This was an outstanding trip! Fourteen SAS members including Rich (leader) and Carol Schooler, George Wall, Donna Smith, Mary Alice Quinn, Vera Markham, Gerry Horton, Ann Givey, Marylin McMann, Barb Meding, Joe Food, Julie Horder and Sharon and Less Sell, spent the morning at the Gilbert Water Ranch.

The group saw a total of 62 species, with highlights being Lawrence’s Goldfinch, a single Greater White-fronted Goose, several Wilson’s snipe and a Loggerhead Shrike consuming what appeared to be a small bird. The 62 species of birds sighted on the trip included: Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Neotropical Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Great-blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Canada Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Cinnamon Teal, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Turkey Vulture, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Gambel’s Quail, American Coot, Killdeer, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Peach-faced Lovebird, Anna’s Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Gila Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, Vermillion Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern rough-winged Swallow, Verdin, Marsh Wren (h), Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Northern Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Abert’s Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, House Finch, Lawrence’s Goldfinch and House Sparrow.