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Tucson Audubon Society
May 16, 2024
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 Welcome, Jo, to Tucson Audubon's weekly update.
Birds still need watching even when daytime highs are 110 or more. Just don't do it after 9 a.m.! Fortunately it's light enough to see birds at 4:50 a.m. and the sun comes up at 5:20 a.m.
Bird early. Bird well. Bird safe!
Kendall Kroesen, e-News editor, 520-209-1806
Thanks for Joining Storytelling and Poetry on the San Pedro!
On June 12 Tucson Audubon hosted Storytelling and Poetry on the San Pedro, to build public awareness about serious issues affecting the San Pedro River. Issues like the Villages at Vigneto mega-development. We appreciate the moving and insightful readings of esteemed authors Richard Shelton, Ken Lamberton, Robert Houston, Midji Stephenson and, of course, the uplifting antics of David Fitzsimmons. At the event Fitzsimmons exclaimed, “That river is a treasure...it’s exquisite, it’s beautiful, it’s rare, there’s nothing like it...do not let anyone diminish it! Not a single soul!”
The music of Ted Ramirez, against the backdrop of Winn Bundy's iconic Singing Wind Bookshop, completed the experience. Around 200 people attended, among them Steve and Lauvon White of Sierra Vista. In a Sierra Vista Herald article written about the event, Lauvon was quoted, “This event was more than awesome. It brought out a very deep, passionate and emotional awareness about how fragile the river really is. I’m so glad we decided to attend. And what a beautiful setting for something like this." Matt Clark, analyst with Tucson Audubon was also quoted, “This region loves the San Pedro River and the people want to see a happier ending for the San Pedro than the Santa Cruz River. This issue of protecting the river is much broader than just the Benson area. We have a national riparian conservation area here, so this is a national issue.”
TAKE ACTION!
- Write a letter to the editor (50-150 words) to: Liz.Manning@svherald.com
Attend and speak at the upcoming public hearing on the Final Vigneto Community Master Plan at 7:00 PM on Tuesday July 5 at Benson City Hall, 120 W. 6th St. This public hearing is our last opportunity to ask questions and voice any concerns to the planning and zoning commission before the commission makes an official recommendation to Benson City Council.
Attend and share your concerns at a work session for the Final Villages at Vigneto Community Master Plan (CMP) at Benson City Hall on Saturday, July 9 at 9:00 AM. If you can't attend, write a letter with your concerns to the Benson City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission before July 5: City Hall 120 W. 6th Street Benson, Arizona 85602
Tucson Audubon Free Birding Field Trips
More about all our birding trips can be found at tucsonaudubon.org/fieldtrips
- Sweetwater Wetlands. Weekly trip every Wednesday!
- California Gulch, June 25. Late afternoon/evening birding; try for the Buff-collared Nightjar.
- Madera Canyon Grasslands for Beginners, July 9. Cassin’s and Botteri’s Sparrows and much more.
- Saint David Monastery and Environs, July 16. Classic riches of southeast Arizona summer birding!
Win a FREE Pair of Swarovski Binoculars!
2016 Membership Raffle. Join Tucson Audubon, and see birds better.
 All NEW MEMBERS automatically entered
CURRENT MEMBERS entered each time you recruit a new member (ask your friends to share your name on their membership form)
Swarovski EL 8.5X42- Large field of view
- Edge-to-edge sharpness
- Versatile
- Bright images in poor light conditions
- $2,800 Value
Sign Up Now for Pre- and Post-Festival Field Trips
 Did you know the Southeast
Arizona Birding Festival has birding trips to locations in Mexico, the
Chiricahuas and the White Mountains? Check out the offerings from Solipaso Tours and Borderlands Tours, there
are spaces available! Both companies are generously donating a portion of the
registration fee to Tucson Audubon to help us continue protecting birds and
habitat in the region. Learn about the trips below or find the details here.
SOLIPASO PRE-FESTIVAL TRIP
Madera:
A short trip for Sierra Madre endemics
 August 7-10, 2016; $1200 per person ($220 single supplement)
This short but very special trip into the states of Sonora and Chihuahua is
offered mainly to see the target species of the highly endemic Thick-billed
Parrot and Eared Quetzal. Although our main targets on this trip are the Parrots, there is a lot more to be seen. The forests around Madera hold many other interesting birds, including Spotted Wren (image by Ron Knight), Aztec Thrush, Slate-throated Redstart, Rufous-capped Brush-Finch, Black-headed Siskin, Mountain Trogon, Russet Nightingale-Thrush, Flame-colored Tanager, Striped Sparrow, Brown-backed Solitaire, Gray Silky-Flycatcher and Montezuma Quail.
See full info on this trip
SOLIPASO POST-FESTIVAL TRIP
Northwest
Mexico: Madera, Basaseachic Falls & Yecora
August 15-22, 2016; $2650 per person ($550 single supplement)
This trip focuses on the endemic birds of the little-traveled northern Sierra
Madre Occidental mountain range, both in Chihauhua and Sonora.
BORDERLAND TOURS PRE-FESTIVAL TRIP
Bird
Communities of the Sky Islands
August 7-9, 2016; $795/per person
Most of our time will be spent in the Chiricahua Mountains, the largest and
most biologically diverse of the isolated sierras locally known as "Sky
Islands."
BORDERLAND TOURS POST-FESTIVAL TRIP
Alpine
Arizona: White Mountains
August 15-19, 2016; $1595/per person
About 150 species can be observed on this
alpine addendum, including Dusky Grouse, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Gray
Jay, and Clark's Nutcracker.
FIND ALL THE
DETAILS
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
 Paton Center Call for Volunteers!
The Paton Center in Patagonia is looking for volunteer help
with ecological restoration work, feeder maintenance, visitor greeting,
and other tasks. If you want to volunteer outdoors this summer, the
Paton Center is the perfect place! Come enjoy the shady cottonwoods and
colorful hummingbirds while helping us improve the property for birds
and birders alike! Volunteer days are usually Thursday from 8am -noon,
but you're welcome to volunteer any day of the week!
If you're interested, contact Nick Beauregard, Paton Center Coordinator, at 520-394-2340 or nbeauregard@tucsonaudubon.org.
2016 Southeast Arizona Birding Festival
If you volunteered for last year’s festival and would like to do so
again, great! You can have the same assignment you enjoyed last year! If
you did not volunteer last year and are interested, please do! There
are two main categories of volunteer jobs:
- Pre-festival tasks
- Onsite tasks during festival
A four-day birding extravaganza takes many volunteers—more than 80
people helped last year. Set up and take down, greeter, vendor fair
liaison, food prep and support for activities and field trips are just a
few areas.
Please contact Volunteer Coordinator, Josh Barron (209-1811), for more information on these opportunities.
Celebrate Pollinator Week
 With the recent decline of the European honey bee, it is more important than ever to encourage the activity of other native pollinators to keep your flowers beautiful and your vegetable garden plentiful. In Attracting Native Pollinators, you’ll find ideas for building nesting structures and creating a welcoming habitat for an array of diverse pollinators that includes not only bees, but butterflies, moths, and more. Take action and protect North America’s food supply for the future, while at the same time enjoying a happily bustling landscape.
Attracting Native Pollinators by The Xerces Society
Forward by Marla Spivac
ISBN 9781603426954
Retail price $29.95
OPTICS
Swarovski EL 12x50
 THE PERFECT EXPLORER
EL 50 binoculars offer a strong magnification and excellent sharpness of detail–-perfect over long distances or at twilight. The most compact 50 mm binoculars, second-to-none. They impress with their perfect weight balance and allow you to hold them steadily in your hand. Larger exit pupils also provide brighter images at twilight.
Member Price $2869.20, Regular Price $3188.00
Learn more about our shops and get directions
 Thank you, Jo, for being a part of Tucson Audubon and helping to protect birds and the places they live in southeast Arizona.
—Tucson Audubon Staff
(image by Angela Pritchard)
Connecting
people with birds & the places they live
   
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