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Shipman's field notes, Jan 2005

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2005-01-01: NM: Socorro: 507 Fitch

@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Dove, White-winged @Socorro: 507 Fitch
Thrasher, Curve-billed 2 @Socorro: 507 Fitch
Description: Both with apparently normal bills.
Finch, House @Socorro: 507 Fitch

2005-01-02: NM: Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle

Notable:  Ferruginous Hawk
@Cab: Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
All today's records pertain to the CBC. Due to knee problems, drove straight to the count, straight home afterward.
@PWHA: Percha Wildlife Habitat Area
Brief foray in midmorning. Extremely gluey mud had me prying two-inch-thick slabs of caked grass and mud off the soles of my boots several times. Worked the Ash Grove area only. Much evidence of paintball wars in this area.
@Percha: Percha Dam SP
Route 0540, leave Socorro. 0655, start counting. 1500, end counting. Total 8.1 party-hours, 38.5 miles. By foot 2.9 hours, 3.4 miles. By car 5.2 hours, 35.1 miles. Route includes many farm fields S of Percha, to the town of Arrey. In route details below, auto mileage is cumulative (using the trip odometer) while foot miles are given for each segment.
Weather Overcast all day. Drizzle starting around 1000, increasing to a steady fine rain.
Car leg 0655-0720, odo to 2.1: I-25 exit to Percha.
Foot leg 0720-0755, 0.6 mi.: area between park and first fence north, to dam. Very little flow above the dam; I could have jumped over it in spots.
Car leg 0755-1020, odo to 18.6: all over farm fields SW and SE of the park, to Arrey and US-85, and the park loops proper.
Foot leg 1020-1045, 0.4 mi.: river trail S of park.
Car leg 1045-1050, odo to 19.2, to jumping-off place for PWHA (GPS 325221.1n 1071824.9w).
Foot leg 1050-1220, 1.8 mi.: work @PWHA E to and through the Ash Grove and back to another informal bridge over the ditch on its W side, two planks painted red with `CABALLO LAKE' painted on them in neat white letters (GPS 325217.1n 1071822.3w).
Car leg 1220-1345, odo to 26.7: Caballo Dam and Riverside area below dam on W side of the Rio Grande.
Foot leg 1345-1410, 0.6 mi.: Stopped near the E end of the dam and walked up the inclined path to look over the SE corner of the reservoir.
Car leg 1410-1500, odo to 35.1: Worked Percha Flats, scoping the small group of gulls and cormorants N of the dam, then worked through the various roads NW of the dam, including the leased housing area and marina, scoping the reservoir where accessible.
goose, white 7 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Farm fields SW of Percha.
Wigeon, American 15 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Shoveler, Northern 2 @Percha Dam SP
River bridge SE of Percha.
Quail, Gambel's 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Grebe, Pied-billed 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Aechmophorus sp. 17 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Grebe, Western 2 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Grebe, Clark's 3 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Cormorant, Neotropic 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Cormorant, Double-crested 3 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Heron, Great Blue 2 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Eagle, Bald 1a @Percha Dam SP
Hawk, Red-tailed 2 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Hawk, Ferruginous 2 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
One near river bridge SE of Percha. Another in farm fields well S of Percha.
Kestrel, American 8 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Crane, Sandhill 224 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Killdeer 6 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Sandpiper, Spotted 3 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
gull sp. 95 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Large loose flock flying by early. Probably Ring-billed.
Gull, Ring-billed 13 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Collared-Dove, Eurasian 12 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Dove, White-winged 27 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Dove, Mourning 4 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Kingfisher, Belted 1 @Percha Dam SP
Woodpecker, Ladder-backed 2 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Flicker, Red-shafted 2 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Phoebe, Black 4 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Phoebe, Say's 3 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Shrike, Loggerhead 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Scrub-Jay, Western 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Near Arrey.
Corvus sp. 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
raven sp. 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Raven, Chihuahuan 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Vocalizations: By voice.
Raven, Common 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Vocalizations: By voice.
Verdin 1 @Percha Dam SP
Wren, Rock 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Bluebird, Western 10 @Percha Dam SP
Behavior: Feeding on mistletoe berries.
Robin, American 3 @Percha Wildlife Habitat Area
Starling, European 6 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Pipit, American 1 @Percha Dam SP
Waxwing, Cedar 110 @Percha Dam SP
Warbler, Yellow-rumped 1 @Percha Wildlife Habitat Area
Warbler, Audubon's 1 @Percha Dam SP
Sparrow, Song 2 @Percha Wildlife Habitat Area
Sparrow, White-crowned 45 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Junco, Gray-headed 5 @Percha Dam SP
Junco, Oregon 2 @Percha Dam SP
Junco, Pink-sided 2 @Percha Dam SP
Pyrrhuloxia 4 @Percha Dam SP
blackbird sp. 1220 @Percha Dam SP
Meadowlark, Western 25 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Blackbird, Brewer's 7 @Percha Dam SP
Grackle, Great-tailed 6 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Cow lot SE of Percha.
Cowbird, Brown-headed 1 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Cow lot SE of Percha.
Finch, House 82 @Caballo Christmas Bird Count circle
Includes one group of 60 on a wire near the Caballo Post Office.

2005-01-05: NM: Socorro: New Mexico Tech

@NMT: Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Phoebe, Black 1 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Office window list. Working the west side of Cramer Hall.

2005-01-09: NM: Socorro

@Soc: Socorro
@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Hawk, Sharp-shinned 1 @Socorro: 507 Fitch
Hanging out over the feeder again.
Collared-Dove, Eurasian 12 @Socorro
Newberry Rd near Kitt Rd.
Description: Includes one bird distinctly lighter than the others.
Kingfisher, Belted 1 @Socorro
Far north end of Chaparral Road.

2005-01-11: NM: Isleta Reservation

Notable:  Prairie Falcon
@Isleta: Isleta Reservation
Falcon, Prairie @Isleta Reservation
Where I-25 crosses over Coors Road; in flight.

2005-01-16: NM: Socorro: New Mexico Tech

Notable:  Slate-colored Junco
@NMT: Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Junco, Gray-headed 2 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Office window list.
Description: Black lores.
Junco, Slate-colored 1 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Description: About the same shade of gray from crown to tail. No wingbars.

2005-01-21: NM: Socorro: 507 Fitch

@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Dove, Inca 11 @Socorro: 507 Fitch

2005-01-22: NM: Socorro: 507 Fitch

@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Thrasher, Curve-billed 1 @Socorro: 507 Fitch
Behavior: Feeding in the millet pan.

2005-01-25: NM: Socorro: 507 Fitch

@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Hawk, Sharp-shinned 1 @Socorro: 507 Fitch
Perched on the branch supporting the tube feeder, one foot away. No wonder my seed consumption has been low lately.

2005-01-27: NM: Socorro: 507 Fitch

@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Weather After much light rain.
Dove, White-winged 25 @Socorro: 507 Fitch
Thrasher, Curve-billed 1 @Socorro: 507 Fitch
Description: "Megabill" is back, with quite oversized upper mandible.

2005-01-28: NM: Socorro

Notable:  Phainopepla
@Soc: Socorro
Phainopepla 1♂ @Socorro
In the large conifer in front of 503 Neel.
Description: Small size, all black when perched. Big crest with straight front margin and curved rear margin. Large white wing spots in flight.
This is either quite early or the bird overwintered.
Finch, House @Socorro
Office window list species #14.

2005-01-29: NM: Socorro: New Mexico Tech

Notable:  Townsend's Solitaire
@NMT: Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Solitaire, Townsend's @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Office window list species #15.

2005-01-30: NM: Socorro

@NMT: Socorro: New Mexico Tech
@Soc: Socorro
@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Hawk, Sharp-shinned @Socorro: 507 Fitch
Sitting in my orchard, around the corner from the feeders.
Dove, White-winged @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Breeding: Female's precopulatory display is to hold her tail vertical or nearly so and twitch her folded wings up and down about half an inch, just touching the base of the tail at the bottom of each twitch. Frequency about 2/sec. This is all going on more or less continually in the Salt Cedar outside my office window.
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