A good group of us (18 in all) Birders' Anonymous and Sonoran Audubon Society Members car-pooled out to Mirage Ponds and the P.I.R. area Wednesday morning, 29 Jan. 2003. The group consisted of Marshall Esty (leader), Betty Baugus, Judith Burke, Earl & Pat Edrias, Ken Larsen, Dean & Joan Luehrs, Chuck & Lorretta Richards, Lee & Phyllis Rosander, Jane Ruesch, Larry & Audrey Schandler, Donna Smith, Alan Temple and George Wall.

We first stopped at Mirage Ponds and were saddened to see only about a 15x10 foot area of water left that was just a few inches deep. Probably 10-20 very large carp could be seen trying to keep their heads under water. In a few days, it will be completely dry. There were just a couple of birds there; so we went on to the P.I.R. area.

Here are the birds seen at the pond and the P.I.R. area: Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Redhead, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Moorhen, American Coot. Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western Sandpiper, Killdeer, probable Ring-billed Gull, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, American Robin, Rock Wren, Marsh Wren, Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Finch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Abert’s Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, and Great-tailed Grackle.

On the way back, several of us went back via 91st and saw an American Kestrel, Loggerhead Shrike, European Starling, House Sparrow and a Western Meadowlark.

Quite a morning.