It was a very cold and brisk morning as eleven intrepid birders (Bob Cirillo, Dick Fogle, Darnell Kirksey, Dean Luehrs, Vera Markham, Barbara Meding, Chuck & Loretta Richards, Lorraine Thompson, George Wall and Nancy Woods) started walking the Tres Rios Hayfield site and the birds were out in force. We saw 54 birds at Tres Rios and they were Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican (2 groups flew over us), Great Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Redtailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Gambel’s Quail, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Black Phoebe, Tree Swallow, American Pipit (probably 50), Marsh Wren, American Robin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Verdin, European Startling, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Abert’s Towhee, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird and Great Tailed Grackle.

We had heard through the internet that there were a flock of Ruddy Ground-Dove at the El Mirage Pond and so we headed there. Along the way, we saw Western Meadowlark, Burrowing Owl, Greater Roadrunner and Brewers Blackbird to add to the list. At the pond we saw a lot more Black-necked Stilts and Longbilled Dowitchers, but we also picked up Turkey Vultures, Least Sandpipers, Say’s Phoebe and Common Ground Dove. Then we saw the flock of 10 or so Ruddy Ground-Dove that we’d heard about. We had plenty of time to observe and check all markings with our books to everyone’s satisfaction. The photo by Robert Shantz illustrates the differences between the doves.