We have been hit by an early October heat wave! The bees are making honey hand over fist from the queen's wreath flowers outside my window. 

Summer heat can re-emerge in October but there are definite signs of fall. Nights are longer and cooler. The House Wren hanging around the Mason Center wouldn't be caught dead there in summer. And a migrant MacGillivray's Warbler just showed up in the front garden of the University Blvd. Nature Shop. Go birding on Mt. Lemmon in mid October and get the added bonus of fall colors!

Members, look for a new Vermilion Flycatcher magazine in your mailboxes later this week. And everybody come out on Monday night for the kickoff of this season's Living with Nature Monthly Program. It'll be a little cuckoo! I will see you there.

Reply to this email with any questions or comments. 

- Kendall Kroesen, email editor

Calling All Cuckoos!

Living with Nature Fall Launch Event

October 5 – Monday 6:00 pm
Amethyst Room, Pima College, 1255 N. Stone Ave.
The Living with Nature Monthly Program welcomes you to a new season of exciting speakers and talks! Our launch event will be a mix of a social gathering, announcements, recent sightings and a presentation by Jennie MacFarland. Jennie is Tucson Audubon's Important Bird Areas Conservation Biologist and she will speak about the recent Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveys. It's a fascinating bird and wait till you hear about the new places where they have been found! Image by Steve Baranoff.

Get Living with Nature Monthly Program details

An Eventful Saturday in Patagonia | October 3

Seven Saturdays Programs

The Seven Saturdays program returns for its second season! One Saturday each month from October 2015 to May 2016 (excluding December) we will offer a hike in the surrounding area led by Vincent Pinto, birder, naturalist, ethnobotanist and Patagonia mountains resident (Learn more about Vincent). A relaxed lecture on a local conservation topic will follow at the Paton Center. Come to either of these activities or both! Registration for the hikes is required. Image by Claudia Campos.

Vincent's hike is already full, but look below for another bird walk happening the same morning!

Celebrate a New Important Bird Area in Patagonia!
October 3 – Saturday 9 or 11 am
All are invited to attend the dedication of the newest Important Bird Area encompassing the Patagonia Sonoita Creek Nature Conservancy Preserve and Tucson Audubon's Paton Center for Hummingbirds. The dedication will be held at the Tucson Audubon Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia, Arizona starting at 11 am and ending around 12 pm (no registration necessary). Light refreshments will be served. There will be a bird trivia contest (with prizes!) a few words will be said about the Important Bird Area’s history and ecology. Please come, see some terrific birds and help us dedicate this IBA right!

In addition to the 7 Saturdays bird walk, there is a shorter walk available at 9 am associated with the Important Bird Area dedication. It meets at Tucson Audubon's Paton Center for Hummingbirds. We will walk the trails of the Patagonia Sonoita Creek TNC Preserve and see what turns up in the IBA that will be dedicated later that morning. We could see some early winter residents such as Green-tailed Towhee and White-crowned Sparrows or perhaps some late migrants such as Wilson's Warblers and Lazuli Buntings. Please sign up for this free walk here.
 
If you would like more information, please email Jennie at jmacfarland@tucsonaudubon.org or call  520-209-1804.

Support Birds and Other Wildlife in Your Own Yard

Gardening To Attract Birds
October 10, Saturday 10:00 am – 12 pm
Learn how to provide for birds the natural way by using plants that offer seed, fruit, and nectar, as well as cover and shelter. Lynn Hassler, a naturalist, writer and gardener, will teach you how to create desert friendly gardens that support birds and help make up for lost habitat.

• Location: Tucson Audubon Main office, Historic Y, 300 E University Blvd.
• Cost: $25

Two Ways to Help the Trekking Rattlers

What the heck is a Trekking Rattler?

Read about the Trekking Rattlers first outing of the 2015 season!

Because of your donation, urban Tucson kids will get a chance to step outside and explore the natural wonders of Arizona, some for the very first time. You will have found a way to turn taxes into treasure.

Speak Up Against SunZia

The SunZia Southwest Transmission project proposes two new parallel 500 kV transmission lines across 515 miles from Lincoln County, New Mexico, to Pinal County, Arizona (see map). In Arizona, SunZia would cross the San Pedro River near Benson and then head north, opening up an entirely new 30-mile-long infrastructure corridor on the west side of the river valley. This would adversely impact mitigation lands protected by Pima County as part of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. Tucson Audubon is opposed to SunZia because our research indicates there is not a demonstrated need for it, and the negative impacts to important conservation lands and bird life far outweigh the project's purported benefits.

See a detailed map of the proposed transmission line

Arizona Energy Masters Course in Tucson

UA Cooperative Extension is pleased to announce the 2015 Arizona Energy Masters Course. The Energy Masters Program provides an overview of energy in Arizona while teaching you about efficiency and how you can conduct energy audits in your home and community. This is a series of 7 classes, starting October 8 and running through November 24.

For more information, visit http://rurallandscapes.extension.arizona.edu/content/arizona-energy-masters 

NEW Volunteer Opportunities

Southern Arizona Home Builders Association (SAHBA) Home Show
October 23--25
Tucson Audubon has an outreach booth at the SAHBA Home Show. Help demonstrate urban birding and gardening for native wildlife. There will be multiple shifts for volunteering.

Oracle Road Wildlife Crossing (Oro Valley)

As you may have noticed, construction of a "wildlife bridge" is well under way in NW Tucson. This overpass on Oracle Road will mean that wildlife can travel more safely between the Catalina and Tortolita Mountains! (If you don't get up that way often, there is a large model of the wildlife crossing currently visible in the University Blvd. Nature Shop.)

We'll be installing native plants and irrigation to get them established. Come be a part of southern Arizona's first wildlife bridge! Questions about the crossing? The Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection has answers!  Oracle Road Wildlife Crossing FAQs

OktoBIRDfest 
Thursday, October 22, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, Tucson Audubon’s Mason Center
Tucson Audubon is hosting OktoBIRDfest, an evening celebration of birds and birding amidst German-inspired food and games. In order to make this exciting event a success, we could use three or four eager volunteers to help in the following roles: Food Organizer (pre-event), Set Up Crew, Host/Hostess, Clean Up Crew.

For details see tucsonaudubon.org/volunteer under "One day events" or contact Diana Rosenblum drosenblum@tucsonaudubon.org or  520-209-1802. We will have a small planning meeting a week or two before OktoBIRDfest to provide you with all the event details, so please stay tuned!

Federal Duck Stamps at the Nature Shop

Here at the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop, we are proud once again to participate in the Federal Duck Stamp program.  A unique way to raise federally protected funds for bird habitat conservation efforts, Federal Duck Stamps have been a collection worth having since 1934.

Waterfowl hunters 16 years old or older have to buy a duck stamp. But birders and photographers purchase Duck Stamps because the money goes for acquiring and protecting important areas for birds and other wildlife. Federal Duck Stamps are a great way to engage birders, non-birders, and kids alike in the conservation efforts while giving a gift that will continue to give back to the places and birds we love.

Stop by the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop today and lend your support by purchasing a 2015 Federal Duck Stamp! $25.00

 

OPTICS Now is the time to invest…
If you have been contemplating an investment in a new pair of optics, now is the time. Swarovski is running its Swarovision Savings promotion and offering up to 18% off select EL models for a limited time only. Not sure what you are looking for? Stop into the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop and work one on one with our volunteers to find the right pair for all your birding needs. Our beautiful demonstration garden is an urban oasis perfect for testing out binoculars.

Stop in today and find your next pair of optics and save BIG! Nature Shop details

Add Your Voice to Shape Tucson Parks and Rec. Plan

CITY OF TUCSON PARKS AND RECREATION SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT FOR FIVE-YEAR MASTER PLAN

The Tucson Parks and Recreation Department will hold public open houses to gather input for a 5-year master plan to deliver recreation and leisure opportunities. All meetings will be held from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. Remaining dates and locations are below. Full details can be found at www.tucsonaz.gov/parks/masterplan. 

See our website for talking points.

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015 Clements Center Multipurpose Room

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015 Sahuaro High School

—Tucson Audubon Staff
(image by Angela Pritchard)