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Birding CLUB The Birding Club is changing. By the time you read this article, my wife and I will have moved to Nevada and the Club will be under new leadership. Before the move, in February and March, both birders and birds conspired to make my final days of birding at Four Seasons among the best since I started birding here. The birders did their part when, at the end of our very productive March 4 group bird walk (see below), the Club members made me feel very appreciated with gifts, cards, and good wishes that were topped off by a doughnuts- and-cookies going-away party! The birds did their part to sweeten our bittersweet departure from Four Seasons by placing in front my binoculars not one, not two, but three Four Seasons first records! The streak started on Feb. 12 with a pair of Cassin's Finches at our feeder. Cassin's Finch, like so many of our wintering birds, is a mountain breeder that moves south and/ or downslope in winter. On Feb. 28 I spotted a flock of eight Band- tailed Pigeons in the top of a tree at the east end of Trail B. Band- tailed Pigeon is another mountain breeder that moves south and/or downslope in winter. During the same stroll on Feb. 28, I spotted a single Evening Grosbeak at the west end of Trail B. This bird is rare in Southern California and was reported on the Inland Counties Rare Bird Alert. The bird was flocking with six Cassin's Finches (three male and three female). And yes, Evening Grosbeak is a mountain breeder that moves south and/or downslope in winter! We finished the morning bird walk on March 4 with a total of 25 species. Highlights included a flock of Band-Tailed Pigeons (in the same location where they were first seen on Feb. 28), a female Phainopepla, and a flock of Cedar Waxwings. Later in the day, Tina Canon, Bill and Genie Cooper, Gerrie Karczynski, Barbara Wasco and I spotted 12 additional species, bringing the day's total to a whopping 37 species. Highlights included six Lawrence's Goldfinches, a Chipping Sparrow, and a male Cassin's Finch (perhaps one of same Cassin's Finches seen on Feb. 12 and 28). With the three new species found in February, the Club has now documented 126 species at Four Seasons and this list will continue to grow as the Club grows into the future. ~ Steve Edelman, steve.h.edelman@gmail.com FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2023 39 Male Cassin's Finch at a Four Seasons bird bath on March 4. Photo by Gerrie Karczynski One of eight Band-Tailed Pigeons in a flock seen on March 4 from the east end of Trail A. Photo by Gerrie Karczynski The doughnuts-and-cookies going-away party at the end of our March 4 morning bird walk

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