SaddleBrooke Ranch Cuckoos

SBR Cuckoos are back again with “The Big Day.”

For the fourth year, SaddleBrooke Ranch will field a team to participate in Tucson Audubon Society’s annual Birdathon fundraiser. The SBR team this year is Jim Hoagland, Laurie McCoy, Jim Bradford, Deb Sandin, Karen Vanderwall, Rick and Sheree Gillaspie, Tim DeJonge, Ben and Nancy Eisenstein, and Gerry and Claire Tietje. The Cuckoos have achieved remarkable milestones in past Birdathons; Grand Champion in our first year and highest fundraiser for the other two years.

The purpose of the SBR Cuckoos is to assist the Tucson Audubon Society (TAS) in raising funds to support the important work they do. Their mission is “inspiring people to enjoy and protect birds through recreation, education, conservation and restoration of the environment. They provide educational Zoom programs, field trip outings, and in-person socials such as the “Birds ‘n’ Beer” meetups at local establishments. The funds also support the Tucson Audubon Society’s offices and wonderful gift shop, the Mason Center, and the Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia.

The SBR Cuckoos have chosen to continue the format of “The Big Day, Free Style,” where we attempt to identify as many bird species as possible in a 24-hour timespan. Our plan this year is to divide the team into three unit and cover as many of the “Hot Spots” of south Pinal County. Our Birdathon will begin the evening of April 23^rd looking and listening for owls and finish 24 hours later on April 25^th. Our goal is to exceed last year’s count of 126 bird species.

We are honored to help support such a great organization as Tucson Audubon Society and hope you will join us with your pledges. There are two ways to donate, and no amount is too small to help us achieve our goal of $5,000. The first is to donate a fixed dollar amount. The second, which is more fun, is to make a pledge that challenges the team. It could be something like $ per bird species, or $5 for each soaring raptor species or $25 for each owl species. Let your imagination run wild! Make your donation and pledges using the red buttons below.

As an incentive for everyone who makes a pledge of $25 or more, you will receive Jim’s 2025 bird desk calendar with the wonderful photos you have come to know and enjoy.

Thanks to everyone in advance for helping the SBR Cuckoos achieve their goal and supporting the work of the Tucson Audubon Society.

Pledges:

• Jim Hoagland: $1/bird species seen by team, $100 if our team's bird species count exceeds Luke's, $100 for each new Pinal County bird species to my list and $200 for any new life bird. $10 for each owl species seen by the team. $50 for each eagle species seen. $10 for any shorebird species seen at the SBR Pond. $10 for any bird species with red in name or color in body. Cuckoo-up, CUCKOOS. Lets have fun.
• Laura Haslett: $1/species. Hope that you beat your count by at least 10 specifies over last year.
• Nini Frank: $4/species. Hope you see 75 birds species!
• Jim Bradford: $5 per waterfowl species in the Mammoth Lake district
• Bob Thompson: $6/species
• Karen Vanderwall: $1/bird species seen by our team & $5 for any new life bird that I see. Looking forward to more birding fun!
• Nancy & Ben  Eisenstein: $2/species and  $25 for our local Cuckoo, the Roadrunner!  Go Cuckoos!
• Carol Andrews: $1/species