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44 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2026 Old School Dance Step back in time and groove to the classic beats with us! This club brings a nostalgia-packed evening filled with music, movement, and memories from when we were young with music from the 70s! Join us on the fourth Thursday of every month from 3 to 5 pm in The Lodge Ballroom and let the good times roll. We will also educate you about the history of those old- school songs we all know and love. It's not only about dancing and loving every minute, but also it's about understanding the roots and stories behind the music that shaped an entire generation. For more information, contact Willa Harris at (951) 550-3453. ~ Willa Harris, willaharris89@gmail.com In last month's Breeze we began a discussion about taxonomy, the organization of living organisms. This month we will talk about how understanding the system can help you with bird identification. All birds are in the Class Aves. They are further divided into Orders and Suborders. In your field guide you will see that the divisions probably begin at the Family level. Birds in the same Family share an evolutionary bond. I use Sibley Field Guides because I like the style of illustration. The following descriptions pertain to those guides. While the birds are grouped into Families, the Family name only appears at the beginning of the group. There is, however, an index in the back listing all of the Species within each Family. The list also serves as a handy checklist for keeping track of what you have seen. Now for the important, but tricky, part. As you look at the pages of the guide you will see the common name of each bird. Under the common name, in italics, you will find the Latin name. The Latin name has two parts. The first word is for the Genus and the second word indicates the Species. The Genera (the plural of Genus) are always listed together, with the number of Species varying from just one to quite a few. Here comes the tricky part. The common name is not a reliable indicator of the Genus or Species. As an example, the Sibley Birds West field guide lists 21 Species of woodpeckers in the Family Picidae, but they are divided into 5 Genera and only 15 have the word woodpecker in their common name. If this seems confusing, try studying the field guide by looking at the way it is organized. You will begin to see which birds are most closely related and therefore share similarities of appearance and behavior. The more you study your guide, the more it will make sense. The Birding Club walks the trails as a group on the first Saturday of the month. We gather at 8 am by the Potrero Creek sign at the edge of The Lodge parking lot. We walk at a leisurely pace, taking time to see as many species as we can. Please feel free to join us. We love to see new faces. If you have any questions, please call or text me. ~ Genie Cooper, (269) 930-0310 Birding CLUB

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