Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - September, 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 Tuesday, September 30, 2003.

Tuesday, September 2, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
First of three days with Bev Agler and Liz Blecker from Juneau, AK. We left Sierra Vista at 4:00am for a trip to California Gulch. Water levels are down considerably in all locations where there is normally standing water. However, the puddle at the south end of the gulch was almost up to the top of my wellies. It was a fairly warm morning that became a little uncomfortable by the time that we left the gulch shortly before 10:00am. 

The later start produced a couple of COMMON POORWILLS on the blacktop section of Ruby Road only a few miles from I-19. BAND-TAILED PIGEONS and EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were near the Sycamore Canyon turn (both are regular here).

California Gulch was very birdy this morning and we turned up 40+ species. FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWS and VARIED BUNTINGS are still singing strongly and we had scope looks at both species. We found Five-stripes near the south end puddle -- I was wading through and Bev and Liz had eye level looks as they climbed the ridge to avoid the water.

Other species included a ratty looking ZONE-TAILED HAWK, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, several calling N. BEARDLESS-TYRANNULETS (including a very fresh and yellow plumaged individual), a couple of THICK-BILLED KINGBIRDS and several warblers -- ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, LUCY'S, MACGILLIVRAY'S & WILSON'S, several calling YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, lots of singing BLUE GROSBEAKS and an uncommon-in-the-gulch BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (four records total).

Returning on the Ruby Road we picked up DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE near Sycamore Canyon.

Palo Duro Golf Course pond in Nogales yielded several adult and young BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS and a couple of calling SORAS.

A stop at the now devastated Kino Springs produced a GRAY HAWK at the first pond.

Day list (69 species recorded):
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Black & Turkey Vultures, Gray, Zone-tailed & Red-tailed Hawks. Am. Kestrel, Sora, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Dove, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Poorwill, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's, Thick-billed & Western Kingbirds, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, Phainopepla, Eastern Bluebird, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Rock, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Barn Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Lucy's, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Chipping, Black-throated, Five-striped & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Hepatic, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Varied Bunting, Bullock's & Scott's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Wednesday, September 3, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Out again today with Bev and Liz. We spent all our time in the Huachucas on what turned out to be largely successful day. It was also a warm day as the monsoons dwindle and September becomes a second June.

A little time and effort in Garden Canyon grassland produced singing BOTTERI'S and CASSIN'S SPARROWS and we had scope looks at both of them from fairly close range. It won't be too long before these species stop singing and become virtually impossible to locate. CHIPPING SPARROWS have increased in numbers and a few BREWER'S SPARROWS have now arrived.

A couple of hours spent in Sawmill Canyon were very productive as evidenced by a total of 30 species recorded, far more than on recent visits. We had three targets here -- Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Olive and Grace's Warblers. Even though they normally stay through September, I failed to find a flycatcher.  

We managed to find a large mixed flock that contained 9 warbler species -- OLIVE, ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, YELLOW-RUMPED, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, TOWNSEND'S, HERMIT & GRACE'S WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART. Olive was the most difficult to find -- an immature bird stayed out of sight for 45 minutes as we followed its "phew" calls. Finally, the bird stopped to wrestle with a caterpillar that was too big for it to handle and we watched as it took almost 5 minutes to figure out how to eat it. Hermit was the most common warbler. The Yellow-rumps have just arrived, about two weeks later than my earliest sighting in Sawmill. Also in the canyon were ARIZONA WOODPECKER, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, four species of vireos -- HUTTON'S, PLUMBEOUS, CASSIN'S and WARBLING, HEPATIC TANAGER and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO.

Judging by the sighting log in Scheelite, everybody and his brother saw Spotted Owl over the holiday period and the bird(s) must have been in an obvious location in the lower roosting area. No such luck for me today! After a thorough search of the lower area, we slogged on up the trail and about 1 mile into the canyon I found this wide awake and alert hatch year SPOTTED OWL (just a tuft of downy fluff left!). You can't tell from this photo but the bird was extremely difficult to detect even though it was close to the trail. This photo shows how the bird looked one month ago on August 7.

The canyon was reasonably birdy (28 species) with many of the same warblers as Sawmill. We had great looks at  ARIZONA WOODPECKER and CANYON WREN from close range. Also present were all three regular jays including STELLER'S JAY low in the canyon, DUSKY-CAPPED and CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS and a pristine CASSIN'S VIREO. Apart from the owl, the highlight was a male ELEGANT TROGON in the bedrock area above 5/8 mile.

Before going owling we stopped by at Sierra Vista EOP where many LESSER NIGHTHAWKS were active at sunset.

Back in the mountains we had excellent success with the small owls even though September isn't a particularly good time of year to see them. We didn't pursue a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL that called about 30 minutes after sunset. We focused instead on a couple of targets -- WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL (male and female seen well without much difficulty)  and then ELF OWL that we eventually saw perched after about 15 minutes of tracking the bird and several flying views. A good end to a good day.

Thursday, September 4, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Third and last day with Bev and Liz was our least successful. We visited French Joe Canyon where the Rufous-capped Warblers played extremely hard to get.

We heard two RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS singing on the south slope up canyon from the spring when we arrived at 6:25am. They continued in this location until 7:30am, singing regularly while remaining hidden. We were positioned on the "trail" across canyon at eye level to the warblers but all we managed was a two second flight view. The birds then moved into the south drainage (opposite the spring) and finally onto the south slope just down canyon from the spring where they remained until 10:45am when we left. We walked up the south drainage and into the dense and thorny foliage where, at times, we were just a few feet from the birds but couldn't see them (I managed two brief views). They continued to sing (sometimes strongly for several minutes) at sporadic intervals until 10:30am. A very frustrating experience!

Although the canyon was quite birdy during the early part of the morning, activity soon dropped off as the heat of the day kicked in. Regulars included COMMON POORWILL, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, CRISSAL THRASHER (seen, I normally only hear them), ROCK WREN, a couple of singing BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS, HEPATIC TANAGER and SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Among the migrants were a singing OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, a female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, and the typical passage warblers including many ORANGE-CROWNED that outnumbered NASHVILLE for a change. I've never recorded HOUSE WREN in the canyon during June, July or August and they showed up right on time today for their winter sojourn.

42 species recorded in French Joe Canyon:
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, White-winged Dove, Common Poorwill, Calliope Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Western Scrub-Jay, Mexican Jay, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Phainopepla, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed & Crissal Thrashers, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's & House Wrens, Bushtit, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, MacGillivray's, Wilson's & Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-chinned, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Hepatic & Western Tanagers, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks and Scott's Oriole.

Friday, September 5, 2005    Previous Day    Next Day
I enjoyed a day off today and didn't venture out until late afternoon. After the clouds built up and the day cooled off, I made a one hour visit to Sierra Vista EOP. It became quite windy around 4:00pm and I could see rain to the north. Perhaps this is the monsoon season's final fling.

I saw very little in the marsh but the pond south of the observation platform (not visible unless you find a means to elevate yourself) had a fair number of migrants/wintering species. NORTHERN SHOVELERS & WILSON'S PHALAROPES were common and I saw one GREATER YELLOWLEGS, one WESTERN and several LEAST SANDPIPERS. Less common species at SVEOP were three BLACK-NECKED STILTS and a female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

28 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP:
Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Sora, Am. Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, Western & Least Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Tree, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Sunday, September 7, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Today I checked the ponds at Willcox where the early morning birding was very productive. I found a few season firsts, a couple of new location species and a few less common species.

Perhaps the best bird was this juvenile BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, first sighted here a few days ago. Although they are annual in southeast Arizona, they are definitely quite scarce --  I have six records from five of the last ten years ranging from August 8 to October 17. It's interesting to note that the bird shows much more buff color than is depicted in most field guides (and, if anything, the bird appeared buffier in life than the photo). This could lead inexperienced birders astray. I checked Hayman/Marchant/Prater (Shorebird Identification Guide), Kaufman, Paulson (Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest), Peterson, Sibley and National Geographic -- only Nat. Geo. shows this plumage. Also, the photo on page 142 of the Western Stokes looks like the Willcox bird.

The next best bird for me was a WESTERN MEADOWLARK that represented my earliest fall SE AZ record (previous was September 23, 2002, also at Willcox). The ABA and Tucson Audubon birdfinding guides show Western Meadowlark as possible all year, however, apart from an oddball August record near San Xavier Mission in 1998, I have zero "summer" sightings in the past 10 years.

Other fall season firsts were MARSH WREN and VESPER SPARROW. I also found two species that I have never seen at Willcox ponds before -- INCA DOVE and WILLOW FLYCATCHER. A lone WILLET was my first September record at the ponds. Among the species less commonly seen at this location were 2 GREATER SCAUP, PEREGRINE FALCON, BELTED KINGFISHER and BLUE GROSBEAK. 

Migrant warblers were quite numerous in the trees at the Golf Course Pond with ORANGE-CROWNED being most common. Also here were BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, at least three calling SORAS and a number of BANK SWALLOWS.

The big pond is still loaded with shorebirds with three STILT SANDPIPERS being the pick of the bunch. The Franklin's Gulls seem to have moved on and I detected just one RING-BILLED GULL. Most of my time was spent unsuccessfully checking the many WILSON'S PHALAROPES for a Red-necked. Ironically, this was the main reason for my visit today! Nevertheless, a very worthwhile trip.

65 species recorded at Willcox Ponds from 6:20-8:40am
Eared Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Peregrine Falcon, Sora, Am. Coot, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Spotted, Western, Least, Baird's & Stilt Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning & Inca Doves, Belted Kingfisher, Willow Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus & Marsh Wrens, Verdin, Tree, Bank & Barn Swallows, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Song, Brewer's, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, September 8, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I checked the San Pedro River (highway 90 area) where the birding was generally slow. Migrant warblers (one) and flycatchers (zero) were in disappointingly short supply. 

BLUE GROSBEAKS were extremely common in the profuse weedy areas and LAZULI BUNTINGS were not far behind. It's reassuring to note that this is borne out throughout September in my bar-graph. I also saw male and female INDIGO BUNTINGS for only the third time on the river..

Summer resident species still present included a couple of GRAY HAWKS, a TROPICAL KINGBIRD at the big pond, a few singing YELLOW WARBLERS (they leave abruptly by mid month), and plenty of YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, SUMMER TANAGERS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLES (oriole numbers probably bolstered by migrants).

Among the migrants and/or returning wintering species were HOUSE WREN and LINCOLN'S SPARROW (both tying my early date for the river set in 1994); and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE (I have plenty of records during the first week of September, my earliest record on the river is September 1).

The following should act as a caution when identifying young Brewer's/Clay-colored Sparrows. I watched a lone bird for some time and was almost convinced that it was a Clay-colored until I heard it sporadically break into the typical BREWER'S SPARROW twittering song. Characteristics that made be think it was Clay-colored were a well defined face pattern, well defined central crown stripe and a strong buffy/brownish wash on the flanks.
 
42 species recorded on San Pedro River from 6:15-8:15am:
Mallard, Gray Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Vermilion Flycatcher, Tropical & Cassin's Kingbirds, Bell's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's & House Wrens, Barn Swallow, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Lincoln's, Chipping, Brewer's & Botteri's Sparrows, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli & Indigo Buntings, Bullock's Oriole and Red-winged Blackbird.

Tuesday, September 9, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Out today with John and Lois Day from Columbus, OH. We visited Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons on an unusually cool and cloudy morning in the Huachucas.

We headed directly to Sawmill Canyon to look for Buff-breasted Flycatcher. Unfortunately, a thorough search focused near the cabin and 0.25 miles above and below the cabin failed to turn up a single bird. This was also the case when I last searched a few days ago on September 3. Based on data that I've collected over the past 10 years, I have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that they have already left. However, it sure seems that way. The graphic below summarizes my data which can also be seen in the Sawmill bar-graph. I have one October record (October 7, 1999).

We didn't pay much attention to other species in the canyon -- 20 species recorded including ARIZONA WOODPECKER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, my season first HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and a few HEPATIC TANAGERS. 

We moved on to Scheelite Canyon where I'm happy to say we were successful with SPOTTED OWL. I left John and Lois around the 3/8 mile mark and continued on to look for an owl. They decided that if a bird wasn't in the lower roosting area they didn't want to continue any further. Fortunately, I found a bird right over the trail in the very last tree possible in the lower roosting area (about 5/8 mile + 50 yards), a tree in which I haven't seen an owl since July 1999. In fact, STELLER'S JAYS led me straight to the bird which wasn't very photographable today. Here's a context shot just for the hell of it. The inset shot was taken from underneath the bird and shows how concerned it was by our presence. The round trip took 3.5 hours and I know that John & Lois were pooped when we exited the canyon -- after scurrying back and forth twice, so was I! 

I recorded 23 species in the canyon including COOPER'S HAWK (scarce in Scheelite), ARIZONA WOODPECKER, several HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS (when they arrive they arrive!), a calling CRISSAL THRASHER (also scarce in Scheelite), NASHVILLE, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & WILSON'S WARBLERS, HEPATIC and WESTERN TANAGERS and a singing SCOTT'S ORIOLE.

Friday, September 12, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
I paid $1.80/gallon for gas this morning which made the journey to Willcox hurt a little. However, I still haven't found a way to gather data without getting out into the field. I just wish that a visit to Willcox didn't require a drive of 150 miles round trip. 

There seems to have been a mass exodus of birds since my previous visit last Sunday. The numbers of individuals of most species on the big pond have dropped significantly. Apparently, this happened last night since I was told that lots of birds were present late yesterday. I again made an attempt to get there early and managed to find 60 species in 3 hours. Not as productive as Sunday when 2hrs 20 minutes produced 65 species. 

I spent the first hour working around the Golf Course Pond where many ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS continue along with YELLOW, WILSON'S and MACGILLIVRAY'S. Others from 30 seen included a couple of BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS (usually gone from this location by the end of September), several SORAS, many SCALED & GAMBEL'S QUAIL, MARSH WREN, VESPER & BREWER'S SPARROWS (both up in numbers) and lots of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. 

On the big pond, the most noticeable drop was in the numbers of WILSON'S PHALAROPES, barely in double figures today. I couldn't help but smile at the irony when I saw 8 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES -- I couldn't buy one on Sunday when there were tons of Wilson's. Both species are normally present here through the first week in October. AMERICAN AVOCET numbers are also down while 60 WHITE-FACED IBIS represented a significant increase. 

Singletons of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and WILLET both continue. I didn't see any Semipalmated Sandpipers (usually present at this time), although another birder present had mistaken an immature KILLDEER for a plover. I wonder how often this happens? Me? I just mistake weird Ruddies for Masked Ducks! I didn't see any Stilt or Spotted Sandpipers or any gulls. Other "regular" shorebirds were present in reduced numbers. One female GREATER SCAUP continues (I saw two on Sunday). 

A somewhat comical LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER clinging to a small wooden pole at the cattle guard entrance was only my fourth record here (in three of the last eleven years). I watched the bird work down the road through various small mesquites until it ran out of places to go and ended up on the fence pole.

New since Sunday were a couple of GREAT EGRETS and my season first SAVANNAH SPARROWS (scattered small groups) and AMERICAN PIPIT. If you look at the bar-graphs in the Tucson Audubon and ABA birdfinding guides, you'll find a marked discrepancy in abundance levels and arrival time for American Pipit. One of them has to be wrong! My own experience tends to support the ABA guide that shows the bird as uncommon starting in mid September, building in abundance through October. The Tucson guide shows arrival in late August (rare) becoming instantly abundant by the second week of September -- I don't think so! In fact, today's bird was my first September record for southeast Arizona. 

I finished up on the road that parallels the northern edge of the Golf Course. From here there is partial access to one of the interior marshy ponds (although you can't see the water). Here I added SWAINSON'S HAWK and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE plus a few common species.

60 species recorded at Willcox ponds from 6:10-9:10am.
Eared Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, N. Pintail, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's Hawk, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western, Least & Baird's Sandpipers, Wilson's & Red-necked Phalaropes, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, Marsh Wren, Tree & Barn Swallows, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Savannah, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

A late afternoon visit to Sierra Vista EOP was reasonably productive for the time of day. Most of the activity was again in the pond south of the observation platform (which is quite distant and difficult to see through various obstructions). I recorded 25 species including 60 WHITE-FACED IBIS, a calling SORA, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LEAST SANDPIPER, 10 WILSON'S PHALAROPES, several BLACK-NECKED STILTS, MARSH WREN, SAVANNAH SPARROW, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and, of course, scads of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. 

Monday, September 15, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
I was scheduled to work this morning but a cancellation left me with a free day. I decided to visit Patagonia Lake State Park in an attempt to fill in some holes in my September data (I normally don't start birding there in earnest until October and my September data is sadly lacking). The monsoon season now seems to be well and truly over and the metamorphosis of September into a second June is complete. The past few days have been 95+ degrees in Sierra Vista.

I got an early start leaving town and arrived a little before sunrise. Birding was generally quite slow and a three hour session didn't produce a hoped for surprise nor much in the way of migrants. The lake water level is very low and I was able to walk in places where it's normally not possible to walk. Not that it helped -- wintering and migrant waterfowl were essentially non existent. I also checked the deep end of the lake where speedboats made sure that I didn't see anything.

At least one BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER was at the head of the fourth wash at 6:50am. The bird called a few times while foraging in a mesquite and then flew towards the mouth of the wash.

Highlights were BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK with young, a pristine OSPREY, at least six GRAY FLYCATCHERS, a few singing BOTTERI'S SPARROWS, a preening RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW (not a bird that I often see here) and a male VARIED BUNTING perched on the metal gate on the entrance road as I was leaving.

Many of the birds of summer continue as can be seen from the following list. 

63 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park from 6:00-9:10am.
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Broad-billed & Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Common Raven, Bell's Vireo, N. Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Rock, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Nashville, Lucy's, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Black-throated, Botteri's, Rufous-winged & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli & Varied Buntings, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

I made a short stop at the Paton's where I saw a couple of VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRDS and the first VARIED BUNTING that I've seen in the yard. BLACK VULTURES were overhead. A lone LINCOLN'S SPARROW was the only real sign of the change in season.

Tuesday, September 16, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Out today with Terry Simms and Alan Bramley from Norfolk, England. It was another warm day that we spent in the Huachuca Mountains. It was also a day that qualified as a tough day at the office with very few species seen. Every bird that we looked for/chased played hard to get. However, there were some highlights.

We began in lower Garden Canyon grassland where BOTTERI'S SPARROWS are becoming harder to find. We heard just a couple and managed a scope look at a perched and singing bird. VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS continue to gather for departure near the fishing ponds where a COOPER'S HAWK was perched.

A few summer species remain at the upper picnic area including a WHIP-POOR-WILL that was roosting on the ground near the "yellow gate". This is far from my latest record which is in late October. Other species here included WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS, NASHVILLE & BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS and PAINTED REDSTART. 

We moved on to Scheelite where we briefly glimpsed a male ELEGANT TROGON on the way up canyon and had better looks at a female on the return trip. There wasn't much activity on the walk up (none on the way back) with CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER being the best bird. On this hot day, I was thankful to find the hatch year SPOTTED OWL in the lower roosting area -- the bird continues to look "cleaner".

Since it was already quite warm by 9:00am, I chose to go to Scheelite before Sawmill. However, we eventually had to pay the price. Sawmill Canyon around midday was essentially devoid of birds -- not even the jays were calling. We managed good looks at ARIZONA WOODPECKER, a couple of BROWN CREEPERS and a PAINTED REDSTART.

Heading back down Garden Canyon we added CANYON WREN, STELLER'S JAY and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. An INCA DOVE at the lower picnic area was my first Garden Canyon record.

40 species recorded in Garden, Sawmill and Scheelite Canyons from 6:30am to 2:00pm.
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Greater Roadrunner, Spotted Owl, Whip-poor-will, Elegant Trogon, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran &  Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Say's Phoebe, Cassin's Kingbird, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Canyon & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Violet-green Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Nashville & Black-throated Gray Warblers, Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco, Brewer's & Botteri's Sparrows and Hepatic Tanager. 

Thursday, September 18, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
After a cooler and somewhat breezy day yesterday, today was much warmer again. I decided to check Willcox this morning, a location where there is zero shade. I need to get better at selecting which days to come here! However, it was a little cooler than recent visits and I managed to tough it out for 4 hours. Eventually, it was the flies that drove me away, not the heat.

I arrived just before sunrise in time to see many hundreds of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS streaming out of the various (inaccessible) marshy ponds scattered around the interior of the golf course. Singing EASTERN and calling WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were along the entrance road. 

I spent the first hour working the area around the pond at the southeast corner of the golf course where a WARBLING VIREO in the willows was a location first for me. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were abundant with COMMON YELLOWTHROAT being the next most common warbler. WILSON'S, YELLOW and YELLOW-RUMPED rounded out the warblers. LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were fairly common. Perhaps the best bird in the marsh was a GREEN HERON which is very scarce here. At least three SORAS were calling.

While shorebird diversity on the big pond remains quite good, the number of individuals definitely continues to dwindle.  This is not unexpected as September wears on. The highlight for me was a MARBLED GODWIT, only my second September record in southeast Arizona. PECTORAL SANDPIPER was another new species since my last visit and a bird that I fully expected to see today (most of my Willcox records are from mid September through mid October). Also new was a juvenile BLACK TERN that flew in at 9:00am. A group of six LONG-BILLED CURLEWS were the pick of the rest.

Apart from RUDDY DUCK and NORTHERN SHOVELER, ducks are still in low numbers. For the first time in a while I didn't notice the Greater Scaup (gone?), just one LESSER SCAUP. 

Most of the winter sparrows were present, the exception being White-crowned Sparrow (not detected).

63 species recorded at Willcox ponds from 6:00-10:00am.
2 Eared Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, 1-Ring-necked Duck, 1-Lesser Scaup, Great Blue Heron, 1-Green Heron, 20+White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, 1-Swainson's Hawk, 20+Scaled & 10+Gambel's Quail, 3+Sora, Am. Coot, 1-Marbled Godwit, 6-Long-billed Curlews, 4-Greater & 2-Lesser Yellowlegs, 3-Long-billed Dowitchers, 1-Spotted, 15-Western, 30-Least, 40+Baird's & 2-Pectoral Sandpipers, 30+Wilson's Phalaropes, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, 1-Black Tern, Mourning Dove, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Warbling Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, Marsh Wren, Tree, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, Savannah, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, September 19, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I made another trip to Patagonia Lake State Park. I focused on looking for migrants and didn't spend any time looking for the gnatcatchers. Most of the action was along a few hundred yards stretch of the trail where it starts to parallel Sonoita Creek (about 3/4 mile from the trailhead parking area). This is a particularly lush and dense area right now.

The highlight was an immaculate looking TENNESSEE WARBLER, only my third sighting in Arizona. [The previous two were also at Patagonia Lake, the first of which was state bird #400 for me so I'll always remember it.] I was able to watch and enjoy the bird for several minutes. The plumage was very fresh and showed white tips on the edges of the primaries, surprisingly little yellow on the underparts for this time of year, and white undertail coverts -- no chance of confusion with Orange-crowned Warbler. Incidentally, Orange-crowned seem common elsewhere right now and I find it interesting that I didn't see one at the state park today or on Monday!  

Flycatchers were very conspicuous today. Even better, every single one of them was vocalizing (a definite "Murphy gets screwed" event). I tracked one particular bird that I was convinced was a WILLOW FLYCATCHER so it was particularly gratifying when I eventually heard the bird sing Fitz-bew! In fact, there were two of them. (I've noticed before that they sing during fall migration.)  A similar thing happened with a couple of PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS. As has been the case recently, GRAY FLYCATCHERS were very common. I also saw one each DUSKY, DUSKY-CAPPED & ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS. Rounding out this flycatcher fest were NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, CASSIN'S & WESTERN KINGBIRDS and SAY'S & BLACK PHOEBES.  

I was a little surprised to see plenty of LUCY'S WARBLERS (20+) since they usually get pretty thin on the ground in September (although I have records through late October). Other warblers included many WILSON'S, a few lingering YELLOW and two MACGILLIVRAY'S. 

My season first RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET was nice too see -- soon they'll be annoyingly common. (My earliest fall date in SE AZ is September 9).

There's still not much out on the lake but REDHEAD was new since Monday. 

64 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park from 5:55-9:25am.
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Am. Coot, Mourning & Inca Doves, Broad-billed, Black-chinned & Anna's Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Willow, Gray, Dusky, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Common Raven, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, Curve-billed Thrasher, Rock, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Tennessee, Lucy's, Yellow, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Song, Lincoln's & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed & Blue Grosbeaks, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Sunday, September 21, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I made a routine visit to Sawmill Canyon in the Huachucas. The canyon was alive with butterflies (mostly Sisters), horseflies and mosquitoes. Birds, on the other hand, were a tad more difficult to come by. Apart from YELLOW-RUMPED, warblers were mostly conspicuous by their absence. Nevertheless, even though I saw only 24 species and precious few individuals, I was able to gather some useful data.

First and foremost, I was delighted to find a BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER (and somewhat rueful that several recent clients didn't get to see one!). Today was my fourth visit to the canyon this month and none of the previous three visits (September 3, 9 & 15) produced a bird. On two of those visits (3 & 9) I was specifically looking for the flycatcher and spent plenty of time looking and listening without so much as a false alarm. 

Published data in the bar-graphs in the ABA and Tucson Audubon birdfinding guides shows Buff-breasted Flycatcher present through mid September. My own data collected mostly in Sawmill Canyon over the past 10 years (no September/October access in one year) extends that date through the end of September (in a few years) and I even have one October record (October 7, 1999). This is summarized in the two graphics below. 

Extract from complete Sawmill bar-graph

After birding for almost two hours, I was walking back down canyon and had reached the fork about 1/2 mile above the trailhead. (This is the area where a seed feeder has been present until it was recently removed.) My ears pricked up when I distinctly heard the drier and shorter "pit" call of a BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER amongst the longer and more liquid  "whit" calls of the many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (the only common bird today). Normally, I wouldn't even have bothered to look for the bird but, given the history of the month to date, I wanted to make sure that my ears were not deceiving me! The bird was very elusive and took about 10 minutes to track down -- a very richly buff colored individual. Of course, there's no way to tell if it had been present throughout the month or whether it was a migrant. Either way, I was very pleased to have found it.

Another interesting (albeit more mundane) sighting was a couple of DARK-EYED (Gray-headed) JUNCOS. Not only was this my earliest date for Sawmill Canyon by a good margin (previous October 8, 1998), it was also my earliest sighting for southeast Arizona and my first for September (previous October 5, 1999 on the San Pedro). Published data in the aforementioned birdfinding guides shows the Gray-headed form arriving in the last week of September with other forms up to one month later.

Also of note was a LAZULI BUNTING, a bird that is very scarce in Sawmill. I have two spring records in different years, today was my first fall record. All in all, a good day for improving my knowledge of birdlife in the canyon on this "routine" visit.

Among the other migrants and/or returning wintering species were OLIVE-SIDED & HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS (both silent), CASSIN'S VIREO (singing) and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (right about on time for this location).

I recorded the following 24 species in Sawmill Canyon:
Red-tailed Hawk (scarce here), Arizona Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Olive-sided, Hammond's & Buff-breasted Flycatchers, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Hutton's & Cassin's Vireos, Am. Robin, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Lesser Goldfinch, Nashville & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Painted Redstart, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) & Yellow-eyed Juncos, Chipping Sparrow, 4-6 Hepatic Tanagers and Lazuli Bunting.

I detected a few BOTTERI'S SPARROWS in lower Garden Canyon grassland. The birds were singing the sputtering chip notes that are the preamble to their song, but not the "bouncing ball" finale.

Monday, September 22, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I made another routine visit to Patagonia Lake State Park. My objective was to continue filling out my September data and I didn't look for the gnatcatchers. Overall, the birding was a little disappointing and I recorded less species and less individuals than on two recent visits. Perhaps it was due to the cloudy conditions ahead of hurricane Marty as it starts to move northwards. Perhaps it was just me. First of all I had trouble dragging myself out of bed at 4:30am. Then the drive over seemed to take forever even though it only took the regular 55 minutes. I even had trouble getting on the birds  -- every time that I raised my binoculars the bird was gone. For whatever reason, my mojo certainly wasn't working. Maybe my heart wasn't in it this morning.

As on Friday, most of the action was along the section of trail that parallels Sonoita Creek from about where the mesquite bosque ends to the north/south fork in Sonoita Creek. I really can't find too much to talk about in terms of highlights. If this had been a soccer game it could be described with terms like "scrappy" and "grinding out a result". 

The "best birds" were my season first WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and a female VARIED BUNTING that I initially mistook for the much rarer Indigo.

I didn't see as many flycatchers today. A singing PACIFIC-SLOPE and a calling DUSKY-CAPPED were the pick of the bunch (both seen well). Dusky-caps normally leave southeast Arizona in early October, however, last year a bird stayed at the lake until at least January.

Warblers were quite prevalent, especially LUCY'S. I saw a few of the regular migrant warblers, a less commonly seen at this location BLACK-THROATED GRAY, and (finally!) one ORANGE-CROWNED. I wasn't able to relocate the Tennessee Warbler.

The campground was full over the weekend and I would guess that the lake saw lots of boat traffic. Not surprisingly, therefore, I didn't find much on the water and even NEOTROPIC CORMORANT numbers have dwindled -- I saw only one along with two DOUBLE-CRESTED. A lone REDHEAD continues.

Shorebirds are always very scarce at the lake and I've only averaged three records per year of the common-in-AZ SPOTTED SANDPIPER that I saw today.  

56 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park from 6:15-9:15am.
Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Redhead, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Am. Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Gray, Pacific-slope, Vermilion, Dusky-capped & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's Kingbird, Common Raven, Bell's & Warbling Vireos, Phainopepla, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Bridled Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Lucy's, Yellow, Black-throated Gray & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Summer & Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeak, N. Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli & Varied Buntings, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, September 23, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Marty may have been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm but its effects were felt in Sierra Vista today. Widespread clouds covered the area early this morning and light rain was falling as I headed out at 5:45am. Clouds and rain had increased significantly by midday and visibility was very poor. Since the monsoon season ended earlier this month we've had lots of blue sky days with 90+ degrees, and I, for one, welcomed the cool change (do I hear Little River Band?). 

I decided to head over to Whitewater Draw (WWD) Wildlife Area to get another week three data point (for my data gathering purposes, week three ends today). The rain petered out as I headed east but, thankfully, there was some good cloud cover at WWD and the temperature was very pleasant from 7:00am until 9:00am when the sun broke through.

I was hoping to find an early Sandhill Crane but I didn't see nor hear any. Last year I first saw one here on September 17 and that is my only September SE AZ record. Not seeing one wasn't a big loss and I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of very productive hours of birding.

The highlight was a juvenile SABINE'S GULL that sat on the water for almost all the time that I was there. The bird flew a couple of times allowing me to see the upper wing pattern, the dark bars on the underside of the wing, and the black tail band. This was a new bird for me at WWD. Although it's obviously scarce, Sabine's Gull regularly passes through Arizona at this time of year and is probably annual. My own records are as follows:

1  09/29/1995  Willcox Pond
1  10/05/1996  Sierra Vista EOP
1  09/21/1997  Willcox Pond
1  09/29/1997  Sierra Vista EOP
2  09/27/2000  Patagonia Lake State Park
2  09/12/2001  Lyman Lake State Park
1  09/23/2003  Whitewater Draw WA

There's a fair amount of water present in the various impoundments as well as some decent (albeit limited) shorebird habitat. There was a smattering of ducks and shorebirds with 45-50 AMERICAN AVOCETS being the most numerous. Others shorebirds present included a dozen or so WHITE-FACED IBIS, a couple of GREATER YELLOWLEGS and 25+ LEAST SANDPIPERS. Three species of swallows including a few BANK SWALLOWS were working over the water.

Even though there wasn't much going on out on the water, the willows on the berms and the south willow grove had plenty of activity. Diversity was good and there were many individuals of some species, notably sparrows in the weedy areas. WHITE-CROWNED were very common followed in decreasing order of abundance by SAVANNAH, VESPER, BREWER'S, LARK, CHIPPING, LINCOLN'S and SONG. It seems that everybody and his brother is seeing Clay-colored Sparrows at the moment but I couldn't talk myself into converting any of the Brewer's and Chipping into one.

Seed eaters in general were well represented with good numbers of BLUE GROSBEAKS and LAZULI BUNTINGS. Warblers were fairly numerous with ORANGE-CROWNED being the most common. Apart from Kingbirds and Phoebes, flycatchers were not much in evidence. The exception was a singing WILLOW FLYCATCHER.

57 species recorded at Whitewater Draw from 7:00-9:00am:
Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, White-faced Ibis, Swainson's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Sabine's Gull, Mourning Dove, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Willow & Vermilion Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, Marsh Wren, Tree, Bank & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

Later in the morning I visited Sierra Vista EOP just before the viewing conditions deteriorated due to rain and misty low clouds. I'm sure that there was much more present than I found but scoping the distant pond in the wind was difficult. Highlights were my season first VIRGINIA RAIL and a PECTORAL SANDPIPER. The rail was the first that I've detected here in September (they become a little more common later on but are still much scarcer than Sora).

26 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP from 10:50-11:30am.
Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Least, Baird's & Pectoral Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Marsh Wren, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds.

Wednesday, September 24, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Heavy, gray skies and constant rain all day today. The kind of day that was typical when I lived in Bellingham, WA. It was also about 20 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year. I had planned to bird in the mountains this morning but had to abandon that idea. Fortunately, it was a day that coincided with a couple of UEFA cup games on Fox Sports World! I finally found a window in late afternoon to visit Sierra Vista EOP.

It was still raining but my reward for going out came in the form of a beautiful anatum PEREGRINE FALCON. I had great views of the bird flying and perched at close range. Definitely worth getting wet for.

Conditions forced the swallows to work low over the marsh and I noted 4 species including a few late migrant BANK SWALLOWS. This is the least common swallow species in southeast Arizona and they are normally all gone by the end of September.

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD numbers continue to increase and I estimated at least 2500. They usually reach 5000 by the end of the year.

23 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP from 4:00-5:00pm :
Mallard, N. Pintail, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Least Sandpiper, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Marsh Wren, Violet-green, Bank, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Horned Lark, Common Yellowthroat, White-crowned & Savannah Sparrows and Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds.

Thursday, September 25, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
The stormy weather faded away overnight and today was a very nice day. I decided to visit Willcox where the birding turned out to be very good. I began in heavy fog shortly after 6:00am and stayed until just before noon. Accounting for a 45 minute break, I birded for 5 hours and turned up 76 species. At one point I thought that I would easily reach 80 but the lack of several common species (e.g. Black-necked Stilt & Yellowlegs) was my downfall. I also missed a Bobolink seen by others that would have been a state bird for me.

I started at the main golf course pond where half a dozen or so VAUX'S SWIFT were working over the water. They are an uncommon, regular migrant through southeast Arizona, although I haven't personally recorded them every year. Most of my sightings have been in spring and this was only my second fall record.

A couple of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were on the fence of the electrical building next to the pond. Willcox was one of the first places that this species showed up in Arizona but I haven't seen them here for a while nor I have I seen any recent reports (apart from yesterday).

My birding here was interrupted when I heard the call of a CASPIAN TERN coming from the main pond. I jumped in the car and quickly headed over there to find an adult in the air and another adult and juvenile on the ground. The birds were on the central island just south of the central viewing area on the north side of the pond. The light was poor and I couldn't maneuver into a good position but I at least managed a usable photo of the adult and juvenile to document the occasion. When I returned later in the morning, one adult had left and the remaining bird was actively foraging and feeding the juvenile. I wonder if this is normal during migration. Caspian Terns are vagrants in southeast Arizona and I only have one other sighting  at Patagonia Lake in April 2000. However, I've seen them elsewhere in the state twice before -- at Lake Mary near Flagstaff (September, 1994) and near Yuma (January, 2001)

I returned to the golf course pond and managed a much better photo of a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON conveniently perched in a willow. The female GREATER SCAUP and male and female LESSER SCAUP continue here. Less common species for this location were WILLOW FLYCATCHER, NASHVILLE WARBLER and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE.

In the nearby weedy stuff (to the southeast of the electrical building), I finally stumbled into at least three CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS that many others have been seeing in multiple locations in recent weeks. When I returned to the area around 11:00am, I picked up a female DICKCISSEL at the southeast corner of the pond.

Shorebird activity on the main pond continues to dwindle. Only LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS have increased in number. Highlights were a lone LONG-BILLED CURLEW resting on the central island and two PECTORAL SANDPIPERS on the east shore. New since my last visit were WILSON'S SNIPE and a couple of gulls -- one RING-BILLED and one FRANKLINS.

ROCK WREN was a most unexpected bird along the road that parallels the northern edge of the golf course. I also flushed a PRAIRIE FALCON in this area. 

All in all, an excellent morning.  

76 species recorded at Willcox Ponds:
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Turkey Vulture, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcon, Scaled & Gambel's Quail, Sora, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Long-billed Curlew, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western, Least, Baird's & Pectoral Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed & Franklin's Gulls, Caspian Tern, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Vaux's Swift, Belted Kingfisher, Willow Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, Rock & Marsh Wrens, Verdin, Tree, Violet-green & Barn Swallows, House Sparrow, House Finch, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivray's & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, Savannah, Clay-colored, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Dickcissel, Pyrrhuloxia, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, September 26, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I visited the San Pedro River (highway 90 area) and Sierra Vista EOP. The early morning hours had a very slight nippy fall feeling but the day soon warmed. Unlike yesterday morning, skies were clear and visibility was excellent.

The highlight of my time on the river was a MAGNOLIA WARBLER, seen around 8:30am. Initially, I had trouble figuring out what the bird was -- one of those aptly named "confusing fall warblers" (I've only previously seen adults). Eventually, I concluded that it was a first fall (likely female) Magnolia. The bird was about 20 feet from me, slightly above eye level. I observed it for about 5 minutes as it preened in a mesquite. Mostly it was peek-a-boo views, although I did get about a minute in the clear during which time I was able too see the relevant characters. Location was just northwest of the big pond (near trail marker #11), however, the bird eventually flew off strongly to the south and is highly unlikely to be relocated. 

The underparts were completely plain yellow (no streaking, hence first fall female). The upper parts were mainly olive with two fairly thin but clearly visible white wing bars. The bird had a grayish head and a well defined white eye ring. I was able to eliminate other possibilities because the bird had a yellow rump and half white - half black undertail. Of the six non-photo field guides that I consulted when I got home, Warblers (Dunn & Garret; page 65, plate 11) was the best representation. The photo on page 402 of Western Stokes was close except that the bird I saw was slightly grayer headed with a stronger eye ring.

I did a little checking and discovered that there are very few records of this species in southeast Arizona. Also, fall records begin around mid October so this bird is about two weeks ahead of that. However, according to Warblers there are almost 1000 records for California (75% in fall) and the peak time there is late September. So, it's not at all a stretch for one to be here at this time.

Warbler aside, it was typical fare for this time of year. BLUE GROSBEAKS and LAZULI BUNTINGS remain very common in the weedy areas (of which there are plenty). I wore long pants and gaiters so I could go bunting hunting but didn't find a hoped for Painted or Indigo.

Among the migrants were RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, singing CASSIN'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS (fairly close to each other so it was a good exercise in differentiating their songs), DUSKY FLYCATCHER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and plentiful GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES (the latter three are also winter residents).

Quite a few summer species remain including calling GRAY HAWKS, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BELL'S VIREO, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SUMMER TANAGER and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. An ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was an interesting sighting. They are normally gone from here by mid July (see bar-graph) and this is my first record on the river after that date.

48 species recorded on the SPRNCA (highway 90 area):
Cinnamon Teal, Great Blue & Green Herons, Gray Hawk, Am. Coot, Mourning & Inca Doves, Black-chinned & Rufous Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Dusky, Vermilion & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Bell's, Cassin's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Magnolia & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-crowned, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed & Abert's Towhees, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole and Red-winged Blackbird.

On the way back to town I made a quick stop at Sierra Vista EOP before heading home to watch the Arsenal - Newcastle game. I saw nothing unusual. The PEREGRINE FALCON continues and I saw my season first BREWER'S BLACKBIRD.

24 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP:
Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Turkey Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, Sora, Western & Least Sandpipers, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, Marsh Wren, Barn Swallow, House Finch, Savannah & Brewer's Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds.

Sunday, September 28, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
This morning I visited Sawmill Canyon in the Huachucas, primarily to look for returning Sapsuckers. However, I got seriously sidetracked trying to photograph an owl and didn't really spend any time looking for them. These late September days continue quite warm and it wasn't at all cold when I reached Sawmill shortly before 7:30am. The temperature back in Sierra Vista at 11:15am was 92 degrees.

Garden Canyon grasslands were quiet this morning and it seems that Botteri's Sparrows have stopped singing. Ditto for BLUE GROSBEAK, although I did hear one calling. A nice surprise were four female BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS perched on a wire near the fishing ponds -- amazingly, my first sighting in Garden Canyon. WESTERN & CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, PHAINOPEPLA and CHIPPING SPARROW have all increased in numbers.

At Sawmill, I birded around the cabin for fifteen minutes or so before starting up the trail. Just at that moment a group of mountain bikers gave some exuberant yells that I deemed responsible for inducing a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL to start calling. Go figure! 

I continued on up canyon and after about 200 yards I heard two BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS calling. One of them was perched atop a juniper, looking quite resplendent bathed in morning sunshine. The irony with this bird continues (see my remarks for last Sunday, September 21). I hurried back down canyon to get my scope and camera hoping that the bird would remain. Not surprisingly, it did not.

However, my journey was not in vain because when I returned the NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL had moved up canyon and resumed calling while perched openly in a Pine. Although I was about 100 yards from the bird and the light wasn't good, I managed a decent shot despite great difficulty in focusing. The Coolpix 4500 monitor quality is very poor and it's difficult to see if small objects are in focus (I always set the camera to infinity focus and use the scope to focus in such cases, auto focus is useless with small subjects). Note how the bird seems "fluffy" on the side -- maybe this is normal molt or perhaps indicative of a hatch year bird.

A bonus side effect of the owl was that it attracted a few other species, notably my latest DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER in the canyon (previously September 13, 1998). They can still be found at lower elevation into October. Also responding were ACORN WOODPECKER, PINE SISKIN and GRACE'S WARBLER.

Elsewhere, a couple of MONTEZUMA QUAIL were calling and I saw several ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER and at least 10 HEPATIC TANAGERS. Their numbers seem to increase in Sawmill at this time every year. They'll be around another three weeks or so.

21 species recorded in Sawmill Canyon from 7:30-10:00am:
Montezuma Quail, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Acorn & Arizona Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's, Buff-breasted & Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped & Grace's Warblers, Yellow-eyed Junco & Hepatic Tanager.

Monday, September 29, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I birded at both ends of the Sulphur Springs Valley, first at Whitewater Draw (WWD) and then at Willcox (a total of about 175 miles round trip from Sierra Vista). This is an exception to my normal strategy (when I'm not with a client) of visiting only one major destination per day (except in winter) so as not to compromise data collection. However, with only two days left in the month and several places that I wanted to visit I didn't have much option.. Neither location was as productive as recent visits.

The highlight at WWD was a lone WESTERN SCRUB-JAY -- it seems they are in lowland locations throughout the region this fall. Although this was my first sighting here, I have seen them on the valley floor before. They are regular in the Mule Mountains to the west, the Dragoon Mountains to the north and in the Granites east of Elfrida so it's not that far for them to wander. Also of note at this "oasis in the valley" were a singing CASSIN'S VIREO and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. I saw all three species in the south willow grove.

Other species included a couple of GREAT EGRETS, several thousand TREE SWALLOWS, my second AMERICAN PIPIT of the season, a few LAZULI BUNTINGS and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE 

51 species recorded at Whitewater Draw from 6:20-8:40am:
Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, N. Harrier, Swainson's Hawk, Sora, Am. Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, Western, Least & Baird's Sandpipers, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Willow & Vermilion Flycatchers, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Western Scrub-Jay, Cassin's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Marsh Wren, Tree & Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Clay-colored, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds and Eastern Meadowlark.

I didn't see any cranes at WWD but I did see 20-SANDHILL CRANES on Central highway as I drove north. I saw many SWAINSON'S and RED-TAILED HAWKS evenly distributed along the highway as I headed to Willcox as well as several flocks of LARK BUNTINGS. A couple of HARRIS'S HAWKS were on highway 191 at mile marker 27, a little north of Elfrida.

There was nothing of real note at Willcox. The female GREATER SCAUP continues at the golf course pond. A group of 6-SANDHILL CRANES were overhead here. Shorebird numbers continue to dwindle on the main pond and, after AMERICAN. AVOCET, about 40-LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS scattered around were the most common species. Also present were 7-SNOWY EGRETS, 3-LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, 2 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS and 2-RING-BILLED GULLS.

44 species recorded at Willcox from 9:40-11:20am:
Pied-billed Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture. Virginia Rail. Sora, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Long-billed Curlew, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western, Least, Baird's & Pectoral Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning Dove, Black Phoebe, Cassin's & Western Kingbirds, Loggerhead Shrike, Marsh Wren, Verdin, Barn Swallow, House Sparrow, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped & Wilson's Warblers, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah & Brewer's Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark and Great-tailed Grackle.

Tuesday, September 30, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Circumstances conspired against me today and I wasn't able to go birding until late in the day. All that I managed was a trip to Sierra Vista EOP. It was a very warm day to close out September (approx. 10 degrees above normal) and still well over 90 degrees in late afternoon. Needless to say, activity was low and I had to stay a while to dig out a few species.

Highlights were at least 10 calling SORAS, two VIRGINIA RAILS, two LESSER YELLOWLEGS and a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. There are records for the latter two species into November but my own late dates are October 22 and October 1 respectively. 

31 species recorded at SVEOP from 4:30-6:00pm:
Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Killdeer, Rock & Mourning Doves, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, European Starling, Marsh Wren, Barn Swallow, Common Yellowthroat, Song & Savannah Sparrows, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Tuesday, September 30, 2003.

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Thursday, September 30, 2004.

Species List

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

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