Our trip to San Rafael Grasslands was a great success, lots of birds and good weather for two days. Driving down on I-10 we spotted a Bald Eagle and a Prairie Falcon along the highway, and they were omens of good things to come. We stopped at Sweetwater on Friday around 11am and spent the afternoon there. Some of the highlights were all the ducks and a female Black and White Warbler crawling up and down and all around her tree. We found 60 species of birds there.
On Saturday morning we met our guide, Melody Keil, and headed for the Grasslands. It was a beautiful day for birding, sunny and no wind. The sparrows were up and singing. A small flock of Grasshopper Sparrows let us have good looks at them setting along the fences. The Chestnut-collared Longspurs would fly up in large flocks, swirl around and land back in the grass. We spent the whole day there, learning about sparrows and enjoying the views. We had 39 species.

The rain was coming down hard Sunday morning, so we decided to stay in Tucson and look for the Short-tailed Hawk and Red-breasted Sapsucker. No luck on the hawk, but we did find the sapsucker with the help of some other birders. We were all soaking wet and happy to call it a day.

Birders: Barb Meding, Vera Markham, Gerry Horton, Carol Sharplin, Cheri Laude, Rosemary Zanter, Dominic Sherony and Donna Smith.
Here are the 88 birds we saw or heard: Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Gambel's Quail, Pied-billed Grebe, Eared Grebe, White-tailed Kite, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Harris's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian-collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Gila Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Grey Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Verdin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cactus Wren, Bewick's Wren, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Western Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Phainopepla, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Canyon Towhee, Abert's Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Chestnut-collard Longspur, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark (lilianae), Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, American Goldfinch, and House Sparrow.