In The Gila: Speaking of County Birds

Gila County often sits among others as one of Arizona's fifteen counties.  Despite long waits for attention, it is a diverse county in habitats, elevation, and it has awesome birding potential.  Out of those fifteen counties, it is one of the most under-covered by Arizona birders.  It has plenty of birds that can be found to fill wide gaps.  Those birds include a selection of state-wide rarities, as well as some local birds who aren't as rare statewide but do have potential to show up in Gila County in limited numbers.  There's also those birds that have been recorded once or twice in the county.  These birds are hard to discern with as far is their status and distribution are concerned within Gila.  Whatever the case, this place called Gila County has plenty of birds that still need to be found inside of it's limits, unknown status and distributions voids to discern for certain species, and just as important as birds, remote locations that need to be birded that are rarely birded or perhaps haven't been birded in at all.  What I've described here is a huge reason I love to bird Gila County as much as I do.  And I want to continue to find or see such birds and bird remote locations to help fill some of the birding holes in this mysterious region.

2017 was the year where I really got into Gila County and started covering it.  2018 would triumph 2017 for me as I spent late summer, all of fall, and early winter birding and exploring the region.  In 2018, I didn't bird in the area until late May.  I missed most of winter and spring.  Earlier into this year of 2019, I wanted to cover the months of January through March fairly well, unlike what the previous year was like.  While I haven't explored it as much as I've wanted to this year, a few recent trips have been key and have quickly topped my early efforts from last year.

Caleb Strand and I teamed up for two hardcore days of birding in Gila County on this recent March 21st and March 27th.  As Caleb and I both like to take long birding days, these two days wouldn't lack any sort of effort.  We hoped to bird locations extensively to increase Caleb's Gila County list, to possibly increase my Gila County list, and we hoped to find birds that have those mysterious statuses.  And before the trips were said and done, we would have some awesome examples of birds that have been unaccountable to my Gila journeys so far.

On March 21st, Caleb and I left Phoenix early and headed out east to spend the day birding within the San Carlos Indian Reservation.  We got out there rather early, and headed for Tufa Stone Tank as our first stop of the day.  Last year, Tufa Stone Tank was my favorite place to bird in Gila County.  It turned out to be a mecca of a birding location.  On a not as good of note, I didn't bird the Tank since a brief stop in early November.  Life got in the way, and if I would've been able to cover it more, who knows what could've been found there over the winter.  If driving into the tank, there is some rather desolate and flat desert that is dominated by creosote bushes.  In ways, it has always reminded me of a location where I could possibly land Sagebrush Sparrow.  I asked Caleb what he thought and he said he thought it could happen but wished the habitat was more expansive.  After speaking of Sagebrush Sparrows, we found ourselves getting out of Caleb's vehicle to start birding Tufa Stone Tank.  The songs and calls of birds were everywhere.  Looking out into the tank, it was evident that the water in the tank has evaporated significantly since last year.  It didn't stop a variety of ducks and some shorebirds from using the much smaller pool.  Caleb spotted a Lark Bunting flying around in the desert, and we were surprised to hear the drawn out tunes of Cassin's Sparrows.

Caleb and I had to split ways briefly for a few minutes to make important phone calls, but from where we were both standing, we heard a few call notes from a sparrow that sounded awesome.  "Hey Tommy!", Caleb said, "I think that's a Sagebrush Sparrow calling!".  I thought it sounded good for Sagebrush Sparrow too.  Prior to our trip, Sagebrush Sparrow had only been recorded once on eBird in all of Gila County.  I've looked for it in a few places where I've thought it could be present without luck.  Caleb and I had just discussed Sagebrush Sparrows minutes earlier.  As I started to make my way towards Caleb, he was already investigating the sounds.  Like a tune you want to hear start playing on a radio, Caleb's next words were no different, "Tommy, Sagebrush Sparrow!  I've got it!".  I ran across the desert and up to Caleb's spot on top of Tufa Stone Dam, and in some thick brush below him was my next Gila County life bird.  We didn't think a Sagebrush Sparrow would show up at Tufa Stone Tank, and the bird gave both of us great looks as it foraged in front of us for a few minutes.  A light colored malar and thick back streaking eliminated the similar Bell's Sparrow immediately.  I'm glad Caleb was there to track down the calls and confirm the original suspicion.  Wow, speaking of Sagebrush Sparrow...

The sparrow was a great start to the day, and we continued to navigate around the Tank.  It didn't take long for Caleb to love the place and see the awesome potential that it holds.  Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, and a pair of Mexican Mallards were on the limited water.  Violet-green Swallow flocks flew overhead along with some Tree Swallows.  A few Lawrence's Goldfinches joined the fly-overs and broadcast-ed their flyovers to us with their distinctive call notes.  After walking down a path, we came to a heavily-wooded section of mesquite woodland.  There were big flocks of White-crowned Sparrows near the woodland, and as well as a drainage in the area.  Looking in the wooded area, I said, "This would be a good location for Long-eared Owl".  As we walked down the drainage for a short distance, we ended up going back along the thick mesquite woodland.  We stood along the edge listening for activity, when an owl suddenly sprung up near us, flew further into the thick before landing for a split-second, and then flying out of sight.  It struck me as a Long-eared Owl as I saw an orange-ish facial disk, although my look was brief.  If we could confirm it as a Long-eared Owl, it would be another quick Gila County lifer in the early stages of the day.  Caleb and I quickly pursued the owl in the woodland, and as we walked through the thick, we caught several glimpses of either one or two or three owls flying around.  "It flies and glides like a Long-eared Owl", Caleb said.  Despite seeing action, we could only be sure of one bird.  As Caleb and I stood and waited for a brief second, an owl flew in and landed close to us, and it was very obstructed by thick branches.  The branches weren't thick enough to prevent an accurate identification on the bird though, and looking through my binoculars, I could see that it was indeed a Long-eared Owl!  The bird stayed for a minute, allowing us to get some documentation photographs before it vanished further into the woodland.  Wow, speaking of Long-eared Owl...

We had over 60 species at Tufa Stone Tank, and Caleb was impressed with the location on his first visit.  Caleb and I then spent the rest of the 21st covering Talkalai Lake, San Carlos Lake, and a stretch of desert to search unsuccessfully for Bendire's Thrasher.  As I've said in the past, Talkalai Lake is Gila's mini version of Patagonia Lake, San Carlos Lake is a challenging goldmine of aquatic bird abundance, and well, I haven't said much about Gila County Bendire's Thrashers because they are a mysterious county species.  It was a solid day of birding overall, with the two Gila County life birds being the biggest highlight for me.  Caleb's list went from 198 to 212.

We built a lifelike sculpture of Caleb "The Boy" Strand.  It can be found at Talkalai Lake.

Because I enjoy birding Gila County as much as I do, I subscribe to hourly need alerts via eBird.  As I mentioned earlier, Gila County isn't birded all that often by others.  When a report was delivered to my email from eBird, it said, Gila County Needs Alert (Hourly), with Bendire's Thrasher being that bird that I could get as new.  A birder had reported a total of six Bendire's Thrashers up on a place called Peridot Mesa, which is just above the main town of San Carlos, and very close to Tufa Stone Tank, still on the San Carlos Reservation.  The report seemed to be good, and I quickly made plans inside my head that March 27th, my next day off, would be the day that I would search for these Bendire's Thrashers.  It didn't take long for Caleb to team up with me in my plans, and he would be in my search party with me for the day.

When March 27th came around, Caleb and I left Phoenix at 4 A.M. to get to San Carlos early.  Tufa Stone Tank became our first stop of the day before we would go up to Peridot Mesa.  At Tufa Stone Tank, bird numbers were produced in good numbers and we tallied close to 60 different species, again.  We had killer looks at a Bell's Vireo for the main highlight.  Other than the hearing the songs of Cassin's Sparrows, we didn't have anything at Tufa that was close to unusual.  But I told Caleb, "Any visit to Tufa Stone Tank is good, because it needs its data baby!".  We did get Tufa's first Black-chinned Hummingbird, which was the 155th species for the location.  Tufa Stone Tank is now a top 10 eBird hotspot in Gila County, gosh, I would love to see it as the number one hotspot for most birds recorded someday in Gila.  Folks, please pay Tufa Stone Tank a visit ;)

Vermilion Flycatcher, Tufa Stone Tank

Bell's Vireo, Tufa Stone Tank

Our main stop of the day, Peridot Mesa, was next.  I was anxious to get to the place and once we drove up to the level of the mesa, I was impressed.  The entire Peridot Mesa was entirely green and had tall green weedy stuff, scattered mesquites, wildflowers, and impressive views of the San Carlos valley below.  Places on the mesa had more desert-like looking habitat as opposed to the grassy weeds throughout the mesa that resembled more of a grassland.  Western Meadowlarks were singing everywhere, Kestrels hunted, and several Lark Buntings added fun.  We listened and looked for Bendire's Thrashers without luck, and the numbers that were reported to eBird seemed to be matched by the smaller Sage Thrasher.  I wondered if the report was a mistake of.......never mind.

Sage Thrasher, Peridot Mesa

American Kestrel, Peridot Mesa

Peridot Mesa

Peridot Mesa

Lark Bunting, Peridot Mesa

Caleb pointed out that the "grassy" stuff on the mesa wouldn't likely attract typical grassland species (outside of migration possibilities) like Sprague's Pipit, different longspurs, etc.  After more thought, Caleb added, "It would be a good place for a White-tailed Kite to show up".  I replied back, "winter would be a good time to check for a Kite".  In the next ten minutes, Caleb noticed a tank via satellite maps, called Telephone Tank, and we worked our way over to it.  We scared a herd of horses out of the tank, as well as large numbers of sparrows.  At this point, we looked over the edge of the Mesa and had good views of the town of San Carlos below us.   As I was scanning sparrows for awhile, Caleb simply said, "Hey, a White-tailed Kite".  I was freaking shocked, and Caleb pointed out the bird he just announced after he took a few photos.  A White-tailed Kite flew over the location we were standing at, continued northwest of us, soared for a few minutes before being harassed by Common Ravens, and continued on and out of sight.  A telephone pole line going center down the mesa was a perch that we hoped would be a landing spot for the Kite.  I gave Caleb multiple fist-pumps and high fives, because I knew that this bird was one that is a first known record for Gila County.  The Boy is clutch everyone!  We knew without saying but still said, "Everything else is icing on the cake now, and this bird is way better than a Bendire's Thrasher".  Wow, speaking of White-tailed Kite...

To conclude the second half of the birding day, we went up to Roosevelt Lake.  I've talked about Roosevelt Lake a lot on my Gila County stories, it's a fantastic place to bird.  Caleb and I scanned several spots on the lake.  American White Pelicans were present in large numbers of about 450 from Schoolhouse Point.  Also from Schoolhouse Point, we got to see Western and Clark's Grebes up extremely close.  Our visit got extended by about 30-40 minutes so we could enjoy these grebes up close from the boat dock.  They put on a show, and although they are abundant on the lake, they are awesome.

There were a lot of Clark's Grebes, but this was the only one who came in close.

These Western Grebes are getting serious about each other, time to take it elsewhere

They even got interrupted by a jealous bird who thought he was the "Best Western"

His efforts didn't pay off.  The two still danced off, not to be interrupted 

I wish they were closer when they danced on water, but this is still great to capture

I'm addicted to Gila County, and I plan to bird it more and more to give last year's efforts a good follow-up.  Recently, a Harris's Sparrow was reported in Gila County at the northern base of the Pinal Mountains.  Caleb, Jared, and I tried for it briefly on a recent trip to Graham County without luck.  As I read my needs alert the last few days, the sparrow had been relocated by Dave Pearson and company.  I hope to chase that in this upcoming week, because it would be a really fun bird to get in Gila County.  Thanks Caleb for birding with me on these trips, and for finding Sagebrush Sparrow and Gila's first White-tailed Kite.  Boy, you are great!

Caleb and I also mentioned that Talkalai Lake would be good for American Bittern, San Carlos Lake would be good for a rare dabbling duck like a Garganey, Tufa Stone Tank would be good for a rare Asian shorebird or waterbird like Roseate Spoonbill, and Roosevelt Lake would be good for Red-necked Grebe.  Speaking of those birds, I hope to find some of them in Gila County in these upcoming years... 

To Witness A Road Conquered

2016 was a year that I really grew a lot as a person, and the reason for that was because I wanted to see and photograph all nineteen owl species that breed in the United States and Canada.  Before that year began, my mind never crossed paths with that specific possibility of even having a remote chance of occurring.  A trip to Minnesota sparked the idea due to the fact that I landed four new owl lifers on that trip.  The owls seen were ones that were at the top of my list for birds I wanted to see in North America, and to finally see them after wanting them for years was spell binding.  My goal of doing an Owl Big Year was born after that spark.  I took my own journey, and although it lasted until August, it had more depth to it than an eight month time span.  Completing Tommy's Owl Big Year (TOBY) wasn't just about owls, but it was about the adventure, which was a long road with construction, traffic, twists, turns, and perfect pavement along the way.  At the end of it, I was thrilled as I came face-to-face with Boreal Owls in a Washington spruce-fir forest.  As I traveled to the end of that road, I challenged myself and did many things I had never done in my life or never thought I would do in my life.  Birding takes us places, there's no doubt about that.

My great buddy, Josh Wallestad, was the biggest one to thank for completing my Owl Big Year in 2016.  We've seen many owls together throughout the years, starting in 2016 when Josh came to Arizona for a birding trip.  During this time, Josh has become just as passionate about owls as I've been.  There's no need to explain that, owls are simply the best bird family.  While Josh hasn't attempted an owl big year for all nineteen species, his road to see the United States owls has been just as extreme and long.  His owl list grew pretty fast over the years until some of the tougher owls came into play.  Ironically, Josh's Whiskered Screech-Owl, his 16th owl came in 2016.  His Flammulated Owl came in 2017 as his 17th owl.  Boreal Owl, his favorite owl, came as his 18th owl in 2018.  What was saved for last was the rarest owl in the United States.  Could Josh land his 19th owl in 2019?  While Josh missed this particular owl, the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl to be specific, in 2018, we were hoping that we would land it in 2019.

Josh enlisted my help as he and buddy Steve Gardner came down from Minnesota last year for a trip that was in a primary pursuit of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.  After detailed plans were made to focus on the owl for most of the trip, the itinerary went sideways at the hands of southeastern Arizona specialties and ABA rarities in Fan-tailed Warbler and Slate-throated Redstart.  The owl had become tough in the places where I had had success in previous outings.  Recently in Arizona, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls have surfaced in more under-birded areas in quite amazing numbers.  Tim Helentjaris has set out on many missions, and one of his finds happened to be Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls in an area somewhere in southern Arizona.  This has given dozens of Arizona birders that chance to lock up "FEPO" as a life, state, or ABA bird.  As Josh was planning on getting the small owl in Texas's well-known King Ranch, that plan of his went sideways again when I told him of the bird's Arizona resurrection.  For his annual vacation in February to Arizona, Josh and I usually bird together and go after species that he needs for his life list.  FEPO took the reigns for this trip, and after some planning, it became our primary target.

A lot of research was done by Josh before the start of the trip.  We added great buddies in Gordon Karre and Caleb "The Boy" Strand to join forces with us for the search.  When I presented the idea of the trip to Caleb, he gladly committed to the pursuit.  At the realization of Caleb joining, I knew that I could relax.  Caleb would be the leader for the expedition.  With finding Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, I haven't seen anybody better at it than Caleb.  To be completely honest, I didn't do any research before we picked up Josh on an early February morning.  Josh had everything researched thanks to a conversation he had with Tim, and because we had Caleb, The Boy and FEPO master, I was on cruise control.  Josh, Gordon, Caleb and I all headed over to a mountain range in southern Arizona to execute our search, and it was quite the drive.  Good news did hit as two of Caleb's birding friends were camped out in the area and had heard and seen an owl the night before.  As Josh had several spots glued into his GPS already, we opted to go with a sighting that had been recent and twelve hours prior to our trip.  The trip down was fun, and as we took dirt roads for a long distance off of the main highway to get into remote FEPO country, I wondered for Josh if this was the time for him to get his final 19th owl.

The desert valley we entered was a scenic one, and was surrounded by tall slopes and cliffs.  Tunes of Rufous-winged Sparrows filled the picture alongside a cast of common desert birds.  We met up with Caleb's friends Matt and Nick, and they led us in the direction where they had heard and seen the owl.  The walk in the FEPO's direction was quite simple, we would walk down a dirt road and listen for the bird, and the walk was no more than a half mile.  We would stop and listen quite often between intervals of walking, with the first few stops resulting in desert song birds.  For Josh, every step would possibly bring him closer to the end of his journey.  About twenty minutes into our search, a series of rather high-pitched notes confirmed the presence of a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.  It was close to us, and was sticking close to a wash that paralleled the road that we were walking on.  After some walking towards the bird slowly, Caleb and I spied the bird in flight as it flew to a different perch nearby.  Once landing, the owl continued to sound off.  We reached a point where we got on the bird, and everyone had good views.  For a pumped up Josh Wallestad, there was his 19th North American Owl right in front of him.  He had reached the end of his road and conquered his biggest birding goal, and I was grateful to be alongside as a part of it.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is an awesome owl.  Not only was I happy for Josh, but I was pumped up to see the bird for myself too.  Gordon had seen the bird in Mexico, which this bird was his ABA/AZ lifer.  At times, the bird had it's back turned to us and we had great looks at it's rusty tail which gives the bird it's accurate name.  We watched the bird for about an hour from a respectable distance and at times, even had views of it through a scope.  Thanks to Matt and Nick, they gave our group of four a good FEPO to go after and give Josh his holy grail.  We left the FEPO area on a good note with a few more scope views of the bird after it eventually dropped down into a more distant wash.

Plans continued to be fun as we headed straight for Madera Canyon following the time in FEPO country.  With Josh's most wanted bird in North America now out of the way, it was time to see a few other cool birds, such as that White-throated Thrush.  The four of us entered Madera Canyon, and started to look for the thrush.  After getting interrupted by birders looking at a day-roosting Whiskered Screech-Owl, we had Caleb run up to us to state that the White-throated Thrush had been located.  It didn't take us long to see it for ourselves.  The Thrush put on a show for us while foraging on the ground as we walked up and eventually sitting up in junipers for most of the observation.  As contentment set in for the Thrush, we walked back to the parking lot to continue further south into Madera Canyon.  It was there were we got to meet Linda Grant  and her husband and I got to talk about her discovery with her in person after talking with her over email for that recent blog post I wrote.  An epic serendipity.

More serendipity struck as Caleb, Gordon, Josh, and I had killer looks at the Elegant Trogon in Madera.  Josh had only seen this bird once, and for most of the original observation back in 2015, the Trogon had it's back to us.  In 2019, this Trogon made sure to give his all!

Josh, Yours Truly, Caleb enjoying the Trogon.  Photo by Gordon Karre

A stop in Green Valley gave us a flock of Lawrence's Goldfinches, another lifer for Josh.  We concluded our day there and extended the fun with dinner at the Wallestad's house.  Thanks to Caleb for driving us all to the FEPO spot.

Our FEPO team.  Gordon, Caleb, Josh, Me

The following day, Josh, Josh's dad Rick, Gordon, and I went birding at the well-known Thrasher spot in Maricopa County.  In all of Josh's trips to Arizona, he had put off Thrashers and Sage Sparrows for the longest time.  We've always joked with each other on how long it's taken Josh to drive towards this particular road.  The Thrasher spot proved to be productive, as Gordon and I guided Josh into getting lifers of Le Conte's and Bendire's Thrashers, and both Sage Sparrows in Bell's and Sagebrush.  It had been over a year since I had been to this spot, and I enjoyed it.

Sagebrush Sparrow

Bell's Sparrow

Gordon, Rick, and Josh enjoying a Le Conte's Thrasher

Gordon and I also helped Josh lifer on Crissal Thrasher further down the road, as well as a few Common Ground-Doves.  Josh even spied a Maricopa County rarity in a Crested Caracara that was flying through the extensive fields in the area.  For those reading and looking for a birding guide in Phoenix, Gordon gives tours and he is awesome at it!

Josh lifered ten times on his trip total, but none mattered more than the epic Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.  The journey Josh went on to see all nineteen owl species for himself was epic, and to actually see him complete it was great.  The road had been conquered.  Congratulations Josh!  The only two Owls Josh and I haven't seen together out of the nineteen are Northern Saw-whet and Short-eared Owls.

Josh's write up on the FEPO adventure on his blog at the link here:

http://www.aboywhocriedheron.com/2019/02/27/joining-the-19-owl-club/

This is a picture of Josh only seconds after his first ever glance at his 19th owl, the FEPO!  You can see Josh's intensity in this photo.

Birding takes us places, there's no doubt about that.  Makes us tired too, but it's worth it..