Sunday February 16th was the final day of the festival and despite Saturday's disappointing tour I decided to go ahead and go on the Duluth Tour I had signed up for. This was probably mistake as the roads were clear and Rob & Virginia saw some good birds on their own.
The Duluth trip started with a stop at a feeder - just Black Capped Chickadee and Red-breasted Nuthatch - and a successful Northern Hawk-Owl stake out spot. The Snowy Owl was gone from its spot and although we wandered an area where a Great Grey Owl had been seen we came up empty. Very empty we saw no birds at all, just a totally frozen Lake Superior. We saw a camp of tents out on the ice, wind breaks for ice fishermen. Crow, raven, pigeon and a bald eagle were fly-bys in the morning. We crossed into Wisconsin to visit the Superior dump and found 2 Great Black-backeds and 1 Glaucous among many Herring Gulls and then stopped at Duluth's Canal Park for a small patch of open water with Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser and Mallards. A pretty dismal return for a planned tour!
I did an afternoon dash to the Sax-Zim Bog driving McDavitt once and Admiral three full times and once more from the south end to the feeders and back, I saw a perched crow, one Gray Jay and one Northern Shrike as well as 7 Black-capped Chickadees on each pass of the feeders. What I did not see, of course, was a Great Grey Owl. At least 7 other cars were doing the rounds in search of this bird.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Lake County Field Trip
On Saturday February 15th I went on the festival's trip to Lake County. One of the trip leaders had scouted the route ahead of time and in a posting on the listserve, said that birds were few and far between. This is exactly how things turned out and it is surprising that the trip wasn't adjusted.
I left my motel in Hibbing at 4:30 in order to be at Meadowlands for 5:30 bus boarding and 6:00 departure. We then drove at speed to get to Lake County and having reached a road where we hoped for Spruce Grouse continue to drive very quickly. A walk down the road followed by a stop at an Outward Bound camp to use their restrooms meant we reached 9:30 with just ravens and feeder birds to show for out time. We finally founds some birds in Ely - 100 miles from Meadowlands- but with the exception of an earful of Bohemian Waxwings, we added only bird feeder band feral rock pigeons to our list.
After driving to Sax-Zim Bog we cruised around, making two passes down Admiral Road hoping to relocate a Great Grey Owl seen earlier in the day. Although we had no luck with that we saw a total of three Ruffed Grouse and watched a Stoat (Short-tailed Weasel) in Ermine form dashing around in the snow so that only the black tip of its tail was obvious.
I left my motel in Hibbing at 4:30 in order to be at Meadowlands for 5:30 bus boarding and 6:00 departure. We then drove at speed to get to Lake County and having reached a road where we hoped for Spruce Grouse continue to drive very quickly. A walk down the road followed by a stop at an Outward Bound camp to use their restrooms meant we reached 9:30 with just ravens and feeder birds to show for out time. We finally founds some birds in Ely - 100 miles from Meadowlands- but with the exception of an earful of Bohemian Waxwings, we added only bird feeder band feral rock pigeons to our list.
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| Bohemian Waxwing |
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| Black-capped Chickadee |
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| Downy Woodpecker |
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| Red-breasted Nuthatch |
After driving to Sax-Zim Bog we cruised around, making two passes down Admiral Road hoping to relocate a Great Grey Owl seen earlier in the day. Although we had no luck with that we saw a total of three Ruffed Grouse and watched a Stoat (Short-tailed Weasel) in Ermine form dashing around in the snow so that only the black tip of its tail was obvious.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Sax-Zim Bog
I flew to Duluth on Wednesday February 12th paying a visit to the University of Minnesota -Duluth ahead of participating in the 7th Sax-Zim Bog Birdinf Festival, On Friday February 14th I attended a pre-festival field trip to the Sax-Zim Bog.
I had registered in November and by the time the trip came around I knew that two of my targets were out of reach. It was not an invasion year of Boreal Owls and White-winged Crossbills had not been seen. My four main targets were my final North American woodpecker - Black-backed, and three owls - Snowy, Northern Hawk and Great Grey.
I left Hibbing at 5:30 for bus-boarding at 6:30 and departure at 7:00 and the trip began with lifer Pine Grosbeaks at the first house with feeders and then a male Snowy Owl atop a conifer tree. We had a second male on a tree line and then a female on the roof of a house!
After a quiet period including no-show Great Grey Owl on Admiral road we did find two Boreal Chickadees at the feeders there and later in the day on a second pass down the road we had four Gray Jays - my first outside of Alaska. Red Squirrels were common on many feeders throughout the day. On our third pass down the road by the Visitor Center we finally found a Northern Hawk-Owl.
The trip ended around 2:30 but there was nothing planned until dinner at 5:00. A couple I had met on the bus, Rob from Kent and Virginia from Tucson invited me to come along with them and we spent two hours cruising the roads dipping again on Great Grey Owl and Rob's wished fro Northern Saw-whet Owl, but we got lucky and ran into a group of people who had just located a Black-backed Woodpecker. ABA area woodpecker number nineteen to complete my list.
I had registered in November and by the time the trip came around I knew that two of my targets were out of reach. It was not an invasion year of Boreal Owls and White-winged Crossbills had not been seen. My four main targets were my final North American woodpecker - Black-backed, and three owls - Snowy, Northern Hawk and Great Grey.
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| Snowy Owl - male |
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| Snowy Owl - female |
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| Gray Jay |
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Northern Hawk-Owl |
The trip ended around 2:30 but there was nothing planned until dinner at 5:00. A couple I had met on the bus, Rob from Kent and Virginia from Tucson invited me to come along with them and we spent two hours cruising the roads dipping again on Great Grey Owl and Rob's wished fro Northern Saw-whet Owl, but we got lucky and ran into a group of people who had just located a Black-backed Woodpecker. ABA area woodpecker number nineteen to complete my list.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Verde Valley Loop
On Saturday February 8th with my wife in Malaysia I decided to have a day of crazy chasing. I looked at my 2014 Birdlist and came up with a list of 10 birds that it could be possible to get in a long morning in the Verde Valley. Vic was free and joined me on my chase.
We started at Red Tank Draw and had no problem finding Sage Thrasher and Black-throated Sparrow. Indeed both these species were present in large numbers. We then went to the v-bar-v Heritage Site and watched the feeders until a (Tan-striped) White-throated Sparrow came in. At that point I was at 100% and it was only 10am.
The rest of the day went badly; the Rock Wren again failed to show at Montezuma Well, we did not run into any Cedar Waxwings or Juniper Titmice and the pond at LoLoMai was duckless. I thought Wood Ducks were guaranteed there. Also at LoLoMai we went looking for a Western Screech Owl but the bird was not sitting outside his hole waiting for us. The two Common Gallinules on the east side of Pond 2 at the Sedona Wetlands Preserve seen that morning by Rich on his birdwalk stayed hidden in the reeds. And then finally the Cave Springs area was full of vehicles and we could not even try for the American Dipper. So I ended on just 30%.
The day's most surprising sighting was a River Otter in the pond at Lo Lo Mai. I had expected to run into this animal before now with so much time spent waling along the Verde River and Oak and Beaver Creeks but I never had any luck. The only bad luck this day was that my camera had been left in Fanta.
We started at Red Tank Draw and had no problem finding Sage Thrasher and Black-throated Sparrow. Indeed both these species were present in large numbers. We then went to the v-bar-v Heritage Site and watched the feeders until a (Tan-striped) White-throated Sparrow came in. At that point I was at 100% and it was only 10am.
The rest of the day went badly; the Rock Wren again failed to show at Montezuma Well, we did not run into any Cedar Waxwings or Juniper Titmice and the pond at LoLoMai was duckless. I thought Wood Ducks were guaranteed there. Also at LoLoMai we went looking for a Western Screech Owl but the bird was not sitting outside his hole waiting for us. The two Common Gallinules on the east side of Pond 2 at the Sedona Wetlands Preserve seen that morning by Rich on his birdwalk stayed hidden in the reeds. And then finally the Cave Springs area was full of vehicles and we could not even try for the American Dipper. So I ended on just 30%.
The day's most surprising sighting was a River Otter in the pond at Lo Lo Mai. I had expected to run into this animal before now with so much time spent waling along the Verde River and Oak and Beaver Creeks but I never had any luck. The only bad luck this day was that my camera had been left in Fanta.
Prescott
Following the cancellation of the plan to go to Lake Havasu, on Saturday February 1st my wife and I decided to go to Prescott instead. We took the opportunity to stop at Lake Montezuma on the way down to look for the Eastern Bluebirds that had been seen a few days earlier. We were in luck and found 3 of this species in the trees by the duck feeding area. The ducks included a tame Snow Goose and four non-countable Egyptian Geese!
The next stop was at Montezuma Well where I had hoped to get both wrens but although the Rock Wren did not cooperate I found a few Brewer's Sparrows along with the Canyon Wren.
We then headed to Willow Lake in Prescott and were able to spot the Tundra Swan before we got out of Fanta. We wandered down towards the lake and enjoyed lots of ducks and a Northern Harrier. But we had given up on the White-tailed Kite before asking a local (Ryan) who took us straight to the bird perched closer to homes and away from the lake itself.
Our final stop of the day was at Watson Lake where after some searching we were able to find a pair of Hooded Merganser. Sadly while heading back to the car I lost the eyepiece of my Nikon Prostaff spotting scope although I did not notice it was missing until we were back in Flagstaff.
The next stop was at Montezuma Well where I had hoped to get both wrens but although the Rock Wren did not cooperate I found a few Brewer's Sparrows along with the Canyon Wren.
We then headed to Willow Lake in Prescott and were able to spot the Tundra Swan before we got out of Fanta. We wandered down towards the lake and enjoyed lots of ducks and a Northern Harrier. But we had given up on the White-tailed Kite before asking a local (Ryan) who took us straight to the bird perched closer to homes and away from the lake itself.
Our final stop of the day was at Watson Lake where after some searching we were able to find a pair of Hooded Merganser. Sadly while heading back to the car I lost the eyepiece of my Nikon Prostaff spotting scope although I did not notice it was missing until we were back in Flagstaff.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Around town
As the end of the month neared I decided to do some chasing. Jason had found a Varied Thrush at Elden Spring on Saturday 25th and I tried three times for this bird over the next few days.
On my first attempt on Sunday 26th I had no thrush but saw two immature Golden Eagles soaring above the hills. I then drove out to the Kachina Wetlands to add Lesser Scaup to my year's list. The wetlands are usually bleak and frozen in January but following a month without snow the water was open and there was a good variety of ducks on the water, including two Cinnamon Teal, a rare bird above the rim in winter. I also found a Mountain Bluebird among the Eastern Bluebirds perched on the mullen.
On Thursday January 30th I headed out to Doney Park for an hour or so in the morning. After hiking up a quiet Old Caves Crater trail, I drove to Pam's old neighborhood and ran into a flock of 110 Pinyon Jays with 40 Red-winged Balckbirds mixed in. Heading out to Townsend-Winona, I saw a Ferruginous Hawk hunting, and then being harrassed by a raven on the ground. Late that day I made my second visit to a cold and grey Elden Spring and saw very little
On Friday January 31st I began the day at Picture Canyon where I had no trouble finding a Song Sparrow for my year's list. I then met up with Tom, BB, Rich and Nanette at Elden Spring where we searched for the Varied Thrush in the sleet - Flagstaff's first precipitation for 6 weeks. Sadly the group found the bird soon after I left! Worse still I had left because my wife and I had planned to go to Lake Havasu, but we aborted this plan when the snow got heavy and we could hear sirens from emergency vehicles!
On my first attempt on Sunday 26th I had no thrush but saw two immature Golden Eagles soaring above the hills. I then drove out to the Kachina Wetlands to add Lesser Scaup to my year's list. The wetlands are usually bleak and frozen in January but following a month without snow the water was open and there was a good variety of ducks on the water, including two Cinnamon Teal, a rare bird above the rim in winter. I also found a Mountain Bluebird among the Eastern Bluebirds perched on the mullen.
On Thursday January 30th I headed out to Doney Park for an hour or so in the morning. After hiking up a quiet Old Caves Crater trail, I drove to Pam's old neighborhood and ran into a flock of 110 Pinyon Jays with 40 Red-winged Balckbirds mixed in. Heading out to Townsend-Winona, I saw a Ferruginous Hawk hunting, and then being harrassed by a raven on the ground. Late that day I made my second visit to a cold and grey Elden Spring and saw very little
On Friday January 31st I began the day at Picture Canyon where I had no trouble finding a Song Sparrow for my year's list. I then met up with Tom, BB, Rich and Nanette at Elden Spring where we searched for the Varied Thrush in the sleet - Flagstaff's first precipitation for 6 weeks. Sadly the group found the bird soon after I left! Worse still I had left because my wife and I had planned to go to Lake Havasu, but we aborted this plan when the snow got heavy and we could hear sirens from emergency vehicles!
Monday, January 20, 2014
Heading Back
I drove back to Flagstaff on Monday September 20th making several stops along the way. Things started badly - I could not find any access to the Santa Cruz River ay Ina Road where 6 Blue-winged Teal ad been seen the day before; and I could not find the park-and-ride lot which supposedly allowed views of a pond which had Wood Ducks. My final stop in Tucson went better and I found the three Greater White-fronted Geese on the Arthur Pack Golf Course.
After stopping at Lee Lee Market, my next stop was by the Mesa Library on Dobson Road. The target bird was Hooded Merganser but the two birds reported on Sunday were not there. I did however pick up 5 year birds - all birds that I'd hoped to see at the Gilbert Water Ranch. That was my next stop, and I found these 5 birds and another 6 that were new for the year, including an unexpected Cattle Egret.
My next stop was Tempe Town Lake where I felt sure that I would see Brown Pelicann and Western Grebe and hoped to see a Horned Grebe reported the day before. Not only did I dip on the Horned Grebe, I also failed to find a pelican!
My final stop of the day was outside a school in the Arrowhead Lakes area in Glendale. I had trouble finding the school but not the drake Eurasian Wigeon in with no more than a dozen American Wigeon on the grass alongside a man-made fast-flowing creek.
I arrived home after my 4-day trip having added 78 birds for the year.
After stopping at Lee Lee Market, my next stop was by the Mesa Library on Dobson Road. The target bird was Hooded Merganser but the two birds reported on Sunday were not there. I did however pick up 5 year birds - all birds that I'd hoped to see at the Gilbert Water Ranch. That was my next stop, and I found these 5 birds and another 6 that were new for the year, including an unexpected Cattle Egret.
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| Cattle Egret |
My next stop was Tempe Town Lake where I felt sure that I would see Brown Pelicann and Western Grebe and hoped to see a Horned Grebe reported the day before. Not only did I dip on the Horned Grebe, I also failed to find a pelican!
My final stop of the day was outside a school in the Arrowhead Lakes area in Glendale. I had trouble finding the school but not the drake Eurasian Wigeon in with no more than a dozen American Wigeon on the grass alongside a man-made fast-flowing creek.
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| Eurasian Wigeon |
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| American Wigeon |
I arrived home after my 4-day trip having added 78 birds for the year.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Sparrow Banding Day
On Sunday January 19th I joined 19 other volunteers for a day of sparrow banding at Davis Pasture. We spent six hours in the field, erecting three sets of temporary mist nets and then flushing birds in from both sides. We collected and banded over 30 birds, with two-thirds of these being Grasshopper Sparrows and the remainder split evenly between Baird's and Savannahs. We also flushed a flock og about 60 Chestnut-collared Longspur and saw a few of the sparrow's main predator - Northern Harriers.
The work was completed with enough time for another trip to Reid Park, but the noise and activity was similar to the day before and I again dipped on my main target. I did add a couple of year birds including Black-crowned Night Heron
As the sun began to set I made a mad dash to John F. Kennedy Park to add Redhead to my year's list, following up on aosfrom the day before. I only stayed 5 minutes but managed to find a male Vermillion Flycatcher while I was there.
The work was completed with enough time for another trip to Reid Park, but the noise and activity was similar to the day before and I again dipped on my main target. I did add a couple of year birds including Black-crowned Night Heron
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| Black-crowned Night-Heron |
As the sun began to set I made a mad dash to John F. Kennedy Park to add Redhead to my year's list, following up on aosfrom the day before. I only stayed 5 minutes but managed to find a male Vermillion Flycatcher while I was there.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Patons, Florida & Madera Canyons and Reid Park
On Saturday January 18th I met Sandy and Ed at Paton's in Patagonia. I ran into longtime Flagstaff residents Sandy and Ed at Walnut Canyon the CBC and heard they were snowbirding in Patagonia for the month of January. We spent the best part of two hours at Paton's and enjoyed the large number and large variety of birds at the feeders there. The highlight was Paton's first Violet-crowned Hummingbird of 2014, a bird that showed up at hummingbird feeder #3 at 9am only to find it still frozen! We also had a Plumbeous Vireo that was not on the list of recent sightings. And I caught up with one bird that had eluded me in 2013, a Green-tailed Towhee.
After Paton's and an aborted trip to Patagonia Lake that was obviously busy, and a decision not to try for the skulky Sinaloa Wren at Tubac, we headed for Florida Canyon in search of Rufous-capped Warblers. I had tried for these and failed in 2012. When we arrived at the parking lot the news was good - two, perhaps three birds had been seen just past the dam and Ed & I hurried up the trail. Just past the dam two people were just leaving and showed us the exact spot where the birds had been. We sat and waited patiently and had lunch, but no luck. We then decided to head up the trail when a single Rufous-capped Warbler found us and scolded us from just 6 feet away. This was my first life bird of 2014 and a gorgeous one too!
I then said my goodbyes to ed and Sandy who headed back while I went to Madera Canyon. I was confident of finding Wild Turkey and Mexican Jay and hopeful of finding Arizona Woodpecker. I actually added all three of these birds at Santa Rita Lodge as well as my first Chipping Sparrows of 2014 and an unexpected Hepatic Tanager. I had another surprise while walking to the Kubo, the call of an Elegant Trogon! At the Kubo itself I saw a rather scrawny male Magnificent Hummingbird but just failed to properly see a Yellow-eyed Junco as it flew from a feeder and over the roof!
Arriving back in Tucson at 4:45 I decided to take a stab at the Pine Warbler in Reid Park. I had been too tired to chase this yesterday but I heard that Tom & BB had found the bird after half an hour of searching. Arriving at Reid Park I found hundreds of people picnicking and playing ball with boomboxes blaring! I tried for half an hour but really couldn't hear any warbler chips and I left empty handed. I did luck out and found a Summer Tanager that I had heard about earlier in the day.
After Paton's and an aborted trip to Patagonia Lake that was obviously busy, and a decision not to try for the skulky Sinaloa Wren at Tubac, we headed for Florida Canyon in search of Rufous-capped Warblers. I had tried for these and failed in 2012. When we arrived at the parking lot the news was good - two, perhaps three birds had been seen just past the dam and Ed & I hurried up the trail. Just past the dam two people were just leaving and showed us the exact spot where the birds had been. We sat and waited patiently and had lunch, but no luck. We then decided to head up the trail when a single Rufous-capped Warbler found us and scolded us from just 6 feet away. This was my first life bird of 2014 and a gorgeous one too!
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| Rufous-capped Warbler |
I then said my goodbyes to ed and Sandy who headed back while I went to Madera Canyon. I was confident of finding Wild Turkey and Mexican Jay and hopeful of finding Arizona Woodpecker. I actually added all three of these birds at Santa Rita Lodge as well as my first Chipping Sparrows of 2014 and an unexpected Hepatic Tanager. I had another surprise while walking to the Kubo, the call of an Elegant Trogon! At the Kubo itself I saw a rather scrawny male Magnificent Hummingbird but just failed to properly see a Yellow-eyed Junco as it flew from a feeder and over the roof!
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| Wild Turkey |
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| Mexican Jays |
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| Arizona Woodpecker |
Arriving back in Tucson at 4:45 I decided to take a stab at the Pine Warbler in Reid Park. I had been too tired to chase this yesterday but I heard that Tom & BB had found the bird after half an hour of searching. Arriving at Reid Park I found hundreds of people picnicking and playing ball with boomboxes blaring! I tried for half an hour but really couldn't hear any warbler chips and I left empty handed. I did luck out and found a Summer Tanager that I had heard about earlier in the day.
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| Summer Tanager |
Friday, January 17, 2014
Sanat Cruz Flats, Tohono Chul Park and Sweetwater
On Friday January 17th I left my motel in Casa Grande and was birding on the Santa Cruz Flats not long after 8am. I had three target birds in mind, birds that I had seen when we drove the flats on December 7th. A search for Mountain Plovers at the turf farm was unsuccessful today (only Horned Larks and American Pipits) and Burrowing Owls and Crested Caracara were nowhere to be found.
However the 2 hours on the flats were pretty good. On December 7th I had looked for Sagebrush Sparrow at Sunland Gin and Harmon but failed; this time I found one very quickly. I found a flooded field with a good sized group of Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Curlew and although raptors were not so abundant as last time, I had a Merlin perched close enough for a picture through the windscreen.
My next stop was a visit to Tohono Chul Park off Ina Road in Tucson. A posting had mentioned a Fox Sparrow at the Geology Wall and as this was a 'new' park for me it seemed worth a shot. I did not realize that this was not really a park, but a botanical garden with an entrance fee. But I paid up and spent an hour in the grounds enjoying the plants and adding a number of common desert birds to my year list. Costa's Hummingbirds probably the best as they came very close.
My next stop was Sweetwater and my targets a bunch of common ducks missing form the Flagstaff area. This visit started in spectacular style with a friendly Sora and a cooperative Lincoln's Sparrow at the bridge!
The rest of the visit was much as expected with Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal and Eared Grebe on the ponds. The biggest surprise was a Wilson's Warbler.
Having dipped on the Burrowing Owl, I stopped by the auto glass place near Tucson Airport and found one hiding in its 'burrow'!
However the 2 hours on the flats were pretty good. On December 7th I had looked for Sagebrush Sparrow at Sunland Gin and Harmon but failed; this time I found one very quickly. I found a flooded field with a good sized group of Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Curlew and although raptors were not so abundant as last time, I had a Merlin perched close enough for a picture through the windscreen.
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| Merlin |
My next stop was Sweetwater and my targets a bunch of common ducks missing form the Flagstaff area. This visit started in spectacular style with a friendly Sora and a cooperative Lincoln's Sparrow at the bridge!
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| Sora |
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| Lincoln's Sparrow |
The rest of the visit was much as expected with Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal and Eared Grebe on the ponds. The biggest surprise was a Wilson's Warbler.
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| Shoveler |
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| Northern Pintail |
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| Green-winged Teal |
Heading South
I left Flagstaff at 2:30 on Thursday January 16th and drove to Casa Grande. On the way down I stopped at Granada Park in Phoenix hoping to see a Eurasian Wigeon that had been posted on the 14th. The bird had been chased but not seen by others on the 15th and someone had remarked that there are a lot of ponds in the area and it must move around. I had no luck but did get to see a small flock of Rosy-faced Lovebirds.
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