Migration!

At the end of February, Wally, Jo Ann, Jim and Kris joined me for a day afield to Whitewater Draw, a state wildlife area north of Douglas, Arizona. Weather couldn't have sparkled more! And the birds were feeling both the warmth of the day (after rain and snow the day before!) and the tug of migratory impulses.

Several wintering species are still lingering, waiting till their northern breeding grounds thaw out. Chestnut-collared Longspurs touched down at Willow Tank for a very quick drink, then rushed off in typical mad hatter fashion, the flock eddying in a sort of constant Brownian motion. Several of the males were in full breeding regalia.

Lark Buntings by the hundreds lined the roadsides, the males starting to develop their striking black-and-white breeding plumage.

Resident species, like this pair of Great Horned Owls, are gearing up for breeding.

Great Horned Owls at Whitewater Draw

(All photos by Narca)

Waterfowl and Sandhill Cranes are still a spectacle at Whitewater. Today the cranes numbered in the thousands, far more than I had seen here just two days previously. A gray sea stretched north toward the horizon.

Sandhill Cranes with sleeping pintail at Whitewater Draw

A drake Green-winged Teal at Whitewater Draw

Other species are just arriving from the south. The year's first Cliff Swallow winged past: a surprise, since they usually trail all the other regular migrant swallows in our corner of Arizona. This one must have wintered somewhere well north of Brazil! The first Bendire's Thrasher of the year also perched, calmly regarding us, near the entrance to Whitewater Draw.

And I'm off, too, for a quick trip to Anza Borrego to chase butterflies. Sonoran Blue is very high on my wish list, and they are flying in Plum Canyon!

American Bullfrog at Willow Tank (here an invasive species)

A Lingering Scaup

On Tuesday, July 6, Alan discovered a summering female scaup (!) at Willow Tank near Portal. Scaup identification is often challenging, and in this case we have an additional handicap: she is mostly flightless, probably due to wing molt, so we can't flush her. Therefore, the length of the white wing stripe––one of the few good field marks––hasn't been available to use.

Female scaup at Willow Tank (Photos by Narca)

So... is she a Greater or a Lesser Scaup? This scaup is showing some ambiguous markings. She has the tiniest hint of a white cheek patch, which female Greater Scaup can develop rather strongly in summer. But a whitish cheek patch isn't a diagnostic mark.

The shape of her head appeared good for Lesser Scaup in Alan's photos, yet when another birder studied her, he thought that the head shape seemed flatter and rounder. (He agreed that the shape in Alan's photos looked better for Lesser.) When I saw her, some head feathers seemed matted down, while others were dry and puffy, distorting the head shape––as you can see in these photos.

Her bill does seem more delicate and narrower than a Greater should show.

My favorite field mark can be tough to see. It's the width of the nail on the bill, and can require a very careful look, in good light. So on Wednesday Alan and I headed to Willow Tank, with scope in tow. The early morning light was exquisite, and eventually we routed the scaup from her cover in the waterweeds, and she swam to the center of the pond, where it was finally possible to see that the nail on her bill was narrow. Lesser Scaup. (And true––Lesser is by far the more common species in Arizona. Yet in early July neither should be here!)

Female Lesser Scaup at Willow Tank

What in the world is she doing in southeast Arizona in summer? Did an injury prevent her migration?

A postscript... she did finally fly for Jon Dunn and his WINGS group, confirming Lesser Scaup. This bird was tricky, though––Jon said that his first thought was "Why isn't this a Greater?"