautiful adult males foraging in the pines (two of them sang briefly) and I also heard a couple of immature birds calling. This is a species that I see about 60% of the time in Sawmill in November, with a peak during week 3 and a drastic drop in week 4 (see bar graph). 

All of the Madrone trees that I looked at did not have any fruit, which perhaps explains why I didn't find any Robins, Solitaires, Bluebirds and the like, just a single HERMIT THRUSH. Other, mostly common, species in the canyon were COMMON RAVEN, STELLER'S & MEXICAN JAYS, BROWN CREEPER, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, several large flocks of BUSHTITS,  HUTTON'S VIREO and DARK-EYED (Oregon & Gray-headed) and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS. Like I said, a routine visit!

Thursday, November 21, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Dona Coates from Cox's Creek, KY and Jean Turner from Bradenton, FL, both of whom I've birded with separately before, 3 times and twice respectively. Today our main objective was the Black-capped Gnatcatcher at Patagonia Lake State Park. After a cool start (34 degrees in Sierra Vista at 6:30am) it was another very warm day for November, just the ticket for wandering around in the scrub looking for gnatcatchers.

We spent roughly 7 hours at the lake in two sessions separated by a lunch break. We worked the area from the trailhead parking lot as far as Nutting's wash and covered lots of inhospitable terrain without so much as hearing a gnatcatcher of any species. Our day was slightly redeemed by a CASSIN'S VIREO, a lifer for both Dona and Jean and a bird that I thought would be far more of a long shot than the gnatcatcher, but hey, what do I know.

Despite the fact that we spent much of our time in limited habitat we recorded a total of 51 species at the lake including 5 WESTERN GREBES, at least 12 NEOTROPIC and several DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 3 CINNAMON TEAL, 5 BUFFLEHEADS (1 male), a few COMMON MERGANSERS, VIRGINIA RAIL, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, a couple of GRAY, DUSKY & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, ROCK WREN and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE.

We visited the Paton's twice -- around midday, when virtually nothing was stirring, and again at 4:30pm on the way home. Our second visit was successful and we saw 1 male and 2 female RUDDY GROUND-DOVES. Also of note was a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 

Day list (64 species recorded):
Eared & Western Grebes, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Rock, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Gray, Dusky & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Cassin's Vireo, Phainopepla, Townsend's Solitaire, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco, Song, White-crowned, White-throated, Chipping, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, N. Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, November 22, 2002     Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Dona and Jean. We returned to Patagonia Lake State Park to do battle again with the gnatcatcher. It wasn't quite as cold or as windy this morning and that translated into increased activity as we began birding around 7:30am. As things turned out, it was definitely a case of "What a difference a day makes!"

About 200 yards along the trail after dropping to lake level we encountered a group of birders from Colorado who had just seen a couple of gnatcatchers flitting through the mesquite. We gave chase and soon caught up with them only to have them disappear almost immediately. I played a hunch and headed back along the trail to the sunny area near the bench where the birds have been seen numerous times. This turned out to be a good move because I immediately found the male and female BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS foraging on the hillside above and east of the bench. A radio call back to the Colorado guys saw them, Dona and Jean all get great looks at the birds. Yesterday we spent 7 hours without so much as a glimmer of a gnatcatcher, today it took no time at all to find and see them. Such is birding.

Now it was time to chase a couple of birds that we didn't have any time for at all yesterday. We drove over to Green Valley to look for LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH near the old Pima County maintenance yard, a location that the birds have used regularly in winter for a number of years. Dona picked up her lifer with me 5 years ago, today it was Jean's turn. The birds were not at the water trough, but their gentle "tinkling" calls led me to a couple of males near the railroad tracks. A delightful bird that I never tire of seeing, especially since I don't see them very often.

Our next target was Bendire's Thrasher so it was time for a long drive over to Sulphur Springs Valley. We broke up the journey with a stop at Willcox that still has a dwindling but fair selection of species, although nothing to write home about. A few LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, LEAST SANDPIPERS and a single AVOCET continue.  Among the other species at the main pond were several CANVASBACKS and BUFFLEHEADS, 2 RING-BILLED GULLS and a small flock of very skittish CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS coming in to drink.

Despite the warm conditions around 2:00pm, we found a cooperative BENDIRE'S THRASHER on central highway at only the second location that we tried. I had fully expected to have to try a lot more places at this time of day. Nearby Lee Road had a small flock of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS.

Before heading home we made a stop at Whitewater Draw where perhaps as many as 5000 SANDHILL CRANES were loafing in the heat of the day. It was here that an important birding lesson was reinforced, i.e. never take things at face value. I saw three distant gulls, one of which seemed small and pale and two that seemed slightly larger and darker. My initial thought was Ring-billed and California Gulls. Much as it really wasn't on the agenda, we walked about 1/2 mile from the parking lot to get a closer look. The darker birds turned out to be darker because of shadow and the size difference? well, that must have been wishful thinking because all three birds were RING-BILLED GULLS. Nearby were 33 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS and 6 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS.

Day list (70 species recorded):
Pied-billed,  Eared & Western Grebes, Neotropic Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Cooper's, Ferruginous & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Curlew, Long-billed Dowitcher, Least Sandpiper, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Rock & Mourning Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Gray Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Common & Chihuahuan Ravens, Loggerhead Shrike, Mountain Bluebird, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's & Curve-billed Thrashers, Cactus, Bewick's & Marsh Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, Lawrence's Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Lark Bunting, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, November 26, 2002    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I successfully looked  for a few rarities, although from a weather standpoint it certainly didn't seem like it would turn out that way. I left home at 5:00am when the temperature was a mild 42 degrees with calm winds. As I drove north on I-10, I saw something that I hadn't seen in a while -- some rain! 

By the time that I arrived at Boyce Thompson Arboretum shortly before they opened at 8:00am, the wind was blowing very strongly and I didn't hold out much hope of finding any of the "good" birds present there. However, sometimes it's good  to be wrong. A reached the Herb Garden at 8:15am and immediately saw the BROWN THRASHER foraging on the ground in plain view. This species is an annual winter visitor in AZ, usually with multiple individuals in different locations, but it's a bird that has managed to avoid me over the past 10 years. Shortly afterwards, in the same location, I saw the SOOTY FOX SPARROW and RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN. Other species in the general vicinity included CANYON WREN,  HUTTON'S VIREO, lots of HERMIT THRUSHES and a few ABERT'S TOWHEES & NORTHERN CARDINALS.

Although it was certainly nice to see the Thrasher (since it has long been a nemesis state bird), I was happier to see the sparrow. Last year around this time I saw one at Patagonia Lake but I didn't photograph it and was never able to relocate it. To confuse the issue, another race of Fox Sparrow was frequenting the area during the winter. However, this is a bird that I'm familiar with from Washington State and not hard to identify; and seeing today's bird makes me more convinced than ever that I did see one last year. There are two Slate-colored and a Sooty at the arboretum this year and other Fox Sparrows have been reported (including the Slate-colored that I saw at Peņa Blanca Lake last week), so it appears to be a good year for them.

As I was leaving the Arboretum I heard the short, sharp call of a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and stopped dead in my tracks. This wasn't a bird that I expected and I waited to listen for the call again. Sure enough, the bird called and I was able to track it down in a mesquite in the parking lot. To me it seemed very out of place here, so far north at this season. However, a look at the Arboretum checklist told me that it's a rare (and breeding) permanent resident. I live and learn.

I needed to run an errand in Tempe so along the way I stopped at Gilbert Wildlife Area. The ponds are in excellent condition for shorebirds, pity it's the wrong season, although I did see scads of LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and LEAST SANDPIPERS. Nothing much of note from 25 species seen, just a few TREE SWALLOWS foraging over the water and a couple of ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS.

The weather seems to have taken a wintry turn and, as I drove back south, I could see heavy clouds over the peaks of most of the SE AZ mountain ranges. It was quite chilly in Sierra Vista and I wouldn't be surprised to see the first snowfall of the season in the higher elevations tonight.

Friday, November 29, 2002     Previous Day     Next Day
This morning I spent a few hours birding on the San Pedro (Hwy 90 area) and at Sierra Vista WWTP. After some light overnight rain, it was very cloudy, calm and surprisingly mild at the river; becoming breezy and cool at the sewage ponds as the clouds cleared.

I had the river pretty much to myself and I enjoyed some quality time that made up for the somewhat lackluster birding. The highlight was a continuing NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, my second record here in November (10/08/2000). This is the same bird that I saw twice last month on October 13 and 27. I checked the local list server archives and I believe that the same bird was reported on September 30, so it's been around for a while.

Other species of note were COMMON SNIPE and HAMMOND'S & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, the latter two are uncommon but regular here in winter. Wintering species of grassland and brushy habitat remain mostly AWOL, I didn't see a single Vesper or Brewer's Sparrow nor any Green-tailed Towhees among the 38 species recorded.

At Sierra Vista WWTP I recorded 20 species with nothing of special note seen. By driving close to the fence line on Moson Road (and standing on my car!) I could just about see some open water, something that you can't see from the interior viewing area. My reward for this little bit of ridiculous behavior was a few SCALED QUAIL and LEAST SANDPIPERS (and some weird looks from drivers of passing vehicles). As usual, lots of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were in the marsh.

Day list: (52 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Common Snipe, Least Sandpiper, Rock & Mourning Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, N. Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Song, White-crowned, Chipping & Black-throated Sparrows, Spotted & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Friday, November 29, 2002.

Species List

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

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