AZ Big Year - Week Seventeen

23 April 2014 Wednesday: Out with Arlan & Linda in the Huachuca Mountains.

Huachuca Canyon – Two Gray Hawks, no Sinaloa Wren, many warblers (mostly Audubon’s), Northern Pygmy-Owl heard, two Elegant Trogon cackling to one another – saw one adult male, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Warbler, one Grace’s Warbler, many Townsend’s Warblers, adult male Scott’s Oriole

Miller Canyon – Spotted Owl, Red-faced Warbler, Northern Goshawk, No. Pygmy-Owl, Greater Pewee, twelve Hammond’s Flycatchers, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Canyon Wren nesting in mine shaft

24 April 2014 Thursday: Second day with Arlan & Linda

Carr Canyon – more Buff-breasted Flycatchers (2 nests), Greater Pewee, Red-faced, Virginia’s, Grace’s, Townsend’s & Olive Warblers, two calling Northern Pygmy-Owls,

Ash Canyon B&B – Ash-throated Flycatcher, scores of Lazuli Buntings, adult male Lucifer’s Hummingbird

Paton’s (alone) – Indigo Bunting

Rest Stop (alone) – Thick-billed Kingbird

Proctor Road (alone) – nightjar no, Elf Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, & Common Poorwill - YES

25 April 2014 Friday:  A planned personal day that turned into a half-day guiding that morphed back into a personal day due to client cancelling.

Florida Wash – searched unsuccessfully for the Black-capped Gnatcatchers at the junction of FR 62A & FR 481.

Madera Canyon Road - singing (spontaneously) Botteri’s Sparrow at MP9.

26 April 2014 Saturday:  The first of three half-days with Len & Cindy,

Santa Rita Lodge – Lazuli Buntings

Madera Picnic Area – Gray Hawk on nest

Proctor Road – Vaux’s Swift, White-throated Sparrow

Madera Kubo – five Magnificent Hummingbirds, Arizona Woodpecker, Rufous-crowned Sparrow

Whitehouse Canyon Road – eleven Vaux’s Swifts flying over at MP 2.

Undisclosed Location in Green Valley - PLAIN-CAPPED STARTHROAT

27 April 2014 Sunday: Second half-day with Len & Cindy

Proctor Road – many migrants

Carrie Nation Trail – Greater Pewee heard, Red-faced Warbler

Green Valley – Harris’s Hawk, Inca Dove, six Vaux’s Swifts, nesting Curve-billed Thrashers

My Backyard – Gambel’s Quail chicks, Costa’s Hummingbird, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Green-tailed Towhee

Dinner at Will’s Russell’s place with Andrew Core, Mark Stevenson, Scott Olmstead, the eBird Big Day scouting team (Marshall Iliff, Tom Johnson, Tim Lenz, Gary Rosenberg)

28 April 2014 Monday: Day off

Green Valley Water Treatment Facility – met up with the eBird scouting team, six Snowy Egrets, two Red-necked Phalaropes, 42 Western Sandpipers

Amado Water Treatment Plant – female Greater Scaup (found by eBird team)

Proctor Road Area – Buff-collared Nightjar female

29 April 2014 Tuesday:  Another special day in the field and not so special spending four hours indoors.  This was the third and final day out with Len & Cindy, today we went to Mount Lemmon. 

Summerhaven – distant Short-tailed Hawk found by the eBird team, Band-tailed Pigeons, Red-naped Sapsucker, Rock Wren, Virginia’s Warblers, Yellow-eyed Juncos, Black-headed Grosbeak, & a flyover Evening Grosbeak

Marshall Gulch – Mountain Chickadee, Red-faced Warbler, Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Near the top of Mt Lemmon – gobbling Wild Turkey, Violet-green Swallows, heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch, more Yellow-eyed Juncos

Palisades Area – flyover one-tailed Hawk, Pygmy Nuthatches, Western Bluebirds, eye-level female Olive Warbler, one Red-faced Warbler

Rose Canyon Pulloff – Hepatic Tanager, Red Crossbill

Green Valley (from Abrego Dr) – had heard about Willets popping up at various spots all afternoon while I sat at the Toyota dealership for four fours while my truck was being serviced.  I checked spots on the way home late in the day finally ending up at Torres Blancas Golf Course in Green Valley.  There also, no luck.  I gave up on Willets today, couldn’t make to Amado with enough light to see anything. While driving north bound on Abrego heading home I see a flock of apparent shorebirds flying northbound.  My Willets, I count 64 +/- 3.  Amazing!

Summary: Year list at the end of the week 337.