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Bird of the Month The Club spotted four species new to Four Seasons this spring so this column will review these birds in the next issues of the Breeze. Last month we reviewed the Tree Swallow, first spotted on March 9, and this month we will review the Barn Swallow, first spotted on March 19. The sparrow-sized Barn Swallow is blue on the back, wings, and tail, with rufous on the face. Males are more boldly colored than females. The tail is deeply forked. Barn Swallows feed in open habitats from fields and parks to marshes, meadows, and ponds, where they catch flies, wasps, moths, and other flying insects in flight. The Barn Swallow is a highly migratory, global species present on every continent except Antarctica. In the Americas, they spend the summer breeding from central Mexico northward through the entire U.S. and southern half of Canada to Alaska. They spend the winter from central Mexico southward through Central and South America. The single Barn Swallow spotted over Four Seasons on March 19 was a migrant heading north. ~ Steve Edelman Birding CLUB During April, our wintering bird species departed Four Seasons, our resident and migrant breeders were singing and breeding, and pass-through migrants made short appearances during their northward and upslope journeys. In early to mid-April, two migrants that breed in wetlands, Sora and Common Yellowthroat, were singing from our two cattail ponds: the cattail pond by Trail F at the lower (east) end of Potrero Creek and the cattail pond on Trail A. Both the Sora and Common Yellowthroat continued through April 26 but have not been seen or heard since. Apparently, neither bird could find a mate; hopefully they will be more successful in future years. Our bird walk on May 7 produced a nice mix of resident and migrant species. The morning group walk yielded a total of 26 species. The highlight was a first-of-season Western Tanager, a pass-through migrant that breeds in our local mountains – and is a beautiful bird! Other highlights included great looks at a singing Yellow Warbler (a migrant breeder), two Mountain Chickadees (which are lingering winter birds), lots of California Quail (a resident bird), a Wilson's Warbler (a pass-through migrant), and a female Mallard with ducklings (a resident bird). Later in the day, Helene Leonard spotted at least two Black-headed Grosbeaks (a pass-through migrant) at her feeders, bringing the day's species total to 27. ~ Steve Edelman, steve.h.edelman@gmail.com FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JUNE 2022 39 After a successful season of three well-attended garden events on different topics, stay tuned for more garden events coming in the fall. We are in full planning phase to bring you a summer picnic with fresh vegetable recipes currently scheduled for Sept. 2 so save the date. For information or suggestions for future topics, please contact pwayne1@ outlook.com. ~ Pat Wayne Community Garden Club Far left: The Four Seasons Birding Club in action on Trail B during our May 7 bird walk. Photo by Club member Gerrie Karczynski Left: Western Tanager, a pass-through migrant seen on Trail A during the Club's May 7 bird walk. Photo by Club member Gerrie Karczynski Adult male Barn Swallow. Photo by Christian Ryan

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