Date: 12/1/19 5:00 pm From: Erika Wilson <terika88...> Subject: [AZNMbirds] SEAZ: Sierra Vista EOP--01 Dec 2019
Hi, birders,
Fourteen hardy souls braved freezing temperatures to start, but bright sunshine soon warmed all creatures, from birds to people. The final tally at the end of the morning was 71 species.
No rarities today, but still a few lingering birds, like the two Barn Swallows foraging over an old impoundment that had taken up rain from the recent storm. Dry sludge was now wet, too, suitable for a high count of 25 Least Sandpipers, along with the usual Killdeer, Am. Pipits, and mixed blackbirds that forage there.
Sparrow numbers remain low, but there was good diversity today. The usual big five (Vesper, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, and White-crowned) were joined by 1-5 each of Rufous-winged, Grasshopper, Black-throated, Lark, and Swamp Sparrow. Among the Horned Larks flying about were at least two Chestnut-collared Longspurs.
A three falcon day, with a dark Merlin streaking by, a well-fed Peregrine Falcon digesting a full crop, and several active Am. Kestrels. Big flocks of ducks were found in the flooded grasses at the Moson Road side of the EOP, with several hundred Am. Wigeon, 100+ Green-winged Teal, and good numbers of Gadwall and N. Pintail.
Colorful birds today included at least fifteen Pyrrhuloxia, most of them males, and the ever present Yellow-headed Blackbirds.
