White Mountain Birding, September 28, 29 & 30, 2015

Day #1, Monday, 9/28/15
Lois Lorenz and Marcee Sherrill joined me for this 3-day birding venture.
Explored four (4) sites: 1) Sunrise Campground on tribal land; 2 & 3) in Greer: Benny CG & Butler Canyon Nature Trail; and 4) in Springerville, Becker Lake.

At 4 a.m. Monday, I received a telephone call from Marcee letting me know that she could make our trip after all, and that she would drive, using the schedule we had agreed upon. Great news!
So, Marcee, Lois and I departed my house promptly at 6 a.m. to head east and north to the White Mountains of Arizona. Much more highway construction greeted us in the Superior/Globe area than what I had experienced last week when I drove up alone for a rainy two days.

The construction was more nuisance than actual delay so that we reached the White Mountain Apache Indian licensing center in Pinetop in 3.5 hours’ drive.  I had planned two stops on tribal land: 1) Sunrise Ski Resort to bird around the lodge and tree lines to search for Pine Grosbeaks; and 2) Sunrise Campground.

The road to the ski lodge was gated and closed during weekdays; open only on weekends. Bummer!

However, driving in on Highway 273, off of Highway 260, we had already seen several Western Bluebirds and many Mountain Bluebirds.  My past experience with Mountain Bluebirds has been that they were skittish and flew off when approached by car or person. Today, the females that perched on fence posts and wires allowed some decent photos. Not as brilliant as the male, the female is quite gray. Since female Mountain Bluebirds can have some rufous in the chest that could be confused with that of the Western, it’s important to remember two ID marks for it. Even if a bit of reddish brown is apparent on the chest, It differs from the usually more common Western Bluebird by having no eyeing and having longer wings that extend down the tail when perched.
Female Mountain Bluebird

We turned around at the Ski Lodge gate and headed to our second planned stop: Sunrise Campground. As our first stop for birding, we found it much too quiet. Our first good sighting, aside from the aspens turning a golden yellow, was a birder who arrived in a Prius. He was a delightful chap and it appeared that his wife accompanied him on his birding adventures. He told us where he had just spotted the Gray Jays in the campground and then went on to share with us that he had just reached the 7,000 mark on his Life List. We congratulated him knowing that the milestone was most meaningful to fellow birders and we were happy he had told us. That is quite an achievement!  My own Life List of birds stands at several hundred below one thousand!  And, I have neither the means nor the desire to bird around the world. North America will provide me with all the space and birds I want to see.

We found the little picnic grove he had described but had to wait for a while before the Gray Jays arrived to seek us out for potential food. (We had none). The Jays nibbled on insects from leaves and tree limbs but stayed only long enough for a photo before flying off again.

Gray Jay

Hoping for better luck at Benny Creek Campground located off of Highway 373 into Greer, we arrived there around 11:30 and were greeted with bird song and lots of little birds among the Ponderosa pines and grassy meadows. A Mountain Chickadee was calling; White-breasted Nuthatches appeared to be having lunch in their usual acrobatic form, Pygmy Nuthatches were calling, Acorn Woodpeckers and a Steller’s Jay flew through our area and in the grasslands, Chipping Sparrows and Western Bluebirds were numerous.  

Our best sighting at that location was spotted by Marcee while we were scanning a distant tall dead snag. In her binoculars, she picked up a bird that got her quite excited. She was right! Cruising high in the sky was a mature Golden Eagle, its long wings fully extended in a flat line, moving quickly through the air with no wingbeats while it remained in our view.

With bird sightings picking up, we drove from Benny Creek CG on in toward Greer to see how many birds we could find along the Butler Canyon Nature Trail - a walk that I didn’t do in the rain last week. Today, we walked a mile in and a mile out on the same trail, in about 2 1/2 hours, taking our time, taking in everything the forest offered us, including a white-tailed doe.
Marcee & Lois on Butler Cyn Nature Trail, Greer, AZ
Best of all were the birds! Three woodpeckers: Downy, Hairy and American Three-toed. 
Along with Steller’s Jays and Clark’s Nutcrackers, we had Mountain Chickadees, White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches as well as one Mountain Bluebird and three American Robins. We were all happy to see a Swainson’s Thrush, a rarity for us from the desert where the Hermit Thrush is most common. Just as we reached the parking lot, Marcee spotted a Brown Creeper right at eye level on a tree trunk. 

We drove into Greer where we caught sight of some changing leaves but no American Dipper in the East Fork of the Little Colorado River at the end of the road.

Aspen and maple leaves in Greer

Last stop of the day was Becker Lake in Springerville.  Arriving there around 4:30-ish, it appeared that all the blackbirds in the area were headed to this location to roost. There was a huge mixed flock that settled on the wires, then lifted off and dropped down into the tall grasses along with the Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs. Light was fading so there are no photos from this stop, but in the cloud of blackbirds were European Starlings, Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Brewer’s Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds.

We were lucky to see both a Cooper’s Hawk flying over the lake and a Bald Eagle perched in the snag tree on its south side.

It had been a long day, so we checked into Reed’s Lodge, enjoyed a light dinner and crashed for the night.


Day 2:  Tuesday, 9/29/15
Explored three (3) sites: 1) South Fork of the Little Colorado River; 2) Green’s Peak; and 3) Lyman Lake State Park.

“South Fork”, one of the best birding spots in the White Mountains is tucked into a small canyon carved out by the South Fork of the Little Colorado River. It lies east of both Sunrise Ski Resort and Greer along Highway 260 which makes it fairly close to Springerville where we spent the night.

At 7:20 a.m., we began birding near the bridge over the South Fork and walked the road in that vicinity where we spotted Red-shafted Northern Flickers, Orange-crowned Warbler, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, and Common Ravens flying overhead but no Pinyon Jays today.  (Saw a lot last week.) The only hummingbird we saw in three days up there was here and it was a surprise: Calliope!  There were lots of plants around for it to visit.

Thistle, South Fork

After about an hour at that spot, we drove back into the campground where we birded the South Fork Trail along the river for a short distance before returning to the old dilapidated buildings that once upon a time must have been a church or scout camp. It was in that area that we got our best view of Clark’s Nutcracker and Townsend’s Solitaire but were also delighted by all of the Pygmy and White-breasted Nuthatches that bounced around in the trees.  A Hairy Woodpecker and a couple Northern Flickers visited as did several Steller’s Jays.  Elevation here was about 7500 feet.

Birding at South Fork kept us for over two hours before we headed off for our big exploration of the 3-day trip.  I was the one who knew my way around the White Mountains but had never explored Green’s Peak. With Tommy D’s web site now including a section on the White Mountains, I had carried with me his directions about birding there. (http://www.birderfrommaricopa.com/birding-maricopa-county.htm) 

This is how Green’s Peak looks from Highway 260.  

Green's Peak's meadows and forests

If we were exceptionally lucky, we might find a Dusky Grouse up there, but other neat birds can be found as well.

Thus, we took the FR 117 exit from Highway 260 and followed the directions for 18 miles to the Peak. The last 1.5 miles were a bit tricky but Marcee drove her all-wheel drive Subaru up the steep and rutted road like a trooper, white-knuckled perhaps, but with great skill.  The wheels only spun once in a wet gravel rut and she simply kept going forward until we were clear.  

We felt the elevation change when we stepped out of the car at 10,100 feet so took our time acclimating before birding.  We enjoyed the aspens, the view from that height and the terrain around us.

Aspens just changing from green to gold
View of Sunrise Lake west of Green's Peak

The "parking lot" was a fairly flat spot in front of a Road Closed sign.

Marcee, happy to have driven safely to the top; and Lois
We began our exploration by walking down the "closed road" to see what we might find. It was steep and wooded with few grasslands but we walked the grassy areas on the edges with the hope of flushing any bird.

Knowing we would need to hike back up from our descent, we didn't go far before returning to the peak. We chose, instead to walk the dirt road along the top of the peak to see what else might take us downward. We found a good place, possibly an old ski run, but again, we faced a long uphill hike if we got carried away on the slope. I was the only one walking the grasses next to the slope but no birds materialized in the short time we spent exploring the downhill. We took our good old time walking back up the slope looking around and knowing that it had great birding possibilities. Our time there today was for exploration purposes and I can plan better for future birding there. As we returned along the rim, a female Mountain Bluebird flew in and settled on a wire of one of the many antennas on the peak.
Note length of wing on tail and lack of eye ring of the Western Bluebird

 Marcee handled the drive down as if it was nothing! It had been mostly her anxiety on the way up because actually she had been driving very capably for the rough road.

 We took the road over to Carnero Lake where we came upon two people.  One, a woman who was just wrapping up a good fishing time on the lake with several very large rainbow trout. Her dog, who looked like a doodle, was very happy to see us and acted like a puppy even though she was eleven years old.  

 As we ate our lunch there, the man, wearing a polo shirt and trousers, who had been talking to the woman, came over and told us he lived in the van parked close by. It had solar panels and looked serviceable. We didn't bother with names, but the guy has lived on the road, as he put it, for 35 years.  He told us about a Western Tanager that had nested there the previous year, but not this one. 

 Although there was a walking path beside the good-sized lake, we birded with the spotting scope to sort through the many American Coots to find what else was out in the distance:  One Pied-billed Grebe, a Northern Pintail, two Western Grebe and Lois found ten Ring-necked Ducks.  Then we returned to Route 117 and down Green's Peak the same way we drove up.

 Our next and final stop of the day was a long drive but it went quickly.  We arrived at Lyman Lake State Park at 2:30 p.m. where the temperature had climbed to 85°.  After enjoying the coolness of Green's Peak, the heat seemed unbearable!

 Our first sighting there, aside from a Ferruginous Hawk was a tall shore bird that Marcee thought might be a Wood Stork. It was very stocky but far away and stood with its bill pointed downward. Through the scope from a distance, I thought it might be two birds close together but only one set of legs were obvious.

 When we got closer, it became apparent:
(Fat) Great Blue Heron projecting a very unusual stance

 We drove out beyond the camping area where we could take the maintained roads to the end of several peninsulas. Most birds were quite distant but I photographed the closest ones to me -- Ruddy Ducks.



We wrapped up at Lyman Lake SP around 4:30 p.m. and headed back to Springerville to regroup, get some dinner and some shut-eye. Tomorrow, we'll check out and do one big birding site before heading back to the Valley.
Day 3:  Wednesday, 9/30/15
Explored one site: Wenima Wildlife Area northeast of Springerville.

At my usual birding rate of one mile per hour, we managed to spend about four hours at this site. First, we walked the trail into the meadow and back (total, 2 miles); then we walked the Powerhouse Trail along the Lower Colorado River to the old powerhouse and back (another 2 miles).
Four Mule Deer watching us arrive at the trailhead from opposite pasture 

 Although White-crowned Sparrows and American Robins were numerous, some birds perched up and then, were gone.
Western Meadowlark (it also sang for us)

A "normal-looking" Great Blue Heron at edge of Little Colorado River, Wenima WA

 After two hours of birding in the meadow with some good sightings (Lincoln's and Song Sparrow in addition to the White-crowned), White-throated Swifts, Western Wood Pewee and Orange-crowned Warbler), we opted to bird along the river. I was particularly interested in finding a waterthrush and would have been happy with either a Louisiana or Northern, but all we found were beaver dams.

 Some of our better sightings on the Powerhouse Trail were numerous Violet-green Swallows swirling overhead, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Lark Buntings.
One of the beaver dams on the river

We birded to the end of the trail where the old powerhouse is fenced off with barbed wire.
Lois and Marcee in front of old powerhouse

By the time we completed birding at Wenima WA (4 miles; 4 hours), we were ready to head for home.

 After a stop at a Show Low Subway shop for a bite of lunch, we returned via Payson to Bush Highway to reach Apache Junction (my home) via Usury Pass Road.  

 In three days of relaxed birding, we had visited nine (9) sites and spotted 74 species, some of which were AZ Year Birds for me. It was the first time I had birded with both Marcee and Lois and it turned out that we were very compatible.
So, kudos to the two of you for helping make this a special 3-day birding adventure!
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Salt River: Granite Reef and Coon Bluff Recreation Areas, Maricopa County, AZ

Friday, September 25, 2015
Waking up with birds on my mind, I headed to the Salt River. While there’s a sameness about returning to this area, it offers a variety of sightings which is something I like to observe. It’s also familiar . . . comfortable . . . like a home base of birding.

Beginning at Granite Reef Recreation Area at 6:30 a.m. (79°F), birds were just beginning to head to the tops of sunlit trees. Across the parking lot, I heard a familiar call that I thought was a Gray Flycatcher. It’s always rewarding to have my binoculars land on the “assumed” bird, as it did this time. It was flicking its tail downward, another identification characteristic that nailed it for me.

The sharp “pik” call of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker near the middle of a mesquite tree caught my attention. I found it before it flew.

While birding the circle west of the picnic area, I spotted two Bullock’s Orioles (both females, or perhaps one young), an Anna’s Hummingbird, a couple Black-tailed Gnatcatchers and two Common Yellowthroat.  Back in the picnic area, the Great-tailed Grackles were just getting up out of the marsh grasses. Either, they were having a bad feather day or they’re in the molt process.

Back-lit Great-tailed Grackles just getting up this morning
Waterfowl directly out from the picnic area was scarce. A Great Blue Heron was successfully fishing on the opposite shore (Native American land) while five American Coots dabbled for breakfast.

American Coots

As I followed the east trail for a change, I came upon a House Wren, Violet Green Swallows and one Black Vulture flying above Red Mountain across the Salt River. A Sphinx Moth caught my attention when I thought it was a hummingbird!

By the time I saw a couple paddle boarders heading quickly downstream, I realized I had already birded at Granite Reef for a little over an hour.

Leaving there and driving east, I pulled into the entrance road of Coon Bluff to the sight of a a Greater Roadrunner that decided to “run with the car” for almost a full minute. It was on the right-hand side of the road, so I pulled into the vacant left lane moving slowly and watching it. Eventually, it darted eastward into the desert.

Farther ahead, another Roadrunner showed itself briefly before disappearing and when I reached the parking lot, one was wandering around the edges.

Greater Roadrunner


Not every visit to Coon Bluff offers up Roadrunners so I took advantage for some photos with the one in the parking lot.

Almost always, a Vermilion Flycatcher shows up at Coon Bluff and today was no exception.

Living up to its name, the male Vermilion just caught a fly
Turkey Vultures are not my favorite bird, but when one perches up on the bluff giving me a close camera shot, I go for it.



I’m also practicing “in-flight” photography for birds more important to me than vultures, but I need to start somewhere. 


Birds were everywhere: overhead, on the ground, on the bluff (two Rock Wrens chasing each other), in the trees and at the water.

The Belted Kingfisher alerted me with its rattle call and I caught sight of it several times, but never a belly view that would have determined for me whether it was male or female.  The female has a rufous-colored breast band below the blue one, while the male has just the blue chest band.

A Spotted Sandpiper showed itself at two different locations. In its basic plumage, its breeding spots are gone but it was exhibiting its familiar tippy behavior (forward and back).

Spotted Sandpiper

Rock Squirrels love the rip rap along the river.



Other mammals made an appearance, too:
Two wild horses on Indian Land across the Salt River as I walked eastward
One wild horse also across the river when I returned

On my return from my walk eastward past the big cottonwood tree, I came upon Lindsay Story and her Dad. It was good to see them out and about and as we stood talking beside the river, two Sharp-shinned Hawks flew in with one perching in a mesquite directly over our heads!  

After a mile an a half of a loop walk there, I was feeling the heat so I wrapped up with a photo of a dragonfly (Flame Skimmer?) and headed home. 



At the end of the exit road, a Harris's Hawk was perched on a utility pole and allowed me to get a photo.

Harris's Hawk
Until the next time, then.

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White Mountains of Arizona (Navajo & Apache Counties)

September 21 & 22, 2015  (Monday and Tuesday)
I love the White Mountains.  More specifically, perhaps, I should say I love to VISIT the White Mountains. When I moved to Arizona in 1995, I worked nine hours/day to get an extra day off every other week just to go to that high country to hike. Now, I’ve discovered its birds. The love affair continues.

Maybe that’s what impelled me to travel up there solo after having planned a trip with two birding friends who exhibited a bit more common sense than I did. The forecast called for Tropical Depression Sixteen E from Baha to visit Arizona, including the White Mountains, during our planned trip. Exhibiting uncommon sense, (other adjectives have been used), I drove up anyway, leaving at 5 a.m. on Monday morning.  

With little traffic so early on my trip east through the beautiful Salt River Canyon, I was able to start birding at Woodland Lake Park in Pinetop at 8:10 a.m.  I walked less than a quarter mile on the trail leading west from the parking lot before pishing brought me all the birds I would take the time to see there.  Blue sky was totally curtained with thick gray "marine layer".  


MacGillivray's Warbler preening
Lewis's Woodpecker

As I drove south through Pinetop on Route 260, I stopped at the Hunting and Fishing License center that issues Recreation Permits for the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation.  For birding purposes, a $10 permit is good for a full car of up to eight people.
I was hoping to visit two specific sites on Apache land.

My first stop was actually Sheep's Crossing because I missed the turn to Sunrise CG!
Looked for the American Dipper with no success but heard Gray Jays among other birds.

Then, I remembered that I needed to make the turn toward Sunrise Ski Resort before seeing the cutoff to the campground.  So, I took that turn and almost immediately saw the road up into the campground. There, I took a snack break and listened to bird sounds. It was here that I found at least four (it sounded like more) Red Crossbills - not a common bird for me to see, even up there.

Forest at Sunrise Campground
Having never visited Pole Knoll Recreation area before, I stopped there, too. It is definitely a good stop, but light showers began so I just took some photos of the place to remember to add it to my next trip. In 10 minutes, I heard two Gray Jays and a Western Wood Pewee.


Aspen leaves just beginning to turn; Pole Knoll

I actually tried birding from the car in the rain by driving into Greer’s Butler Canyon Nature Trail area where I thought I might be able to spy a couple Williamson’s Sapsuckers who generally hang out around the parking area. Upon entering the road, however, I noted for the first time, a fairly large warning that I was entering a FLASH FLOOD area.  Yikes.  Realizing the rain was just beginning, I continued and did park and viewed the trunks of every tree before leaving without having seen a single bird!
Heeding the warning, I didn’t return the next day.

Being a bit of a diehard, I drove all the way in to South Fork in the rain where I sat in the car and got this photo through a briefly opened window.

The sunny flowers looked dramatic in the rain, South Fork
I had birded four locations with reasonable success:  Woodland Lake Park in Pinetop, Sheep’s Crossing, Sunrise Campground and Pole Knoll. There was little else but rainfall at South Fork.

Heavy rain continued through the afternoon which I spent in my room at Reed’s Lodge.  Not having television at home, I laughed through an old Western film before focusing on weather reports that were half-heartedly good for tomorrow.

Heavy rain continued through the night, off and on, and I know this because I was awake with a killer sinus headache with no aspirin or Tylenol in my bags. 

As dawn approached, I realized that the few cars passing by weren’t making splashy tire sounds. Tires were running on dry pavement — Yay!  I got up and moved forward to another day in the field.


Day #2
The South Fork of the Little Colorado River, one of the best birding places in the White Mountains, was a dud in yesterday's rain, but I looked forward to a good morning there.
Encouragingly, along Highway 260, American Kestrel, Western Meadowlarks, Western Bluebirds and Common Ravens got my juices flowing.

My first sighting at South Fork was a Red-naped Sapsucker, photo of which will stay on my computer.  It’s that bad, but still proof I saw it there on that date.

With my back to the South Fork of the Little Colorado River, this is the scene
Don't laugh. Find the Pinyon Jay. Find the Clark's Nutcrackers.

From birding this spot in recent years, I knew there was a chance I would see specific birds here that I could add to my Arizona’s Year List.  As I was tracking down some chips and calls from deep shrubs where birds stayed hidden while moving, I heard familiar calls overhead.  A flock of Pinyon Jays flew from south to north.  I counted thirteen. . .no, a few stragglers. . .five more…and then one or two others.  Their call sounds to me like a Halloween laugh track.  Before leaving, they flew back over, adding more to their group, including at least two Clark’s Nutcrackers.

Most of my sightings there were treasured. Two Gray Catbirds called back and forth to one another from opposite sides of the paved road with the one on the west side finally flying over to the east side.  Nice.

A female Belted Kingfisher was a surprise, while the Pinyon Jays, Townsend’s Solitaire and Clark’s Nutcracker were more expected.  It was the warblers that got the best of me by staying hidden. The only ones I could identify with certainty were the Yellow-rumped Warblers that were just arriving.

From the bridge, looking east at the South Fork of the Little Colorado River

Second stop of the day was at Benny Creek Campground, another new area to explore, thank you, Tommy. Tommy DeBardeleben has added a White Mountain section to his very comprehensive Maricopa County birding locations.  It was invaluable, Tommy!

Seeing only two campers in the area, I parked in an empty spot near a restroom.  As I got out of the car, I heard what sounded like a Downy Woodpecker’s contact call. When I looked at all the pines, I noticed the trunks were black - having been burned in one of the big Greer fires - and realized the deeper tone of the call was more likely that of the American Three-toed Woodpecker.  I glanced at all the nearby trunks but by then, the pwik call had moved deeper into the woods.  Dang!  When I returned from the restroom, a light shower had begun so I dug out my raincoat and continued walking and taking what photos I could from quite a distance.  But the only woodpecker that materialized was a Northern Flicker. 

Cooper's Hawk
American Robin
Two things I didn’t expect there were Canada Geese flying over the secluded forested 
campground, and more rain showers. The dark clouds had been building. The geese probably came from Greer Lakes, just a bit south. So, when I left Benny Creek, I took time to stop at Bunch Reservoir, the first of the Greer Lakes, but the rain increased and I didn't stay long.

 Why don't I check Sheep's Crossing again? The thought became action. Would an American Dipper mind a bit of rain?  As I walked the trail from the parking lot toward the bridge, peeking into every opening that revealed the rather deep-flowing West Fork of the Little Colorado River, I was stunned to peer into one opening with the back of a gray Dipper perched on a rock not five feet from me. It wasn't dipping. It turned its head and looked me in the eye with its dark eye and light eyelid. I backed away and headed to the car for my camera. Of course, it was gone when I returned. But I heard it. That was a new experience. I followed its voice but it flew twice as I unknowingly closed in on it, so I gave it its space and returned to the car. No wonder my heart murmurs!

West Fork of the Little Colorado at Sheep's Crossing
Altogether I birded six different sites in two mornings and counted 39 species (including those along Highway 260 that are not entered into eBird) before being completely derailed by rain. Thus, photos are scarce or not very good. And, yes, I  prefer to bird in more favorable circumstances.  That's why I was glad to hear that my two absent birding friends had re-arranged our visit for next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday when I can return to three forecast sunny days in the White Mountains.

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