Quality over Quantity

As you have probably noticed, or perhaps noticed like 6 months ago and stopped caring about 4 months ago, there hasn't been much quality or quantity on this site in a while. Understandably, you have probably moved on elsewhere due to my inattentiveness and lack of affection. You've started seeing other websites that have more going on, more excitement and rich content like you promised yourself you would have as a young, deserving, impassioned bird-blog reader with so much life and love yet to give. It's only natural and I am not jealous; I just hope we can still be friends as I promise to do a little bit better.
Instead of going into why and how life has been so busy, I'll just skip that--because I would not presume to think that is actually interesting to anybody else except my ever-loving Grandma--and get to the birding.

2016 was a crazy good year, CRAZY GOOD, for Arizona birding. Tropical storms blew Storm-petrels as far inland as Maricopa County, and there were numerous other rarities including Pine and Tufted Flycatcher (nesting 2nd summer in a row) and Lesser Sand-Plover. Of these I only snagged PIFL. Sometimes our own lives and movements do not coincide with the birds.
**Trying for the Maricopa petrel by skipping out from work early, I had a tire blow out on the way, obviously providential.

I did get out a bit towards year's end, first with the O.G. Butler Birder at the Santa Cruz flats between Phoenix and Tucson, and then joining forces again at the Glendale Recharge Ponds to start the New Year.

Pops has been Butler Birding since when TVs were operated with dials and there was only eleven species of Scrub Jay in the Americas.

The Flats have a couple migrant/vagrant traps that have notably produced Black-throated Blue Warbler and Rufous-backed Robin in recent years, both very good-looking and anatomically named birds in their own right. The vagrants are often just particularly sweet icing on the cake, a three-layered bird cake that is the mainstay attraction throughout winter months.

The soy and alfalfa fields around Baumgartner and Greene Reservoir roads are, without doubt, the best areas to view Caracara in Arizona. We logged 18 individuals in one large family group or flock on this day, and I've had high counts near 30 before. Interestingly, I see reports of these or other birds straying into nearby Maricopa or Cochise and Santa Cruz County much less often than I see reports of many Code 3 vagrants.
Whether they're falcons or vultures or something in between, CRCAs are loyal to their turf.

The other two layers of Flats birding cake are certainly less conspicuous by intent and design. Sprague's Pipits were thought to be occasional strays this far north, but they're now found with enough regularity and in large enough numbers in the area to be considered an expected wintering species here. SPPIs are also known colloquially as "5-inch Bitterns of the Barrens." Elegant skulkers.

 

Lastly, the mighty Mountain Plover, a bird perhaps with more affinity for dry crackly grass and furrows than even SPPI. Counts for this species in the area vary from a few individuals to 40+ in a given day. Much of this can be attributed to their camouflage and typically skittish behavior, as well as the relative inaccessibility of their location. Mostly I attribute it to the fact that they, unlike other birds, walk single file to hide their numbers.

Winter holidays were enjoyed in Carolina this year, where I spent time reestablishing my eternal legend as Wayne County, NC's ultimate top eBirder, but that is another post. Coinciding with my absence, a Long-tailed Duck was reported at the Glendale Recharge Ponds. This spot yields great water-birding (not illegal or unethical) and great rarities throughout the year. Typically the site itself is pretty ugly though, unless you catch it at sunrise.

The Long-tailed Duck was reported and confirmed on a remarkable day when, if memory serves, 2 or 3 others were also found across AZ. Mercifully and unusually, the bird stuck around for two weeks, and Pops and I set out early to nab it before heading in to our respective places of work. It was cool, peaceful, and pulchritudinous, except for the Least Sandpipers who were pretty certain we were going to eat them. It's unbecoming when other peeps have the startability of Killdeer.

We didn't have a large window in which to see the LTDU, nor particularly favorable conditions, but it was still pretty cool even without extra long butt feathers.

We happened to spot the bird just before direct sun-up, as it was transitioning from its tucked-away roosting spot and heading to deeper diving areas. The LTDU was chill on its own, but panicky Shovelers brought it to flight as well. Damn.

By time we had relocated the duck and cycled around Basin 3 the clouds had burned off a bit, but back-lighting is a merciless adversary. Once it gets going with its diving routine, LTDU does not let up! I was disappointed not to get better shots of the bird, but the behavior was pretty great to observe. We watched for another 30 minutes or so and in that time it would stay under for 20-30 second spells and never stay above water for more than 12 second at a time. Very go-getter. 

The Cornell Ornithology website is very enthusiastic about Spotted Sandpipers, and this is unsurprising given the lobbying powers this particular peeps species has. SPSAs are known to have at least 4 congressman in their collective pockets. Credit where it's due, they are one of few shorebirds with a breeding population n Arizona, though you have to hit up the alpine lakes to find them. Winter birds are closer by, but keeping with the theme of quality over quantity, they don't have the same dapper action.

Welcome back to you and to me and to the NSA and whoever else is here again! I am hopeful and optimistic that 2017 will have more birding and posting than 2016, despite the fact that Butler's Birds will be adding on another generation of its own this summer.
First bird of 2017? Dead Red-naped Sapsucker. An omen? Absolutely. Good or bad? Rain check.

July TFG Birding

If you are scope-less, shore-less, and/or south of the 49th parallel in July, your birding can be a dull affair. Many of the birds themselves are dealing with empty nest syndrome and can cope differently. Shorebirds deal with this by going on midlife crisis global tours from north to south. Flycatchers do this by making all sorts of incoherent and target-less vocalizations. Some birds, and some birders, cope better with the late-July doldrums than others.
Burrowing Owls spend a good amount of time subterranean anyway, and as such are less affected by the environment changing above them.

Acorn Woodpeckers, ever successful and gregarious, usually spend late July dealing with swollen family groups. The main problem is that dead trees do not directly replicate like ACWOs do, so sometimes the birds have to deal with overcrowding. 

Gray Hawks have to deal with much the same existential angst as always, namely, to attend Christmas festivities with Hawk family of Falcon family this year? Tough call.

Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers are especially grumpy come late July. I believe it is because their SE AZ woodlands are filled with one thousand and one shitty looking and sounding Western Wood-Pewees. I can sympathize. WWPEs or whatever the code is don't sound like Pewees and are very variable in plumage, but always drab. To make matters worse, the aforementioned Acorn Woodpeckers start to invade their cavities, or at least move into cavities near their own, and SBFLs are very protective and vocal about their neighborhoods.

If they cannot extricate or annoy the ACWO into leaving, Sulphurs often become irritated with each other, no doubt one blaming the other for leaving the cavity vacant and allowing the interloper  into their abode. It's trying times.

Even after some embarrassing displays of domestic distress, Sulphurs are still a Top 5 North American Flycatcher.

Broad-tailed Hummingbirds cope pretty well, in part because in places like Miller Canyon their food is provided for them and the rude Rufous Hummers are not yet unbearable. Life is always pretty good for Quetzalcoatl incarnate.

The end of July is tough. It's downhill now to the end of summer, to other journeys, work and hardships. It can be hard to get moving again, and sometimes everybody needs a little push.

Summer Carolina-ing

Another summer is wrapping up, at least in terms of vacation time, and as has come tradition now over the last three years, it's time to look back on some of the out-of-state vacation birds. An awesome May trip to Oregon yielded little real birding time and even fewer birds, and a couple weeks in Carolina was also preoccupied with many other worthwhile things, so in keeping with this year's new normal, there's not a lot to show for the birds, but we shall not go too quietly into that goodnight, not when the neighbors are obnoxious anyway.

Part of the birding dilemma in Carolina this summer was that I didn't get there until the doldrums of mid-July, which means the Warblers are as high as they are elevated, and most of the visible birds are immature caricatures--and before you ask, I did not get to the coast. One such bird that seems like a caricature but isn't is the Pileated Woodpecker, mightiest and punk rockiest of WPs this side of the Atlantic. 

Ever dutiful, I made one check-in trip to my local stomping ground in Washington, Carolina: Goose Creek SP, where one can get very crushy with PRWA and YTWA in June. Both of these warblers were scare to come by now, but a broody snapping turtle was pretty cool. By the way, you should watch this quick video of an alligator snapper biting a pineapple, and then never swim in murky water again. A young Pewee had no effect one way of the other. 

For part of Carolina time we stayed in the Asheville area, which truly does live up to its reputation for good brews, food, and music, and well as most exposed private parts per-park per-capita in the U.S. The proximity also enabled some lovely mountain hikes.

I'll quit whining about the lackluster birding, especially because the cataracts were 10/10.

 

Canada and Black-throated Green were the only Warblers I could pick up on the high trails (with a briefly vocalizing BTBW causing extra aggravation). That misty, haunting ridge forest, among the red fir and blankets of moss, is intoxicating nonetheless, and does still boast some vocal birds. Winter Wrens were seemingly everywhere along the trails, though getting them in decent light was yet another matter of inverse frequency.



The singular call of Veery was most welcome after a year away, and while some special sneaking was still required, I actually had much better views of this species than in previous years. 




 My salamander game was weak this time around, but how about a peeping Garter?



Although I couldn't materialize Eastern Screech-Owl, some of the best overall birding was in the relative lowlands around the property in the Asheville area. Indigo Buntings do not seem to stop singing...like ever. They were singing away on top of Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi, and singing away in even greater numbers along the yard-side woodlands. Matching them in sound if not by sight were Field Sparrows. They deserve respect to...I guess.




The best sighting of the trip was a Scarlet Tanager couple, a species I had only seen once before, and poorly, as a vagrant in Arizona. I had all of about 5 seconds in the rain with this bird at eye level but good gracious gravy what a looker. I don't even mind anymore that I've had to wait like 6 years and many east-coast trips to see this bird again. All is forgiven for your scarlet letter, Natanager Scawthorne.

How often does one get up close and personal with a Luna Moth? Not often in my case, so that was also cool.
But you're thinking, "Butler, you kiss-ass namby pamby, what is with this vacationing and no birds? We want better. We deserve better. We're already dealing with the 2016 election depression, Chinese aggression and destabilization in Europe, a lackluster Olympics, and now this pablum!? You are a cad and in better days, would hang by the neck until dead."
Well, I agree, and this weekend is a birthday weekend, which means I can go birding in SE AZ and not no one can stop me not no how. Solid.

 

Pining for Some Santa Rita Rarities

So maybe you've heard, but there is a nesting Pine Flycatcher at the Aliso Springs campground on the east side of the Santa Rita mountains. With this being both a first ABA record and a nesting record, it's kind of a big deal. For better or worse (probably for better), this bird happens to be nesting at the end of a remote 9-mile road that rife with steep climbs and descents, deep washes, loose rock, and various other perils. It is very do-able in a 4wd high-clearance vehicle, this is one chase that takes care as well as back up. At least there is no shortage of good birds along the away, including Botteri's Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, and Northern Pygmy-Owl.

I was fortunate to get in on a 5-person mission from Phoenix to chase the bird. We went split-skies on a rental rocked the kazbah down to Aliso Springs. After the drive the bird was easy (and also surrounded by a dozen other birders).

The PIFL looks more or less like other empids. Its lower mandible seems to show more yellow-orange while the body and tail gave an impression of being slightly longer and skinnier. The single note calls were recognizably different from other empids however, but even so, mad props to Dave Stejskal and the AZ bird police for getting excellent documentation and researching the ID.
PIFL was on many the informed birder's radar as a potential ABA 1st, but I must admit that for me it was not a bird I had heard of before. Unfortunately the preponderance of people precluded some of the really good and crushy photo-ops the early birds(ers) had a week before, but one is not entitled to very much complaining when hanging out with an ABA record, is one?

The Aliso Springs campground area was very nice with the springs running. While hoping for a close PIFL perch, we were also treated to Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Western Tanagers, and Blue Grosbeaks. It was another interesting instance in which the rarest bird, the chase bird, was both the most and least remarkable.

A Red-headed Woodpecker, a pretty rare and awesome bird for Arizona in its own right, was in another canyon nearby, definitely worth a detour on the way back out, especially to flush Montezuma Quail from the surrounding grassy hills.

From east to west, we cut through the Santa Ritas to Madera Canyon, whose Carrie Nation Trail had been hosting an Aztec Thrush up to two days prior to our arrival. Apparently the bird was flushed by some over-eager beavers and did not return, though to be fair this probably was not the first time it was flushed and it might have been on its way out anyway.
As the bird had not been re-found along the trail, I followed the creek up canyon where water pools might attract Thrush species. We picked up HETH and AMRO, but no Aztec.

The birding was solid and the herping was very good. Yarrow's Spiny Lizards abounded along the creek and we found a young Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake at trail's end by the old mine shaft. The Rattler was a lifer and 4th species of its kind I've seen in AZ.

A calling male Trogon towards the base of the trail was further consolation. A day when an Elegant Trogon is like the 3rd best bird is a very good day, even when dipping on AZTH (again).