| species | date | number | region | county | location | observer | context | details |
| Long-eared Owl | 7/13/2010 | 1 | White Mountains | Greenlee | KP Cienega Campground | Molly Pollock | Species seldom reported during the nesting season in AZ.
| Heard calling in the night. |
| Red Crossbill | 7/12/2010 | 12 | White Mountains | Navajo | Heber | Elaine and Bob Hough | The flock visiting feeders contained juveniles, which appears indicative of breeding in the area. | |
| Tree Swallow | 7/10/2010 | 2 | Southeast | Pinal | Willow Springs Rd. | Doug Jenness | Casual to rare migrant in first part of July | Both birds adults. Good lighting and could easily see greenish back and bright white front. No white cheeks or white sides of rump, which are distinctive for Violet-green Swallow. Location was Patterson cattle tank along Willow Springs Rd. about 4 miles from Hwy 77 northeast of Oracle Junction. |
| Lincoln's Sparrow | 7/3/2010 | 1 | White Mountains | Greenlee | Hannagan Meadow area, along upper Fish Creek | Lin Piest | Not reported as even a possible breeder in Greenlee Co. during Atlas | Singing male detected in lush herbacious vegetation along Fish Cr. just west of Hannagan Meadow at approximately 8800 ft elev. |
| Clark's Nutcracker | 6/30/2010 | 3 | White Mountains | Navajo | Heber | Elaine and Bob Hough | Casual to rare in southern Navajo County. There are old records from Show Low (Phillips et al. 1964) and the Atlas found birds further west along the Mogollon Rim in southern Coconino County. They are common to the east in the upper elevations of the White Mountains. While no irruption events were noted in northern Arizona at the time or in the previous months, perhaps these birds were refugees from the Schultz Fire that was burning through high elevation habitat on the San Francisco Peaks at that time (the other main breeding population in Arizona besides the White Mountains). | The three birds were flocking together (appeared to be a family group) and briefly perched at the top of a ponderosa pine. |
| American Three-toed Woodpecker | 6/26/2010 | 1 | White Mountains | Navajo | Los Burros Trail east of Pinetop-Lakeside | George and Ellen West | Rare and irruptive visitor to southern Navajo County. Recent sightings near and within the Rodeo-Chediski burn area between Heber and Pinetop suggest possible breeding in the county, which was not detected during the Atlas. | We hiked a portion of the Los Burros Trail from NF Road 224 to the Reservation Flats
camping area. On our return, we passed through a stand of large, mature, but dying
aspen trees only 1/4 mile west of the camping area. We saw a woodpecker fly above us
and land on an aspen where it started a slow hammer. The bird was a female Three-toed
Woodpecker easily observed as it moved up the aspen, then moved to a large pine
and worked its way up the tree before moving on. We had five minutes to check the
bird with bars across the lower back stripe, barring on the flanks, continuous white line
over the eye to back of the face. There was no yellow, but the crown was white speckled
with black. |
| Ruddy Ground-Dove | 6/25/2010 | 1 | Southeast | Cochise | San Pedro R., s. of Kingfisher Pond | Scott Blackman | Casual to rare summer visitor to s. AZ | |
| Canada Goose | 6/24/2010 | 130 | White Mountains | Apache | Luna Lake | Stuart Healy | While a common introduced breeder at bodies of water in the White Mountains, this high concentration is notable. | |
| Blue-throated Hummingbird | 6/23/2010 | 1 | Southeast | Graham | Pinaleno Mountains, Ash Creek | Scott Blackman | Likely a locally rare, but seldom reported species in this mountain range | |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 6/22/2010 | 1 | South Central | Maricopa | Glendale Recharge Ponds | Melanie Herring | According to "Birds of Phx and Maricopa Co" Witzeman et al there are not a lot of sightings of this species in June according to the bar graph. | Pretty distinct shorebird with long yellow legs. Scope views were excellent making it easy to id. |
| Canada Goose | 6/21/2010 | 7 | White Mountains | Apache | Williams Creek National Fish Hatchery, south of McNary | Eric, Elaine, and Bob Hough | Five juveniles with two adults indicated recent breeding at this location, which lies within the White Mountain Apache tribal lands where Atlas surveys could not be conducted. Most of Arizona's introduced breeding populations of this species occur in above the Mogollon Rim in the White Mountains though. | The five juveniles were fairly young and had not attained full adult plumage or size yet. |
| Least Tern | 6/21/2010 | 1 | South Central | Maricopa | Agua Fria River Bottom | Melanie Herring | This Least Tern appears to be summering here. | Small tern in breeding plumage with yellow bill, white triangle forhead, and black cap. Not banded.
One Least tern has been consistently seen in this area since 5/15/10 when Kurt and Gary reported one. It is possible that this is one of the adults that nested in this area last year. This individual spends most of its time at Agua Fria and on occassion I find it circling/fishing at Glendale Recharge ponds. Tonight, it was sitting on a sandbar. Wtih the sun to my back, the scope views could easily pick up the key features of this little tern. |
| Northern Parula | 6/21/2010 | 1 | Southwest | Cochise | Miller Canyon, Beatty's Guest Ranch | Kay Stafford | Rare to uncommon in the area | Perfectly clear, warm day, light breeze. Bird calling regularly and moving quickly and constantly around in Sycamore and Pine trees near the stream and hummingbird feeders at the CAS. Fairly high in a pine at the time of the photos.
Grey/blue bird with yellow throat and yellow chest. Rusty breast band with slate/black band at top. White eye crescents above and below. Two white wing bars noted. |
| Yellow-breasted Chat | 6/21/2010 | 1 | White Mountains | Navajo | Porter Creek below Scott Reservoir Dam, Pinetop-Lakeside | Eric, Elaine, and Bob Hough | Rare and local probable breeder in southern Navajo County. During the Atlas, the only probable breeding detections were along East Clear Creek and Chevelon Creek. | One bird was vocalizing within the dense willow thickets below the dam. |
| Yellow-breasted Chat | 6/20/2010 | 1 | White Mountains | Navajo | Pulp Mill Rd. (Clay Springs Rd.) at Cottonwood Wash | Eric and Elaine Hough | Rare and local probable breeder in southern Navajo County. The species was only detected during the Atlas as possibly breeding along East Clear Creek and Chevelon Creek. There is at least one old record for Keams Canyon as well (Phillips et al. 1964). | One bird was vocalizing from New Mexico olive thickets in Cottonwood Wash and was counted during the Clay Springs Breeding Bird Survey route. |
| Barn Owl | 6/20/2010 | 1 | White Mountains | Navajo | Pulp Mill Rd. (Clay Springs Rd.) at Cottonwood Wash | Eric and Elaine Hough | Rare resident in region; breeding was not confirmed in Navajo County during the Atlas. | The bird was observed during the Clay Springs Breeding Bird Survey route. |
| Scott's Oriole | 6/20/2010 | 1 | White Mountains | Navajo | Zeniff Rd., near Dry Lake | Eric and Elaine Hough | Uncommon summer resident above the Mogollon Rim. | This male bird was counted during the Clay Springs Breeding Bird Survey route. |
| Burrowing Owl | 6/20/2010 | 4 | White Mountains | Navajo | Zeniff Rd., near Dry Lake | Eric and Elaine Hough | Rare to uncommon breeder around prairie dog colonies in region. This species was not documented breeding this far south during the Atlas. | These birds were counted during the Clay Springs Breeding Bird Survey route. |
| Painted Redstart | 6/20/2010 | 1 | Southeast | Santa Cruz | Sonoita Creek below Patagonia Lake dam | Scott Blackman | Low elevation for species, particularly for late June | |
| Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher | 6/18/2010 | 1 | Southwest | La Paz | Cibola National Wildlife Refuge | Anna Fasoli and Lindsey Smith | According to the ABC website, this would be the first record for La Paz County, Arizona.
| PHOTOS WERE TAKEN.
Time: 7:30am
Distance to Bird: 15 meters
Light Conditions: sunny
Habitat: riparian cottonwood forest
Optical Equipment: 10X52 Binoculars
OBSERVER: Anna Fasoli and Lindsey Smith
DETAILED DESCRIPTION: While doing yellow-billed cuckoo surveys in Cibola National Wildlife Refuge we noticed a kingbird-like bird perched in a cottonwood. The bird then flew down to a small, open mesquite tree and perched for a few moments (this is when we took two photos), the bird then flew off and out of view. The bird was not relocated after a fairly thorough attempt 20 minutes later.
VOCALIZATIONS: none
BEHAVIOR: The sulphur-bellied flycatcher was seen both perched and in flight. It had a very kingbird-like flight. The size and overall shape was correct for a large flycatcher/kingbird. The coloration was like no other species found in this area. The bold markings on the head were what we first noticed. Also its red tail and also the white streaks through its wings. The bird's heavy bill was also noted.
I used the Sibley Guide to Western Birds as a reference and it confirmed my sighting.
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