Part four of a six part series on my trip to the west and southwest in April, 2014

On April 20 Karen and I arrived in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. We spent five days there, most of that time in the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon. We also took a side trip up to Barfoot Park, over to Wilcox on our last day to check Lake Cochise for shorebirds, and a couple other places nearby. We made daily trips down to Portal for food and to check the feeders in town. I’ve birded the Chiricahuas before, but never for more than a day or two, so I was excited about spending quality time exploring these mountains, the ancestral home of the Chiricahua Apache Indians. We were also tired of driving and wanted to relax and enjoy ourselves. Between all the hiking and birding we really didn’t relax but we did enjoy ourselves. Relaxing in the the Chiricahuas probably isn’t an option if you’re a birder. Birding there is like being a kid set loose in a toy store.

Montezuma Quail (click to see the larger version)

The Chiricahuas are located in the Coronado National Forest and offer some of the finest birding in the United States, specializing in species that are largely Mexican in distribution, like the other border range mountains of southeastern Arizona. The birds that we heard and saw on our daily hikes in Cave Creek Canyon include Black-throated Gray and Grace’s Warblers, Painted Redstarts, Acorn and Arizona Woodpeckers, Mexican Jays, Scott’s Orioles, Dusky-capped and Ash-throated Flycatchers (Dusky-capped were the most common Myiarchus), Plumbeous Vireos, Hepatic Tanagers, Canyon Wrens, and Bridled Titmice. Many of these birds were around our campground and a little pishing or a Northern Pygmy-Owl impression often brought the Black-throated Gray Warblers and Painted Redstarts right in. We also had Magnificent and Blue-throated Hummingbirds, Hutton’s Vireos, a few Brown-crested Flycatchers, Townsend’s Solitaires, and Bewick’s Wrens. Higher up in the canyon we had Red-faced Warblers and Yellow-eyed Juncos. Migrants warblers included Townsend’s, Wilson’s, and Orange-crowned. In addition to the Sierra Madrean/Western species we had some familiar friends – American Robins, White-breasted Nuthatches, Hairy Woodpeckers, House Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creepers, and Hermit Thrushes. At night we were serenaded by Whiskered Screech-Owls (camping does have its benefits). Some of our better finds in Cave Creek Canyon were Buff-breasted Flycatcher, a male Elegant Trogon, and a pair of Montezuma Quail that flushed almost underfoot along the trail, scaring the hell out of us. The trogon was probably the birding highlight of our time in the Chiricahuas and we both did a happy dance after seeing him.

On April 21 we drove up to Barfoot Park to look for, among other birds, Olive Warbler and Mexican Chickadee. The habitat at Barfoot is decidedly Rocky Mountain in character and unlike the drier Sierra Madrean pine and oak forest found lower down. Olive Warblers can be found in other mountain ranges in Arizona but Mexican Chickadees are found only in the Chiricahuas (Mexican Chickadees also occur in the Animas Mountains of New Mexico but the Animas are privately owned and not easily accessible, so most birders go to the Chiricahuas to get their ABA area Mexican Chickadee.) We did hear an Olive Warbler but we dipped on the chickadee. Apparently the chickadees are busy nesting in April and May and can be hard to find then. I’m also guessing they were hit hard by the Horseshoe Two Fire in 2011, so there are probably fewer of them. Mexican Chickadee was one of our target birds but neither of us needed it for a lifer, so it wasn’t a huge miss. Despite its attractiveness we only birded Barfoot once because the road up to Barfoot is narrow, winding, and uneven, and my Honda Civic protested the whole way up and back down. The state of Arizona refers to this type of road as “unimproved”, which translates to “not fit for low clearance vehicles”.

Harris’s Hawk (click to see the larger version)

On April 26, our last day in Arizona, we bid the Chiricahuas goodbye and drove to Wilcox to check Lake Cochise for shorebirds. Lake Cochise is actually a waste water pond and was named after the Chiricahua Apache chief and resistance leader Cochise. I wonder how Cochise would feel about having his name attached to a waste water pond. Lake Cochise proves the adage that water is life in the desert, even untreated waste water. The ponds were full of shorebirds, including hundreds of Wilson’s Phalaropes, American Avocets, Willets, Western Sandpipers, and a few Long-billed Dowitchers. There were waterfowl too, mostly Northern Shovelers and Ruddy Ducks but also American Wigeon and Gadwall. Rounding out the list were a couple White-faced Ibises, an immature Bonaparte’s Gull, and a covey of Scaled Quail.

Part three of a six part series on my trip to the west and southwest in April, 2014

On April 19 Karen and I birded Sandia Crest, at 10,678 feet the highest point in the Sandia Mountains of northern New Mexico. We were joined by Albuquerque resident and fellow birder Carol Davis, who was kind enough to guide us up and down the mountain. Birders know Sandia Crest as one of the most reliable places in North America to see all 3 species of Rosy-Finch in winter. We were about a month late for Rosy-Finches but we had a great time anyway, and the view of Albuquerque from the top is nothing short of spectacular. Most of the birds we saw were typical Rocky Mountain species – Mountain Chickadees, Steller’s Jays, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Red-naped Sapsuckers, “Gray-headed” Dark-eyed Juncos, and “Audubon’s” Yellow-rumped Warblers. We also saw our first Grace’s and Black-throated Gray Warblers of the trip. The highlight however were the 3-4 American Three-toed Woodpeckers near the summit. I’ve only seen American Three-toed Woodpeckers twice before so it was a treat to see and hear so many in such a short period. One bird was exceptionally cooperative, almost tame, and let us approach to within a few yards. The American Three-toed Woodpeckers that occur in the Rockies belong to the Dorsalis subspecies, which has a solid white stripe down the back instead of the barred back of eastern American Three-toeds.

American Three-toed Woodpecker (click to see the larger version)

After Sandia we started driving south through central New Mexico. I’ve only birded the edges of New Mexico before but on this trip we were driving the length of the state from north to south, right through the heart of it. Like Colorado, New Mexico wasn’t short-changed when it comes to scenic beauty.

Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is located along the Rio Grande River in central New Mexico and is known for its wintering Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. We were too late for the cranes and geese but the pools inside the refuge held numerous waterfowl, including Northern Shovelers, Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, and Ring-necked Ducks. The water level in the pools was too high for shorebirds but we did have a few American Avocets, Wilson’s Phalaropes, and White-faced Ibises. The diversity of flycatchers on our trip increased dramatically at Bosque. Through Colorado and into northern New Mexico the flycatchers were limited to Say’s Phoebes and a Black Phoebe or two. At Bosque we started seeing Western Kingbirds in numbers, and our first Ash-throated and Vermilion Flycatchers of the trip. More Say’s and Black Phoebes too. There were also raptors, mostly Swainson’s Hawks and Northern Harriers, and a bonus Golden Eagle. The feeders at the refuge headquarters were full of White-crowned Sparrows.

Phainopepla (click to see the larger version)

Our last major stop on our way south through New Mexico was Percha Dam State Park. I read about Percha Dam State Park in the “New Mexico Bird Finding Guide”, and Carol Davis, our guide at Sandia, talked (and raved) about the place. Percha Dam State Park is located along the Rio Grande River in southern New Mexico between Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces. What makes it so special from a birding perspective is its lush riparian woodland and undergrowth, a habitat that has become rare along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico. As such Percha acts as a migrant trap and oasis. It was full of activity when we birded it on the morning of April 20. We had numerous White-crowned Sparrows, a few White-throated and Lark Sparrows, Summer Tanagers, Bullock’s Orioles, a Blue Grosbeak, Wilson’s, Lucy’s, “Audubon’s” Yellow-rumped Warblers, Bewick’s Wrens, our only Phainopepla of the entire trip, and our first Verdin. Flycatchers were well represented too, with numerous Western Kingbirds, a few Vermilion and Ash-throated Flycatchers, and Say’s and Black Phoebes. The Rio Grande at this point is reduced to a few isolated pools of water but these pools had Northern Shovelers, Cinnamon and Blue winged Teal, Gadwall, and what seemed like an out of place Willet. We also had Gambel’s Quails and White-faced Ibises flying overhead.

Part two of a six part series on my trip to the west and southwest in April, 2014

Before the trip I did some research and found a place just east of Gunnison, Colorado for viewing Gunnsion Sage-Grouse. The birds display in a meadow that can be viewed from a pull-off on the side of a road. The pull-off is free and open to the public (though the meadow the birds use is on private property), and viewing them involves following the same protocol as viewing the Lesser Prairie-Chickens we missed in Kansas, except that you use your vehicle as a blind. Seems fairly easy and straightforward but after missing the Lesser Prairie-Chickens I was a bit apprehensive.

We left Gunnsion early on the morning of April 17 and made our way to the Gunnison Sage-Grouse viewing area about 20 miles to the east. We arrived in the dark, parked, and waited. A car pulled up behind us a few minutes later. I thought it was another birder but it turned out to be a volunteer with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, whose job was to answer questions about the grouse and to make sure visiting birders follow the protocol for viewing the birds, i.e., staying in your vehicle, keeping quiet, and not leaving until the birds disperse. So we waited for the birds to appear and kept quiet.

Townsend’s Solitaire (click to see the larger version)

At first light we noticed some movement in the distance, perhaps 200 yards away and directly to the east of where we were parked. It was still fairly dark but we could tell that they were Sage-Grouse and they had started to display. I moved over to the passenger side seat of my car and Karen got in the back so we could each have a window to view the birds. Our bins just weren’t strong enough to see the birds well, so we took turns using Karen’s 30x Kowa telescope to get better looks at them. I don’t have a window mount so we rested the scope on the half opened windows for stability. Using the telescope made a world of difference and we could tell the birds were Gunnsion Sage-Grouse and not just Sage-Grouse. There were 8 birds, 4 males and 4 females. Most of the females were concentrating their attentions around one male, which is typical lekking grouse behavior. The displaying continued until about sunrise and then abruptly stopped and the birds remained motionless for the next 20 minutes or so. About a half an hour after sunrise the whole group got up and flew hard and fast to the west, over the road we were parked on and in front of us and disappeared into the sage covered hills on the other side of the road. Success and our first life bird of the trip.

After seeing the grouse we started driving west through Colorado. On the map I noticed a large body of water just outside of Gunnison and right along our road called Blue Mesa Reservoir. I thought that any sizable body of water up here might have birds, and it did. There were lots of dabbling and diving ducks, including Green-winged and Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Shovelers, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, Redheads, and Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes. We also had a few Western Grebes, a Common Loon, Franklin’s, Bonaparte’s, and Ring-billed Gulls, and our first of many Black-necked Stilts of the trip. There were also singing Sage Thrashers around the road into the reservoir. Nice.

Just west of Blue Mesa Reservoir is Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. When I was planning the trip I did some research and discovered that it had Dusky Grouse, or so I read, and I still needed Dusky Grouse. I didn’t think our chances of seeing them were very good but it was on our route and I thought it might be worth checking, so we did. And it was worth it. The spectacularity of this place can’t be described with words, and the photo below doesn’t do it justice. It has to be visited to be experienced. The sheer cliffs dropped maybe 2000 feet straight down to the Gunnison River below. I stood at the edge of an overlook and almost got dizzy. Definitely not a place for folks who are afraid of heights though.

We didn’t see any Dusky Grouse but there were birds to be seen. White-throated Swifts zoomed by, sometimes below eye level. A Peregrine Falcon was working the canyon. Hiking the trails yielded a Golden Eagle, several Western Scrub-Jays, Townsend’s Solitaire, Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, a Bushtit (our only Bushtit of the trip), and a few other things. We didn’t see anything unexpected for this part of Colorado, but being from Chicago almost all of these birds were exciting. The scenery was worth the price of admission too.

Pine Grosbeak (click to see the larger version)

After Black Canyon we started heading west again. At Montrose we picked up 550 and began driving south towards New Mexico. The scenery was something to behold. I’ve been to Colorado before but not enough to get bored with looking at mountains. The stretch from Ouray to Silverton was especially dramatic, with snow covered peaks like you’d see in a travel brochure or commercial. I concluded that Colorado wasn’t cheated when it comes to scenic beauty. The birding was a little slow though, as would be expected for mid April in the high Rockies. Black-billed Magpies and Common Ravens were the most common birds, with a few Mountain Bluebirds and Says Phoebes thrown in for color. Near Ouray we drove up a Forest Service road for a couple miles just out of curiosity and had Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, a lone Clark’s Nutcracker, and a Pine Grosbeak. We had more Pine Grosbeaks near Silverton.

Part one of a six part series on my trip to the west and southwest in April, 2014

On April 15 I set out on a two week birding tour of the western and southwestern United States. Karen Mansfield was my traveling and birding partner for the first ten days of the trip. Karen was planning on hiking the Continental Divide Trail this spring and summer and I offered to drive her to Lordsburg, New Mexico. From there she would take a shuttle to the trailhead in New Mexico at the Mexican border to start her hike. The Continental Divide Trail, or CDT, follows (approximately) the Continental Divide and runs from the United States/Mexican border in the south to the Canadian/United States border in the north. Karen is a passionate hiker and has hiked the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails. Completing the CDT would make her a Triple Crowner, a highly coveted (and rarely achieved) feat in the hiking world. After I offered to take Karen I said to myself why not take a couple weeks off and go birding? My job would end in early April and I could afford to take some time off and have a birding adventure. So I pulled out a map and started thinking and plotting and came up with the following plan: Start by looking for Lesser Prairie-Chickens on the Cimarron National Grasslands in southwestern Kansas. I still needed Lesser Prairie-Chicken for a lifer and Kansas has a blind open to the public on the Cimarron for viewing them. After that, drive to the Gunnison valley in western Colorado to look for Gunnison Sage-Grouse, another lifer. From there drive south through the Colorado and New Mexico Rocky Mountains, then bird along the Rio Grande River in central and southern New Mexico. Head west to Arizona and spend a few days hiking and birding the Chiricahuas. After dropping Karen off start back east through Texas, checking Lost Maples State Park, and ending up on the Upper Texas Coast to catch spring migration. Finally, bird the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana. This is an account of my trip.

After a long drive from Chicago and a night in Garden City, Kansas, Karen and I woke up early on the morning of Wednesday, April 16 and started out for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken viewing blind outside of Elkhart to, hopefully, view displaying Lesser Prairie-Chickens. This is one of the few blinds on public lands for viewing this species. A few weeks earlier I reached out to a Forest Service official (USDA/Forest Service manages the Cimarron) about looking for the birds there. She told me that 1-3 Lesser Prairie-Chickens were using the lek at the blind outside of Elkhart. One to three didn’t sound like a lot of birds but we only needed to see one bird, and I expected we’d see at least one bird. If ever there was a gimme in the birding world its lekking grouse I thought. Chicagoan and Kansas native Sebastian Patti also gave me the lowdown on looking for the birds, as well as birding the Cimarron in general.

Loggerhead Shrike (click to see the larger version)

The standard protocol for viewing lekking grouse from a blind is to get to the blind before sunrise, keep quiet while in the blind, and wait for the birds to disperse before leaving the blind. We did the first 2 things. When the sun started to come up the dawn chorus of birds of the sand-sage prairie began – Western Meadowlarks, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Vesper Sparrows. A Short-eared Owl also made an appearance. No prairie-chickens though. When the sun broke the horizon, the dawn chorus was going strong but still no sign of any prairie-chickens. Hmm. I thought they would have started up by now. About a half an hour after sunrise we still weren’t seeing any prairie-chickens, so we threw in the towel and left, disappointed and a bit puzzled. Did we get to the blind too late? Did we make too much noise? Did we leave too early? After the dip we drove over to the Forest Service office in Elkhart and talked to a USDA official who told us that 1-3 Lesser Prairie-Chickens were using that particular lek (this must have been the same person I talked to via e-mail a few weeks earlier.) She also told us that the drought had reduced prairie-chicken numbers on the Cimarron, along with other animals, and that the prairie-chickens were starting to abandon this lek for another one. Maybe not seeing the birds wasn’t our fault after all and there were just no Lesser Prairie-Chickens using this lek anymore. Not an auspicious beginning to our trip but this is birding and nothing is guaranteed.

After not seeing the prairie-chickens we drove around the Cimarron and explored the Kansas countryside near the Colorado border. Western Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, and Vesper Sparrows were the most common birds. We also had a few singing Cassin’s Sparrows, always nice to hear, and our only Cassin’s Sparrows for the trip. Flocks of noisy Great-tailed Grackles were all around Elkhart. North of the Cimarron River we added Say’s Phoebe, Rock Wren, and a Lark Bunting. Mountain Plovers are supposed to be in the area but we didn’t see any. Near the Colorado border we had a group of 4 or 5 Burrowing Owls in a prairie-dog town.

We left Kansas late in the morning and started heading west into Colorado for the next leg of the trip, looking for Gunnison Sage-Grouse.

First year Little Gull by Amar Ayyash (click to see the larger version).

Karen Mansfield and I had at least 3 first year Little Gulls along the Sheboygan, Wisconsin lakefront on Saturday, June 1. The Little Gulls were associating with Bonaparte’s Gulls at North Point Park. Sheboygan is perhaps the most reliable place to see Little Gulls in the western Great Lakes region.

In addition to the Little and Bonaparte’s Gulls we also had 20 or so Forster’s Terns, a couple Common Terns, and a first year Franklin’s Gull.