Flagstaff: Mt. Elden CBC

On Saturday December 30th I did my usual CBC route with Natasha, Sue, Jay and Heidi and we totaled 45 species for the day. The most remarkable thing about the count was a record high temperature for the count at 62 degrees - beating 57 degrees from 1980. This meant that I spent half the count in a T-shirt!

We began the day with Great-tailed Grackles at WalMart and Brewer's Blackbirds at Little America and ended with European Starlings at Purina, but pent most of our day on and around the the golf course. The wind had gotten up before we got to Walnut Canyon and so we saw little out there. Our 45 species did not include anything too special but Killdeer and Northern Pintail had not be recorded since 2011 and 2010 respectively. Seeing 20 Red Crossbills (in two flocks) was a personal day high for me.

Jerome CBC

On Sunday December 17th Brooks, Carrie, Tom, Kathryn, Jeff and I made an early start to get to Peck's lake for 8am where someone showed to unlock the gate for us. Peck's Lake was a popular birding spot in the 1980s but has been locked away for some time now, and some of the old picnic spots are now covered with vegetation.

We had a good day with Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers among 7 duck species, and White-throated, Rufous-crowned and Black-throated Sparrows among the hundreds of White-Crowned Sparrrows. We ended the day following a Greater Roadrunner down the dirt track for a mile or so.

Mormon Lake CBC

On Saturday December 16th Troy and I led our usual route for the Mormon Lake CBC, accompanied by Cecelia and Paul. The day began slowly at the dam - although we had a Western Grebe - and in our wander about the observatories and we had few species when we headed out towards Vail Lake. Troy carried his scope in the hope of a Northern Shrike and against the odds we found this bird about two-thirds of the way there. This species is always a challenge and we spent a lot of the count time on this single bird but Troy's digiscoped photos confirmed the ID. A flock of 20 quiet Pinyon Jays near Prime Lake, and a flock of Mountain Bluebirds with a single American Pipit at the far side of Vail meant that out trek was more productive than often. A group of Common Goldeneye at Osprey Lookout was the best of our ducks.

Nothing was open at Mormon Lake Village and so we did not get to sit down to share our stories, but the other surprise for the count - which had a count high 63 species - was a total of 5 Canyon Towhees, a rare bird for the area.

Half Moon Bay and Alviso

On Saturday December 9th my wife and I headed to Pillar Point Harbor on Half Moon Bay where I was chasing a Red-footed Booby that had been there for a month or so. We searched the harbor for about 3 hours before giving up, but had a good day in warm weather and saw Black Oystercatchers, Black Turnstones, a Black-bellied Plover, Brown Pelicans, and many expected birds of the coast.

Black Turnstone

On Monday December 11th I met Sergio and Garrett on the Entrance Road to the Environmental Education  Center in Alviso. We scoured the area for the recently seen Ruff and Palm Warbler without luck, not helped by a Peregrine perched on a tower.

Peregrine

We then drove inside the gate and took up a position on the metal view point on Mallard Slough and let the birds come to us. We had a productive day in terms of the number of species, with just Blue-winged Teal new for 2017. Just as interesting were a couple of hybrid Blue-wingeds.

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal/Cinnamon Teal hybrid

Blue-winged Teal/Shoveler hybrid

Oak Crek Canyon and Sedona

On Monday December 4th I decided to head down to the Sedona Wetlands Preserve to look for the American Bittern that had been found on Thanksgiving. I stopped at Cave Springs on the way down and after a little searching managed to find the American Dipper, and then headed to the wetlands. When I arrived Sam and Vic were already there with a scope on the bird and the bird was the most cooperative bittern I have ever seen even going for a walk in the open along the edge of the canvas!

American Bittern

I then headed to the Stupa hoping to add my two nemesis 'easy' birds, Juniper Titmouse and Canyon Towhee. I was in luck as the feeders were well stocked and I had the titmouse almost immediately, and eventually found the towhee, with Spotted Towhees and White-crowned Sparrows under one of the feeders.

Bellingham and Vancouver Weekend

On Thursday

Snowy Owl

Spotted Towhee

Fox Sparrow

Barrow's Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye

Black-capped Chickadee

Hooded Merganser

Mew Gull

Northern Shrike

Short-eared Owl

Grasslands west of Valle

On Saturday November 18th five of us headed out to a new spot, the grasslands west of Valle. This spot had been discovered recently and we were after Sprague's Pipit, McCown's Longspur and Short-eared Owl but dipped on all of them!

Driving in on Willaha County Road we saw dozens of Horned Larks, a few Western Meadowlarks, a Loggerhead Shrike and a Northern Flicker. At Little Rodgers Tanks we had many Horned Larks coming in with just a single Chestnut-collared Longspur among them. I had an American Pipit at the smaller tank. We then walked for two hours across Tin House Flat hoping to flush our target birds but only found more Horned Larks, several Chestnut-collared Longspurs and a couple of Grasshopper Sparrows. We found a Vesper Sparrow at the tanks as we headed back as well as a Golden Eagle and a Crissal Thrasher along the road. And a small group of Pronghorn.

Pronghorn

Morro Bay

My wife and I spent the weekend of November 11th-12th at Morro Bay.

Spotted Sandpiper

Whimbrel

Royal Tern

Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron

Flagstaff weekend

I chased birds around Flagstaff over the weekend of November 3rd-6th

On Friday November 3rd I went out to the Meteor Crater RV Park and was successful in finding a Harris's Sparrow that had been seen the day before.

Harris's Sparrow

But I had no luck with other recent sightings such as Common Grackle and Yellow-shafter Flicker. It was windy and not very birdy - due in part to an active Merlin.

On Saturday November 4th I headed out to the Cameron Trading Post where a Rufous-backed Robin had been present for a few days. The bird stayed high in the trees for the first part of my visit but eventually came down to pose for a photo.

Rufous-backed Robin

The whole time I was in the courtyard a very tame Greater Roadrunner was wandering around eating whatever insects it could find.

Greater Roadrunner

Chris from Tucson was also birding in the courtyard and we added Evening Grosbeak, Red-naped sapsucker, and with Chris's hearing skills a surprising Chestnut-sided Warbler to our lists.

On Sunday November 5th I headed out to Ashurst Lake in search of some more birds needed for my Arizona Year list, and I quickly added Common Loon and Bonaparte's Gull at the south end of the lake. Driving to the north end I lucked upon a small flock of Red Crossbills -  my first of 2017 - and I used my Mi-Fi to check the local list serve which provided news of a White-winged Scoter seen earlier in the day. It took some time to find the bird, in part due to the bird's diving and the windy conditions, for a second year bird.

Red Crossbill

On Monday November 6th I hiked from Aspen Corner up the Arizona Trail to Aspen Loop and back. Other than a number of ravens and a single Red-tailed Hawk flying overhead I saw a group of 4 Red Crossbills and a single Clark's Nutcracker at the tank. That was it for the whole 3 mile hike!

On rweturning home I had three Evening Grosbeaks at my feeders.

Female Evening Grosbeak

Male Evening Grosbeak

San Jose Weekend

I spent the weekend of October 27th-29th at a number of spots in San Jose.

On the morning of Friday 27th I went to the Santa Clara Water District.

A lifer in Flagstaff

My last lifer in Arizona was the Tufted Flycatcher in Ramsey Canyon in 2015; my last lifer in Coconino county was a Lapland Longspur at Babbitt Tank in 2011 and so adding a bird to my life list at the Frances Short Pond in Flagstaff was very unexpected. Roger had found a Louisiana Waterthrush on Saturday 14th and I had no chance to look for the bird until lunchtime on Tuesday 17th, but there it was cooperatively feeding on insects and bobbing its tail! (The bird stayed until Thursday afternoon.)

I has seen the easy (Northern) waterthrush in Chicago on August 16th, and now two months later I had the other species. Perhaps I have broken the jinx!

Louisiana Waterthrush

Reno and Lake Tahoe

On Thursday October 12th I flew to Reno, NV to join my wife who had been attending a meeting there since Tuesday. When her meeting ended at noon on Friday 13th we walked along the Riverwalk in Reno before heading down to South Lake Tahoe, California.

We stopped for a short hike at a state park, and then along the western edge of lake looking for Black-billed Magpie without any luck. But then found the bird sitting atop a lamp post as we drove along the highway!

I had a few targets for Saturday 14th and got the first one while heading to and from breakfast! Clark's Nutcrackers were calling and one obligingly flew over me as I returned to the room. My wife and I headed to Taylor Creek to see the salmon run and hoping to see Black Bear or Mink feeding on the fish which die after spawning. No luck there but it was an interesting place, but crowded with people. We had missed the peak time - the last weekend in September would have been better - but still got to see the bright red fish at the end of their lives with Common Mergansers after the fish and Mallards after their eggs. We then took a side trail away from the crowds and I added Mountain Chickadee, Hairy Woodpecker and Red-breasted Nuthatch as California year birds. Our next stop was at the DL Bliss State Park along the shore of Lake Tahoe where we went on a lovely hike in the pines and firs, with manzanita on the under storey, and  the lake to one side; but this was not at all birdy.

Lodgepole ? Chipmunk

A big surprise was another Black-billed Magpie on a lamp post as we headed back. A short stop at Fallen Leaf Lake delivered White-headed Woodpecker, the last of my reasonable targets for the trip.

Southern Arizona

I headed to Scottsdale for one final day's workshop on September 9th, again having no luck with Costa's Hummingbird or Burrowing Owl on the SCC campus. But I continued down to Tucson and did the Nogales Loop on Sunday September 10th. I had been to Paton's in January and missed the Violet-crowned Hummingb ird then, but this time quickly had the bird. Broad-billed Hummingbirds and Common Ground-Doves were also easy to get, and I had a Lucy's Warbler while walking along the trail that is partially completed down to the Nature Conservancy reserve. I stopped at the Amado ponds on the way back and saw many Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and a single Brown Pelican.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Brown Pelican

I got to my motel in Casa Grande quite early and checking the list serve found that I was close to a spot where a Red Knot had been seen. I drove to the Goldman Dairy Sludge Ponds and found the bird, but these ponds were as disgusting a place that I have ever birded: I can still sense the smell of the place when I think about it.

Back in Flagstaff

I returned to Flagstaff for the start of the new year and having been at sea level for three months, started with easy walks at Picture Canyon and Fat Man's Loop. I added some expected year birds but got lucky with a calling Northern Pygmy Owl on Fat Man's Loop. More year birds were added from my back yard.

A new place had popped up on the list serve - Fulton Pond. This is the pond next to the fire station at the south end of Mormon Lake and I made two trips to get Stilt Sandpiper - a Coconino County bird for me - and Baird's Sandpiper on either side of September 1st.

Shorebirds at Fulton Pond

Chicago

On August 15th I flew to visit my other son in Chicago, and on Wednesday August 16th I went to Lincoln Park hoping for some year birds. I had been lucky at this site a couple of years earlier with Eastern Kingbird and this time found several of this species. But luck was really with me and I found Northern Waterthrush around the luck - this is a bird that has been something of a jinx and although each year a few are seen around Flagstaff I have not seen one in Arizona for 30 years! Other year birds included the expected Black-capped Chickadee and Common Grackle, but I also found a Least Flycatcher at the southern end of the lake as I headed toward the zoo.

American Goldfinch

Least Flycatcher

I met up with Pat on Friday 18th and we headed to Burnham Prairie on the Illinois-Indiana border looking for some of the waders that had been reported. We had Chimney Swifts en route and my best bird was a Semipalmated Sandpiper. While scanning with Pat's scope I also found a Semipalmated Plover. We then crossed the state lie and went to the Gibson Woods Nature Preserve where a feeding station brought in many species of eastern bird, of which Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Baltimore Oriole were new for the year, all from a comfortable armchair in the visitor center!

Here and there around San Jose

My son came for a couple of weeks, and my wife showed him some of the local hot spots. I was able to finally identify a Short-billed Dowitcher and had luck with a Least Tern, oddly away from the bay at Almaden Lake. A trip to the bay at Palo Alto yielded a Lesser Yellowlegs, and then a trip to Moss Landing brought a year bird in the form of over 1000 Elegant Terns!

Back in San Jose

On Wednesday July 19th I attended an Owling Class run by Santa Clara Valley Audubon that was held at McClellan Ranch Preserve in Cupertino. The instructor talked wisely about the different species found in Santa Clara county and as the sum set we wandered around the park. Someone had staked out a Western Screech Owl for us to see, and we had a Great Horned Owl fly over as we started to head back.

With some information earned my wife and I drove to the Coyote Valley OSP on Friday July 21st and heard Common Poorwills calling from the hillside at sunset and had a poor view of a Barn Owl as the skies darkened.

We attended a Field trip to Sanborn County Park on Sunday July 23rd, a rather disappointing affair as the trip hardly ventured away from the open area where people began to picnic. A few of us wandered off - Sergio who had given me a ride home on Wednesday, Garret and Nana? - and we found a Cassin's Vireo and a Pacific Wren to make the morning worthwhile.

I also added a few more species on day trips over the next week or so. On Saturday July 29th my wife and I went to Land's End (San Francisco) but dipped on the Parakeet Auklet that has been around from time to time the previous week. I did add Heerman's Gull and Common Murre for the year while looking.

Sherwood and Oxley

I spent time visiting my house on Monday and added no new birds that day, although I got a first yard bird for the house - Spotted Dove on a roof across the street (and heard Torresian Crows calling from the nearby trees).

Spotted Dove

I spent my final day, Tuesday July 11th at the Sherwood Arboretum and at Oxley Creek Common where I added another 8 species but fell 3 short of my target of 100 for the short trip down under. I did see a few Eastern Grey Kangaroos from the train as I headed out to the airport on the Gold Coast.

Australian Kite

Australian Swamphen

Double-barred Finch

Pied Bitcherbird

Spangled Drongo

Superb Fairywren

Willie-wagtail

A BQ Outing and a day with Jill & Ian

I spent the morning of Saturday July 8th walking across the Kurilpa Bridge, along the South Bank Parkland, across the Goodwill Bridge and around the City Botanical Gardens. I added Figbird - a large flock feeding on a fruiting tree -  and Bush Thick-knee. As I was about to exit the Gardens I saw something strange flying about - some Grey-headed Flying Foxes were arguing over the roosting spots.

Bush Thick-knee

Figbird

Grey-headed Flying Fox

I then took the train out to Bald Hills to attend a BQ Outing led by Esther Townsend at Canterbury Park and the adjacent Barungwarra Bushland Reserve. There were many participants and the best of these saw over 50 species. I had a few less but added 25 for the trip. My best bird was a Cotton Pygny Goose, a species that I had only previously seen in Cambodia.

Cotton Pygmy-goose

Galah

Rainbow Lorikeet

Straw-necked Ibis

 
On Sunday July 9th Ian and Jill picked me up from my hotel for a morning in Brookfield - initially hoping but failing to find an elusive Black Bittern at Gold Creek Reservoir - and then the early afternoon in Moggill. I added 21 new species for the trip including the always lovely Golden Whistler and Rose Robin.

Australian Pipit

Pied Stilt

Rainbow Bee-eater

White-faced Heron