Lesser Black-backed Gull - Lake Havasu

Two days ago (26 November 2012), John West photographed an odd gull on the beach at Rotary Park.  He sent the photos to David Vander Pluym, who immediately identified it as a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull!

Photos by John West

Above are two of John's photos of the Lesser Black-backed Gull.  I have fairly limited experience with Lesser Black-backed Gull, but I do see California and Herring Gulls regularly.  This bird is striking to me because the scapulars, tertials, and some of the wing coverts are solidly dark with narrow white edging.  Some important ID points are the long wings, narrow white edging on the tertials not reaching the greater coverts, fairly small black bill (though it seems to be on the large side for LBBG), fairly white ground color, masked face and streaked sides, and a dark bar on the greater coverts formed by dark bases growing broader distally.  In flight, it shows a black band on the tail (white bases to the outer rects) and plain dark underwing coverts.

There are two records of Lesser Black-backed Gull for Arizona.  Photos of those birds are here and here.

I've spent the past two days running around Havasu looking for this bird, without success.  However, I have seen a number of other goodies just being out and about.  In the Bill Williams, David and I saw the continuing two White-winged and four Surf Scoters.  At Rotary Park, we saw the two Pacific Loons which John found two days ago.

Pacific Loon on Thompson Bay, photographed 28 November

Also on Thompson Bay yesterday were two Arizona Review Species, a Black Scoter and a Red-throated Loon.

Red-throated Loon on Thompson Bay, photographed 27 November

Black Scoter on Thompson Bay, photographed 27 November

Today, I did something new, and bought a day pass to Lake Havasu State Park.  I think $10 is a bit steep to walk around on otherwise abundant lakeshore, but there is usually a nice gull flock there.  Not so today, but I checked the small cactus garden there, where I ran into a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Lake Havasu SP, photographed 28 November

Best of all these birds, though, was a White-winged Scoter on the California side of the lake.  A county bird for me yesterday, and for David today.  I'm planning to give the Lesser Black-backed Gull another day of searching.  After all, the Glaucous Gull was notoriously difficult to find, and that bird was a cinch to pick out and ID even when it was over a mile away!

Guest Blogger: Tips for Birding Havasu

Now that we're into mid-November, things are really begin to pick up here on Lake Havasu.  It's a prime time for birding the LCRV, and now is also the time for visitors to check out the area.  Below, David Vander Pluym steps in as a guest blogger to provide some tips for birding Lake Havasu and other large reservoirs!  Also, be sure to check out the links on the right side bar for useful websites for visitors.

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November and December are prime times to bird Lake Havasu with waterfowl migration under way. With all three species of scoters as well as a Red-throated Loon and the now regular large numbers of Greater Scaup and smaller number of Barrow’s Goldeneyes having arrived for the winter it’s a great time to be out and looking! One of the main questions we are asked is how do you find these birds? Given that the majorities of birders in Arizona live away from large reservoirs and are not used to identifying birds at such a distance this is a very understandable question. Below I will try to offer some tips and guidance for looking for birds on the lake.

First and foremost, be aware that compared to sewage treatment plants and places like Willcox, Lake Havasu is huge; you are often trying to identify birds that are a mile away or more. To give everyone some perspectives here are some distances starting with the Bill Williams arm. From the NWR HQ the nearest reed island is ~.45 miles away while the distant end of the buoy line is roughly .7 miles away. To put this in perspective Lake Cochise at its longest point is only .4 miles long! Scanning the main body of Lake Havasu the birds are often more distant. Scanning from the red and white lighthouse on Pittsburgh Pt. the ferry boat that crosses the lake, at its closest point is ~1.35 miles away! At the north end the lake is still about a mile across. Added to this even in winter heat haze can be a problem, making seeing a bird a mile away difficult, let alone identifying one. Generally when the sun is most intense it is best to skip the main body of the lake.

Now for some tips, number one of which is to bring a good scope. As I mentioned the distances are great and having a good scope certainly helps. If you don’t have a great scope, that’s ok, but you should be prepared to let some birds go as being simply too far away to identify as well as knowing you might miss something. You can also help with some of the distances by checking multiple locations, as some may be closer to an interesting bird than others.  For example, in the Bill Williams arm it is often helpful to walk the CAP peninsula to get closer to some of the distant flocks of diving ducks.

Second and equally important is patience. There can be a lot of birds around and it can take time to go through them all. The birds often move around a lot, feeding flocks will form, boats will flush birds, or they may just decide another spot is better. Waiting around will give you the chance to spot something that has finally moved out from its hidden cove. It is easy to spend a couple hours on a good day scanning from one spot. This also can help with changing your perspective on the size of birds. If you are used to seeing birds up close it takes a while to relearn field marks that are useful on distant birds. Because of the distance involved, it isn’t uncommon to think you have come across a rare grebe because it looks huge compared to the Common Loon behind it, only to realize it is a Pied-billed Grebe that is a quarter or even a half mile closer than the loon!

Be sure and study up ahead of time knowing what field marks are useful at a distance to help you spot the birds. Things like knowing that Red-throated Loons are about the same length as a Western/Clark’s Grebe, while a Pacific Loon is slightly bigger is the type of knowledge useful for trying to figure out what that distant loon is. Finally knowing what birds are expected and where can be helpful. There is now an invasive mussel in Lake Havasu and it is particularly common in the Bill Williams Arm. Because of this, species like Barrow’s Goldeneye and scoters are most likely there. Does this mean that you shouldn’t look for them elsewhere? Of course not, scoters can be found below Parker Dam or on the main body of Lake Havasu. However for time spent scanning, I have seen far more scoters in the Bill Williams Arm than all other areas of Lake Havasu combined. A final note on scaup, because of the mussel Greater Scaup have increased astronomically in certain areas. They are now the expected species in the Bill Williams Arm and around Pittsburgh Pt and it can often be difficult to find a Lesser Scaup at these locations when they are not actively migrating. Lesser is still the more common species around Parker Dam and in the shallow weedy waters of the north end of Lake Havasu. 

I hope these couple of tips will help out on your next visit to Lake Havasu!

-David Vander Pluym

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Now I'd be interested in hearing what kind of specific information and tips would be most helpful to visitors and readers.  Share your problems, experiences, questions, etc. in the comments!

Big Sit 2012: Cape Havasu

This weekend, everyone is talking about the Big Sit, a national birding event hosted by Birdwatcher's Digest, which falls every year on the second Sunday in October.  (This year, they added the preceding Saturday as a possible count day.)  This is one of the few events in birding that is purely for fun!  There's no scientific analysis of the data (unless you submit to eBird, of course), and no one is making comparisons of trends from year to year.  The event is supposedly non-competitive, but of course there is some competition among the circles to try to see the most species in the country or in the state.  The New Haven Bird Club, founders of the event, also pick a "Golden Bird" every year after the count, and every circle that recorded that species is entered for a chance to win $500 for a favorite conservation program.

I had been thinking that the Big Sit sounded like fun, and have also been increasingly interested in spending extended periods of time at Cape Havasu to see what may come by (for example, I spent five hours there last week).  With that motivation, I registered Cape Havasu as a circle for the Big Sit, and decided to spend my Saturday on the hill.

When people ask me what my favorite birding location in the LCRV is, I always say Cape Havasu.  It is situated just right at the north end of Lake Havasu, providing views of both the deep, open water on the main body of the lake, and the marshes on the northern end.  A narrow strip of mesquite, willow, and tamarisk runs along the shore, creating a corridor for landbird migrants.  Small stands of marsh vegetation along the water's edge harbor rails and herons.  Most of the surrounding land is desert, with rolling hills and deep washes of creosote and palo verde.  Lake Havasu City is nearby to the south, and Desert Hills to the north.  Also visible to the north is The Refuge, a golf course and country club.  The hill on Cape Havasu is tall enough to provide views of all these habitats, making it possible to see a great diversity of birds!

A Google Map showing Cape Havasu and the surrounding area.  Cape Havasu is the northernmost spit of land jutting into the lake, in the center of the screen.

I should note that this place has many names, and none of them are official.  In eBird it is called "north end viewpoint," which is how birders usually refer to the place.  David and I long called it "Lehman Hill" because it was Paul Lehman who told us about it, although I believe that Mark Stevenson discovered the spot.  Some call it "Pluym Point" for David.  It was Tom Johnson who, this spring, came up with the name Cape Havasu.  I think this is the most appropriate name for this amazing birding spot!

The diversity of birds seen at this spot is amazing, considering it has only been regularly checked for about the past two years.  I've seen nearly 200 species there.  The list of rarities includes Red-throated and Pacific Loons, Neotropic Cormorant, Tricolored Heron (the first for both Mohave and San Bernardino Counties), Red Phalarope, Arizona's second Little Gull, Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaegers, Purple Martin, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Prothonotary Warbler, Virginia's Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Clay-colored Sparrows, Bobolink, and (IMO the most unusual rarity for this location) Cassin's Sparrow.  Photos and details about many of those sightings are here.

All of these factors combine to make this my favorite birding spot in the LCRV, and an ideal location for a Big Sit!

On the morning of Saturday, Oct 13, I arrived at 4:15.  It was still completely dark out.  Immediately as I climbed the hill, I heard the "cree-cree" of Western Grebes, and accompanying begging calls.  As it turns out, apparently, Western Grebes do not sleep.  American Coots called occasionally, and before long I heard a brief call from a Pied-billed Grebe.  I listened intently for Great Horned Owls, but didn't hear a hoot.  I kept my digital recorder handy, and recorded several flight calls of migrating Passerines.  I'm not very good at identifying flight calls, but one Savannah Sparrow flew over, giving its distinctive "chintz" call, and I got a decent recording with a nice spectrogram.  Looking at spectrograms of other calls, I see a few of what I believe are Song Sparrows, and lots of unknowns.

Pre-dawn on the hill.  Photo by John West.

For a brief period before sunrise, local birder and photographer John West joined me in listening for the calls of the birds as they stirred.  Unfortunately he had to head down to the Bill Williams for the day, so he headed off before the sun rose.

John joins me on the hill.

Sunrise

 The birds woke with the sun, and I quickly started tallying new species: Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Great-tailed Grackles, Audubon's Warblers, Abert's Towhees.  Clark's Grebes calling "creeee" among the many Western Grebes.  Thousands of swallows started swarming out of the marshes, mostly Tree and Barn Swallows.  As they streamed past the hill, I picked out single Violet-green and Bank Swallows among them.  Scanning the lake added quickly to the species tally: Eared Grebes, Gadwall, Buffleheads (my first of the season), Ruddy Ducks, a distant Forster's Tern.  Gulls are early risers, and within a few minutes of sunrise I saw Ring-billed, California, a continuing Sabine's Gull, and my first Herring Gull of the season.

I turned my scope on the land as well as the water.  In the nearby community of Desert Hills I could see flocks of Eurasian Collared-Doves as well as Rock Pigeons (the latter a new addition to my Cape Havasu list!) and a few Mourning Doves.  A few American Kestrels were flying around the desert hills and washes, and a Prairie Falcon perched on a distant snag, stretching its wings.  Orange-crowned Warblers and Lincoln's Sparrows began calling from the trees and bushes next to the water.  Four hours went by in a flash, and I already had 55 species.

After several scans, I started thinking about the easier species that I was missing.  Northern Rough-winged Swallow immediately came to mind.  Loggerhead Shrike, Gambel's Quail, Greater Roadrunner, and Say's Phoebe were species that should be easy to see by scanning the desert.  I knew I would have to keep an eye out for migrating raptors: I expected to see Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk (Cooper's was surprisingly easy, with a big female calling from the nearby trees early in the morning), and Red-tailed Hawk.  I hoped for Peregrine Falcon as well.  I was missing Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow, Wilson's Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Crissal Thrasher, all species I hoped to get in the riparian vegetation around me.

At first I focused my attention on scanning the desert hills to come up with those missing species.  A single Greater Roadrunner stood sentinel atop a distant hilltop.  A very, very distant Say's Phoebe flew around, barely identifiable (one would visit the hill later in the day).  I spotted Turkey Vultures roosting in cottonwoods, the local Osprey began terrorizing goldfish in golf course ponds on The Refuge, and I saw a Northern Harrier cruising over the marsh.  Loud call notes brought my attention to the trees below me, and a flock of Gambel's White-crowned Sparrows flew in to the tamarisks--amazingly, they stayed only for about 15 minutes, and I didn't see any others all day.  Twice I thought I heard a calling Wilson's Warbler, but I couldn't hear it clearly enough to count.  Eventually, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher came by, its whining calls standing out among the calls of the resident Black-tailed Gnatcatchers.

I listened carefully for new birds as I continuously scanned the skies and the water for new birds.  Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail were visible only briefly.  A strange call coming from the water below me turned out to be a small group of Horned Grebes, early arrivals to the lake.  A distant small flock of teal flew over the marshes, either Cinnamon or Blue-winged, but I never got identifiable looks at either species.  A Lawrence's Goldfinch passed over the hill, calling its bell-like "dee-dee" as it went.  A single Pine Siskin was a welcome surprise, and an American Robin calling from the nearby willows was unexpected.

Late in the morning, the biggest surprise of the day showed up.  I was checking out warblers in a small flock below the hill, when a yellow one caught my eye--at first I thought it was an Orange-crowned Warbler, but something about it made me do a double-take.  Then it popped up and I saw white wing-bars, and realized it was a Baypoll Warbler!  A better look confirmed that it was a Blackpoll Warbler, a very rare bird in Arizona.  I managed to get it in my scope, and it gave me good looks for about 45 seconds before dropping out of sight.  The really mind-boggling thing about this sighting: it was in exactly the same place where the Blackpoll Warbler was found in the spring of 2011!!  I took my point and shoot camera to the trail below, leaving the circle to try to get photos of the bird.  It never showed up again.  I did see a Black-throated Gray Warbler, which I couldn't refind from the hill, so I wasn't able to count that species for the Big Sit.

As the morning became afternoon, the wind started to pick up.  The sun was shining, but it never got too warm, topping out around the upper 70s.  The wind was chilling, with gusts eventually reaching about 13 mph.  It wasn't so windy that I couldn't bird, but I did have to rescue my chair twice as it started blowing down the hill!

My setup.  I had to set my backpack in my chair when I wasn't using it, or it would blow away in the strong winds!

The wind did make listening a bit more difficult, and abundant boats and jet skis on the water had shooed away most of the water birds, so new species were suddenly much more difficult to come by.  Scanning the hills for quail, I finally spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk.  I kept looking through the swallows flying by, amazed that I hadn't seen a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, but eventually a few came by.  After thirteen hours on the hill, I hit the milestone of 80 species when I clearly heard the Wilson's Warbler call.  I scanned the hills, golf course, towns and streets continuously, looking for Gambel's Quail, one of the most common and widespread species in this area.  As the sun set and the light began fading, I gave up on the quail quest.  John and Lorraine West joined me for a few minutes in watching the orange and red sunset, and the three of us enjoyed the sight of a few Lesser Nighthawks emerging from the dusky sky.

With the light gone, I settled back into my chair to listen once again for Great Horned Owls.  A chorus of "WOK!"s came from the marsh across the lake, Black-crowned Night-Herons emerging to feed.  A few times I heard calling Green Herons, which I had expected to see foraging along the shoreline during the day.  Finally, just before I left for the night, I heard an owl call, but not the one I expected!  It was the screech of a Barn Owl, species #84.

Looking for Great Horned Owls on the hills and snags.  Photo by John West.

Overall it was, I think, a very successful day!  Surprisingly tired from the day's adventure, I returned home, typed up an eBird checklist, and fell asleep.  The list has been submitted to Birdwatchers Digest, and right now Cape Havasu is leading in the rankings.  I hear that will change, though, as soon as a certain other Cape enters their list!  I should note that the night before the Big Sit, I asked some friends to predict how many species would be counted.  Amazingly, Jennifer Willcox guessed 84 species.

The Big Sit was a lot of fun, and a very different birding experience.  I hope to repeat the experience next year, hopefully with fewer scheduling conflicts so that others will be able to join in the fun!

Spring Migration Birding

With temperatures creeping above 100 in the past week, those of us along the river here were happy to hear that a front was coming through, bringing possible rain and highs in the 80s.  Of course, there is always a potential for a front like this to drop migrants and make for good birding.

In general, spring migration has been fairly slow along the Bill Williams River this spring.  I've had most of the expected species (including my FOS Hermit Warbler yesterday), but numbers have been fairly low.  My high count of Wilson's Warbler for a survey, for example, is only 15.  Western Flycatchers have been moving through in small numbers, as well.  With reports of dozens of migrants around Yuma and Blythe, we've been eagerly anticipating some real numbers coming through.  With overcast skies yesterday and anticipation of a temperature drop, there was hope for a good day of birding soon (predicted by radar this morning by Tim Schreckengost).

This morning, David and I met Tom Johnson for a morning of birding on Lake Havasu.  We started at the north end viewpoint (which Tom has renamed Cape Havasu, a name I find very fitting), but the wind was gusting so hard it was difficult to stand on top of the hill, let alone set up a scope!  We estimated the swarms of Tree Swallows (2000) and headed to Rotary Park, hoping it would be more sheltered.  There wasn't much on the beach at the park, but the wind turned to rain so we were able to amble around the park and look at (soggy) migrant Passerines.  It was a good thing we did, as there were plenty of birds to see, including an estimated 60 Wilson's Warblers.

With some signs of movement in Lake Havasu City, we decided to head down to the Bill Williams Delta to look for waterbirds.  The Delta was slow, but we did have some lingering Greater Scaup and the continuing male Surf Scoter.  Before long, the rain stopped, and we felt inspired to continue further south.

After the customary stop at Ruperto's in Parker, we arrived at 'Ahakhav Tribal Preserve.  We checked out the park area, typically the best spot at the preserve for migrants, and were not disappointed.  A good variety of migrants was present, including about 11 Empids and eight species of warblers (about 60 were Wilson's and 15 were Nashville).  As we were walking out of the park I stopped to look at a hummingbird, and immediately called David and Tom to check it out, as I knew from its buffy underparts that it was something good.  At first I thought it was a Broad-tailed Hummingbird, but was not disappointed when I realized it was a Calliope Hummingbird!  A county bird for David and I, which Rosenberg et al. list as rare and irregular in the LCRV.  Naturally, it flew away as soon as I called out "Calliope", and was not cooperative in allowing more good looks.  Eventually, while it was skulking in a big mesquite, David got a look at it sitting next to another small hummingbird--amazingly, it was another Calliope!  We all got looks at both birds, and 'Ahakhav lived up to its reputation as a magnet for rare birds.  Check out the eBird list for our full bird count.

Calliope Hummingbirds (note difference in throat patterns).  Photos by Tom Johnson.

On our way north, we passed by Parker Oasis, and at first were thinking of passing it by.  David decided to stop briefly just to see if there were birds around, and good thing he did!  As soon as we pulled in, we saw dozens of warblers flying between trees.  After 45 minutes picking through warblers and other migrants, we estimated there were 150 Audubon's Warblers and 100 Wilson's Warblers in this small patch of habitat!  Six species of flycatcher and of swallows, nine species of warbler and others.  No rarities, but it was an exhilarating stop with migration in full swing!  Check out the eBird list here.

We then birded our way north along the California side, not running into any more huge numbers but finding decent numbers of migrants at Quail Hollow and good shorebird habitat (but low diversity) at Emerald Cove.

With this weekend's upcoming AZFO Expedition to the Big Sandy Wash and several more weeks of surveying in the Bill Williams ahead of us, I'm excited to see what will happen next!

2011 Big Year Summary!

I guess it was a strange thing to do, trying a Big Year as soon as I moved to a new county.  I was mainly inspired by Tommy D’s awesome Maricopa Big Year-ing, and I figured it would be a great way to get to know my new home county.  It turned out to be a lot of things: not only was it a lot of fun, and got me to explore the far corners of vast Mohave County, but it gave me incentive to get out there and bird as much as possible in 2011.  It turned out very well:  my goal was 300, but I managed to see 310 species in the county this year.  I should mention that David Vander Pluym, often my companion in the field, saw an impressive 307 species.

There were a lot of challenges to this endeavor.  To start with, I had only lived in Lake Havasu City a month before January 1 rolled around.  Of course, there aren’t a lot of local birders, and visits by out-of-area birders are infrequent.  I am very, very thankful for the birds I was able to chase, but it is a handicap that the area just isn’t well-covered.  Finally, there is the topography of the county itself.  Mohave is the 5^th largest county in the U.S., and there is a significant crack down the middle of it.  It was funny to head to Colorado City or Mount Trumbull, and reflect that I had to pass through California, Nevada, and Utah just to get there!  Of course, much of the county is desert, but there are a lot of gems with access to a variety of habitats in the county.  It was very convenient to have Kingman and the Hualapai Mountains only an hour’s drive from home, but places like Alamo Lake, Peach Springs and Wikieup really took a day’s commitment to bird.

Of the many locations I visited in 2011, my favorite spot is the viewpoint at the north end of Lake Havasu.  I got a whopping 68 year birds at this one location.  That high count is partially because I birded there January 1, but the rarities there were pretty amazing.  The best were Little Gull, Blackpoll Warbler, and Bobolink.  Cassin’s Sparrow was an astonishing rarity there as well, but I’ll talk about that later.  Next on the list of most year birds was the Hualapai Mountains, with 39 year birds!  This isn’t surprising, as I saw most of my pinyon/juniper/pine/mixed conifer species there.  Havasu NWR was a big help, with 20 year birds at Pintail Slough, 11 at Beal Lake, and 7 at Bermuda Pasture.  Of course I have to mention the always amazing Bill Williams River NWR—I saw 14 year birds in the Delta, and 22 along the river!

Considering first the birds I did see, the list of rarities is pretty amazing, and it’s interesting to compare the groups I did well in, and the groups I did not (note that all the Review Species below are pending review by the ABC).  Waterfowl were definitely in the former category.  I saw all but eight of the 40 waterfowl species ever seen in Arizona.  All four loons were seen; the Yellow-billed took a lot of luck, as it was only seen once (to my knowledge) on the Mohave side of the Bill Williams Delta.  Tricolored Heron was a second? county record (first for San Bernardino), and Glossy Ibis was a first.  Raptors were an interesting category, as I had some good ones but I missed some that I should have gotten.  Harris’s Hawk was the best.  I couldn’t have asked for better luck with shorebirds, with 18 species on my list!  Highlights were Buff-breasted Sandpiper (sixth record for the state and first for the county) and Stilt Sandpiper (likely first for the county).  Gulls did not disappoint, either.  Little Gull was the second for the state and county, and Glaucous Gull was fourth for the state, first for the county.  Mew and Thayer’s Gulls were great additions as well.  A jaeger slam was very much hoped for, but unexpected!  My flycatcher list seems about average, except for the genus Myiarchus.  I was happy to hear the mournful calls of the county’s first Dusky-capped Flycatcher, but of course that pales in comparison to the Nutting’s Flycatcher!  Tropical Kingbird was another goodie.  Large thrushes were cooperative, including a Rufous-backed Robin (second for the county?) and a Varied Thrush.  I was hoping for one or two longspur species, so three was a great surprise—Lapland is a rarity but McCown’s may have been the county’s first.  I consider warblers to be one of the categories I didn’t do well in, but there were some good highlights.  I ended up with 18 species plus Olive Warbler.  This year saw the first documented Olive Warblers in the county.  A male Blackpoll Warbler was a very nice surprise, the county’s second.  Twenty species of sparrows isn’t bad, including Lark Bunting and Golden-crowned Sparrow.  Rufous-crowned Sparrow proved very difficult.  A lot of effort was put in looking for them, and all I got were a few call notes from a rocky slope!  The best sparrow was Cassin’s.  No previous county records, and David and I had at least seven in one morning near Peach Springs.  It was a great year for them across northern Arizona.  Still, I was not expecting to see one on the shore of Lake Havasu at the north end viewpoint!  As far as I know, this was only the second ever seen in the LCRV.

I didn’t list all the highlights above, but my full county year list is posted here.

Clearly, the birds I did get outweigh the birds I missed.  But any good Big Year comes with its painful misses, so I want to dedicate some space to them.  I consider White-throated Sparrow to be my biggest miss.  I had no idea that one could look through so many White-crowned Sparrows without finding a White-throated!  Bendire’s Thrasher was another that I put quite a bit of effort into with no results, which was particularly odd because I picked up the very difficult LeConte’s Thrasher.  I had hoped for either Yellow-bellied or Red-breasted Sapsucker, but at least I did get Williamson’s.  Eastern warblers are nearly absent from my list.  I eventually picked up Northern Parula and Black-and-white Warbler, but missed American Redstart and Northern Waterthrush (the latter wasn’t seen in Mohave this year at all).  Other birds seen in the county this year but not by me were Brant (I was working), Chukar (two trips to the Virgin Mtns didn’t pay off), Common Black-Hawk (I missed the birds at Beaver Dam, and never went to Mineral Wash), Black Rail, Sandhill Crane, Elf and Long-eared Owls (needed to have done the Bill Williams at night), Downy Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Kinglet (a frustrating miss), Black-capped Chickadee, and Painted Bunting (a great find by David Rankin at Esquerra Ranch).

As I mentioned above, one of the difficult aspects of a Mohave County Big Year is the fact that there are few birders out here.  For this reason, I am especially thankful for those who do bird out here, and the amazing birds that I was able to chase as well as their company out in the field.  So thanks to Jan Richmond (Long-tailed Duck), John West (Red-throated Loon and Red-shouldered Hawk), Paul Lehman and Barbara Carlson (Glossy Ibis), Sonia Kirkendall (Harris’s Hawk), Michael Nicosia and Rich Aracil (Black-bellied Plover), Chris McCreedy (Thayer’s Gull), John Saba and Chris Benesh et al. (Glaucous Gull), DeeDee DeLorenzo (Tropical Kingbird, American Crow), Dan Pittenger and Nathan Marcy (Olive Warbler), David Rankin (Bobolink) and of course David Vander Pluym.

There were some amazing moments this year.  Every new county bird was exciting, but some moments stand out.  I’ve already mentioned the Cassin’s Sparrows.  When a Bobolink flew overhead at the north end viewpoint, David Rankin and I thought it would be a bird that got away.  But when we pulled in at Rotary Park, several miles away, one of the first birds David spotted was the Bobolink foraging on the golf course!  I’ve only seen five birds in Mohave County that I didn’t see in 2011 (Western Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Downy Woodpecker, Clark’s Nutcracker, and Dickcissel), so many of the 2011 birds were county birds.  A good number were even state birds, and one (Nutting’s Flycatcher) was an ABA bird.  But only two were life birds.  The Little Gull was one, and it was incredible to see one foraging over the familiar north end of Lake Havasu.  The other was totally unexpected, spotted when I stopped to scan a small field on a whim: the Buff-breasted Sandpiper.  My goal for the year was 300, so when I saw a flock of Wild Turkeys in the road for #300, I was very pleased.  My last two birds of the year were two of the best moments of the year.  The Nutting’s Flycatcher was exciting far beyond the scope of a county big year, but imagine my glee when I checked a coordinate I got with my GPS against the official county map to see that I had indeed seen the bird ONE TREE on the Mohave side of the county line!  That was 309, and after adding that bird, I really had no desire to add something like White-throated Sparrow or Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as my last bird of the year.  I was content with 309, and considered my Big Year more or less over as of December 22.  I worked all day Dec 23, and was leaving for California before dawn on the 24^th.  A wrench was thrown into that plan when the Glaucous Gull was refound while I was at work on the 23^rd.  It was too dark to bird by the time I left that day, so plans were changed to try for it the morning of the 24^th.  We didn’t have much time, though, since we had a long drive ahead, and the Glaucous is now notorious for being a very tough bird.  To my great relief and amazement, it took less than half an hour to find it on the 24^th, and we even had time to watch it battle with a Herring Gull over a dead coot, and to show it to Tom Linda and Terry Blows.  I left for California on the 24^th at 9 a.m., fully satisfied with my Big Year.

The past year was big for Arizona county big years.  Tommy DeBardeleben covered Maricopa, Shaun Putz birded Coconino, Doug Jenness did Pinal, and Mark Stevenson covered Pima.  The county big year is about discovery more than chasing.  It requires that birders visit areas seldom covered, and every one adds to our knowledge of birds in the state.  For anyone willing to put in some time, money, and miles on their car, a county big year is a very rewarding experience!

Long-tailed? Jaeger

We've been scouring the lake lately for jaegers - those wonderful winged pirates - given all the reports coming from the inland southwest.  We were rewarded a few days ago with a flyby Parasitic that hasn't shown itself since.  What we have seen a few times is a faraway dark jaeger in flight, disappearing into the haze over California waters.  Today, arriving at my favorite lighthouse on Pittsburgh Point, I spotted a jaeger almost immediately - quite possibly that dark-looking bird that has been so distant before.  It stayed on the water a long time and I was able to digiscope some very bad photos of it.

I initially identified the bird as a Long-tailed based on proportions and shape.  This photo shows the shape best.

It looks evenly proportioned - no shrunken head look - and overall slender and delicate.  The apparent size of the bill varies among all the photos.  In the field, it looked very slim.  After noting the shape and making a tentative ID, the bird swiveled in the water and I was able to see the striking black-and-white barred undertail coverts (not shown well in this photo).  Soon after, it dunked its head underwater, slightly spreading its wings and exposing its full spread tail.  The central rects were very conspicuous, much longer than the surrounding feathers.  They looked full and rounded, quite a contrast with the quick view I had of the recent Parasitic Jaeger.  (Juvenile Parasitic Jaegers have central rects slightly longer than the others, and distinctly pointed - a feature that was easy to see even at a distance on the recent Havasu bird.)  The combination of the pattern on the undertail coverts and the shape of the central rects led me to conclude that this bird was a Long-tailed Jaeger.

 

These photos show how much the apparent bill size changes from photo to photo!  What is more clear is the pattern of the undertail coverts - barred black and white.  The bird faced away from me many times and I was able to note that this pattern passed across the entire undertail, unbroken.

The apparent color of the bird changes dramatically in the photos depending on the settings I was using, as well as the cloud cover, which varied during my stay there.  In flight, the bird looked very much like this - dark overall.  Even in this photo, where the bird looks much darker than it looked in the field, the black-and-white undertail coverts are visible (though it doesn't show up well on the smaller blog version).

I saw the bird in flight only twice, and never well.  When it finally left the area, it spent most of its flight flying directly away from me.  As I said above, it looked rather dark overall in flight.  One thing I noticed - which had me scratching my head - was the pattern on the upper surface of the primaries.  A Long-tailed Jaeger should show only 2 primaries with white shafts, but this bird seemed to have 5 or 6.  In active flight, I could only see one or two pale primary shafts - it was when it spread its wings completely before landing, or when it lifted its wings as it sat on the water, that it seemed to have so many pale primary shafts.  This isn't considered a good field mark, as it is subject to a lot of variables in the field that affect the apparent number of pale shafts, but it did make me scratch my head - could it be a Parasitic?

There are a few other features of this bird that don't sit right for Long-tailed.  It looks a little brown overall (in the photos as well as in the field), and the bill looks a little big in several of the photos.  In the field, I tried to judge the percent of the bill that was black (the size of the nail), and judged it to be a little less than half.  The photos seem consistent with this.  This photo shows it best:

Despite these points, I think that the pattern of the undertail coverts, the shape of the tail, and the overall shape all point to Long-tailed Jaeger.  I would love to hear opinions from others on this confusing bird.  In the mean time, David and I will certainly be out there tomorrow trying to get better looks and better photos!

Migration and Big Year Update, spring storms

Blogging has been put on the back-burner in the past few weeks, due to increased demands from birding, work, and my immune system.  I'm starting to get back into the swing of things, though, so here is an update about avian goings-on around here!

Life became exciting on March 30, when a scan from the north end of Lake Havasu produced a push of waterbird migrants!  Among the birds moving by were a flock of 45 Bonaparte's Gulls, 35 Long-billed Curlews, 3 American Avocets, and 45 Red-breasted Mergansers.  Another flock of 44 Bonaparte's Gulls was at Rotary Park that day.  This was a great count, given that Bonaparte's Gull is considered rare in the LCRV!  The next day, we went back to the north end and observed moving north: 6000 Tree Swallows, 23 California Gulls, 10 Bonaparte's Gulls, a Marbled Godwit, and a smattering of waterfowl.

Marbled Godwit

Since then, the waterbirds have been shuffling about and moving through.  Scaup, Redhead and Red-breasted Mergansers have been on their way out, while Bufflehead have also gradually decreased.  The Black Scoters and Long-tailed Duck consistently seen at Bill Williams Delta seem to have taken their leave.  Today, 83 Marbled Godwits graced the beach at Rotary Park.  Caspian Terns are moving through as well.

Songbirds have been late to arrive.  Typically, the LCRV leads the rest of Arizona in spring arrivals.  This year, however, we have lagged well behind.  The sudden arrival of White-winged Doves around April 3-4 was a welcome change (remember the early loner that showed up at Rotary Park in late February?).  Male Lucy's Warblers are singing up a storm, but Wilson's Warbler migration is still just a trickle, and no Yellow Warblers or Yellow-breasted Chats have been reported yet.  A few Bullock's Orioles have arrived and started singing, and a Western Kingbird in Needles today was my FOS.  Meanwhile, the resident birds - Anna's Hummingbirds, Great-tailed Grackles, Abert's Towhees, Black-tailed Gnatcatchers - have already begun nesting.

Just passin' through - Wilson's Warbler

The Big Year stands at 181.  Since my last update, my 16 new species have all, save two, been migrants.  Most were listed above.  Most were expected or overdue, although a few, such as American Goldfinch and Cattle Egret, are less common in the area.  For those who are wondering, #166 was Virginia Rail, heard on a solo night hike around Pintail Slough.  And the newest addition, seen today, at long last, was my big year nemesis, Common Moorhen!  After a thorough scope of Beal Lake searching every visible cranny for this recently-elusive Rallid, I decided to double-check one nice-looking patch of marsh...and there it was, swimming across the open water as fast as its lobed toes would take it!

I would be remiss not to mention the storms going through town the past few days.  Last week, temperatures broke 100, and I was preparing to live in a furnace until October.  Relief came swiftly, with highs below 70 (!) and rain falling Thursday, Friday, and today (Saturday).  I-40 was closed today due to snow at higher elevations, and trucks piled into the gas stations at Highway 95.  As we were leaving Beal Lake, great big gloppy raindrops began to splatter on my windshield, and before long it was pouring, with freezing rain, and lightning striking around us.  As we were driving, paralleling Topock Marsh, I noticed a plume of black smoke.  Getting closer, we could see it was a fire in the marsh - presumably caused by lightning - with tall flames licking the damp sky, pouring out a stream of cattails reduced to ash.  It was a memorable sight to see, a completely natural process at work.  In the short term, habitat was burning up, undoubtedly taking some wildlife with it.  In the long term, though, fires open up the marsh, recharge the soil, and keep the marsh healthy and functional.

Topock Marsh fire

Snowing in the Hualapais

The north end of Lake Havasu after a storm