By Linda Du Lac
In spite of threats of inclement weather, 10 participants joined Dan Stoken on February 23 to look for raptors and other birds in the Mission Valley. We were rewarded with an abundance of birds; 26 different species and 1,902 individuals were counted. Communication between our four cars was facilitated by use of Audubon walkie talkies. Frequent stops were made as we travelled slowly along the back roads west of Pablo and Ronan. Spotting scopes were quickly set up at most stops. Dan called out what he was seeing while Braydon recorded the observations in eBird. Of the raptors, Red-tailed Hawks were the most abundant with numerous different color variations observed. Dan explained his basis of identification which was a wonderful learning experience. Memorable birds seen included four Prairie Falcons, one Ferruginous Hawk, several Horned Larks, nesting Great Horned Owls, Northern Shrikes, and two Short-eared Owls in flight display. In addition to birds, we were thrilled to see a red fox on top of a stack of hay bales.