Welcome, , to Tucson Audubon's weekly update.

If you have been to Sweetwater Wetlands in the last couple weeks you may have noticed that the water levels are low in the main ponds, and the recharge basins are dry. This is because an important reclaimed water pipe broke and was leaking underground.There was danger of a sinkhole forming so they shut the water off.

The pipe has now been fixed and the wetlands will be filling again. Tucson Audubon is consulting with Tucson Water regarding upgrades and improvements for wildlife at the wetlands. While the wetlands are no longer critical to the operation of the reclaimed water system, they city of Tucson has pledged that the wetlands will remain as an amenity for bird and wildlife watchers. Thank you Tucson!

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

Plant Milkweed, Get Monarchs Galore!

Come join Tucson Audubon as we install monarch and other butterfly/pollinator gardens at our Paton Center for Hummingbirds! 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 (see image below of the Mason Center waystation planted last week), which will help support the monarchs as they migrate through southern Arizona. Come be a part of it!

• Thursday May 12
• Friday May 13
• Saturday May 14

Learn To Use eBird To Enhance Your Birding

Demystifying eBird FREE Workshop
THIS Monday, May 9, 2016
5:30pm - 7:30pm; Amethyst Room, Pima Community College Downtown Campus
FREE or suggested donation: $25, as part of our Birdathon FUNraiser
eBird, a website and online birding tool, is changing the face of modern birding. For beginners, this workshop will teach you what eBird is and why it’s important that you contribute, show you what it can do for you as a birder, and teach you how to get started. Join Jennie MacFarland, Tucson Audubon’s Bird Conservation Biologist, and get empowered to make your observations count! Bring your own laptop or device and enter in your birding lists during the workshop!

REGISTER  NOW!

Celebrate Birdathon Success!

We will congratulate our winners and celebrate another season of Birdathon. Tucson Audubon will provide hors d'oeuvres; additional food and drinks will be available for you to purchase during the restaurant's Happy Hour.

If you raised $50 or more, you will receive a Birdathon t-shirt!

PRIZES, including high-end binoculars, will be awarded to Birdathoners in the Traditional Category for a variety of categories including: a grand prize, most species seen, most funds raised, youngest birder.

ADDITIONAL PRIZES will be awarded to Traditional and Non-traditional Birdathoners alike, if you record a Black-bellied Whistling Duck, a Greater Roadrunner, and/or an Elf Owl during your Birdathon.

RSVP here.

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

Conservation News and Events

Read our latest Conservation Action Alert e-news

Informational Meeting: Oak Flat Land Exchange & Resolution Mine
Thursday, May 5, 6:00--8:00 PM
Historic Y (Courtyard), 738 N 5th Ave, Tucson
The Arizona Mining Reform Coalition will host an evening event open to the public to raise awareness regarding the land exchange and proposed Resolution Copper Mine on the Tonto National Forest. The event will feature an informational presentation, Q&A session and letter writing campaign. Learn how to effectively engage in the ongoing public process for this controversial mining proposal. View large-scale models that have been created to visually demonstrate the projected land subsidence the proposed mine would cause at Oak Flat, as well as what the toxic tailings pile could look like on surrounding public lands.

• Event Facebook Page
• Visit Arizona Mining Reform Coalition's Website to learn more
• Sign a petition to protect Oak Flat

Oracle Road Wildlife Crossings Press Conference & Guided Walk
Tuesday, May 10, 9:00 AM
Santa Catalina Catholic Church lower parking lot, 14380 N Oracle Rd (map)
A press conference will be held to announce the completion of two new wildlife dedicated crossing structures across Oracle Road in Oro Valley. Following the press conference, there will be an event to celebrate the community's accomplishment and new infrastructure investment. The press conference will be followed by a one-time only guided walk up to the wildlife bridge. At 10:00 AM there will be a celebration with refreshments at Pusch Ridge Stables and there will be an optional hike to see the new wildlife underpass (0.6 miles round-trip).
After the wildlife bridge tour, join us at Pusch Ridge Stables at 10:00 AM for a reception with refreshments and an optional hike to the wildlife underpass.
Plan to attend?  Be sure to RSVP HERE.

• Read the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection’s Frequently Asked Questions
• Tucson Audubon’s April 22, 2016 Press Release

Speak out for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers by May 16
Yet another endangered bird is under attack because the habitat it needs to survive is prized by developers. Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (image by Muriel Neddermeyer) are songbirds once found commonly in river and streamside habitat in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona (San Pedro River), New Mexico, and Texas. Today, the last 500 to 1000 breeding pairs of these flycatchers struggle to survive in regions where 90-95 percent of their historic habit has been lost and where they are beset with challenges from predation, nest parasitism, disturbance, and further habitat loss.

Please join us in submitting public comments before May 16 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to oppose a developer-backed petition to remove Southwestern Willow Flycatchers from the Endangered Species List. You can find out more and send your own comments at www.audubonaction.org/site/Advocacy?id=2208

Tell Arizona Governor Ducey to VETO Bad Water Bills
Despite our best efforts, Arizona Senate Bills 1268 and 1400 have passed the legislature and are on their way to Governor Ducey’s desk. 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!

• CALL Gov. Ducey now (602-542-4331) to urge a veto; 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

Seven Saturdays in Patagonia | May 14

Volunteers still needed this month
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. Elegant Trogons (image by Alan Schmierer) 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.

• Atascosa Highlands May 8 – Sunday
• Santa Rita Mountains – May 21 Saturday
• Patagonia Mountains – May 22 Sunday
• Huachuca Mountains – May 28 Saturday
• Chiricahua Mountains – May 29 Sunday
• Galiuro Mountains – June 3-5 Dates TENTATIVE

Take Root With a Root View Gardens

Have you ever wondered what a carrot looks like growing in the ground? Now you can watch them grow right before your eyes!

Plant your favorite vegetables, place them in your favorite window and watch the magic happen as they grow. Root view gardens help engage children in the wonder of plants and nature while giving opportunity for them to develop their observational skills, something every birder needs.

Explore our planet's life in its entirety with a root view garden. No matter what time of year it is--it's growing season!

• Watch vegetable roots grow in clear plastic planer
• Teaches scientific observation and plant growing dynamics
• Fun to watch radish, carrot, green onion grow
• Premium soil, radish, carrot, green onion seeds and complete instructions
• Plenty of supplies for several plantings
• Science learning the whole family can enjoy!

Two styles available now at the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop and Tucson Audubon Nature Shop at Agua Caliente Park $12.00-22.00

NOTE: The Tucson Audubon Nature Shop will be closed June 6--June 11 for our annual inventory.

 

OPTICS

Vortex Diamondback 8x32
A great step up from your entry level Binoculars, the Vortex Diamondback series is known for producing rugged high performing binoculars great for hunting and bird watching alike. Surprisingly affordable the 8x32 are durable, water proof and detect life even in low light settings, ideal for bird watching around dusk! Stop in our nature shop and try this pair of binoculars to see if they are the right fit for you.

Member Price $189.99, Regular Price $210.99

Learn more about our shops and get directions

—Tucson Audubon Staff
(image by Angela Pritchard)