It was a beautiful morning as we headed out for our birding trip until we hit the traffic on Loop 101. It took us over an hour before we got off the Loop at Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. We realized we should have left an hour earlier at 6 a.m.  Our first stop was at Butcher Jones Recreation Area where we saw lots of ducks on the water and Gila Woodpeckers flying everywhere in the trees. Just at this spot alone, we saw 28 species of birds.

Our next stop was at Saguaro Lake where we saw a few more species like the Lesser Scaup. We then went to Coon’s Bluff where we were treated to a couple of pairs of Vermilion Flycatchers flying around us. After leaving
there, we did a quick five minute stop at Phon D Sutton where I knew a Bald Eagle could usually be seen and we saw a beautiful adult. Our last stop was at the Granite Reef picnic area where we ate lunch as by this time it was after 12. Here we observed a few more birds including a California Gull. The drive home was much easier. 
The ten of us (Dan Bohlmann, Dick Fogle, Darlene Gatto, Marcia Johnson, Carol Anne Kinney, Vera Markham, Marilyn McMahon, Donna Smith, Jo Ann Walden – a visitor from Washington state, and George Wall – leader) saw or heard a total of 53 species which were: Pied-billed Grebe, Eared Grebe, Western Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Killdeer (h), Spotted Sandpiper, California Gull, Mourning Dove, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow,
Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Loggerhead Shrike, Phainopepla, Cactus Wren (h), Marsh Wren, Curvebilled Thrasher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Verdin, Common Raven, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Abert’s Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, House Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle.