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Tucson Audubon Society
May 5, 2024
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Welcome, Jo, to Tucson Audubon's weekly update.
If you grow faint of heart for birding when temperatures climb, you still have cool opportunities in April and May. There are some great birding field trips coming up.
Consider birding and raising funds for Tucson Audubon by going on one of our special Birdathon field trips. Go to our Birdathon page and click on "Teams." Register for one of these trips and make make the corresponding donation. (Or raise money among your friends and neighbors and make a big donation!) If you don't have time for any of this you can still make a Birdathon donation by going to the Birdathon page. Click on "Birders" and find a team to support! (Hint: one of the teams is mine!)
Kendall Kroesen, e-News editor, 520-209-1806
Ready, Set, Count Tucson's Birds!
The Tucson Bird Count: Urban Birding to Benefit the Birds
 Tucson Audubon volunteers are gearing up for the 16th annual count of birds in the Tucson and surrounding areas.
Beginning on April 15, and lasting through May 15, one of the nation’s largest urban bird counts will take place throughout local neighborhoods, parks and surrounding suburbs of the Tucson area. Over 800 count locations will be canvassed by Tucson Bird Count Volunteers in an effort to learn how people can better share their urban space with birds.
Claim your route now, we still need help!
If you can identify common Tucson area birds
by sight and sound, you can help with this count. We've made it easier for you to locate an open route by seeing where they are in Tucson! View the map here.
In 2015, the Tucson Bird Count recorded 359,265 individual birds belonging to 188 distinct species. About 170 of these species are known to nest in the Tucson area. For the entire count so far, from 2001 to current, there have been 285 species recorded and 185 volunteer counters.
If this sounds fun to you please visit tucsonaudubon.org/tbc for more information.
Join Exclusive Birdathon Trips and See More Birds!
Friday, April 15
Owlympians | Led by Jennie MacFarland
 Big Day Goal: 65 species
Limited to 15 people | $200 funds raised/donation suggested
Join us for a fun half-day Birdathon, meeting at Sweetwater Wetlands at
6 a.m. and focusing on Sweetwater Wetlands and nearby areas. This Birdathon
team is suitable for all birding skill levels and our emphasis will be
on having a good time and making sure we get good looks at the birds.
See Jennie's bio or learn more about Sweetwater Wetlands.
Friday, April 22
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.
Images: Elegant Trogon by Donna Tolbert-Anderson, Yellow Warbler by Tom Ryan, Violet-crowned Hummingbird by Dan Weisz.
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 Southeastern Arizona. Mammals such as Javalina and White-nosed Coati have both extended their range out the tropics into southern Arizona as part of this larger ecological system expansion. The expansion continues even 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. This can be tracked with mainly anecdotal evidence and isolated incidents of collecting. 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.
April 16, 9 – 11 a.m. | Tucson Audubon’s Mason Center
 Tucson Audubon's Habitat at Home backyard recognition program is now a reality. Extensive information is now online to help you make your yard bird friendly, and more is on its way. When you
are ready we will visit and evaluate your yard based on several
criteria. If you qualify, you will receive a certificate (for the
introductory level) or we will make available a sign (for the advanced
levels).
The best way to become familiar with the Habitat at Home program is to take our April 16 class called Habitat at Home: How Native Plants and other Techniques Welcome Birds into your Yard.
More information and class registration
Tell Arizona Governor Ducey to VETO Bad Water Bills
Despite our best efforts, Arizona Senate Bills 1268 and 1400 have passed through the Legislature and are on their way to Governor Ducey’s desk. These bills are an attack 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.
Sound water policy is key to Arizona’s
long-term economic and environmental health. Governor Ducey made it clear that
he also understands this: “…we must continue to be pragmatic and
proactive – just like those before us – in how we manage our water
resources.” This pragmatic and proactive approach describes the
Groundwater Management Act – the very act these bills are attempting to
weaken.
Upon announcing his Arizona Water Initiative, Governor Ducey said “thanks to
more than a century of careful planning, sound decision-making and bold
leadership from our predecessors, Arizona’s water supply, at least in the
near-term, is in a better-than-expected position.” If he wants to be remembered
as one of these bold, forward-thinking leaders, then he cannot let these bills
become law.
The Arizona Republic called for a veto in a recent editorial, Our View: Doug Ducey must veto 2 bad water bill
TAKE ACTION!
Read our email
alert for background info on these bills
 DON'T MISS THE SPECIAL SCREENING OF BEYOND THE MIRAGE, The Future of Water in the West
Friday, April 15th 9:00 pm on KUAT TV, (multiple repeats in the following week)
See the film trailer and join the movement at beyondthemirage.org
eBird Global Big Day for Pima and Santa Cruz Counties
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Tucson Audubon and Arizona Important Bird Areas in partnership with Arizona Field Ornithologists are helping out with the upcoming eBird Global Big Day on May 14, 2016. We are coordinating this effort in Pima and Santa Cruz counties to help make sure birders are spread out as much as possible and getting into some under birded locations. You do not have to be involved in this coordinated effort to participate--all checklists submitted to eBird.org on May 14th do count!
If you would like to participate in our organized effort for this day with the goal of finding the most species possible per county and getting as many areas birded please visit www.aziba.org
To find out more about this global effort visit: ebird.org/globalbigday
Mason Center American Kestrel Nesting UPDATE
There are still 7 eggs in the box being used by American Kestrel’s on Tucson’s Northwest Side. It’s been 20 days since the box was first checked, when there were 5 eggs present. So 5 of the eggs have been in the nest at least 20 days out of the average 30 days before they hatch. Today the male flushed out of the nest, so he is spending some time sitting on the eggs. Stay tuned for next week when we might have something more to report!
Learn more about Tucson Audubon's nest box program for kestrels, screech-owls, flycatchers and warblers.
Stay tuned for next week’s update!
Parks & Rec 2016 Master Plan Public Open Houses
 The Tucson Parks and Recreation Department is inviting the public to a second round of community public open houses to continue taking input on its 5-year master plan. If you want to have more birds in public parks, you have to ask for them! All meetings will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, April 14, Randolph Dell Urich Golf Course - Copper Room, 600 S. Alvernon Way
- Wednesday, April 20, Desert Sky Middle School, 9850 E. Rankin Loop
Talking points:
- Where appropriate, reduce turf, add low water-use native plants
- Where natural open space already exists, don’t develop it into turf—it is already a recreational asset just as it is
- Reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides and fertilizers on turf
- Make sure green waste from park (clippings) are recycled
Additional opportunities for input and updates are available through the project website (tucsonaz.gov/parks/masterplan) or email your thoughts to parksmasterplan@tucsonaz.gov.
Get Going with Getgo Guides
Tired of lugging around heavy, expensive field guides?
Try a handy, inexpensive Getgo pocket guide! It’s all here in a format that will fit in you day pack or shirt pocket. Learn more about identifying the hummingbird at your feeder or the lizard along the trail. Is that snake friend or foe? The guide in your pocket will help. Getgo guides are ideal for kids and experts alike.
Available Getgo Guides:
- Cacti of Arizona
- Beetles of the Sonoran Desert
- Hummingbirds of the West
- Venomous Critters of the Southwest
- Outdoor Gizmos
- Soaring Birds of the West
- Snakes of the Southwest
Available now at the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop $4.95
OPTICS
 Nikon Monarch 5 8x42
Lightweight Champion of Dawn & Dusk
Even with an uncontested heritage of all-conditions optical performance, the all-new MONARCH 5 further elevates its game with improved agility and advanced low light brilliance. By shaving nearly an ounce of weight from its rugged frame, the new MONARCH 5 is more athletic than ever, while the addition of Nikon ED glass lenses puts it in a class of its own for battling darkness with sharp, high-contrast views.
MSRP $310.95 Member Price $279.86
Available at the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop.
Learn more about our shops and get directions
 Thank you, Jo, for being a part of Tucson Audubon and helping to protect birds and the places they live in southeast Arizona.
—Tucson Audubon Staff
(image by Angela Pritchard)
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