It was dark when we left the area for the arboretum, but by the time we got there just before 8 a.m. the sun had been up for over an hour. We decided to take the main trail that circled around the area and we took our time. We observed the birds, plants and saw critters like lizards, squirrels and rabbits scampering around. There was also a great variety of butterflies. It took us almost two and a half hours to meander around the trail, but it was a beautiful morning and everyone enjoyed the spectacular views we were afforded.

We saw or heard 38 species which included the Pied-billed Grebe, Turkey Vulture, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Gambel’s Quail, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Anna’s Hummingbird, Costa’s Hummingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Phainopepla, Cactus Wren (h), Rock Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Northern Mockingbird, Hermit Thrush, Verdin, Common Raven, House Sparrow, Bell’s Vireo, Hutton’s Vireo, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lucy’s Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Black-throated Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headedCowbird and Hooded Oriole.

The attendees were Len Boeder, Marshall Esty, Cheryl Laude, Vera Markham, Liz and Stew Morris, Rich and Carol Schooler, Les and Sharon Sell and George Wall (leader).