Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 2003 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, February 28, 2003.

Saturday, February 1, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Out today with Jay Bock from Orange County, CA for some casual birding and opportunistic photography. This morning we spent 5 hours at Patagonia Lake and the early afternoon hours in the Paton's yard. The outrageous winter weather stepped up a notch as February begins and the CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS on French Fry Blvd. in Sierra Vista were panting in the 80 degree temperature at 3:00pm this afternoon.

Although it wasn't do or die today, I started by looking for the gnatcatchers in usual fashion by walking the marsh trail and then looping back through the mesquite bosque. I did not hear the titmice flock so I then began working back towards the hillside by walking down the various washes. At the end of the second wash I heard the birds calling and very soon we enjoyed great looks at both male and female BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS. I've now seen the birds on 17 visits and this is the first time that I have found them away from the titmouse flock since they established a winter pattern of behavior some 15 sightings ago.

[About a week ago I received a 3X converter for my Nikon Coolpix 4500 and today was my first real opportunity to try it out. At full 4X zoom with the lens fitted, the camera is the 35mm equivalent of 465mm. (In comparison, the 10X optical zoom Olympus C700 that I have used for all non-digiscoped shots to date is 380mm.) At this kind of magnification, the 4500 is obviously hard to keep still and good light is needed to avoid blurred shots at slow shutter speeds. Also, I had some difficulty locating the gnatcatcher in the viewfinder as it constantly moved around.]

After seeing the gnatcatcher we switched to casual mode and began birding along the marsh edge. Activity here was very high and we enjoyed watching WILSON'S SNIPE, SORA, SONG, LINCOLN'S and SWAMP SPARROWS all foraging in the same general area. We were treated to a wonderful spectacle when the large flock of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS descended into the marsh to drink. Earlier, a lone CEDAR WAXWING  was in the bluebird flock.

We continued on to the northeast corner of the lake where the creek begins. I heard the sharp but subdued call of a NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and after about 15 minutes of trying we managed to track the bird down. Other flycatchers today included GRAY and DUSKY FLYCATCHERS; and one of the EASTERN PHOEBES working out on the peninsula that juts back west into the lake from the northeast corner.

Next, we worked for some distance up and down the creek hoping to find the wintering Trogon. No success with that but our consolation prize in the form of the continuing LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH wasn't too shabby . I first heard the bird on the south fork of the creek a little to the west of where the creek forks. However, the bird was so secretive it easily took us 30 minutes before Jay got a decent look. 

It was very warm at 12:30pm when we arrived at the Paton's and I didn't expect much in the way of bird activity. Surprisingly, however, I couldn't have been more wrong and there was plenty going on. As soon as we stepped out of the car we noted two RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, a LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER and several GILA WOODPECKERS working the same tree.

A nice surprise in the yard was a single male CASSIN'S FINCH -- they have been fairly scarce in lowland areas this winter. I had mentioned to Jay that VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD typically shows up on my birthday in early February and the bird didn't let us down!

Close to 30 species put in an appearance during our 90 minute stay including ACORN WOODPECKER, BROAD-BILLED & ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and PYRRHULOXIA.

A good day to get February underway.

Day list (73 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Killdeer, Rock & Mourning & Inca Doves, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Red-naped Sapsucker, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Eastern, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Mountain Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, American &  Lesser Goldfinches, Cassin's & House Finches, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, N. Cardinal & Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, February 3, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
First of two days with Dale and Evelyn Jenson from Langley, BC, the second day will be on Wednesday. Today our targets were Black-capped Gnatcatcher (seen), Rufous-backed Robin (missed big time) and Ruddy Ground-Dove (didn't look). After yesterday's windy conditions, today's high temperature was about 20 degrees lower than on Saturday.

The edge of Patagonia Lake was frozen for the first time in a while when we started birding around 8:00am. Activity was understandably low due to the cold conditions and it took 45 minutes before I tracked down the gnatcatchers. The BRIDLED TITMOUSE flock and HUTTON'S VIREO where in the far northeast corner of the mesquite bosque, not far from the creek. Even then we had to keep working to find the pair of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS -- they were foraging high at the tops of mesquites (where the sun was striking) and constantly on the move. We stayed with them for about 15 minutes, long enough to get several decent looks and hear some vocalizations.

Our visit was short and focused and we didn't look for anything else in particular. I recorded 36 species including GRAY FLYCATCHER, EASTERN PHOEBE, the continuing large flock of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, SWAMP SPARROW and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD (very uncommon at the lake).  

Next, we headed over to Florida Canyon to look unsuccessfully for the Rufous-backed Robin. We spent from 10:30am to 1:45pm watching the activity at the corral and in the surrounding hackberry trees. During this 3 hour 15 minute period there was a constant procession of birds visiting the water trough in the middle enclosure. Of the 27 species noted, 16 of them came in to drink -- including (at different times) 10 HERMIT THRUSHES at one time; 5 AMERICAN ROBINS and large flocks of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS and CEDAR WAXWINGS.

27 species seen in and around the corral (all except those in italics came in to drink):
N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Acorn, Gila & Arizona Woodpeckers, N Flicker, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Phainopepla, Cedar Waxwing, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Chipping & Black-chinned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, N. Cardinal and Pyrrhuloxia.

Tuesday, February 4, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Today saw me enter the hassle phase of my recent car break-in as I put the car in the shop for three or four days. Fortunately, it mostly falls between jobs. After dropping the car off, picking up a rental and doing some paperwork, I ventured out for a short visit to the sewage ponds. We're finally getting a little taste of winter -- an overnight low temperature in the mid 20s and a cloudy and chilly early morning with sunshine breaking through by late morning.

Sierra Vista WWTP used to be one of my favorite places to bird and over the years I have spent many hours there, visiting whenever I could find the time (788 visits and counting, albeit slowly). The birding there now is so poor that it's almost a chore for me to go and I only seem to go out of a sense of duty, to keep my data collection going.

There was certainly nothing present to write home about this morning. I recorded 20 species in about an hour including a handful of duck species, MARSH WREN, AMERICAN PIPIT and the ever present YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Wednesday, February 5, 2003     Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Dale & Evelyn. I've become spoiled with all the great weather recently and today was one of the few days in the last month that I haven't started out in shorts. Although the day began 10 degrees warmer than yesterday, it was mostly a cloudy day and the temperature had only climbed to the mid 50s when I returned to Sierra Vista at 3:00pm. Worst of all it was quite windy, just about my most disliked type of weather, especially on a day that I'm visiting the Sulphur Springs Valley where we had to deal with plenty of blowing dust for much of the morning. Fortunately, we didn't have any specific target birds and the day turned out okay.

We began birding along Davis, Coffman and Lee roads looking for thrashers and finally tasted success on Central highway with 2 SAGE THRASHERS, 2 BENDIRE'S THRASHERS and a CURVE-BILLED THRASHER.

Our first pass along Lee road had been birdless; on the second pass we picked up HORNED LARK, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and several flavors of sparrows including BLACK-THROATED SPARROW.

Whitewater Draw was blustery and cold but we managed to dig out 20+ species including a couple of forlorn looking VERMILION FLYCATCHERS. Although 1000s of SANDHILL CRANES had already streamed north into the valley, many were still on the ground here. Shorebirds checked in with 9 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and over 50 LEAST SANDPIPERS. 

The fields on Davis Road produced several regular species including 100s of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, HORNED LARK, AMERICAN PIPIT and CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR.

We continued north to Mormon Road where an adult BALD EAGLE was defending prey from a bunch of CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS near the landfill. Next we added a juvenile HARLAN'S HAWK and a couple of GREAT HORNED OWLS hiding in plain sight.

We terminated our northward journey at Rucker Canyon Road where numerous FERRUGINOUS HAWKS hunkered down on the ground trying to beat the wind. It was particularly dusty here as a field was being plowed and we didn't spend a great deal of time looking for plovers in with the KILLDEER.

As we returned south, we added another SAGE THRASHER on the northern section of Central Highway then finished our time in the valley by unsuccessfully checking the fields again for plovers. Four LONG-BILLED CURLEWS were very close to the highway on Davis Road.

In the early afternoon, we birded at Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David where it was much calmer and a little warmer. The birding was slow at this time of day but we did manage 30 species including a surprise GREAT EGRET (the first that I've seen here), SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, GRAY FLYCATCHER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and many LARK SPARROWS.

Day list (63 species recorded):
Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Great Egret, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Curlew, Long-billed Dowitcher, Least Sandpiper, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray & Vermilion Flycatchers, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Mountain Bluebird, Am. Robin, Sage, Bendire's & Curve-billed Thrashers, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper, Lark & Black-throated Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Yellow-headed, Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbirds.

Friday, February 7, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
First of two days with Gail and Barbara Johnson from Warminster, PA. The temperature continued cool and today was the cloudiest day that we've had for some time. In the afternoon we finally saw a little rain in for the first time in a while. We birded casually at Patagonia Lake State Park, Kino Springs and in the Paton's yard.

Despite the cool conditions, there was a definite spring-like feeling at Patagonia Lake this morning. Leaf out on some of the willows is quite advanced, perhaps as much as 2-3 weeks ahead of normal. The birding was generally excellent and we recorded 67 species from 8:00am-12:15pm at the east end of the lake only.

The flock of BRIDLED TITMICE and the lone HUTTON'S VIREO again led me to the BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS but they took off immediately. We caught up with them again about 45 minutes later as we were tracking down a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and ran into some other birders who had the gnatcatchers in sight. 

We spent some time working the marsh edge and were rewarded with VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA in the same binocular view. In the same area we saw several WILSON'S SNIPE, lots of SONG, a few LINCOLN'S and a SWAMP SPARROW.

We did fairly well on flycatchers seeing the three wintering empids -- HAMMOND'S, DUSKY and GRAY FLYCATCHERS plus ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER and all three phoebes to tie a record set by many. Hammond's & Dusky were seen only along the creek trail. 

A flock of BUSHTITS represented only my third record here in over 260 visits, 1 each in the last three years.

The large flock of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS continues and I also heard a CEDAR WAXWING (I had previously seen one in with the Bluebirds a week ago).

A majestic BALD EAGLE soared over the lake as we scanned the water that held close to 30 NEOTROPIC and 2 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, a couple of EARED GREBES, a pair of CINNAMON TEAL, 2 female BUFFLEHEADS, many  COMMON MERGANSERS and a handful of other species.  

A brief trip to Kino Springs yielded the hoped for VERMILION FLYCATCHER working the club house pond where the water level continues to dwindle. Other species noted here included GREATER ROADRUNNER, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, GRAY FLYCATCHER and a fair number of NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS.

We finished up in the Paton's yard where there was a considerable amount of activity in the early afternoon before the rain began. However, among the 25 species seen we didn't see any Ground-Doves and the only hummer was ANNA'S.  

Day list (86 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Killdeer, Rock, Mourning & Inca Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Anna's Hummingbird, Red-naped Sapsucker, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Eastern, Say's & Black Phoebes, Hammond's, Gray, Dusky, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, Chipping, Lark & Black-throated Sparrows, Green-tailed, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, February 8, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Gail and Barbara. The threat of winter that has been present in the weather over the past few days finally became a reality today; and for the most part it wasn't a fun day to be in the field. The day started cold and wet with storm clouds all around. After some brief mid morning sun breaks, it  turned colder and became blustery and we ended up seeing some hail and snow in the mountains. Nevertheless, we persevered and added 20+ more new birds for Gail & Barbara to the 35 or so from yesterday.

We started by working the Coffman-Lee-Central-Davis road section at the south end of the Sulphur Springs Valley and were well rewarded for braving the conditions with good looks at SAGE, BENDIRE'S, CURVE-BILLED and CRISSAL THRASHERS. 

In the same area and further north we saw the usual SANDHILL CRANES, GREATER ROADRUNNER, GAMBEL'S QUAIL, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, CACTUS WREN, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, VESPER, SAVANNAH, BREWER'S and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, both MEADOWLARK species and the usual flavors of BLACKBIRDS.

FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were numerous and very conspicuous sitting on the ground in the fields on Central and Rucker Canyon. However, we struck out completely on Prairie Falcon, seeing only a PEREGRINE  FALCON working the multitudes of doves on Webb Road. Our poor return from the area north of Elfrida was redeemed by a group of 6 HARRIS'S HAWKS -- a lucky break since I initially thought the first one that I had seen flying low was a raven!

We had searched high and low for LARK BUNTINGS, a bird that in most years is impossible to miss in the valley. Just when it looked like we would be skunked, we found a group of 20 as we headed out of the valley, about 4 miles south of Davis on Central. I find it amazing that we had covered so many miles without previously seeing any.

We arrived in the Mule Mountains just as it started to hail (fortunately, it was short lived). It was windy here and birding was difficult. However, among the 20 species that we dug out we found a number of  hoped for species including WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, ROCK WREN, BLACK-CHINNED and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS and SPOTTED TOWHEES.

We finished up with a brief visit to Garden Canyon in the Huachucas. It was snowing as we approached the lower picnic area and the snow level already on the mountain seemed to be down below 7000 feet. Even though there wasn't much activity we managed not to miss a flock of noisy MEXICAN JAYS and a small group of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. The bluebirds looked particularly forlorn as they struggled to feed close to the ground.

Day list (65 species recorded):
N. Harrier, Harris's, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Rock & Mourning Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Anna's Hummingbird, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Sage, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Cactus & Rock Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned, Savannah, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, February 10, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I began by spending an hour at the Monastery in St. David followed by a couple of hours at Willcox; then I birded my way south through the Sulphur Springs Valley and finished up with a short visit to Whitewater Draw. It was an ice scraping start to the morning and very cold at the Monastery, becoming quite warm and pleasant in the afternoon.

Highlights from 40 species at the Monastery were RUDDY DUCK (surprisingly, my first at this location in this my 11th year of birding here) and the continuing male WOOD DUCK. Among the other species were WHITE-WINGED DOVES (singing away in spring mode), GRAY FLYCATCHER, lots of LARK SPARROWS and an EASTERN MEADOWLARK in with the regular and common WESTERN (Eastern is far less common here). 

Calm conditions and filtered sunshine gave a very languid feel to the birding at Willcox. Species at the small golf course pond included LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, MARSH WREN, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. The most numerous species on the main pond were RUDDY DUCK, NORTHERN SHOVELER and GREEN-WINGED TEAL. I counted 11 CANADA GEESE, 20+ NORTHERN PINTAIL, 1 BUFFLEHEAD and 40+ COMMON MERGANSERS. Also present among the 38 species that I recorded were EARED GREBE, lots of SANDHILL CRANES, HORNED LARK and CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR.

After almost missing them on Saturday, I found over 100 LARK BUNTINGS coming in to the water on the road north of the golf course. I also saw them in three other location in the Sulphur Springs Valley; go figure!.

Many WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were working over the fields on Kansas Settlement Road while a huge flock of HORNED LARKS and a few AMERICAN PIPITS were in the fields at Kennedy Farms. On the pond here I noted more COMMON MERGANSERS, several CANVASBACKS and a couple of REDHEADS.

After traversing a number of back roads, I paused on Rucker Canyon Road to look at FERRUGINOUS HAWK.

Whitewater Draw was fairly quiet except for lots of SANDHILL CRANES. Several LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and LEAST SANDPIPERS continue. A male CINNAMON TEAL added a splash of color. 

Day list (73 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Dowitcher, Least Sandpiper, Killdeer, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 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, Canyon Towhee, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Wednesday, February 12, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
I finally got my car back from the body shop late yesterday. It went in last Tuesday and was promised in four days by Friday. So, in addition to the feeling of being violated, loss of property and the financial loss of my car being broken into and damaged, I had to endure further aggravation and cost (8 days rental instead of 4) because of lack of performance by the body shop. Furthermore, I had a week between jobs and had intended to take a short vacation -- something I was trying to do when the car was broken into! Now that chance is gone. Anyway, one bad turn deserves another -- if I ever need a body shop again I certainly won't be using CHON'S PAINT & BODY on South Hwy 92. All you locals out there reading this, perhaps you'll remember about my experience when you need a body shop and won't give them a chance to screw you around like they did me.

Today I visited the San Pedro and Sierra Vista WWTP without seeing much of anything, although admittedly, I didn't go out until late morning. The only bird of note along the river was a DUSKY FLYCATCHER.

Species recorded at both locations:
Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Dusky Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song & Vesper Sparrows, Abert's Towhee and Yellow-headed Blackbird.

Thursday, February 13, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I tried to bird in the Huachucas but I didn't even make it out of the grassland in Garden Canyon because the rain was way too heavy. I'm not really sure why I even bothered to try!  During a break in the rain in the afternoon I checked Sierra Vista WWTP again. Just like yesterday, there was very little going on. Species in italics were not seen here yesterday.

Species seen from 1:30-3:30pm.
Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, N. Harrier, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Say's Phoebe, Marsh Wren, Horned Lark, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-headed Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

Friday, February 14, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Although it was raining when I left the house this morning, the general outlook was better than yesterday so I again headed for the mountains. Due to out of state visits in previous years during February, I'm really lacking mountain data for this time of year, particularly in Sawmill Canyon. 

By the time I reached Sawmill the rain had just stopped and the canyon had a very fresh feel to it. Rain was dripping from the trees and the smell of pine was very much in evidence. Species of note included 5 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS (all in the same tree!), at least 6 ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY (very scarce here -- 1 sighting per year in last 5 years; although fairly common not too far away ) and 4 OLIVE WARBLERS (they normally get more common in mid February: see bar-graph). Winter is moving right along and it seems hard to believe that Buff-breasted Flycatchers will be back in the canyon 4 weeks from now.

Interestingly, the MOURNING DOVE population has increased considerably and today I flushed perhaps 50 birds in different parts of the canyon. They are very uncommon here at all times and I don't understand what they are doing here in winter. Obviously, they are finding a source of food otherwise they wouldn't be here.  

Species recorded in Sawmill and the drive along Garden Canyon:
Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Red-naped Sapsucker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Arizona Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Am. Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-eyed Junco and Canyon Towhee.

Saturday, February 15, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
I returned to the Huachucas again today, primarily to check on Spotted Owl in Scheelite Canyon. For the most part, the rain stayed away -- mostly sunny and 45 degrees when I left home this morning; cloudy with a few sprinkles and 60 degrees in the early afternoon.

Scheelite Canyon was fresh, very humid and almost birdless. I felt very comfortable in shorts and was quickly able to shed my sweater. Several downed limbs were evidence of the recent weather -- I managed to clear all but one from the trail. A single SPOTTED OWL was extremely easy to find about 20 yards east of the trail and easily visible from the trail. However, the view was quite obscured so it was just as well that I was not with a client. I recorded only 9 species during my walk up and down the canyon, with ARIZONA WOODPECKER the pick of the bunch.

Garden Canyon was considerably birdier and I saw a few "good" birds. The weather had closed in considerably compared to earlier and I didn't make a stop until I was below the lower picnic area. My timing was impeccable --  as I got out of my vehicle, a number of noisy PINYON JAYS were very close to the road. Although they have been present in a few locations all winter, I certainly wouldn't say that it has been a major invasion year so I was pleased to see them. (I last saw them in the Dragoon Mountains in January.)

I tried to follow them, hoping for a photo that never happened. However, I stumbled into a GOLDEN EAGLE soaring over one of the low ridges. Nearby were PHAINOPEPLA, ROCK WREN and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW.

I could hear various finch type noises so I headed over to where the commotion was coming from. I found a large mixed flock feeding high at the top of a Sycamore tree. They were swaying in the breeze and it took some time and perseverance to get these photos of a PINE SISKIN and LESSER GOLDFINCH. To get a relatively unobstructed view I had to stand well under the tree.  It's in this type of situation where the Coolpix camera feature of a swivel body really pays off -- even though the scope was pointing almost vertically I was able to look at the monitor very comfortably. 

As I was leaving, I spotted a COOPER'S HAWK perched in a bare tree near the fishing ponds. The bird let me get set up then took off just as I was about to take my first shot (expletive deleted). Nevertheless, a great morning -- Golden Eagle, Spotted Owl, Pinyon Jay and the finches.

Species seen in Garden and Scheelite canyons:
Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Golden Eagle, Spotted Owl, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Pinyon & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, Brown Creeper, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping & Rufous-crowned Sparrows and Spotted Towhee.

Sunday, February 16, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Although I had lots to do on the computer today, the nice mid morning weather got the better of me and I headed down to Sierra Vista WWTP.  Conditions were sunny, cool and a little breezy.

I spent an hour observing the usual suspects before I got any reward for the trip. In fact, I was leaving and almost out of the gate when I saw a CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN perched invitingly on top of a power pole. I decided to try for a photograph and started setting up my camera equipment that I had not used thus far this morning. Wouldn't you know it, just as I was ready the bird flew away!

I was cursing and kicking my vehicle when I spotted another bird perched on the same pole that the raven had been on, only a little lower down. I raised my binocular and was amazed to find that it was a PRAIRIE FALCON. They normally spook fairly easily and yet it had obviously been sitting there during the entire time I was setting up the camera. The bird was somewhat obscured by wires but I took aim and starting shooting. 

Realizing that it was now the object of my attention, the falcon started to get nervous and I managed just three shots before it launched into flight. I watched it fly very low to the ground, grab some poor unsuspecting sparrow, then head south over Hwy 90 to be joined by a second Prairie Falcon. A good end to a rather mundane visit, although the sparrow obviously wouldn't concur with that view.

Species recorded from 10:30-11:30am:
Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Am. Coot, Say's Phoebe, Chihuahuan Raven, Marsh Wren, Verdin, Horned Lark, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song, Savannah & Vesper Sparrows, Yellow-headed Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

Monday, February 17, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out with Phil Henson from Norwalk, CT for a day of target birding. The weather cooperated throughout the day starting with very mild conditions when we left Sierra Vista at 5:00am; cold (29 degrees) for the first hour in Sulphur Springs Valley; and warm and slightly breezy in the mountains in the afternoon (73 degrees in Sierra Vista when we finished at 5:00pm). We began and ended the day with an owl, had a few successes and misses on target birds in between, and we saw a number of good birds along the way to make for an interesting and enjoyable day.

We entered the Huachucas at 5:15am and much to my surprise we were out again by 5:35am. This early in the season I had expected to have to work much harder for WESTERN SCREECH-OWL, however, a (male) bird responded instantly to a few whistled calls from me. We had no trouble at all finding the tree that the bird was in but had a terrible time trying to pinpoint its location. Fortunately, the bird took pity on us by sitting in the same spot and calling constantly as we blundered around trying to figure out where it was. As is often the case, when I finally spotted the owl, it was perched much lower and closer to us than indicated by its calls. Trogons also have this quality to their voice. In the end we walked away from the bird.

Due to this instant success, we had a little time to kill before heading out to the Sulphur Springs Valley. We arrived there slightly before dawn and it was some time before the birds were stirring. We worked first on thrashers and had great looks at 4 species: -- 5 or 6 very cooperative SAGE THRASHERS, 3 or 4 BENDIRE'S THRASHERS, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER and a wonderful scope look at a perched CRISSAL THRASHER.

We then tried for SCALED QUAIL without success, seeing only a small group fly away as we inadvertently flushed them from the roadside. A short search for Sage Sparrow was also unsuccessful, although a GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE was a nice consolation.

Our next target was easy find in just about their southernmost reliable valley location on Central Hwy, in fact we saw 3 FERRUGINOUS HAWKS including one very "Ferruginous" individual. Birds in the same area included GAMBEL'S QUAIL, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, HORNED LARK, PYRRHULOXIA and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

Also of interest were a couple of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES that were quite some distance further south than my previous valley sightings. 

Next, we headed into the Mule Mountains in Bisbee where we enjoyed instant success with BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW. We saw 3 individuals perched in low vegetation in good light and could easily see the black streaking on their brown backs. I've always thought that this very dapper looking bird is a much underrated species. 

A much better bird for me, however, was a GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW, amazingly the first bird that I put my glasses on in a group of WHITE-CROWNED. I saw one here in almost the identical location on January 2, 1999 so its obviously a hot spot for them!

The area was very birdy and in just a few minutes we recorded GREATER ROADRUNNER, WHITE-WINGED and INCA DOVES, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BEWICK'S & CACTUS WRENS, BUSHTIT, HERMIT THRUSH, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, CANYON & SPOTTED TOWHEES and a handful of common oak-chaparral species.

We made a brief visit to the San Pedro House where I was hoping for a cheap Scaled Quail. Unfortunately, the feeders were devoid of birds in mid morning.

We spent the remainder of the day in the Huachucas with mixed success. A couple of hours in Sawmill failed to produce Williamson's Sapsucker (or any Woodpeckers for that matter). However, a couple of stunning adult male OLIVE WARBLERS more than made up for this (several more were calling).

The most interesting species was CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, a bird that I haven't seen or heard in the canyon for a couple of months. We saw only two birds (amazingly silent), one drinking from a puddle and another stripping bark from a dead tree.

We ended the day in Scheelite Canyon where a 2 1/2 hour search for an owl almost ended in failure. I couldn't find an owl in the lower area so we trudged higher where I thoroughly searched the middle and upper roosting areas without success. Remembering Smitty's words ("assume that you have missed the owl and double check on the way down"), I remained cautiously optimistic while fearing the worst (I've found the birds only 5 times in similar circumstances). Unbelievably, back in the lower area I soon found a pair of very conspicuous SPOTTED OWLS in a tree that I've only seen them in once before (many expletives deleted). In my defense, I did check the tree on the way up and can only figure that the sun (which was very much in our eyes on the way up) prevented me from seeing them. Nevertheless, that's no excuse and with the experience of over 800 trips to the canyon I should have found them right away. For me this was a very hollow victory, while for Phil it was a great life bird to end the day. All's well that end's well, so they say. By the way, the little bits of yellow are droppings from when I wiped the egg from my face!

Day list (73 species recorded):
N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Sandhill Crane, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Rock, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Western Screech-Owl, Spotted Owl, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Clark's Nutcracker, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western &
Mountain Bluebirds, Hermit Thrush, Sage, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Savannah, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned, Vesper, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, February 18, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I visited Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast in the Huachucas -- thanks to Mary Jo Ballator for her hospitality. Nestled in the foothills, the habitat here consists of oaks, riparian cottonwood/willow and mesquite grassland. In 2002, this location hosted a Plain-capped Starthroat for over 7 weeks. 

Despite the windy conditions (that worsened later in the day), the feeders were very active in the late morning and I spent most of my time watching the comings and goings. Species of note included my first-of-season BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD (male), ARIZONA WOODPECKER and a female CASSIN'S FINCH. Very common species were PINE SISKIN, LESSER GOLDFINCH and CHIPPING SPARROW.

I recorded the following 26 species from 10:15am-12:15pm:
Am. Kestrel, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Anna's & Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Mexican Jay, Hermit Thrush, Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Cassin's & House Finches, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Canyon Towhee and Pyrrhuloxia.

Thursday, February 20, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Today I returned to Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast in the Huachucas -- thanks again to Mary Jo Ballator for her hospitality. It was cool, cloudy and breezy early on becoming very windy by midday. The temperature back in town at 1:00pm was only 50 degrees and conditions worsened as the day wore on. Sprinkles turned into a thunderstorm and heavy rain fell late in the day. 

I wandered around the property looking at habitat to determine what might be present later in the season. I noted a few Sycamores so there's a possibility of trogons and other cavity nesters. There's good habitat for MONTEZUMA QUAIL and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and indeed, I found both species. Hillside agaves hold promise of good fall hummingbirds like last year's Starthroat. 

Highlight of the day from four hummingbirds species was another season first for me -- a beautiful male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. This was my earliest SE AZ "spring" sighting beating my previous record of  February 27 in 1996 by 1 week.

The feeders were slightly less busy than a couple of days ago, although I'm sure the wind didn't help. I tried some digiscoping and managed shots of MEXICAN JAY at the suet, HERMIT THRUSH (photo #2) coming in to drink, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, AMERICAN and LESSER GOLDFINCHES, at least 3 male CASSIN'S FINCHES and hordes of CHIPPING SPARROWS.

I recorded the following species (I did not see those listed in italics at the feeders or water):
Montezuma Quail, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Magnificent, Anna's, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, Mexican Jay, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, American & Lesser Goldfinches, Cassin's & House Finches, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned, Chipping and Rufous-crowned Sparrows and Pyrrhuloxia.

Saturday, February 22, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
I was happy to not be working today, it was a warm but very windy day, just about my most disliked weather for birding. I was out doing errands and stopped at Sierra Vista EOP for 30 minutes. Note the new name "Environmental Operations Park" -- it's gone from sewage ponds to wastewater treatment plant to this. My reports from now on will be SVEOP.

The only birds of note there this afternoon were a couple of CLIFF SWALLOWS. This is the first time that I have seen them in March at SVEOP and nudges out my previous early date for southeast Arizona by a few days  -- February 26, 1996 in St. David.

Sunday, February 23, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
First of two days with Jim and Kate Frazier from Batavia, IL, who I've birded with on two previous occasions. Today we had three main target birds -- Lewis's Woodpecker, Rufous-backed Robin and Lawrence's Goldfinch; and I'm happy to say that we had good looks at all three. Thankfully, the wind from yesterday moderated considerably and wasn't a factor. Although the temperature was a little above freezing when we left Sierra Vista at 6:00am, we saw a low of 27 degrees in Patagonia with mostly clear skies in the morning, and a high of 74 degrees with filtered sunshine and breezy conditions in Green Valley in the afternoon -- a 50 degree swing is possible on any day of the year in AZ!

We began at Patagonia Lake where we spent 4 fours. The gnatcatcher wasn't a target today but we did give it some effort. We located two separate BRIDLED TITMOUSE flocks including the one with HUTTON'S VIREO but did not see a gnatcatcher of any species. This "miss" breaks a spell of seeing the bird on 19 consecutive visits. I'm sure that the birds are still around and would have been found with dedicated effort.

Right about on time (3rd week in February), VERMILION FLYCATCHERS are back on territory. They are a common breeder at the lake but like the majority of Vermilions, they leave for the winter. Those that stay prefer smaller ponds during winter, such as those at Kino Springs and Palo Duro Golf Course to name but two. Very soon they'll be abundant again.

At least one of the wintering EASTERN PHOEBES is still  present near Nutting's wash and the LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH was along Sonoita Creek near the tire/plastic bowl marker. Among the other species from a total of 50 recorded were the usual NEOTROPIC and at least one DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, lots of COMMON MERGANSERS,  BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, calling VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, GRAY & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE.

We moved on to Kino Springs where we only birded near the club house. My records indicate that LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH are often present here in late February and early March and I wanted to avoid relying solely on the Green Valley location. Although we found at least 4, possibly 6 of them singing and feeding at the tops of several pine trees, they were extremely difficult to see well even with a scope.

After a short break in Nogales we continued north to Green Valley and the old Pima County Maintenance yard. Having made the effort to see them earlier, it was almost a forgone conclusion that we would easily find more LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES. A large group were across the highway near the railroad tracks and we had a great look at a stunning male.

Next stop was Continental were it didn't take long to find the wintering LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, however, we could so easily have missed it had our timing been off by just a few seconds. Shortly after we started looking, the bird flew into a pecan tree and "glued" itself to the trunk as they often do. Under these circumstances they can be very hard to detect -- the bird stayed in one spot for the 15 minutes we were present (I've seen them do this for over an hour) and as you can see from the photo, it nodded off!

We finished our day in Florida Canyon where our timing was again very good. Two folks leaving at 2:00pm informed us that the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN had last been seen at 12:09pm. At 2:32pm the bird made a brief appearance at the water trough in the corral and returned at 2:43pm when we had a satisfying look. Unfortunately, I had a problem with my camera at the critical moment and had to settle for a shot of one of five AMERICAN ROBINS that were regular drinkers. Other visitors included ACORN WOODPECKER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, HERMIT THRUSH. CANYON TOWHEE and NORTHERN CARDINAL. 

On the way home, a stop for gas in Sonoita yielded one of the now resident EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES.

Day list (75 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Rock Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Lewis's, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Gray, Dusky & Vermilion Flycatchers, Eastern, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Rufous-backed & American Robins, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Cactus, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser & Lawrence's Goldfinches, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, February 24, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Jim and Kate on a day that we couldn't escape the effects of high winds. To compound the problem, we spent the morning looking for longspurs in the San Rafael grasslands --  not really the place to be when it's windy. Although we located both target species, birds were hard to come by and the overall birding was pretty poor.

Needless to say, birds perching on fence wires were few and far between. Over a period of 4 1/2 hours, we saw at least 300 CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS in several large flocks; and one flock of McCOWN'S LONGSPURS containing some 40-50 birds. However, despite lots of work in four longspur hangouts, we only managed one prolonged good look at a breeding plumaged male Chestnut-collared. We didn't fare well with the McCown's and saw them in flight only -- in addition to voice, extensive white in the tail is a good flight field mark. 

Even at the best of times, the valley is never the place to go for species diversity at the best of times. In today's windy conditions we recorded only a pitiful 14 species in the valley proper -- highlights were a fly-by BALD EAGLE  and a perched PRAIRIE FALCON.

Our tale of woe continued in mid afternoon along the river at the highway 90 crossing of the San Pedro. Our target here was Hammond's Flycatcher and we didn't stand much of a chance with the wind, especially when you consider that there's only a few individuals present. 

A fair number of CANVASBACKS continue on the big pond where 3 female COMMON MERGANSERS represented only my second sighting of this species on the SPRNCA. I saw 10 birds on March 4, 1995, a date similar to today's sighting.

Thursday, February 27, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Carol Welsh and Mike McCool from NC. After a couple of days of stormy weather that left plenty of fresh snow in the Huachucas and other ranges, today was much better -- although still partly cloudy, breezy and remaining cool with a high only in the 50s.

We began birding at Patagonia Lake State Park where I did something that I haven't done much of this year -- some serious casual birding! We didn't spend any time looking for the gnatcatchers and just wandered around for 4 hours looking at whatever came our way. We started by scanning the deep water at the west end of the lake, again something that I haven't done for a while. Among the species present here were lots of EARED GREBES, a male COMMON GOLDENEYE and a COMMON LOON. This is perhaps the same loon that showed up at the end of last October, although I haven't seen it since Dec 11 and I don't remember seeing any other reports.

Elsewhere on and around the lake were at least 30 NEOTROPIC and a DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT, several BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, CINNAMON TEAL, LESSER SCAUP, 8-10 BUFFLEHEADS, lots of COMMON MERGANSERS, VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA, COMMON MOORHEN, WILSON'S SNIPE, a small flock of AMERICAN PIPITS and SWAMP SPARROW.

Four species of swallows think spring has sprung -- TREE, VIOLET-GREEN, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and CLIFF; a number of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were also in the mix. As we watched them working over the northeast corner of the lake, highlights of the day in the form of BALD and GOLDEN EAGLES were soaring overhead.

Conditions are much muddier after the recent rain, especially along the rather quiet creek trail where only a flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS and a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER were of note. Additional, flycatchers on the day were the other wintering empids -- GRAY and DUSKY plus now common VERMILION and a heard only ASH-THROATED.

64 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park from 7:00-11:15am.
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Killdeer, Common Loon, Mourning Dove, White-throated Swift, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Hammond's, Gray, Dusky, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Phainopepla, Cedar Waxwing, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Tree, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, N. Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

A hour in the Paton's yard produced 3 hummingbird species -- a female BROAD-BILLED, the funny looking VIOLET-CROWNED (with an always-extended tongue) and several ANNA'S. Other species included male CASSIN'S FINCH, male LAZULI BUNTING and a couple of ABERT'S TOWHEES.

We finished up at Kino Springs where we were able to locate several LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES working the club house pines. At least 4 VERMILION FLYCATCHERS and a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER were at the second pond; a flock of LARK SPARROWS worked the hillside near the first pond.

Friday, February 28, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
On Tuesday I had arranged to go to French Joe Canyon with Jim and Kate Frazier but we canceled at the 11th hour due to bad weather. On Wednesday I headed up there on my own but turned back due to heavy rain. Today I finally made it to the canyon which was good for two reasons -- 1) even though I've made over 100 visits and seen Rufous-capped Warbler there many times, it turns out that I had never done so in February; and 2) I have some upcoming visits scheduled so this was a good scouting opportunity.

I left town at 6:50am and after an uneventful drive and a brisk hike into warbler territory I started listening for the birds. Around 8:15am I heard a call (not the strong chipping, just a soft ticking that sounds very much like a Black-chinned Sparrow) and it didn't take long to track down 2 RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS. It was a mostly clear, calm and cold morning and the temperature wasn't much above freezing as I watched the birds foraging.

I stayed with them trying to get a photograph as they moved around rapidly over a relatively small, but generally impenetrable area. Even though I came very close to the birds on several occasions, their speed of movement was far too rapid for me to react quickly enough. Using my camera at 12X (with a 3X Teleconverter) made it almost impossible to find the birds in the monitor let alone get them in focus. I persevered for 30 minutes and took about 25 shots, about 6 of which actually had a bird in the frame! I got some wonderful close ups of Sotal and Yucca sans bird and only managed to salvage this not so great image for all my efforts. I've become spoiled with the results of my improving digiscoping efforts, however, at least now I have a photographic record of this species. 

The canyon was generally quiet and I recorded only 18 species including regulars such as WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, HUTTON'S VIREO, CANYON & SPOTTED TOWHEES, RUFOUS-CROWNED & BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS and NORTHERN CARDINAL.

Entering soap box mode: [The warblers were in French Joe Canyon somewhere between highway 90 and the upper spring. Do you think this is too vague to be useful? Well, consider the following recent WG05 post from another guide:

Had the longspurs up on the wire again today. . . Baird's Sparrow also showed itself. . Actually had three separate flocks of longspurs today. Headed across to the Sulphur Springs Valley. . . so many hawks!!! Great day!

This is very typical of this individual -- a post without useful information. Many of you will have noticed that I am no longer posting to the WG05 list and some of you have asked why. This is why. In my journal, I can provide as little or as much information as I like. However, when I make a post to a birding list, I feel an implied responsibility to provide something useful. For example, in my posts to the list regarding the current Black-capped Gnatcatchers, I tried to provide locations and sighting times. Of course, everyone has to advertise and a post to a birding list by a guide is definitely a form of advertising. Such publicity is not free and is paid for by the information given away, or at least it should be. Posts without useful information just to get your name in front of the public simply shouldn't be tolerated. I became completely disillusioned by posts such as the one shown above and other self-ingratiating posts by a local outfit plugging their web site and tours. Ya basta I said at the end of 2002.]  Stepping down off the box, normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Friday, February 28, 2003.

Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - February, 2003 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

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