April is a bit overwhelming at Tucson Audubon. Between rare birds, field trips, member events, action alerts and fundraisers, we can get very busy. Are you feeling the love?

If not, write back and tell us where we could be doing a better job. We want to serve members and birders as best we can!

The lengthy email below reflects the activity level this April! Make note of all the opportunities to participate and make your voice heard for our birds and environment.

Kendall Kroesen, e-News editor, 520-209-1806

Join Exclusive Birdathon Trips and See More Birds!

Patagonia Birder Patrol | Led by Nick Beauregard
Big Day Goal: 100 species
Limited to 6 people | $200 funds raised/donation suggested
Explore the rich biodiversity of the Patagonia region. Our small group size will allow for intimate access to as many as 100 species of birds, from the cottonwood gallery forest of Sonoita Creek to the Madrean woodlands of the Patagonia Mountains. We will go to little-known birding hotspots that offer big rewards, and participants will be treated to some of the best off-the-beaten-path birding anywhere in Arizona.

See Nick's bio and a Blog post that details this Big Day and the Paton Center Big Sit on Sunday, April 24.

Saturday, April 23
Scott's Orioles | Led by Scott Olmstead
Big Day Goal: 90--115
Limited to 8 people
We will bird the Santa Catalina Mountains from bottom to top over the course of one long day, and aim to see a selection of the representative bird species found in each life zone as we go. We'll start at dawn with riparian habitat in the Tanque Verde vicinity and then bird the Sonoran Desert at the foot of the mountains before continuing upward through the oak, pine, and fir forests toward the top of the mountains. If we are lucky we may even see our namesake bird!

Saturday, April 23
Bird(athon) the Tucson Birding Trail Map | Led by Kendall Kroesen
Big Day Goal: 50
This is a relaxed, whirlwind tour of six to eight of the 45 locations on the new Tucson Birding Trail Map--as many as we can fit in during the morning. I’ve chosen ones that are around central Tucson and easily accessed. Still, I bet you haven’t been to all of these nearby birding sites. We will meet at Himmel Park at 6 am and carpool from there and attempt to be done by noon. (I would be glad to carry on after noon if there are enthusiasts that want to push on!)

Sunday, April 24
Big Sit at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds | Led by Nick Beauregard
The Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia is perhaps the most famous backyard for birding in the southwest. Comfortable seating surrounded by bird feeders on all sides means that no matter which direction you look, you'll be treated to a spectacular show! You can expect several species of hummingbird including Violet-crowned, Rufous, Calliope, and Magnificent as well as any number of other amazing birds migrating up the Sonoita Creek riparian corridor and making good use of the dozens of bird feeders around the property.

Images: Elegant Trogon by Donna Tolbert-Anderson, Yellow Warbler by Tom Ryan, Violet-crowned Hummingbird by Dan Weisz.

Patagonia is Perfect in Spring!

Survey for Trogons in the Sky Islands this Spring!

There is an abundance of evidence, both anecdotal and scientific, that the ecological influence of tropical Mexico has grown over the last century in southeast Arizona. The expansion continues today with the birding community noting the recent increase in prevalence of Gray Hawks and rarities in general including the recent first ever US nesting record of Tufted Flycatcher last year.

Elegant Trogons (image by Budgora) are also part of this story with their United States range expanding over the last century. To further our understanding of how many Elegant Trogons there are in the US, organized surveys happen every year in the Chiricahuas and Huachucas. They were led by Rick Taylor for many years but beginning in 2013 Tucson Audubon assisted Rick and helped expand the surveys to three more ranges: the Atascosa Highlands, Santa Rita Mountains and Patagonia Mountains.

If you would like to help in this effort and explore some great southeast Arizona habitat, see the survey dates and sign up here.

Saturday, April 23 | 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Rain Crow Coffee Roasters, 204 W. Grant Rd.
Join us for the official unveiling of the brand new Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coffee! This special collaboration between Rain Crow Coffee Roasters, the Sonoran Joint Venture, the USFWS, and Southern Sierra Research Station--to commemorate the Centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty--also benefits birds. $3 of every pound sold goes to a special fund to support habitat conservation efforts and sustainability certification for coffee growers in Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Come taste the coffee and learn more about the Migratory Bird Treaty Centennial and our efforts to help protect birds and habitats south of the border.

The Tucson Audubon Nature Shops are already selling this single-sourced Smithsonian Certified Bird Friendly coffee! Purchase a bag there if you can't make it to this event.

Monarchs Galore

Come join Tucson Audubon as we install monarch and other butterfly/pollinator gardens at our two birding centers! Thanks to a grant to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum with partners Borderlands Restoration and Sky Island Alliance, milkweed and other pollinator plants are being distributed throughout the regional landscape to create Monarch Waystations and pollinator gardens. Tucson Audubon is teaming up to provide locales for two of these waystations which will help support the monarchs as they migrate through southern Arizona. Come be a part of it!
 
Mason Center: Wednesday, April 27, 9:00 AM--noon
Limit 5 people. We’ve got the lowered beds and irrigation on the ready; come help us fill them up with 10 milkweeds and 18 other pollinator plants! Register here.
 
Paton Center for Hummingbirds: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, May 12--14; 9:00 AM--noon.
Limit 25 people each day. Join us for one day (or all of them!) as we install one of the area’s largest monarch waystations--with an expected whopping 100 milkweeds and another 100 pollinator plants to augment the 100 or so pollinator plants that are already in place. We’ll turn the Grand Memorial Meadow into and fragrant and beautiful area full of all sorts of pollinators, hummingbirds, and especially, monarch butterflies! Register below for one of the following days:
Thursday May 12
Friday May 13
Saturday May 14

Tell Arizona Governor Ducey to VETO Bad Water Bills

Despite our best efforts, Arizona Senate Bills 1268 and 1400 are passing through the Legislature and may be on their way to Governor Ducey’s desk soon. These bills must first gain Senate confirmation before they can be transmitted to the Governor's desk. With enough public opposition, either or both of these bills could still be stopped in the Senate.  

Bills 1268 and 1400 are attacks on Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act. By creating loopholes that could allow developers to skirt counties’ authority to demand proof of a 100-year water supply for proposed developments, they threaten Arizona’s cities, economies, rivers, habitats, birds and other wildlife. Please, make sure that Governor Ducey puts a stop to this ill-conceived legislation by taking action today. 

TAKE ACTION!

• Please contact your state Senator today to express your opposition to SB1268 and SB1400.

• CALL Gov. Ducey now (602-542-4331) to urge a veto should these bills reach his desk, and remind him of the necessity to protect our aquifers, streams, rivers and springs.

• Use Audubon Arizona's alert page to send an email

Read our email alert for background info on these bills

Latest editorial by the AZ Republic, Arizona's Water is everbody's business

DON'T MISS SPECIAL SCREENINGS OF BEYOND THE MIRAGE, The Future of Water in the West
At the UA: Friday, April 22 at 6 p.m. & Saturday, April 23 at 12 a.m.
See the film trailer and join the movement at beyondthemirage.org

Special Presentation of The Messenger

Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30 PM
Co-presented by Sonoran Joint Venture and The Loft Cinema
Featuring a post-film panel discussion on the conservation of Arizona’s migratory birds with local experts from Tucson Audubon Society, Southern Sierra Research Station, Rain Crow Coffee and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

From Canada’s boreal forest, to Turkey’s wetlands, to New York’s night skies, the migration patterns of song birds are vital links in the global ecosystem. Current technological advances allow scientists to track individual birds’ journeys, providing detailed information on where and when they travel. The data is alarming, and the causes of the songbirds’ plummeting population are numerous and devastating. The elegance of these colorful creatures is captured in stunning slow-motion flight as ecologists, enthusiasts and everyday people work to protect them and petition for change.

See the details of this event

Birds Aren't the Only Things Flying Around Out There!

Stop by the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop and check out the latest regional field guides. Locally written and published, A Field Guide to the Damselflies & Dragonflies of Arizona and Sonora is what you need this season whether you’re out at Agua Caliente Park or Sweetwater Wetlands.

From alpine tundra on the very highest peak to the northern limits of the American tropics, this, the first bi-national field guide for the USA and Mexico, covers all known 167 species of dragonflies and damselflies that occur in the states of Arizona and Sonora.

Available now $34.95 at the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop.

 

OPTICS

Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42
Made in Germany with the latest technology, the Zeiss Conquest HD is an outstanding value and offers premium performance. The new HD lens system provide exceptional views that set new standards for true color reproduction. Its slim line design makes the Conquest HD especially compact, while robust construction means it can handle the challenges of rugged use. The addition of LotuTec® lens coatings allows water to roll straight off the lens, dirt or smudges to be easily removed, and reduces the risk of scratches to the lens. The Conquest HD comes with a Zeiss limited lifetime transferable warranty plus a 5-year No Fault Policy.

MSRP $1,077.77 Member $969.00

Learn more about our shops and get directions

—Tucson Audubon Staff
(image by Angela Pritchard)