[Birdtalk] San Juan couny birds - September 2007

[Lu Giddings]

I have just returned from a few days in San Juan county. It was
unseasonably hot and very, very dry, but still a good trip. I spent much
of the time in the vicinity of Bluff, doing ground work for the Bluff
CBC I hope to begin this December. There were a number noteworthy
observations and trip highlights, and they follow in no particular
order.

- It is extremely dry in San Juan county. It looks to me as it did
several years ago during the height of the serious drought that plagued
the area. While the Colorado, Green and San Juan rivers seem to be
flowing at reasonable levels for the season, lakes, ponds, and streams
appear to have taken a beating. The wetlands that were formerly found on
the Hickman Flats road no longer exist. There were two mud puddles
which, combined, could have fit into the back of my truck.
- waterfowl were, accordingly, scarce. One could find mallards and
cinnamon teal on any mud puddle, but only by checking the sewage lagoons
in Monticello, Blanding, and Halchita was I able to find a slightly
greater variety of waterfowl species.
- the Halchita lagoon was mostly frequented by mallards and cinnamon
teal but there was a small group of four birds with white eye rings and
white markings behind the base of the bill consistent with Sibley's
images of blue-winged teal. I know how hard is to differentiate between
cinnamon and blue-winged teal this time of year, so I cannot say with
confidence that that is what they were.
- while watching the teal at Halchita, a small flock of three solitary
sandpipers and two killdeers flew in. There were also two spotted
sandpipers working the rocks.
- I watched a very dark juvenile ferruginous hawk on a fence post in the
Hickman flats area, and a short time later saw two more juvenile
ferruginous hawks hunting over the short grass fields in the area. There
were also two juvenile golden eagles hunting in this area, along with
various red-tailed hawks and American kestrels. This is probably one of
the single richest areas for raptors I know of in this state, depending
on the time of year.
- I've mentioned an indigo bunting sighting and possible least
flycatcher and vermillion flycatcher sightings on birdnet.
- I was finally able to spot two of my county nemesis birds. A lone
Lewis's woodpecker was spotted in a snag a Devil's Canyon campground.
And bank swallows were observed at the Monticello sewage lagoon.
- a pair of burrowing owls was spotted along the highway about 10 miles
north of Bluff. They appeared to be adult birds and were attending to
what appeared to be an active burrow, although I did not approach it
confirm my suspicion.
- a few other summer hold-overs were spotted including a sage thrasher,
a yellow-breasted chat, and a female blue grosbeak. It's interesting to
see that the males have taken off while the females are still around,
late to leave. Are birds like humans in this respect? (just kidding!)
- in addition the multitude of warblers, sparrows, finches, and tanagers
seen at Hatch's, Gambel's quail could be heard in the brush somewhere to
the east of the property.
- wild turkeys were seen in Monticello, two places in Blanding, and two
places in Montezuma canyon.
- a black phoebe was observed along the San Juan river just outside of
Bluff, and a pair of juvenile birds was spotted roughly a mile up Bug
Canyon from Montezuma canyon.
- lots of warblers and sparrows were around, although not as many as
last year.
- Eurasian Collared-Doves were seen in Monticello, Blanding, Bluff,
Mexican Hat, Halchita, and at Hatch's. There were more of them in Bluff
than at any time I have seen in the last two years. In just one flock in
Bluff this morning I counted in excess of 30 birds.

Lu Giddings

Total Species Count: 111
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal(?)
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Gambel's Quail
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Sora
American Coot
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Burrowing Owl
Common Nighthawk
White-throated Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Lewis's Woodpecker
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher(?)
Hammond's Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Vermillion Flycatcher(?)
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Plumbeous Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
Juniper Titmouse
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Rock Wren
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
Sage Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow