Three-toed woodpecker sightings--- latest Sandia Crest reports through August, 2012

[Rosyfinch]

From the AZ/NM bird board:


On August 31, 2012, Matt Baumann reported:

Several WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, including at least two adult males, have been reported from the crest to the 10k trail head in the Sandia Mountains through August 25.
Watching puddles seems to be the best strategy but they are drying up fast so bringing up water to keep them full may be helpful.
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On July 30, 2012, Jim Nelson-Moore of Santa Fe, at the Crest, where he had come to try for White-winged Crossbill.  spotted two American Three-toed Woodpeckers in a large dying spruce about ten yards to the south.
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On July 28, 2012 Martha Auslander and Bill Scott  saw an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER  a short distance up the trail by the radio towers.
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The CNMAS Thursday Birders outing yesterday (Aug. 5, 2010) was a walk led by Melissa Howard along the 10K North Trail in the Sandias and yielded great looks for all of the more than 20 participants at an adult male Three-toed Woodpecker as he foraged for about 15 minutes around 9:30 AM in a dead tree adjacent to the path and just a short distance (roughly midway between the second and third metal blue diamonds marking the trail) from the parking lot.  Five of us abandoned the walk to keep watching the woodpecker, who remained in the area for at least another 15 minutes, and were rewarded with observations of him drumming loudly in what seemed to be interaction with a distant drumming woodpecker, likely another Three-toed.  

After the group outing ended, I stayed on to walk more of the trail and around 1 PM briefly saw either the same bird again or another adult male of the species in the vicinity of the morning encounter.  I also birded some of that trail for a while this morning but didn't detect any woodpeckers at all along it today.

Gale Owings
Albuquerque  

[Rosyfinch]

NM Bird Report, August 12, 2010

Judy Liddell had a female THREE-TOED WOODPECKER off the main trail to Kiwanis Meadow
August 7.

[Rosyfinch]

Monday, August 16, 2010, Bosque Bill reported in the AZ/NM Bird Board:

After years of frustration, I found the American Three-toed Woodpecker that folks have been reporting in the Sandia Mountains yesterday, August 15th, and it couldn't have been easier.

We pulled up to the end of the lower Ellis Trail parking area (the last developed parking area below the crest) just after 9am. As soon as I stepped out of the truck I heard the slow, irregular sound of tapping and instantly realized (hoped) what I was hearing. The bird was quickly found on the trunk of a very large pine only 20 - 25 feet downhill from the end of the parking area. He worked his way up that tree, then flew to a smaller dead pine that still has its needles. He stayed in sight for a good 5 minutes before disappearing.

The angle/light was not great for photography, but I got many photos clearing showing all the field marks. Here is one of the better photos and you can even count his toes: http://twitpic.com/2fb8ih/full

We hiked for about three hours after this sighting along the trails up to and along the Kiwanis Meadow and saw many of the expected species, but saw no other woodpeckers other than one brief look at a Hairy. It was an beautiful morning with copious blooming wildflowers.

Bill

[Rosyfinch]

Matt Baumann, Compiler of the New Mexico Bird Report, September 2, 2010 writes:

Ken Cole had two THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS on the Kiwanis Meadow Trail about 40
yards from the lower crest parking area August 31.

[Rosyfinch]

According to Matt Baumann (the NM RBA 11/1/2010), John Parmeter  had an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER at the Crest House, Sandia Mountains, on October 31.

[Rosyfinch]

From Matt Baumann's latest NM RBA report:

Cole Wolf had a male Three-toed along the trail from Sandia Crest to Kiwanas Meadow on January 3.

[Rosyfinch]

Reported in the NM RBA by Matt Baumann:

The CNMAS field trip January 30 found a male American Three-toed Woodpecker on the buried cable trail about 50 yards southeast of the south gate.

[Rosyfinch]

Also from the NM RBA:

John Parmeter found a male THREE-TOED WOODPECKER near Sandia Crest February 13.  

[Rosyfinch]

On December 11, Nancy Cox reported that  the American Three-toed Woodpeckers were still being seen in the area around Sandia Crest, but so far there have been no reports of Pine Grosbeaks.

[Rosyfinch]

This thread reports the latest sightings of American Three-toed Woodpeckers in the Sandia Crest Area.

From the AZ/NM RBA:

Date:    Mon, 6 Aug 2012 08:54:08 -0400
From:    Danny Paez
Subject: NM: Sandia Crest, Three-toed Woodpeckers, Townsend's Warbler

Yesterday, my wife Sally and I took a hike along the crest of the Sandias. We saw lots of crossbills, but no White-winged (didn't look for long). Along the east end of Kiwanis meadow we saw 3 Three-toed Woodpeckers. I believe these were reported earlier this summer. They seemed to be a family as there was an adult male and a bird which seemed to be an immature (smaller than the male). The third bird was only seen in flight, but I'm assuming it was a female as all 3 birds were in very close proximity. Also, on the upper portion of La Luz trail I saw a Townsend's Warbler (earliest I've seen in New Mexico). This was about half way between the top of La Luz and the spur to Sandia Crest.

good birding,
Danny Paez
ABQ, NM