[Birdtalk] San Juan county birds - Sept '06

[L. D. Giddings]

Just returned from four days in San Juan county. The weather was windy
on Friday afternoon and Saturday but it was warm and beautiful yesterday
and today. September and October are probably the best months to visit
San Juan county. The weather is generally sunny and warm but not hot and
most of the bugs are gone.

It is interesting to see the transitions that have taken place since my
last visit in mid-July. I did not see any Cassin's kingbirds and only
one western kingbird. I did not see black-throated sparrows, sage
thrashers, northern mockingbirds, yellow-breasted chats, or any
grosbeaks, either black-headed or blue.

There were lots of raptors, especially around Monticello, both on Friday
afternoon and again today. During the drive along Hickman Flats road on
Friday I must have passed a pair of American kestrels hunting or sitting
on fence posts about every quarter mile for nearly 10 miles. There were
also numerous red-tailed hawks, northern harriers, several ferruginous
hawks, several golden eagles, and a few very interesting looking raptors
that I was not able to identify. Accipiters, which I have not seen since
Spring, have returned. Both Cooper's hawks and sharp-shinned hawks were
observed in various places.

Swallows were nearly all gone, although there were still a few flitting
around the Blanding sewage ponds this morning along with about a dozen
white-throated swifts.

Waterfowl are perhaps slightly more numerous than in July, but numbers
are still far below those observed last October. In some cases water
levels are way down. Ken's lake is about 20 feet lower than it has been
all Summer. The wetlands on Hickman Flats road are so low that only
about 10-15% of the habitat seen last October is still wet enough to
support birds. There were definitely waterfowl out there, and peeps as
well, but even with a scope at a distance of about 800-1000 yards it was
not possible to identify most of what was out there. The ponds around
Bluff are also at about 60-75% the levels at which they were observed in
Spring and largely overgrown with rushes, making observation difficult.

I hoped to see some smaller fall migrants and was not disappointed. I
spent much of my time birding around Bluff. Wilson's warblers seemed to
be more common around Bluff than house sparrows. Several greeted me in
the trees outside my room each morning. Virginia's warblers were also
common around Bluff. I spotted two Lincoln's sparrows in the parking lot
next to my truck yesterday morning and in several other unexpected
places. Green-tailed towhees were also seen at lower elevations than is
usual. White-crowned sparrows, which have been missing in Bluff since
April, have returned.

Empids were everywhere. After not seeing them at all in April, May,
June, or July I literally could not turn around without seeing one
somewhere nearby during most of the trip.

Flocks of 15-30 turkey vultures were common, especially in the evenings.

The rich crop of sunflowers scattered liberally throughout much of the
county is being frequented by lesser goldfinches, bushtits, and various
sparrows. There were probably also buntings and other small birds that I
failed to see taking advantage of the free meals.

A few trip highlights:

- Being buzzed by white-throated swifts yesterday evening as I took a
walk to a pond up Cottonwood Wash near Bluff. As last Spring, a few
passed so close I could hear the wind roar through their feathers and
feel the breeze as they rocketed by.

- Finding there are still black phoebes in Montezuma canyon, along with
at least one juvenile bird.

- Having two Gambel's quail walk across the road in front of me in
Montezuma canyon

- Seeing three species of jays - Steller's, western scrub, and pinion -
within about 15 minutes of each other while checking the forest at
Devil's Canyon campground early this afternoon.

- While watching a Lincoln's sparrow forage in some grass at a spring
just a few miles north of the UT-AZ border something very red and about
twice the size of the sparrow zoomed in from out of nowhere, lit near
the sparrow for a brief moment, and then took off, never to be seen
again. The sparrow was utterly indifferent to the bird, whatever it was.
It happened so quickly I didn't have a chance to change focus, so all I
saw was color and size. Vermillion flycatcher? Summer tanager? Northern
cardinal? I'm open to suggestions.

Lu Giddings

trip list total count: 87
Gadwall
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Gambel's Quail
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail
Sora
American Coot
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Common Poorwill
White-throated Swift
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee
Hammond's Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Plumbeous Vireo
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Pinyon Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
Bewick's Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
American Pipit
Nashville Warbler
Virginia's Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Green-tailed Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow