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Shipman's field notes, Sep 2010

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2010-09-02: NM: Socorro-Clovis

@day: Socorro-Clovis

2010-09-03: NM: Clovis-Melrose Woods-Bitter Lake NWR-Brantley Lake-Carlsbad

Notable:  Black Tern; Plumbeous Vireo; Cassin's Vireo; Ovenbird; Northern Waterthrush
@BL: Bitter Lake NWR
@Mel: Melrose Woods
@day: Clovis-Melrose Woods-Bitter Lake NWR-Brantley Lake-Carlsbad
@road1: Clovis-Melrose Woods
@road2: Melrose Woods-Roswell
@road3: Roswell-Brantley Lake-Carlsbad
Route
0920-1315 at Melrose.
1505-1550 at Bitter Lake NWR.
Goose, Canada 6 @Clovis-Melrose Woods
Flyover at the Econo-Lodge in Clovis.
Pelican, American White 10+ @Bitter Lake NWR
Egret, Great # @Bitter Lake NWR
Egret, Snowy # @Bitter Lake NWR
Kestrel, American 1♂ @Melrose Woods
Coot, American # @Bitter Lake NWR
Avocet, American 1 @Bitter Lake NWR
Yellowlegs, Greater 1 @Bitter Lake NWR
Tern, Black 1 @Bitter Lake NWR
Dove, Mourning 
@Clovis-Melrose Woods
# @Melrose Woods
Roadrunner, Greater 2 @Bitter Lake NWR
Woodpecker, Red-headed 1a @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-2009
Woodpecker, Ladder-backed 1♂ @Melrose Woods
Wood-Pewee, Western # @Melrose Woods
Kingbird, Western 
1 @Melrose Woods
# @Bitter Lake NWR
Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-2055
Vireo, Plumbeous 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-21062010-09-03-21032010-09-03-21042010-09-03-21022010-09-03-2109
Vireo, Cassin's 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-20412010-09-03-20392010-09-03-20402010-09-03-2043
Vireo, Warbling 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-2023
Swallow, Barn @Clovis-Melrose Woods
Wren, House # @Melrose Woods
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 1 @Melrose Woods
Warbler, Yellow 1♂ @Melrose Woods
Warbler, Yellow-rumped 1-2 @Melrose Woods
Warbler, Townsend's 1 @Melrose Woods
Behavior: The second photo shows the bird hovering briefly, as if it were some kind of trogon, picking at the ends of the leaves.
2010-09-03-20912010-09-03-20902010-09-03-20862010-09-03-20882010-09-03-2100
Ovenbird 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-21142010-09-03-21132010-09-03-21182010-09-03-21112010-09-03-2117
Creeping inconspicuously along in leaf litter like a mouse, only slower, and with more tail-wagging.
Waterthrush, Northern 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-20292010-09-03-20302010-09-03-20312010-09-03-20322010-09-03-20332010-09-03-2034
At least two expert birders say this is not a waterthrush. Theories include fall immature Cape May. My problems with Cape May: all my sources say that species has a black bill and legs, but this bird had pink legs and a pink bill, and no wingbars either. The last three photos were taken with a heavy backlight, which makes the color look yellow, but this is an artifice. The first photo matches what I remember of the coloration: medium brown and pale cream, no yellow tint that I remember. I did not observe this bird walking on the ground or tail-wagging; it was in the trees, but I've had waterthrushes in trees before.
Warbler, Wilson's # @Melrose Woods
Sparrow, Clay-colored # @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-20642010-09-03-2015
Sparrow, Lark # @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-2072
Bunting, Lark 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-2047
Tanager, Western #♀ @Melrose Woods
Bunting, Painted #♀ @Melrose Woods
Grackle, Great-tailed @Clovis-Melrose Woods
Oriole, Orchard 2♀ @Melrose Woods
2010-09-03-20682010-09-03-2067
Sparrow, House @Clovis-Melrose Woods

2010-09-04: NM: Carlsbad-Rattlesnake Springs-Lea County

Notable:  Osprey; Peregrine Falcon; Prairie Falcon; Olive-sided Flycatcher
@CBD: Carlsbad
@CDUA: Cottonwood Day Use Area
@LE21: Lea County Road 21
@RS: Rattlesnake Springs
The Conservancy land around the riparian area is less fenced than it used to be. At the old foundations just west of the picnic area, the fence ends with a sign advising “Pedestrian Access Only.” Yeah, maybe you could move freely in that thicket if you're a javelina.
@WR: Washington Ranch
@day: Carlsbad-Rattlesnake Springs-Lea County
@road1: Carlsbad to Rattlesnake Springs
Route
0800, leave Carlsbad.
0825, exit US 62-180 to Rattlesnake.
0845, on foot at Rattlesnake.
Teal, Blue-winged / Teal, Cinnamon 9 @Washington Ranch
Description: Definite pale blue wing patches; otherwise eclipse.
Turkey, Wild 19 @Rattlesnake Springs
Vulture, Turkey # @Carlsbad to Rattlesnake Springs
Osprey 1 @Carlsbad
Just below the Pecos River Dam where all the fishermen hang out, a short hop north of US 62-180.
Falcon, Peregrine 1 @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-2156
Falcon, Prairie 1 @Washington Ranch
2010-09-04-22382010-09-04-2236
Dove, White-winged # @Rattlesnake Springs
Dove, Mourning # @Cottonwood Day Use Area
Owl, Burrowing @Lea County Road 21
2010-09-04-2250
One of the highlights of my whole trip was seeing this feisty owl wayyyy out in the south county.
Kingfisher, Belted 1 @Rattlesnake Springs
Flycatcher, Olive-sided 1 @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-21942010-09-04-2193
Wood-Pewee, Western # @Rattlesnake Springs
Flycatcher, Vermilion # @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-2207
Kingbird, Cassin's # @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-2228
Kingbird, Western # @Rattlesnake Springs
Vireo, Bell's # @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-22152010-09-04-2217
Vireo, Warbling @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-2208
Swallow, Barn # @Rattlesnake Springs
Mockingbird, Northern 1 @Washington Ranch
Yellowthroat, Common 1 @Rattlesnake Springs
Chat, Yellow-breasted # @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-2219
Sparrow, Cassin's # @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-21492010-09-04-2147
Bunting, Lark # @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-2152
Tanager, Summer # @Rattlesnake Springs
Tanager, Western # @Rattlesnake Springs
Cardinal, Northern # @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-21982010-09-04-2202
Grosbeak, Blue # @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-2141
Bunting, Varied ? @Carlsbad-Rattlesnake Springs-Lea County
2010-09-04-21812010-09-04-21912010-09-04-21742010-09-04-2179
Bunting, Painted 2+ @Rattlesnake Springs
2010-09-04-2167
Blackbird, Red-winged # @Cottonwood Day Use Area
Grackle, Great-tailed # @Carlsbad to Rattlesnake Springs
Finch, House # @Rattlesnake Springs
Goldfinch, Lesser # @Washington Ranch

2010-09-05: NM: Hobbs-Boone's Draw-Clovis

Notable:  Common Nighthawk; House Wren
@BD: Boone's Draw
Uncertain of the passability of the road into this site for a mere Camry, I walked in from NM-480. The Camry might indeed not make it back up over the lip just north of the wooded area. Visited on a hot early September afternoon (around 95°F), not much was stirring.
@HOB: Hobbs City Park
@Oco: Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
@day: Hobbs-Boone's Draw-Clovis
@road1: Hobbs to Boone's Draw
Route
0845, check the city park in Hobbs.
0930-1030, Ocotillo Park.
1445-1650, walk into Boone's Draw, walk around the northernmost loop of road, walk out.
Missed Before I was at Boone's Draw, Matt Bauman reportedly found a Mourning Warbler.
Teal, Blue-winged / Teal, Cinnamon 11 @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
Vulture, Turkey # @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
Killdeer 1 @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
Pigeon, Rock 1 @Hobbs City Park
Collared-Dove, Eurasian # @Hobbs City Park
Dove, White-winged # @Hobbs City Park
Dove, Mourning 
# @Hobbs City Park
# @Boone's Draw
Nighthawk, Common 1 @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
On the north side of Ocotillo Park is a posted group area. A few yards down the road leading here I saw an interesting lump in a tree. The lump resolved into this beautiful bird, blending in nicely with a tree limb. It sat placidly and blinked at me as I blazed away with the camera, secure in its invisibility.
2010-09-05-22772010-09-05-22742010-09-05-22732010-09-05-2271
Wood-Pewee, Western 1 @Boone's Draw
Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed # @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
2010-09-05-22672010-09-05-2283
Swallow, Barn # @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
Wren, House 1 @Boone's Draw
2010-09-05-2290
This was the only passable photo I got for my three-mile walk into Boone's Draw, and almost the only bird I saw.
Robin, American # @Hobbs City Park
Mockingbird, Northern 1 @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
Thrasher, Curve-billed 1 @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
2010-09-05-2280
warbler sp. 1 @Boone's Draw
The one warbler-like bird I saw was at the extreme northeast corner of the loop road around the north end of the wooded area. For as long and as well as I saw it, it could easily have been one of the bazillion Wilson's Warblers currently infesting Melrose Woods. I can't rule out Mourning Warbler, any more than I could rule out Common Canary (Serinus canaria), with the look that I got.
Sparrow, Lark # @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
Grackle, Great-tailed # @Hobbs City Park
2010-09-05-2257
Few things in the world are so pitiful as a bird in molt.
Oriole, Bullock's # @Hobbs: Ocotillo Park
Sparrow, House # @Hobbs City Park

2010-09-06: NM: Clovis-Melrose Woods-Socorro

Notable:  Least Flycatcher; Orange-crowned Warbler; Ovenbird; Northern Waterthrush
@Mel: Melrose Woods
@day: Clovis-Melrose Woods-Socorro
@road1: Clovis to Melrose Woods
Kestrel, American 1 @Melrose Woods
Dove, Mourning # @Melrose Woods
Wood-Pewee, Western # @Melrose Woods
2010-09-06-2306
Flycatcher, Least 1 @Melrose Woods
Description: Based on the almond-shaped eyering, I first called this bird a “Western” Flycatcher. But based on Sibley's illustration of a complete eyering (vs. broken at the top in Western), the relatively short tail, and the quite short bill, I think this is a better ID. Contrary opinions always welcome, of course.
2010-09-06-23042010-09-06-23022010-09-06-2301
Flycatcher, Gray 1 @Melrose Woods
Behavior: Dips tail quickly, holds it there briefly, returns it. The 6th and 7th photos below show the tail midway through a dip.
2010-09-06-23222010-09-06-23232010-09-06-23242010-09-06-23252010-09-06-23262010-09-06-23272010-09-06-23282010-09-06-2329
John Hubbard says: “It's too bad that you did not get better pictures of the likely Gray Flycatcher in MW on 9/6, so that you could have published this as among if not the first more-or-less-verified record of this species in easternmost New Mexico (there are museum skins now from only as far east as Las Vegas and the Sierra Blanca area), which incidentally we never netted at Clayton, Boone's Draw, and Bell Lake in the 1970's!” His remarks were based on only two of these pictures, so I've since put up all eight in the series.
Flycatcher, Ash-throated 1 @Melrose Woods
Kingbird, Western 1 @Melrose Woods
See also Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.
Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-06-22992010-09-06-2298
The second shot shows a comparison with Western Kingbird (left) at a stage when their tail lengths are comparable.
Vireo, Cassin's @Melrose Woods
Vireo, Warbling # @Melrose Woods
2010-09-06-2350
Raven, Chihuahuan 1 @Melrose Woods
Nuthatch, Red-breasted 1 @Melrose Woods
Vocalizations: Lots of single 'yack' notes, about 2/sec. John Parmeter got a good look at it; I didn't see it.
Wren, House # @Melrose Woods
2010-09-06-2333
Kinglet, Ruby-crowned 1 @Melrose Woods
Warbler, Orange-crowned 1 @Melrose Woods
Warbler, Audubon's # @Melrose Woods
2010-09-06-2317
Warbler, Townsend's # @Melrose Woods
Ovenbird 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-06-23452010-09-06-2346
Waterthrush, Northern 1 @Melrose Woods
Warbler, MacGillivray's 1 @Melrose Woods
Warbler, Wilson's # @Melrose Woods
Vocalizations: I got a lot of examples of this bird's chip note. I transcribe it as “jib,” and it has a quality similar to some House Finch notes.
Sparrow, Chipping # @Melrose Woods
Sparrow, Lincoln's 1 @Melrose Woods
Tanager, Western # @Melrose Woods
meadowlark sp. 1 @Melrose Woods
2010-09-06-2358
No clue on the ID of this bird. It was perched on our State Flower on the road just outside Melrose Woods.

2010-09-12: NM: Socorro: 507 Fitch

@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Thrasher, Curve-billed 1 @Socorro: 507 Fitch

2010-09-21: NM: Socorro

@NMT: Socorro: New Mexico Tech
@Soc: Socorro
domestic goose sp. 13 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Still a lot more numerous than the 4–5 that were here in former years.
domestic duck sp. 25 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Wigeon, American 4 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Duck, Ring-necked 1♂ @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Cormorant, Neotropic 3 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
2010-09-21-23742010-09-21-2371
Also flew by Speare Hall, making #52 on my window list.
Sandpiper, Spotted 1 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Dove, White-winged # @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Kingfisher, Belted 1♀ @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Phoebe, Black 2 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
Sparrow, Clay-colored 1 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
In a tree outside Speare Hall: #53 on my window list.
Tanager, Summer 1♂ @Socorro: New Mexico Tech
2010-09-21-2362

2010-09-25: NM: Socorro County

Notable:  Inca Dove
@BdA: Bosque del Apache NWR
@SocCo: Socorro County
@TBay: Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Turtle Bay
@road1: Socorro to Luis Lopez
@road2: Luis Lopez to San Antonio
@road3: San Antonio, San Antonito, to Bosque del Apache
On a whim, decided to travel the loop from San Antonito Road west, then north on El Alto, and back out to NM-1 near the San Antonio dump. Very rewarding today; see Inca Dove and Crissal Thrasher.
teal sp. @Bosque del Apache NWR
Lots of eclipse birds around. Also see the lower left-hand corner of the photo under Snowy Egret; this smallish bird with the reddish head may have been a Cinnamon Teal.
Wigeon, American 
4 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Turtle Bay
@Bosque del Apache NWR
Mallard @Bosque del Apache NWR
Shoveler, Northern @Bosque del Apache NWR
Duck, Ring-necked 1♂ @Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Turtle Bay
Duck, Ruddy 6 @Bosque del Apache NWR
Quail, Gambel's # @Bosque del Apache NWR
Turkey, Wild 12 @Luis Lopez to San Antonio
Description: A tight little flock moving through a field with crops growing. Tails were tipped in buff. Wild?
2010-09-25-23792010-09-25-2377
Cormorant, Neotropic 10 @Bosque del Apache NWR
2010-09-25-2417
Heron, Great Blue @Bosque del Apache NWR
Egret, Snowy @Bosque del Apache NWR
2010-09-25-2412
The lens is starting to lose its focal range at the far end, which accounts for the softness of this shot.
Vulture, Turkey @Bosque del Apache NWR
Rail, Virginia 1 @Bosque del Apache NWR
In the marsh a short hop from the Boardwalk parking lot.
Vocalizations: Series of high 'kik' notes; heard only.
Collared-Dove, Eurasian 
@Socorro County
@San Antonio, San Antonito, to Bosque del Apache
Dove, White-winged 
@Socorro County
@San Antonio, San Antonito, to Bosque del Apache
Dove, Mourning @San Antonio, San Antonito, to Bosque del Apache
Dove, Inca 2 @San Antonio, San Antonito, to Bosque del Apache
2010-09-25-23812010-09-25-23922010-09-25-2388
Kingfisher, Belted 1 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Turtle Bay
Phoebe, Say's @Bosque del Apache NWR
raven sp. 
1 @Socorro to Luis Lopez
1 @Luis Lopez to San Antonio
Swallow, Barn 
@Socorro County
@San Antonio, San Antonito, to Bosque del Apache
@Bosque del Apache NWR
Mockingbird, Northern 1 @Bosque del Apache NWR
Description: Immature bird showing the faint but distinct speckling on the breast.
2010-09-25-24412010-09-25-24382010-09-25-2440
The bird was getting blown around in a sharp northerly breeze.
Thrasher, Crissal 2 @San Antonio, San Antonito, to Bosque del Apache
2010-09-25-24062010-09-25-24102010-09-25-24052010-09-25-23942010-09-25-23972010-09-25-2401
Best photo subject of the month! For a bird that is normally the skulkiest of the skulkers, this bird was astonishingly cooperative, even posing on a wire in good light. I was hoping to get definitive photos of the bird's characteristic brick-red vent; the last photo is pretty definitive.
Sparrow, Lark 
1 @Luis Lopez to San Antonio
3 @Bosque del Apache NWR
Blackbird, Red-winged @Bosque del Apache NWR
Meadowlark, Western 1 @San Antonio, San Antonito, to Bosque del Apache
Vocalizations: By song; heard only.
Goldfinch, Lesser 
# @Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Turtle Bay
@Bosque del Apache NWR

2010-09-26: NM: Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Speare Hall

@NMT: Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Speare Hall
Warbler, MacGillivray's 1 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Speare Hall
Warbler, Wilson's 1 @Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Speare Hall
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Last updated: 2011-05-23 18:54 MDT