[Birdtalk] San Juan county birds - October 2008

[Milt Moody]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lu Giddings <seldom74 at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Oct 5, 2008 at 8:26 PM

I just returned from four rather soggy days in San Juan county. On
Thursday I made the drive through the La Sal mountains over Geyser
Pass and into Old La Sal, and then went on to Bluff. Friday took me
through the Bear's Ears to Elk Ridge, and then down into Blanding and
Recapture Reservoir. I spent much of yesterday trying to bird in the
rain in Montezuma Canyon, then made a quick early evening trip to
Mexican Hat once the rain stopped. And I made a quick stop this
morning in Monticello on the way home. I had hoped that the weather
would hold through the weekend but as luck would have it, the storm
moved in two days early and left in time for a more or less sunny
drive home this afternoon. But the trip was not without its rewards.

- a white-winged crossbill was seen late Thursday afternoon at Blue
Lake in the La Sals, a few miles south of Geyser Pass. This is, to the
best of my knowledge, a first record of this species in the Four
Corners area.
- I heard what I believe was a pine grosbeak in the same area as the
above-mentioned crossbill. Unfortunately I could not find the bird, as
I believe this would be a first sighting for the county.
- in between rain squalls and hail storms, an American three-toed
woodpecker was seen on Elk Ridge a few miles south of the Kigalia
station early Friday afternoon. This is the first reported sighting of
this species for the county of which I am aware.
- Two or more gray jays were seen in three different locations in the
La Sals south of Geyser Pass. All sightings occurred at an elevation
of 10,200' or more. This is the first reported sighting of this
species for the county of which I am aware.
- a black phoebe was seen on a pond near the San Juan river put-in in
Mexican Hat yesterday afternoon.

A few other observations, in random order:
- waterfowl numbers were abysmal in the areas I visited. I did not see
any waterfowl on Ken's Lake on either Thursday or this afternoon,
there were no waterfowl on the Halchita sewage ponds, and they were
essentially non-existent on Recapture Reservoir and in the Montezuma
Canyon areas I could access. While I typically do not count
individuals, I would also say that birds levels were atypically low on
the Blanding and Monticello sewage ponds.
- pygmy nuthatches were again abundant on Elk Ridge, but for the first
time I did not see any red crossbills, either on Elk Ridge or
elsewhere on this trip.
- an unidentifed raptor flew over yesterday morning as I began the
drop into Montezuma canyon. It went past too quickly to get much of a
look at it, but my impression is that it may have been a young
broad-winged hawk.
- nearly 30 turkey vultures were seen in Monticello this morning,
mostly sunning themselves on the elk farm fence posts near the sewage
ponds.
- a flock of 10-15 or more ruby-crowned kinglets were seen in the
brush near the top of the canyon on the south of the Bear's Ear Friday
morning. I've never seen this many of this species together in one
place.
- still lots of chipping sparrows up high and Brewer's sparrows down
low, and of course the white-crowned sparrows have returned to Bluff
and have probably been back for over a month.

Lu Giddings

Total Count: 67 species
Canada Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Gray Jay
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Rock Wren
Bewick's Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
House Finch
White-winged Crossbill
House Sparrow