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11 December, 2001
3904 Anderson Ave., SE
Albuquerque, NM 87108
Phone: 505/255-9282
Cellular: 505/350-4543
Borealowl@aol.com
Dr. Sartor O. Williams
III
P.O.Box 25112
Santa Fe, NM
87501
Dear Sandy,
Below
is my Fall season report; included are sightings from 1 August, 2001 through
30 November, 2001. Most of the
time was spent birding in New Mexico with 1 weekend taken out in San Diego
and 1 weekend on Kauai, Hawaii.
I spent more time than usual in the northeastern
section of the state this season (to good end since it got my Union County
list well above 200 and added good numbers to Harding and
Mora). Interesting birds in
this section of the state included Palm Warbler near Seneca, Magnolia Warbler
near Sedan, Black-thtd. Blue Warbler at Nara Visa, Reddish Egret at Ute Lake,
Yelow-cr. Night Heron near Bellview, Caspian Tern at Ute Lake, Pacific Loons
at Clayton and Charette Lakes, among
others. Yellow-cr. Night Herons
put in a good showing with my birds north of Bellview and at Tatum and Bill
West's birds at Bosque Redondo (not seen by me in spite of several
attempts). Other highlights
included the Varied Thrush at Maljamar, Reddish Egret at Sumner Lake, I think
our first fall Glossy Ibis at Ft. Sumner, the Buff-br. Sandpipers at Moriarity
and Albuquerque, Ruby-thtd. Humingbird at Ft. Sumner, Wood Thrush and Golden-w.
Warbler at Melorse, and 2 Black-thtd. Blues at Boone's Draw.
It actually seemed to be quite slow most
of the fall, probably because there were few birds at my house in Luis Lopez
after the first of September. My feeders actually seemingly sat unvisited for days at
a time and through most of October and November I had a single flock of about
25 White-cr. Sparrows, very few spizella and juncos.
Collared Doves continued their expansion
and consolidations. I
picked up birds for Colfax, Grant and San Miguel plus found them in many
new locations in other counties.
On the video tape for the Fall, I've included the Connecticut
Warbler clip from the bird east of Tatum in 1997 (as well as making up a
separate tape for circulation).
Jerry R. Oldenettel
Fall Season Sightings by Species
1 August, 2001 - 31 November,
2001
Abbreviations used:
CLSP - Conches Lake State Park,
35.2535N 104.1107W
MR - Maxwell NWR, 36.3417N 104.3444W
BAR - Bosque del Apache NWR, 33.4800N 106.5200W
BLR - Bitter Lakes NWR, 33.3608N 104.2441W
RGNC - Rio Grande Nature Center, 35.0704N
106.4012W
RSPA - Rattlesnake Springs Picnic Area, 32.0640N
104.2754W
LVR - Las Vegas NWR, 35.5543N 105.1711W
GTR - Grasslands Turf Ranch (Las Lunas), 34.8061N
106.7480W
GCTR - Green Chaparral Turf Ranch (Moriarity), 34.9900N
105.9726W
ULSP - Ute Lake State Park, 35.2021N 103.2907W
BD - Boone's Draw, 34.1037N
103.2507W to 33.5110N 103.4223W
MVT - the vagrant trap about 10 miles west of Melrose,
PDSP - Percha Dam State Park, 32.8618N
107.3034W
EBMP - Elephant Butte Lake, North Monticello Point, 33.2232N
107.1376W
EBL - Elephant Butte Lake, 33.0912N 107.1224W
SRP - Socorro Riverine Park, 34.08067N 106.87083W
NMTTB - New Mexico Tech Turtle Bay (Between Macey Center and
LLH - Luis Lopez (at or near near my house at 499 Farm-to-Market Road)
LCP - Area around my house in Albuquerque (3904 Anderson SE)
Coobservers: Dave Cleary (DC), Steve&Nancy Cox (S&NC), Louis
Cuellar (LC), Carol Davis (CD), Rebecca Gracie (RG), Steve Greetham (SG),
Lane Leckman (LL), Larry Malone (LM), Steve Noseworthy (SN), John Parmeter
(JP), Bill Wittman
(WW).
Note: (ABE) following the species name indicates
and all birds encountered and identified during the period are included in
the account. Otherwise I have
included only the first, unusual, and/or late encounters and high
counts. Dates are given as
MM/DD. Many locations are given
as NM-xx/MPyy, where xx gives the state, U.S., or National Forest route number
and yy indicates the nearest milepost number.
Pacific Loon
(ABE). 1 at Clayton Lake on 11/10 and 11/11 (vt
enclosed). The bird was with
a Common Loon in the eastern portion of the lake and was observed with binoculars
and 60X scope from a distance of 50-250 yards for 10-20 minutes on the late
evening 10th and a shorter period on the early morning of the
11th. Notably smaller than the
Common Loon, the bird showed a smoothly rounded nape and crown, which were
dark gray and which contrastingly paler than the
back. The dark area of the nape and crown were sharply
bordered by the white of the throat and face (there actually appeared to
be a blackish line down the side of the
neck). The eye was in the dark
portion of the crown. The bill was dark, short and relatively thin compared
to the Common Loon's bill.
1 at Charette Lakes on 11/11 (vt
enclosed). This bird was with
about 4 Common Loons near the center of the lake and was viewed at a distance
as close as 300 yards, but generally 400 yards or more (gauged from DeLorme
map). I had the bird intermittently
in view for about an hour at mid
afternoon. At one point this
bird was flying around with at least 1 Common Loon and that was when I realized
that the bird was not a Common Loon, since it was notably smaller and paler
overall in flight. I studied
the bird from several angles (south, west, and north sides of the lake) with
a 60X scope. For a plumage
description, see the above.
Common Loon
(ABE). 2 at Ute Lake on
10/20. 1 at Quemado Lake on
10/28. 1 at McAllister Lake
on 11/3 (with JP, LL, WW). 4 at Conchas lake and 10 at Ute Lake (with JP, LL) on
11/10. 1 at Clayton Lake on
11/10 and 11/11. 8 at
Charette Lakes and 1 at
Storrie Lake on
11/11. 1 at EBL on
11/22.
Reddish Egret
(ABE). 1 at Sumner Lake on 8/26 (photo enclosed),
not seen on 9/30. This bird
was at a large distance (~1/2 mile), so is poorly resolved in the video,
but can be contrasted with the accompanying Great Blue
Herons. It was actively feeding
and moving along the far shoreline.
1 imm. at Ute Lake on 9/8 (vt enclosed)
and 9/22-23. This bird was seen
at distances as close as 30 yards with scope and
binoculars. It was first spotted
at the northeast corner of the bay at the northeast end of Ute lake (near
the north end of the dam). I
scoped and photographed it from across the bay, then drove over to the point
where it was loafing and took closer
photos. On the 23rd, it was
sitting on the small island directly south of the bay with the Caspian
Tern. The bird was a medium
sized heron. A little smaller than a Great Egret but larger than a Snowy
Egret, neither of which was available for direct
comparison. It was an immature with all gray plumage, bill, and
legs. The eye was
white.
Eared
Grebe. About 6 at the Deming sewage ponds on 11/23-24
(with LM).
Horned Grebe
(ABE). A pair at McAllister Lake on 11/3 were courting
(with JP, LL, WW). 1 at Conchas
Lake and 1 at Ute Lake on 11/10 (with JP,
LL). 1 at Stubblefield Lake
and 2 at Charette Lakes on 11/11.
Great
Egret. 2 at Swan Pond on
11/25. 1 at 6-mile dam on
11/30.
Black-cr. Night
Heron. About 15 at the Tatum sewage ponds on
8/18.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
(ABE). 1 adult at the Tatum Sewage ponds with about
15 Black-crs. On 8/18 (photo enclosed).
The bird was a night heron about the same size as the accompanying
Black-crs. It had a darkish
gray body below and above (notable white fringes to the wing
feathers). The head had a white
crown and forehead and a whit slash below the
eye. There was a wide black
bar through the yellow eye. It
had a straight, largish dark bill.
2-3 birds at an ephimeral pond 7 miles north
of Bellview on 9/22 (vt enclosed). This encounter became quite confusing by the
end. I think that there were
at lest 3 imm. Yellow-crs. at this pond, but for a while, thought I had up
to 6 of them. I first arrived
at the pond in the early afternoon.
My viewing location was a from little north of west of the pond at
a distance of about 300-600 yards (nearest point to far
side). When I arrived, I saw an imm. Black-cr. Fly up and head
off toward the southeast corner of the pond to join 2-3
Ibis. As I scanned the pond
margin, I spotted a bird directly in front of me which was much darker gray
and through the scope was clearly a night heron with a stubby black bill,
long, thin neck, and small head.
The bird was too distant to see markings on the plumage (white
spotting). As I scanned the area, I started seeing other birds
in the weeds which all looked to be the same color as this
bird. I then scanned the pond
again and spotted a bird on a small grassy island that was also dark gray
with a black bill. This bird
almost immediately flew off to the east side of the pond and disappeared
in the grass. It showed a
contrastingly dark trailing edge to the wings in flight, indicating Yellow-cr.
Night Heron. I returned to the
birds in front of me and concluded that there were at least 6 imm. Yellow-crs.
at the lake. I then proceeded
to the San Jon sewage ponds where I quickly kicked up 3 obvious imm. Black-cr.
Night Herons, all with what appeared to be darker gray plumage than
normal. From this, I thought I might have been too far from the
Bellview birds and needed to get closer, so I returned to the pond and walked
down toward the edge of the pond (second series of video
clips). I eventually kicked
up a flock of about 10 birds, all of which looked about the same above except
that at least one had a dark trailing edge to the wings in
flight. The original Yellow-cr. remained until I walked closer,
then it flew off to the south and I chased after it for additional video.
In the end, I came to the conclusion
that there were probably 3 Yellow-cr. Night Herons, all immatures, with the
flock, there was at least 1 Black-cr. with the flock and the others were
unidentified.
Glossy Ibis
(ABE). 1 at Ft. Sumner on 9/8 (with JP, WW, vt
enclosed). This is the first
fall record I know of in the state.
The bird was with about 10 White-f. Ibis in a flooded field along
the west side of the road to Billy-the-Kid's
Grave. Video was shot
at a distance of 60-100 yards through my spotting scope.
Tundra
Swan(ABE). 5 at MR Lake#14 on 11/3 (with JP, LL, WW,
DC) and 1 there on 11/11.
White-ftd.
Goose(ABE). 6 at MR lake #13 on 11/11 had been previously
reported by DC. 1 at BAR on
11/25.
Snow
Goose. 1 at Ute Lake on 11/10 (with JP,
LL).
Ross'
Goose. The Jal Lake bird was still present on
9/2.
Wood
Duck. 1 at Tres Lagunas on
8/26. 1 female at the Portales
Sewage Ponds on 10/13. 1 male
at the Deming sewage ponds on 11/24 (with LM).
Greater
Scaup(ABE). A pair at BAR on 11/4.
Long-tailed
Duck. 1 at Lake Avalon on
11/30-12/1. This bird had been
reported the previous day by Steve West.
Red-br.
Merganser. 3 at Quemado Lake on
10/28. 1 at BAR on
11/4.
Hooded
Merganser. 1 male at Swan Pond (NM-185 north of Radium
springs) on 11/25.
Turkey
Vulture. A kettle of about 250 coming to roost along
Ute Creek just north of Ute Lake in Harding Co. on 9/22.
Osprey.
1 at EBMP on 8/12 and 11/25. 1
at LLH on 9/17. 1 below Cochiti
Dam on 9/29. 2 at Clayton Lake
on 10/6. 1 at Conchas Lake on
11/10 (with JP, LL).
Mississippi
Kite. 3 imms. Soaring over Melrose
on 9/22.
Broad-w.
Hawk(ABE). 1 imm. at MVT on 9/22 (with JP, vt
enclosed).
Merlin(ABE). 1 (fe.
richardsonii ) at Milnesand
on 9/1 was the first of the season for
me. 1 (fe.
columbarius ) at the house 3 miles west of Encino on 9/30. 1 fe.
columbarius ) at Tularosa
on 10/14. 1 (fe.
richarcsonii ) at MVT on 10/20. 1
at Melrose on 10/20. 1 (fe.
columbarius ) in Catron at US-60/mp85
(8 miles east of Datil). 1 (fe.
richarcsonii ) at San Antonio
on 11/4. 1 (fe.
columbarius ) 10 miles north of Rosebud on 11/10.
Peregrine
Falcon(ABE). 1 adult at Monticello
Bay on 8/12. 1 at Lake Isabel
(Ruby Ranch in San Miguel Co.) on 9/29 (with JP, LL).
Wild
Turkey. 8-10 at McNatt Spring (Otero) on
10/14. 4 at the Alamacito Ranch in Harding Co. on
10/20.
Virginia
Rail. 1 at the Tatum sewage ponds
on 8/18. 1 at Isleta Marsh on
9/14. 1 at Mangus Spring on
11/23.
Sora. 1 roadkilled about a
mile east of Luis Lopoz on 8/28. 1
at a small pool near a culvert along US-60 about 5 miles east of Vaughn on
9/30 (vt enclosed). 1 imm. at
the golf course pond at Carrizozo on
10/14.
Sandhill
Crane. A flock of 5-10 birds calling at Yates (Harding)
on 10/21. Many flocks totaling
about 7500 birds flew by PDSP between 0700 and 0740 on 10/27 (with
JP).
Black-bel.
Plover(ABE). 1 at Stubblefield Lake on 9/29 (with JP,
LL). 1 at EBMP on 10/27 (with
JP).
Semipalmated
Plover. 1 at EBMP on
8/12. 2 at Monticello Canyon on 10/27 (with JP) and 4 there
on 11/22.
Snowy
Plover. 5 at EBMP on
8/12.
Mountain
Plover. About 45 at GCTR on
8/26.
American
Avocet. 1 at
Monticello Canyon on
11/22.
Greater
Yellowlegs
. 1 at the Deming
sewage ponds on 11/24 (withLM). 6
at Swan Pond on 11/25.
35 at BAR on 11/25.
Solitary
Sandpiper.
About 6 at BLR
on 8/18 (with GW). 1 at the
Mountainair sewage pond on 8/19 and 1 there on
9/9.
Willet. 2 at Sumner Lake on
8/26.
Upland
Sandpiper. 3 at BLR (with GW) and 2 in the fields along
Red Bridge Road (with LL, JP)
on 8/18. 2-3 at MVT on 8/19,
2 there on 8/26, 1 there on 9/9.
Long-bld.
Curlew. About 250 at a tank 3 miles north of Tatum
on 8/18.
Marbled
Godwit(ABE). 1 at EBMP on
8/12. 1 at Stubblefield Lake
on 9/29 (with JP, LL).
Sanderling(ABE). 1 at MR lake 13 on 9/29
(with JP, LL).
Western
Sandpiper. 2 at Monticello Canyon on 10/27 (with JP).
Least
Sandpiper. About 500 at Monticello Canyon on 10/27 (with
JP) and 700 there on 11/22.
Baird's
Sandpiper. 4 at Monticello Canyon on 10/27 (with
JP).
Pectoral
Sandpiper(ABE). 1 at GCTR on
8/26. 2 at Ft. Sumner on 9/8
(with JP, WW). 6
at Ft. Sumner on 9/9. 4 at GCTR
on 9/15. 10 at the San
Jon sewage ponds on 9/22. 2
at middle marsh at LVNWR on
9/29 (with JP, LL). 1 at GCTR
on 9/29.
Dunlin(ABE). 6 at Monticello Canyon on 10/27
(with JP) annd 4 there on 11/22.
Buff-breasted
Sandpiper(ABE). 1 at the Tramway Flood Control Channel in
NW Albuquerque on 9/28-29 (28th with LC, RG; 29th with
S&NC, CD, JP, LL, mob; vt enclosed). I found the bird on the evening of the 28th feeding actively
along the edge of the mud flats surrounding the pool of water at the 2nd
St. /Tramway bridge. I observed
the bird for about an hour with spotting scope and binoculars as the bird
worked up and down the mud flats 30-70 yards away.
Most of the time the bird was
about 3/4 backlit from my location (actually made the buffiness of the head,
neck and breast easier to see).
The bird appeared to be about the size and shape of a lesser
yellowlegs, but the the bill was shorter and
stouter. The legs were bright yellow and the back, wings, and coverts
had a very scaly appearance, the feathers being brownish and having broad
whitish edgings. I was thinking
the bird might be a Ruff until I got a good look at the head, neck and
face. The head and neck were
uniform buffy and the eye was set off by a notable whitish
eyering. In proper light the breast was also pale
buffy. The bird was quite nervous
and flushed to fly around the lagoon a couple of
times. In flight, the bird showed bright white wing linings.
Long, pointed wings, and a notable white wing stripe.
1 at GCTR on 9/29 (vt
enclosed). This was the first
bird I saw on driving up to the sod fields, feeding very actively in the
southwest corner of the grass fields.
I video taped the bird at a distance of about 50 yards through my
spotting scope. The afternoon
sun was at my back. Land Leckman
had reported seeing this bird earlier in the week (poor looks, but realized
what he had seen after seeing the Tramway
bird). Appeared to be in identical
plumage to the bird at Tramway.
Short-bld.
Dowitcher(ABE). 1 juv at GCTR on 9/15 (vt enclosed) had been
previously reported by Bill West.
Long-bld.
Dowitcher. 1 at the Mountainair sewage pond on
8/19. About 10 at Lake Davei (Ruby Ranch, San Miguel co.) on
9/29 (with jP, LL). 1 at the
Portales sewage ponds on 10/13.
About 10 at Monticello Canyon on
11/22. 400 at BAR on
11/25.
Com.
Snipe. 3 at the San Jon sewage ponds on 9/22. 4 at
GCTR on 10/7. 4 at Monticello
Canyon on 11/22.
Wilson's
Phalarope. About 15 at the Mountainair sewage pond on
8/19.
Franklin's
Gull. 2 (1 juv) at EBMP on
8/12. 1 at EBMP on 10/27 (with
JP).
Bonaparte's
Gull. Arrived on 11/11 with 5 at Wetherly Lake,
7 at Stubblefield Lake, and 3 at Storrie Lake.
Ring-bld
Gull. 1 at Bill Evans's Lake on
11/23. 4 at the Deming sewage ponds on 11/24 (with
LM).
California
Gull. 2 at the Deming sewage ponds on 11/24 (with
LM, vt enclosed). 3 at EBMP
on 11/25. 1 at Lake Carlsbad
and 1 at Lake Avalon on
11/30.
Sabine's
Gull(ABE). 1 imm. at Bosque Redondo on 9/9 (vt
enclosed). 1 imm. at Ute Lake on
9/23. 1 imm. at Storie Lake on 9/29 (with JP,
LL).
Caspian
Tern(ABE). 1 at Ute Lake on 9/23 (vt
enclosed). A large sterna tern sitting on a small island 200-300
yards off the north shore of Ute Lake, slightly backlit by the afternoon
sun. As can be seen from the
video, seeing conditions were pretty bad and I spent a fair amount of time
studying the bird to be sure it was not a Royal or Elegant
tern. The bird had a heavy build, largish black cap, heavy orange
bill. At one point it flew up
into the air and relit while I was watching and it showed broad black underwing
tips.
Common
Tern(ABE). 1 at Sumner Lake on 9/30.
Eurasian Collared
Dove(ABE). 3 at Luis Lopez on 8/15 and 1 there on
8/17. 1 at Rosewll on
8/18. 2 at Willard on
8/25. 5 at Ft. Sumner, 3 at
Sumner Lake, 2 at Moriarity, and 1 at Juan Tabo and I-40 in Albuquerque on
8/26. 1 at Lius Lopez on 8/27
and 4 there on 8/28 (2 ad.,
2 imm.) and 9/4, 3 there on 9/5, 9/7, and 9/9 and 1-3 thereafter with 7 present
on 9/30. 3 at Tatum, 1 at Hobbs
on 9/1. 2 at Jal, 1 at the Eunice
cemetery, and 2 at Stephen's Park on
9/2. 3 three miles south of
Carlsbad, 2 3 miles south of Artesia, and 12-15 at the Carrizozo golf course
pond on 9/3 (vt
enclosed). 1 at Encino on
9/6. 3 at Ft. Sumner 2 at Logan,
and 3 at Ute Lake Village (2 ad, 1 juv) on
9/8. 2 at Ft. Sumner and 4 at
Vaughn on 9/9. 2 at Grady on
9/22. 1 at Ute Lake village
on 9/23. 2 at Santa Rosa and
1 at Encino on 9/23. 1 at a
farmhouse near the intersection of I-25 and NM-58 (Cimarron Cutoff) on 9/29
(with JP, LL). 5 at Encino on
9/30. 2 at MVT and 2 at Melrose
on 10/13. 3 at Encino on
10/19. About 10 at Clayton on
10/20 and 1 there on 10/21. 7
at Big Mesa and 10 at Clayton on 11/10.
About 25 at Silver City and 1 at Hurley on
11/23. 1 at Rock Canyon Marina
on 11/25.
Ringed Turtle
Dove(ABE). 1 with E.
Collared Doves at Silver City
on 11/23.
White-w.
Dove. 1 at Hobbs on 9/2 was only my 2nd
for Lea Co. 8 at Ute Lake Village
on 9/8. 1 at Clayton on 11/10
(vt enclosed), seemed to be hanging around the south end of the high
school.
Yellow-bld.
Cuckoo. 1 at House on
9/8. 1 at Encino on
9/9.
Calliope
Hummingbird(ABE). 1-3
males and a female at LLH through early
August. 1 female at Willard
on 8/19. 2 north of Cloudcroft
(NM-244/mp4) on 9/3. 1 at LLH
on 9/10.
Ruby-throated
Hummingbird(ABE). 1 imm. male at Ft. Sumner (G Ave 50
yards south of US-60) on 8/19
(photos enclosed). Photos were
made through the scope as I was standing across the street (about 50 ft.
away). I was first attracted
to this bird by its short, thin bill and wondered if it was a Calliope. I
caught some color in the throat as the bird momentarily disappeared behind
a clump of flowering Trumpet Vine.
When it reappeared and settled, the single colored throat feather
was seen to be red and the tail was lobate and well notched with white tips
to the outer feathers. The bird
repeatedly came to the same perch on the fence around the Trumpet Vine over
the next 20-30 minutes while I photographed and studied
it. It was a smallish hummer a little smaller than a nearby
Black-chinned. The bill and
feet were black and the lores were black with a thin black line running to
the gape. The crown, nape and
back were green with a golden cast.
I tried to get a good look at the primaries but the bird always settled
facing me (looking into the sun).
I could see that the inner primaries appeared to be narrower than
the outer primaries, but could never get a look at the shapes of the
tips. The bird spent much time sitting on the fence and defending
it's little patch of Trumpet Flower against nearby Rufous and Black-chinned
Hummers. When sitting it usually
kept it's tail mostly fanned and flicked it lightly about once a second,
occasionally a fan-flick. To
display the tail, it sat with it's wings tucked under the outer tail feathers,
the longest primaries nearly meeting at the end of the undertail
coverts.
Black-ch.
Hummingbird. About 10 at Tatum on
8/18. 1 still at Willard on
9/30
Broad-tld.
Hummingbird. 1 at LLH on 8/9 and 1 on
9/14.
Rufous
Hummingbird. 2 in NE Tatum on
8/18. 2 at Ft. Sumner and 2
at Vaughn on 8/19. 1 still at
LLH on 10/3.
Western Screech
Owl(ABE). 1 heard and then taped in and photographed
at LLH on 8/30 (photos enclosed).
My video camera is due back from repair tomorrow
(8/31). Maybe the bird will
stick around long enough to get some video next
week. I taped the bird back
in on 9/20 and got video tape (vt
enclosed). 1 taped in and
photographed at Mill's Canyon (Harding) on 9/23 (vt
enclosed). 1-2 along FR549 (Mt.
Withington access road) just south of US-60 on 10/28.
Burrowing
Owl. 1 at LLH on 8/24 (with
JP). Retract this, it could
have been the Screech Owl in I taped into my yard on the
30th. 1 found DOR
and salvaged about a mile north of Brantley Lake on 9/3.
Long-eared
Owl(ABE). 1 in a grove at the intersection of Santa
Fe Roads 25 and 12A (about 5 miles SW of Stanley) on 9/15 (vt
enclosed).
Short-eared
Owl(ABE). 1 probable along FR549 (Mt. Withington access
road) about a mile south of
US-60 on 10/28 at about 4 a.m.
Medium sized owl, larger than screech and smaller than
Barn. Looked mostly dark (didn't
see the front of the bird) as it got up and flew off in front of
me. It actually stayed in my
headlights for long enough to get in a few wing beats, showing long relatively
narrow wings with whitish patches visible near the
tips. The flight consisted of
slow deep wing beats, lopey , reminded me of a large
nighthawk. Given the season,
cannot be certain that this bird was not a Long-eared Owl however the habitat
(grasslands at the east end of the Plains of San Augustin) would point to
Short-eared.
Common
Poorwill. About 10 at Mill's Canyon (Harding) on
9/23.
Lewis'
Woodpecker. 1 at Luis Lopez on 9/10.
Yellow-bel.
Sapsucker(ABE). 1 imm. at MVT on
10/6. 2 imms. at the Maljamar
rest stop on 10/14 (vt enclosed).
Red-n.
Sapsucker. My first migrant was 1 at NMTTB on
9/9.
Williamson's
Sapsucker(ABE). 1 female along FR-138 in the San Mateos on
8/25 (with JP). 2 fe/imm. at
the Abo Ruins on 9/21. 1 male at the main campground in Clanton Canyon on
11/24.
Downy
Woodpecker. 1 at LLH on 8/9.
Yellow-sh.
Flicker(ABE). 1 at Clayton Lake on 10/06 and 1 there on
10/21.
Olive-sdd.
Flycatcher. 1 at San Marcial on
8/12. 1 at Waldrop Park on
8/18.
Willow
Flycatcher. 1 at LLH on
8/15. 1 at a tank 2 miles east
of Waldrop Park and 1 at the Tatum sewage ponds on 8/18.
Least
Flycatcher(ABE). 1 at Waldrop
Park and 1 at the Tatum sewage ponds on
8/18. 2-3 at MVT on
8/19. 1 at LLH on
8/30. A small empid with a round
head and a short bill with an all yellow lower
mandible. Short wing extension and short narrow
tail. Olive
back. Prominent fairly narrow white eyering.
One 13 miles east of Milnesand, one 8 miles
NE of Tatum, and 1 at the Tatum sewage ponds on
9/1. 1 at Jal on
9/2.
Hammond's
Flycatcher. 1 very worn pipping adult at MVT on
8/19. 1 at LLH on 8/29.
1 at House on 9/8. 1
at Yeso on 9/9. 1 at MVT on
10/6 (with JP). 1 at MVT and
1 at BD on 10/13.
Dusky
Flycatcher. 1 at PDSP on 10/27 (with
JP).
Cordilleran
Flycatcher. One 8 miles NE of Tatum on
9/2. 1 at Yeso and 1 at Encino
on 9/9.
Eastern
Phoebe(ABE). 1 at Bosque Redondo on
9/30. 1 at BD on
10/13. 1 at LLH on 11/12 was
probably the same bird reported by Rebeccca Gracie a couple of weeks
previously.
Vermilion
Flycatcher. 1 female at Stephen's Park on
9/2. 1 imm. male at House on 9/8 (vt
enclosed). 1 im. male at a farm
at US-60/mp242 (9 miles west of Encino) on
9/21. 1 female at Mangus Spring
on 11/23.
Great-cr.
Flycatcher. 1 at RSPA on 9/2 (with
SW). A largish myiarchus flycatcher
with a darkish gray back and head and bright yellow undertail coverts/belly
(seen only from the back and flying
away).
Cassin's
Kingbird. 1 at LLH on
8/10. 3 at Bellview on
9/22. 1 at a rest stop about
20 miles north of Nara Visa on 10/7. 1 at Milnesand on
10/13. 1 at Carrizozo on 10/14.
Western
Kingbird. An obvious flock of about 20 migrant birds on the wires
at Luis Lopez on 9/12.
Scissor-tld.
Flycatcher. 2 along NM-268 about 3miles south of Forrest
on 9/21. 1 at a burned out farm
in Harding Co., 9 miles north of Logan on 9/22 (vt
enclosed). 1 at Tolar on 9/30.
3 at Milnesand on 10/13.
Cassin's
Vireo(ABE). 6 along FR-138, 1 on FR-96, and 3 at Hudson
Spring in the San Mateo Mts. On 8/25 (with
JP). 2 at MVT on 8/26 (with
SG). 1 at NMTTB on 9/9. 1 at
a grove along Santa Fe Road 27 (~5 miles SW Stanley) on
9/15. 3-5 at MVT on 9/22 (with
JP). 1 at Mill's Canyon (Harding)
on 9/23. 1 at Ft. Sumner on
9/30. 1 at NMTTB on
10/1. 1 at Stead and 1 at Nara
Visa on 10/7. 1 at MVT and 1
at BD on 10/13.
Plumbeous
Vireo(ABE). 1 at MVT and 1 at Ft. Sumner on
9/8. 1 at Bosque Redondo on 9/16.
Red-eyed
Vireo(ABE). 1 at a tank 2 miles east of Waldrop Park on
8/18. 1 at MVT on 9/8 (with
JP, WW) and 1 there on 9/16 (vt enclosed).
Warbling
Vireo. 1 at Waldrop Park on
8/18.
Stellar's
Jay. 1 at Seneca (Union) on
10/7. 1 at an abandoned farm
at US-60/mp242 (12 miles west of Encino) on 10/19.
Blue
Jay. About 6 at Alamacito Ranch (Harding co. 15
miles north of Logan) on 9/21. 1
at Nara Visa on 10/7. 1 at Big
Mesa (with JP, LL) and 3 at Sedan on 11/10.
Pinion
Jay. 1 at LLH on
8/30. About 5 about 3 miles
west of Encino on
9/16.
Clark's
Nutcracker(ABE). 4 along FR-138 in the San Mateos on 8/25 (with
JP).
Chihuahuan
Raven. A kettle of about 50 birds at LLH on
8/22. A kettle of about 150 birds at LLH on 8/28 (with 8-10
Turkey Vultures mixed in). I'm
pretty far north, wonder where these birds are coming
from?
White-breasted
Nuthatch. 1 (western form) at MVT on
8/19. First fall migrant at
LLH on 9/27.
Red-br.
Nuthatch. 1 at MVT on 10/6 (with
LC, JP). 1 at Nara Visa on
10/7. 1 at MVT on
10/13. 1 at Maljamar on
10/14.
Brown
Creeper(ABE). 1 at GCTR on 10/7 (with DE,
BN).
Winter
Wren(ABE). 1 eastern form by
call at MVT on 10/6 (with LC, JP, vt
enclosed) and 10/13 (with JP,
WW, vt enclosed). 1 at Ramon
on 10/19. 1 (eastern by call)
at Mangus Spring on 11/23.
Long-bld. Marsh
Wren. 2 at Mangus Spring on 11/23.
Golden-cr.
KInglet(ABE). 1 m. at MVT on 10/6 (with LC, JP) and 1 there
on 10/13 (with JP).
Black-tld.
Gnatcatcher(ABE). 1 in the creosote along the Monticello Point
entry road (from Exit 89) on 11/22.
Blue Gray
Gnatcatcher. 1 at Encino on
9/23. 1 at Yeso on
9/30. 1 at the EBL Dam Site
Recreation Area on 11/22.
Townsend's
Solitaire. 1 at MVT and 1 at Milnesand on
10/13. 1 at the Maljamar rest stop on 10/14.
Wood
Thrush(ABE). 1 at MVT on 10/6
(with LC, JP, vt enclosed)). The
bird was foraging among the saplings on the west side of the
trap. It was a largish catharus
thrush, bright reddish brown crown and back dulling to more olive on the
rump and upper tail. There were largish black spots on the
breast. The face was white with
blackish streaks radiating from the base of the bill and a dark
eye.
Varied
Thrush(ABE). 1 at Maljamar on 10/13 and 10/14 (vt
enclosed). I found this bird
along the main side street which heads south out of
town. I small bird flew across
the road and I stopped to check, then pished at the trees on the west side
of the road. I spotted a bird
seemingly leaning out from the trunk and craning, trying to get a good look
at me. I thought it was a sapsucker,
but when I raised my binoculars, it was an obvious Varied
Thrush. I immediately reached
for my camera, but the bird was very jumpy and had fled when I looked at
the spot again. I then started
working the trees back north along the road and as I got to the end tree,
the thrush flew out, across the road and lit in a small elm about 50 yards
farther down the road. I got
a good look at the face, wings and back as it sat there while I got my camera
turned on, but moved up before I got any
video. I worked down toward
the spot where the bird had disappeared, but it had moved further down the
road and as I approached the last tree, it again flew out, across to the
west of the road and back to the south.
I sat down on the shoulder tgo try to wait it out (it was nearing
sunset and the bird was obviously trying to get to a couple of largish puddles
to get a drink or bathe). After about 5 minutes, the bird flew out and lit back
along the puddle to the south (between me and the
car). It almost immediately flew back into the tree
again. I eventually worked back
down to the area, but did not see the bird again and headed out to try to
get a look at the rest stop before sundown.
The bird was a robin sized thrush with a grayish-black upper tail,
back, wings, nape and crown. There
were largish orange spots forming two wing bars, a wide orange eyeline, wide
blackish bar through the eye, and orange
throat. There was a grayish
band across the breast indicating a male
bird. I heard several large
bird sounding soft chucks on both days which I thought probably were made
by the thrush.
Gray
Catbird. 1 at MVT on 10/13.
Brown
Thrasher(ABE). 1 at House on
9/8. 1 at Sumner Dam on
9/30. 1 at MVT and 1 four miles
WNW of Seneca (Union) on 10/6.
Sage
Thrasher. 1 about 10 miles south of Magdalena on
10/28. About 10 in the Rock Canyon Marina area on
11/22.
Curve-bld.
Thrasher. 1 at a tank 2 miles
east of Waldrop Park on 8/18.
Bendire's
Thrasher(ABE). 1 at NM-145/mp1 (between NM-80 and NM-338
north of Cotton City) on 11/24.
Crissal
Thrasher. 1 at a tank 2 miles
east of Waldrop Park on 8/18.
Phainopepla. About 15 in the Rock
Canyon Marina area on 11/22.
Cedar
Waxwing. 1 very immature looking bird at LLH on
9/10. About 15 at Clayton on 11/10. About 12 in the Rock Canyon
Marina area on 11/22.
Golden-winged
Warbler(ABE). 1 female at MVT on 9/6 had been reported that
morning. This bird had been
reported earlier in the day and I had chased it from Socorro, arriving at
about 5:45. It was about 6:30
when I finally located the bird foraging with several Wilson's Warblers along
the southeast edge of the trap.
The bird was seen only from the right rear
quarter. It was medium gray above with gray wings, wide golden
wingbars, and contrastingly white sides and
belly. The bird looked to the right so I was able to see a wide
blackish eyeline which tapered slightly toward the eye and
bill. I did not see the crown
or breast.
Orange-cr.
Warbler. 4 along FR-138 in the San Mateos on 8/25 (with
JP).
Nashville
Warbler(ABE). 1 at MVT on 10/6 (with LC, JP) and 1 there
on 10/20.
Virginia's
Warbler. One 3.5 miles west of Encino on
9/7. 1 at House on 9/8.
Yellow-Warbler. A number of migrants were on
the move on 8/18 with birds at Waldrop Park, Caprock, the Tatum Sewage Ponds,
and Pep.
Magnolia
Warbler(ABE). 1 at a farm 1 mile north of Stead on
10/7. This bird popped out at me when I pished at a movement
in a roadside line of elms. It
was a smallish warbler with a dark gray head and face (did not note a black
mask), Yellow chin, breast and sides, and white belly and
undertail. There were sharp,
wide black streaks across the breast and extending down sides to the
flanks. I saw these features
several times as I stalked the birds trying to get photos, so did not get
a good look at the tail, back, or wings.
Black-thtd. Blue
Warbler(ABE). 1 fe. at MVT on 10/6 (with LC, JP, vt
enclosed).
1 male at Nara Visa on 10/7 (vt
enclosed). This bird responded
to a WSO tape and came in to within 5 ft or so of me, but I never had the
camera ready for any video. It
was a medium sized warbler with a dark blue crown, back, wings, and upper
tail, white lower breast and belly, and black upper breast, chin, and
face.
1 male at MVT (with JP, WW), 1 male at BD
(vt enclosed), and 1 female at BD on 10/13 (vt
enclosed). The males both had
dark blue crowns, backs, wings , and upper tails, white lower breasts and
bellies, and black upper breasts, throats, and
faces. The female was a medium
sized warbler, fairly bright olive green above and below with a small pale
yellowish spot at the wrist and a faint yellowish-green eyeline and cheek
mark.
Townsend's
Warbler(ABE). One 0.9 miles below the North Baldy trailhead
in the Magdalena's on 8/11. About
8 along FR-138, 1 along FR-96, and 1 at Hudson Spring in the San Mateos on
8/25 (with JP). 1 at MVT on
8/26 (with SG) and 1 male there on 9/6 and 9/8, 1 there on 9/22 (with JP,
LL). 2 females at the Maljamar rest stop on
9/2. 1 at House on
9/8. 1 fe. at Sumner Dam on
9/30. 1 female at Nara Visa
on 10/7. 1 female at BD and
1 female at the Maljamar rest stop on
10/13. 1 at Maljamar and 4-6
at the Maljamar rest stop on 10/14.
Hermit
Warbler(ABE). 1 male along FR-138 about 3 miles north of
Grassy Lookout in the San Mateos on 8/25 (with JP, photo
enclosed).
Grace's
Warbler. 1 below Hudson Spring in the San Mateos on 8/25
(with JP).
Palm
Warbler(ABE). 1 at an abandoned ranch about 4 miles WNW
of Seneca (Campbell Rd., Union) on 10/6 (vt
enclosed). This bird hopped
up, evidently from the ground, in response to my pishing onto the power lines
where I video taped it. I realized
immediately that it was a Palm Warbler because of the tail bobbing, thin
sharp streaking on the sides of the
breast, plain face with an
indistinct eyeline, and thin pointed bill.
Black-and-white
Warbler(ABE). 1 female at a tank 2 miles east of Waldrop
Park on 8/18. 1 female at MVT
on 9/1 and 1 there on 9/6. 1
female at RSPA and 1 at Jal Lake on 9/2.
American
Redstart(ABE). 1 fe/imm. at MVT on 8/26 (with
SG). 1 male at Encino on
9/9. 2-3 fe. at MVT on
9/16. 1 fe. at a house 3 miles west of Encino on
9/16.
Northern
Waterthrush(ABE). 1 at GCTR on 8/26 (with
SN). 1 at GCTR on
8/31. 1 at Pep and
3 at the Tatum sewage ponds on 9/1.
MacGillivray's
Warbler. About 5 at House on 9/8.
Red-f.
Warbler. 2 at Hudson Spring in the San Mateos on 8/25
(with JP).
Hepatic
Tanager. 2 below Hudson Spring in the San Mateos on
8/25 (with JP).
Western
Tanager. 1 at Waldrop Park on
8/18.
Pyrrhuloxia. 1 at LLH on
11/26.
Painted
Bunting. 1 imm. at MVT on 9/8 and 1 imm. there on
9/16.
Dickcissel(ABE). 1 at RSPA on
9/2. 4 at LLH on 9/13. 1 at
a house about 9 miles west of Encino (US-60/mp242) on
9/16. 1 at MVT on 9/22 (with
JP). 1 at a house about 3 miles
west of Encino on 9/21.
Abert's
Towhee(ABE). 2 at San Simon Cienega on
11/24.
Cassin's
Sparrow. 1 about 5 miles east of Vaughn on
9/16.
Rufous-cr.
Sparrow. 1 in the Canadian River Valley at the NM-120
crossing (Mora) on 10/21.
Clay-col.
Sparrow. 1 just north of Ute Lake in Harding Co. on
9/22.
Chipping
Sparrow. 1 at LLH on 8/12 was the first fall
migrant.
White-thtd.
Sparrow(ABE). 1 at MVT on
10/20. 1 at Memorial Park in
Springer on 11/3 (with JP, LL, WW) had previously been reported by
DC. 2 at BAR on
11/4.
Harris'
Sparrow(ABE). 1 imm. at LLH from 11/9 through the end of
the period (vt
enclosed).
McCown's
Longspur. About 8 at Monticello Canyon on 10/27 (with
JP).
Chestnut-col.
Longspur. About 300 at Monticello Bay on 10/27 (with
JP). About 20 at NM-12/mp62
(12 miles west of Datil) and 25 along FR549 about 2 miles south of US-60
on 10/28
Orchard
Oriole. 1 fe/imm plumaged bird at LLH on
8/22. 1 fe/imm at MVT on
8/26. 1 fe/imm. at the Mountainair sewage ponds on
9/21.
Baltimore
Oriole(ABE). 1 probable female at a house about 3 miles
west of Encino on 9/16. This
bird was seen at a distance of about 50 yards with my
binoculars. It was sitting out
in bright sunlight on a fence and studied for several seconds before it dropped
into the weeds. I immediately
headed that direction, only to find that the bird had apparently vanished
and wasn't seen again. The bird was bright orange overall, including the
belly, with black wings and
white wing bars. (I had blundered
right after I arrived at the location when I heard an oriole chatter, did
not investigate, and only later realized that the chatter was not quite right
for Bullock's).
Red
Crossbill(ABE). 2 below North Baldy trailhead in the Magdalena's
on 8/11. About 10 along FR-138
in the San Mateos on 8/25 (with JP).
4 at McNatt Spring (Otero) and about 10 along NM-244 on
9/3.
Appendix A
Trip Log
010804-5. A few days
spent in San Diego. On Saturday
morning, I looked at Dos Picos Park in Ramona, then visited with Don &
Marty for a while, then went to the Trex picnic at Crown
Point. While there I made a
side trip to the miraporum grove at Cabrillo to look at a Brown Thrasher,
a San Diego county bird. On Sunday I met Guy and Pete Ginsberg at La Jolla
Cove. We looked at San Elijo
and Bataquitos Lagoons, then Guy and I looked at Point Loma Cemetery, Dairymart
Ponds, and Border Field State Park.
We then went to Guy's house and he, Therese, and I went to
supper. I stopped by El Cajon
(along freeway, Mollisen to 2nd) on the way back to the
hotel.
Saturday, 8/4:
Dos
Picos Park - California Thrasher, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Wrentit, Oak
Titmouse.
Sunday, 8/5:
San Elijo - Peregrine Falcon.
Border Field S.P. - 15 (4 ad, 11 juv) Gull-bld.
Terns, 2 Pacific Loons (Mex).
El Cajon - 25 Red-cr. Parrots (new to CA
list).
010811-12. On
Saturday I looked at Magdalena Ridge from North Baldy Trailhead about half
way down to the campground. On
Sunday I started at North Monticello point, then looked at Monticello Bay,
and the San Marcial marsh.
Saturday, 8/11:
Magdalena's - Red Crossbill .1 miles, Townsend's
Warbler .9 miles, and Red Crossbill 2.1 miles below the North Baldy
trailhead.
Sunday, 8/12:
North Monticello Point - Marbled Godwit, 2 Franklin's
Gulls (1 juv), 1 Osprey
Monticello Bay - Semipalmated Plover, Peregrine
Falcon, 5 Snowy Plovers.
San Marcial - Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Olive-sdd.
Flycatcher.
Home - first Chipping Sparrow of the
fall.
010818-19. On Saturday I birded with Grodon on the Bitter
Lake NWR fall shorbird survey. I then looked at Waldrop Park, the tank 2 miles east of
Waldrop, Caprock, Tatum Sewage Ponds, Tatum, Crossroads, Milnesand, Pep,
the Portales Sewage ponds, and portales.
I spent the night at Portales.
On Sunday I started birding at the Melrose
Trap. From there I looked at Blsque Redondo, Ft. Sumner, Vaughn,
Encino, Willard, the Mountainair sewage pond, and Quairai Ruins (ran into
Hart Schwartz and spent most of the time chatting).
Saturday, 8/18:
Roswell -Eur.Collared
Dove.
BLR - 6 Solitary Sandpipers, 4 Upland
Sandpipers.
Waldrop Park - Least Flycaltcher, Olive-sdd. Flycatcher,
2 Scissor-tld. Flycatchers, a number of migrants (Yellow and Yellow-rumped
Warblers, Warblinh Vireo, Wood Pewees, W. Tanager).
Tank east of Waldrop - Red-eyed Vireo, fe.
Black-and-white Warbler, Willow Flycatcher, Curve-bld. & Crissal
Thrasher.
Tatum Sewage ponds - ad. Yellow-cr. Night Heron, Least
Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, 15 Black-cr. Night Herons, Virginia Rail,
Tatum - 6-8 Black-ch. Hummingbird, 2 Rufous
Hummingbird.
~3 miles north of Tatum - 250 Long-bld.
Curlews.
Sunday, 8/19:
Melrose Trap - 2-3 Least Flycatcher, Hammond's
Flycatcher, White-br. Nuthatch (western), 2-3 Upland
Sandpipers.
Ft. Sumner - 2 Rufous and 1 imm. male Ruby-throated
Hummingbird (G Ave. just south of US-60).
Vaughn - Rufous
Hummingbird
Willard - Calliope
Hummingbird
Mountainair sewage pond - Long-bld. Dowitcher,
Solitary Sandpiper, 15 Wilson's Phalaropes.
010824. Socorro House:
Burrowing Owl.
010825-26. John Parmeter and I started birding along the road
to Mt. Withington. We then looked
at FR-138 south to Grassy Lookout, FR-96, FR-478, Winston, Rock Canyon Marina,
Monticello Bay, and North Monticello
Point. After I dropped John
a thome, I headed east via US-60 and spent the night at
Vaughn. On Sunday I started birding at the Melrose trap where
I ran into Steve Greetham and friend.
I then looked at Ft. Sumner, Sumner Lake, Trea Lagunas, the Green
Chaparral Truf Ranch, and the Gardner Turf Ranch at
McIntosh. Birds of interest:
Saturday, 8/25:
FR-138 (ridge road) - 6 Cassin's Vireos, 8 Townsend's
Warblers, 4 Orange-cr. Warblers, 4 Clark's Nutcrackers, 10 Red Crossbill,
fe. Williamson's Sapsucker, 1 Hermit Warbler, (John had a probable imm. Olive
Warbler near Withington).
FR-96 - Townsend's Warbler, Cassin's
Vireo.
Hudson Spring - 2 Red-f. Warblers, 3 Cassin's
Vireos, Townsend's Warbler, 2 Hepatic Tanagers, Grace's
Warbler.
Willard - 2 Eurasian Collared
Doves.
Sunday, 8/26:
Melrose Trap - 2 Cassin's Vireos, Townsend's Warbler,
fe. Orchard Oriole, fe/i. American Redstart, 2 Upland
Sandpipers.
Ft. Sumner - 5 Eurasian Collared
Doves.
Sumner Lake - 3 Eurasian Collared Doves, Reddish
Egret, 2 Willets.
Tres Lagunas - fe. Wood Duck
Green Chaparral - Pectoral Sandpiper, 45 Mountain
Plovers, Northern Waterthrush.
Moriarity - 2 Eurasian Collared
Doves.
Juan Tabo and I-40 - Eurasian Collared
Dove.
010828. Around my LLH pond this morning: 3-4 Wilson's Warbler,
Chipping Sparrow, Virginia's Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Com. Yellowthroat,
Western Tanager, Black Phoebe, Dusky Flycatcher, Lazuli Bunting, Indigo Bunting,
Blue Grosbeak.
010830. Around my LLH pond this
morning: Yellow Warbler,
MacGillivray's Warbler, Western Wood Pewee, Least Flycatcher*, Chipping Sparrow,
Summer Tanager, Western Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Pinion Jay, Bullock's
Oriole. About 11:30 in the evening,
I went outside to listen to the Great Horned Owls serenade, and while there
I heard and then taped in and photographed a Western Screech Owl*.
*=yardbirds.
010831-0903. On Friday I looked at the sod Farm at Moriarity and spent
the night at Santa Rosa. On Saturday I met John Parmeter at the Melrose
Trap. I then headed east and
looked at the callte feed lot dewage pond east fo Canon AFB, around Clovis,
at Texico, William's Playa (dry), the Portales Sewage ponds, Pep, Milnesand,
NM-262, Stateline Road, NM-125, Tatum sewage ponds, Hobbs, Maddox Lake, and
spent the night at Carlsbad. On
Sunday I met Steve West at Rattlesnake Springs, then looked at Black River
Village, Loving sewage ponds, Bell Lake (dry), Jal Lake, Jal riparian, Jal
Country Club, Eunice cemetery, Stephen's Park, Maljamar Rest Stop, and spent
the night at Steve and Renee's in
Carlsbad. On Monday, I started
at Rattlesnake Springs, Brantley Lake, Hope, McNatt Spring (3-mile Canyon
west of Mayhill), NM-244, Tularosa, and Carrizozo.
Friday, 8/31:
Green Chaparral - Northern Waterthrush,
Saturday, 9/1:
Melrose Trap - fe. Black-and-white
Warbler
Texas at Texico - Clay-col.
Sparrow.
Pep - Northern
Waterthrush.
Milnesand - r. Merlin, Least Flycatcher (13 mi
east).
8 mi. NE Tatum - Least Flycatcher, Cordilleran
Flycatcher
Tatum sewage ponds - 3 Northern Waterthrush, Least
Flycatcher.
Hobbs resid. - White-w. Dove, E. Coll.
Dove.
Sunday, 9/2:
Rattlesnake Springs - fe. Black-and-white Warbler,
Great Cr. Flycatcher, Dickcissel, 3 Scissor-tld. Flycatcher, im. Painted
Bunting, 3 Racoons.
Jal Lake - fe. Black-and-white Warbler, Ross
Goose.
Jal riparian - 2 E. Coll. Doves, House Wren, Least
Flycatcher.
Eumice Cemetery - E. Coll.
Dove.
Stephen's Park - fe. Vermilion Flycatcher, 2 E.
Coll. Doves.
Maljamar Rest Stop - 2 fe. Townsend's
Warblers.
Monday, 9/3:
3 mi. S. Carlsbad (weigh station) - 3 E. Coll
Doves.
2 mi. S. Artesia - 2 E. Coll
Doves.
Hope - Clay-col. Sparrow, Lincoln's
Sparrow.
McNatt Spring - Lincoln's Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow,
4 Red-Crossbills.
NM-244 - 10 Red
Crossbills.
Carrizozo sewage plant - Lazuli Bunting, Clay-col.
Sparrow.
Carrizozo golf course pond - 12-15 E. Coll.
Doves.
010906. I did a
quick trip to the Melrose trap this afternoon to loook for a Golden-w. Warbler
which was seen in the morning.
Thursday, 9/6:
Melrose trap - fe. Golden-w. Warbler, fe.
Black-and-white Warbler, m. Townsend's Warbler.
010907. Migrants seen and heard around the yard this
morning: Wilson's and
Virginia'sWarbler, Black-hdd. Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, Chipping, Brewer's,
and Lark Sparrow, empid, sp., Western Wood Pewee, Long-bld Curlew, Violet-grn.
Swallow, Cooper's Hawk, Rufous Hummingbird, Black-ch. Hummingibrd, Western
Tanager.
010907-9. On Friday I looked at the Mountainair sewage
ponds and an abandoned house on US-60 about 3.5 miles west of
Encino. I then looked
at the Melrose Trap and spent the night at Ft.
Sumner. On Saturday I met John Parmeter at the Melrose Trap and
we were joined shortly by Bill Wittman.
We then looked at Ft. Sumner and Bosque
Redondo. I headed northeast
to House, Ragland, Logan, and Ute Lake.
I spent the night at Tucumcari.
On Sunday morning I looked at the Melrose Trap, Ft. Sumner, Bosque
Redondo, Yeso, Vaughn, Encino, the house west of Encino, Willard, the Mountainair
sewage ponds, and NMT Turtle Bay.
Friday, 9/7:
Melrose Trap - 1st migrant Ruby-cr.
Kinglet.
Saturday, 9/8:
Melrose Trap - Red-e. Vireo, Painted Bunting,
Plumbeous Vireo, Townsend's Warbler.
Ft. Sumner - 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, imm. Glossy
Ibis, 3 Eur. Coll. Doves, Pumbeous Vireo.
House - im.male Vermilion Flycatcher, Hammond's
Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher, MacGillivray's Warbler, Virginia's Warbler,
Townsend's Warbler, Yellow-bld. Cuckoo, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher,
Brown thrasher, 3 Green-tld. Towhees, Barn Owl.
Logan - 2 Eur. Coll.
Doves.
Ute Lake - 3 Eur. Coll. Doves, imm. Reddish Egret, 8
White-w. Doves.
Ute Creek (Harding) - Cinnamon
Teal.
Sunday, 9/9:
Melrose Trap - Upland
Sandpiper.
Ft. Sumner - Com. Snipe, 6 Pectoral Sandpipers,
4 Inca Doves, 2 Eur. Collared Doves.
Bosque Redondo - imm. Sabine's
Gull.
Yeso - Hammond's
Flycatcher
Vaughn - 4 Eur. Collared Doves, Gray
Flycatcher.
Encino - Yellow-bld. Cuckoo, male American
Redstart.
House 3.5 miles west of Encino - Lazuli
Bunting.
NMTTB - Cassin's Vireo.
010911. Around the yard:
Gray Flycatcher, empid, sp., Wilson's Warbler, Western Tanager, Western
Wood pewee, Common Yellowthroat, Black-ch., Calliope, and Rufous Hummingbirds,
Lesser Goldfinch, Blue and Black-hdd. Grosbeak, Black and Say's
Phoebes.
010912: Around the
yard: Wilson's Warbler, Orange
Cr. Warbler, Western Tanager, Gray Flycatcher, Chipping Sparrow, Black-ch.,
Rufous, and Broad-tld. Hummingbirds, Lesser Goldfinch, Blue and Black-hdd.
Grosbeak, Black and Say's Phoebes.
010913: Around the
yard: Wilson's Warbler, Yellow
Warbler, Black-ch. and Rufous Hummingbirds, 4 Dickcissel, Blue and Black-hdd.
Grosbeak, Black and Say's Phoebes, Orange-cr. Warbler, Western Tanager, Western
Kingbird, 25 Barn Swallows, Broad-tld. Hummingbird, Lesser Goldfinch, Lark
Sparrow, Tree Swallow.
010914-16. On Friday afternoon I stopped by the Isleta
Marsh and spent the night in
Albuquerque. On Saturday morning
I started birding at the Sod Farm at Moriarity, but it was quite foggy, so
I worked the area from Stanley and to the west and
south. I then returned to the
Sod Farm and then to the Albuquerque Zoo for the company
picnic. In the afternoon, I
headed east to spend the night at Vaughn.
Friday, 9/14:
Isleta Marsh - Virginia Rail
Saturday, 9/15:
Stanley - Wilson's Warbler, Brewer's
Blackbird.
Road 25 - Green-tld Towhee.
Grove at Santa Fe road 25 and road 12A - Long
Eared Owl.
End of road 12A - Sage
Thrasher.
Grove on Santa Fe Road 27 - Cassin's
Vireo.
Green Chaparral Sod Farm - Short-bld. Dowitcher,
4 Pectoral Sandpiper, White-cr. Sparrow.
Sunday, 9/16:
Melrose Trap - Red-eyed Vireo, Painted Bunting,
2-3 fe American Redstart
5mi e of Vaughn - Cassin's Sparrow, Savannah
Sparrow
Bosque Redondo - Plumbeous
Vireo
3mi e Encino - Fe American Redstart, 5 Pinion
Jays, Scrub Jay, fe. Baltimore Oriole.
US-60/mp242 (~10 mi e of Encino) -
Dickcissel.
LLH - 2 Scrub Jay.
010917. Birds at home:
Lazuli Bunting, Chipping Sparrow, Brewer's Sparrow, Western Tanager,
Osprey (yardbird), Lesser Goldfinch, Blue Grosbeak, Black & Say's Phoebes,
Black-ch., Rufous, and Calliope Hummingbirds.
010918. Birds at home: Indigo Bunting, Chipping, Brewer's, Clay-col.
Sparrows, Virginia's and Audubon's Warblers, Turkey Vulture, Western and
Summer Tanagers, Black and Say's Phoebes, Lesser Goldfinch, Pine Siskin,
Blue Grosbeak, Black-ch., Rufous, and Calliope Hummingbirds, White-f.
Ibis.
010919. Birds at home:
first Amer. Crow, Turkey Vulture, White-cr. Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak,
Chipping Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Black & Say's Phoebes, Black-ch.
and Rufous Hummingbirds, N. Shoveler, Cinnamon Teal, Vesper Sparrow, Wilson's
and Yellow Warblers, Western
Tanager.
010920. Birds at home:
Western Screech Owl, Summer and Western Tanagers, Black and Say's
Phoebes, Black-cr. Night Heron, N. Harrier, Chipping Sparrow, Black-ch. and
Rufous Hummingbirds, Blue Grosbeak, Wilson's Warbler, N.
Flicker.
010921-23. I left Socorro at about noon on Friday and my first
birding sotp was the Abo Ruins. I then looked at the Mounatinair Sewage ponds, the ranch
at mp242, the farmhouse 3 miles west of Encino, I then drove straight on
through to NM-248 and Forrest before returning to Ft.
Sumner. There were no rooms there, so I drove to Clovis for the
night. I met John Parmeter at
the Melrose Trap on Saturday morning, then looked at Melrose, NM-248, Grady,
Broadview, NM-295, the San Jon sewage ponds, back to NM-295 (pond 7 miles
north of Broadview[ed=Bellview]), Ute Lake, Ute Creek Arm (Harding),
and the Alamocito Ranch on NM39 15 miles north of
Logan. I spent the night at
Logan. I got up at about 3 and
headed north and started birding (owling) at the head of Mills Canyon, lthen
looked around along the river, then looked at Roy, Mosquero, Mosquero grade,
Ute Lake, Tucumcari Lake, Tres Lagunas, Power Dam Park, Pastura, Encino,
farm 3 miles east of Encino, Willard, Mountainair sewage ponds, and the Abo
Ruins. Birds of
interest:
Friday, 9/21:
US-60 grade - Prairie Falcon, Ferruginous
Hawk.
Abo Ruins - 2 imm. Williamson's and a fe. Red-n.
Sapsucker
Mountainair sewage ponds - N. Pintail, fe. Orchard
Oriole.
Ranch at MP242 - im. male Vermilion
Flycatcher.
3mi w Encino -
Dickcissel
3mi s Forrest (Quay) - 2 Scissor-tld.
Flycatchers.
Saturday, 9/22:
Melrose Trap(0630-0940) - imm. Broad-w. Hawk, 3-5 Cassin's
Vireos, Dickcissel, Townsend's Warbler.
Melrose(10:00) - 3 imm. Mississippi
Kites.
Grady(11:50) - 2 Eurasian Col.
Doves.
Broadview - 4 Cassin's Kingbirds. [ed - actually
Bellview]
Lake 7min Broadview - 2-3 imm. Yellow-cr. Night
Herons.
San Jon Sewage ponds - 10 Pectoral Sandpipers,
3 Com. Snipe.
Ute Lake - imm. Reddish
Egret.
Harding Line (QR-Z, 17:45) - Clay-col.
Sparrow.
Ute Creek arm - kettle of 250 Turkey
Vultures.
Ranch at NM-39/mp9 (Harding) - Scissor-tld.
Flycatcher
Alamocito Ranch (mp15) - 6 Blue Jays
Sunday, 9/23:
Mills Canyon(0530-0630) - Western Screech Owl,
10 Com. Poorwill, (0700-0845) 6 Hepatic Tanager, White-br Nuthatch, Juniper
Titmouse, Western Tanager, Red-n. Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, White-thtd.
Swift, Lesser Goldfinch, Western Bluebird, Myrtle Warbler, Ruby-cr. Kinglet,
Green-tld. Towhee, Cassin's Vireo.
Mosquero Grade - Canyon Wren, White-thtd.
Swift.
Ute Lake - Reddish Egret, Caspian Tern, im. Sabine's
Gull, E. Collared Dove.
Santa Rosa - 2 E. Collared
Doves
Encino - E. Collared Dove, Blue-Gray
Gnatcatcher.
010927. Birds at
home: White-br.
Nuthatch.
010928. Birds at
home: Red-n. Sapsucker, Audubon's
Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Brewer's Blackbird
010928-30. On Friday afternoon, I headed up to Albuquerque and drove
straight through to the Flood control channel off Tramway looking for Pectoral
Sandpipers which had been reported there earlier in the week (met Louis Cuellar
and Rebecca Gracie there). On Saturday John Parmeter, Lane Leckman, and I started
birding at Stubblefield Lake, then looked at Lake 13, Springer Lake, Ruby
Ranch (Lake Isabel, Lake David, Sapillo Creek), Storie Lake, Las Vegas NWR,
McAllister Lake, Cochiti Lake, and back to the Tramway Flood Control Channel
(Steve and Nancy Cox, Carol Davis, Paul McConnell, 2
kids(&Hanna), (& 2
unknowns)). Late in the afternoon,
I looked at the sod farm at Moriarity and then spent the night at Santa
Rosa. On Sunday morn ing I started
birding at Sumner Dam (0600-0630,
caprimulgiding). I then looked
at the Melrose Trap (0700-0910), Ft. Sumner fields, Bosque Redondo (1000-1020),
Sumner Lake & Dam (1050-1200), Yeso, Vaughn, Encino, the house 3 miles
west of Encino, Willard (1500), Mountainair sewage ponds, and the Abo
Ruins. Removed the small
Yellow Mud Turtle from the concrete tank at Melrose (drying up) and put it
in the small pond south of Billy-the-Kid's-Grave.
Fricay, 9/28:
Tramway Flood Cont. Channel - imm. Buff-breasted
Sandpiper.
Saturday, 9/29:
Stubblefield - Marbled Godwit, Black-bel. Plover, 10
Stilt Sandpipers.
Lake 13 - Sanderling, 7 Cattle
Egrets.
I-25 at NM-58 (ranch) - Eurasian Coll.
Dove.
Ruby Ranch (Lake Isabel) - Peregrine Falcon, (Lake
David) - 10 Long-bld. Dowitchers, Merlin,
Storie Lake - imm. Sabine's
Gull
Las Vegas NWR (middle marsh) - 2 Pectoral
Sandpipers
Coichiti spillway -
Osprey
Flood Cont. Channel - imm. Buff-br.
Sandpiper.
Green Chaparral - Pectoral Sandpiper, Buff-br.
Sandpiper.
Sunday, 9/30:
Tolar - Scissor-tld.
Flycatcher.
Ft. Sumner - Cassin's Vireo, Gray-hdd. Junco,
1000-1500 Com. Grackles.
Bosque Redondo - Eastern
Phoebe.
Sumner Lake - Common
Tern.
Sumner Dam -
Brown Thrasher, Townsend's Warbler.
Yeso - Blue Gray
Gnatcatcher.
011006-7. On Saturday
morning I met John Parmeter and Louis
Cuellar at the Melrose trap. I
then looked at Grady, Ute Lake, Nara Visa, Amistad, Clayton Lake, and the
back roads northwest of Seneca. I
spent the night in Clayton. On Sunday morning I started birding at the woodlot
north of Seneca, then looked at Corrumpa Creek off Corrumpa Rd., a couple
of abandoned homesteads in the area, Clayton Lake, Clayton Cemetery, Stead,
Amistad, Nara Visa, Utle Lake, Tucumcari Lake, and the Green Chaparral Turf
Ranch (with Doug and Bruce).
Talked to the rancher just north of Stead
(Stephen Bush, 505/374-8796). He indicated that he had Red-hdd. Woodpeckers nesting
on his ranch, had Scissor-tld Flycatcher at the ranch complex at NM402/mp40
(his families' original homestead), and that he had a small covey of Prairie
Chickens on his farm. Mentioned
that there was a substantial covey a little south of
Amistad. Said he also thought
that Bobwhite had disappeared from the area when the smaller homesteads shut
down and stopped farming milo.
Saturday, 10/6:
Melrose Trap(0700-1000) - Golden-cr. Kinglet,
Brown Thrasher, Wood Thrush, Red-br. Nuthatch, fe. Black-thtd. Blue Warbler,
Nashville Warbler, Winter Wren, Yellow-bel.
Sapsucker.
Rest stop at NM-402/mp20(1425) - Ruby-cr.
Kinglet.
Amistad - Hermit Thrush
Clayton Lake - Yellow-sh.
Flicker.
Farm on Campbell rd. 4 mi. NW of Seneca (1700)
- Palm Warbler, Bobcat, Brown Thrasher.
Sunday, 10/7:
Seneca - Stellar's Jay.
Stead (Bush Ranch) - Magnolia Warbler, Cassin's
Vireo.
NM402/mp20 rest stop - Myrtle Warbler, Cassin's
Kingbird.
Nara Visa - male Black-thtd. Blue Warbler, Townsend's
Warbler, Cassin's Vireo, Red-br. Nuthatch, Blue
Jay.
Green Chaparral - Brown
Creeper.
011010. Green Chaparral lat afternoon - 4 Pectoral Sandpipers,
4 Long-bld. Dowitchers.
0110112-14. On Friday I left Socoro in the late afternoon and looked
at Carrizozo. I spent the night
at Vaughn. On Saturday morning
I met John Parmeter and Bill Whittman at the Melrose
Trap. I then looked at Boone's
Draw, Portales Sewage Ponds, Pep, Milnesand, Crossroads, Caprock, Maljamar
and spent the night at Artesia. On
Sunday I started birding at Rattlesnake
Springs. I then looked at the
Loving sewage ponds, Maljamar, Maljamar rest stop, Hope, McNatt Spring, the
Tularosa sewage ponds, and Carrizozo.
Birds of interest:
Saturday, 10/13:
Melrose - 2 Eur. Coll. Doves.
Boone's Draw - male & female Blacki-thtd.
Blue Warblers, Eastern Phoebe, Cassin's Vireo, Hammond's
Flycatcher.
Portales Sewage Ponds - fe. Wood
Duck.
Milnesand - 3 Scissor-tld. Flycatchers, Cassin's
Kingbird, Townsend's Solitaire.
Maljamar - Varied
thrush.
Maljamar rest stop - Townsend's
Warbler.
Sunday, 10/14:
Maljamar - fe. Townsend's Warbler, Varied thrush,
Red-br. Nuthatch.
Maljamar rest stop - Townsend's Solitaire, 4-6
Townsend's Warblers, 2 imm. Yellow-bel. Sapsuckers.
McNatt Spring - 8-10 Wild
Turkey
Tularosa - c. Merlin.
Carrizozo - Sora, Cassin's
Kingbird.
011018 - E. Collared Doves at Luis lopez, 1 Inca Dove along the low
flow channel about a mile below LLH.
011019-20. On Friday
I started birding along the river above Escondida Lake, then looked at the
Mountainaire sewage ponds, along US-60, Encino, Ramon, Vaughn, and
Yeso. I spent the night at Ft.
Sumner. On Saturday I started
birding at the Melrose Trap. I
then looked at Tucumcari, Tucumcari Lake, Ute Lake, Alamacitos Ranch, NM-102,
Buyeros, NM-526, Clayton Lake, and
Clayton. I spent the night at
Clayton. On Sunday morning,
I started birding at Clayton Lake, then looked at the abandoned farms north
of the lake and east of Seneca, the riparian across from the cattle feed
lot at NM-402/mp3, Clayton, the Otto Cemetery, Yates, NM-120, the Canadian
River valley at NM-120, Wagon Mound, Watrous, Storrie Lake, Las Vegas, and
the Green Chaparral Turf
Ranch.
Friday, 10/19:
Abandoned farm at US-60/mp242 - Stellar's
Jay
Ramon - Winter Wren.
Saturday, 10/20:
Melrose Trap - Nashville Warbler, White-thtd.
Sparrow, fe. R. Merlin.
Melrose Trap - Merlin
Ute Lake - 2 Com. Loon
Alamacitos Ranch - 4 Wild
turkey.
Lake 6ms Buyeros - 6 Lesser
Scaup.
Clayton - 10 Eur. Collared
Doves.
Clayton Lake - Water Pipit.
Sunday, 10/21:
Clayton Lake - Yellow-sh.
Flicker.
Clayton - 10 Cedar Waxwings, 1 Eur. Collared
Dove.
Yates - 5-10 Sandhill Cranes
(flyby)
Canadian River Valley (Mora) - Scaled Quail, Lincoln's
Sparrow, Rufous-cr. Sparrow, Juniper Titmouse.
011027-28. On Saturday
John Parmeter and I started birding at Percha Dam State
Park. We then looked at Caballo
Dam, Caballo Lake, Rock Canyon Marina, Monticello Bay, and Monticello
Point. On Sunday I started birding
(owling) along FR549 (Mt. Withington access road) and
FR138. I then looked at FR138,
FR330 back to NM-107, Plains of San Augustin, Datil, Horse Springs, FR-214,
Mangus Lookout, FR-13, Quemado Lake, Quemado, along US-60 Plains of San Augustin,
and FR-549
(owling).
Saturday, 10/27:
Percha - about 7500 Sandhill Cranes between 0700
and 0740, Dusky Flycatcher.
Monticello Canyon - 2 Semipalmated Plovers, 2 Western
Sandpipers, 6 Dunlin, 4 Baird's Sandpipers, 500 Least Sandpipers, 300
Chestnut-col Longspurs, 8 McCown's Longspurs.
North Monticello Point - Franklin's Gull, Black-bel.
Plover.
Sunday, 10/28:
FR549 (just south of US-60, 0430) - 1-2 Western
Screech Owl, Short-e. Owl.
Plains of San Agustin (Catron/Socorro co line)
- fe. C. Merlin
NM12/mp62 (12 miles west of Datil) - 30 Chestnut-col.
Longspur
Quemado Lake - Com. Loon, 3 Red-br.
Merganser.
011103-4. John Parmeter,
Lane Leckman, Bill Wittman and I started birding at Maxwell
NWR. We then looked at Stubblefield Lake, Springer Lake, Memorial
Park in Springer, Storie Lake, Las Vegas NWR, and McAllister
Lake. Lane and I then headed
south along NM-3 and looked at the Green Chaparral Turf Ranch on the way
back to Albuquerque. On Sunday
morning I started birding (owling) at the Plains of San Augustin, then looked
at Bosque del Apache.
Saturday, 11/3:
Maxwell Lake 14 - 5 Tundra
Swans.
Memorial Park in Springer - White-thtd.
Sparrow.
McAllister Lake - 1 Com. Loon, 2 Horned Grebes
(courting).
Sunday, 11/4:
San Antonio - 1 fe. r.
Merlin.
Bosque del Apache - 2 White-thtd. Sparrows, Red-br.
Merganser, 2 Greater Scaup, 2 fledgling Clark's Grebes.
011109-11. On Saturday morning I met John Parmeter and Lane Leckman at Conchas Lake. We th