Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - November, 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 Sunday, November 30, 2003.

Sunday, November 2, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I visited the highway 90 area of the San Pedro where my November birding got off to a rather quiet start. Although conditions were mostly clear and mild, a constant wind spoiled what would otherwise have been a nice morning. Fall lived up to its name and leaf birds were abundant as the cottonwoods start to shed. 

I didn't see very much of note except for a single CASSIN'S SPARROW --  by far the best bird of the morning. Despite the fact that they are a fairly common year round resident in southeast Arizona, they are usually difficult to come by except when singing from July through September and, in some years, March and April. They regularly breed in the mesquite-grassland that parallels the river but this was my first November record here and only my third November record for Arizona.

Sparrows and other seedeaters were generally the most conspicuous birds today. The area near Garden Wash has lots of weedy places and this is where most birds were concentrated. Sparrows listed in decreasing order of abundance were WHITE-CROWNED, CHIPPING, LINCOLN'S, SONG, VESPER and BREWER'S. I also saw all four species of regular towhees: GREEN-TAILED, SPOTTED, CANYON & ABERT'S; a few PYRRHULOXIAS and a couple of LAZULI BUNTINGS. 

Apart from the usual SAY'S & BLACK PHOEBES (and even they were scarce), flycatchers were few and far between. The only empid that I detected was HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. A few CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS are still around (they are normally gone from the river by mid November).

43 species recorded on the SPRNCA:
Pied-billed Grebe, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning & Inca Doves, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Hammond's Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper & Cassin's Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tuesday, November 4, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
What a difference a week or so makes. Last night saw the temperature dip down to freezing for the first time this fall and I had to contend with frost on my windshield this morning. I birded at Whitewater Draw and Willcox with a couple of stops as I drove north through Sulphur Springs Valley.

As I walked out on the dykes at Whitewater Draw at 7:00am, I was sure glad that I had remembered to bring gloves! Appropriately on this chilly morning, I saw my first SNOW GOOSE of the season among the many 1000s of SANDHILL CRANES, most of which had departed by 9:00am. They were common everywhere throughout the valley.

Birding was slow but steady and I tallied 50+ species in two hours including one each MERLIN and PRAIRIE FALCON, a few pairs of LESSER SCAUP, 2 WILSON'S SNIPES, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, at least 4 male VERMILION FLYCATCHERS in various plumages (here's an adult male photo), a couple of DARK-EYED "pink-sided" JUNCOS (only my second junco record at WWD), abundant LINCOLN'S and a lone (uncommon here) BLACK-THROATED SPARROW, many WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and a few LAZULI BUNTINGS.

I fully expected to see a number of Ferruginous Hawks as I drove north through the valley but I didn't see a single bird. That despite a concerted effort on Rucker Canyon Road. I didn't spend any time looking for Mountain Plover (it's a little early for this location), however, I did look for suitable habitat. None of the traditional spots looked particularly good although a couple of Essary Hay fields looked reasonable as did some locations on Kansas Settlement Road.

Kennedy Farms pond had a lone WESTERN GREBE but was otherwise devoid of birds, perhaps due to construction. Another large pond is being built to the south of the current roadside pond and should improve the desirability of the area to waterfowl. It's a pity that access is so poor.

For the first time in a while I felt that my trip to Willcox (35 species recorded) was not worth my investment in time and gas. Water was not being pumped into the big pond and the level has dropped considerably since my last visit. The spit is once again well exposed and several new islands are starting to appear. Over the years the main problem here has been lack of shorebird habitat due to high water. Ironically, now that it's time for deep water species to arrive, the water is way too low!

Not surprisingly, such species were absent -- they were all congregated on the nearby small sewage pond along the highway -- fair numbers of RING-NECKED DUCKS, LESSER SCAUP and REDHEADS. I think the female GREATER SCAUP was present here as well but couldn't be sure because of poor light and the fact that I was scanning from the highway. Also present was a lone RING-BILLED GULL.

Species on the main pond included lots of LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and LEAST SANDPIPERS, a couple of WESTERN SANDPIPERS and a single AVOCET.

Day list (73 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Eared & Western Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Snow Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Sora, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Wilson's Snipe, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western & Least Sandpipers, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning & Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, European Starling, Marsh & House Wrens, Tree & Barn Swallows, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Brewer's, Vesper & Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Great-tailed Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

Thursday, November 6, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
This morning I checked Sawmill Canyon where the conditions were excellent -- clear and sunny, cold, and completely calm for the first couple of hours. After that the temperature climbed quickly and gusty winds kicked in. The afternoon temperature in town was in the high 70s.

Although Sawmill is a poor place for species diversity in winter, the canyon is one of my favorite places to bird so I enjoy coming here even when there are few birds around. My main reason to visit here during the winter months (when I'm working) is for sapsuckers. Red-naped Sapsucker is fairly common here, however, it's also common in many other locations and certainly doesn't justify a special visit. Williamson's Sapsucker is another story -- there are not many locations in southeast Arizona where this species can be reliably found every winter. Sawmill Canyon is such a place and Williamson's is usually my main target species here in winter -- I've had a fair amount of success with this species over the past 10 years. Having said that, they are far from common (with, at best, perhaps 3-6 wintering in the canyon) so be prepared to work for them if you try your luck. 

Today I was fortunate and had some early success even before I started searching! Juncos were common throughout and I paused to study a mixed group of them containing three races of wintering DARK-EYED JUNCOS ("Oregon", "Pink-sided" & "Gray-headed") and resident YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS. As I watched them go about their business, I heard light tapping coming from a nearby Pine. I followed the sound and tracked down a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. The bird noticed me and just clung to the side of the tree and stared. I continued to watch it and realized that I was still hearing tapping noises in the same tree -- just a few feet away was a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. Two for the price of one and I wasn't even looking -- perhaps that's the key to success (as well as not being with a client). I later found two more Red-naped elsewhere. 

Sawmill is also a good location for ARIZONA WOODPECKER and I came across at least five of them today. I stopped to look at one particularly cooperative bird that allowed close approach.

I wasn't expecting much in the way of warblers other than the resident OLIVE WARBLER of which I only found one, a completely silent adult male that I just stumbled into. Some subdued chipping led me to a female TOWNSEND'S WARBLER that was an unexpected bonus. I have a few early November and one December record for Townsend's in Sawmill. Those that overwinter seem to move to lower elevations after that-- and who can blame them.

The remainder of what I saw was typical for this time of year including small flocks of AMERICAN ROBIN'S and PINE SISKINS. I was hoping for Townsend's Solitaire but they normally don't show up here until mid month.

I recorded 22 species in Sawmill Canyon:
Red-naped & Williamson's Sapsuckers, Arizona Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, Olive & Townsend's Warblers, Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos and Chipping Sparrow.

The fall colors in Garden Canyon are starting to look good with a few red maples. Birds in the mesquite-grassland included COOPER'S HAWK, numerous SAY'S PHOEBES and PHAINOPEPLA.

Friday, November 7, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I made a routine check of Patagonia Lake. The morning began quite chilly at the west end of the lake at 7:15am, warmed up considerably along the creek trail by  9:00am, then cooled again as high, thin clouds blocked the sun. A very pleasant fall day to be out and about. 

The highlight at the lake was the last species that I saw and a complete surprise -- BLACK-THROATED MAGPIE-JAY. The bird was in the large willows east of the marsh and south of where Sonoita Creek flows through the open grassy area. It flew around a bit and called a few times. In fact, the first time that I heard it call I was standing directly underneath it (without knowing) and it scared the you know what out of me. Break out the brown corduroys.

This makes the fourth time that I've seen this "non countable" species in the Patagonia area (previously Harshaw Canyon, Roadside Rest area and Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary). I assume that it's a member of the "established" Nogales population, however, it could also have been in a cage in Mexico yesterday. It could also be a genuine vagrant that will have to be ignored because of the uncertainty. I believe that the Nogales population bred several times and climbed into double figures. Regardless of how they got here, they seemed to have survived the requisite 10 years and may be a candidate for an accepted species. But what do I know. 

Earlier in the morning in the mesquite bosque the weak call of a BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER led me to a female foraging close to the ground. I stayed with the bird for 10 minutes and followed it about 100 yards. I didn't see it hook up with the male (nor hear another bird calling) during this time. However, they are usually not far apart so I probably just failed to find it

Along the creek trail I tracked down ELEGANT TROGON and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH. Both birds gave themselves away by calling.

Waterfowl numbers are up on the lake, notably LESSER SCAUP and RING-NECKED DUCKS. I also noted a few GADWALL, 7 REDHEADS and plenty of EARED GREBES. The usual NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS along with a handful of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and the continuing BROWN PELICAN were also present.

56 species recorded at Patagonia Lake State Park (excluding BTMJ):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Brown Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Killdeer, White-winged Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gray & Dusky Flycatchers, Say's & Black Phoebes, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Hermit Thrush, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song & Lincoln's, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.

A stop at the Roadside Rest was generally unproductive save for WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS screaming overhead and MEXICAN JAYS foraging in the leaf litter. No sight nor sound of the Painted Redstart.

Marion Paton's yard was about as quiet as I've ever seen it. A small flock of BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS (rare here) were the only birds of note.

As I left Patagonia, a small flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS were in the trees along the highway right in town.

Monday, November 10, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
A mediocre morning of birding to get the work week underway. I visited St. David Monastery and Willcox ponds without seeing anything unusual. 

It looks like being a good winter for Lewis's Woodpeckers in southeast Arizona since quite a number of them have already shown up in regular haunts. St. David Monastery is a location where they have wintered for the past few years and I fully expected to find one there this morning. However, no such luck. 

I barely managed to find 30 species here, the highlights of which were WOOD DUCK (the continuing male with a damaged wing), a few WHITE-WINGED DOVES and GRAY FLYCATCHERS (both are winter regulars), a small flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.

Heading into Willcox I spotted a FERRUGINOUS HAWK on Haskell near I-10 exit 336. This was only my third seasonal sighting. 

Still no water being pumped into the main pond at Willcox and the level continues to drop. Soon the two spits will meet and you'll be able to walk across the pond. Duck diversity was very low (including the sewage ponds on the highway which had few birds at all). Shorebirds noted were 1-GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 10+LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a handful of WESTERN and 100+LEAST SANDPIPERS, 1-DUNLIN and 1-AMERICAN AVOCET. The only gulls were 5-RING-BILLED GULLS.

Day list (55 species recorded):
Eared Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Wood Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western & Least Sandpipers, Dunlin, Am. Avocet, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning & White-winged Doves, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Cedar Waxwing, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & Savannah Sparrows, N. Cardinal and Western Meadowlark.

Tuesday, November 11, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Late last week I planned to visit the San Rafael Valley today. As things turned out it was an excellent day to be in the grasslands -- very mild, completely overcast after a few early sun breaks and sprinkles by late morning (turning to rain in the afternoon). Even though we're now well into November and the air temperature is much cooler, walking through the grasslands in direct sun is still not much fun and I was sure glad that I didn't have to do it today. 

One of my objectives for the day was to look for Short-eared Owl. Consequently, I left town super early (for this time of year!) at 4:45am to ensure that I was in place well before sunrise. I drove through Fort Huachuca and out the West Gate and was in place at 6:00am, although I didn't have enough light until around 6:25am. Despite much scanning and cruising around, I didn't find any owls. Short-eared Owl is perhaps not annual in SE Arizona and its presence may depend on the severity of conditions further north. Furthermore, my own records are mostly later in the season (from December through March) so there's still a chance that they may show up this year. 

As the light improved, I came across a WHITE-TAILED KITE perched on an Agave, perhaps in a location where it roosted. The bird wasn't too far from the road so I decided to try for a digiscoped shot. The bird watched me intently as I set up the equipment and then took flight just as I was ready. Gosh darn it that's annoying (or words to that effect). 

I turned my attention to sparrows and came across a fence full of them catching what little sun there was. Fortunately, my camera was all set up because of the kite episode and I was able to get shots of BAIRD'S SPARROW and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW before the sun disappeared forever. Although the light was poor and I was a little too far away, I managed fairly decent images (but not as good as those taken on my last visit on October 23). Interestingly, as soon as the clouds obscured the sun the birds disappeared and didn't return.  

Other typical valley species  included several NORTHERN HARRIERS, AMERICAN KESTREL, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, HORNED LARK, several flocks of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS, VESPER & SAVANNAH SPARROWS, EASTERN & WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD. Less expected was a lingering CASSIN'S KINGBIRD.

I headed into Patagonia via Harshaw Canyon and made a brief stop in Marion Paton's yard. The paucity of birds and the noise from the sewage pond reconstruction soon drove me away. The only birds that I noted were ACORN & GILA WOODPECKERS, a few sparrows and a tree full of GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES.

I continued my grassland birding at Las Cienegas east of Sonoita (this area was formerly known as Empire Cienega). Conditions were now excellent for walking the grass -- completely overcast, zero wind and a few sprinkles. I would have liked to stay for a while but the presence of multiple hunting parties blasting away and dogs running wild was just a tad disconcerting.

VESPER SPARROWS were the most common sparrows and I also found a handful of GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and 2 CASSIN'S SPARROWS that were decidedly uncooperative. Most of the species present in the San Rafael Valley were here (no Baird's) including CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS.

Back in Sierra Vista, I ate a late breakfast at Star Buffet where I realized that today was a holiday! The weather page of USA Today confirmed that this is my favorite season in Arizona (no red to be seen anywhere on the US weather map!). As I left to go home, I picked up a new bird for my Fry Boulevard list and got some confirmation that my ears are still in good working order. Traffic was whizzing by, car doors slamming, many people talking and yet I heard the familiar high pitched sound of CEDAR WAXWINGS and soon spotted a small flock of them sitting in a tree. As a guide, I need eyes, ears and legs -- if any one of them deserts me I will be done for, but I would miss hearing the most.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
A cloudy and wet morning kept me close to home and I birded on the San Pedro and at Sierra Vista EOP instead of heading over to Willcox as I had originally intended.

Birds were scarce during my two hours on the San Pedro (highway 90 area). Winter sparrow numbers are still very low and I didn't record a single Brewer's or Vesper Sparrow. Both species typically arrive in September and are normally quite common by this time of year. The only common species today was CHIPPING SPARROW.

CASSIN'S & PLUMBEOUS VIREOS provided the high and low points of the morning. I heard what I was convinced was a Cassin's Vireo singing on the other side of the river. I decided to track it down and waded across the river, slipping in the mud and getting pretty messy as I did so. When I found the bird I couldn't believe that it turned out to be a Plumbeous Vireo, color me crestfallen. But wait, what's this bird right next to it -- a Cassin's Vireo. Ah, redemption! This is not the first time that I've seen them together in fall migration.

Other species worth a mention were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (uncommon on the river), SPOTTED TOWHEE (also not common here but present in numbers at the moment) and LAZULI BUNTING.

I recorded the following species on the river from 7:45-9:45am:
Pied-billed Grebe, N. Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's & Plumbeous Vireos, Curve-billed Thrasher, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

A short visit to Sierra Vista EOP in gloomy and drizzly conditions was not very productive. Highlight was a perched PEREGRINE FALCON which I think is the same bird that's been around for a couple of months. A few miserable looking TREE and BARN SWALLOWS were on the wires near the trash compaction area.

I recorded the following species at Sierra Vista EOP from 9:50--10:40am:
Am. Wigeon, Mallard, N. Shoveler, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Sora, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, Marsh Wren, Tree & Barn Swallows, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & Vesper Sparrows, Yellow-headed, Red-winged & Brewer's Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackle.

Thursday, November 13, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Today I was scheduled to be out with Dean and Joan Luehrs from Sun City, AZ, who I've birded with on two previous occasions. We met as planned this morning, but due to the conditions we decided to postpone until tomorrow and hope for better weather. I didn't fancy our chances of success with grassland sparrows in the rain and wind. A definite case of bad karma -- the last time we birded together (January 20, 2003) we had good success with Le Conte's Thrasher but my car was broken into and vandalized.

After we parted company, I headed over to Willcox where I had planned to go yesterday. Conditions here were completely overcast and on the cool side. Rain threatened several times but I only saw a few sprinkles in the 4 hours that I was there. 

Water is again being pumped into the main pond and that plus the rain over the past few days has raised the water level considerably. The rain has also made the road around the pond quite treacherous in places, especially at the northeast corner of the pond where four wheel drive was needed. I helped a couple from Rochester, NY who had got stuck in this area in a dinky little rental vehicle. After much huffing and puffing and wheel spinning, we managed to extricate the vehicle. I got covered in mud or "sluched up" as they say in the old country. Fortunately, I had a change of clothes with me.

There were a few gull comings and goings but nothing spectacular. When I first arrived I saw 18 RING-BILLED GULLS. Next time that I checked there were 22 RING-BILLED and 2 CALIFORNIA GULLS; and just before I left a plethora of 39 RING-BILLED GULLS. I missed a Wood Duck that left just before I arrived.

A few of the later arriving species were around today including 1-CANVASBACK, 10-LESSER SCAUP, 4 BUFFLEHEADS and a non breeding plumaged male (brown head, streaked breast) RED-BREASTED MERGANSER on the golf course pond. This is a fairly scarce species in southeast Arizona and seven of my eleven records have come in November. 

Non geeks skip this section: I took many photographs of the merganser, mostly from a distance but good enough to document the bird despite being fuzzy. However, when I got home I wasn't able to transfer the images from the camera's memory card to my hard disk. Somehow the memory card was corrupted and all the filenames were garbage and unreadable. The weird thing is that I could see the images on the camera as though nothing was wrong. I decided to run the old DOS program "CHKDSK" on the removable disk (which is how windows treats the memory card in the camera). Amazingly, I was able to partly recover and managed to salvage about 70 images from the128 that were on the card. Of course, the merganser shots were all trashed apart from a few truncated images showing only part of the bird. The remote control for my camera shutter also died today (broken wire). Even though today was the 13th, it wasn't Friday!  Murphy's law exemplified, or, better said: shit happens..

Despite the increase in water level, the water depth is still low in many places. It was a little incongruous to see 10 WESTERN GREBES swimming around while the water was barely covering the feet of nearby LEAST SANDPIPERS. 

The lone Avocet finally seems to have left and I didn't see any Dowitchers. Shorebirds noted were 5 WESTERN, 50 or so LEAST and 1 BAIRD'S SANDPIPER; and 1 DUNLIN. Published data for Baird's Sandpiper in southeast Arizona shows them present to about the third week in October with one record during the first week of November. Today's sighting was certainly my own latest record, extending my previous late date of  November 2, 1994 at Sierra Vista EOP.

Over at the Golf Course pond, a very tolerant GREAT HORNED OWL was sitting in the open in a Salt Cedar. Both SORA (common) and VIRGINIA RAIL were vocal in the marsh. What is presumably the same PRAIRIE FALCON that has been regular for a few weeks was on a pole on Rex Allen Drive as I left.

48 species recorded at Willcox from 8:15am-12:15pm:
10-Eared & 10-Western Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, 1-Canvasback, 10-Lesser Scaup, 4-Buffleheads, 1-Red-breasted Merganser, Great Blue Heron, 2-Black-crowned Night-Herons, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Gambel's Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, 25-Sandhill Cranes, 5-Western, 50-Least & 1-Baird's Sandpiper, 1-Dunlin, Killdeer, 39-Ring-billed & 2-California Gulls, Great Horned Owl, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Curve-billed Thrasher, Marsh Wren, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned & Savannah Sparrows, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, November 14, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Following yesterday's postponement, I was out today with Dean and Joan Luehrs. What a difference a day makes! Although the day began with low overcast in Sierra Vista, the weather eventually cooperated very nicely. A late CASSIN'S KINGBIRD was near the Best Western on Fry Boulevard as we got underway at 7:00am this morning (extending my latest date for the Sierra Vista area by one day). We saw little else for a while as we drove through Fort Huachuca and the west side of the Huachucas in heavy, low clouds. However, as we crested out at Canelo Pass we were treated to a wonderful view of the San Rafael Valley bathed in sunshine. 

The conditions also translated into excellent success with our target sparrows. We soon had close up looks at a very cooperative BAIRD'S SPARROW perched on a fence wire. Shortly afterwards, in a different location, we had similar great looks at side by side GRASSHOPPER and BAIRD'S SPARROWS. Had I been set up for photography (something that I normally don't do when working), I would have got some excellent shots.

Other than these sparrows the valley was fairly quiet and we didn't linger. Other species noted included NORTHERN HARRIER, AMERICAN KESTREL, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, HORNED LARK, some fly-by CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS, VESPER & SAVANNAH SPARROWS and EASTERN MEADOWLARK. 

I've mentioned before about how low the species diversity is in this location. I looked at my records to quantify this and came up with an average of 12 species per visit (since I have >100 visits the data is quite solid). A definite case of quality over quantity with species like Sprague's Pipit, Chestnut-collared & McCown's Longspurs and Baird's Sparrow being the principle targets here. However, how can one quantify the spectacular views?

We drove into Patagonia via Harshaw Canyon seeing only GREATER ROADRUNNER, a group MEXICAN JAYS a couple of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and a few common oak species.

Patagonia Lake State Park was very quiet around midday and I noted only 35 species as we walked to where Sonoita Creek feeds the lake. The BROWN PELICAN continues on the lake. GRAY FLYCATCHERS were initially quite vocal but hard to see.

After a very brief and unproductive stop in Marion Paton's yard we finished the day at Las Cienegas. I was amazed that we were able to get great looks at a cooperative CASSIN'S SPARROW, certainly not the easiest of birds to find at this time of year. My scouting trip from a couple of days ago paid off. 

Day list:
Eared Grebe, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Brown Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Great Blue Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Eastern Bluebird, Am. Robin, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus, Rock & Bewick's Wrens, Verdin, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Song, Lincoln's, Savannah, Baird's, Grasshopper, Chipping, Vesper, Black-throated & Cassin's Sparrows, Abert's Towhee, Eastern Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

Monday, November 17, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
On a gorgeous, crisp blue sky morning I made routine visits to Sawmill Canyon and Sierra Vista EOP. The fall colors in Garden Canyon were worth the price of admission.

In Sawmill, I made the mistake of getting bogged down with photography and didn't do as much birding as I had intended. It was quite windy in the canyon so I didn't expect to detect much in the way of sapsucker action. However, about 1/2 mile into the canyon I heard some tapping and tracked down what turned out to be a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. The bird was creating some new sapwells and was therefore quite noisy. Later, when the sapwells are flowing with sap, the sapsuckers don't need to make any noise to feed and become harder to detect. You then have to do the rounds of sapwell trees and hope your timing coincides with the sapsucker's schedule.

Against my better judgment, I returned to my vehicle to get my scope and camera. The bird was still tapping away when I returned and I set up to do some digiscoping, although, in retrospect, I really shouldn't have bothered. I still haven't learned when to pass up a poor opportunity and almost always insist on trying for a shot even though the conditions are not conducive to digiscoping! In this case, several factors were against me  -- I was standing on uneven ground, the bird was fairly high up in the tree requiring the scope to be at a 60 degree angle (alleviated somewhat by the Coolpix swivel lens), the bird remained in the shade making for terrible lighting conditions, and, worst of all, never once presented a favorable pose. Also, since my remote control died last week, I had to shoot manually and couldn't use a really slow shutter speed. All in all, not a very satisfactory situation! Over a 45 minute period I took 140 shots and ended up with just one that I could use. Before processing with Adobe Photoshop, the published shot above was almost black and lacking in detail, as shown in this thumbnail of the original 2270 by 1700 pixel image.

The least common bird that I noted was WESTERN BLUEBIRD, a species that is rare in Sawmill. Bluebird distribution in southeast Arizona is quite interesting. In the Huachucas, Eastern Bluebird is a year round resident and Western is present in winter, usually confined to foothills locations. I have less than 10 records in Sawmill from November-February in 6 different years.

15 species recorded in Sawmill Canyon:
Red-tailed Hawk, Williamson's Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Common Raven, Hutton's Vireo, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, White-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Siskin, Olive Warbler and Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos.

The highlight at Sierra Vista EOP was a slightly early FERRUGINOUS HAWK. They normally don't become regular at this location until December and even then they are scarce. I have four records for the last week in November and today's sighting was my first record for the third week.

A few TREE SWALLOWS were still around (they are sporadic here in November and I have one December record). Amazingly, I didn't record a single blackbird of any flavor.

20 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP:
Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Sora, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Marsh Wren, Tree Swallow, Am. Pipit, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song & White-crowned Sparrow.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
This morning I checked Whitewater Draw and Willcox. It was a typical weather day for this time of year -- cold to start with a frosty windshield and pleasantly warm later.

Less common species at Whitewater Draw were a female RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, a perched FERRUGINOUS HAWK and 2-SWAMP SPARROWS. All three are scarce at this location and not present every year, although Ferruginous Hawk becomes common just a few miles to the north where the habitat is suitable. Other species of note included a very distant immature (dusky toned) SNOW GOOSE, a lone AMERICAN AVOCET and continuing LAZULI BUNTINGS (my latest date at this location). The south willow grove held a GREAT HORNED OWL and a MERLIN that caused havoc with the shorebirds several times. It's hard to tell from this distant photo but I'd say the bird is a male richardsonii (pale blue-gray back, white tail bands, pale faced and not much of a moustache). When flying the bird appeared almost white at times.

47 species recorded at Whitewater Draw from 7:30-9:00am:
2-Pied-billed & 3-Eared Grebes, 1-Snow Goose, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, 2-Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, 1-Red-breasted Merganser, N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Am. Coot, 1000s-Sandhill Cranes, 2-Greater Yellowlegs, 20-Long-billed Dowitchers, 30-Least Sandpipers, 1-Am. Avocet, Killdeer, 1-Ring-billed Gull, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Vermilion Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Lincoln's, 2-Swamp & White-crowned Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird and Eastern Meadowlark.

I drove north to Willcox without stopping. Along the way I noted several rufous morph RED-TAILS, 3-FERRUGINOUS HAWKS and a few flocks of LARK BUNTINGS. 

The water level at Willcox continues to rise and even the western end is now starting to get some water. The birding here was fairly low key compared to Whitewater Draw (where the more diverse habitat is attractive to wintering landbirds)

 The WESTERN GREBE population has dropped from ten to one; PRAIRIE FALCON continues;  the only shorebirds that I could find were LEAST SANDPIPERS. 

The non breeding plumaged male RED-BREASTED MERGANSER also continues, now on the main pond (I'm assuming it's the same bird that I saw last week but this may not be the case). It's interesting to note that Sibley shows this species as having breeding plumage from November onwards. However, I don't recall any of my November records for males (in southeast Arizona) being in breeding plumage.

32 species recorded at Willcox from 10:00-11:30am:
5-Eared & 1-Western Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, 1-Red-breasted Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Sora, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, 30-Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, 3-Ring-billed Gulls, Say's & Black Phoebes, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Marsh Wren, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Song Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark.

Thursday, November 20, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
First of two days with Mike O'Malley from Clarkesville, TN. We previously birded together for a couple days last November. Today was an absolutely gorgeous blue sky day to be out -- calm and mild to start, in the low 80s by early afternoon in Green Valley. It was a pretty good day bird-wise as well. We birded a loop through Cochise, Pima and Santa Cruz counties starting in San Rafael Valley; on to Patagonia Lake; then we checked Amado Sewage Pond and the old maintenance yard area Green Valley, spent a couple of hours in Madera Canyon and traveled back to Sierra Vista via Box Canyon. 

The day began well when Mike spotted a roadside MONTEZUMA QUAIL as we headed west through Fort Huachuca. Further west beyond the fort, EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were near the corral in Canelo Hills, a regular spot for them.

Our good karma (that began with the quail) continued in the San Rafael Valley where we had great looks at a perched BAIRD'S SPARROW without even getting out of the vehicle! It was as if the bird was just waiting for us to arrive. Mike was able to get some photos that looked pretty decent in the monitor. I sure hope that they turn out well. We were barely in the valley for 30 minutes as we drove straight through from east to west.

The drive to Patagonia through Harshaw Canyon yielded very little and we began birding at Patagonia Lake State Park shortly before 9:00am. Our 3 1/2 session was very productive and we recorded 52 species. Although we struck out on Elegant Trogon along the creek, we had success with the pair of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS. I first heard their calls at 9:15am but it took about 30 minutes before we laid eyes on them. 

Other species included 4-WESTERN GREBES at the western end of the lake, both cormorants and BROWN PELICAN at the eastern end,  COMMON MOORHEN (has become much less common here in the past couple of years), RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, EASTERN PHOEBE, GRAY & DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, a singing PLUMBEOUS VIREO that we eventually tracked down, and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH along the creek (possibly two -- one seen and heard; another or the same bird heard 250 yards away shortly afterwards). 

A brief early afternoon check of Amado sewage pond yielded very little as did a more thorough search of the area around the old Pima County maintenance yard in Green Valley. I've seen Lawrence's Goldfinches here as early as October and several times by this date in November. However, no success today.

We moved on to Madera Canyon where we saw a few decent birds despite construction traffic (and worse still, construction traffic noise). The highlight for me was perhaps the most pristine adult male OLIVE WARBLER that I've ever seen. A real stunner at close range a little above Madera Kubo. Also here were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, several ARIZONA WOODPECKERS, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, a few WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, at least 2-CASSIN'S FINCHES, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and 2-PAINTED REDSTARTS. Unfortunately, I failed to find a Townsend's Warbler which was the real target here. 

Box Canyon Road was fairly quiet but did yield a LEWIS'S WOODPECKER and excellent close up looks at RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW as daylight started to wane. 

Day list (92 species recorded):
Pied-billed, Eared & Western Grebes, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Brown Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Great Blue Heron, Black & Turkey Vultures, N. Harrier, Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's & Montezuma Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Mourning, White-winged & Inca Doves, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis's, Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed & Arizona Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Eastern, Say's & Black Phoebes, Hammond's, Gray, Dusky & Vermilion Flycatchers, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's & Plumbeous Vireos, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Eastern & Western Bluebirds, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canyon, Marsh, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, Cassin's & House Finches, Olive, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped & Black-throated Gray Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Painted Redstart, Dark-eyed (Gray-headed & Oregon) Junco, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Baird's, Chipping, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated & Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Friday, November 21, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out again today with Mike. On a slightly cooler (mid 70s pm) and at times windy day, we birded in the Chiricahuas with a couple of sessions at Willcox.

On our way to the mountains we stopped at Willcox where a one hour session didn't produce anything exciting among 38 species recorded.  A lone WESTERN GREBE continues on the main pond along with a few LEAST and one WESTERN SANDPIPER. Both SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL were vocal at the Golf Course pond that also held WILSON'S SNIPE and a female BUFFLEHEAD.

Relatively speaking, our afternoon visit was much more exciting. No less than 75 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS were hanging out in the shallows at the eastern end of the main pond. A first winter BONAPARTE'S GULL flew in to the same area. However, the highlight came at the far western end in the form of a very late male WILSON'S PHALAROPE, my latest record for southeast Arizona by some margin (previously October 29, 1997 at Green Valley WWTP). Both birdfinding guides show them as present through October.

Present on the golf course pond was a hybrid AMERICAN x EURASIAN WIGEON that looks like the same bird that has been here in winters past. The chestnut head is not solid  (shows some green) and the flanks are "Am. Wigeon pink" instead of gray.

Today was a milestone for my Willcox data collection efforts -- it was my 200th visit. Although the data that I now have is only 50% of what I consider to be truly meaningful, the data is still very useful. Consequently, I've added it to the bar-graph page and will update the graph with each subsequent visit, as I do the other locations. 

In the Chiricahuas we managed to see two of three target species. On the Pinery Canyon Road it took a little time to find our first MEXICAN CHICKADEE. Of course, after that we found quite a few flocks of them. Next, we worked on NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL and I'm happy to say that our patience and persistence were rewarded with excellent looks at a cooperative bird. In Portal we struck out on Blue-throated Hummingbird, seeing only MAGNIFICENT. As the saying goes, two out of three ain't bad (as the stockbroker said to his boss when talking about a complaining customer -- I'm happy, you're happy, what's his problem).

Day list (70 species recorded):
Eared & Western Grebes, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Scaled Quail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Wilson's Snipe, Long-billed Curlew, Western & Least Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, Killdeer, Bonaparte's Gull, Mourning Dove, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Magnificent Hummingbird, Acorn, Arizona & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Say's & Black Phoebes, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's & Mexican Jays, Chihuahuan Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, Pygmy, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Cactus & Marsh Wrens, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed Juncos, Spotted & Canyon Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Monday, November 24, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
It always hurts to lose income but, late on Friday after seeing the high wind forecast, I advised my Saturday client to cancel. Thankfully, he did just that because as things turned out it was diabolically windy and we wouldn't have had a very pleasant nor productive day. Wasn't it written that "what doth it profit a guide if he gains a few bucks and creates an unhappy client".

It very cold on the San Pedro at 7:30am this morning (somewhere in the 20s) and perhaps I should have started a little later. Thankfully though, there wasn't a sign of recent high winds and it was a gorgeous morning. There wasn't much activity early on. Apart from abundant WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, illegal aliens (working north along the east bank of the river) were the most common species. Also of note -- man with dog disobeying the leash law.

I worked south from the San Pedro House and spent plenty of time in the mesquite-grassland and washes, eventually looping back north along the river. Unless you have a specific objective, this strategy will generally produce the best overall birding (except in summer). This is especially true on a cold morning like today when almost all of the birds are concentrated away from the immediate area of the river. Seedeaters were the order of the day with sparrows and towhees being most conspicuous. 

I was delighted to find a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH for the first time on the San Pedro (SPRNCA species #213 for me). At least one individual has been present for several winters but this is the first time that I've managed to lay eyes on one at this location. The bird was in a mesquite on the edge of the high bank overlooking the river where the trail from the San Pedro House meets the river. I heard the bird calling when I was 100 yards away and hurried to find it. The bird obliged by sitting in the open for a couple of minutes as it continued to call, all the while doing its characteristic bobbing and weaving.

Another bird of note was a SWAMP SPARROW on the east side of the big pond. I've only seen this species on the river in two of the past eleven years. A male LAZULI BUNTING in Garden Wash was a pleasant surprise since they are normally gone from here by mid November. A single COMMON MOORHEN continues on the big pond.

38 species recorded:
Pied-billed Grebe, Am. Wigeon, N. Shoveler, Am. Kestrel, Gambel's Quail, Common Moorhen, Am. Coot, Mourning Dove, Gila & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Black Phoebe, Chihuahuan Raven, European Starling, White-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh & Bewick's Wrens, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed, Spotted, Canyon & Abert's Towhees, Pyrrhuloxia, Lazuli Bunting and Red-winged Blackbird.

On the way home I stopped at Sierra Vista EOP where a group of five INCA DOVES represented only my second sighting here. Today was my 825th visit so perhaps we can call them scarce at this location (gee, you think!). A couple of LARK SPARROWS were new here for November; they are a common migrant at the ponds in April and May and again from July through early October. Other species included PRAIRIE FALCON and a small flock of LARK BUNTINGS.

21 species recorded:
Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Sora, Mourning & Inca Doves, Say's & Black Phoebes, Loggerhead Shrike, Verdin, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Bunting, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Vesper & Lark Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia and Western Meadowlark.

Tuesday, November 25, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
This morning I had to deal with a serious emergency before going birding -- my Mr. Coffee died! Imagine, if you will, the sheer terror that I felt when the switch jammed and I was coffee-less in Sierra Vista. There was nothing left for me to do but head over to Walmart and face a bewildering array of coffee makers. Nobody should have to make difficult decisions like this before morning coffee. Also, answer me this, what are so many people doing at Walmart first thing in the morning? Did their coffee makers break at an inopportune moment as well? Descansa en paz, Señor Café. Viva el neuvo Señor Café. Following this traumatic experience, I decided to check Scheelite Canyon instead of my original plan of visiting Willcox (baby steps).

Today was very cloudy and mild compared to the clear and cold conditions of yesterday and the trudge up Scheelite was quiet and gloomy. Although my morning improved when I was successful in finding an owl, I could very easily have missed the bird. After a thorough (or so I thought!) search of the lower roosting area and my customary double check, I was lamenting the fact that I would have to slog up to the upper canyon. This was something that, even in the cool and gloomy conditions, I wasn't really looking forward to. 

I was just about ready to get started when I decided that something was wrong with this picture. Earlier, as I was searching for an owl, I had noticed fresh whitewash in a couple of places, including the lower canyon. I had a sneaky feeling that the bird was not higher up the canyon and that I had simply missed it. Consequently, I decided to take a third look around. Well, what do you know, I found a wide awake SPOTTED OWL in a regular tree. I'm not certain, but think it may be a hatch year individual. The bird was in a slightly different location than "normal", just enough removed from where a bird "usually" sits when using this particular tree that I had overlooked it. For every roost location I have a specific vantage point from which I check for an owl. Sometimes, a foot or so either side of this vantage may not yield a view. However, in order to see today's bird I had to back up about 50 yards from the tree. Of course, once I knew where it was, the bird became obvious!

The light was very poor but I nevertheless tried my hand at photography. Context photo #1 was taken directly with my Coolpix 4500. Close up photo #2 was taken with a 3X Teleconverter attached. In both cases, I had to do some serious jiggery-pokery with Photoshop to make the images useful.

Thursday, November 27, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Out today with Alan and Beryl Turner from Ashton-under-Lyne, England We've birded together once before about this time two years ago. The day began cold and windy and warmed into the 60s (the wind persisted in some areas). It was generally a very slow birding day but we did manage to find several good birds. We birded twice in the San Rafael Valley (am and pm), at Patagonia Lake State Park and in the Huachucas.

The day began cold and windy in the San Rafael Valley and even the common SAVANNAH and VESPER SPARROWS were conspicuous by their absence. Needless to say, BAIRD'S SPARROW was very hard to come by -- we heard one bird in a regular spot and managed a very brief flying view of another. We flushed a WHITE-TAILED KITE from its Agave perch as we drove by and had to settle for a flying view.

At Patagonia Lake, I didn't fancy my chances with the gnatcatchers in the breezy conditions and I was extremely pleased when I heard the birds calling in the mesquite bosque near Nutting's wash. We tracked down the male BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER and had excellent close range looks as the bird foraged and called. The female was calling nearby.

Along the creek trail we stumbled into the male ELEGANT TROGON who gave himself away with an alarm call. Again, we had excellent looks as the bird perched in the open after some clumsy attempts at hover-gleaning. The LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH was in the same area (0.5 mile along Sonoita Creek trail) but we didn't spend any time pursuing it after it flew downstream.

On the return walk we were fortunate to see the RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN when the bird flew into a hackberry just after we had walked away from the tree. A birder from Nevada was kind enough to call us back. After foraging for a minute or two, the bird sat still for almost fifteen minutes. However, this wasn't particularly good news because the bird was facing us and we had to identify it by the lack of an eye ring and white on the lower belly. Eventually, the bird turned enough so that we could see its rufous back. All the hackberry trees that I looked at didn't have much in the way of ripe berries yet, just small stuff. This is probably why the robins don't usually arrive until later in December. This was only my second November sighting in AZ.

We headed over to the Huachucas via San Rafael Valley again. Strangely, even though it was windy in Harshaw Canyon, there was zero wind in the valley in the early afternoon. Unfortunately, someone with two dogs running around and a radio blasting rock music was in the best Baird's Sparrow spot so we failed again. A bird perched up briefly along FR58 but I couldn't get the scope on it quickly enough and it was gone. A couple of BALD EAGLES near the Vaca ranch corral were a little consolation.

The sun had already set in Scheelite Canyon when we started up the trail shortly after 3:00pm. I was very much hoping to find an owl quickly because we didn't have enough daylight for a check of the upper area. Fortunately, a SPOTTED OWL cooperated by being in a regular tree in the lower roosting area. The only bird of note was a calling CRISSAL THRASHER, a very scarce species in this location.

Driving home through lower Garden Canyon grassland came my bird of the day -- a late CASSIN'S KINGBIRD. Apart from one winter record, this was my latest southeastern Arizona fall sighting, extending my late date set recently on November 14. 

Not a lot of birds on this Thanksgiving day -- definitely a case of quality over quantity.

Friday, November 28, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Out today with Linda Safir from Charlotte, NC and Marlin Johnson from Milwaukee, WI. We duplicated yesterday's itinerary starting in San Rafael Valley, moving on to Patagonia Lake State Park and finishing up in Scheelite Canyon.  In contrast to yesterday, the valley was mild and calm early this morning. However, the wind was definitely a problem at Patagonia Lake and our results were not quite as good as yesterday.

Unfortunately, despite the excellent conditions in the San Rafael Valley, we struck out completely on Baird's Sparrow. Unlike yesterday, SAVANNAH and VESPER SPARROWS were easy to find (as usual) and we also saw several GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, but not a smell of Baird's. A flock of CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS were around and we also saw WHITE-TAILED KITE.

Conditions at Patagonia Lake were far from ideal but we had immediate success with the pair of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS. I heard the BRIDLED TITMOUSE flock and the hanger-on HUTTON'S VIREO and the strategy of following them soon paid dividends. We first heard then saw both male and female with excellent looks at both. The birds were working the mesquite between the third and fourth washes.

The male ELEGANT TROGON was also very cooperative and had ventured a little closer to the lake today -- about 0.25 miles along the creek trail.

We spent some time at the hackberry tree where I saw Rufous-backed Robin yesterday but the bird didn't oblige us with an appearance.

Due to the wind, the overall birding was quite poor, although we did manage good looks at GRAY FLYCATCHER and EASTERN PHOEBE escaping from the wind in the mesquite bosque. The species total was way below a "normal" day for this time of year with only 32 species recorded.

Our traipse up Scheelite Canyon was very successful and relatively fast. As we reached the down canyon side of the lower roosting area, I said to Linda and Marlin that "this" tree (the one we had stopped at) was the lowest, regularly used reliable spot for the owl. Without a word of a lie, I looked up and there sat this SPOTTED OWL. I'm trying to document every roost site and managed a photo despite poor light. As you can see, the bird wasn't too interested in us and barely bothered to half open one eye. I distinctly heard the bird mutter "damn, not you again".

A late CASSIN'S KINGBIRD continues in the mesquite-grassland in Garden Canyon where a small flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were present.

Day list (64 species recorded):
Pied-billed & Eared Grebes, Neotropic & Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, White-tailed Kite, N. Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Virginia Rail, Am. Coot, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Spotted Owl, Elegant Trogon, Gila Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Eastern, Say's & Black Phoebes, Cassin's Kingbird, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan & Common Ravens, Hutton's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's & House Wrens, Verdin, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bridled Titmouse, Am. Pipit, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Savannah, Grasshopper, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, N. Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern & Western Meadowlarks and Great-tailed Grackle.

Saturday, November 29, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Just a brief midday visit to Sierra Vista EOP today. The bothersome wind of yesterday was gone and the day was sunny and a little warmer than of late.

Viewing conditions at the EOP are poor at the best of times, with almost no open water to be seen. To compound the problem, the two closest ponds where you have a chance for some waterfowl are currently either completely drained or very low. As you might expect around the middle of the day, I struggled to find birds.

YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS in the marsh were the most common species. The only ducks that I saw were in flight. Incredibly, I saw only one each of RED-WINGED and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. The only highlights were provided by raptors -- male and female/immature NORTHERN HARRIERS scaring up birds in the marsh, a perched FERRUGINOUS HAWK and a spectacular acrobatic display from a PRAIRIE FALCON.  

21 species recorded at Sierra Vista EOP:
Am. Wigeon, Mallard, N. Shoveler, N. Harrier, Red-tailed & Ferruginous Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Sora, Am. Coot, Least Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Say's Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Marsh Wren, Horned Lark, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song & White-crowned Sparrows and Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds.

Sunday, November 30, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Even though it was a mild 40+ degrees on Fry Boulevard this morning, the puddles on upper Garden Canyon road were frozen in the shady spots as I headed up to Sawmill. When I reached the canyon, conditions were absolutely fantastic (clear blue skies, lots of sunshine and not a breath of wind) and I was able to shed long parts and sweater from the get go. For those of you who have never visited this location, upper Garden is closed in (and doesn't get any early morning sun in winter) whereas Sawmill is open. 

There was so much tapping as I started up the trail that I hardly knew where to start. At first, almost everything that I tracked down was an ARIZONA WOODPECKER and I must have seen at least a dozen of them, perhaps they were having a convention. Everything else turned out to be either a MEXICAN JAY, NORTHERN FLICKER or WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Disappointingly, in two hours of searching I didn't come across a single sapsucker.

Woodpeckers aside, it was generally a very quiet morning. I was hoping to find my first Townsend's Solitaire of the season but once again I came up empty. Regularly occurring  species included STELLER'S & MEXICAN JAYS, COMMON RAVEN, AMERICAN ROBIN, several BROWN CREEPERS flitting from pine cone to pine cone, a flock of twittering BUSHTITS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, PINE SISKIN, three flavors of  DARK-EYED JUNCOS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCO. 

I couldn't find the Cassin's Kingbird in lower Garden Canyon and it may have finally departed (tomorrow it would be a good bird indeed!) Among the species in the mesquite-grassland were several RED-TAILED HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTRELS and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, lots of PHAINOPEPLAS in the mistletoe areas, a few chattering VERDINS, skulking LINCOLN'S & RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS, SPOTTED TOWHEE and PYRRHULOXIA.

Not a very auspicious or birdy morning to close out the month, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed nevertheless. I also enjoyed watching Fulham get a point at Arsenal (everybody has a team they love to hate, for me that team is Arsenal!).

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

Species List

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

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