At Western Institute of Leadership Development (WILD) High School Tucson Audubon's staff is helping kids "grow skills for the green economy." In these days of growing resource efficiency it doesn't hurt to know how to grow a native plant, install a rainwater harvesting barrel or create urban habitat! 

Nature Shop Manager Sarah Whelan is becoming more skilled as well! She just came back from her first Birdathon and is marveling at all the "life birds" she saw. She's now a confirmed birder.

It's never too late to grow your skills. Keep your binoculars and field guide close at hand. Spend a few minutes identifying that bird in your back yard. Go on one of our Tucson Audubon field trips or become a Tucson Audubon volunteer. Or come to the WILD workshop this Saturday and learn along side the kids!

Tucson Audubon is for lifelong learning—it is a transformative experience!

- Email editor, Kendall Kroesen

Growing Skills for the Green Economy

Students at WILD

Final Free Urban Restoration Workshop THIS WEEKEND
Join Tucson Audubon and the Western Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) high school to learn simple yet vital skills for restoring Tucson's urban ecology in this series of workshops. One workshop is left, on April 25 (see below). Please RSVP to Andy Bennett, (520) 262-1314 (or contact him for more information).

Saturday, April 25 | 8:00 AM
Rainwater Harvesting Barrel Installation
The Western Institute seeks to be a community sustainability information center. To that end, during this workshop we will be growing the school's "rainwater harvesting petting zoo" by installing their second and third rainwater harvesting features. With assistance from regional experts at Watershed Management Group, we will be plan, design, and install these features to serve as water sources for the school's new gardens and greenhouses.

Get details of this workshop

Get Your Birdathon On! April 10 – May 10

Lead a team yourself or join an expert-led team:

• Scott Olmstead of Tropical Birding will lead Scott's Orioles on a trip on Saturday, April 25.
• Jennie MacFarland of Tucson Audubon will be Larking Up Lemmon on Tuesday, April 28 from 3 AM to the early afternoon.
  

Visit tucsonaudubon.org/birdathon to sign up or make a donation today, or contact Diana Rosenblum at drosenblum@tucsonaudubon.org, 520-209-1802 for more information.

^{Lucy's Warbler (Lois Manowitz)}

Nest Box Ups and Downs

Latest Nesting Attempts

Ash-throated Flycatcher chicks have hatched in Sara Pike's flycatcher box! Watch her video from the camera that's in the box (with narrative by her and her son Alex!). 

Lucy's Warblers tried to nest for a second year in a row in Lois Manowitz's gourd. As shown above they carried in nesting material. But their eggs were subsequently found outside on the ground. It appears a predator (Lois suspects Cactus Wrens) stole the eggs. The warblers had built up the nest to the height of the opening. Indeed, we have heard they like to see out while sitting on the nest. However, it makes them vulnerable. This fits with anecdotal information suggesting they like to have a deeper nest. That way, at they can both see out of the hole but not be too close to it. Jonathan is experimenting with box designs for Lucy's Warbler, one of which has more depth. Which leads us to the next item.

Lucy’s Warbler Nestbox Project seeks Draftsperson
We have created two styles of wooden Lucy’s Warbler nest boxes and have hand-drawn plans for their construction. However, Jonathan is not known for his amazing artistic abilities, and we could really use someone to make these plans look like real plans that can be understood by anyone!
If you’re interested, please email Jonathan.

Paton Center Has More Than Just Hummingbirds!

Thick-billed Kingbird (George West)

Larry Morgan's Top 5 Birds for the Week

The Trail is Finished!
Read Paton Center volunteer, Bob Brandt's final installment of the Patagonia trail building Blog. After months of hard work, the link between the Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve and the Paton Center is hikeable.

Other Patagonia Area News

Friends of the Mountain Empire Benefit Concert
A very special evening of music with the Kevin Pakulis Band in Copper Hall at Hotel Congress, Tucson. And a special appearance by Raul Grijalva.
Saturday, May 9 | 7 – 11 PM

Support the organizations working to protect and preserve the habitat, water, and wildlife of the Mountain Empire from new mining in the Patagonia Mountains, Santa Rita Mountains, Canelo Hills, and the San Rafael Valley of southern Arizona. More info here.

Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival Registration Update

Four field trips still open for registration. Keep checking the website as cancellations may come in.

Check out the festival workshops and evening programs with keynotes Rick Wright and Paul Baicich here!

Visit www.tucsonaudubon.org/festival for details and to register.

Participation has increased for this year's Tucson Bird Count - Thank you! Let's try to make this the best year ever for this urban bird count and get the last few available count locations covered by volunteers. If you can identify the common birds of Tucson by sight/sound and are able to use a field guide to figure out the rest, you are qualified to help with the Tucson Bird Count!

The current list of available routes can be seen here: tucsonaudubon.org/what-we-do/birding/tbc.html

Volunteer Opportunities For YOU

Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival, Fifth Year!
August 12 – 16, 2015
For four years, Tucson Audubon volunteers have been the driving force behind the Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival. On site, nearly 80 volunteers will support all aspects of the Festival! Are you interested in supporting the fifth year of this exciting event?

We have volunteer roles that start immediately, including an immediate need for someone interested in writing press releases and helping with publicity. We also need people that will be onsite at the festival, including registration, field trip support, Nature Shop, kid activities and more!

Click here for more details!

Tucson Audubon Restoration Effort at Atturbury Wash Needs YOUR Help!
As the days heat up and the earth dries out, we'll need help every week watering hundreds of native plants at Atturbury Wash. Watering can be with the field crew on Fridays, or could be done on your own time following a brief training period. (NOTE: this is a great opportunity to learn native flora and fauna, and contribute to a positive and proactive effort. Side effects may include "warm fuzzies"!) Contact Andy Bennett, abennett@tucsonaudubon.org.

Join Tucson Audubon in Madera Canyon for International Migratory Bird Day!
Come on down for a full day of nature/bird walks, presentations, booths, food and much more.

More info at www.friendsofmaderacanyon.org/IMBD-2015.html

A new title here at the Tucson Audubon Nature Shop, Into the Nest by Laura Erickson and Marie Read shows the intimate lives of familiar birds as never before seen! Spectacular, stunning, and beautiful close-up photography documents the family lives of more than 50 birds, from the first song of the courting male to the first flight of the fledglings. You'll find images of the male and female, nest construction, the eggs, the parents on the nest, nestlings, feeding time, fledglings taking their first leap, and more. Species covered in the book include songbirds, urban birds like raptors and pigeons, water birds, and owls. All of them are common to North America. This title is available now at our Nature Shop for only $16.95. 

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 version is durable, water proof and useful 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 right for you.

Member Price $189.99, Regular Price $210.99

—Tucson Audubon Staff
(image by Angela Pritchard)