Spotted Owls etc... Chiricahuas (1 Viewer)

[cassowary]

A fairly relaxed birding trip this last weekend yielded a pair of spotted owls on south fork road. Good luck if you are visiting this area.
There is more about than I saw but I wasn't 'trip building'.

Anyway attached are a couple of pictures (not of the spotted owl - it would have disturbed the birds too much).

Chiracauas may 9th -11th 2009

1. Mallard – 2 - pond south of rodeo
2. long billed dowitcher 30+ pond south of rodeo
3. spotted sandpiper 1 pond south of rodeo
4. solitary sandpiper 1 pond south of rodeo
5. semipalmated plover 1 pond south of rodeo
6. Turkey Vulture
7. Coopers Hawk 1
8. Goshawk 1
9. Red-tailed hawk
10. Swainsons hawk
11. kestrel
12. turkey -2
13. Gambels quail
14. Scaled Quail - 1
15. Band-tailed Pigeon 50+
16. white winged dove
17. mourning dove
18. collared dove
19. Whiskered Screech Owl 3 (seen)
20. Western Screech Owl 1(heard)
21. Flammulated owl - 3 + heard
22. Elf Owl 3+seen
23. Spotted Owl 1 seen 1-2 heard -southfork
24. whip-poor-will
25. poorwill 1
26. Elegant trogon 2+ males seen 3 heard all - south fork road
27. white throated swift
28. broad-billed hummingbird 5 +
29. blue-throated hummingbird 3+
30. magnificent hummingbird 5+
31. black-chinned hummingbird
32. broad-tailed hummingbird
33. northern flicker
34. Gilded flicker -1
35. acorn woodpecker
36. ladderbacked woodpecker-3
37. Arizona woodpecker-4+
38. williamson’s sapsucker – 1 barfoot park
39. Gila woodpecker 1
40. western bluebird
41. greater pewee 3+
42. western wood pewee
43. buff breasted flycatcher 4+ (known site) - nr ranger station
44. black phoebe
45. says phoebe
46. olive sided flycatcher 5+
47. dusky capped flycatcher 4+
48. Ash throated flycatcher
49. brown crested flycatcher 6+
50. sulphur bellied flycatcher 1 heard
51. cassins kingbird
52. western kingbird
53. loggerhead shrike
54. huttons vireo 5+
55. bells vireo 1
56. plumbeous vireo
57. Cassins vireo
58. Roadrunner - 5
59. stellers jay
60. western scrub jay
61. Mexican jay
62. common raven
63. chihuahuan raven
64. violet green swallow
65. rough winged swallow
66. barn swallow
67. tree swallow
68. bank swallow
69. bridled titmouse
70. juniper titmouse
71. Mexican chickadee 6+ - Rustler Park
72. verdin 1- near portal
73. bushtit
74. white-breasted nuthatch
75. pygmy nuthatch
76. brown creeper-2
77. bewicks wren
78. house wren
79. cactus wren
80. blue-grey gnatcatcher
81. Black-tailed gnatcatcher - 4
82. American robin
83. hermit thrush
84. swainson’s thrush -1
85. mockingbird
86. curvebilled thrasher
87. black throated grey warbler 10+
88. graces warbler-10+
89. painted redstart 10+
90. olive warbler male – known site
91. yellow rumped warbler - abundant
92. townsends warbler 50+
93. wilsons warbler 50+
94. Red-Faced Warbler -1
95. hermit warbler -1
96. western tanager
97. hepatic tanager 5+
98. summer tanager
99. northern cardinal
100. Pyrrhuloxia 5+
101. black headed grosbeak
102. dark eyed junco
103. yellow-eyed junco
104. canyon towhee
105. spotted towhee
106. black throated sparrow
107. white crowned sparrow
108. chipping sparrow
109. hooded oriole - 10+
110. bullocks oriole
111. scotts oriole
112. red winged blackbird
113. great tailed grackle
114. common grackle
115. brown headed cowbird
116. lazuli bunting 30+
117. Rose Breasted Grosbeak -1
118. house finch
119. lesser goldfinch
120. pine siskin
121. house sparrow



where I haven't put numbers, mostly these birds were common

 

[Lisa W]

Looks like you saw quite a bit, it's a wonderful place to bird (and live).

 

[Mike Richardson]

That's an impressive list. I spent a couple of nights in Cave Creek in February, although I could easily have spent a month! It's certainly an interesting place, and one I intend to visit again in the future.

Did you see any mammals?

 

[cassowary]

Lisa; Mike, hello,

I am getting to know the area now (It really is a first class place), so some species are alot easier.
Still species such as lucys warbler and phainopepla I missed because I forgot to look for them - (lucys in the mesquite and the other in portal). Crissals Thrasher is also near portal. Bendires Thrasher is harder (on state line road) and I was lazy. I did do pretty well on mammals - the highlights being:

Bobcat (twice) South Fork
Ringtail - creek outside stewart campground
Badger - Southfork
Grey Fox - 2 Southfork
Javelina -15 - (semi-tame) - Cave Creek Ranch

This time I missed Black Bear - they are fairly numerous in the Chiracauas; I also missed Cougar which is supposedly not uncommon there.

 

[Mike Richardson]

Lisa; Mike, hello,

I am getting to know the area now (It really is a first class place), so some species are alot easier.
Still species such as lucys warbler and phainopepla I missed because I forgot to look for them - (lucys in the mesquite and the other in portal). Crissals Thrasher is also near portal. Bendires Thrasher is harder (on state line road) and I was lazy. I did do pretty well on mammals - the highlights being:

Bobcat (twice) South Fork
Ringtail - creek outside stewart campground
Badger - Southfork
Grey Fox - 2 Southfork
Javelina -15 - (semi-tame) - Cave Creek Ranch

This time I missed Black Bear - they are fairly numerous in the Chiracauas; I also missed Cougar which is supposedly not uncommon there.

You did pretty good for mammals, especially Badger! I missed Ringtail but think I heard one. Also dipped the Cave Creek Bobcat but luckily saw two later in the trip (Texas).

A Mountain Lion had been seen several days earlier to my visit in Paradise and I understand Black Bears often venture in to Portal.