[wisb] AZ trip report
- From: "Seegert, Greg" <gseegert@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2012 21:05:45 -0500
Wisbirders
Got back late last night from 4+ days in AZ. Overall birding was tough plus
many of the year birds I still needed are rare and all occur in different areas
so I had to cover a lot of ground (1283 mi in < 5 days). I was able to add 20
FOY birds. Here's my report.
Thursday, 29 Nov-----I started at the Baseline Rd LeConte's thrasher spot W of
Phoenix. I had already seen LeConte's for the year so I was targeting other
spp. I was able to find 5-10 sage sparrows with scope views of 2. Also had
scope views of 2 Bendire's thrashers. I got a long, distant scope view of a
thrasher that was not a Bendire's. It was fairly dark so I determined it to be
a crissal thrasher. Except for white-crowned sparrows, nothing else was
present. Next I stopped at Santa Cruz Flats. I dipped on my main target, Mt
plover, but added crested caracara to my year list. Other birds of note were a
couple of ferruginous hawks and a loggerhead shrike. On my way to Tucson, I
called my friend to see if either the ani or rufous-backed robin reported
earlier in the week were still around. The answer was no to the ani but yes to
the robin. I picked up my friend and we went to the robin location in Sabino
CYN on the outskirts of Tucson. After about an hour of unsuccessful looking,
my friend had to head back to the main road to grab the last shuttle back to
the park HQ because she was still hobbling from a broken foot. I stayed behind
and about 10 min after Marcy left, I found the robin. Fortunately she got it
on her own the next morning...it was an ABA lifer for her. That night at
Marcy's place, I used my CD to get a pair of W screech owls fired up.
Friday---My first stop was Montosa CYN. I dipped on my target, black-capped
gnatcatcher, but added Canyon wren which was a FOY. Next I found a Lewis's
woodpecker that had recently been reported at the Tubac golf course. I got
good scope views of it and a bright vermillion flycatcher. At Pena Blanca L,
I added least grebe and red-naped sapsucker to my year list. Drove to Sycamore
CYN hoping to luck into a Montezuma quail but no such luck. I finished the day
at Patagonia SP where birding was slow. I easily added neotropic cormorant to
my year list but had 2 wander around for almost 2 hours before finally finding
a gray flycatcher..
Saturday--- was San Rafael Grasslands day. This is one of my favorite areas in
SE AZ. I got great scope views of 2 Baird's sparrows, as well as a few
chestnut-collared longspurs, and McCown's longspurs. I always enjoy seeing the
longspur on longspurs. Sparrow numbers were down. I found a fair number of
savannahs, a few vespers, and one grasshopper. A quick stop at the San Pedro
House outside of Sierra Vista yielded my FOY Abert's towhee, but not much else.
Last stop was the Sulfur Valley. Often times there are large sparrow flocks
but even here numbers were somewhat reduced. I did add my FOY lark bunting and
several other common sparrow spp. Best bird was a pr of ruddy ground doves at
Whitewater draw. Also, thousands of sandhill cranes were there.
Sunday----The day before I had read that the Nutting's flycatcher that was
present in Bill Williams NWR had returned. Saturday night I stay in Benson and
the flycatcher was a long ways away. But ABA lifers are hard to come by now
for me (only one so far this year), so I figured I'd give it a shot. Before
leaving Benson, I stopped at the local STP and found the flock of Lawrence's
goldfinches that had been there for a while. This was FOY bird 19 for the
trip, but if you've been paying attention you already know that. After seeing
the Larry's, I jumped on I 10, set the cruise control to 82 and off I went. 5
hrs, 2 gas stops, and 350 mi later I arrived at Mosquito Flats in Bill
William's NWR. I looked for the Nutting's for 3 hrs but dipped. Except for
phainopepla's and yellow-rumped warblers, almost no birds were present.
Monday---I arrived back at the FC spot at 0811, not 0810 or 08112, exactly
0811. As soon as I got out of my car, I saw a young lady waving at me from
about 75 yards away. It turned out to be Lauren Harter the local Nutting's
expert. She had it. It took me a few minutes to find it but over the next 45
min I saw it 3 times and heard its distinctive "wheep" call once. About an hr
later, Lauren helped me find 4 more AZ lifers on L Havasu....Barrow's
goldeneye, lesser black-backed gull, surf scoter, and WW scoter. Also on the
lake were 5 spp of grebes including hundreds of westerns and Clarks. If I'd
have had more time, I could have added a few more AZ birds but it was time to
head to the airport. Anyway, a big shout out to Lauren.
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Now off to S TX, NE, and Duluth for
more birding adventures interspersed with work, or vice versa.
Greg Seegert
Deerfield, IL and Beaver Dam, WI
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