There are some seats left for the seventh annual Tucson Audubon Gala on February 10 (more info below)! Join us for an extraordinary evening.

Remember, you always have a seat at the table when it comes to Tucson Audubon. Talk to us about your priorities for birding, conservation and how we operate at Tucson Audubon. Schmooze with us at the Gala or at a Living With Nature lecture. Call us on the phone, email us, or visit us at one of the Nature Shops or at Tucson Audubon's Mason Center. Contact information for the entire staff is on our website staff list. We always have time to talk to our members. 

Karen Fogas will begin her new job as Executive Director on the 1^st of March. Until then, former board president Cynthia Pruett has taken the position of Interim Executive Director. Contact her by email or at 520-629-0510 x7001. We are very happy to welcome Les Corey as the new President of our Board of Directors! See our page about about the Tucson Audubon Board of Directors. 

- Interim email editor, Kendall Kroesen

Coachline Gravel Pit Recognized As Birding Hotspot

As birders and many Tucson Audubon members know, stormwater from last summer's monsoon have transformed an already-popular birding site—the Coachline Gravel Pits—into a bigger lake than ever before. A popular disk golf course in the pits has been inundated but there are more birds than ever! An article in the Arizona Daily Star has brought this to the attention of the public, reporting that "Floodwaters, which routinely pour into the pit site for a couple months in monsoon season, roared in last September and ripped a huge gap in a large earthen berm separating the course from the Santa Cruz. Now, the course is an urban lake . . . drawing birds in droves. Dozens of swallows, hundreds of ducks, flocks of Canada geese, numerous flaming red vermilion flycatchers, herons, egrets, sandpipers—seemingly everything in this region that likes water—are calling this place home. A highlight is a fairly uncommon greater white-fronted goose that pals around with a snow goose—birders call them 'the odd couple.'” The public is learning what we know already—Tucson is great for birds!

Attend our gala dinner and enjoy a spirited cocktail hour, live birds, live music, tasty hors d’oeuvres, and an exciting silent auction offering something for everyone. Later we will present the Kenn Kaufman Education Award to Scott Richardson and the David Yetman Conservation Award to Carolyn Campbell for their outstanding work in our education and conservation communities. After dinner, our special guest speaker Brad Lancaster will give a fresh perspective on Tucson as a desert oasis. A Tucson resident, Brad is a rainwater harvester, a permaculture teacher and a co-founder of Desert Harvesters. 

Tickets are limited. Register today!

eBird Workshop Part Two: Advanced eBirding for Conservation

Saturday, Jan. 31 | THIS WEEKEND! Last chance to sign up
This workshop is for those who are familiar with the basic workings of eBird but want to kick it up a notch. eBird is an incredibly powerful tool for conservation and there are strategies that make your checklists even more useful to conservationists. Come learn how to make the most of your eBirding time and how to look at data and trends yourself. We will also talk about the different smart phone apps that make using eBird in the field even easier.

Get details and sign up

Tucson Audubon Seeks New Finance Manager

Tucson Audubon is seeking a Finance Manager to be part of our dynamic, non-profit team. The Finance Manager provides financial analysis to support management and board decisions and helps staff do program management and annual budgeting. Estimated 30-40 hours per week. For full details and how to apply please go to our website.

How Many Lizards Does a Growing Roadrunner Eat?

Living With Nature Lecture Series

February 7—Saturday 10:00 AM IN GREEN VALLEY
Roadrunner Family with Doris Evans
Roadrunners are one of the icons of the Southwest deserts. We see them dashing about, yet few people have the opportunity to observe these birds nesting and raising a family. We will follow a pair of Greater Roadrunners as they build their nest, incubate the eggs, and successfully raise five chicks.

Get all the details on these lectures

Winter Birding At Its Best
Get details and sign up for any of these birding field trips

January 31—Saturday, 7:30 AM
Himmel Park
Leader: Kendall Kroesen, 520-971-2385, kkroesen@tucsonaudubon.org

February 7—Saturday 6:15 AM
Tubac (De Anza Trail)
We'll bird the de Anza Trail along the Santa Cruz River. The tall cottonwoods provide important wintering habitat for a variety of migratory songbirds such as warblers, flycatchers, and vireos as well as the resident Bridled Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, and others. Limit 8 people. Leader: Scott Olmstead, sparverius81@hotmail.com

February 8—Sunday 8:15 AM
Birding @ WOW Arizona!
Leader: Christopher Vincent

Education Classes: Don't Miss Out

Learn more about all these courses

BEGIN with Lynn Hassler

• Backyard Birding and Beyond Part A: Saturdays, ONLY 4 SPOTS LEFT
  
• Backyard Birding and Beyond Part B: Saturdays, March 7--28
• Birding by Habitat: April 4--18

eBIRD, SPARROW, AND RAPTOR WORKSHOPS IN 2015

• eBird Workshop Part Two; January 31 with Jennie MacFarland THIS WEEKEND
  
• Sparrows: February 5 & 7 with Homer Hansen 4 SPOTS LEFT

• Raptor Immersion Weekend: March 13 – 15 with Bill Clark

BEYOND BIRDS

• The Lower Santa Cruz River: A Birding Resource and Case Study in Conservation
  Workshop: February 25 & 28 with Instructor: Kendall Kroesen

Find the details and register today!

Conservation News

BLM Signs Record of Decision Approving Right-of-Way for SunZia Transmission
The Department of the Interior recently announced that it has issued a Record of Decision approving a right-of-way for the SunZia Southwest Transmission Line Project. The newly permitted route for SunZia traverses and threatens the integrity of important bird habitats and vital migration corridors, including the Rio Grande and San Pedro Rivers. In an Arizona Daily Star article, SunZia’s challengers, including the Sierra Club and the Cascabel Working Group, indicate they are not backing down in their fight to stop the ill-conceived project, “The damage that this project would do to Arizona’s lower San Pedro Valley region cannot be justified given the questionable and unproved claims that this project is needed to promote renewable energy resources.”

In coalition comments on the environmental impact study for the project, Tucson Audubon identified serious concerns regarding all of the project’s route alternatives, and urged the Bureau of Land Management to refuse granting rights-of-way for the project.

$1-Billion-a-Year Border Security Bill Unneeded, Critics Say
A border security bill before Congress is drawing significant criticism. An article appearing in the Arizona Daily Star reports on reaction to HR 399, the Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015, “A $1 billion-a-year bill moving through Congress would add miles of roads and fences along the border and waive more than a dozen environmental laws within 100 miles of the border — even though top immigration officials say that’s not needed."

Tucson Audubon strongly opposes legislation that enables bedrock environmental laws to be waived. We are also opposed to any legislation that calls for the construction ineffective border walls that destroy and fragment wildlife habitat and disrupt critical cross-border biological and hydrologic processes. Tucson Audubon joined a letter to Congress signed by 85 environmental and social justice organizations encouraging our elected representatives to vote against this counterproductive legislation.

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Please make a tax-deductible donation through Tucson Audubon's Special year-end appeal. If you have already donated this season, thank you! Your thank you letter and tax receipt is in the mail.

• Give online right now or read our full appeal letter about vanishing rivers
• Mail a donation form with your check to 300 E University Blvd, #120, Tucson AZ 85705
• Call Diana at 520-209-1802 to make a credit card donation during business hours
• Call 520-209-1801 anytime to discuss your large gift

- Tucson Audubon Staff