Month: August 2019

I need a new bird! Last year I was talking to Chris Harbard, area birder, guide, and all around jolly good fellow, about Vaux’s Swifts. He told me he counts good numbers regularly in September from his backyard in Hereford. Take a look at his eBird reports. His counts are primarily between mid- to late September into early October. His high count was 71 in 2.5 hours on 1 October 2017. If only there was a place near his house, up on the hillside, with public access, where I could scan for migrating swifts. That’s it – The Shrine:

The perfect perch for migration monitoring. The shrine was inspired by a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, and features a 75-foot cross and a 31-foot Mary. Besides the view, maybe I’ll be struck by a little divine intervention. It’s a little early in the season for swifts but I drove up there this morning and backed my car into the parking lot. Before I even got out, a small dark swift flew by southbound at eye level into the sun and away- Vaux’s Swift! (469). Before the year is over I will total all the species I’ve added to the list from my car. I saw no more swifts in the following hour and a half but I think this site, which has not been eBirded before, has potential as a good migration observation site, certainly for swifts. I’ll have to come back in a few days. Next target is Cassin’s Vireo which is now starting to move through.

But enough of the daily grind already. Here it is – and now what only all the world has been waiting for – Fan Mail! Today I found a nice letter from – who else? – another cute girl I’d like to open to you, my loyal readers. Picking a single letter is not easy, the volume is becoming a real burden for my mailman, I’m sure I’ll be hearing from the post office top brass. So as before, she sends me her picture:

Meet Arfy, The Good Little Dog. She hails from Puppy Love, Minnesota – that’s what it says – probably not far from the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. She loves the blog, she says, and looks forward to it like the morning paper. Although she has had a ruff life at times, she is trying her best to please her master and is pawsitive she will improve with time. She loves the Big Year blog and says it is the “ultimutt.” She even sends me a dog biscuit recipe made with collie flour. Thank you, Arfy, and all of us wish you the only the best.

Today I headed up Garden Canyon in the Huachucas seeking relief from the heat, maybe a stray goshawk, and new additions to the butterfly list. Along the way I ran into John Broz who was going up to meet Ron Thill, visiting from Texas, to do some butterflying. “I’ll join you,” I offered, and the three of us hit the trails.

That’s John on the left, Ron, and Karen Lemay running a plant survey. (Can you see her bumpersticker? “Got Milkweed?”) John takes much of the credit for my interest in butterflies, something I didn’t get at first. Then on the second outing it clicked – you search for flying creatures, some elusive, sometimes colorful ones, try to identify them, and keep lists, including a life list. Hey – that’s birding!

I’ve been keeping a butterfly list incidental to running the Big Year, but it’s a little skimpy so I knew a run up Garden Canyon would fatten it up a little. It did. We started at upper picnic area and finished in Sawmill Canyon with 38 species, way more than I have ever seen in a single day. I added 17 species to the year list, bringing it up to 52. No lifers! The best one of the day was Many-spotted Skipperling, whose range only covers a small piece of Southeastern Arizona and into Sonora a short ways.

Just as many species of birds occur only in Southeastern Arizona within the US, so do many butterflies. I’m also keeping a mammal list, now up to 37 species. At the end of the year I’ll publish both lists.

I’m counting the days! Two weeks from tomorrow I leave for Monterey where today’s high was 77 compared to Sierra Vista’s 95. Not to mention many new year birds plus plenty of marine mammals, from otters to orcas. Meanwhile I continue to search for new birds here, but there are so few possible I may only add one or two more before I leave.

As I sit here, it is 95 degrees outside and 85 inside. I’m not too crazy about being here in August when I could be lakeside at Paugus Bay. A few days ago I drew up a list of about a dozen more species left to get in Arizona and I got four right off the bat. This leaves only a few odds and ends like Cassin’s Vireo and Clay-colored Sparrow that will be coming through soon and hard ones like goshawk and Barn Owl. There is always the chance of a rarity showing up, and when the alarm goes off I will be out the door in an adrenaline rush. In the meantime, there is a lot of down time. So I am filling my days with planning for the next trip in three weeks – first Monterey for two pelagics then up to Washington for two more pelagics and landbirds/shorebirds around the Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula. The possibility of reaching 500 in Washington is real. Until then I have to endure the next three weeks with patience.

Here is an update on the Big Year list from April to the present:

There’s no rest for the weary in this game. I was hoping to knock off for a few days after the long travels from the East, but the Rare Bird Hotline has been lit up with news of Berylline Hummingbird in the Chiricahuas. I wanted to get some shorebirds in Willocx soon any way so rather than wait and risk missing the hummingbird I went this morning. A small group was gathered on the road near the Southwestern Research Station, including Rick Taylor, who I last saw on another rare hummingbird chase last April – a White-eared in his backyard. Once again he pointed me in the right direction and I soon found the feeder. I don’t know why somebody but a feeder out in the middle of nowhere but they did and now it draws a very good bird. I was soon joined by another couple and after just a one hour wait, in came the Berylline Hummingbird (465) but it landed on the other side of the feeder so I couldn’t see it. Then the feeder rotated ever so slightly so that it was now partly on my side for a good but brief look. That makes 15 hummingbirds for the year, 13 here in Southeastern Arizona. I will look for Allen’s in San Diego in December. Next stop: Willcox for some easy shorebirds.

Fall shorebird migration is in full swing here with many avocets, stilts, spinning Wilson’s Phalaropes, a few ibises, and the three targets I came here for. The most conspicuous was first, look at that honk:

Dozens of curlews are present (466), along with many Baird’s Sandpipers (467) and Western Sandpipers (468). These last two species breed in the high arctic and still have thousands of miles to go. I only had less than an hour to Benson for a scrumptious lunch at the Rte 90 Kentucky Fried Chicken.

From Flagstaff this morning I went down to Mormon Lake, about 30 miles south, to search for Common Crane, a Eurasian species that has been here for several months and was here two years ago. There is exactly one Common Crane in all of North America right now. The only problem is that birders are getting very distant views, if that. The lake must measure three miles across and five long.

The first obstacle was a road closure for construction, forcing me to go around the south end of the lake and up the western side. As I approached the pull-out where you do your searching, the road was closed. I deferentially told the flag lady that this must be where I turn around. She said yes but asked me where I was going. I told her I was looking for a rare bird on the lake that other people had been seeing. She let me in, but only as far as the pull-out. Memo to the world – when you show a little deference to authority you are likely to get a better result. I know this – I used to be the authority. Now I’m just a retired bird watcher. If I had argued with her, the road would have been closed. I scanned the lake from the pull-out for over and hour without luck. I still had a long drive ahead through Phoenix and Tucson at mid-day in mid-August. The nearby bushes were teaming with migratory song birds, including a likely Cassin’s Vireo that I still need but I’ll hold on to that one for now.

As I passed through Phoenix at 12:30 pm, my car thermometer reached 114 F. In Tucson, by way of comparison, it was a refreshing and airy 110 F, and here in Sierra Vista, it is a teeth-chattering 94 degrees. Oh do I already miss Opechee Bay….

I spoke too soon yesterday. There was one more bird to look for in Ouray (accent on the second syllable). The Birder’s Guide to Colorado says to look for it at the feeders at Box Canyon Park. I didn’t see one there but I wasn’t thinking about looking for it. After a delicious plate of pad thai in town, I walked around the streets of Ouray. It appears to be another old Western mining town turned tourist attraction. The stunning scenery is probably the main attraction. Every building in town is beautifully restored. Just past my hotel I heard a call worth investigating. I got closer, took some pictures, and confirmed it – Evening Grosbeak (463).

This morning I got an early start on what I figured would be a long day. It was. On the way to Durango I passed through the San Juans and another 11,000 foot pass.

Eventually I made my way across the vast and sometimes bleak Ute Mountain and Navajo Reservations. A quick stop at Four Corners was worth the admission fee to stand on four states simultaneously. Agonizing hours later I reached Navajo Bridge, at the very upper reaches of the Grand Canyon. Here I began a search for the mythical California Condor. There are two bridges, the old bridge is now a pedestrian bridge. I made my way across the bridge and saw nothing. I went inside the visitor’s center and asked where I could see the condors. “Which bridge?” “Either one. Sometimes they are on the cliffs.” “Which end of the bridge?” “Either one.” With that wealth of information, I set out on a search for condor.

“Here they are!”, I thought. See what you think:

Two of them, right? I had to get a better look to confirm. The only way to do that was to get flat on the ground, as low as possible. I watched for a few minutes until finally it moved and out came the long black bill of – raven! Shoot! I walked to the end of the bridge on the south side and looked under the pedestrian bridge. Got one! California Condor!

It was a terrible look, and it looks like it’s in a cage in a zoo, but the picture confirms the species, an adult even, and that is good enough to count it (464). I didn’t linger, the temperature exceeded 100 degrees and after 8 hours of driving I still had 2 more hours to go. Over the course of the day, the temperature ranged from 38 to 103 degrees and the altitude from 11,000 feet to less than 4,000.

I am now in another over-priced hotel in Flagstaff, probably my last night on the road, with plans to chase a very un-Common bird tomorrow.

Last night from my upgraded suite in Grand Junction, I looked at eBird reports for both Pinyon Jay and Gray Vireo in Colorado National Monument. I didn’t hold out much hope for the vireo since they probably would not be singing well into August. Pinyon Jay reports were few of singletons and pairs. So I went into the park with low expectations. I started at Devil’s Kitchen and walked some trails for an hour but no luck with the vireo. I continued on into the park looking for places to stop and trails to hike. On one trail I got a much better look at Juniper Titmouse than I got back in May. Twelve miles into the park I found a pull-out for a great photo-op of the park landscape called Grand View. A Peregrine Falcon circled overhead.

As I was walking around I heard a promising call, then two more – Pinyon Jay! I walked down the road for a better look and finally I saw one (460). Then another and another and another. The flock was at least 40 strong, all flying along the road toward me, calling out as they went.

This was worth a fist pumping “yes!” as I only thought I might see one. I hadn’t seen this species in about 6 years, it was great to see and hear so many. I then walked down to the edge of the cliff and I could hear what must have been a vireo singing way down below. Since I got the jay, I turned around and went back to Devil’s Kitchen. At 12:30 I walked the same trail I walked at 7:30 this morning, but no luck. As I approached the parking lot, I stopped to listen to the song I was writing off as a House Finch, but it was a vireo. I heard it singing in an isolated juniper and finally it popped out – Gray Vireo ( 461). Done! I got both targets here so it was on to the next stop – Ouray.

I had only seen Black Swift once before at Canopy Tower in Panama and I was never certain that’s what it was. I was eager to get to Ouray where they nest at Box Canyon Park, making it a sure thing. In town I stopped to look up in the sky since some birders see them here rather than in the park. Way up high I saw what I was sure were swifts but I wanted a better look. At the turnoff to the park I stopped and there against white puffy clouds were six Black Swifts (462) (ABA 633). Good! But I wanted a better look so I entered the park and walked up to the falls where they nest – a guaranteed sighting of at least chicks in the nest. But no, I couldn’t see the nests in the darkness. The only nest I found was empty. This sure thing isn’t so sure after all – you better look up in the sky over town to see this bird.

At this point in the trip I have no deadlines and no commitments and no reservations, but I was hoping to make it to Durango today. But after looking for the nests it started to rain and there is a 10,000 foot pass between here and Durango that I did not want to navigate in the rain so I am holed up in Ouray. Little did I know that this little town is a bustling summer resort destination crowded with expensive hotels. I shopped around but there is no getting around the prices. Right now we are in the middle of an afternoon hail storm (with blue skies!) and when it is over I will go out to eat.

A few days ago my forecast was for 5 – 10 new birds in Colorado and I found 9 so I have to say I am pleased with how it went here. Tomorrow I work my way past Durango, over to the Four Corners, across the Navajo lands, and on to the Grand Canyon. This is great!

I needed a few days to cool off after this one. Two days ago I came back to the cabin after a long hard day in Rocky Mountain National Park. I added nothing to the Big Year list. My good nephew Ryan was there and he and his partner and sister went up into the park that day too. He told me he saw a grouse. My heart stopped. I asked for a description and he showed me a picture. My jaw dropped. It was a grouse alright, but not just any grouse, but a Dusky Grouse! Isn’t this the most difficult bird to find in the state of Colorado! I couldn’t believe my eyes! He, a non-birder, who wouldn’t know a chickadee from a Chihuahua, finds the Holy Grail of Colorado birds and I finish the day with nothing. I told Ryan I had never seen one in my life and it was likely that I never will. That I would commit felonious crime to see one. What a waste! He sees one and the Big Year birder does not. I spent the evening enduring merciless barbs, attacks, and humiliation from one and all. This is what family does best.

My only consolation is that the next day I saw White-tailed Ptarmigan, the second most difficult species to find in Colorado. So that deserves another photograph:

Today, after enduring almost impenetrable stretches of Interstate 70 – rain, altitude that brought my car to its knees, tunnels, curves, steep grades up and down- I reached Grand Junction, Colorado. Tomorrow I enter Colorado National Monument for two good targets, Pinyon Jay and Gray Vireo. After a long travel day, I look forward to getting out into the field and adding to the list.

When I first got here, I had no expectation of finding ptarmigan, I wasn’t really planning on spending much time looking for it. It’s too hard to find, you need a scope, it blends perfectly into its environment, so why put in the time. But after two days of spending time in the alpine tundra, the more I thought I could see this bird if I looked. So today, my third and final full day of birding, I headed straight up the mountain directly to Medicine Bow Curve to search specifically for ptarmigan. It wasn’t long before, while I was talking to another birder, two other birders waived their arms to call us over. I rushed over and here is what I saw:

I could hardly believe my good luck on my last chance to see this bird (458), (ABA 632) (World 2828). There is no doubt this is the bird the ABA youth group found yesterday with her 3 chicks in tow.

I tried some more to find my own ptarmigan but I couldn’t turn one up. That left Canada Jay and Pine Grosbeak to search for. I stopped at Rainbow Curve and after a long wait along came a small flock of Pine Grosbeaks (459).

Two more stops for Canad Jay went unrewarded. I think this was my last chance for this bird.

Meanwhile, back at my cabin, I have to endure this view:

Meet my three sisters. Which ones? The blondes.

Tomorrow I leave the millionaire life and get back on the road. Next stop is Grand Junction, where the two targets on the list are Pinion Jay and Gray Vireo.

The American Birding Association runs two camps for teen birders, this one is Camp Colorado. When I saw these vans I rushed along the trail hoping they had a ptarmigan in the scope so all I would have to do is run up and look through. Instead, when I asked one of the kids if they had seen ptarmigan yet, she nonchalantly answered yes but that “it walked away.” Shoot! I hate it when they walk away. Soon I ran into Ted Floyd who was one of the leaders and he confirmed they had just seen a seen a hen with chicks. He gave me some tips on finding this elusive bird. I walked two trails twice without luck. This shot shows the alpine tundra habitat:

Before going up to the high country I went back to Alluvial Fan to get a photograph of American Dipper. This is the one bird I wanted to see in Colorado, a peculiar creature and our only aquatic passerine. This time I got the shot I wanted:

I ran into the ABA kids again at Rainbow Curve, where some added Clark’s Nutcracker to their life list. But still no Canada Jay and none at two other pic nic areas. I haven’t given up.

Mammals once again provided the day’s highlight: