AZ Big Year - Week Twenty-Two

28 May 2014 Wednesday:  Today began two days guiding Barbara & Douglass, two ladies from Louisiana.  We started in Green Valley with three Harris’s Hawks near their nest site and were fortunate to see a Gilded Flicker in a nearby Saguaro. At Continental Wash we looked in on the nesting Red-tailed Hawks and found a pair of Rufous-winged Sparrows.  Further up Whitehouse Canyon Road we found a pair of Crissal Thrashers in an area that I had not seen them before.  At Proctor Road in lower Madera Canyon we scored many of the expected species for the season including Botteri’s Sparrow, Varied Bunting, & Blue Grosbeak.  At the Santa Rita Lodge & Madera Kubo we enjoyed a few hummingbirds including Magnificent, Arizona Woodpecker, Greater Pewee, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, and Painted Redstart.  We dipped on Elegant Trogon along the first mile of the Super Trail yet found Dusky-capped Flycatchers, a Swainson’s Thrush, and Rufous-crowned Sparrows.

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

Arizona Woodpecker

Blue Grosbeak

In the evening I headed back up to Proctor Road for a nightjar search.  While driving up at milepost 4 on Whitehouse Canyon Road I saw a Prairie Falcon cruise by.  Prairie Falcons in southeast Arizona at this time of year are very local and this is not one of the usual locales.  At my nightjar spot, the Buff-collared Nightjar began calling at 19:35, earlier than the other two night birds heard this evening.  The nightjar sang for eleven minutes from various perches, one within twenty-five feet away and I saw it silhouetted as it flew by once.  The bird resumed singing at 20:12 (nearly a half hour of silence).  I was able to approach the bird, see eyeshine with my headlamp, and made several voice recordings.  The bird continued singing until at least 20:37 when I got back to my truck.

29 May 2014 Thursday:  After the long drive from Green Valley, we (Barbara, Douglass, & myself) birded Huachuca Canyon above the 1.7 mile picnic area.  We found three Elegant Trogons (a female & two males), three pairs of noisy Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, two Buff-breasted Flycatchers, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Western Tanagers, Black-throated Gray Warblers, and heard a day calling Spotted Owl.   

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (rare) - shaking off water after bathing

Black-throated Gray Warbler - posed after bathing

Male Western Tanager

Up Miller Canyon we were able to see the female Spotted Owl on the well-advertised nest however the chicks were not visible.  The male White-eared Hummingbird continues to dazzle. Among the boulders of the washout through the middle of the Beatty’s property, a family group of Rock Wrens were entertaining.  I left my camera & big lens in the truck because of the slight threat of rain.  I did carry my scope since it was going to give us the best view of the Spotted Owl.  Below are two photographs digitscoped with my iPhone:

Female Spotted Owl in cavity

Dorsal view of male White-eared Hummingbird

Just after starting down Miller Canyon Road from the Beatty's, we came across this beauty.  My experiences with Gopher Snakes it that they usually flee unless cornered.  Well this one wasn't fleeing and kicking at its tail did not seem to help encourage it to move along.  I was about to get one of my hiking sticks when two AZF&G guys arrived.  One jumps out of the truck and says its just a Gopher Snake and without hesitation reaches down, grabs the snake mid-section, and drops it in the weeds on the side of the road.  Now that's a real man!

I left Barbara & Douglass in Sierra Vista and drove up to St. David to see if I could find my year Mississippi Kite.  They had been reported in the vicinity for more than two weeks and since I had the opportunity I thought I would take a look.  Near the north end of Miller Lane in St. David, I found a perched Mississippi Kite perched in a large cottonwood.  I pull off take several pictures and then leave; the lighting was poor, the neighborhood did not look conducive to birding, and I was tired.

Mississippi Kite

30 May 2014 Friday:  I pulled feeder duty this morning and did not see the startthroat. At Amado Pond, the most interesting sighting was my year Purple Martin. There are not many reports of this species at this particular location.  Perhaps nearly as interesting were two continuing Neotropic Cormorants.  What could these cormorants find so attractive at this pond with so many golf course ponds with fish just a few miles away?  At Torres Blancas Golf Course an Osprey fly over provided very nice photo opportunities with some very nice results.

31 May 2014 Saturday: The evening I took Ed & Sylvia for an unsuccessful search for the Buff-collared Nightjar.  Unlike a few evenings ago, the nightjar was not heard my “secret” location.  Fortunately I will be with Ed & Sylvia for the next four days and will have other opportunities for hearing the nightjar.

Five-striped Sparrow singing

1 June 2014 Sunday: This morning Ed & Sylvia joined me on an excursion to California Gulch.  It was not until we got to the third stream crossing that I found any Five-striped Sparrow.  Three birds were foraging in the old roadbed just above where it crosses the dry stream.  There is a small pool of open water in the vicinity and that must have been the attraction.  Otherwise, we ended up with a good count of Five-striped Sparrows, seven with most of them being heard only.  We also saw a few of the other specialties in the gulch; Varied Buntings, Blue Grosbeak, Hooded Oriole, and Rufous-crowned Sparrows.

Five-striped Sparrow feeding

In the evening, we met again for some owling up in Madera Canyon.  We heard Flammulated, Elf, & Whiskered Screech-Owls and Mexican Whip-poor-wills. 

2 June 2014 Monday: Another morning with Ed & Sylvia, this morning we headed to Florida Canyon to search for the Rufous-capped Warblers.  We found two singing male and potentially a female (or at least a third bird) Rufous-capped Warblers near the oak grove where they have been hanging out for several weeks.  In addition to the warblers we found a calling Cordilleran Flycatcher (unusually low elevation), several fly by Band-tailed Pigeons, and two adult male singing Indigo Buntings.

In the evening, we tried for the nightjar again.  This time we settled in at the cattle guard on Proctor Road along with about eight to ten other folks and listened to the Buff-collared Nightjar sing for about 3 minutes.  Thankfully this species has such a distinctive song.

Adult Northern Pygmy-Owl

Baby Northern Pygmy-Owl

3 June 2014 Tuesday: We arrived at the trailhead parking are below the Beatty’s Guest Ranch at 07:35 and immediately proceeded through the Beatty’s property up the trail to the Northern Pygmy-Owl nest.  This species was one of Ed’s prime targets for their visit to Arizona.  It was also the one I was most worried about.  There does not appear to be any accessible nests in Madera Canyon, I don’t know of any along the Catalina Highway, the pair in Huachuca Canyon is nesting in an inaccessible location, and these (Miller Canyon) birds could have fledged.  As it turns out these birds have not fledged.  The female flies from the nest cavity upon our arrival.  After a few minutes delay, one of the chicks pokes it head out of the hole.  For the next hour or so we watch and photograph the chick, sometimes two, looking out of their secure cavity in a small oak tree in the middle of the dry streambed.  After a while a couple of Mexican Jays arrive on the scene, or at least nearby.  One of the adult pygmy-owls perches on a branch 50 yards away watching the jays.  And when one of the jays forages directly under the nest cavity, a second adult appears from nowhere and attacks the Mexican Jay.  The jay silently flees into a nearby oak tree with the little owl in pursuit.  After a scramble in the tree the jay flees further with the owl on its tail and eventually away from the nest area.  All the while the adult sitting on a branch watches the other jay and the action.

Baby Spotted Owl

I don’t think we could ever get tired of watching the pygmy-owl family in action, time was waning and we need to move on.  We stopped briefly at the Spotted Owl nest cavity and saw one chick.  We spent a little bit of time at the Beatty’s feeders allowing ourselves to be dazzled by the hummingbirds including mister dazzling himself, the White-eared Hummingbird.

We next headed over to Ash Canyon B&B with hopes of getting a mid-day look at a Lucifer Hummingbird.  Unfortunately (but expectedly) the Lucifer Hummingbird was a no show for the 90 minutes we waited. However, we were entertained by four other species of hummingbirds and sweet looks at both Scott’s & Bullock’s Orioles, both were brilliant males.

Male White-eared Hummingbird

On our way back to Green Valley, along Greaterville Road just west of Highway 82 we found a Zone-tailed Hawk soaring over.  This bird stayed overhead long enough for me to stop the truck and all to get out & look.

AZ Big Year - Week Twenty-One

21 May 2014 Wednesday: With a last minute cancellation, I found myself with a free day.  With little time to plan, I chose to visit a few of the ponds near Green Valley.  A quick visit to the Amado WTP produced two Snowy Egrets and a male Ring-necked Duck that will probably be spending the summer. Otherwise, I rested and began catching up on paperwork.

22 May 2014 Thursday:  Today I guided Bruce & Kris to Huachuca and Miller Canyons.  The Sinaloa Wren was not to be heard or seen this morning.  Two Pacific-slope Flycatchers seem to me to be late.  To be expected, Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers were visible & vocal at both ends of Huachuca Canyon Road.  A pair of Curve-billed Thrasher appeared to be building a nest a near the Camp Gila Picnic Area. Above the 1.7 mile picnic area we were blessed with wonderful looks at a male Elegant Trogon.  In Miller Canyon above the Beatty’s Guest Ranch, the female Northern Goshawk continues incubating or brooding, the female Spotted Owl was perched just outside the cavity, the Northern Pygmy-Owls were not to be seen.  At the Beatty’s feeders, the male White-eared Hummingbird continues to dazzle.

After I finished guiding, I headed over to Lake Cochise with hopes of seeing several rarities found yesterday and see earlier this morning.  I first saw the American Golden-Plover.  I took some distant yet identifiable photographs of this rare species for southeast Arizona and very good year bird.  On the east edge of the lake I found three Ring-billed Gulls and one ratty California Gull. And then I see the Black Tern hunting over the lake nearby.  On my pass around the lake, I found the Snowy Plover foraging & hiding beyond clumps of grass.  I was fortunate to see it and had no time to even attempt to get a photo.  I looked for the Snowy Plover from other vantage points without seeing it again.  Back on the east side of the lake, amongst the four larger gulls was the basic plumaged Bonapart’s Gull, probably a second year bird that won’t get full alternate plumage this summer.  I check out the golf course pond prior to leaving.  The sun is low in the sky and makes viewing this pond and the nearby golf course difficult.  However, I found a Willow Flycatcher in the willows (go figure) at the northeast corner of the pond.  This little excursion netted five year birds!  And I saw several other species of personal interest like Scaled Quail, Green-winged Teal (rare this time of year), a flock of White-faced Ibis, and twenty-two Spotted Sandpipers.

23 May 2014 Friday:  I was out again with Bruce & Kris in the Huachuca Mountains.  We first climbed up Carr Canyon Road to the Reef Townsite and Ramsey Vista Campgrounds.  At Reef Townsite among the numerous Buff-breasted Flycatchers were pair of Greater Pewees that appear territorial.  We also scored with the warblers, good views of singing male Virginia’s, Grace’s, and Olive.  At Ramsey Vista, we found three Band-tailed Pigeons perched up fairly close (rather than flying by), an Olive-sided Flycatcher, a male “Azure” Eastern Bluebird, and more Buff-breasted Flycatchers.  During the drive down Carr Canyon Road, we encountered a pair of Bushtits in the scrubby oaks at one of the hairpin turns overlooking Hereford.

We then spent an hour at Ash Canyon B&B hoping that a Lucifer Hummingbird would show up, no such luck.  While there I learned of an Elegant Tern that was found at Patagonia Lake State Park.  We already had plans to go to Patagonia. We traveled to Patagonia where we spent a half-hour at the Paton’s feeders scoring at least one Violet-crowned Hummingbird.  By the time we got to Patagonia Lake, it was hot.  The tern had been reported flying from the west end to the east end of the lake.  We concentrated out search from the visitor center eastward and came up empty. 

After dropping Bruce & Kris off back in Patagonia, I headed back to the lake.  This time I obtained a permit for the nature area.  From here, I am able to scan the west end of the lake, section of the lake not visible from any of the park’s picnic areas.  There it was! An Elegant Tern flying high over the lake plunge diving.  I watched & photographed for several minutes before it disappeared to the east.  I re-found the bird thirty minutes later in a cove across from the swim beach area (I was at the visitor center). 

24 May 2014 Saturday:  Today I participated in the Santa Rita Mountain Trogon Survey.  My assigned territory was the upper end of the Carrie Nation Trail in the Hopkins Fork of Madera Canyon.  This is about a ½ trail-mile above where Louise & I surveyed last year and near the location where I found two recently fledged trogons last summer.   The first part of the count was stationary (06:00-09:00) and I positioned myself along the trail a settled in for the long wait.  As it turns out, I positioned myself within a hundred feet of a trogon nest.   When I arrived on the scene a male trogon was calling as if on territory and would occasionally fly down canyon to deal with another male intruding.  Eventually he settled down and called consistently from one group of tree (not in the stream bed) and at least trice called with his head in body-out of the cavity.  Either he likes the acoustics of the hollow tree or the female was hard of hearing.  Between episodes of watching trogon behavior, a female White-eared Hummingbird visited me.  Though brief, it was a wonderful visit.  Wonder if she is also was nesting nearby.  During my hike down the Carrie Nation Trail, I ran into a couple of birders (also trogon surveyor) that told me about a Mexican Whip-poor-will on the trail below the second stream crossing.  Sure enough, not on the trail exactly but close was a Mexican Whip-poor-will sitting on a rock in plain view across the stream bed.. What a wonderful punctuation for a wonderful morning.

25 May 2014 Sunday:  Today another trogon survey, this one in the Patagonia Mountains.  For the second year I was fortunately assigned Corral Canyon.  Last year was my first visit to this shallow canton and I found at least one breeding pair of trogons and a second year male.  This day I found one breeding pair at their nest thanks to the female flying across the road and landing in the cavity. The mated male was off barking at another male, apparently an intruder on his territory.  Another mile & half up the this canyon was a second male calling & foraging in the oaks on the side of the canyon.  This male’s calls sounded as if he was bonded to a female and therefore implies a second breeding pair nesting in this canyon of marginal habitat (at least to this human’s perspective).  Besides the trogons this is a wonderful place to spend a morning birding.  I had a Thick-billed Kingbird at 2.6 miles above the main road and a pair of “Azure” Eastern Bluebirds.

After completing the survey and in route to home, I stopped at Montosa Canyon to look for a male Hooded Warbler reported from the day before.  No luck with the warbler on this rather warm early afternoon.

26 May 2014 Monday: Absolutely nothing in the field having to do with birds.

27 May 2014 Tuesday:  Another day with no guiding.  I could even claim I was unguided.  I tried check on the nightjars early in the morning on my way to Las Cienegas.  Then checked out the Amado Pond and Torres Blancas Golf Course.  The only excitement was two Greater Scaup at the pond on the Torres Blancas Golf Course. These birds are rare at any season in southeast Arizona and were will documented.

AZ Big Year – Week Twenty White Mountains Expedition

White Mountains Expedition

13 May 2014 Tuesday:  Left Green Valley early with my first destination being Oak Flats Campground near Superior and my target was Gray Vireo.  I had never visited this site and am very thankful that Diane T. posted her observations from the previous day.  I found the Gray Vireo across Magma Mine Road from small pond just as Diane described.  The campground itself appeared unimpressive, it was very windy,  and I had a goal of making it to Pinetop by about noon – so I didn’t linger very long once I saw & photographed the vireo.

Gray Vireo - near Oak Flats CG, Pinal County, AZ

I arrived at George & Ellen’s Pinetop home just after noon, shared lunch with them, and then George & I headed over to Green’s Peak.  Green’s Peak is a volcanic cinder cone rising 1000 feet above the surrounding terrain to an elevation of 10133 ft.  The south slope is grassy while the northern facing slopes are covered with pines, spruce, & aspen.  To the Arizona birding community, Green’s Peak is famed for Dusky Grouse.  Upon arriving at the top, George & I setoff down the 45-degree slope of the power line cut. We make it about a third of the way down the mountain before turning back.  When we get within about 50 yards of the top, I hear a male grouse “booming” to the west.  It must have been close since their booming call is reportedly only audible at 50 yards.  To the west of my position is a tangle of fallen timber on a very steep slope. I decide to continue to the top of the mountain with George and hope I can look down upon the grouse.  From the top a thicket of thorny bushes conceals the grouse’s location.  I decide this bird has won round one.

My thoughts drift to the nightjar and telling folks they don’t have to see it to count it.  So the Dusky Grouse is unsatisfyingly the latest addition to my Arizona state list as well as my year list.  There are other birds to be found on this peak so George & I walk down the ski trail northwest of the summit.  While George walks down the trail I walk through the forest 50 yards off the trail.  I hear two hen grouse calling and again there is too much forest debris on too steep of a slope to approach.  I catchup with George and enjoy a few of the high elevation birds of the area: Downy Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Mountain Chickadees.  Also enjoyed, but not quite as much were two vocalizing flyover Clark’s Nutcrackers.  They were barely seen yet visually & vocally identifiable so they count for the year list.

14 May 2014 Wednesday: I previously requested that George, Ellen, Sandi, and myself take a hike at Sheep Crossing.  Three of my target species had in previous years been found along the Baldy Trail; American Dipper, Gray Jay, and Clark’s Nutcracker.   I had seen the Nutcracker yesterday so I was am to focus on the Dipper & the Jay.  It didn’t take much focus.  Upon arriving at the trailhead parking area, I see a lite gray bird feeding on something down along the edge of the West Fork of the Little Colorado River.  It’s a Gray Jay! Then there’s another.  The two Gray Jays are feeding on a dead trout.  The Gray Jay pair appeared to eat or swallow pieces of the fish then fly off into the forest and return about a minute later.  I guess that they are feeding babies.  I take numerous photos of my latest Year Bird and State Bird.

Still reeling with excitement over the Gray Jays, Sandi leads George, Ellen, and myself down the river to the highway bridge.  Before we get too close to the bridge, I hear a bird singing that I had some vague & distant familiarity.  It was the American Dipper.  My only previous Dipper in Arizona was a couple of years ago at Paradise Creek.  So this was again something special and the songster posed for pictures! Within twenty minutes my two targets were secured, now we can go have a nice hike.

We begin our walk up the edge of the river paralleling Forest Trail #94.  We find a nesting pair of Dippers under the old bridge and at least two further up stream (at least 5 for the day).   Every quarter mile or so, we find pairs of Gray Jays foraging in the meadows along the river.  Being rather oblivious to our presence, they allow for many photo opportunities. We enjoyed many other species of birds, a few flowers, wonderful scenery, gorgeous weather, and one of the first Beaver dams I’ve seen in Arizona.

15 May 2014 Thursday: I wake up early and try to leave George & Ellen’s Pinetop home without disturbing anyone.  George & Ellen are heading to Green Valley for a few days and do not have the time to join me for another expedition up Green’s Peak.  I wish to get back on Green’s Peak as close to sunrise as I can.  It is wonderfully cold, 24 degrees, as I pass through McNary and 27 at the base of Green’s Peak.  The sun is up and it’s a beautiful morning.  My plan is to park the truck a hundred yards short of the top so as to not disturb any grouse that may be out in the open displaying.  About 50 yards before my planned stopping point I spy the distinct shape of a grouse standing in a patch of grass a few feet off the road.  I stop, I look, I photograph, - I am in awe!  I consider backing down the mountain so to not disturb him.  However he flies up to a nearby tree fifty feet off the road.  I pass by and park near the summit.  I briefly walk the forest edge hoping to find another.  I eventually walk down the road and find the grouse perched in another tree.  He is doing his display thirty feet up a spruce tree.  I was fortunate to witness the display but not quick enough to take any pictures while he was performing.  Fearing that I may have caused enough disturbances, I retreated back to my truck and descend Green’s Peak, leaving the mountain for the Dusky Grouse.

During the long drive home I contemplate the five new year birds, two of which were state birds, and wonder how I am going to get the next forty-five birds to reach 400.  However I really should be planning the next three weeks of guiding.

16 May 2014 Friday: I am back to guiding. Today I took Mike M. to see Black-capped Gnatcatchers in Montosa Canyon.  This search could go one of two ways.  The family group could be difficult to find since the young have fledged (on 5/10 according to Gavin) due to their mobility.  Or maybe it could be easy since there ought to be much begging noise as the adults bring food to the youngsters.   The latter became true, I found the gnatcatcher family about fifteen minutes after arriving.  We had close and lengthy views of the male, female, and three fledglings.  Mike was pleased with a new lifer and I was pleased with numerous good pictures of the various individuals.  We spent about an hour with the Black-capped Gnatcatcher family without looking at much of anything else.

On a long shot we next headed to Tubac to see if we could find the long missing Sinaloa Wren.  The wren seems to have been replaced with a Yellow-breasted Chat as I had previously noted about a month earlier.  We did find several new arrivals for the spring, a male Blue Grosbeak and two Northern Waterthrushes. The grosbeak is a summer breeding species while the waterthrushes are migrants.  While I am pleased to get both species for the year list, the waterthrushes were special since they could have been easily missed since most of my birding (guiding) during their migration period is not in the proper habitat.

17 May 2014 Saturday: I met Mort & Andy, both from Phoenix, at Madera Kubo for a half-day of guiding in Madera Canyon.  We spend the first few minutes birding the feeders and the area around Madera Kubo.  A Greater Pewee and a Grace’s Warbler are singing, both of these species are typically found higher in the canyon so to hear them here is exciting.  A pair of Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers appears to be taking up summer residence in the sycamores over the cabins.  We head down to the Proctor Loop Trail some of the lower canyon specialties.  We are barely out of the truck when we find a singing Botteri’s Sparrow and a family of Black-throated Sparrows. We ended up this thirty-seven species at this location.  A short hike up the Carrie Nation Trail produced many of the expected species for the season except the Elegant Trogon.  The trogons have apparently taken up residence about 2 miles from the trailhead, much higher than they have in previous years.  The excitement for me was a second year Broad-winged Hawk soaring over upper Madera Canyon.  At the time of observation, I was not sure of its identity but I took enough poor pictures to later confirm my second Broad-winged Hawk for the year and a very rare bird for Madera Canyon.  Andy got 30 lifers this morning!

On a non-birding note, a Desert Tortoise spent the evening at my front door while a Kingsnake slithered across the backyard. 

18 May 2014 Sunday: Today was the first of two days with Gray & Gloria.  Gray had a list of difficult target birds he wished to see.  We started in lower Huachuca Canyon looking and listening for the Sinaloa Wren.  While we heard the wren give its famed ratchet call a few times, we were not able to lay eyes upon it.  We did rack up quiet a few migrants though.  Our next stop was Hunter Canyon to try for the Rufous-capped Warblers.  While I believe I heard the warblers, I was not able to get Gray or Gloria on to the sounds.  We did here Northern Pygmy-Owl and Mexican Whip-poor-will daytime calling – they made the hike up this rough trail worth it.

19 May 2014 Monday: For our second day together, I took Gray & Gloria down to California Gulch.  Our luck today was much better than yesterday.  I counted eleven Five-striped Sparrows, several of which were seen and one was seen very well.  We also had a family of Black-capped Gnatcatchers near the first crossing, several Black-tailed Gnatcatchers for comparison, calling Pacific-slope Flycatchers, and my first fo the year Varied Bunting.  Wishing for better looks at Black-capped Gnatcatchers we stopped at Montosa Canyon on our way back to Green Valley.  It was already mid-day by the time we arrived and hot.  Now more than a week since they’ve fledged, the Black-capped Gnatcatcher family was difficult to find.  While we were checking out areas closer to the nest site Gavin, leading some other folks, heard them calling from the hillside south of the culvert.  This is about a quarter of a mile from the nest.  Even while we heard them frequently, getting good looks still proved difficult but doable. 

That evening, alone, I visited Faber Canyon with hopes of finding Buff-collared Nightjar where I had a pair last year.  While I found no nightjars, it is a wonderful place to visit at night and somewhat scary when alone.

20 May 2014 Tuesday:  I was out with Robert and Marcella, from the Netherlands this day.  With the exception of a stop near the Continental School to watch a Snowy Egret fly over, we spent the day birding in Madera Canyon.  Though it was somewhat breezy and there was a lull in migration, nearly every bird we saw was exciting.  In particular the birds of color were most outstanding; tanagers, orioles, grosbeaks, redstarts, and of course the hummingbirds.