Twenty teens, parents, and leaders eagerly trekked the trails of William B. Pond Recreational Area in search of birds in the fog - a perfect time to learn how to listen for birds. 

As the walk wrapped up, the fog was burning off and we found we had a total of 59 species of birds, 11 of them being new to this count. 

Thank you to Teen Leaders/Mentors:  Craig DeMartini, Cliff Hawley, David Rosen, Sandra Steurer, and Jane Van Kessel, who made the bird world very engaging to our teens and their families. 

We ate lunch at our traditional Mexican restaurant and had our drawing for door prizes.  Thank you to the SAS membership for donating so many exciting items to choose from.  What a good way to get our teens started in the study and appreciation of birds. 

Trip highlights mentioned by participants included:  seeing a Cooper’s and Sharp-Shinned Hawk for comparison, flashy color on Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, very cute Bufflehead, and seeing deer swimming in the river as they crossed.  Notable finds were:  Greater White-Fronted Geese and Pine Siskins flying over, a lone Gadwall, Yellow-Billed Magpies, a Hermit Thrush, and Phainopepla.

by Wendy Warren Money