Journal - August, 2003 - Stuart Healy, Western U.S. Bird Guide

html> Journal - August, 2003 - Stuart Healy, Western U.S. Bird Guide

Species List

Stuart Healy
Journal - August, 2003
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This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, August 31, 2003.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Friday, August 1, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Day 5 with Martha and Polly was long (5am-9:00pm) and eventually quite productive. However, even though our day began and ended well, the middle was very slow and for the second day in a row we struggled to find high elevation warblers. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park, Carr Canyon, Ramsey Canyon and Ash Canyon B&B. Just an abbreviated report today as my time gets more and more crunched.

Highlights:
COMMON NIGHTHAWK on highway 82 in Sonoita grasslands in the early morning light and rain.

BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER at Patagonia Lake (took about 90 minutes to find). FORSTER'S TERN on the lake.

PLAIN-CAPPED STARTHROAT (6:05pm) and LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD (6:35pm) at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast in the Huachucas (plus 7 other hummers including COSTA'S). Thanks to Mary Jo Ballator for her hospitality.

MONTEZUMA QUAIL calling near Reef Campground in Carr Canyon (3rd in 3 days).

WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL, WESTERN SCREECH-OWL and ELF OWL in Carr Canyon.

Lowlights:
Very low hummingbird activity at Ramsey Canyon (the hummingbird capital NOT!)

Lack of warblers in Carr Canyon (only GRACE'S WARBLER seen well).

We picked up 7 targets and recorded a total of 101 species:
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Gray, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Montezuma Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Forster's Tern, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Western Screech-Owl, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Elf Owl, Common Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Plain-capped Starthroat, Broad-billed, Blue-throated, Magnificent, Lucifer, Black-chinned, Anna's, Costa's, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted, Vermilion, Dusky-capped, Brown-crested & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Bell's & Hutton's Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Violet-green, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive, Virginia's, Lucy's, Yellow, Black-throated Gray & Grace's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Yellow-eyed Junco, Black-throated, Botteri's, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Varied Bunting, Scott's Oriole, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Saturday, August 2, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Day 6 with Martha and Polly. Today we birded in the Sulphur Springs Valley and the Chiricahua Mountains with a fair amount of success. However, due to lousy timing, we missed out on the chance to look for high elevation species -- our arrival at Barfoot/Rustler coincided with very heavy monsoon rainfall around midday. Another abbreviated report today.

Sulphur Springs Valley was quite birdy this morning and we had good success with BENDIRE'S and CRISSAL THRASHERS (scope looks at both). Finding thrashers at this season can sometimes be very time consuming (often unsuccessful) and our results exceeded my expectations.. CASSIN'S SPARROWS were singing in many locations throughout the valley. SWAINSON'S HAWKS were very conspicuous, perched on poles everywhere. Two recently fledged juveniles on Coffman Road were very close to us (they couldn't yet fly).

Whitewater Draw now has a considerable amount of water and is well worth checking thoroughly. I didn't have time for that today. Among the species present were SNOWY EGRET, GREEN HERON, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, loads of TREE and CLIFF SWALLOWS and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS.

Pinery Canyon road was also very birdy and we found MEXICAN CHICKADEE in many locations starting very low in the canyon. We recorded about 35 species on the drive to Onion Saddle including BAND-TAILED PIGEON, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, GRACE'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & RED-FACED WARBLERS, PAINTED REDSTART and HEPATIC TANAGER.

After getting rained out at Rustler, we headed down to the George Walker House in Paradise where our arrival coincided with the rain that followed us down the mountain. Thanks to Winston and Jackie Lewis for their hospitality (keeping us dry as we waited out the rain) and information. Our patience was rewarded when JUNIPER TITMOUSE eventually came to the feeders when the rain stopped. I didn't fancy beating the bushes to find one the hard way on a day like this. On the Paradise road we had good success seeing a couple of spiffy looking male BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS.

Day list (92 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Am. Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, Wilson's Phalarope, Killdeer, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rock, Mourning, White-winged, Inca & Common Ground-Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Magnificent, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed& Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan Raven, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Bendire's, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, European Starling, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper
Cactus Wren, Verdin, Bushtit, Tree, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Juniper Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Black-throated Gray, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Chipping, Black-chinned, Lark, Black-throated, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Hooded Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Sunday, August 3, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Day 7 with Martha and Polly was our last in day in SE AZ. We visited French Joe Canyon and Willcox then moved north to the White Mountains. After a series of cloudy and cool days, it was much warmer today (high 90s at Willcox) until we experienced some dramatic cooling in the White Mountains

Our early morning expedition to French Joe Canyon was extremely successful. Although the RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER family was fairly easy to locate today, initially they were not easy to see. Two adults and three youngsters were first heard at 6:00am on the south slope just above the upper spring. The birds then moved noisily and secretively up canyon -- eventually we tracked them to a location above the upper dry waterfall where we risked life and limb to get wonderful looks at 6:45am. At one point all the birds were in the same tree, singing and chattering away -- quite a spectacle. As if all this wasn't enough, a couple of SPOTTED OWLS were a great bonus (particularly since we didn't manage to find the time for a trip to Scheelite Canyon over the past week).

The above birds aside, overall activity in the canyon was fairly low and we recorded only 35 species. The only migrants noted were WARBLING VIREO and WILSON'S WARBLER. Regulars included a calling CRISSAL THRASHER and singing BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS.

It was warm and uncomfortable at Willcox around noon and our birding here was hardly thorough. The only target bird was SCALED QUAIL which we found with very little effort despite the conditions and time of day. Highlights from 40 species recorded were GREATER SCAUP, SORA, a large flock (~45) of LONG-BILLED CURLEWS and FRANKLIN'S GULL.

After passing through a serious hailstorm near Luna that dropped the temperature from 94 to 54 degrees in no time at all, we resumed birding again at Luna Lake around 4:00pm. Several birds that I've seen on recent visits were present -- COMMON MERGANSER, OSPREY, BALD EAGLE and SANDHILL CRANE. Also present were WHITE-FACED IBIS, SORA and PURPLE MARTIN.

We finished the day in Nutrioso where we struck out on Pinyon Jay to get our White Mountain target birding underway. As is usually the case here, LEWIS'S WOODPECKER was cooperative and easy to see. COMMON NIGHTHAWK was the last bird of the day as we entered Springerville.

Day list (111 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Double-crested Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Scaled Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Curlew, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Spotted, Western, Least & Baird's Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Ring-billed & Franklin's Gulls, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Spotted Owl, Common Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds. Lewis's & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Black Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Am. Crow, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, Am. Robin, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Pygmy & White-breasted Nuthatches, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Purple Martin, Tree, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping, Black-chinned, Lark, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Scott's Oriole, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Brewer's Blackbird & Brown-headed Cowbird.

Monday, August 4, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Day 8 with Martha and Polly was spent birding around Big Lake, Greer and Springerville. After a cool start in the mid 50s the afternoon temperature in Springerville was in the mid 80s. A day of target birding produced more hits (11) than misses (3).

The day began well in the Big Lake area where we found BLUE GROUSE after it looked like we would get skunked. We inadvertently flushed a bird from the trail and it promptly flew into an Aspen (in a location where we could see it) and started munching the leaves. In the same area we picked up VIRGINIA'S WARBLER that we missed in SE AZ (they were common elsewhere today). We had good looks at a female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER working a tree trunk at close range as well as couple of RED CROSSBILLS perched low in a tree, also at close range. Other species here included OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET and WARBLING VIREO.

A brief stop at Crescent Lake produced 3 OSPREYS.

A late arrival in Greer almost guaranteed that we would dip on Dipper in West Fork and that turned out to be the case. Species here included BAND-TAILED PIGEON, male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, a few CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, lots of VIRGINIA'S WARBLERS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

In town, lots of RUFOUS and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS visited the feeders while we ate lunch at the Rendezvous Diner. MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was across the street.

In Butler Canyon we found another male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, CORDILLERAN & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, ORANGE-CROWNED, VIRGINIA'S, RED-FACED & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

Back in Springerville we checked the "thistle patch" near Becker Lake that was apparently very birdy this weekend with Rufous & Calliope Hummingbirds and Lazuli Buntings all present. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case today and the area was almost devoid of birds. We did pick up LAZULI BUNTINGS at nearby Wenima Wildlife Area.

Day list (77 species recorded):
Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Redhead, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Blue Grouse, Sora, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson's Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Rock Wren, Bushtit, Violet-green, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Chickadee, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's, Wilson's & Red-faced Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping & Lark Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Western Tanager, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Brewer's Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tuesday, August 5, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Day 9 with Martha and Polly saw us do more target birding in the White Mountains. On a relatively cool and partly cloudy day, we birded at West Fork in Greer, South Fork, Sipe Wildlife Area, Sierra Blanca Lake, Winn Campground, Sheep Crossing and Sunrise Lake. We found five of the six species that we sought (Three-toed Woodpecker lives to fight again tomorrow).

We began early at West Fork (6:30am) to beat the fisherman, tourists and construction workers. After an unsuccessful check of the two bridges, we worked methodically upstream and by 7:15am we found a very cooperative AMERICAN DIPPER. We watched the bird feeding while standing on a rock, then on a branch of a riverside tree; and finally, swimming in the river. All this from just a few feet away -- fair reward for our fruitless search yesterday and efforts this morning. We also had great looks at numerous MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS that we didn't see well yesterday. Other species present included WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and RED CROSSBILL.

Our next stop was at nearby South Fork where it didn't take long to pick up TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE.

We didn't stay long and moved on to Sipe Wildlife area where we spent a productive 2.5 hours. The highlight here was watching the swarms of hummingbirds using the feeders at the visitor center. BROAD-TAILED and RUFOUS were in roughly equal numbers and we saw our target CALLIOPE (1 male, several females). Our other target here was RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and we found just one immature bird. Among 26 species recorded were LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER (including some fearless, recently fledged birds), CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, ORANGE-CROWNED, WILSON'S & YELLOW WARBLERS and a few LAZULI BUNTINGS.

We moved on to Nutrioso to do battle once again with PINYON JAY, this time successfully. We located a flock near the reservoir that, unfortunately, were some distance away on private property. The homeowner saw us and kindly gave us permission to look for the birds, however, they were still too far away on more private property. After birding elsewhere around town we returned and this time found them by the road -- we earned those birds with our time and effort yesterday and today!

Among the birds in town were BAND-TAILED PIGEON, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, scads of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY. Along the creek we checked a regular area for RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and again found only an immature bird. Also here were GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, WESTERN TANAGER and several LAZULI BUNTINGS.

We headed east to work on Three-toed Woodpecker, stopping along the way at Sierra Blanca Lake. A short session produced calling VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA and a fly-by BALD EAGLE.

Winn Campground has been good to me in the past for Three-toed but we struck out today. We found plenty of woodpecker action -- 2 male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS, several HAIRY WOODPECKERS and a smattering of NORTHERN FLICKERS. Immature WESTERN BLUEBIRDS and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were abundant.

We also struck out on the woodpecker during a brief check at Sheep Crossing. As a consolation we stumbled into an adult RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER feeding a juvenile. A few RED CROSSBILLS were present.

We ended our day with a little casual birding at Sunrise Lake. The eastern end has some great shorebird habitat and here we found 7-LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 1-WESTERN SANDPIPER and 2-SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS. Not much in the way of ducks, however, over 50 active EARED GREBE nests were quite a sight!

Day list (80 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Lesser Yellowlegs, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Band-tailed Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Calliope, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Red-naped & Williamson's Sapsuckers, Lewis's & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Pinyon & Steller's Jays, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Am. Dipper, Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Am. Robin, European Starling, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Canyon & House Wrens, Bushtit, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Mountain Chickadee, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Red Crossbill, Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Western Tanager, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Bunting, Western Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Day 10 and final day with Martha and Polly. We finished up birding in the White Mountains and returned to Phoenix in mid afternoon. It was a little chilly on the Mt. Baldy trail early this morning and 111 degrees in Phoenix at 3:00pm. You couldn't pay me enough money to live in that place.

Our target for today was THREE-TOED WOODPECKER and I'm happy to say that we found a couple of them without the long hike that I was expecting. We started the Mt. Baldy trail from Sheep Crossing at 6:30am and found an adult female feeding a juvenile after only 1.5 miles. We enjoyed great looks from close range for several minutes.

We recorded 20+ species along the trail including BELTED KINGFISHER, calling CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, several migrant LAZULI BUNTINGS, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, numerous recently fledged LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and a few fly-by RED CROSSBILLS.

Since we had found the woodpecker quickly, we decided to try for Northern Pygmy-Owl before heading south. In recent years I have found birds on territory along the South Fork trail, however, earlier this year I failed to find one there and I failed again today. We should have quit while we were ahead! A male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER was at the trailhead and several VIRGINIA'S & RED-FACED WARBLERS were along the trail.

Over the ten days from July 28 through August 6 we traveled almost 2000 miles in southeast Arizona and the White Mountains and tracked down 93 species from a composite target list of 113 while recording a total of 233 species. That's a long sentence and should have at least one comma but I couldn't decide where!

Thursday, August 7, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out today with Matt Orsie from Summit Point, WV. We spent the day in the Huachucas doing "routine" birding looking for the typical mountain species. Although this is my "bread and butter" stuff, for various reasons it's something that I haven't done much of lately. We birded in Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons on Fort Huachuca and in Carr Canyon. Lots of birders were in the canyons on the fort (Southwest Wings field trips, other tour groups and individuals). In stark and pleasant contrast, we had Reef Campground in Carr Canyon entirely to ourselves. Even though it was a mostly warm day, we muddled through and in 9 hours found most of the expected species. Monsoon clouds gathered starting around midday but they didn't provide relief and rain until later in the day.

We began in lower Garden Canyon grassland where (as might be expected at this time of year) BOTTERI'S and CASSIN'S SPARROWS were singing and easy to find. We had scope looks at both species. We didn't linger in order to maximize our chances for trogon, etc, so we didn't see much else here.

Our arrival at the Upper Picnic Area couldn't have been better timed. As we stepped out of the car at 7:00am, a male ELEGANT TROGON was calling and we enjoyed great looks at a bird perched completely in the open at the top of a tree. Other species were not quite as cooperative, although we did track down a calling ARIZONA WOODPECKER and PLUMBEOUS VIREO. Other species here included SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART. At the time I thought that the Yellow-rumped was a little early for this location, however, a look at my records later on showed that mid-August is the normal date.

Our next stop was in Sawmill Canyon where BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER was just a tad harder to find than on my last visit -- we didn't detect any near the cabin but there were several calling and singing along the trail. An uncommon-in-Sawmill VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was near the cabin, GRACE'S and RED-FACED were further up canyon. A couple of GREATER PEWEES were mostly silent -- just enough vocalization to track them down. Among the 20+ species that we recorded in the canyon were CORDILLERAN & SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS (both uncommon here), PAINTED REDSTART, HEPATIC TANAGER and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO (feeding young).

Our trip up Scheelite Canyon was a little weird, but completely successful. We met some folks coming out as we headed up and they told us that the owls were up the right fork (above the 3/4 split). Even though I was happy not to have to look for them on the way up (which is what normally takes all the time), I wasn't too pleased about having to slog up the trail! We then met another party whose info about location was totally conflicting. In the end we just looked for them and found an adult SPOTTED OWL and juvenile SPOTTED OWL near "jaws" (which is below the 5/8 mile mark). The birds could not have been easier to see and I can't see how anyone would miss them today! The juvenile owl was fearless and didn't flinch as we passed by even though it had chosen a perch so close to the trail that someone with long arms could reach out and touch it! The adult was sensibly a little deeper in the tree.

Bonus birds in the canyon were a female ELEGANT TROGON around 1/8 mile and a family of RED-FACED WARBLERS at 3/8 mile.

We still needed Olive Warbler so we headed to Carr Canyon. After striking out at my "best" spot, we finally found a sub-adult male OLIVE WARBLER in Reef Campground. However, we had to work at it for some time and eventually tracked the bird down from its "phew" calls. The campground was surprising active in the heat of day -- species present included ACORN WOODPECKER, a couple of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, HAIRY WOODPECKER, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER (mostly silent), lots of STELLER'S JAYS, VIRGINIA'S, GRACE'S & RED-FACED WARBLERS, HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. Elsewhere we saw adult and juvenile EASTERN BLUEBIRDS.

All in all, an excellent day.

Day list (57 species recorded:
Turkey Vulture. Red-tailed Hawk. Mourning & White-winged Doves, Spotted Owl, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Ladder-backed, Arizona & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran, Buff-breasted & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Eastern Bluebird, Am. Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Virginia's, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Grace's & Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Lark, Botteri's, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Eastern Meadowlark & Brown-headed Cowbird.

Friday, August 8, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
First of two days with Jim and Jan Zoeller from Loveland, OH who I've birded with once before. We left Sierra Vista at 3:00am for a trip to California Gulch and stopped at the Roadside Rest area in Patagonia as we returned.

A strong storm was visible in the distance as we headed west and we encountered rain from Nogales onwards. The Ruby Road was quite slick and dangerous in places and I was surprised that we saw 4 COMMON POORWILLS on the road in such conditions. As we started down California Gulch road (FR 217), it was very evident that some seriously heavy rain had recently fallen. The creeks and "puddles" were as swollen as I've ever seen them and we almost needed an amphibious vehicle to get through. Amazingly, water levels had subsided considerably by the time that we left just a short time later.

I knew that the giant puddle at the south end of the gulch would be at least 18 inches deep so, for the first time in a long time, I decided to park at the north end of the gulch and walk down heartbreak hill (so named for the walk up!). Although doing this bypasses the good riparian habitat at the south end at the gulch, it's a much drier walk. Also, we only needed the sparrow today.

Just 40 minutes after parking at the north end of the gulch we were underway again having had super scope looks at a perched and singing FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW. In fact, several birds were singing between the first and second stream crossings. VARIED BUNTINGS were also in full voice.

We spent from 9:00am to 10:45am at the Roadside Rest without seeing or hearing Rose-throated Becard -- and I was listening very intently. It's been some time since the previous nest blew down and after first thinking that the birds were rebuilding I now find this hard to believe. Surely there would be evidence of a nest, lots of coming and going by the birds and more sighting reports -- none of which are true.

While watching and listening I recorded 30+ species including GRAY HAWK, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD, DUSKY-CAPPED & BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, LUCY'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and SUMMER & WESTERN TANAGERS.

Saturday, August 9, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out again today with Jim and Jan. We left Sierra Vista at 4:00am for a visit to French Joe Canyon. The early morning temperature was 70 degrees; up to 85 when we left the canyon with fairly high (for AZ!) humidity. On my last visit (August 3) the lower part of the canyon had running water, the first for some time. Unfortunately, there wasn't even a trickle today, although the upper spring has water as usual.

We reached the spring at 5:45am just in time to see a GOLDEN EAGLE gliding across the canyon. (Golden Eagle is quite uncommon here and most of my sightings are in July and August.) Even better, RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER was singing on the south slope of the canyon just above the spring. A brief sortie in the canyon bottom didn't result in a sighting (the angle is really bad from here) so we proceeded up the birder enhanced (degraded?) "cow trail" on the north slope where the view is much more open.

One or more warblers sang sporadically over the next hour but remained well hidden. Around 7:00am the whole family moved above the upper (dry) waterfall and we risked life and limb amidst the shin-dagger to get up there. For the next 15 minutes or so we got glimpses of all the birds as they sang loudly, "ticked" softly and generally flitted around. Finally, the reward for our persistence and bravery (stupidity?) came around 7:20am when an adult RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER came out into the open while foraging. All's well that end's well.

After a mostly silent period dating back to July 3, BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS are singing again with enthusiasm. Two CRISSAL THRASHERS called (one near the spring, one down below just before the heavy oaks begin). A (presumed) migrant BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER was near the spring as was a singing CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER (normally a breeder here but seemingly not this year since I haven't detected them consistently).

Day list (41 species recorded):
Golden Eagle, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Spotted Owl, Common Poorwill, Black-chinned, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Phainopepla, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Black-throated Gray & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Scott's Oriole and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Sunday, August 10, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
First of two days with Daryl Tessen from Appleton, WI. We left town at 3:00pm for a trip to the old Oro Blanco Mine site (near California Gulch) for Buff-collared Nightjar. It was 102 degrees when we left Sierra Vista, 104 degrees in Nogales and down to jacket weather at 96 degrees when we started down California Gulch Road.

We arrived at the old mine site just before 6:00pm and for the next hour or so we watched monsoon clouds build all around us. The lightning show soon began and we had several beautiful rainbows to look at. Light rain fell from time to time and the wind kicked up a little before sunset. We recorded about 20 species during this period including YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, VARIED BUNTING and HOODED ORIOLE.

Now it was crunch time and it looked for a while like the storm would hit before we had a chance for the bird. COMMON POORWILLS started calling at 7:25pm and I said to Daryl that the nightjar often calls 5 minutes after them. Amazingly, with conditions worsening, the BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR called three times at 7:30pm. The bird called from the hillside due west of the large cylindrical tank. The nightjar has originated from the ridge above this hillside on most of my night visits (in the early part of the season I saw it perched on the fence line in this location).

We bailed out before the storm hit and the only other bird recorded was a GREAT HORNED OWL on the Ruby Road.

Monday, August 11, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out again today with Daryl. We had originally planned to visit Madera Canyon for Flame-colored Tanager this morning. However, a report of a bird in Miller Canyon yesterday prompted us to go there instead -- oh joy, I just love slogging up the Miller trail.

We left town at 4:45am and started the trail at 5:12am just as the rain started. The temperature here was 64 degrees, quite a contrast from yesterday afternoon! Moderate rain fell consistently until we reached the area above the old mine shaft at 6:00am For the next two hours it was very cloudy and actually felt quite cool. Bird song and activity were at a premium with only PLUMBEOUS VIREO and SPOTTED TOWHEE singing. From 8:00-9:00am the clouds gradually dispersed and bird activity picked up. The sun finally broke through at 9:00am.

RED-FACED WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTARTS were now very active and we had some great looks at both species from close range. Also of note was my first CASSIN'S VIREO of the season. Mid August is the typical date to start seeing this species in the Huachucas (my earliest date is August 8).

I was listening intently for the tanager and twice reacted quickly to bursts of song both up and down canyon from me. Unfortunately, it was other birders playing a tape. Eventually (9:30am), I heard a FLAME-COLORED TANAGER calling about 1/4 mile above the mine shaft. The bird gave 3 quick calls from a trailside fir tree, moved up slope away from us into a maple, then went silent for several minutes. After a couple more calls the bird flew quickly up canyon and was not heard from again in the next fifteen minutes. I saw enough when the bird flew to determine that it was a male. Tanagers were generally in short supply and only a few calling HEPATIC TANAGERS and a silent male WESTERN TANAGER were noted.

We did not look for Spotted Owls and started back down the trail at 10:00am.

33 species recorded on the Miller Canyon trail (5:12-10:52am):
Cooper's Hawk, Common Poorwill, Blue-throated, Magnificent, Broad-tailed & Rufous Hummingbirds, Arizona & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's, Cassin's & Plumbeous Vireos, Hermit Thrush, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Canyon & House Wrens, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart, Spotted Towhee, Flame-colored, Hepatic & Western Tanagers and Black-headed Grosbeak.

Tuesday, August 12, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
First of two days with Nick Thold and Sally Spence from CT. We left town at 4:00am for a trip to French Joe Canyon that turned out to be frustrating and disappointing. A much warmer morning than yesterday and the temperature in town was up to 95 degrees when we returned at noon.

We arrived at the spring at 5:45am and by 5:50am I heard a RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER singing on the south slope some distance above the spring. We headed up the "trail" on the north side and positioned ourselves about midway between the spring and upper waterfall to gain a good vantage point. For the next half hour the bird sang every couple of minutes from essentially the same location. However, despite much scanning we never managed more than a brief flying view.

As we continued to look for the bird, the same group of birders that I encountered yesterday walked along the bottom of the canyon, at which time the bird stopped singing and evaporated. Apart from a few soft "ticks", I didn't hear any more vocalization for almost three hours. Timing is everything. It was a very warm morning and our chances of finding the bird became less with every minute (not to mention more uncomfortable). Between 9:00 and 9:30am a bird sang sporadically, again from the south slope but this time from below the spring in deep vegetation. We left around 10:15am without any further activity.

A change of pattern by the warblers was evident (at least on this day) -- the family group didn't seem to be together and the birds didn't go above the upper waterfall (at least, I spent some time up there and didn't detect them).

I didn't pay as much attention to other species today and recorded the following 34 species:
White-winged Dove, Spotted Owl, Common Poorwill, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Plumbeous Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Phainopepla, Crissal Thrasher, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Black-throated Gray, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak and Scott's Oriole.

Wednesday, August 13, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out again today with Nick and Sally. We left Sierra Vista at 1:00am to look for Buff-collared Nightjar and Five-striped Sparrow. Although it was a mostly cloudy night and a storm was visible in the distance as we headed west, we saw only a few sprinkles along the way.

We noted six COMMON POORWILLS along the Ruby Road and three more along California Gulch Road (almost all seen well). Water levels are down considerably in all locations that normally have flowing or standing water.

We arrived at the old Oro Blanco Mine site at 4:00am to find very calm conditions and a full moon that was barely visible under heavy cloud cover. Over the next 30 minutes the only birds calling were WESTERN SCREECH-OWL, GREAT HORNED OWL, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, BLUE GROSBEAK and CANYON TOWHEE. By 4:30am the clouds cleared and the moon illuminated the area extremely well. COMMON POORWILLS started to call and we first heard BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR at 4:40am. After some further calling starting at 4:45am, we tracked the bird and saw it flying before finally getting great views as it sat in the road for at least a minute. Very satisfying.

As daylight came, we moved into California Gulch where FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW was easy to see and hear at the first stream crossing. A bird was also singing about halfway down heartbreak hill where a perched and singing VARIED BUNTING was easy to see.

Back on the Ruby Road, a BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW sang just east of the entrance to Ruby (a bird that I don't often see/hear on this trip). Further east, a BAND-TAILED PIGEON was in the snags near the Sycamore Canyon bridge (a regular spot) and a small flock (~12) EASTERN BLUEBIRDS worked the area.

On the blacktop section of Ruby Road, we had to work a little before laying eyes on a singing BOTTERI'S SPARROW near mile 5. Also here were LARK, CASSIN'S and RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS.

Quality more than quantity today with 38 species recorded:
Am. Kestrel, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Western Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Common Poorwill, Buff-collared Nightjar, Acorn & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Vermilion & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Mexican Jay, Phainopepla, Eastern Bluebird,. N. Mockingbird, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, House Finch, Black-chinned, Lark, Black-throated, Five-striped, Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-winged & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Western Tanager, Blue Grosbeak and Varied Bunting.

Thursday, August 14, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Today was my first day off in almost three weeks. With the crazy hours that I've been working, it took some will power and discipline to force myself out of bed this morning for a visit to Willcox. I rarely get to go here when I'm working and I wanted to check what might be passing through as migration gets into full swing.

As I left Sierra Vista at 5:20am, I could see storm clouds to the east and my 6:20am arrival in Willcox coincided with the heavens opening -- I had to wait 45 minutes to start birding. After the rain stopped there wasn't much of a "pleasant window" before the heat-humidity-fly index made things uncomfortable. I was also hoping to do some digiscoping but the light was really too poor, even so I managed a couple of shots. All in all, perhaps I should have stayed in bed.

The best birds were singles of SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER and DICKCISSEL. Both are annual, albeit quite rare in southeast Arizona.

The population of FRANKLIN'S GULL has increased to two -- this bird plus a very ratty looking individual. Apart from AMERICAN AVOCET (of which well over 200 were present), BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was the most common shorebird. Among the other species from 50 seen were EARED GREBE, CINNAMON TEAL, GREATER & LESSER SCAUP. BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, SWAINSON'S HAWK, SCALED QUAIL, WHITE-FACED IBIS, many GREATER & LESSER YELLOWLEGS, a few LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 5-WILLETS, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, LEAST, WESTERN and SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, RING-BILLED GULL, LARK BUNTING and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

On the way home I stopped at Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David. The only bird of note was a MISSISSIPPI KITE that was perched in the trees at the Hermitage pond. The bird would regularly make sorties to forage for insects and return to a different perch.

Friday, August 15, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
First of three days with Kip Whitefield from Chicago, IL who I've birded with on two previous occasions. We left town at a more normal (and seasonally adjusted) time of 3:30am for a trip to California Gulch. On our return we stopped at Patagonia Roadside Rest area, continued east to St. David and finished up at Ash Canyon B&B. It was a very atypical day -- overcast, cool and occasionally wet.

The wet and windy conditions on the Ruby Road were obviously not to the liking of COMMON POORWILL and we found only one -- and we had to make two passes along the best stretch of the road to find it. Further east we flushed a COMMON NIGHTHAWK sitting in a roadside oak.

Walking into California Gulch from the south end I heard a BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER calling from midway up the west slope in the vicinity of the 4th stream crossing. I saw a bird in almost the same location a couple of times in August, 1999. We didn't look for the bird today because Kip and I saw the Patagonia Lake bird in January. FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS and VARIED BUNTINGS were singing in multiple locations and easy to find. Although we could see the birds well, the light could certainly have been better.

Among the other birds in the gulch today were migrant GRAY and PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS and several regulars including GRAY HAWK, NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET and THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD.

Our stop at the Roadside Rest area was quickly successful when we had excellent looks at male and female ROSE-THROATED BECARDS at 10:50am after only 20 minutes on site. The birds were calling in the sycamores along the creek at the north/east end of the trail. THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS were raucous as usual.

Mississippi Kite was a target bird for Kip and after yesterday's easy sighting at St. David I decided to head over there again. What do you know, not one but two adult birds in the hermitage trees today. One was observed to feed the other -- it seems late in the breeding cycle for mate feeding, but perhaps this species does this all the time. I managed a photo of this MISSISSIPPI KITE looking up into a tree from about 75 yards.

We ended our day at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast in the Huachucas where our run of success came to an end. Our 1:40pm arrival coincided with wind and rain (temperature around 60 degrees) and we didn't stay long. We saw 6 species of hummingbirds in the 15 minutes or so that we watched the feeders -- BROAD-BILLED, MAGNIFICENT, BLACK-CHINNED, ANNA'S, COSTA'S and RUFOUS.

Saturday, August 16, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Day 2 with Kip Whitefield was definitely a day when we had our mojo working. Several serendipitous sightings contributed to a successful day on which Kip picked up 10 new birds to add to 6 from yesterday. We started at Whitewater Draw in Sulphur Springs Valley, then spent some time in the Chiricahuas and finished up at Willcox. After a cloudy and cool start, it was a much warmer day than yesterday (although still quite reasonable at 90 degrees in Willcox at 1:00pm).

We didn't get off to a particularly good start when a short stop at Whitewater Draw from (6:40-7:05am) didn't produce any of four possible target birds. Although conditions are better for waterfowl than for shorebirds, the area deserves better coverage than it gets. Shorebird species present today were LONG-BILLED CURLEW, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, BLACK-NECKED STILT & AMERICAN AVOCET. Also present was a male NORTHERN HARRIER (my first of season), LAZULI BUNTINGS in the weedy stuff and a flock of LARK BUNTINGS.

Driving north through the Sulphur Springs Valley we saw lots of SWAINSON'S HAWKS, BENDIRE'S THRASHER on Lee Road, and a couple of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES on Central Highway.

As we approached the mountains, I mentioned to Kip that the stretch of highway 181 from the 186 intersection to Pinery Canyon Road was a good spot for Prairie Falcon. They nest on nearby cliffs and use this area for hunting. Serendipity struck for the first time as we drove down the aforementioned stretch and selected a spot to recycle the coffee. While we were otherwise engaged, a PRAIRIE FALCON streaked past us heading north towards the trees. Fortunately, I saw where it landed and we were able to get the scope on the bird (soon joined by another).

We continued on and drove slowly up the Pinery Canyon Road listening for activity. After a couple of birdy and interesting stops, serendipity struck for the second time when we happened across a pair of MONTEZUMA QUAIL. The female crossed the road to join the male and we watched them both walk slowly up slope, foraging as they went. Excellent looks at this hard-to-target bird. I claim zero credit!

Continuing up canyon we soon found our target MEXICAN CHICKADEE. As we watched them, I heard a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL calling from across the canyon. Sometimes the NPO toots used to attract chickadees also attract an owl, however, in this case we heard the chickadees and stopped -- the owl was calling spontaneously. Lucky strike #3.

The fourth serendipitous moment of the day came a few hundred yards below the Barfoot/Rustler split when a NORTHERN GOSHAWK glided gracefully overhead. In Rustler Park we picked up two more targets as soon as we stepped out of the car -- PYGMY NUTHATCH and HERMIT WARBLER foraging close together. A colorful adult male OLIVE WARBLER was nearby. Hermit Warblers turned out to be very common.

We didn't have any further targets in the mountains so we headed over to Willcox. After an excellent lunch at Salsa Fiesta (I've eaten here several times and can highly recommend it), we birded the main pond. We found three target birds immediately -- WHITE-FACED IBIS (5), FRANKLIN'S GULL (2) and BLACK TERN (3); then spent almost an hour unsuccessfully trying to turn one of the hundreds of WILSON'S PHALAROPES into a Red-necked. Nevertheless, a good way to end a very good day. However, bear in mind that for every day like this, there are shitty days when I can't even find a Mexican Jay.

Most of the Willcox "regulars" that I saw on Thursday were present. The Black Terns were new as were 6 STILT SANDPIPERS.

Day list (83 species recorded):
Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Great Blue & Green Herons, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, N. Goshawk, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Montezuma Quail, Am. Coot, Long-billed Curlew, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Long-billed Dowitcher, Spotted, Western, Least, Baird's & Stilt Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed & Franklin's Gulls, Black Tern, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Rock, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Bendire's Thrasher, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Bewick's & House Wrens, Bushtit, Tree & Barn Swallows, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Olive, Black-throated Gray & Hermit Warblers, Painted Redstart, Lark Bunting, Yellow-eyed Junco, Lark Sparrow, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic Tanager, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, August 17, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Third and final day with Kip Whitefield was relatively short as Kip had an early afternoon flight. We began early in the Huachucas with a rare morning owling session (I much prefer evenings) then traveled north to Aravaipa Canyon. Another warm day, up to 101 degrees when we finished in Tucson at 1:00pm.

[Note: Yesterday, in late afternoon, Kip spent some time at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast where he saw LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD several times and PLAIN-CAPPED STARTHROAT at 6:00pm.]

Despite good conditions early this morning (calm, some moonlight), owls were at a premium. We located several WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS and one each ELF OWL and WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL. A single COMMON POORWILL called almost continuously for an hour, perhaps saying "what am I, chopped liver?".

Passing through Tucson we stopped long enough to pick up BURROWING OWL.

Driving north on highway 77 we saw HARRIS'S HAWK and GRAY HAWK at mile markers 88 and 121 respectively.

We spent from 8:20-10:40am in a very warm Aravaipa Canyon without locating Black-Hawk. PURPLE MARTINS were common.

Success with COMMON BLACK-HAWK came on highway 77 north of Winkleman. Although the temperature here was 97 degrees, the bird was sitting completely in the open along the Gila River at mile 141. A few weeks ago I saw a couple at mile 145.

Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
An eventful morning for all the wrong reasons. I left home at 3:30am and drove to Nogales to meet with Robert and Joyce Leppard from Plainwell, MI for what should have been the first of two days birding. Along the way I was delayed when Border Patrol guys stopped me, a fairly regular occurrence. Then, as I pulled into the motel parking lot, my brakes failed and I was forced to postpone -- California Gulch is not the place to go without brakes! Fortunately, I at least made it to the motel so my clients knew what was going on. While the brakes were being fixed I spent time up on my roof fixing a cooler. What jolly fun.

It was a warm and muggy day in Sierra Vista. The kind of day that you want to watch soccer on Fox Sports World as you sip a cool drink. However, I got the urge to go out in mid afternoon. My name's Healy. I'm a birder. Cue the Dragnet music.

Sierra Vista EOP wasn't exactly hopping with birds in the heat of the day but an hour there produced a reasonable selection given the conditions. Many YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were easy too see and are always worth the price of admission. WESTERN KINGBIRDS were very common, I counted at least 200. Best birds were a couple of SWAINSON'S HAWKS, one female LAZULI BUNTING (fairly common here in August), one female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (scarce here throughout the summer) and a small flock of LARK BUNTINGS.

I recorded 21 species from 2:00-3:00pm. Joe Friday was right, I should have stayed at home.
Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's Hawk, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, N. Mockingbird, Tree & Barn Swallows, Lark Bunting, Song Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Wednesday, August 20, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
First of two days with Leonard and Nancy Powlick from Columbus, OH. We spent the morning in French Joe Canyon, took the afternoon off then went owling in the evening.

Although I left home shortly after 4:00am, circumstances conspired against us and we left town a little late. We saw one COMMON POORWILL on the drive in and arrived at the spring at 6:22am, some 30 minutes later than recent visits. A single RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER sang from the north slope just up canyon from the spring at 6:45am. The bird was well up slope in an area of dense shin-dagger and large, sharp rocks, essentially inaccessible to sane people. That lets me out so I proceeded up there leaving Len and Nancy in a safer position. All that we got for our trouble were a couple of brief looks as the bird flitted around.

Shortly before 8:00am, two RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS sang vigorously in the canyon bottom about 30 yards above the spring. They moved quickly into the south drainage opposite the spring and continued to sing until around 8:15am. During this period I saw one bird very well as it perched on an Agave. Unfortunately, Len and Nancy had their view blocked. About 20 minutes later both birds came very close to us near the spring, singing loudly, and it seemed impossible for us not to see them -- but we didn't. The warblers fell silent until 9:20am when they again sang from a hidden location about 30 yards up the south drainage. We left the area at 9:30am.

There was considerably more migrant warbler activity in the canyon today. NASHVILLE were very numerous and we also saw a few ORANGE-CROWNED and one each HERMIT and WILSON'S WARBLERS. Other migrants included WARBLING VIREO and several small groups of female/immature male WESTERN TANAGERS. We noted five species of hummingbirds with RUFOUS (RUFOUS/ALLEN'S) being most numerous. They were very common buzzing around the spring where we also saw a male COSTA'S. Resident BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS continue to perch up and sing, affording decent looks.

39 species recorded in French Joe Canyon:
White-winged Dove, Common Poorwill, Broad-billed, Black-chinned, Anna's, Costa's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Cactus, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Hermit, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak & Scott's Oriole.

Contrary to my expectations, our evening owling expedition in the Huachucas was a complete success and we saw both target birds in short order. WESTERN SCREECH-OWL was calling spontaneously when we arrived on site and it took only a couple of minutes to see the bird well. Although we had to work a little for the more common WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL, we eventually had good looks at a couple of them

Thursday, August 21, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out again today with Len and Nancy. We visited Patagonia Lake State Park for Black-capped Gnatcatcher and Scheelite Canyon for Spotted Owl.

A break from the O:dark 30 starts with a relatively late (5:00am) departure from Sierra Vista this morning. We arrived at Patagonia Lake State Park shortly before 6:00am while it was still fairly cool under partly cloudy skies. Several flavors of sparrows certainly found the conditions to their liking -- BLACK-THROATED, BOTTERI'S, CASSIN'S, RUFOUS-WINGED and RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS were all singing in various locations along the entrance road.

On several recent visits I've found the gnatcatcher(s) near the site of their first (successful) nest and I made a bee line for that area this morning. Instant gratification (almost) came as we arrived there at 6:40am and immediately heard what turned out to be a female BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER calling from the mesquite at the base of the hillside. The bird called a couple of times as it foraged then, unfortunately for us, flew quickly towards Nutting's Wash. I wasn't able to relocate it again over the next two hours. Half a loaf is better than none.

I was surprised by the number of GRAY FLYCATCHERS present so early in the season -- I recorded at least 6 of them. Highlight was a low flying OSPREY carrying a fish that was one third its body length.

We didn't specifically look for other species or scope the lake but still managed to record the following 50 species at the State Park from 6:00-9:00am.
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Gray Hawk, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Broad-billed & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black Phoebe, Gray, Vermilion & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Phainopepla, Curve-billed Thrasher, Rock & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Barn Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy's & Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Black-throated, Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-winged & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Summer Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

It was a little warmer and quite humid when we reached Scheelite Canyon shortly before 11:00am (rain finally started in late afternoon). I was hoping that we wouldn't have to walk very far up the canyon and that's the way that it turned out -- in spades. It's very rare to find a SPOTTED OWL low down in the canyon during the summer months so today's bird in the "3/16 mile Oak Cluster" was a pleasant surprise (this is a regular roost tree in winter). Another surprise was the fact that this bird is not one of the pair that "own" the canyon. Although perhaps not apparent from the photo that I chose to publish, the bird seems much younger and may be one of the offspring from last year. It may also have a damaged left wing.

A bonus bird seen a little before we reached the owl was an immature female ELEGANT TROGON in the wash around the 1/8 mile mark. The bird gave its alarm call otherwise we wouldn't have detected it. Even when we knew it was there we still had to wait for the bird to move before getting on it, after which it was kind enough to pose for a couple of minutes. Also present were CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER and a few NASHVILLE WARBLERS.

Saturday, August 23, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out today with Robert and Joyce Leppard from Plainwell, MI for a day of routine birding in the Huachucas. We visited Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons. After a clear and sunny start to the day, monsoon clouds built as the morning progressed and some light rain began to fall as we finished up in the early afternoon.

We traveled through the lower Garden Canyon grassland fairly quickly in order to make sure of a decent shot at a trogon. Apart from alarm calls, they don't vocalize much at this time of year and early morning is by far the best time. Grassland birds included numerous singing BLUE GROSBEAKS, a wire full of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS gathering for departure (most are gone from the canyon by mid September) and a few singing BOTTERI'S SPARROWS.

Our strategy soon paid off when we heard an ELEGANT TROGON calling a little below the upper picnic area. We quickly tracked the bird down and were rewarded with some good looks as the bird posed for us. Our good fortune continued when we happened upon a mixed flock of warblers -- most were NASHVILLE and BLACK-THROATED GRAY with singles of ORANGE-CROWNED, VIRGINIAS & WILSON'S; a brief look at TOWNSEND'S and several PAINTED REDSTARTS (including an immature "Blackstart"). Also in the area were ARIZONA WOODPECKER, SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO and HEPATIC & WESTERN TANAGERS.

Sawmill Canyon was generally quiet apart from one mixed flock that we again had the good fortune to find. This was a more general flock containing BRIDLED TITMOUSE, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, HUTTON'S, CASSIN'S and PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, OLIVE, GRACE'S, NASHVILLE & BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART. Also in the canyon were a singing GREATER ROADRUNNER, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, a male ELEGANT TROGON, several BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS (mostly silent), BROWN CREEPER and a singing YELLOW-EYED JUNCO that we hard to work hard to see.

It was a little warm and muggy walking up Scheelite Canyon and I was hoping that I would find an owl low in the canyon again. That didn't happen but we did get the next best thing. A little after the 0.5 mile mark I raised my glasses to look at a location in the lowest reliable roosting tree at this time of year and, bingo, there sat this rather sleepy and indifferent SPOTTED OWL. We didn't see much else in the canyon save for NASHVILLE WARBLER (seemingly everywhere at the moment) and a couple of juvenile RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS.

We finished up back in the grassland in the heat of the day looking in vain for Cassin's Sparrow (they were singing at the corner of Fry Blvd. and the fort entrance as we drove in this morning!). Nevertheless, a good outing.

60 species recorded in Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons:
Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Spotted Owl, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's, Cassin's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Cactus, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Virginia's, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Grace's & Wilson's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Lark, Botteri's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Bullock's Oriole and Eastern Meadowlark.

Sunday, August 24, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
First of two days with Lisann Boehm and her mom Bev Campbell from Mt. Gilead, OH. We duplicated some of yesterdays birding with visits to Garden and Sawmill Canyons. Both locations were very quiet and the birding was quite poor. The mixed flocks that helped the cause yesterday were completely absent today.

Learning from yesterday's mistake, I made sure of CASSIN'S SPARROW by picking up the bird singing near the guard station at the entrance to Fort Huachuca. BOTTERI'S SPARROWS were singing in lower Garden Canyon grassland and we saw one perched up individual.

A male ELEGANT TROGON below the upper picnic area in Garden Canyon was the best bird of the morning but we certainly had to work much harder than yesterday to see it. Knowing that trogons are master ventriloquists (they are usually closer and lower than they sound) is often not much of an advantage and it can sometimes be incredibly difficult to pinpoint the location of an apparently obvious bird. Such was the case this morning and the bird fooled us several times. Eventually, however, we won by attrition and saw the bird quite well.

Very little else of note around the picnic area this morning -- ARIZONA WOODPECKER, an unusually quiet SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, lots of NASHVILLE WARBLERS, WILSON'S WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART and an HEPATIC TANAGER that evaporated without us ever getting a glimpse.

Sawmill Canyon was like a graveyard and we managed only a dozen species in a couple of hours. Fortunately, BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER was among them. Yet again, however, we had to work far too hard to see one. Other species included GRACE'S, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & NASHVILLE WARBLERS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO feeding a youngster.

A tough day at the office.

Monday, August 25, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out again today with Lis and Bev. We birded in the Patagonia area visiting Patagonia Lake State Park, the Roadside Rest Area and Paton's Yard. The day began quite pleasant if a little on the humid side. Monsoon clouds built quickly today and the rain began in early afternoon in Sierra Vista.

The trail at Patagonia Lake was quite soggy this morning after considerable overnight rain in the area. I picked up more than my fair share of chiggers -- be prepared! Since we didn't have any specific target birds in mind, it was perhaps inevitable that we would find BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER. We had great looks at the male about 40 yards down the trail east of the first nest site. The bird still has a full black cap and looks very dapper.

The area didn't seem particularly birdy and migrants were sadly lacking. However, having said that we did record a decent 55 species from 6:30-10:00am. Perhaps the least common bird was a lone AMERICAN AVOCET, only the second time that I have recorded one here in 285 visits over the past 9+ years (previously on April 26, 2002). A group of three REDHEADS were almost 6 weeks earlier than I've recorded them here in previous years. We saw VARIED BUNTING in three locations within the park but each time poor light prevented that "killer" look. All other species noted were pretty much standard fare.

A few minutes at the Roadside Rest didn't produce a Becard, just regular stuff such as WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD and CANYON WREN.

THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD was also in the Paton's Yard where VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD was only a very sporadic visitor. I spoke with Marion Paton -- she's walking around and seems much better, although she isn't venturing into the yard yet

Day list (74 species recorded at Patagonia Lake, Roadside Rest and Paton's)
Neotropic Cormorant, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Redhead, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Gray & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Coot, Am. Avocet, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned, Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Thick-billed Kingbirds, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Barn Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Black-throated, Botteri's, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli & Varied Buntings, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tuesday, August 26, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
This morning I briefly checked on migration happenings at Whitewater Draw where viewing conditions continue to improve. Some time ago, the dike that links the main north and west dikes was repaired making it possible to walk a loop between the two main dikes. Viewing platforms are now being added with one on the west dike already completed. Unfortunately, the platform has been constructed at the level of the dike. Since concrete pillars were built in the water to support the platform, how much more expensive would it have been to make them a little higher? An elevated platform of just a few feet would have made all the difference in the world. Another Sierra Vista EOP debacle in the making?

There's plenty of water in the various ponds but not much shorebird habitat. In addition, most of the birds were quite some distance away. WHITE-FACED IBIS and AMERICAN AVOCETS were very numerous and I found a few LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SPOTTED & LEAST SANDPIPERS and WILSON'S PHALAROPES. Apart from MALLARD, the only waterfowl that I noted were a lone NORTHERN PINTAIL, small flocks of CINNAMON & GREEN-WINGED TEAL and a calling SORA.

In terms of landbirds, LARK SPARROWS were common, LARK BUNTINGS a little less so. Other species present included SWAINSON'S HAWK, SCALED QUAIL, lots of TREE and a few BANK SWALLOWS, WILSON'S WARBLER, my first BREWER'S SPARROWS of the season, LAZULI BUNTING and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

On the way home I stopped at Sierra Vista EOP. The one pond with good conditions that is barely visible yielded GREATER YELLOWLEGS, WHITE-FACED IBIS and WILSON'S PHALAROPE. I wonder what else I might have found if I was able to get access.

Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out today with Doreen Linzell, Gretchen Fluke and Marjorie from OH. It was a day ruined by rain from a slow moving storm system, not the regularly occurring monsoon rain that is usually short lived. We had a successful morning visit to Patagonia Lake and an abandoned afternoon visit to California Gulch.

We spent from 6:00-8:00am at Patagonia Lake State Park where it rained the entire time. Even though I've seen nothing resembling nesting activity, I went against my better judgment by spending time looking for a recently reported third nest built by the gnatcatchers. I may be dumb but I was unable to find anything resembling a nest from the directions that I had. Not much fun in the rain. In the end I decided to go to the location where I've been seeing the birds recently. It was difficult listening in the rain but around 7:30am I heard the faintest call of a BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER fairly well up the hillside behind the first nest site. We were able to track the bird down (it was the male) and had great looks as it foraged on the ground and in the base of mesquites.

In mid afternoon we traveled to California Gulch to look for Five-striped Sparrow and Buff-collared Nightjar. Conditions worsened the further west and south that we went and by the time that we reached the "parking area" at the top of the gulch we were in the middle of a serious thunderstorm and it was raining very heavily. Perhaps we should have turned around when we saw SPOTTED SANDPIPER in the middle of the gulch road as we drove in! We didn't stay long and drove directly home. The creeks along the gulch road were running strongly and the deepest puddle was extensive and about 18 inches deep -- we made it out without incident. Driving back to Nogales along the Ruby Road we saw some spectacular waterfalls.

Friday, August 29, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
Out today with Debbie, Mark, Teale, Billy & Sue all from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. We spent the entire time in the Fort Huachuca canyons where the birding was generally slow and rain was again a factor.

We began in lower Garden Canyon grassland where BOTTERI'S and CASSIN'S SPARROWS were both singing. With a little effort we managed scope looks at both species.

A (completely tailless) male ELEGANT TROGON posed cooperatively near the upper picnic area. Other species here included several chasing and raucous SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, NASHVILLE WARBLER, PAINTED REDSTART, lots of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and a few WESTERN TANAGERS.

Other than a mixed flock containing OLIVE, HERMIT and GRACE'S & WILSON'S WARBLERS, Sawmill Canyon had very few birds.

Monsoon clouds built early today and skies were threatening as we headed up Scheelite Canyon. I barely had time to check the lower roosting area (without success) before the rain began. Although it was disappointing not to be able to head further up canyon to continue looking for the owl, common sense dictated that we get out of the canyon. We did just that but not without getting soaked. Only a couple of ARIZONA WOODPECKERS and WARBLING VIREO were of note. Warbling Vireos are scarce in this canyon and I have only recorded them 5 times in 4 different years.

50 species recorded in Garden, Sawmill & Scheelite Canyons:
Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Elegant Trogon, Acorn, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, Western Wood-Pewee, Say's Phoebe, Buff-breasted & Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Hutton's, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Olive, Nashville, Black-throated Gray, Hermit, Grace's & Wilson's Warblers, Painted Redstart, Chipping, Botteri's, Cassin's & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks and Eastern Meadowlark.

Sunday, August 31, 2003 Previous Day Next Day
In keeping with my usual practice of not doing much birding on a major holiday, I haven't scheduled any work until after labor day. However, the last day of the month is a good day to create new records so I ventured out to Sierra Vista EOP this morning.

I was hoping to get an early record for Marsh Wren. Although they normally don't show up in numbers until the last week in September, I have several records in each of the first three weeks of September (see bar graph), the earliest of which is September 2. I wasn't able to improve on that today despite a couple of hours listening and looking in the marsh.

It was already fairly warm when I started at 8:00am and I struggled to come up with 30 species The best bird was a female NORTHERN HARRIER -- the first time that I've seen one here in August. My previous first fall record at SVEOP was September 5 (earliest SE AZ record August 1). Among the other migrants and/or wintering species noted were 26 WHITE-FACED IBIS, 15 LEAST SANDPIPERS, a lone WILSON'S PHALAROPE, 20+ LARK BUNTINGS, a handful of BREWER'S SPARROWS and 3 LAZULI BUNTINGS.

I saw a couple of birds on the wing that, unfortunately, I wasn't able to count even though I'm 99.9% sure they were ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE. Both would have been new species for me at this location so 99.9% just wasn't good enough.

30 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP from 8:00-10:00am.
Mallard, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Swainson's Hawk, Least Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Verdin, Barn Swallow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Song, Brewer's & Lark Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting and Yellow-headed &
Red-winged Blackbirds.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

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10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Sunday, August 31, 2003.

Species List

Stuart Healy
Journal - August, 2003
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