AZ Big Year - Week Thirty-Five 8/27-9/2

Somewhat on a whim, I went to Willcox this morning, Wednesday 27^th.  A Short-billed Dowitcher had been reported on Sunday 24^th and was seen yesterday.  I was hesitant to make such a trip, ~90 miles each way,  but knew that if I want to reach 400 species by the end of the year I needed to go!  I arrived at Lake Cochise at 08:23.  There were a fair number of shorebirds on the main lake, most obvious were the larger one like Long-billed Curlew, American Avocet, & Black-necked Stilt.  My routine here is to make one pass around the lake to get most of the species and then make a second pass to count individuals & look for the more subtle species.  On my first pass, I flush the Short-billed Dowitcher and was able to get a flight shot.  This dowitcher lands along the east shore so I’ll have another opportunity. Once I get around to where it landed, I find two dowitchers with the second one being a Long-billed Dowitcher. I didn’t recall a second dowitcher being reported and dowitchers usually don’t go unnoticed, so I guess there has been at least a small influx of shorebirds since yesterday.  I take several more photographs of the dowitchers and move on searching for something else new.  In spite of my influx prediction, I don’t find any more species of shorebirds on this or my second pass around the lake.  In all, I found eleven species of shorebirds on the main lake.  One of those was a new species for the year! Before leaving I stop at the golf course pond, still hoping for that Forster’s Tern from yesterday.  No tern, but I did hear and see two family groups of Tropical Kingbirds.  As I am driving out, after calculating the duration of my eBird checklist I see several  large shorebirds at one of the temporary pools within the Border Patrol’s fenced area.  At first I see four Greater Yellowlegs and then three more with a similar but smaller shorebird.  It’s a Stilt Sandpiper, my second year bird of the day.  This adds a bit of sweetness to an already successful day!

On Friday 29^th, I guided Allison & Bryan from Green Valley to Madera Canyon.  In Green Valley one of the Harris’s Hawk perched out on a light post for an extended period of time.  In the grasslands below Madera Canyon we heard several Scaled Quail, saw ten (at least) Botteri’s Sparrow several of which were feeding juveniles, and a very out of place Yellow-headed Blackbird.  Along Proctor Road trail we saw two adult Yellow-billed Cuckoos, both were carrying food but we were unable to determine where the nest or youngsters were.  The Santa Rita Lodge continues to host many hummingbirds including two Plain-capped Starthroats and one White-eared Hummingbird.  Perhaps nearly as unusual for the specific location was a Common Ground-Dove briefly at the water feature Gray Hawk and the two Starthroats below the Madera Picnic area, Allison got photos of the Starthroats together.  On our hike up the Carrie Nation Trail, we found two adult male Elegant Trogons nearby each other and barking.  One of these birds looked rather ratty and was very much in molt.  I do not recall ever seeing an adult trogon in such condition.

On Sunday 31^st, Louise & I took a hike up the Carrie Nation Mine Trail.  It was a wonderful hike; highlighted bird-wise by seeing the molting Elegant Trogon and hearing at least six Pygmy Nuthatches.  On Monday 1^st I resumed my futile search for Forster’s Tern.  Though not finding any terns I was pleased to see 37 (counted) Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at the Amado Pond including 7 juveniles. And any day seeing an Osprey is a good day, particularly when it is flying over the Green Valley WWTP.  On Tuesday 2^nd I temporarily suspended my search for terns and walked the De Anza Trail from Tubac to Clark Crossing to search for land or tree based migrants.

The year list stands at 383 leaving only seventeen species to go to reach my self-proclaimed goal of 400.  Only seventeen! This isn’t going to be easy but it is doable.

AZ Big Year - Week Thirty-Four 8/20-8/26

On Thursday 21^st two new year birds were at the Green Valley WWTP at the same time I was.  First a Pectoral Sandpiper was in the deep concrete basin on the southwest corner of the complex. This species is not rare however it is not really that regular in Pima County.  Several minutes later while searching a flock of blackbirds for Dickcissel a female Bobolink enters into view.  I wasn’t expecting this species in August, maybe later in September or October.  But here it was mixed in with the flock of Red-winged & Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds. After several minutes of observing the Bobolink, the entire flock of blackbirds moved into the dense tall grass bordering one of the basins and I was not able to re-find the birds.  I searched again with quite a few other birders on Friday 22^nd and none of us found the Bobolink again.

On Saturday 23^rd I guided Charles S. around Madera Canyon.  We started on the grasslands below Madera Canyon, over to Florida Canyon, and then worked our way up Madera Canyon.  Highlights included: up to six Scaled Quail calling near Florida Wash, a male Lazuli Bunting feeding juvenile in Florida Canyon, two Plain-capped Starthroats below the Madera Picnic Area, a Blue-throated Hummingbird at Madera Kubo, and a single Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher on the Carrie Nation Trail.  

On Tuesday 26^th upon receiving a report of a Forster’s Tern (need for the year) I headed to Columbus Park in northwest Tucson.  There I met Andrew who had already checked the main lakes so I head south to the Silverbell Recharge Basins and Andrew heads to Sweetwater across the Santa Cruz River.  Neither of us find the Forster’s Tern.  On my way back home I also try Kennedy Park and find it tern-less.  

With the Pectoral Sandpiper and the Bobolink, my year list stands at 381.

AZ Big Year - Week Thirty-Three 8/13-8/19

Birding this week this was highlighted by three days of guiding for the Tucson Birds & Wildlife Festival.  I led or co-led three day trips from Tucson.  This was my first birding festival as a guide or otherwise.  I took it on faith that everything would work out.  And work out it did!  I was duly impressed with the organization of the field trip.  Us guides merely showed up, picked up a van key, checked in our participants, and drove away.  My first trip on Friday was to Fort Huachuca and I was the only leader.  On Saturday I co-led with Chris Benesh to California Gulch & Arivaca Lake.  Sunday I was co-leading with Jake Mohlmann, we covered the Patagonia Area & the Sonoita Grasslands.  For the year list nothing exciting happened.  However, Jake found my first Pima County White-tailed Kite at the end of the day as we were driving back to Tucson.  The year list is unchanged at 379.

AZ Big Year - Week Thirty-Two 8/6-8/12

This week was highlighted by a long two-day trip to the White Mountains to search for Pine Grosbeaks.  In Arizona Pine Grosbeaks are rare and very local.  Pine Grosbeaks had been reported at the Sunrise Park Resort and along the West Baldy Trail.  These recent reports spurred Andrew and I to try.  We arrived at the Sunrise Park Resort at around noon on Sunday 10^th.  The grosbeaks were reported in early July by a single observer and then again by 4 Phoenix birders in late July.  A couple of Tucson birders failed to find the grosbeaks last week and Andrew & I followed the latter example and didn’t find the grosbeaks in spite of three plus hours of searching.  We probably would have searched longer had not a rainstorm chased us off the mountain; we were dressed for the deserts of south Arizona and not the rain & high elevation coolness of the White Mountains.  We headed north of Springerville to look for California Quail. Though an introduced species, it is considered established in the area and we were checking a few spots that others had reported them in the past.  Even though we were unable to find any quail the birding was interesting, particularly at Wenima Wildlife Area. Andrew & I checked out Becker Lake as the sun was setting.  We ended the day with thirty-some Common Nighthawks hawking insects over Becker Lake and the Little Colorado River.

Early Monday 11^th morning Andrew & I were back at Wenima WA hoping that the California Quail might be easier in the morning hours.  Again we were not successful though I am pretty sure I heard a couple of calls.  Andrew was only a few feet away and did not hear them so I am writing it off to an auditory-hallucination.  Our main plans for the day were to hike the West Baldy Trail.  We had decided to bypass Becker Lake until I saw something white flying over the lake from the highway.  Andrew makes a U-turn and we detour to the lake.  It took a few minutes but the white thing was a Common Tern, my first for the year.

The hike up the West Baldy Trail was one of the best hikes I’ve take without Louise.  Andrew is a great hiking & birding partner.  We had an American Dipper singing near the parking lot as well as an Olive-sided Flycatcher and a Virginia’s Warbler.  It was obvious from the beginning the Red Crossbills were to be plentiful.  Further along the trail we found a family of Sharp-shined Hawks, six American Three-toed Woodpeckers, and six Gray Jays.  In the vicinity of where the Pine Grosbeaks were supposed to be, Andrew spots a female Dusky Grouse perched on a log and below her on the other side of the log is at least one three-quarter grown chick poking its head up over the log.  Though we did not find any Pine Grosbeaks, this was a wonderful experience.  The drive home was highlighted by a stop at a trashed out recreation area along the Gila River.  We found an early Nashville’s Warbler, multiple singing Indigo Buntings, and a singing Varied Bunting, the latter two are rare in Gila County.  At the end of the week, the year list stands at 379 with the Common Tern the only new one.

AZ Big Year - Week Thirty-One 7/30-8/5

While much of this week was dedicated to guiding, I was able to get out on my own to work on the year list.  Particularly Wednesday July 30^th, I stopped at the Amado WTP and found a female (green) plumaged Painted Bunting feeding with Lazuli Buntings in the Johnson grass along the edge of the pond.  There had been several reports of Painted Buntings in Santa Cruz & Cochise County recently so it was not really a surprise to find one here.   One Thursday 31^st, I join Andrew in searching for the Red-eyed Vireo I had seen a few days prior in Madera Canyon.  While we didn’t find the vireo, we did find three Plain-capped Starthroats downstream from the Madera Canyon Picnic Area.  We first saw three similar size hummingbirds hawking insects high (top of canopy height) in an opening over Madera Creek. We identified one as a Starthroat by shape & plumage characteristics and began considering the other two also Starthroats by the size comparisons.  A few seconds or minutes later we found two Starthroats perched within a foot of each other and then saw a third bird perched about thirty feet away.  All three birds are showing wing molt, a more detailed analysis of the photos could reveal which primaries are involved.  One of the birds has the slight bill deformity (tip of upper mandible hooked).  Many photographs were taken documenting the three individuals and Andrew recorded the voice of at least one of the birds. We left the area after 20 minutes with all three birds involved in a chase with one another.  This is possibly the first time that three Starthroats have been seen together in Arizona.  Amazing!  And I experience it with my good friend Andrew. 

On Friday August 1^st I was out with Aaron & Adam Budgor to California Gulch.  In the gulch we found 12 Five-striped Sparrows and a low count of Varied Buntings with only a pair. Perhaps the buntings are nesting or feeding young and therefore quiet & not too obvious.  I got possibly some of my best Five-striped Sparrow pictures to date.  Along Ruby Road between California Gulch & Sycamore Canyon, I jokingly ask Aaron if he wanted to photograph another Turkey Vulture perched on a dead tree.  He declined until I clarified that it was really a Zone-tailed Hawk.  We spent about ten minutes watching & photographing two Zone-tailed Hawks circling together over the beautiful backdrop of upper Sycamore Canyon & Atascosa Peak.  While watching the hawks I hear a Montezuma Quail & a Crissal Thrasher, neither we are able to see.  I also found a male “Mexican” Eastern Bluebird carrying food to a fence post nest cavity.  Before heading back to Green Valley, we detour to the roadside rest area near Patagonia and quickly see the family of Tropical Kingbird. One of the juveniles was perched at eyelevel near the picnic table while its siblings were higher in the trees begging.  One of the siblings was at treetop level when an adult flew in with something tasty.  Aaron wanted to see the spot where the Becards once nested.  While walking there and talking about how difficult it can be to see Yellow-billed Cuckoos, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo flies up and perches in the open.  And then a second one, so much for “difficult to see”!

On Saturday 2^nd Aaron, Adam, & I head up to Florida Canyon.  While I heard two singing males and saw one of them in the distance, I was not able to show Aaron & Adam a Rufous-capped Warbler.  The warblers were beyond where I can safely guide people and until they move down the canyon, the immediate future is bleak for sharing these birds.  We were however successful in finding Black-capped Gnatcatchers, four to five of them.  There were two above the metal gate and another two or three near the parking area.  After the Florida Canyon hike, we headed over to Madera Canyon.  We saw two Plain-capped Starthroats at the Santa Rita Lodge and several more hummingbirds at Madera Kubo.

I was back in Madera Canyon on Sunday 3^rd.  Before meeting my clients, I found the summering female Black-and-white Warbler at the Madera Picnic Area and my first-of-the-season Chipping Sparrow at the Santa Rita Lodge.  Once joining up with clients, Nina & Gwen, we headed down to the grasslands below Proctor Road and found many of the expected species.  A walk along the Proctor Loop Trail also produced many of the expected; including Zone-tailed Hawk, a seasonally low elevation Arizona Woodpecker, two Northern Beardless Tyrannulets, and a well-seen Varied Bunting. A pair of Hepatic Tanagers foraging on the ground & in the open made up for the missing Whiskered Screech-Owl at Madera Kubo.

On Monday 4^th morning I meet Nina & Gwen in Green Valley.  We were delighted to find four Harris’s Hawks as well as many other desert species.  A quick stop at the Continental Wash produced Rufous-winged Sparrows before we even got out of the car.  Headed back up to Madera Canyon and along the trail below the Madera Picnic Area, we found two Plain-capped Starthroats, a Wilson’s Warbler, a Greater Pewee, and a Willow Flycatcher.   We also got prolonged views of two juvenile Gray Hawks perched in the open waiting for parents to bring in the food.

That wraps up my birding for this week, add one new year bird and my total is 378.