We had a beautiful day to bird at Dead horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood in the Verde Valley.  The weather was sunny, cool and calm.  our first stop was the fishing ponds where we saw lots of Western Blubirds, woodpeckers that were out in force and Lesser Goldfinches.  Along the river trail, sparrows were abundant and it was here where we also spotted a mule deer with a fawn.

The Outdoor Entertainment Network kept us buy at lunch as a medium sized tarantula slowly crossed our path and a Lewis' Woodpecker was busy eating insects on a nearby tree near the picnic table where we were at.  What a good day for the seven of us - Marshall Esty, Shirley Fackleman, Vera Markham, Darlene Gatto, Sam Spearman, Dan Bohlmann and Donna Smiteh (leader).

The 40 species seen or heard were Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Gambel's Quail (h), Sora (h), American Coot, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis' Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Northern Vireo, Common Raven, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Verdin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rock Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Western Bluebird, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Abert's Towhee, Lincoln Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, House Finch and Lesser Goldfinch.