Birds, Beauty, and Biodiversity

171/$16,483/$8,500 to go!

You are one of around 3000 people who receive this email. You may be one of the 171 people who, in the last nine weeks, has made a cash gift to Tucson Audubon. We are raising funds to help make Tucson more bird friendly.

If you are one of those 171 supporters, thank you for raising nearly $16,500.

Can I now count on you today to join this committed group to to help raise the remaining $8,500 that will result in more trees in our community that will support more migrating and resident birds? Could you make the one single gift of $8500 to bring our appeal to a close today?

Please help by making a special summer gift today? You can also make your gift in honor or memory of a loved one, a gesture that will have a lasting impact. Thank you so much for your part in Tucson Audubon's success.

Are You Fearless With Flycatchers?

If so, can you ID the Flycatcher at right? (Answer at the end of this email. Image by Bryan Smith)

If not, you might want some help from Homer Hansen!

Ready to leap into the identification of Empidonax and Myiarchus flycatchers? This workshop introduces you to the diverse family Tyrannidae and highlights the ways to separate the kingbirds, pewees, empids and flycatchers of southeastern Arizona.

Flycatchers Specialty Workshop with Homer Hansen: September 4 & 6, 2014—ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT!

Find details and register online. For questions, contact Bete Jones.

 

How Do You Attract Birds to Your Yard?

Tucson Audubon and the Tucson Bird Count are looking to make recommendations on how to make yards in the Tucson area more bird friendly and are asking for your suggestions. Is there a plant you placed in your yard that you have noticed attracts a certain species or group of birds? Did a brush pile or water feature really make a difference? Maybe a community of multiple species did the trick for you. Perhaps it was a seed producing plant under a larger cover plant?

Please email you suggestions and success stories to birdhabitat@tucsonaudubon.org

We are looking for anything you did that you feel made your yard or property more bird friendly (which can include reduced window strikes, less outdoor cat kills etc.) so we can share some of these ideas with other bird appreciators so together we can make Tucson a better place for birds!

Desktop Computer Donation Needed For Tucson Bird Count

The Tucson Bird Count is moving into an exciting new phase of outreach with a new website to match. The goal of the Tucson Bird Count has long been to encourage Tucson residents to help create urban bird habitat in their yards and neighborhoods and Tucson Audubon is in the process of creating those outreach materials. What the program really needs now is a new desktop computer to host the database and website and it needs to be new enough to support Windows 7 operating system. If you are upgrading to a new system and have one available please consider donating the other to the Tucson Bird Count to help our new outreach efforts.

You can contact Jennie at jmacfarland@tucsonaudubon.org or come on by our Nature Shop and ask for Jennie.

Back To School With Tucson Audubon

School is in session and at the main Tucson Audubon Nature Shop we've got what you need to save money, help the environment and pack a fabulous lunch for the child in your life or for yourself because let's face it we all need to eat!! 

We've got Lunchskins reusable sandwich & snack bag only $8.95!  Wash it down with something cool and refreshing from a Tucson Audubon water bottle only $16.00, reduce your carbon footprint and support Tucson Audubon Society!

OPTICS

Zeiss Conquest HD 10x42

A whole new class of premium optics provides a premium experience of the world of nature. Watching birds, insects, or wildlife you will appreciate the vivid natural colors and the comfortable feel in your hands and in front of your eyes. The innovative HD lens system, the compact and light weight design, will allow you to enjoy the view from before dawn to deep dusk, every day. With the new CONQUEST HDs you will be equipped for a premium experience of birds and the whole world of nature.

Promotional Price $900.00

Tucson Audubon's Nature Shops are the best place in our region to try and buy binoculars. Check out our prices and you can see why. Come in and see us for the top brands.

 Need directions to our Nature Shops? Find all the info here.

Read more about the following conservation issues at our Blog.

City-County Cooperation Saves Saguaro-studded Painted Hills
The Arizona Daily Star recently published an opinion editorial written by Pima County Board of Supervisor Richard Elias and City Councilor Regina Romero celebrating our community’s newest conservation success story: the preservation of Painted Hills.  In their editorial, the two community leaders say, “The saguaro-studded Painted Hills at the gateway to Tucson Mountain Park finally is getting the protection it has long deserved, due in large part to years of cooperative efforts between Pima County and the City of Tucson. City and county officials worked hard and in concert to achieve this milestone, as neither entity could have done it alone.”

Tucson Audubon commends the City and County for its efforts to purchase and preserve Painted Hills. Representatives from Tucson Audubon and the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, of which Tucson Audubon is a founding member group, have attended many meetings over the past decade in support of preserving this special parcel of land. Now we can celebrate this long-awaited conservation achievement!  Click here to read more and to learn how you can take action to support fully funding Pima County’s next open space bond package.

Solar, Wind and Wildlife—Can We Strike a Balance?
The conservation community has been actively engaged in tackling the growing threat posed to birds, bats and other wildlife by the development and operation of many new utility scale wind and solar installations. The rapid growth of these new forms of energy production has resulted in efforts by the government and the public to craft new policies in order to strike a balance between renewable energy development and the conservation of wildlife and other natural and cultural resources.

In recent news, North American Windpower recently reported that on July 31st, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued the first ever eagle take permit for EDF Renewable Energy’s Shiloh IV wind project in Solano, California. The article also notes that a public process is now underway by the FWS to retool eagle take permit polices. Tucson Audubon will be reviewing the proposed revisions to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act permit regulations. The final policy governing take permits, including the maximum length of time permits can be issued, is expected to be finalized by the end of 2015.

Meanwhile, things are heating up in the Mojave Desert of California, where birds are being scorched out of the sky by the new Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS). Read the Arizona Daily Star article on the issue. The project is currently the largest solar thermal power plant in the world. What is being done to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to our wildlife from energy development?  Visit the and American Bird Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife’s websites to learn more about the issues and how we can get engaged.

Outdoor Cat Suspected of Killing Five Endangered Lesser Long-Nosed Bats

Recently, in nearby Cochise County, three endangered Lesser Long-Nosed bat carcasses were collected from a mortality event of five bats found under a hummingbird feeder over several days. According to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center diagnostic report, “All three bats had evidence of bite wounds resulting in death; bite wounds were small and deeply penetrating, consistent with a small carnivore such as a cat.” While this case is not yet definitive, cat-caused mortality events such as this may be occurring much more often than we realize because the vast majority of them likely go undocumented.  

Tucson Audubon is disappointed in the recent Pima County Board of Supervisors approval of a trap, neuter and release (TNR) program for feral cats.  We believe it was the wrong decision for biodiversity and for the health and human safety of Pima County residents. In light of the decision to adopt the “Community Cats” TNR program, Tucson Audubon is asking Pima County to take reasonable steps to document the performance of the program and to avoid some of the pitfalls of other TNR programs. Click here to read more and take action!

Twin Mining Pollution Disasters Remind the Public and Policy Makers of the Industry’s Many Environmental Hazards
Two recent major mining-related pollution disasters are a stark reminder of the many serious environmental hazards posed by the hard rock mining industry, which unfortunately aims to build new open pit mines in both the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains of southeast Arizona. The first disaster began on August 4th near Mount Polley in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. The second disaster began on August 6th at the Buenavista copper mine in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. Click here to learn more and to take action to protect our communities and ecosystems from the destruction and pollution associated with hard rock mining.

Read more about the above conservation issues at our Blog.