California and Southern Arizona Trip Report, April and May, 2006 Taj Schottland and I left chilly Vermont this spring to spend a total of 15 days birding in the sunshine in California and southern Arizona. We flew into Oakland on April 28, worked down the coast through Monterey and Big Sur, east to the Kern River Valley, then south to Bolsa Chica and Newport in Orange County. We then headed east to Tucson and birded the Santa Rita, Huachuca, and Chiricahua mountain ranges, with side-trips to the desert and grassland habitats that separate the ranges. We flew out of Tucson (and back to the beginning of the monsoon in Vermont) on the 13th of May. I had originally planned the trip to find about a dozen species that I had thus far failed to see, despite about six previous trips to Arizona and three to California. The target species for me included California gnatcatcher, Lawrence’s goldfinch, tricolored blackbird, white-headed woodpecker, montezuma quail, crissal thrasher, five-striped sparrow and buff-collared nightjar. Taj had not spent any time birding in the areas that we visited so many of the birds that we saw were new to him. Altogether, we saw or heard just over 290 species, including many that are quite difficult to find. Of my targets we saw all but the five-striped sparrow and the nightjar (due to access problems to their sites in southern Arizona). By any measure, a highly successful trip. Logistics We flew into Oakland rather than San Francisco largely because the fares were substantially cheaper, and also because it is better located to get to one of our first target birding areas, The San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We rented a small car from Avis at Oakland, put it through its paces on a variety of road qualities, and dropped it off at the end of the trip at Tucson airport. For accommodation, we used either relatively cheap hotels or, in areas like Portal in the Chiricahuas where there were no Motel 6s or even cheaper dives, we stayed at lodges like Cave Creek Ranch. Many of the hotels that we used were very good despite costing less than $60 per night. Some, however, left a lot to be desired. On arriving at Sierra Vista in Arizona we failed to notice that the hotel we booked into for three nights was directly opposite the town’s main Harley dealer. Trying to get to sleep when there are a bunch of people test-driving Harleys up and down the street is not an easy trick to master! Itinerary and birds A complete bird list is presented at the end of this trip report. In this section, I present the main highlights, only. Day 1. San Francisco Bay and then south to Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing and Monterey. The Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge was teeming with waterbirds including large numbers of western sandpipers, avocets, black-necked stilts, and literally hundreds of eared grebes. We also got our first taste of western passerines here with scrub jay and black phoebe. Intending to spend the night in Monterey, we drove south to Moss landing and Elkhorn Slough where we found Clark’s grebe, numbers of marbled godwits, long-billed curlew, a single immature glaucous-winged gull among the hordes of western and California gulls, and brown pelicans. Day 2. Monterey then south through Big Sur to Bakersfield. We were in Monterey Harbor at first light and amongst the hordes of Brant’s cormorants found two surprises – a pair (male and female) of harlequin ducks, and what we thought likely to be an immature arctic loon (see picture). We watched the loon under very good conditions and at relatively short range (down to about 70 meters) and could see no sign of either a chinstrap or a ventstrap. The white flash on the rear flank was, however, always visible. For a discussion of the identity of this bird, interested readers should go to the ID-Frontiers website (http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/FRID.html) postings for about 15th May, onwards. Other nice birds at Monterey were pelagic cormorants, cinnamon teal, black oystercatcher, wandering tattler, black turnstone, and pigeon guillemot. Possible arctic loon in Monterey Harbor. We then drove south to Point Lobos where we found California quail, Vaux’s swift, Nuttall’s woodpecker, chestnut-backed chickadee, wrentit, bushtit and spotted towhee. It was at Point Lobos where we also first began to notice the phenomenal offshore northward passage of Pacific loons: they were constantly streaming past as individuals or in flocks of up to 40 or 50- birds – very impressive. Next stop was the Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur, where I hoped to find one of my target species, Pacific-slope flycatcher. We dipped on the flycatcher (though we did find it further south on the trip), but were amazed to see a California condor fly over our heads. Other good birds: golden-crowned sparrow, golden eagle, Hutton’s vireo, and Steller’s jay. We then drove south through Big Sur, which was pretty mind-blowing, to the elephant seal colony at San Simeon, which was equally impressive. It’s not often that you get within smelling distance (literally) of such a large wild mammal. Then, east to spend the night at Bakersfield. Days 3 and 4. The Kern River Valley. This was the area where I hoped to find five of my target species: Cassin’s vireo, Lawrence’s goldfinch, tricolored Blackbird, mountain quail, and, in the adjacent Greenhorn Mountains, white-headed woodpecker. No dipping this time – we got all five! Birding was excellent around the Kern River Preserve (where Lawrence’s goldfinch and tricolored blackbird were easy), and the Migrant Trail where we got the vireo. Immediately south along the Kelso Valley Road we heard, but failed to see, mountain quail. Other good birds around the Kern Valley were roadrunners, Anna’s and black-chinned hummers, oak titmice, western bluebirds, gray flycatcher, phainopepla, black-throated gray warbler, and lots of lazuli buntings. On day 4 we drove into the Greenhorn Mountains looking for white-headed woodpecker and were lucky enough to find it at our first major stop in the conifers at Greenhorn Summit. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful woodpeckers that I have seen. Also seen in the Greenhorns was a northern goshawk, band-tailed pigeon, mountain chickadee, green-tailed towhee, and an incessantly calling pigmy owl that refused to show itself. That night we made the major drive south to LA where we checked into a hotel in North Hollywood. Not quite what you see in the movies. Taj could not get to sleep because some guy was beating up his wife in the next room! Eventually, she fled into the night and things quietened down. Day 5. Up early to drive south through the unbelievable mess of LA to the coast south of Long Beach, Bolsa Chica, and Newport. Bolsa Chica was as good as ever, with large numbers of elegant and royal terns putting on a great show. We also had Caspian, Forster’s, least terns and skimmers flying around the tern nesting island. For the first time I managed to get good looks at the very dark Belding’s race of savannah sparrow in the salicornia. On the sea at Bolsa Chica we found a laughing gull. Apparently, while this species begins turning up at this season at Salton Sea, to find one on the coast is unusual. At Newport I manged to finally catch up with my lifer California gnatcatcher. We looked long and hard for this bird and had almost given up when it popped up on a sage bush and gave us terrific looks. Also seen at Newport were a stunning hermit warbler, orange-crowned warblers, nashville warblers, yellow-bellied chats, a very confiding clapper rail, Allen’s hummer, and a flock of western tanagers. Migration was obviously still in progress. On the evening of our 5th day we began our long drive across country to Arizona on I10. We stopped for the night just before the California/Arizona state line at Blythe (where we had great-tailed grackle and yellow-headed blackbird). Days 6 and 7. Next morning we drove into Arizona and headed east with our first stop scheduled at Buckeye, where I hoped to refind some Le Conte’s thrashers that I had seen there a couple of years previously. Unfortunately, most of the scrub habitat was now housing development! We did, however, see a collared dove, which, apparently, had only recently colonized the area. So, back in the car, on to Tucson, then south to Green Valley, where we arrived in the late afternoon and checked into a hotel. We were pretty lucky on our first evening in Madera Canyon, seeing many of the regulars and some not-so-regulars. The male flame-colored tanager that has taken up residence put on a great show, coming right into the open on the ground at a feeder less than 50 feet away. This was much better than my previous very unsatisfactory looks at this species. Over the next two days at Madera we saw most of the specialties including painted redstart, hepatic and summer tanagers, Pyrrhuloxia, Arizona woodpecker, elegant trogon, Mexican jay, Lucy’s warbler, and broad-billed, black-chinned, blue throated, and magnificent hummers. An evening at a point overlooking McLeary Wash did not get us buff-collared nightjar, but we did see lesser nighthawk, common poorwill, and (probably a migrant) Brewer’s sparrow. On our 7th day at Madera Taj revealed his hidden talents as a zone-tailed hawk magnet when one flew right over out heads. This is usually a species that I have to work for on an Arizona trip, but it was only the first of about four that we saw on this trip. On the 7th day we left Madera for Patagonia, stopping at Kino Springs on the way. Lots of north-bound migrants were passing through Kino Springs and we had Lincoln’s sparrows, Say’s phoebe, and yellow-headed blackbird, as well as the resident black-bellied whistling-ducks, gray hawk, gilded flicker, gila woodpecker, and vermillion flycatcher. At Patagonia, we spent the evening relaxing at the Patton’s where we saw Costa’s, violet-crowned, and rufous hummer. Oh yes, and another zone-tail. Birding in lower Madera canyon. Day 8. Patagonia Lake and the Huachucas. We were at Patagonia Lake at dawn. On the way in we heard and saw Botteri’s sparrow singing in the grasslands adjacent to the road. This surprised me as I thought that they only sang after the summer monsoon, but learned from a local that there is also an early and brief song period in the spring. Walking through the scrub and mesquite on the way to the marshy end of the lake we found an unexpected gray vireo, probably en route to somewhere further north. We also saw northern beardless-tyrranulets (another target lifer for me) at a nest, a couple, of soras, and my first Pacific-slope flycatcher. I identified this last on the basis of its upward inflected monosyllabic call note, quite unlike the cordilleran flycatchers that I am more familiar with. Back at Patagonia and on the way to the Huachucas we stopped in to pay our respects to the male rose-throated becard that has been building a nest close to last year’s site. We also had olive-sided flycatcher, Abert’s towhee, and rufous-crowned sparrow at the Roadside Rest Stop. One of our objectives in visiting Ramsey Canyon in the Huachucas was to look for the rufous-sided robin that had wintered there. So, we felt a little grumpy when we were told by a docent that the bird had apparently left since it had not been seen for a couple of weeks. Anyway, we walked up the trail to see what else was around and, after about 100 meters, Taj very skillfully found said robin in the streambed alongside the road! We watched it for a few minutes before it skulked into some scrub. That was the last that we saw of it (or anybody else for all that we know). Talk about lucking out! Later that evening we lucked out again with a nice male white-eared hummer at Tom Beatty’s place in Miller Canyon and a pair of lucifers at the feeders in Ash Canyon. Rufous-backed robin, rose-throated becard, white-eared hummer - not too shabby a day. Day 9. At long last, my first montezuma quail! I had been searching for this bird on about 5 previous trips to Arizona, but with no luck. This time, however, luck was on our side as we set off at dawn through the Fort Huachuca grasslands to Sawmill Canyon. After travelling a mile or so there it was right by the roadside, a female or juvenile montezuma. OK, I’d rather it was a male, but good enough for me. In Sawmill we had a single buff-breasted flycatcher and singing Grace’s warblers. We tried Scheelite Canyon for the spotted owls, but they gripped us off. In the evening we were back in Ramsey Canyon looking for whiskered screech owls. No luck with the owls but as we were walking down the canyon in the twilight, and just before the visitor center, there was a rather large mama black bear with two tiny cubs (still pretty shaky on their legs) sitting under the reputed screech owl tree. We sat down and watched the bears, which seemed totally unconcerned by our presence though we were less than 50 meters way. The cubs were doing all the cute stuff that cubs do, like play fighting and wrestling around on the ground. The female was the largest black bear that I have ever seen and probably would have stood at least 6 feet on her hind legs. Eventually, we had to walk past the bear to leave the canyon. At about 20 meters distance the mother must have alerted the cubs in some way because they began climbing to safety up a massive sycamore tree. She simply sat on her haunches and placidly watched us go by. Not wishing to disturb them, we hurried past and away. Day 10. Today we walked along the San Pedro for a mile or two. Lots of migrants were thronging the riparian scrub including a gazillion Wilson’s warblers, summer tanagers, Lincoln’s sparrows, and, out on the grasslands, a couple of Swainson’s hawks. After lunch we headed up Miller Canyon. Just below the old mine we were rewarded for the hike with a singing greater pewee and some red-faced warblers. Birding among the saguaros in the Sonoran Desert. Day 11. Leaving Sierra vista early we began the drive to Portal and the Chiricahuas. We stopped briefly in Douglas to try to find inca dove, but no luck. So, on to the mountains. While driving over the short grasslands we did get a bonus in the shape of a couple of burrowing owls. We arrived in Portal in late morning and, after checking into the Cave Creek Canyon Ranch we headed to Dave Jasper’s feeders. These were crowded with birds including cardinals and Pyrhuloxias side-by-side, Gambel’s quail, and, another lifer for me, crissal thrasher. After relaxing for a while we walked up Cave Creek where we found Mexican chickadees a short way up. This was as low an elevation as I have ever seen this bird at. We drove up to Barfoot Park and Overlook in the late afternoon and evening and searching among the pines we finally found olive warblers. Day 12. We headed out early into the desert scrub close to Rodeo looking for Bendire’s thrashers and scaled quail. Finding a suitable-looking patch of mesquite we played Bendire’s song on the car CD player. Almost immediately there was a Bendire’s on top of the scrub giving us terrific looks through the scope. First one down! We then drove slowly back toward Portal and it wasn’t long before we had scaled quail running along the side of the rode in front of the car. Score 2! In the afternoon we again walked up Cave Creek but it seemed quite silent after yesterday, maybe it was because it was the heat of the day. In the evening we drove over the road to Paradise hoping to try to find the black-chinned sparrows that live there in the pinon/juniper scrub. Unfortunately, the heat was making everything remain hidden and inactive. In the evening we went to a tree in Cave Creek where we were told that whiskered screech owls were nesting. Just as it got too dark to see a bird began calling its morse code song from nearby and another popped up and posed in the hole entrance. At just about the same time we could hear western screech calling from further down the canyon. A good evening for owls. Day 13. Back to the road to Paradise and this time we were successful with the black-chinned sparrows when a nice male responded to our CD by coming in close to the car. We then went on to Paradise and to the George Walker House where, at the feeders we had Bullock’s oriole and juniper titmouse. That afternoon we were beginning to feel that we should be heading back west toward Tucson for the last couple of days of our trip. So, back into the car and the long drive to Patagonia. Day 14. We spent this morning back at Patagonia Lake where we were lucky enough to see a fly-over juvenile black hawk – not expected on this trip. We also had some neotropical cormorants and a couple of eared grebes. In the afternoon we drove north to Tucson and the Sweetwater wetlands (aka sewage ponds). I can’t really see why it is called Sweetwater since it looked and smelled anything but sweet. We had gone there because a least grebe had been previously seen. No luck on the grebe, but we did get our only Harris hawk for the trip. The end of the trip at Portal. Day 15. We spent the morning back at Florida Wash trying to get rufous-winged sparrow. We did see one singing individual – not the best of looks, unfortunately. After that, up to the Tucson Desert Museum looking for varied bunting. My guess is that it was still a little too early for the bunting (as it was for sulphur-bellied flycatcher), but, after stumbling around in 90 degree temperatures were rewarded with another species that had so far eluded us- black-tailed gnatcatcher. This was to be virtually the last bird of the trip as we flew out of Tucson the following morning. TRIP LIST Common loon Pacific loon Arctic loon Eared grebe Clark’s grebe Western grebe Pied-billed grebe American white pelican Brown pelican Double-crested cormorant Neotropic cormorant Brandt’s cormorant Pelagic cormorant Black-crowned night-heron Green heron Great egret Snowy egret Great blue heron White-faced ibis Canada goose Brant Black-bellied whistling-duck Wood duck Mallard Gadwall Cinnamon teal Blue-winged teal Green-winged teal Greater scaup Black scoter White-winged scoter Surf scoter Harlequin duck Bufflehead Ruddy duck Red-breasted merganser Common merganser Turkey vulture Black vulture California condor Golden eagle White-tailed kite Cooper’s hawk Sharp-shinned hawk Northern Goshawk Common black hawk Harris’s hawk Zone-tailed hawk Gray hawk Red-shouldered hawk Red-tailed hawk Swainson’s hawk American kestrel Peregrine Wild turkey Gambel’s quail California quail Mountain quail Montezuma quail Scaled quail Clapper rail Sora Moorhen American coot Black-bellied plover Semi-palmated plover Kildeer Black oystercatcher American avocet Black-necked stilt Willet Greater yellowlegs Lesser yellowlegs Wandering tattler Spotted sandpiper Long-billed curlew Whimbrel Marbled godwit Ruddy turnstone Black turnstone Sanderling Dunlin Least sandpiper Western sandpiper Short-billed dowitcher Long-billed dowitcher Wilson’s phalarope Laughing gull Western gull California gull Ring-billed gull American herring gull Glaucous-winged gull Elegant tern Royal tern Forster’s tern Caspian tern Least tern Black skimmer Common murre Pigeon guillemot Band-tailed pigeon Rock dove Mourning dove Eurasian collared dove White-winged dove Common ground dove Yellow-billed cuckoo Greater roadrunner Great horned owl Western screech-owl Whiskered screech-owl Northern pygmy-owl Burrowing owl Elf owl Lesser nighthawk Whip-poor-will Common poorwill Vaux’s swift White-throated swift Violet-crowned hummingbird Lucifer hummingbird Broad-billed hummingbird White-eared hummingbird Blue-throated hummingbird Magnificent hummingbird Black-chinned hummingbird Costa’s hummingbird Anna’s hummingbird Broad-tailed hummingbird Rufous hummingbird Allen’s hummingbird Elegant trogon Belted kingfisher Acorn woodpecker White-headed woodpecker Gila woodpecker Northern flicker Gilded flicker Ladder-backed woodpecker Nuttall’s woodpecker Arizona woodpecker Downy woodpecker Hairy woodpecker Red-naped sapsucker Greater pewee Olive-sided flycatcher Western wood-pewee Hammond’s flycatcher Gray flycatcher Dusky flycatcher Pacific-slope flycatcher Buff-breasted flycatcher Northern beardless-tyrannulet Black phoebe Say’s phoebe Vermillion flycatcher Brown-crested flycatcher Ash-throated flycatcher Dusky-capped flycatcher Western kingbird Cassin’s kingbird Thick-billed kingbird Rose-throated becard Loggerhead shrike Bell’s vireo Hutton’s vireo Cassin’s vireo Plumbeous vireo Warbling vireo Steller’s jay Western scrub jay Mexican jay American crow Chihuahuan raven Common raven Horned lark Tree swallow Violet-green swallow Bank swallow Northern rough-winged swallow Cliff swallow Barn swallow Wrentit Oak titmouse Juniper titmouse Bridled titmouse Mexican chickadee Mountain chickadee Chestnut-backed chickadee Verdin Bushtit Pygmy nuthatch Red-breasted nuthatch House wren Bewick’s wren Winter wren Cactus wren Rock wren Canyon wren Marsh wren Ruby-crowned kinglet Golden-crowned kinglet Blue-gray gnatcatcher Black-tailed gnatcatcher California gnatcatcher Brown creeper Western bluebird Townsend’s solitaire Swainson’s thrush Hermit thrush American robin Rufous-backed robin Northern mockingbird Bendire’s thrasher Curve-billed thrasher Crissal thrasher European starling Cedar waxwing Phainopepla Orange-crowned warbler Nashville warbler Virginia’s warbler Lucy’s warbler Audubon’s warbler Black-throated gray warbler Townsend’s warbler Hermit warbler Grace’s warbler Yellow warbler Wilson’s warbler McGillivray’s warbler Common yellowthroat Yellow-breasted chat Painted redstart Red-faced warbler Olive warbler Summer tanager Hepatic tanager Western tanager Flame-colored tanager California towhee Abert’s towhee Canyon towhee Green-tailed towhee Spotted towhee Botteri’s sparrow Rufous-winged sparrow Rufous-crowned sparrow Chipping sparrow Brewer’s sparrow Lark sparrow Black-chinned sparrow Black-throated sparrow Fox sparrow Savannah sparrow Lincoln’s sparrow Song sparrow White-crowned sparrow Golden-crowned sparrow Dark-eyed junco Yellow-eyed junco Black-headed grosbeak Northern cardinal Pyrrhuloxia Blue grosbeak Lazuli bunting Eastern meadowlark Western meadowlark Yellow-headed blackbird Red-winged blackbird Tricolored blackbird Great-tailed grackle Common grackle Brewer’s blackbird Brown-headed cowbird Bronzed cowbird Hooded oriole Bullock’s oriole Scott’s oriole Purple finch House finch Pine siskin American goldfinch Lesser goldfinch Lawrence’s goldfinch House sparrow