[Birdtalk] San Juan county birds - July 2006

[L. D. Giddings]

I had the opportunity to spend a few days in San Juan county at the end
of last week. It was rather on the warm side, to the extent that it had
a significant impact on the birder, and almost certainly on the birds as
well. Water levels have dropped significantly in the last month, as one
might expect, despite heavy rains last week. Waterfowl were very nearly
non-existent in the areas I checked. The Hickman Flats Road wetlands was
little more than a large muddy area; I'd guess it has 10-15% of the
water it held last October. Only a few Canada geese were seen on it. It
seemed that some of the breeding birds have already begun to move out.
For example, black-headed grosbeaks and Bullock's oriole numbers seemed
down to me, although it may have been the heat. On the other hand,
rufous hummingbirds were seen at feeders in Bluff and northern harriers
were again seen in the county after a rather odd and unexpected absence
of several months.

Lu Giddings

trip list: 81 spp.
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Ruddy Duck
Gambel's Quail
Eared Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Nighthawk
White-throated Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Cassin's Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Gray Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Western Scrub-Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
Juniper Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick's Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Sage Thrasher
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Grace's Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
Cassin's Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow