|
Tucson Audubon Society
April 19, 2024
| |
Welcome, , to Tucson Audubon's weekly update.
Rain has come. Humidity is up. Our native plants are sensing an opportunity to grow and bloom. Insects are hatching. The desert is thinking about coming alive. Soon it will be the most lively time of year in southeast Arizona, and early mornings will be great times to see deer, Gila monsters, ringtails, coatis, spectacular birds and all our abundant summer life.
Be safe, experience abundance!
Happy Independence Day! The Nature Shops and all Tucson Audubon offices will be closed Monday July 4.
Kendall Kroesen, e-News editor, 520-209-1806
Alpine Arizona? Sign me up!
 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 still some spaces available! Both companies are generously donate a portion of the fee to Tucson Audubon to help us protect birds and
habitat. Read more below and find more here.
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. Thanks to the proximity of the White Mountains to Tucson, we'll have chances for many birds that normally require a separate trip deeper into the Interior West of the United States. Species that most birders can't picture nesting in Arizona such as Osprey and Bald Eagle, Downy and American Three-toed Woodpeckers, Williamson's and Red-naped Sapsuckers, Gray and Pinyon Jays, Clark's Nutcracker, American Dipper, Gray Catbird, and Mountain Bluebird are all possible. We'll even peruse a few areas where the elusive Dusky Grouse is known to occur. And, owing to the checkerboard of meadows and forest that cloak the White Mountains, we'll have more and better opportunities for viewing birds like Red-faced and MacGillivray's Warblers. Transiting from Tucson to Central Arizona we'll cut through the interior chaparral metropolis for Arizona's population of breeding Gray Vireo. About 150 species can be observed on this alpine addendum to a standard Arizona visit. Images by Jim Burns.
See full itinerary and sign up
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."
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.
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.
Find all the details
Bald and Golden Eagles at Risk
This 4th of July - Take Action
for Our National Symbol
New
rules proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not adequately
protect Bald and Golden Eagles.
The agency charged with protecting America’s birds and wildlife issued new
regulations that will grant wind companies 30-year permits to kill Bald and
Golden Eagles—with virtually no proven mitigation options available to protect
eagles and no real oversight of the wind industry’s efforts to mitigate eagle
deaths.
Please send public comments to oppose 30-year permits. Hurry, the deadline to comment is July
5.
While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that it will review wind farms
every five years even under the 30-year permits, the agency does not have
the resources to monitor sites or to thoroughly review the effectiveness of
each site’s avoidance and mitigation measures every five years.
The Bald Eagle—the very symbol of America—and the majestic Golden
Eagle deserve strong protection, and a program that provides 30-year
permits without proven mitigation measures available and without adequate
oversight is just not good enough.
Tell the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that 30-year permits are not biologically or
legally defensible.
Stand up for the San Pedro River! Your voice can make a difference!
Send a letter today and attend three important public meetings in July.
These meetings represent the last opportunity to weigh in on the proposed Villages at Vigneto (Vigneto) development in Benson. If you can't make it in person, send a letter, an e-mail or a letter to the editor. The Benson Planning and Zoning Commission and the Benson City Council will be holding one work session and two public hearings to consider final adjustments, and whether or not to approve the Final Community Master Plan (CMP) for the proposed mega-development.
Take Action!
-
Send a letter expressing your concerns to the Benson’s City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission: 120 W. 6th St., Benson, AZ, 85602. Prefer to send your letter via e-mail? See the Benson City Council e-mail addresses. See talking points below.
-
Attend three final public meetings for the Villages at Vigneto Community Master Plan (CMP). Come prepared to share your concerns at these upcoming public meetings, which will be held at Benson City Hall:
1. Planning & Zoning Commission hearing @ 7:00 PM, July 5th
2. City Council work session @ 9:00 AM, July 9th
3. City Council hearing @ 7:00 PM, July 18th
-
Write a letter to the editor (50-150 words) to: Liz.Manring@svherald.com
Tell Benson officials they should not approve the Final Community Master Plan until, at a minimum:
-
Phase III USGS hydrogeologic model is completed and used to inform decision making processes related to the use of groundwater resources and its impacts on private wells, projected subsidence, springs and seeps, river base-flows, etc.;
-
The Army Corps of Engineers has re-evaluated the Section 404 permit for Vigneto and has formally consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding impacts to threatened and endangered species;
-
Federal and state agency consultations and recommendations have been fully integrated into Vigneto's scale, design and configuration.
Detailed talking points
Tucson Audubon Free Birding Field Trips
Sign up for free birding field trips at tucsonaudubon.org/fieldtrips
-
Sweetwater Wetlands. Weekly trip every Wednesday!
-
WOW Arizona, July 9. Amazing birds in an amazing setting. Limit of 8. Sign up now!
-
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!
Habitat at Home Tip of the Week
Sign up for Habitat at Home and get your yard recognized by Tucson Audubon
Native solitary bees are a key part of Sonoran Desert biodiversity. There are hundreds of native carpenter bees, leaf-cutter bees, mason bees, longhorn bees, sweat bees, bumble bees, digger bees, cactus bees and more. The presence of these bees in your yard indicates a biologically productive yard that offers food for birds and you can assure their presence with a diverse array of native plants.
While native solitary bees are able to sting, they rarely interact with people. Most of the time you never see them--many of them are very small and they come and go without us noticing them.
Native solitary bees need more places to nest and reproduce. They do this in small-diameter, tubular holes that they dig into soft wood or into the ground. You can provide holes for them to nest in by buying or making "bee habitats"--blocks of wood with different-sized holes drilled in them. Here is a link to do-it-yourself instructions for how to make your own bee blocks. We have some beautifully-designed bee habitats made by Susan Daigneault for sale in the University Blvd Nature Shop (center image, above). For bees that tunnel into the ground to lay their eggs, leave a small, bare pile of loose soil in the yard.
There are many other ideas for making your yard into safe, sustainable bird habitat at our Habitat at Home page.
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.
2016/2017 Duck Stamps Available in the Nature Shop
 100% of the proceeds go to support U.S Fish & Wildlife conservation efforts.
While waterfowl hunters 16 years of age or older are required to purchase them, anyone can contribute to conservation by buying Duck Stamps. In addition to serving as hunting license and conservation tool, a current Federal Duck Stamp is also a free pass into any National Wildlife Refuge that charges an entry fee. Nature photographers and other outdoor enthusiasts buy Duck Stamps to help ensure that they can always see wildlife at their favorite outdoors spots.
NOTE: The Nature Shop will be closed Monday, July 4. Happy Independence Day!
OPTICS
 Zeiss Victory SF 10x42
The comfortable, innovative ergonomics of the Zeiss SF binocular and the excellent, water-repelling action of the LotuTec® coating makes this binocular a perfect companion for the long days and rugged use of all your outdoor activities. Zeiss provides a limited lifetime transferable warranty.
Member Price $2650.50, Regular Price $2945.00
Learn more about our shops and get directions
 Thank you, , 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
   
|
| |
|
|
|
Email Marketing By
|
|
|
|
|
