August 4-6, 2008
by George Wall

Ten of us (Diana Barnum, Dan Bohlmann, Marshall Esty, Shirley Fackelman, Gerry Horton, Vera Markham, Ann McDermott, Donna Smith, Annie Teff and George Wall – Leader) left the hot valley of Phoenix and headed for cooler country to bird in Pinetop.

We first stopped not too far outside Phoenix at Butcher Jones Recreational Park off of Bush Hwy. We were delighted to see several birds including a Bald Eagle perched on the cliffs.

We traveled on down the road and stopped at Sycamore Creek. We didn’t see as many birds as we hoped, but still added to our list. We then proceeded on to Payson where we had lunch prior to heading for Pinetop.

Our hotel in Pinetop was the Best Western Inn and it was great. We had a refrigerator and microwave in our rooms as well as all the other amenities. Also, there was a full breakfast ready for us at 6 a.m. which included eggs, sausage, bacon, waffles, fruit, etc.

The area around the hotel was residential with lots of pine and oak trees. Several of us tried the birding the hotel area during our stay and were rewarded with the Hepatic Tanager, nuthatches and other birds.

On Monday afternoon, we went to an old abandoned lumber mill in the town of McNary, a few miles from Pinetop. There were marsh areas where several birds were seen.

On Tuesday morning, we headed out for some serious birding. We first stopped at Jaques March and walked along the banks and also into the woods at the sides of the marsh. We were delighted to see the Sora and several other birds. From there we drove to Scott’s Reservoir where we watched an Osprey dive for dive. Our next stop of the day was at Billy Creek where we saw quite a few birds including the Western
Bluebird. We attempted to go out for some more birding in the afternoon, but the rains came. We all went to the Chalet Restaurant for dinner before retiring.

The next morning, we ate breakfast, checked out of our rooms and headed for one more spot – Upper Billy Creek. Here we had good looks at the Red-faced Warbler as well as several woodpeckers. From there, we headed home.

Here are the 71 species of birds we saw or heard: Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Sora, American Coot, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Say’s Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Violetgreen Swallow, Barn Swallow, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, American Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Verdin, Stellar’s Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, European Starling, House Sparrow, Bell’s Vireo (h), Plumbeous Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Red-faced Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat (h), Hepatic Tanager, Western Tanager, Abert’s Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal (h), Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Redwinged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.