Date: October 3, 2014
Location: Spring-fed Arroyo, Dixon
Number of Species: 23
Time: 7:50-11:30AM
Weather: Clear, calm
Number of Observers: 9
| English Name: Genus species: | Comments | Photos |
| Diurnal Raptors: Vultures, Eagles, Hawks and Falcons | ||
| Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Begins arriving during the last 10 days of March. Majority of residents here by April 1st. Number of Individuals Observed:16 |    |
| Woodpeckers | ||
| Williamson’s Sapsucker Sphyrapicus thyroideus  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Female is pictured. Can be confused with Northern Flicker, but lacks many critical Flicker field marks. Male (not pictured) very distinctive. Click on Image Search for photos. Number of Individuals Observed:1 |  El Bosque, Dixon |
| Red-naped Sapsucker Sphyrapicus nuchalis  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Number of Individuals Observed:2 |  Orilla Verde, April 12, 2014 Enlarge  Orilla Verde, April 12, 2014 Enlarge |
| Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | One of the most common birds in the valley. From below, shows red feather shafts in flight. The upper photo shows key marks: Black breast band. Red feather shafts on underside of wings and tail. Red mark under the eye indicates a male. Female (middle photo): no red face mark. Lower photo shows diagnostic white rump patch which is always visible in flight and sometimes visible when perched. Number of Individuals Observed:17 |  Cachanillas  El Bosque  El Bosque |
| Shrikes and Vireos | ||
| Plumbeous Vireo Vireo plumbeus  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Begins arriving in late April. Number of Individuals Observed:2 |  Rio Ojo Sarco  Rio Ojo Sarco |
| Jays, Crows and their Allies | ||
| Western Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma californica  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Common in all area habitats. Note white throat and faint white eyebrow. Also brownish-gray back. Distinguished from the Pinyon Jay by longer tail and solitary behavior. Number of Individuals Observed:4 |  Arroyo la Mina  Cañoncito |
| Pinyon Jay Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Usually observed while calling in flight. Flocks feed in harvested corn fields or on Piñon-Juniper Hillsides Generally in flocks of 30-70 individuals. Distinguished from Western Scrub-jay by shorter tail and by flocking behavior. Number of Individuals Observed:12 |  Apodaca  Apodaca  Apodaca |
| Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Unmistakable large black and white bird with very long tail. Number of Individuals Observed:3 |  El Bosque |
| Common Raven Corvus corax  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | At times difficult to distinguish from American Crow. By sound, a throaty chortle or shout. In flight, the tail often appears wedge shaped. Ravens are often solitary, but sometimes appear with a few other individuals. Often soars like a hawk. Crows do not. Bill is thick and heavy. The throat is shaggy compared to the Crow. Breeding pairs perform synchronized flight high overhead. Number of Individuals Observed:1 |  El Bosque  Camino de los Marquez, Santa Fe |
| Chickadees and their Allies | ||
| Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Distinctive Small (~5in) black, white and gray bird that says its name repeatedly: a buzzy chick-a-dee-dee-dee During breeding season, gives a high descending two pitched fee-bee. Number of Individuals Observed:1 |  El Bosque |
| Mountain Chickadee Poecile gambeli  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Very similar to Black-capped Chickadee in appearance and vocalizations. Mountain Chickadee has distinctive white eyebrow. Sound: Fee-bee-bee instead of fee-bee. Black on throat generally more extensive than shown here. Number of Individuals Observed:1 |  Photo: Dave Menke USFWS Oregon  Dixon  Pot Creek, Talpa, NM |
| Juniper Titmouse Baeolophus ridgwayi  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Generally seen in Juniper trees, the crest on the head is distinctive. Some of its vocalizations similar to Chickadee. Often detected by soft woodpecker-like tapping on branches. Number of Individuals Observed:3 |  Camino Lejo, Santa Fe |
| Nuthatches and Creepers | ||
| White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Distinctive black cap starts above the eye. Relatively long, sharp bill. Only local species that walks down tree trunks upside down. Often heard at a distance: Rapidly repeated nasal "huh". Usually 5-8 sounds, all at same pitch. Number of Individuals Observed:3 |  El Bosque  El Bosque |
| Kinglets and Gnatcatchers | ||
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | In the summer, this species is found breeding at higher altitudes. Singing individuals are very common in nearby high mountain forests such as Amole Canyon above Vadito. The species winters in the Dixon/Embudo area where it is usually heard before seen, making a harsh, attention getting "juh-juh" in shrubs and low trees along the Río Embudo. Number of Individuals Observed:1 |  Photo: Donna Dewhurst USFWS Alaska |
| Thrushes and their Allies | ||
| Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Male (top photo) has blue head and red breast. During breeding season, colors more intense than shown here. Female (middle photo) has blue in wings, but appears gray from front with a light buffy breast. Note white eye-ring. Juvenile on left in lowest photo. Female on right. Number of Individuals Observed:8 |  El Bosque   Rinconada Enlarge |
| Townsend’s Solitaire Myadestes townsendi  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | This bird is most often observed sitting in the tops of trees sounding a repeated, high, slow whistle. Gray all over with white on sides of tail. Fluttery in flight, with cream-colored bands running the length of each wing on the underside. Number of Individuals Observed:16 |  |
| American Robin Turdus migratorius  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Best known American Bird. Note reddish breast, light colored bill and large white split eye-ring. Number of Individuals Observed:118 |  El Bosque |
| Waxwings | ||
| Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Number of Individuals Observed:20 |  Río Ojo Sarco  Río Ojo Sarco |
| Towhees | ||
| Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | One is seldom far from a Spotted Towhee. But though they are nearby, they are usually hidden away under trees and shrubs where they toss leaves with their feet looking for insects to eat. Occasionally you will see one at the edge of the road or briefly flying from one shrub to the next. However, they regularly produce a contact call, a low growl. Hear Contact Call If you listen for that call and follow it, may be rewarded with a view of this lovely bird with a red eye. Note white breast with rufous (reddish) flanks. Lower Photo shows bird in its preferred habitat. Number of Individuals Observed:5 |  Arroyo la Mina  El Bosque Enlarge |
| Sparrows and their Allies | ||
| Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Begins arriving mid-March. Number of Individuals Observed:2 |    |
| Finches and Old World Sparrows | ||
| House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Often seen at feeders, this species is common in all habitats, especially agricultural areas. Male (upper picture) is easily identified by red plumage on head, throat, breast and rump. Female (lower photo) does not have red. Both sexes have streaking on breast, belly and flanks. Number of Individuals Observed:9 |  Arroyo La Mina  Arroyo La Mina |
| Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Often mistaken for a female House Finch, this lover of Thistle and other small seeds, has a distinctively smaller, sharply pointed bill. There is a subtle presence of yellow in the wings and at the base of the tail. The last, over saturated, photograph shows these markings. Often gives a raspy, rising, slurred "shee". Number of Individuals Observed:1 |  Downtown Santa Fe  Downtown Santa Fe  El Bosque |
| Lesser Goldfinch Carduelis psaltria  Enlarge Map External Sites: Cornell USGS Image Search | Begins arriving at end of April. Number of Individuals Observed:2 |  Dixon - June 7, 2014 |
