Sky Islands Tucson Meet Your Birds

The Quarterly News Magazine of Tucson Audubon Society | Tucsonaudubon.org

Vermf li yl ci a to c hn e r July–September 2013 | Volume 58, Number 3

Arizona’s Audacious State Bird What’s in a Name? Chihuahuan Raven When Our Grasslands Turn Green

Plus Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival Insert Features The QuarT erly NewS MagaziN e of TucS o N a uduboN SocieT y | TucS o N auduboN .org 10 what’s in a Name: Chihuahuan Raven Vermf li yl ci a to c hn e r 11 when Our Grasslands Turn Green July–September 2013 | Volume 58, Number 3 13 Tucson Meet Your Birds Sky Islands Tucson Audubon Society is dedicated to improving 16 arizona’s Audacious State Bird: Tucson Meet Your Birds the quality of the environment by providing education, arizona’s audacious State bird Cactus Wren what’s in a Name? conservation, and recreation programs, environmental chihuahuan raven leadership, and information. Tucson Audubon is a non-profit volunteer organization of people with a common interest in birding and natural history. Tucson Departments Audubon maintains offices, a library, and nature 3 Commentary shops in Tucson, the proceeds of which benefit all of its programs. 4 events and Classes Tucson Audubon Society 5 events Calendar 300 E. University Blvd. #120, Tucson, AZ 85705 6 living With Nature Lecture Series 629-0510 (voice) or 623-3476 (fax) 7 News Roundup All phone numbers are area code 520 unless otherwise stated. www.tucsonaudubon.org 17 conservation and Education News Plus Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival Pullout Board Officers & Directors 23 field Trips Front cover: Bullock’s Oriole © Jim & Deva Burns, President Cynthia Pruett 24 birding Travel from our Business Partners Vice President Bob Hernbrode Scottsdale, Arizona. To see more of their work visit 25 birds & Business Alliance Secretary Ruth Russell their website, www.jimburnsphotos.com and follow Treasurer Richard Carlson 25 Classified Ads Directors at Large Matt Bailey, Ardeth Barnhart, Jim’s birding blog at www.jimburnsphotos.com/pages/ Gavin Bieber, Les Corey, Jennie Duberstein, Dave Dunford, 26 Nature Shops columns.html. Debra Finch, John Kennedy, Linda Stitzer, Claire Zucker, 26 book Reviews Nancy Young Wright To have your photograph considered for use in the Board Committees Conservation Chair Chris McVie, Vermilion Flycatcher, please contact Matt Griffiths at Development Sandy Elers, Education Jennie Duberstein, [email protected]. Finance Richard Carlson, Outreach Vacant, Nominating Linda Greene, Governance Dave Dunford, Personnel Cynthia Pruett Programs & Activities Field Trips Matt Griffiths Birders of Another Feather Library 629-0510 Guest commentary by Dr. J. Drew Lanham, passionate birder, Membership Meetings Jean Barchman 629-0510 Rare Bird Alert Andrew Core | Report Rare Birds 629-0510 ornithologist, writer, Clemson University wildlife biology professor, and Staff (unless otherwise stated, dial 629-0510 plus extension) keynote speaker at the third Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival in August Executive Director Paul Green ext 7001 Accountant Michelle Bourgeois ext 7003 Anyone who knows me understands that I’m in few places north of Mexico. Consider the range Finance ext 7014 Membership Coordinator Jean Barchman ext 7002 passionate about “coloring the conservation maps of those specialties. Then, superimpose the Development Manager Erin Olmstead ext 7009 conversation”. It’s my mantra! Birding and maps of the latest census on them. Guess what? Volunteer and Development Coordinator conservation should be reflective of the world we The places where many of the birds we crave are Kara Kaczmarzyk ext 7011 Environmental Education Coordinator Bété Jones ext 7012 live in. With the 2010 census clearly showing the also the places where people of color are either IBA Conservation Biologist Jennie MacFarland ext 7004 trends of a “new” demography and minority flips to already a majority or are projected soon to be. Now Habitats Program Manager Kendall Kroesen ext 7006 majority status in the next couple of decades, that ask yourself, how do people who don’t look like Restoration Biologist Jonathan Horst 971-6238 Field Supervisor Rodd Lancaster 256-6909 maxim is becoming an emerging necessity. If our the birders most of us know feel about conserving Communications / Habitat Restoration outdoor passions are to thrive into the future then habitat? Have they been included in conversations Matthew Griffiths 971-7924 Operations and Retail Manager Sara Pike ext 7008 they will have to expand beyond the audiences about conservation? Why should they care about Operations and Retail Coordinator Kelly DiGiacomo ext 7007 they’ve traditionally catered to. It is simple; stay the trogons or tanagers? Will they vote or care for clean Tucson Audubon Nature Shops same and stagnate or change and grow. If nature air, water or habitat protection? Will they pay for it? 300 E University Blvd #120 ext 7015 The real questions should give us pause. 623-3476 fax / 629-0510 Shop Manager and people are to coexist symbiotically then the Hours: 10 am–4 pm, Monday–Saturday choice is obvious; evolve or die. The potential answers should make us shiver. Agua Caliente Park, 12325 E Roger Rd 760-7881 If for some odd reason we really don’t care The birding community has largely ignored the Hours: July–September Thursdays only 9 am–1:30 pm, about human diversity and are solely concerned issue—at our own peril. Look around at your next R ed - coc k aded W oodpec er , USFWS October Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 9 am–1:30 pm about feathered things, then there’s still a reason outing. Is it a flock of Glaucous Gulls or mixture

Vermilion Flycatcher is published quarterly. For address to care about who’s watching the birds. Take a look of Neotropical migrants? Just as any biological changes or subscription problems call 629-0510, or write at a range map for your home place. For me it’s system thrives on diversity, so too must birding to Membership Coordinator, Tucson Audubon, 300 E. the Southeast; a place where Swallow-tailed Kites expand if it is to survive into a more colorful future. University Blvd, #120, Tucson, AZ 85705. Submissions are due the 1st of the month, two months before the date of the wheel over thousand year-old cypress swamps Going forward, think about the people where you issue. Please send submissions as Microsoft Word or RTF and sweet whistling Bachman’s Sparrows and bird and the future for both. Support efforts to make documents, or plain text files, to Matt Griffiths at mgriffiths@ elusive Red-cockaded Woodpeckers cohabitate in “us” a more diverse hobby. Pass your passion on tucsonaudubon.org. cathedral-like longleaf pine flatwoods. In Southeast to someone different. New eyes and ideas will Coordinator Matt Griffiths 971-7924 Proofreaders Tucson Audubon staff and volunteers Arizona the Sky Islands harbor croaking Elegant broaden the impact of the pastime and expand the Design / Layout Eng-Li Green Trogons in sycamore strewn canyons and an impacts for conservation and all of our futures— © 2013 Tucson Audubon Society accompaniment of bucket list border birds found feathered and un-feathered alike. VF

2 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Commentary Paul Green | Executive Director Don’t It Always Seem As Though… “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. them if we want the economic benefits to continue. nm/sunzia). This FEIS includes the BLM’s preferred They paved paradise and put in a parking lot.” Unfortunately, not everyone is on board with this alternative route, which would construct two Joni Mitchell’s lyrics from Big Yellow Taxi forewarn idea. There are even some who view the San 500-kilovolt lines down the west side of the San us of the challenges we face in Southern Arizona. Pedro River—this jewel of southeast Arizona’s Pedro River valley for 47 miles north of St. David. What is your vision for our future? What do you riparian areas and a refuge for people, birds, and They would cross three ranches that Pima County plan to do to create it? Your future vision might other wildlife—as a ‘threat’ to the town of Sierra has purchased as part of our Sonoran Desert be to keep what we have now in the face of a Vista, standing in the way of growth. Conservation Plan, and span the sensitive lower changing climate. Perhaps it includes a little more Seven years ago the Sierra Vista City Council Buehman Canyon. SunZia has pitched its project groundwater to support rivers and provide more approved a new 7000-dwelling development—now as a means of transporting renewable energy to vegetation to make life possible for more birds, and on the fast track—that wants to send straws down Arizona, when in fact it will serve to move energy a better quality of life for us. With your support, we into the aquifer to feed these new households. from various sources in New Mexico, across have achieved many small victories in the fight for World-class hydrologists and expert water lawyers Arizona, to California (which does not need it) and a sustainable future. However, the battle rolls on are explaining the simple physics about what to make a great deal of money for its investors at and we still have a lot of work to do. happens when you pump more than 3000 extra our expense. Read more on pages 20–21. If the latest planned developments happen, as acre-feet of water from a groundwater aquifer near Meanwhile the regulatory process for the their proponents would like, we are likely to end a sensitive riparian area. Yet the state agency proposed Rosemont Copper Mine in the Santa up with a sorry scenario: a dusty, treeless Sonoita tasked with securing long-term dependable water Ritas is plowing ahead. The EPA has been Plain, a dried up and contaminated Las Cienegas supplies for Arizona’s communities, the Arizona very critical of mitigation plans for the project National Conservation Area (NCA); a significantly Department of Water Resources (ADWR), has thus imperiling the Sec. 404 permit, a critical diminished upper San Pedro River, with a lower given the developer the go-ahead irrespective of and essential regulatory approval for the mine. river valley scarred by a 47-mile-long, one-mile- the permanent impacts to the San Pedro River and Conversely, state agencies which appear to be wide electrical transmission corridor that will destroy the people and wildlife that depend on it. powerless or negligent to do anything in the name critical, fragile habitats; and a continuing decline in Arizona water law constrains ADWR’s decisions of protecting our natural environment, issue permits. the water table in the Santa Cruz River Valley. and so denies connections between groundwater On pages 20–21, we do a quick and accessible This issue of the Vermilion Flycatcher is loosely and surface water. Some have said that Arizona review of the water issues surrounding Rosemont. themed on the economic benefits derived from water law was designed to manage the depletion One of the most devastating possibilities is the watchable wildlife, led by the birds. Two events of an irreplaceable resource in the service of ‘cone of depression’ of the groundwater in the lead to this focus. First is our third annual Tucson development, and not to protect water-dependent Sonoita Plain that will result from the hydraulic sink Bird & Wildlife Festival which we created in part natural resources. For example, the definition of effect created by the massive half-mile-deep open to demonstrate to local government and business 100-year water supply, needed by developers, pit mine. This could well suck dry Patagonia, Elgin, how birds can bring economic benefits to Tucson in allows groundwater levels to decline to no deeper and Las Cienegas by dropping the water table down August. See the special festival pullout. than 1200 feet below surface outside of Active by perhaps as much as 960 feet below current The second is a new report, initiated by Tucson Management Areas and 1000 within. There is no levels. That would turn this region into a desolate Audubon and funded by the Arizona Game & consideration for environmental water or neighboring dustbowl. Do you want your drive along Scenic Fish Department, that illustrates the significant effects of pumping, a lack of management for nearly Highway 83 to resemble the worst of the Tucson to economic benefits of birdwatching and wildlife. This 65 percent of Arizona’s groundwater, and a lack of Phoenix commute? Because that’s where we are report was produced by Southwick Associates, and mechanisms for water rights transfers. Illogically, our headed if Rosemont succeeds. Yet the effects of the uses Arizona data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife State manages groundwater as being separate and ‘cone of depression’, raised by the Sonoran Institute Service. Erin Olmstead writes more about the unconnected to surface water. and others, were not even addressed by the Draft report on pp 5–6 of the festival pullout. One hopeful sign is that the Bureau of Land Environmental Impact Statement. The report finds that outdoor recreation based Management has stepped up to defend the public’s As birders, we depend on the continued health on wildlife is responsible for $330 million of claim on water rights needed to preserve the of the habitats that support the birds. As birders, we annual economic impact and nearly 3000 jobs in riparian values of the San Pedro Riparian NCA. have a responsibility to lead the charge, as Drew Pima, Cochise, and Santa Cruz Counties. These BLM has an obligation to protect the conservation Lanham suggests on page 2. We need to fight the are sustainable jobs, and many of them are in area and has argued that there is not enough onslaughts on the last of our pristine natural areas rural areas where they are especially valuable. groundwater available to satisfy both the needs in Southern Arizona with all of our energy. Tucson People come to see birds along the San Pedro of the riparian area, south of St. David, and a new Audubon is fully engaged and we encourage you

& E ng -L i G reen River, Santa Rita Mountains, Madera Canyon, unsustainable development (more on page 19). to get involved. Sign up for our email updates (see aul and many others places. These visitors patronize So while the BLM is fighting for the future of our page 5)—we will keep you informed of the latest businesses in towns such as Patagonia, Elgin, birds and their habitats in the Upper San Pedro, developments and alert you to ways in which you Sierra Vista, and many others for their wildlife- on June 14 it released the Final Environmental can make your voice heard. Let’s let our legislators focused vacations. So we had better look after Impact Statement (FEIS) for the SunZia Southwest know that Birders Mean Business (in more ways

S an P edro R iver , those habitats and the groundwater that support Transmission Project (available at www.blm.gov/ than one).

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 3 amphibian species that have been more than Tucson Audubon recorded over the last forty years at 100 scientific Events and Classes the Ranch. Prior to working at the publications on Ranch, he had a thirty year career topics including with the Phoenix Zoo, working on niche theory, animal recovery projects for threatened and behavior, source-sink dynamics, Meet Our Faculty! endangered Arizona wildlife. endangered species, and the effects of climate and land use on plants and Institute of Grassland Ecology Linda Kennedy, Ph.D. — Botany animals. He has extensive experience October 3–6, 2013 Linda is the Director of the conducting research at the Research Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch. Ranch and is an expert in grassland Tucson Audubon and National member and an ecological consultant, Her responsibilities include land bird communities of southeastern Audubon Society’s Appleton-Whittell with 30 years of experience as stewardship, initiating and supervising Arizona! Research Ranch are gearing up for a field biologist/mammalogist. research projects, and planning and our Institute of Grassland Ecology! She specializes in surveying and implementing education and outreach John Palting, Ph.D. Candidate — The institute will be held at the monitoring of bats on public and programs. Of Entomology Research Ranch in Elgin, Arizona. private lands and has also studied special In addition to managing a full time Topics will cover the important a few other mammals like shrews interest is the career in the field of immunology, John ecological role the grasslands of and chipmunks, and even feathered development is pursuing a Ph.D. in Entomology at southeast Arizona play within our critters like Spotted Owls! Ronnie of monitoring the University of Arizona! For over 30 region, how its unique plant and completed her Ph.D. at the University programs to years, he has studied the insects of animal communities differ from of Arizona, while studying two desert track long term Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. He was those of surrounding habitat types, species, pallid and big brown bats. changes in upland vegetation, shrub employed at the Arizona- and conservation threats and encroachment, and small mammal Sonora Desert Roger Cogan — Herpetology management strategies that are used populations. Linda earned a doctorate Museum, where Roger is the to safeguard this ecosystem. Expert in botany from Arizona State he became a Conservation faculty will impart their knowledge, University in 1999. specialist in moths Coordinator the event will be fully catered by Dish of the region. As at the for Dosha, and participants will camp Ron Pulliam, Ph.D. — Ornithology a volunteer for Sky Appleton- onsite for the duration. Adults ages 18 Ron is Regents Professor Emeritus Island Alliance, he has Whittell and over are welcome. Come join us! in the Eugene P. Odum School of identified nearly 3,000 moths for their Research Ecology at the University of Georgia. Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity Ranch. There, OUR EXPERT FACULTY ARE: His former positions include President Assessment (MABA) program. His he promotes public awareness of of the Ecological Society of America, Ronnie Sidner, Ph.D. — Mammalogy enthusiasm for Arizona-Sonoran the fragility of native grasslands Director of the National Biological Ronnie is a long time entomology is contagious! and the wildlife they support. He is Service, Science Advisor to the Institute of Desert currently documenting the presence Secretary of Interior, and Director Greg Barron-Gafford, Ph.D. — Ecology faculty or absence of the 53 reptile and of the Institute of Ecology. He has Biogeograpy and Climate Change Greg is an Assistant Professor in the School of Geography and Development and with Biosphere 2 at the University of Arizona. He received a Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona. His research is centered on developing our understanding of how climatic changes, such as increased temperature and reduced precipitation, affect native vegetation across the gamut of ecosystems representing southern Arizona. Greg loves being outdoors and shares that passion for experiential learning with his wife and two young children. A aron E nsley For more information on our suite of Education classes and to register online, please visit www.tucsonaudubon.org/education

4 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Events Calendar Institute of July 1–6. Nature Shops closed for annual Grassland Ecology Get Your Calendar Out inventory Date: October 3–6, 2013 July 12. IBA Yellow-billed Cuckoo Callback And Reserve These Dates! Survey (see p 9) Cost: $525 for Tucson Audubon members; $560 for non-members 2013–2014 Learning Opportunities July 22. IBA Nocturnal Survey (see p 9) (includes a year-long membership); at Tucson Audubon July 26. IBA Yellow-billed Cuckoo Callback $40 camping fee in addition to tuition/ Survey (see p 9) registration fee See our website for more detailed descriptions: August 8 & 10. Warblers Specialty Workshop Contact Institute Director, Bete Jones, www.tucsonaudubon.org/education August 14–18. Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival with any questions at (520) 209-1812 (see Festival insert for full schedule of events) or [email protected] Specialty Workshops Gardening to Attract Birds Taught by Homer Hansen. October 19, 2013 August 15–17. Nature Shops closed—will be at Register online today! Limited to 50 the Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival Warblers: August 8 & 10, 2013 Taught by Lynn Hassler. participants! tucsonaudubon.org/ige Flycatchers: September 5 & 7, 2013 September 5 & 7. Flycatchers Specialty Sparrows: February 6 & 8, 2014 Beyond Backyard Birding Workshop Raptors: February 13 & 15, 2014 January 11–February 22, 2014. October 3–6. Institute of Grassland Ecology Birding by Ear: April 17 & 19, 2014 No class January 25th. (see p 4) Taught by Lynn Hassler. Register online today! Visit October 19. Gardening to Attract Birds Workshop (see p 4) tucsonaudubon.org/education. Moving to Mastery Contact for all education March 15–April 5, 2014 October 14. Living with Nature lecture (Tucson) activities: Bété Jones at bjones@ Taught by Homer Hansen tucsonaudubon.org, 520-209-1812 For advanced beginner to October 19. Gardening to Attract Birds Workshop (see p 4) All non-member prices include a intermediate birders. year’s membership with Friends November 9. Harvest and Mesquite Milling Festival (see p 7)

H ayes of Tucson Audubon. November 9. Living with Nature lecture (Green Valley) December 7. Living with Nature lecture arbler , J eremy (Green Valley) December 9. Living with Nature lecture and L ucy ’ s W member holiday potluck at St Phillip’s Plaza

Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival offers activities galore for the birder and nature enthusiast, August 14–18. View the full schedule of field trips, workshops, evening programs, Tucson Audubon’s eNews Delivered to Your Inbox and Nature Expo activities in the festival insert or online at Stay informed with weekly email updates from Tucson Audubon. tucsonaudubon.org/festival. Get advance notice of upcoming events, special invitations, urgent conservation updates and action alerts, and more. You can sign up for this list in a number of ways. The easiest is to go to tucsonaudubon.org and click on the link that says Sign-Up & E ng -L i G reen E-newsletter. Otherwise send an email aul to [email protected] with your first and last name, or call Jean Barchman at 520-209-1802 and she Kroesen will take your details. W estern S creech -O wl , P Kendall

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. April–June 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 5 Tucson Audubon Events & Classes Tucson Audubon’s Living with Nature Lecture Series Thank You resources are facing and what Next Season’s Schedule: Green Valley Living we can do to protect them: Save the Dates with Nature Lecture Series A big thanks to our outstanding New Venue!! We have a new 2012–2013 presenters who took Jesus Garcia, Guy McPherson, Tucson Living with Rick Taylor, Chris Cokinos, venue for next season. All lectures us on virtual tours of birding in Nature Lecture Series and David Lindo, Matt Johnson, will be held at the Green Valley lands far and near, spoke of the Member Meetings Recreation’s Desert Hills Social Jennie MacFarland, Karl Flessa, Venue: Pima Community College unique avifauna of southeastern Jherime Kellermann, Noreen Center, 2980 S. Camino Del Sol. Arizona and their important Downtown Campus, Amethyst Lectures will be scheduled on the Kordosky, David Mackay, Mike Room. Located on campus at 1255 habitat, and gave us insight into first Saturday of the month, at Smith, Vince Pinto, Doug Moore, N. Stone Ave. The program begins the threats our precious natural Mark Avery 10 am from November to April. at 7 pm, second Monday of each month October through May. Dates for 2013–2014 season: November 9 Dates for 2013–2014 season

H ayes December 7 October 14 November 18* January 4 December 9** January 13 February 1 February 10 March 10 March 1 April 14 May 12 April 5 **Holiday Potluck at St. Phillips Plaza in the Hills Episcopal Church *Note change to third Monday , J eremy V ermilion F lycatcher

Birdathon Fun Concludes Until Next April Kara Kaczmarzyk, Volunteer & Development Coordinator

A huge thank you goes to each and with his total species seen on the sponsor, Audio Visual Management. Stay tuned to tucsonaudubon.org/ every one of this year’s Birdathoners. Tyrannulets. A special thanks goes to each of the birdathon for details on next year’s Forty eight birders on 16 teams A highlight of the evening was prize sponsors for helping to reward Birdathon and to take part in the 2014 spotted over 200 bird species and presenting eight-year-old Maia the Birdathoners for their tremendous Birdathon t-shirt artwork contest! raised more than $22,000, garnering Stark with the awards both for being efforts: Barrio Brewery, Bookman’s, Submit your artwork or vote on the critical support and awareness for bird youngest Birdathoner, and for getting Eegee’s, Exo Roast, Golf N’ Stuff, winning work. habitat conservation. the most supporters. She was excited Green Mountain Digital, Julie Bar, Mark your calendar for

The Birdathon after-party, the to win a pair of Vortex Diamondback Ordinary Bike Shop, REI, Reid Park Birdathon, April 2014! VF Birdy BBQ, saw Birdathoners and binoculars and a field guide. This Zoo, Sullivan’s Eatery & Creamery, their supporters celebrating another young birder is getting a great start as Tasteful Kitchen, Titan Missile Below, left to right: left: The Wrenegades great Birdathon season with fun, a champion for our natural world. Museum, Tucson Children’s Museum, Birdathon team spotting the Solitary Sandpiper at Sweetwater Wetlands. food, and prizes. The winning We also thank our Birdathon Tucson Audubon’s Nature Shops, and After the birding, it’s time to celebrate! Birdathon team, for the second year sponsors for making this event Sunglow Ranch. Volunteers helped Attendees at the Birdy running, was the Wrenegades, who possible: at the Gila Woodpecker behind the scenes to make Birdathon BBQ. Inset: Maia Stark. spotted 152 species during their Big level, Pima Federal Credit Union, and possible. For their stunning artwork, Day. For the third consecutive year, at the Phainopepla level, Hughes we thank this year’s Birdathon Kendall Kroesen took home the title Federal Credit Union. Our awards, postcard artist, Patty Kane, and of Grand Prize winner, a title earned music, and movie at the Birdy BBQ the Birdathon t-shirt artist, L. Wren by his total funds raised combined sounded stellar thanks to our AV Walraven. arland J ennie M ac F

6 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Tucson Audubon News Roundup

Annual Harvest Festival and Kroesen Mesquite Milling Set for November 9: Save the date (and store your pods) Niki Szivek, Tucson Audubon Volunteer Kendall B oth photos

Save the date: On Saturday, vendors, children’s activities, a raffle Pods should be dried thoroughly in the information about how to store and November 9th, 2013 the Tucson for fabulous prizes, and tours of the sun or oven, and kept dry until milling. prepare pods for milling. Audubon Mason Center will host the Mason Center’s nature preserve and Pods can also be frozen, but should We hope you will join us November Harvest Festival and Mesquite Milling, gardens. be defrosted in the sun for several 9th! Be sure to bring your friends, an annual celebration of the native In the meantime, those of you who days before the milling to ensure bring your kids, and bring the pods foods of the Sonoran Desert. have collected mesquite pods this that they are completely dry. Beyond you’ve collected along with some In addition to milling services, the summer will want to make sure your these basic guidelines, I recommend clean containers for our milling staff to festival will feature talks, exhibits, pods are processed and stored safely. visiting www.desertharvesters.org for fill with your delicious mesquite flour.

Bendire’s or Bust! A Busy Season for Arizona IBAs Jennie MacFarland, IBA Conservation Biologist G riffiths M att

Inset: Bendire’s Thrasher, the target bird of expedition to Wikieup. Left: The unique habitat of the Chicken Springs Allotment near Wikieup. Here we found enough Bendire’s Thrashers to qualify the site as a Global IBA in the future. Right: One of the many Joshua Trees that dominated the landscape in Chicken Springs.

This past spring season has excellent overall bird diversity and over two weekends and look for one Coming up this summer we will certainly was busy for the Arizona was rumored to be good habitat for of Arizona’s “most wanted” birds. have our second season of Yellow- Important Bird Area crew! We Bendire’s Thrasher. We found over We did document these amazing billed Cuckoo callback surveys along dedicated the San Pedro Riparian 30 individual Bendire’s Thrashers on birds breeding in each of our target the Lower San Pedro River. We had National Conservation Area IBA as the site and 10 confirmed pairs, this mountain ranges. such success finding them in the . com .J im B urns P hotos a newly designated site of Global should qualify this site as a Global IBA This spring we also conducted humid riparian woodlands it will be importance in conjunction with the in the future! some very interesting migration- very interesting to see what we can April 13 International Migratory Bird The annual Elegant Trogon focused surveys along the Lower find with our expanded counting B urns , www Day. This was a great event with an surveys that Rick Taylor has San Pedro River near San Manuel area this year. All of these efforts emphasis on the Bell’s Vireo, the coordinated for many years were north of Tucson. We documented have been possible only through species that qualified this area as a expanded this year with Tucson many species using this lush riparian our amazing volunteers who so Global IBA. The expedition to an area Audubon’s help to add the Patagonia corridor to travel north on their way generously donate their time and west of Wikieup near Lake Havasu Mountains, Atascosa Highlands, to their breeding territories. Our first skill to help conduct these surveys. was a great success and will likely and Patagonia Mountains for the nocturnal survey along the river Thanks so much folks: lead to another Important Bird Area in first time to the regularly surveyed was also very rewarding with Elf we couldn’t do it without T hrasher , J im & D eva B endire ’ s Arizona. This unique mix of Joshua Chiricahua Mountains and Huachuca Owls and Lesser Nighthawks heard you! Trees, saguaros, California junipers, Mountains. It was so much fun to singing under the full moon on nearly creosote and many species of cacti visit four IBAs and one potential IBA every stop.

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 7 Tucson Audubon News Roundup

Mason Center’s Path to Net-zero Energy Paul Green, Executive Director & E ng -L i G reen aul P photos A ll

How do we turn our 1950s bungalow thermal units. Last month we applied the necessary electrical rewiring, and while we were disconnected from the into a net producer of carbon-free HeatBloc radiant spray on the inside initial installation of HVAC has begun. grid. energy? We start by reducing the of the roof deck to decrease further its One complication was that the original All these changes have been amount of energy we use, and then emissivity, and then added recycled connection to the grid was not of funded by generous gifts from plan to generate more than that. cellulose insulation to give us R49 in sufficient capacity to run our new members. We still need around Since our major uses of energy in the the roof space. systems, and that has added around $20,000 to complete this first stage building are heating and cooling, we We had a HVAC engineer design a $14,000 to the cost. New connector of the work. Future plans include first have to reduce energy transfers system that was adequate for heating panels have now been installed to installing a car charging station between outdoors and indoors. We and cooling, and then our solar guy, the buildings ready for the new grid and solar-covered parking in our began by replacing the tile roof with George Villec of GeoInnovation, sized connection. parking lot. In the next issue we will a white metal one, which reflects the future photovoltaic generating Work interruption for staff based at update you on our progress with the sunlight and, more recently, we system to balance our estimated Mason was minimized by the use of photovoltaics and HVAC. We look replaced the 1950s steel-framed demand (installation is in the future). a solar trailer (pictured above), which forward to welcoming supporters to single-pane windows with modern As we go to press, we have started powered our computers and network see the result during the fall.

Welcome new members Thank You to Our Donors Birthday Fund: Alondra Telles-Waite, Barbara Adams, Keith Ashley, Gregory Horrocks, Jay Hutchins, Ray, Marcy Reiser, Crystal Richt, Jean Barchman, Fermin Garcia, Jr. Andrea Berger, Chris Bittle, Patricia Leo Jacques, Ronald Jennings, Bob Robriguez, Julie Rogers, Rona Business Philanthropy: Rodriguez-Bluto, Darin Bocian, Craig James Karrer, Karen Keating, Sharon Rosenberg, Glenda Ross, Mike Albertsons, LLC Bowman, Grant Bright, Ann Browder, Kempfert, Molly Kiely, John Kneen, Sadatmousavi, Joan Samuelson, Matching Gift: IBM International Babs Buck, Arnold Capute, Marilyn Gail M. Kranz, Ann and Bruce Justin Schneider, Lori Scott, Susan Foundation Carney, Scott Carroll, Bill Case, LaRose, Eric Lauterbach-Colby, Scott, Connie Seddon, David and Larry Caswell, Laura Cleveland, Holly Lemieux, Melanie Lenington, Mary Shaffer, Nadine Sheehan, Gift in Honor/Memory: We thank Lois Colberg, Dr Dennis and Sevren Russell Lowes and family, Conrad JoAnn Sheperd, Ann Shoben, Inga these donors for their special gifts: Coon, Stephen Cox, Emily Danies, McCarthy, Michael McMann, Carolle Simmonds, Guadalupe Sipperley, In memory of Dick Else from Jo DeChatelet, Leslie DeGrassi and Meeks, Mead Mier, Judy Ann Miller Randi Solomon, Julie St. John, Patricia Catalano, Dr. James G. Else, Larry Worster, Scott Egan, Steve and Paul D’Andrea, Mary Miller, Joe Sharlene Stager, Connie Thomson, and JoAnne and Bill Peacock Eggimann and Dianne Van Tasell, Moreno, Merry Kim Morrison, Alice Lisa Turecek, John Weakly, Bobbie In honor of Laura Cotter from David Engelsberg, Dr. Roy G. Farrell, Mural, Edward Musante, Margrit Wilson, Bonnie Wong and Rob Dorothy Klepper Timothy Fiedler, Kimberly Fitzpatrick, Myrback, Muriel Neddermeyer, Ray Holliday, Kaaren A. Zvonik In honor of Alexia Bivings from Sylvia Fullerton, Ellen Garms, Nichols, John O’Neill, Marica Obara, We welcome A Feathered Nest in Gary Bivings Carol Gaydos, Lizabeth Gluck, Tom Olkowski, Jacqueline Paul, Amado as a new Birds & Business In honor of Michele Joel from Catherine Gogas, Raelene Gold, Susan Pearson, William Pedersen, Alliance Copper Level Member. Jessica Jubin Morgan Goldberg, Valerie Gomes, Jodene Perrin-Gill, Kathi Peters, In honor of Richard McKee from Kai Goodwillie, Pamela and Stan Melody Peters, Ronald Peterson, Jean Barchman, Nancy Young Wright Hart, Caitlin Hawley, Patrick Higgins, Jack Rasmussen, Audrey and Robert Membership Coordinator

8 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Tucson Audubon News Roundup Volunteer Spotlight

Call for Volunteers: Carolyn Halder calls herself a birding groupie (“someone who Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival hangs out with birders rather than Kara Kaczmarzyk, Volunteer & Development Coordinator someone who is a birder”). She began volunteering for Tucson It’s festival time, the Tucson southeast Arizona Audubon in the Important Bird Area Bird & Wildlife Festival! as the place for program a few years ago, doing August 14–18. This event, which monsoon birding! data entry for the surveys. She did is expected to draw people from more See what last not feel she had the birding skills to than 23 states, is high energy and year’s volunteers qualify for identifying the birds, but lots of fun! This August, people from thought of the event: a few years later, Carolyn is now in the field participating in surveys all over Tucson and the country will The expo was bright and open and convene for one thing: to celebrate herself! She still collects data for the inviting. It was a fun place to be. usually absorbed by the overall birds and nature. More than 60 team, but also helps to spot birds for scenery, the totality of the volunteers are needed to help make I’m new and several veteran others to identify and is starting to experience. In cooler weather, the third annual Tucson Bird & Wildlife volunteers were very friendly and recognize more species. Carolyn volunteers with Tucson Festival a spectacular celebration helpful. Carolyn has a hands on Audubon and other weed whacking of the birds and wildlife of southeast approach to improving her bird I also enjoyed interacting with all the groups to remove buffelgrass, Arizona. Will you be one of them? identification skills, she helps nice attendees, vendors, instructors arundo, and other invasives. A variety of fun roles are to band birds! She examines and field trip leaders, etc. As a Certified Public Accountant, available for this festival. You can hummingbirds and passerines up My observation is that it all went very Carolyn admits that the tax season volunteer to support the free talks, close through banding programs smoothly. I had comments from out sometimes obligates her to miss workshops, family activities, field trips, with the Hummingbird Monitoring of state participants that were very out on outdoor springtime events. registration, Nature Expo, or Nature Network, Bureau of Land impressed with how well planned and She is treasurer and webmaster for Shop booth at the event, or serve as Management, and Sky Islands run it was. the local pet bird club, Avicultural an emcee, help setup, take photos, or Bird Observatory. In these roles, Society of Tucson and has a work on the back end to prepare for Other exciting and important she helps to operate the trap nets, number of pet Cockatiels. For only the event. volunteer opportunities include those records the data that the bander a few years since she was six You’ll have all the tools you’ll need in our field trip program, press writers, reports, and enjoys the feed and years old has she been without to feel comfortable and confident in Nature Shops, mail crew, Important release part of hummingbird a pet bird. Born in Ohio, Carolyn whatever role you choose for this Bird Area surveys, and for offsite banding. moved to Tucson in 1988 and event. With your help, the Tucson events. Carolyn has also volunteered hasn’t looked back since. Her Bird & Wildlife Festival will showcase for a number of offsite events for Tucson Audubon including Wings husband is a professor at the Over Willcox (her excuse to go to Univeristy of Arizona, and her son is Whitewater Draw for the Sandhill a bio technology researcher at the Contact Kara about Warmest welcome to the Cranes). University of Southern California. volunteering! new members of the Tucson Overall, she enjoys traveling Her pride showed through as Audubon volunteer team: Keith when she can be helping a Carolyn talked about her son’s [email protected] Ashley, Meaghan Conway, good cause at the same time. research; he is working on improving the signal processing on MRI 520-209-1811 Nancy Giesen, Jill Goetz, Birdwatching activities give her Rachel Martinez, Diana an excuse to focus on birding, machines so that brain scans will be tucsonaudubon.org/ Rosenblum, Connie Stevens, otherwise, during hikes, she is much sharper and clearer. VF volunteer and Mike Thompson. Kroesen R ose ath B roo k s D eb V Kendall M att S tormy Left to right: Cristal shows how to make pine cone bird feeders at the Water Festival; Tucson Audubon volunteers and Wild at Heart relocate six borrowing owls from the site of a future PV power plant to a safe habitat in Marana.; Volunteers Jill Goetz and others helped to present the Birdathon after party; Smiling despite an unusually cold day are volunteers at the Festival of Books.

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 9 Interesting stories about birds with interesting names ame Chihuahuan Raven Larry Liese t ’ s in a N On a Tucson Audubon “Thank-you field trip leaders” outing some time ago, one W ha of the attendees asked our guest leader what he felt was the most challenging identification in our area. We all were quite surprised to hear him announce that Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus) was his choice. The key was that as a professional guide, many of his clients expected to get their life bird tick for this species on the tour, but without a good, studied look at one it wasn’t right for him to say they “probably” saw one. Though I know I’d encountered many in my early (remember, birds have no hands!), they name “White-necked Raven”, but that years of birding, it was five years after reportedly will not use a stick in their nest name now belongs to an African bird and starting that I finally checked mine off. if it falls to the ground. They will re-use Chihuahuan is here to stay (at least for By far the least-studied member of nests, sometimes stacking new layers now!). G eorge W est the Corvid family, Chihuahuan Ravens atop the old. One such nest was found to The word raven comes from the Anglo are fascinating birds. They are bold, have seven layers! Saxon word hraefn, meaning “a raven”,

noisy and gregarious. They are among Chihuahuan Ravens have an imitative of the bird’s cry. If this seems a by I llustration the most highly intelligent of all birds, interesting breeding strategy, which is stretch, get out your iPod, smartphone with tests showing an ability to count thought to help maximize the number of or MP3 player and listen—it does fit! to seven when distinguishing groups of healthy chicks fledged. The female will Speaking of raven’s calls, common objects! They show innovative thinking lay three eggs over a couple of days and birding lore states that the Chihuahuan when posed with a problem, and make then start incubating them. One to three has a higher pitched call. The literature good use of their strong feet and legs additional eggs are added one-per-day warns this isn’t diagnostic so I tried to if it will fill their belly. Grasshoppers are with the result that initially three chicks verify this by listening to one recording one of their primary food items, with will hatch together followed by the later I have comparing our two ravens’ calls. meat in the form of carrion probably ones on subsequent days. In times of Interestingly, the Chihuahuan calls were next. One estimate states that a pair of plenty most chicks survive, but in lean all quite similar, while the Common’s calls ravens and their nestlings may consume times this keeps failure of the entire on the recording vary with some both at least 168 grasshoppers per day. They clutch less likely. Fledging of chicks is a higher and lower in pitch. Be careful! are opportunistic feeders and will eat haphazard affair, with first flights often It would take quite a bit of space to most anything available, so impact on of an accidental nature when excess lift describe the subtleties of visual cues for agricultural interests are mixed. When during branch-hopping carries the chick identifying our two ravens so I’ll leave either perched or soaring, they apparently out of the nest tree. First flights typically that as “homework” with your field guides. rely heavily on spotting cues that indicate head downwind for a hundred meters or Suffice it to say that with practice you can the presence of food rather than actual more and end with crash landings. They tell them apart with good views, though food.They cache food when abundant for do get better at it, and within 48 hours for many sightings, be ready to say “I’m later retrieval, and have a highly social life can make connected flights of a kilometer not sure on that one”! Good luck! VF history. Individuals have been known to or more. The word corvus is Latin for “a live for over twenty years in the wild. crow”. The species name cryptoleucus Attend the Institute of Grassland Ecology Breeding in grasslands and desert, is a combination of the two Greek words this October 3–6 in Elgin, Arizona, for a Chihuahuan Ravens avoid mountainous cryptos and leucos which mean “hidden” good chance to see your own Chihuahuan terrain and higher elevations which are and “white” respectively. As all birders Raven! See page 4 for details. the home of their larger congener - the in our area might guess, this descriptive Common Raven. At lower elevations, combination was given for the bright white all raven nests in telephone poles and feather bases on the birds’ neck. Difficult in our Nature S hops under bridges will be Chihuahuan. A good to see in the field, this field mark is one clue that you may have found one is that of the most definitive in distinguishing there will be a number of unused sticks this species from the Common Raven. on the ground beneath the nest. Whether Look for it on perched birds on windy discarded or just inadvertently dropped days. Originally, our bird was given the

10 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. When Our Grasslands Turn Green o s ee Jennie MacFarland | IBA Conservation Biologist bi r ds t Many birders in southern Arizona are familiar with Arizona’s grasslands as o go hotspots for birds in winter and that is certainly true. In the winter months, sites such as the San Rafael grasslands are full of flocks of longspurs, sparrows and where t impressive predators such as Northern Harriers and Ferruginous Hawks. These areas are less visited by birders in the summer which is a shame because these grasslands come alive with song once the rains fall. When summer settles in and we have three digit temperatures day after Above: Monsoon over Las Cienegas; left: grassland before Proctor Rd outside Madera Canyon; inset: day, many of us turn our thoughts to Loggerhead Shrike; bottom left: Grassland outside arland the near future when we begin to see Madera Canyon towering clouds on the horizon in the afternoon. Our summer monsoons bring especially good for pulling off the side J ennie M ac F the relief of afternoon showers and cool of the road and listening for our summer evenings. This second act of summer songsters. The scenic vistas of the San is my favorite time of year and the birds Rafael Grasslands lie southeast of the are just as excited to see it arrive. Many town of Patagonia and are another grassland species time nesting season excellent place to look and listen for by grassland photos to synchronize with the abundance of summer breeding sparrows, Eastern A ll food our summer rains provide. Those Meadowlarks singing their beautiful birders adventurous enough to brave the early morning, but song and hovering White-tailed Kites. midmorning heat are rewarded with sights mid morning they Las Cienegas National Conservation and sounds not seen any other time of the are very difficult to Area is conveniently located on the way year in our grasslands. locate. Like the Cassin’s to Patagonia and also features our classic One of the best indications that the they also sing their buzzy summer singing sparrows along with summer rains have indeed come is when insect-like song throughout the day once D oris E vans Chihuahuan Ravens, Loggerhead Shrikes you hear the melodic, clear song of the high humidity of the monsoons arrive. and Blue Grosbeaks. Cassin’s Sparrows in courtship display. Botteri’s Sparow is a regional rarity found One of the best places to experience This is the best time of year to actually in the U.S. only in the extreme SE corner native southern Arizona grassland is at get a good look at this species. During of Arizona and the southernmost tip of the Appleton-Whittle Research Ranch the winter they are shy and have the Texas and are only here in the summer. near Elgin. This beautiful area was once maddening habit of running along the These subtly handsome birds wait to lay heavily grazed but has now been allowed ground through the grass to evade your their clutch until the monsoon conditions to operate once more as a natural binoculars. But once the rains come the are just right in our grasslands but do grassland ecosystem for the past 30 males will sit up on exposed perches begin singing their “bouncing ball” song years. This is also where the first Institute and sing their hearts out. Grasshopper in June. of Grassland Ecology will take place this Sparrows can be found in SE Arizona in There are several excellent places upcoming October (see page 4). At this the winter but they too are generally quiet where birders in SE Arizona can go to 4-day program, participants will learn and only sit out on the fences in the very enjoy the natural bonanza that summer’s about the important ecological role the rains bring to our grasslands. As an grasslands of southeast Arizona play added bonus, many of these sites are within our region, how its unique plant near some well-known birding hotspots. and animal communities differ from those When driving to Madera Canyon you in surrounding habitats, and conservation pass through a relatively flat area of threats and management strategies that grassland dotted with mesquites and are used to safeguard this ecosystem. VF yuccas. Most birders zoom through this habitat in their excitement to enjoy Check the Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival the moist canyon beyond, but it is insert for field trips that will be visiting definitely worth slowing down here. The Madera Canyon, and the Patagonia– last few miles before Proctor Road are Sonoita area.

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 11 eBird: The Greatest Birding Advance in the Last 100 Years? Alan Schmierer and Jennie MacFarland

s e B ird and IBA I have been birding since I was a kid back in the mid-1940s. Birding has brought me great joy, has introduced me eBirding for a new Tucson IBA to many of my best friends and has taken When you go birding in the Catalina and Rincon

me to strange and wonderful places, G riffiths Mountains, Saguaro National Park or Tucson

some known only to the “brotherhood” of M att birders. Although the mechanics of birding Mountain Park, please “share” your checklist with the username ArizonaIBA to directly help over that time period have progressed If you are a bird-lister and are looking create a new Important Bird Area around markedly, I see a few events as being for “life birds”, search a species with the Tucson. Lists from the past are also extremely extraordinary. month/year parameters that you wish and helpful as well! The first big addition to the birding an area of interest to get detailed Google world was the advent of the field guide; a maps of exactly where the species is book small enough yet inclusive enough being seen (and what else was seen at eBird and Arizona IBAs to be of use actually in the field. I still the same location on that day). The Arizona Important Bird Areas (IBA) treasure my 1947 edition of “Peterson” Visit “My eBird” and see all of your prior program relies heavily on skilled volunteers (with penciled-in life list of 69 birds!). reports and your county, state and North collecting data on what birds are located where. The second dramatic advance co- America species lists. In the past this had been done almost exclusively evolved with the advent and popularization Data can be entered at any time; in a formal way where IBA volunteers went of the computer. Only with the aid of immediate is good, but it can be entered birding in predetermined locations and filled out computers could the design of the clear, retroactively; a good “rainy-day project”. forms. We also used data that were shared from brilliant and affordable optics that we (A few years ago I went through my notes other organized programs such as Breeding Bird use today be possible. In addition, the from when I lived in a remote county in Surveys and Christmas Bird Counts. computer brought digital bird guides, Utah and entered data that likely would While we do still use these sources to monitor lists, listserves and cameras. All of these never otherwise have been part of IBAs and create new IBAs, eBird has really innovations have been huge advances in science.) stepped up recently as a vital complementary finding, identifying and documenting birds. eBird is here to stay, but it is also source of information. Observations listed on this And now there is eBird: ebird.org. evolving. Its leadership is responsive to site are less rigorously collected but the sheer The prior milestones in birding dealt with the needs of the system and to keeping it volume of sightings makes up for this. There is advances that primarily give to us, the user-friendly. also a network of eBird reviewers who follow-up birders. eBird, which I consider to be the BUT… the value of eBird is on less than likely sightings and keep the data

greatest advance in birding in my lifetime, proportionate to the input! The input to free from mistakes. The interactive maps showing T rogon , D ominic S herony and probably in the past 100 years, not the system now represents about 80,000 where a certain species has been only gives a huge birding tool to us, but it birders. This is estimated to be only about reported also have been helpful E legant is our chance to give back to the avocation 25 percent of the “birders”! Yet hundreds in recent survey planning. that we so love!! of thousands of people use the data For the recent Elegant Why is it so special? Bird guides, even output created in the system. If you are Trogon surveys some the most comprehensive, even those one of the 75 percent who do not input canyons that were not on online, like the great resource of Birds of data to eBird, please visit the site, explore our radar had sightings North America (bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna) the data, and most important, try a report reported so we sent become obsolete even before they are or two. It is easy and intuitive. All of that teams into those areas published. eBird is NOW, with about 3–5 data in your dusty little notebooks could be and the birds were found million entries submitted per month. part of living science and available to all. on survey day. You can find bar-graphs, all the way Alan Schmierer eBird is fun to use and down to the county level, that show it is interesting to see your seasons for any year or years that you Alan Schmierer has been birding since he personal birding statistics, but keep in mind that wish—great for local birding and essential was 7 years old and just recently, at age 72, every time you report what you observed while for travel. got to 800 on his ABA list! Now his quest is to birding, you are helping the science that fuels Maps of Birding Hotspots are a great photograph them all. Alan was an optometrist conservation efforts. Let’s get out there and way to plan a birding trip and helpful when for the Indian Health Service before he retired eBird! VF you move to a new town and want to find to Patagonia, AZ. Jennie MacFarland where to bird. IBA Conservation Biologist

12 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Celebrating Southeast Arizona’s Birds TUCSON meet Your Birds SELMAN ; V erdin , LARRY

When I was a kid growing up in aspen glades and the southernmost would encounter driving 1500 miles north

Tucson, summer vacations meant Engelmann spruce in North America, the into Canada. A merican K estrl , J ohn ennedy raggedy cut-off jeans, white cotton tees, temperatures dropped to the mid-70s. And—of course—the birds change and tennies without socks. The skimpy Vicariously I could smell the sweet too. Cactus Wrens give way to Golden- street attire my pals and I favored was mold in the leaf litter on the shady, north- crowned Kinglets, and Verdins morph into designed to give us more time outdoors facing slopes and the aromatic air where Red-faced Warblers. This rich panoply of practicing on our skateboards. Skin the trail meandered through tall stands habitats, from saguaro cactus to Madrean damage—and skin cancer—were of Ponderosa pine. From June through pine-oak woodland and boreal forests of concepts over a decade away. August, Weldon Heald created many of spruce and fir, gives southeast Arizona Eventually the sun always won and we my daydreams. He was the master of the its concentration of “specialty birds.” Just retreated indoors to evaporative cooling climate ladder. as boys—and girls—need fantasy to and our reading—no digital universe That was over forty years ago, but escape the heat, this edition of Tucson in those days. My favorite writer was Heald’s image of the Southeastern Meet Your Birds introduces you to some Weldon Heald. Heald penned a series of Arizona border ranges as mountain mountain birding locations and to some articles published by Arizona Highways islands surrounded by a sea of desert still of our neighbors that use the Sky Islands about his adventures in the Chiricahua holds true today. Rainfall increases about to survive the summer in Southeastern

Mountains (ultimately collected in 1967 4 inches per 1000 feet because cool air Arizona. H urt A lysson under the title of “Sky Island”) in which cannot hold moisture as well as warm Rick Taylor, Borderland Tours he chronicled his jaunts up the so-called air, and is the same as moving north in Se ct i on “climate ladder.” Leaving the valley latitude approximately 300 miles. The S p e c i al floor below Portal where summertime vegetation changes from creosote temperatures frequently exceeded 100 desert to spruce forest over degrees, he ascended Cave Creek to a the 5,000 feet of elevation mountain meadow surrounded by pines spread separating Portal and firs called Rustler Park. Still not from Chiricahua satisfied, Heald hiked out on the Crest Peak are the Trail to Chiricahua Peak. Here, among same one

Peppersauce Canyon Oracle State Park is only Our mission: Tucson Audubon promotes the open weekends and just six months of the year, protection and stewardship of southern Arizona’s but even better birding can be found year-round biological diversity through the study and seven miles past the park. Peppersauce Canyon Indigo Bunting enjoyment of birds and the places they live. FREE Birding Field Trips: and a National Forest campground are located tucsonaudubon.org/fieldtrips in a treed oasis at 5,000 feet along the old Mt. Nature Shop: 300 E. University Blvd. Lemmon Road. Pavement ends two miles from the 520-629-0510 x1 Bob Bowers state park, but the dirt road is an easy drive to the campground. Birding Classes: tucsonaudubon.org/education Enormous sycamores shade the camp sites, and the adjacent Rice Peak trail gently Rare Bird Alert: tucsonaudubon.org/rba or ascends through Mexican blue oak and juniper to a second spring-fed oasis just a 520-629-0510 x3 mile from the campground. This habitat is ideal for birds, and 139 species have been Tucson Bird Count: tucsonbirds.org reported on eBird’s hotspot, including 17 flycatchers, phoebes and kingbirds, as well as Volunteer: tucsonaudubon.org/volunteer 5 vireos and 14 warblers. Summer Tanagers are reliable summer visitors, and resident Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival: tucsonaudubon.org/festival T ucson | C atalinas B ird P laces near birds include Phainopepla, Mexican Jay and Bridled Titmouse. It’s also just 20 miles tucsonaudubon.org 520-629-0510 from Ski Valley, but don’t try it in the family car. Bob Bowers G reat

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 13 Tucson Meet Your Birds H ayes om G rey T J eremy L ois M anowitz

Elegant Trogon Magnificent Hummingbird Elf Owl Many American birders regard the male Elegant On first encounter, a Magnificent Hummingbird Sometimes a bird’s name can be a bit baffling once Trogon as the most beautiful bird north of the brings to mind a large butterfly. The relatively you become more experienced with the bird itself. international boundary. Almost a foot-long with an slow wing beat, though, is faster than that of the For instance the ring on a Ring-necked Duck can iridescent green back and scarlet red breast, the larger Blue-throated Hummingbird, the largest be very hard to see and Turkey Vultures don’t look multihued male trogon exhibits a yellow bill, an hummingbird in North America. all that much like Turkeys. The Elf Owl certainly orange eye-ring, immaculate white breast band, Of the two races of Magnificent that inhabit does not have this problem! Everything about this dove gray wings, and a black-and-white laddered a combined range extending from southwestern tiny predator of insects is reminiscent of an elfin undertail. Females are fractionally larger than the United States to Panama, Arizona has the smaller creature. Their miniscule size of 5 to 6 inches in males. Overall the olive-hued upperparts are a northern race (Eugenes fulgens fulgens). Males length makes them the smallest owl in the world neutral grayish-brown, but she shows a dramatic are around ten percent larger than females by most and their startlingly loud call sounds like ethereal white “teardrop” behind the eye, a coffee latte- measures. However, the females have bills that laughter. This bird certainly lives up to its name. colored vest, and a watermelon pink lower belly. are around ten percent longer, which would make With a breeding range in the U.S. restricted to The underside of her tail is more heavily barred some nectar sources available to her that the male the southern half of Arizona and portions of New than the male’s, and the top is a brilliant plane of cannot reach. Mexico and western Texas, it is no wonder why this beaten copper that gave rise to the former species The male’s green throat and purple crown bird is featured on the logo for the Tucson Bird and name: Coppery-tailed Trogon. sometimes flash in the light but usually the bird Wildlife Festival.

Add rarity to the charisma of the Elegant appears to be all dark with a white spot behind the Many of us in Tucson associate this bird with

Trogon. With a range that extends as far south eye. The female is much plainer, with a white stripe saguaros and indeed they do often use cavities as Costa Rica, a 2013 census revealed that behind the eye, a noticeably long bill, and mottled created by woodpeckers in these giant cacti as S p e c i al Se ct i on only approximately 100 adult trogons summer gray-green sides. nest sites. During late April through July their call in the United States, all in the border mountains Easy to see at some feeders in Madera Canyon can be heard throughout the deserts surrounding of Southeastern Arizona. Furthermore, trogons and elsewhere, this species wanders far from its Tucson but they can also be found at higher occupy canyons hosting the greatest avian species southeast Arizona stronghold. There are regular elevations as well. They will also use woodpecker diversity of any habitat within the whole of the U.S. records from the White Mountains, and northwest holes in Arizona sycamores, various oaks and even Social scientists at the University of Arizona have along the Mogollon Rim and as far north as pines in SE Arizona’s Sky Islands. Next time you estimated that over 25,000 birders come to Arizona Flagstaff. It prefers cool, shaded Madrean pine-oak find yourself in suitable habitat as night begins to annually to enjoy our unique avifauna. Undoubtedly canyons. While some birds winter locally at feeding fall, be sure to listen for this amazing little bird. the foremost symbol of that community is the rare stations, most are migratory, appearing in Arizona Jennie MacFarland, IBA Conservation Biologist and beautiful Elegant Trogon. during early to mid-March. Rick Taylor, Borderland Tours Paul Green, Executive Director

Bob Beatson R itas One of my favorite “secret” spots is Montosa Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. Even though recent birding discoveries here have put the area on the radar of many local birders, most visits will still be blissfully free of the traffic and crowds of nearby Madera Canyon. Montosa Canyon has some of the most easily accessible habitat resembling Sonoran thorn scrub in SE Arizona, which makes it a great place to look for associated specialty birds such as Black-capped Gnatcatcher and Five-striped Sparrow. Plain-capped Starthroat has been found in the early summer. Though it hasn’t yet been reported, a night visit in the proper season may produce Buff-collared Nightjar. Even if you don’t pick up a rarity, the birding in the canyon is excellent. In the lower canyon where the road crosses the creek bed, Varied Buntings, Rufous-crowned Sparrows, and Blue Grosbeaks sing in season and many migrants pass through the oak-scrub habitat on their journeys to/from their breeding grounds.

T ucson | S anta B ird P laces near Further up-canyon the habitat transitions into juniper with a few pines, which can add a number of species to a day’s birding list. No matter what time of year you visit, plan on spending a wonderful few hours in this excellent canyon. Matt Brooks G reat

14 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival And the Sky Islands Birding Cup

August 14–18 Special 8-page P utler ull-Out nn B le G

Prepare to be amazed by nature! Keynote Banquet and Feature Presentation Coloring the Conservation Conversation Tucson Audubon and the Riverpark Inn invite with Dr. J. Drew Lanham you to experience southeastern Arizona Saturday, August 17, 6:30–8:30 pm at the Riverpark Inn birding at its best! Immerse yourself in the $35 pp, includes buffet dinner Birds are connected to us in so many ways. While most people appreciate spectacular and unique biodiversity of the birds’ aesthetic appeal and ecological role as fellow planetary beings, few Sonoran Desert and Sky Islands at the third take the time to think about how birds connect to culture. A Bald Eagle soaring might cause many Americans to swell with patriotism. That same spectacular raptor annual Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival. Hit the might be seen by some Native American peoples as a bird worthy of ceremonial sacrifice. A Great-horned Owl hooting in the hours before dawn might cause some people of African descent trails with our friendly expert leaders, who will to fear forthcoming malady—even death. To others our largest owl vocalizing in the moonlight help you track down your most wanted birds. might be a symbol of sagacity. And so the birds we see—in life, in art, and in literature—may present themselves differently to us depending on our ethnicity, gender, upbringing, or any Visit the Nature Expo where you’ll find festival multiplicity of other factors. Dr. J. Drew Lanham, passionate birder, ornithologist, writer and Clemson University wildlife biology professor, will broach the subject of why and how our cultural fun for the whole family. Make monsoon connections to birds are important and in fact crucial to avian conservation and broadening the memories in Tucson this August 14–18 base of the birding community. Join Drew Lanham for So What, You Bird—a conservation workshop for birders on Friday — we can’t wait to welcome you! (details p 4) and a special youth birders’ outing on Sunday (details p 7)

Feature Presentation Sponsored by

¬ Register online at www.tucsonaudubon.org/Festival ¬ Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival • August 14–18, 2013

Field Trips Difficulty Levels as well as riparian-associated species like Gray and filled draws in search of Golden-crowned Kinglet, Zone-tailed Hawks, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Northern Brown Creeper, Red Crossbill, Olive Warbler Flat walking on groomed trails or roads Beardless-Tyrannulet, and Summer Tanager. and Northern Goshawk. Mixed species flocks ips Some mild slopes, but still Plus black-tailed prairie dogs (and their Burrowing often include numerous Red-faced, Townsend’s, on excellent surfaces Owl neighbors) and the possibility of pronghorn. Virginia’s, and Black-throated Gray Warblers.

Tr Steeper slopes or more rocky/rooted trails Catalina State Park Willcox Shorebirding Excursion Long walks away from road surfaces over hiking terrain Sat 8/17 6–11 am $50 pp Sun 8/18 5:30 am–12 pm $50 pp Witness migration in action on this relaxed half-

Prices are per person, registration ord day trip to the Willcox Twin Lakes and Benson

required (includes transportation, taff

S Sewage Ponds. Get tips on how to ID some of a

Field and packed lunch on full-day trips)

ur the shorebird species that, albeit briefly, call La Arizona home. Wilson’s Phalarope, Long-billed r /

ke Dowitcher, Pectoral, Stilt, Baird’s, Western, and Least Sandpipers are likely, as are an array of

HALF-DAY FIELD TRIPS d Flic e migrant swallow species, and birds of the open

Sweetwater Wetlands Gild grassland like Scaled Quail and Horned Lark. Fri 8/16 6–8 am $20 pp Madera Canyon Trogon Trek A “must see” destination for any birder with a few hours Sun 8/18 5:30 am–12 pm $50 pp to spend in Tucson, and A diversity of habitats here should yield a wide a great place to get variety of bird species: saguaro and palo verde started as a beginner desertscrub, mesquite woodland along washes, birder. A stunning and scattered ash, sycamore, and oak trees along variety of species can an intermittent stream are all included. Arizona be found here at any specialties like Abert’s Towhee and Rufous-winged season, but we’ll need to dy Sparrow should be found here, as well as the

arrive early before the day enne

K Sonoran Desert endemic Gilded Flicker, and with heats up to catch the prime activity. We’ll hn a bit of luck, regional specialities like Northern look for everything on the checklist from Cinnamon / Jo

k Beardless-Tyrannulet and Varied Bunting.

Teal to Abert’s Towhee! Loaner binoculars w a

H Sponsored by Rockjumper

available. **meet at Sweetwater Wetlands** s ’ s rri

a Saguaro National Park

Cienega Creek & Davidson Canyon H t am Sat 8/17 6–11 am $50 pp ull-Out Fri 8/16, Sun 8/18 5:30–11 $50 pp P

Saguaro NP protects a large tract of magnificent auber Here perennial stream flow and lush riparian T Special 8-page Special 8-page vegetation create an important nesting and Sonoran Desert habitat, with towering saguaros migration corridor for a multitude of avian species. and a host of other cacti; and mesquites, palo ruce Home to Yellow-breasted Chat, Yellow-billed verde, and ironwood trees along with the n / B

Cuckoo, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Bell’s birds and other wildlife that depend on these rogo T t

Vireo, and Lucy’s Warbler, the creek has also plant communities. Ash-throated and Brown- n crested Flycatchers, Gambel’s Quail, Black-

hosted of a number of vagrants. Under the lega shade of towering Fremont cottonwoods, we throated Sparrow, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, E A special effort to locate the stunning Elegant will explore this well-watered and increasingly Pyrrhuloxia, Cactus Wren, Harris’ Hawk, Gila Trogon may require a roundtrip hike of up rare habitat on a half-day outing. Woodpecker, Gilded Flicker and more. to 3 miles, over generally well-groomed (but Madera Canyon Sampler Mt. Lemmon & Mt. Bigelow occasionally steep) trails. Once we have secured views of our main target species we will spend Sun 8/18 5 am–1 pm $50 pp Fri 8/16 5:30 am–12 pm $50 pp the remainder of the morning exploring oak-filled Starts in grassland habitat for singing Cassin’s, lower Madera Canyon; Bridled Titmouse, Painted

Botteri’s, and Rufous-winged Sparrows, species orris Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Arizona Woodpecker, M y

that have waited just for the monsoon season to n and a variety of hummingbirds are on our hit list. o

breed. Then up to mid-elevation oak-juniper habitat T / for Arizona Woodpecker, Painted Redstart, and

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. We’ll spend some time arbler exploring the riparian trail and feeder arrays that W FULL-DAY FIELD TRIPS live make Madera a hummingbird diversity hotspot. O California Gulch Adventure Sponsored by Leica Sport Optics Fri 8/16, Sat 8/17 5 am–4 pm $85 pp Las Cienegas Five-striped Sparrow, Varied Bunting, Montezuma Quail, and Least Grebe are at the Sat 8/17 5:30am–12:30 pm $50 pp very northern edge of their ranges here. Time- This 45,000 acre National Conservation Area The Catalina Mountains, just north of the city of permitting, we’ll head to the Patagonia area to with high desert grasslands, perennial streams, Tucson offer a respite from the heat of the desert look for Thick-billed Kingbird, Violet-crowned marshes, and juniper-oak woodlands is home to floor, and access to high elevation forests that are Hummingbird and more. Gray Hawk, Tropical monsoonal breeders including the highly sought- more typical of the Rocky Mountains. We’ll head Kingbird, Black-capped Gnatcatcher also possible. after Cassin’s, Botteri’s and Grasshopper Sparrows, straight up to dense spruce/fir forests and maple-

2 ¬ For festival information, latest updates, and more, Visit www.tucsonaudubon.org/Festival¬ Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival • August 14–18, 2013

Big Hummingbird Day to traveling from Mexico to Canada. The fascinating migrants. Next we’ll hit the famous birding locations array of desert denizens like Gilded Flicker at the of Patagonia targeting Zone-tailed Hawk, Thick- Fri 8/16 5 am–4pm $85 pp base, to Olive, Red-Faced and Grace’s Warblers on billed Kingbird and Violet-crowned Hummingbird. Southeastern Arizona is a mecca for US the easy drive up make this trip high on any birder’s hummingbird diversity, and the monsoon list. Bonus: temps at the top nearly 30 degrees Birds & Butterflies of Brown season is the best time of the year to find the full cooler than below, and unparalleled scenery. Canyon complement of species. Our goal is 13 including Sun 8/18 5:30am–2:30 pm $85 pp Lucifer, White-eared, and Berylline Hummingbirds. Further afield: Huachuca Flexible itinerary allows us to pinpoint staked-out Mountains A special access trip to beautiful Brown Canyon species and spend some time sorting through at Buenos Aires NWR. This lush canyon in the often tricky female and immature plumaged birds. Sat 8/17 5 am–4 pm $85 pp Baboquivari Mountains boasts large sycamore This trip will likely involve limited walking, plenty of Explore the Madrean oak woodland and open trees along a usually flowing creek, surrounded opportunities for extended studies and photography. pine forests of scenic Carr Canyon on the by oak forest and patches of excellent thornscrub. east flank of the Huachucas, home to Arizona Varied Bunting, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Botteri’s Borderland Specialties Woodpecker, Painted Redstart, Olive Warbler, Sparrow, Montezuma Quail, and Black-capped Buff-breasted Flycatcher and Greater Pewee. Gnatcatcher, hummingbirds, and orioles are Fri 8/16, Sat 8/17 5:30 am–2 pm $85 pp After a few hours exploring along the main road, targets for our morning walk along the riparian a

di winding up to near the peaks of the Huachucas, corridor. Butterflies and dragonflies are numerous! e M we’ll picnic in the shade then descend to nearby et N

h Ash Canyon, where private hummingbird Patagonia & Sonoita rc feeders should be buzzing with activity. Range- ea Sun 8/18 5:30 am–4 pm $85 pp / S restricted Lucifer Hummingbird possible. k aul P w Patagonia is one of this area’s best-known a destinations for riparian birds. Nearby Sonoita’s d H Sky Islands Naturalist Saunter e il grasslands hold an entirely different set of eather ta - Sat 8/17 5:30 am–4 pm $85 pp species. There are many famous places to bird / H ne Zo

Vincent Pinto leads this detailed exploration of the here including the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek gbird natural history of the Sky Islands region. Wander Preserve, Harshaw Canyon, and of course n

the lush riparian areas, mesquite bosques, and the Patons’ backyard feeder array; the latest ummi H grasslands near Patagonia Lake learning about reports will determine our exact itinerary. Targets billed Local expert Rick Taylor leads a wildcard the area’s birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, include Gray Hawk, Thick-billed Kingbird, Varied - exploration of several of the region’s “can’t miss” native plants, ethnobotany, tracking, geology, Bunting, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Botteri’s, road birding sites. Our itinerary will be determined by the and history. Walking at a moderate pace over Grasshopper, and Cassin’s Sparrows. B

latest sightings of borderland treats like Elegant varied terrain you’ll soon discover why southeast Special 8-page

Arizona harbors the greatest biodiversity in all Hummingbird Safari for Beginners P

Trogon, Arizona Woodpecker, and Sulphur-bellied ull-Out of North America! Added bonus: The chance Flycatcher, and other potential birds include Zone- Sun 8/18 6 am–2 pm $85 pp tailed Hawk, Virginia’s and Grace’s Warblers, to see a number of regional specialty birds. This small-group excursion is a “can’t miss” for Painted Redstart, Flame-colored Tanager, and beginner birders or visitors interested in getting Botteri’s and Cassin’s Sparrows. Patagonia & Rio Rico to know some of the Tucson area’s Sat 8/17 5:30 am–4 pm $85 pp most dazzling birds and a few Mt. Lemmon: Desert to Conifers Towering cottonwoods support Gray Hawk, Yellow- popular, nearby birding sites! Fri 8/16, Sat 8/17 5:30 am– billed Cuckoo and Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Join Sheri L. Williamson, 3:30 pm $85 pp and also form an important migration corridor author of the Petersen Rising over 6,000 feet above Tucson, Mt. Lemmon, along the Santa Cruz River. We’ll visit isolated guide to Hummingbirds at 9157 feet asl, is the highest peak in the Santa wetlands near Rio Rico and Kino Springs for Black- of North America, for a Catalinas. The 25-mile journey up the wide, paved, bellied Whistling-Duck, Common Ground-Dove, field workshop that covers two-lane Catalina Highway is equivalent biologically Varied Bunting, Tropical Kingbird, and a variety of hummingbird basics. mith S hrissy C

¬ For festival information, latest updates, and more, Visit www.tucsonaudubon.org/Festival¬ 3 Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival • August 14–18, 2013 FESTIVAL NIGHTLIFE Saturday, August 17 Go Batty! with Dr. Ronnie Sidner Feature Presentation 4:30–9 pm at the Riverpark Inn $45 pp, Thursday, August 15 Coloring the Conservation includes sack dinner & transportation Conversation Nightlife Social Join expert mammologist Dr. Ronnie Sidner for with Dr. J. Drew Lanham a classroom lecture all about bats and then take 5–7:30 pm at the Riverpark Inn 6:30–8:30 pm at the Riverpark Inn a field trip to search for Mexican free-tailed bats Registered participants only; $35 pp, includes buffet dinner on their nightly trek through the city. Using sonar $5 pp includes drink ticket. detectors and modified light, we will be able to Full details on p. 1. Wildlife biology professor, Gather with other birders, festival speakers, and ‘see’ a minimum of 3 or 4 species of bats. vendors to kick off the third annual Tucson Bird & ornithologist, writer, and lifelong birder Wildlife Festival! Get to know your festival leaders Dr. J. Drew Lanham explores why and how Saturday, August 17 and a few special nocturnal guests—a real “Who’s our cultural connections to birds are crucial HOO!” Light refreshments provided, cash bar. to avian conservation, and to broadening lANDSCAPING FOR WILDLIFE the base of the birding community. with KENDALL KROESEN SPONSORED BY SWAROVSKI OPTIK. Friday, August 16 & 10–11 am at the Riverpark Inn FREE Saturday, August 17 This workshop covers basic Social Hour principles for gardening and WORKSHOPS landscaping that emphasize 5:30–6:30 pm at the Riverpark Inn Friday, August 16 sense of place, biodiversity, Free entry and providing for the needs of Mix and mingle with other Festival attendees and Beginning Birding birds and other small wildlife, leaders after a great day’s birding! Cash Bar. with Lynn Hassler with a focus on native plants and desert-adapted techniques. Friday, August 16 9:30–11:30 am at the Riverpark Inn $35 pp Leave with a good orientation Feature Presentation This workshop is designed for beginners, toward creating biologically and

Vanished Birds and Tomorrow’s providing an overview of how to get started, structurally diverse landscapes and how gardens ueta including discussions on the tools you’ll need Skies: Hope Is The Thing with and landscapes can form a unified whole. n & Q Feathers with Christopher Cokinos (and how to use them), where (and when) to o look for birds, how to identify what you see, and n / L

lEARNING TO USE A FIELD GUIDE re

6:30–8:30 pm at the Riverpark Inn information on some of the local species that with STEVE N. G. HOWELL W $35 pp, includes buffet dinner you might encounter on Festival field trips! am pm actus

11:30 –1:30 at the Riverpark Inn $35 pp C Award-winning writer Christopher Cokinos brings us What makes a good field guide, and why? Do I the stories—the lives and the demise—of several Grassland Bird ID have the right field guide for my purposes? As extinct North American birds. We travel to the hilltop with Homer Hansen birders of any level, we likely own at least one where the last known wild passenger pigeon was 12–1 pm at the Riverpark Inn $25 pp

ull-Out field guide. But the field guide is only part of the

P killed, to the refuge where once there grew a great The grasslands of southeastern Arizona are equation—you are the other part: How do you see

Special 8-page Special 8-page forest with the last verified ivory-billed woodpeckers, situated in the heart of the Sky Islands, an area birds and look at them? How do you identify birds? and through these stories of loss into a clear- known for its rich species diversity. This workshop Steve Howell, author of several guides, examines sighted hope for our present and the future. Using provides an introduction for beginners to the birds these intertwined questions and hopes to make you words and images, Cokinos—a poet and nature one may see in the grasslands during the summer think about how you look at birds, how you identify writer—shows us how questions of environmental and fall. Identification characteristics as well as them, and how you can get more out of birding. responsibility toward the contemporary biosphere vocalizations for certain species will be covered. can be informed by the histories of these extinctions Fall MigraTION with Homer Hansen and the context of even deeper histories...and Sparrows with Homer Hansen how we, as keepers of our natural world, can 2–3 pm at the Riverpark Inn $25 pp act to conserve and protect what we value. 1:30–2:30 pm at the Riverpark Inn $25 pp Southeast Arizona hosts a wide variety of migrant Christopher Cokinos is the author of Our skulky sparrows come to life during the birds —some are just passing through while others Hope Is The Thing with Feathers: A Personal monsoon season, and species such as Botteri’s, stay for a while. Learn about some of these birds, Chronicle of Vanished Birds and The Fallen Cassin’s and Grasshopper Sparrows can be their behavior and other characteristics while Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars. He identified readily if you are familiar with their learning about ‘molt migration’ and other reasons lives and works in Tucson, where he teaches appearance, behavior, and vocalizations. why this area is awesome during migration. at the University of Arizona and is affiliated Homer Hansen will help you get to know the faculty with the Institute of the Environment. breeding sparrows of our region, their habitats, Hummingbird ID characteristics, and songs! with Sheri L. Williamson y n So What, You Bird: Birders as 3:30–5:30 pm at the Riverpark Inn $35 pp

hero Active Conservationists As familiar and iconic as they are, hummingbirds S

ic still offer plenty of identification challenges.

n with Dr. J. Drew Lanham

omi Sheri L. Williamson, author of the Peterson Field 3–4 pm at the Riverpark Inn $25 pp / D Guide to Hummingbirds and co-founder of the Festival keynoter Drew Lanham will expound on Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, will the historical successes and current failures in parrow share what she has learned over 25 years of S s ’ conservation and how we might best approach intensive study to help you identify, understand, future challenges if birds and birding are to remain and appreciate these remarkable birds. otteri

B a part of our lives. From that morning cup of coffee to killing birds with kindness, this workshop See p.9 of the Flycatcher for volunteer will inform, invigorate, infuriate and hopefully opportunities at the Festival, or contact Kara inspire birders to greater conservation efforts. [email protected] | 520-209-1811

4 festival information, latest updates, and more at our website Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival • August 14–18, 2013 Birders Mean Business! Arizona’s Watchable Wildlife Worth $1.4 billion

Total Economic Effect of Watchable Wildlife Recreation: Special 8-page

Watchable Wildlife enhances, elevates and promotes responsible wildlife viewing and nature appreciation P ull-Out for the benefit of society, while building community awareness, understanding and support for the conservation of the wildlife and habitats upon which these activities depend. Arizona The Call of the Wild backyard birdfeeder, you are also helping to create a different kind of shared value (Statewide) Recent studies show that birdwatching for wildlife: economic value. is among the nation’s most popular = $1.4 b recreational activities, and growing. Why Birding? Ask the 47+ million Survey Says…“Birders birdwatchers in America why they love birds, and you’ll likely get a range Mean Business!” of replies as diverse as the birds BIG business. You might be surprised Pima County themselves. to learn that Watchable Wildlife recreation Cochise With colors and songs that can stop in Arizona has a larger economic impact = $304.4 m County you in your tracks (just about anywhere), than hunting, fishing, golf, or the Gem = $24 m equally colorful and evocative names, and Show. A new report by Southwick life stories replete with amazing feats of Associates, a firm that specializes in speed and stamina, not to mention the analyzing trends in wildlife recreation, Santa Cruz County power of flight, birds pique our curiosity shows the total economic effect from 2011 = $21 m and invite us to explore our world. They watchable wildlife activities in Arizona to delight us, unite us, and challenge our be $1.4 billion ($1.1 billion by residents In this survey “wildlife watching activites” include field of view. and $314.6 million by visitors). observing, photographing, or feeding wildlife. Suffice it to say that nature observation When birders and other wildlife Original expenditures by wildlife watchers generate can do wonders for the mind, body, and watchers visit, they spend money—mostly rounds of additional spending throughout the soul. Birds are an exciting gateway to the on lodging, food, and transportation. economy, resulting in additional indirect and induced impacts that are commonly called the natural world, and we may value them for Local participants contribute, too, multiplier effect. Economic activity associated with personal reasons, experiencing them in with equipment purchases like optics, both the direct spending and multiplier effects different ways. But whether your style is camera gear, and birdfeeding supplies impacts is the total economic contribution resulting hitting the trails in hot pursuit of your next (among other tools of the trade). These from the original expenditures. lifer, or simply enjoying the action at your expenditures have increased since festival information, latest updates, and more at our website ¬ Register online at www.tucsonaudubon.org/Festival ¬ 5 Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival • August 14–18, 2013 n larre C c M hrissy & C eago R dy riffiths An G att

Red-faced Warbler is on the ‘birding bucket list’ for M many birders who visit Southeast Arizona.

2001, despite economic instability; in Tucson Audubon is 2011, Arizona residents spent a total For the Birds! of $665 million on watchable wildlife With your support we are working recreation, while visiting wildlife cooperatively with a diverse array of

watchers from out-of-state poured n partners to create a more bird-friendly and $183.7 million new dollars into the birder-friendly community. You can count state economy. offma

n H on us to create opportunities for all to oh Original expenditures by wildlife J discover, understand, and enjoy birds and

ull-Out watchers generate rounds of additional P Birds-eye view of the Santa Cruz, rolling out a the natural world. We proudly: spending throughout the economy, Special 8-page Special 8-page ‘green carpet’ for birds (and birders). Southern • support destination events like the resulting in additional indirect and induced Arizona’s vital but threatened riparian areas Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival impacts that are commonly called the are the main focus of Tucson Audubon’s local conservation efforts. to showcase our region’s unique multiplier effect. Economic activity watchable wildlife and highlight the associated with both the direct spending To support and grow this valuable local economic impact of birding & and multiplier effects impacts is the total industry, we need to promote responsible nature tourism; economic contribution resulting from the wildlife observation and protect and original expenditures. • promote our community’s valuable enhance the habitats upon which our natural assets—our special birds and wildlife depends. NGOs, government, wildlife and the places they thrive—that Quantity & Quality and business can work synergistically are the foundation of a $1.4 billion Arizona’s unique combination of to nurture ‘The Goose that Lays the statewide economic impact; geography and climate supports a Golden Eggs.’ • protect and enhance important areas whopping 400+ bird species—that’s about For more information, including for birds and birders: cherished natural half the total of all the bird species that Southwick Associates’ full report habitats and renowned birding sites; can be found in the U.S. and Canada, (Economic Contributions of Wildlife and in just one percent of the land area! Viewing to the Arizona Economy, May Diverse and distinctive, Arizona’s birdlife 2013), commissioned by Tucson Audubon • provide information on the when, features many species found nowhere Society please visit tucsonaudubon.org/ where, how and why of birdwatching else this side of the border, virtually birdingeconomics. and bird conservation in the Tucson guaranteeing a slot on many a ‘birding Tucson Audubon’s Birders Mean region and beyond. bucket list’. Combine all this with our rich Business outreach to promote the Do you love Tucson’s birds and other cultural heritage, first-class destination economic value of watchable watchable wildlife? What’s your most services, and a plethora of unique wildlife wildlife is supported by a memorable southeastern Arizona nature experiences accessible from Tucson, and grant from the Arizona experience? Care to tell us how you it’s no wonder we’re recognized as one of Game & Fish Department ‘mean business’ as a birder? Share the top birding and nature destinations in Heritage Fund. your stories and take the survey at the country. tucsonaudubon.org/share

6 festival information, latest updates, and more at our website Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival • August 14–18, 2013

l Field Trip n Workshop t Evening Program 10:00 am–6:00 pm ADVOCACY STATION The Sky Islands  Free Presentation  Family Friendly 11:00 am–1:30 pm TERRACE CAFÉ OPEN Birding Cup: 11:30 am–12:30 pm Desert Adaptations feat. WEDNESDAY, August 14 LIVE ANIMALS for Kids with AZ Game & Fish   A Bold Big Day Event 12:00 am–11:59 pm Sky Islands Birding Cup 10:00 am–11:00 am Workshop: Desert August 14, 2013 THURSDAY, August 15 Landscaping for Wildlife with The challenges involved in Kendall Kroesen n FREE 5:00 pm–7:30 pm nightlife Social, $5 t Details left this particular competition 11:30 am–1:30 pm Workshop: Learning to 5:00 pm–7:30 pm NATURE EXPO PREVIEW are intriguing. Many Use a Field Guide with birds wait exclusively FRIDAY, August 16 Steve N.G. Howell n $35 for this time of year 1:00 pm–2:00 pm What Bird Is That? with l to sing, breed, and 5:00 am–4:00 pm California Gulch Adventure $85 Doris Evans   am pm l generally become 5:00 –4:00 Big Hummingbird Day $85 2:00 pm–3:00 pm Workshop: Fall Migration with more observable. Still 5:30 am–11:00 am Cienega Creek / Davidson Homer Hansen n $30

ettel Canyon l $50 others are not singing and n 2:30 pm–3:30 pm Social Snakes with

must be detected visually or by lde 5:30 am–12:00 pm Madera Canyon Sampler l $85 Melissa Amarello  O call notes. Meanwhile, southbound migrants are 5:30 am–2:00 pm Borderland Specialties l $85 3:30 pm–5:30 pm Workshop: Hummingbird ID with

arriving. Thus, not every species can be staked erry am pm Sheri L. Williamson n $35 / J 5:30 –3:30 Mt. Lemmon: Desert out, and must be encountered by a combination to Conifers l $85 4:00 pm–5:00 pm Sky Island Wildflowers

uail

of skill and luck on the Big Day. Over 200 species Q 6:00 am–8:00 am Sweetwater Wetlands l $20 with Meg Quinn  are possible, and the Arizona Big Day record 9:30 am –11:30 am Workshop: Beginning Birding 5:30 pm–6:30 pm Social Hour t stands at 199. No matter what the outcome for tezuma n

o with Lynn Hassler n $35 6:30 pm–8:30 pm Keynote Dinner featuring J.

your team, the birds are the real winners! Funds M Drew Lanham, $35 t Details left raised by the Sky Islands Birding Cup will support 10:00 am –6:00 pm NATURE EXPO OPEN a fencing project at Patagonia Lake to protect the 10:00 am –11:00 am Seasonal Changes with SUNDAY, August 18 natural riparian area. Or, you may collect pledges LoriAnne Barnett  5:00 am–1:00 pm Mt. Lemmon / Mt. Bigelow l $50 on behalf of the conservation cause of your choice! 11:00 am –1:30 pm TERRACE CAFÉ OPEN am am Full details and registration forms online at 11:30 am –12:30 pm Birds of Madera Canyon 5:30 –11:00 Cienega Creek / Davidson Canyon l $50 tucsonaudubon.org/cup with Doug Moore  5:30 am–12:00 pm Madera Canyon Trogon Results announced at the Nightlife Social on 12:00 pm–1:00 pm Workshop: Grassland Bird ID with Homer Hansen n $35 Trek l $50 August 15. am pm l Special 8-page 1:00 pm–2:00 pm Bighorn Sheep with AZ 5:30 –12:00 Willcox Shorebirding $50

 am pm P Game & Fish 5:30 –2:30 Birds & Butterflies of ull-Out l 2:30 pm–3:30 pm Birding Pima County Brown Canyon $85 Special Extras with Jeff Babson  5:30 am–4:00 pm Patagonia & Sonoita l $85 NEW Advocacy Station 1:30 pm–2:30 pm Workshop: Sparrows with 6:00 am–2:00 pm Hummingbird Safari l $85 n at the Nature Expo Homer Hansen $35 6:30 am–9:00 am Youth Birders’ Outing with 3:00 pm–4:00 pm Workshop: So What, You Drew Lanham l Details left Saturday, August 17 Bird with Drew Lanham  10:00 am–11:00 am The Roadrunner Family Grows Learn about local conservation issues, how 4:00 pm–5:00 pm Tucson’s Most Wanted with Up with Doris Evans  these issues affect birds and how you can get Jennie MacFarland  10:00 am–2:00 pm NATURE EXPO OPEN involved. A great chance to get educated on hot 4:30 pm–9:00 pm Workshop: Go Batty! with topics as well as tips for effective advocacy! 11:00 am–1:30 pm TERRACE CAFÉ OPEN Ronnie Sidner n $45 11:30 am–12:30 pm 5:30 pm–6:30 pm Social Hour t Rescue, Rehab, Release! with GO WILD! FAMILY DAY  6:30 pm–8:30 pm Keynote Dinner featuring Tucson Wildlife Center Saturday, August 17. Bring the kids! Christopher Cokinos, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm Sweetwater Wetlands: Behind A fun lineup of free, family-friendly festival activities $35 t Details left the Scenes with Bruce Prior  from 10 am to 3 pm. Bring the kids to meet live birds and reptiles. Experience some of the amazing SATURDAY, August 17 methods that plants and animals use to survive in 5:00 am–4:00 pm Huachuca Mountains l $85 the desert through hands-on activities for kids of all 5:00 am–4:00 pm California Gulch Adventure l $85 ages. Build a bird feeder or get your face painted. 5:30 am–12:00 pm Las Cienegas NCA l $50 Enjoy family-friendly talks on desert adaptions, 5:30 am–2:00 pm Borderland Specialties l $85 bird identification, and the social lives of snakes. (check the schedule on on the right for details 5:30 am–3:30 pm Mt. Lemmon: Desert to Conifers l $85 on family-friendly interactive presentations.) 5:30 am–4:00 pm Sky Islands Naturalist Youth Birding Outing with Saunter l $85 keynoter Dr. J. Drew Lanham 5:30 am–4:00 pm Patagonia & Rio Rico l $85 l Sunday, August 18 FREE 6:00 am–11:00 am Catalina State Park $50 6:00 am–11:00 am Saguaro National Park l $50 A fabulous opportunity for kids to join Drew for

10:00 am–3:00 pm GO WILD! FAMILY ammar

a morning’s birding at Sweetwater Wetlands! H ACTIVITIES 

Anyone age 10 to 18 with an interest in ars birds or bird photography is invited. Parents 10:00 am–6:00 pm NATURE EXPO OPEN / L as welcome! Loaner binocs available. For details 10:00 am–11:00 am Hummingbirds with n

Karen Krebbs  atali

and to RSVP contact Erin at 520-209-1809 C festival information, latest updates, and more at our website ¬ Register online at www.tucsonaudubon.org/Festival ¬ 7 Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival • August 14–18, 2013

11:30 am–12:30 pm Desert Adaptations Nature Expo Talks LIVE ANIMAL PRESENTATION FOR KIDS FRIDAY, August 16 with Sam Huselton of Arizona Game & Fish Learn how animals manage to survive in harsh 10–11 am Tracking Seasonal Patterns in the desert conditions. Educator Sam Huselton Socials, banquets, workshops, and exhibits will all be Sonoran Desert with LoriAnne Barnett will introduce you to a live great-horned owl, held at this conveniently located downtown resort hotel, Join us for a conversation about observing birds, gopher snake and desert tortoise, and explain which features a free breakfast, free wireless, free insects, plants and other wildlife throughout the how these and other animals adapt. five (yes, five!) SonoranD esert seasons. parking, on-site restaurant, swimming pool, and more! 1–2 pm What Bird is That? with Doris Evans 350 South Freeway, Tucson, AZ 85745-2707 11:30 am–12:30 pm Birds of Madera Canyon Size, shape, color, pattern, behavior, From I-10, take Congress Street exit 258. with Doug Moore vocalization, and habitat are all clues to help Learn about summer canyon birds, seasonal us name that bird and more importantly, SPEEDWAY migrants, canyon rarities, and natural learn about its place in nature. We will also I-10 practice using binoculars and bird books. history of the Santa Rita mountains. UNIV. OF AZ CONGRESS pm 1–2 pm Reintroducing Desert Bighorn 2:30 Social Snakes! (And Other CONVENTION CTR. Sheep to the Santa Catalinas Things Snakes Aren’t Supposed To Do) with Melissa Amarello with Arizona Game & Fish TUCSON Desert bighorn disappeared from Pusch Ridge You may never look at snakes the same way INT’L AIRPORT in the 1990s. Habitat improvements since again! See behaviors typically associated with SPECIAL FESTIVAL RATE at the Riverpark Inn: other animals such as birds and primates, then, source populations elsewhere, and other $62/night + tax (includes complimentary full American factors now make reintroduction viable. like caring for their kids and helping out their neighbors, all caught on camera. breakfast buffet or “Early Birder” breakfast to go). Call 2:30–3:30 pm Birding Hotspots of Pima 800-551-1466 and ask for the “Tucson Bird & Wildlife pm County with Jeff Babson 4–5 Sky Island Wildflowers of Southern G Festival” rate. Valid Aug 11–21, 2013. Arizona with Meg Quinn reater Get the details on where and when to go The Riverpark Inn is a member of Tucson Audubon’s

birding in Pima County, plus tips for finding Join Pima County educator and author Meg R oadru Birds & Business Alliance and a proud co-host and Quinn for a colorful slideshow survey and specialty birds and habitat types from expert partner of the Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival!

birder / educator Jeff Babson. Great for learn how to identify some of the region’s most nn beginners or visitors and newcomers! common and showy native wildflowers. er / D Festival Hosts

omi Tucson Audubon; Riverpark Inn

4–5 pm Tucson’s Most Wanted [Specialty SUNDAY, August 18 n ic

Birds] with Jennie MacFarland S Festival Sponsors 10–11 am The Roadrunner Family Grows Up hero City of Tucson; Swarovski Optik; Leica Sport Optics; ull-Out

SE Arizona is home to a dazzling variety of with Doris Evans n P

y Rockjumper Worldwide Birding Adventures; Opticron birds, including some species found nowhere Special 8-page Special 8-page From nest-building, mating, else in the U.S. Get to know some of the Tucson egg-laying, feeding and region’s most fascinating and iconic birds. finally the fledging of five babies, learn about SATURDAY, August 17 these captivating icons 10–11 am Following Hummingbirds in of our desert and what it the Southwest U.S. & Northern Mexico takes for nest success! Media Sponsors with Karen Krebbs Bird Watcher’s Digest; Tucson Lifestyle Magazine 11:30 am–12:30 pm Rescue, Conservation biologist Karen Krebbs shares her Rehab, Release! with Tucson Wildlife Center knowledge on hummer ID, behavior, nesting biology, and migration, gained over 26 years Tucson Wildlife Center rescues, rehabilitates, Special Thanks to of studying wild and captive hummingbirds. and releases hundreds of birds and mammals U.S. Forest Service; Bureau of Land Management; every year. See rescue tools and meet National Parks Service; Pima County Natural Resources, one of their animal ambassadors. Parks & Recreation; Arizona State Parks.

1–2 pm Sweetwater Wetlands: Behind the Scenes with Bruce Prior Ever wonder where all that water comes from? Get the inside scoop on a favorite birding site (and habitat gem of Tucson’s water reclamation system) from hydrologist Bruce Prior. ray F ichard / R

ega Tucson Audubon n n ie

300 E University Blvd, Ste 120 o C Tucson, AZ 85705 n er n V

rivaca 520-629-0510 (voice) • 520-623-3476 (fax) A la

www.tucsonaudubon.org A 8 ¬ Register online at www.tucsonaudubon.org/Festival ¬ Tucson Meet Y our Birds

Stephen Paige Visit tucsonaudubon.org to 200different songs! off theirlargevocalrepertoirethat maycontainup Five-striped Sparrowsarenotshyaboutshowing Most hearthebirdbeforeseeingit,andluckily everywhere tocatchaglimpseofthisspecies. found in Arizona in1957,birdersnowcomefrom black “whiskers”andarich,rustyback.First white stripesaroundtheface,boldtriangular Well, becausetheyareabeautifulbird with five most conspicuous! locations), makingthemhardtofindevenattheir Montosa Canyon(thetwowell-knownFive-striped inhabit placessuchasCaliforniaGulchand song. Onlyanestimated75–100individuals mountain canyonscomealivewiththissparrow’s nearly inaccessiblemesquiteandhackberry-filled are verysecretive.Oncethesummerrainsstart, choose tolocatethem“outofseason”whenthey bane ofbirdwatchers(includingmyself!)who into Arizona justsouthof Tucson. Itcanbethe Mexican specieswhoserangebarelyextends in theU.S. The Five-stripedSparrowisamostly of themoststrikingandrarestbreedingsparrows Birders insoutheast Arizona areluckytohaveone Five-striped Sparrow Lewis Woodpecker inwinter and migrant warblers Parula suchasthe Northern we found inspring of2013. most productive. Areasonably close area to Tucson, littlebirded, butwiththe potential to provide some interesting sightings suchas is eventually blocked byagate, and although access isgranted past the gate, Ihave found the drainage immediately before the gate through some ranch areas withgrasslands and associated birds –look for Eastern Bluebirds here amongst other species. The road with birds common to oak woodlands and including Gray Hawk, Wild Turkey, and migrant warblers further, inseason.Driving you pass you willalso come to concrete adry stock tankbutwithsurface water. This stretch isprobably the most productive of the drainage, through the lessproductive scrub~14milesto desert reach alongstretch oflarger oaks withsome sycamores. Walking alonghere, So whyeventrytoseeaFive-stripedSparrow? Habitat Restoration, AZ IBA Program Matt Griffiths,Communications, forupdates andmore. spring; the summers can be abithot, dry, and lessbirdy. Take exit297(J-Six Ranch/Mescal Road and drive

Richard Fray from downtown Tucson, thisbasin sitsatthe eastern foot ofthe Rincons, providing Happ spectacular viewsofthese mountains. While there islittlesurface water ineither Ash of mid-level woods alongwithinteresting migrants. Best times ofyear are winter and or Paige Creek, both contain larger trees alongtheir drainages whichattract residents desert-dwelling Seripeopletocarrywater. as a‘saguaroboot’,washistoricallyusedbythe inside thecavity. This hardened structure,known against waterloss,andcreatingawaterprooflining that hardensintoabark-likeshell,defending arms. The saguarorespondsbysecretingasap excavate deepholestowardthetopofsaguaro mammals. GildedFlickerusesitsstrongbillto crucial nestholesusedbyotherbirdsandsmall keystone speciesoftheSonoranDesert,creating plants, thiscavitynester/mastercarpenterisa and alsoeatsfruitsberries. forages onthegroundforantsandotherinsects, Mexico. Foundsinglyorinpairs,itfrequently Nevada, throughcentral Arizona tonorthwest southeast CaliforniaandBajaCalifornia, forms), GildedFlickerisfoundfromextreme and comesinRed-shafted Yellow-shafted (which iswidespreadthroughoutNorth America feather shafts? woodpecker andthegoldenflashofitswing (Specialty Birds).Haveyouseenthishandsome Gilded Flickerisoneof Tucson’s MostWanted A regularatourMasonCenterwaterfeature, G ilded Flicker Closely associatedwithcactusandyucca Once lumpedwithlook-alikeNorthernFlicker y Valley /Paige miles 60 under CreekDrainage eastofthe Rincon Mts.Just Erin Olmstead,DevelopmentManager

J uly –S eptember 2013 Laura Stafford hunting andraisingyoung,arecommendabletraits. support thebirdsprovidetoeachotherthrough structure oftheHarris’s Hawkfamilyunit,andthe chase ittowardotherhuntersinthegroup. The members ofthefamilygroupflushoutpreyand own. Their styleworksinsuchawaywhere some to takedownlargerpreythanifhuntingontheir this fashion.Byhuntingingroups,theyareable one oftwotypeshawksintheworldthathunt raptors forhuntinginfamilygroupsandareonly additional broods. These hawksareuniqueamong young. Eventuallyyoungmaygrowuptocarefor other non-breedingadults. All adultscareforthe two males),oramainbreedingpair, andafew alpha female(whomaysometimesbreedwith number ofbirds. This unittypicallyconsistsofan cooperatively huntwithinasocialunitofsmall way oflife? and evenmoresoknowingthenatureofthisbird’s better termstodescribesuchabeautifulcreature, earth colorsignifyingstructureandsupport.What to colorpsychology, brownisaserious,down-to- impressed withtherichnessofitscolor. According this wasaremarkablebird.Iimmediately I knewthefirsttimesawaHarris’s Hawkthat Harris’s Hawk Vermilion Flycatcher Harris’s Hawksmostoften nestand Tim Helentjaris Sara Pike,OperationsManager Tucson Audubon

on i ct

Great Bird Places near Tucson | Rincons Se Alan D. Wilson, www.naturespicsonline.com al i c e p S Tucson Meet Your Birds

Arizona’s Audacious State Bird, the Cactus Wren When the United States declared some of the choices. For example, while two

tate B ird s S tate A rizo n a’ independence in 1776, choosing state states chose chickens, there are no

birds was not high on the priority list. In hummingbirds or raptors on the list. D oris E vans fact, nearly 150 years passed before It should come as no surprise Kentucky stepped up and named the that Arizona is one of just twenty first state bird, on February 26, 1926. states that chose a unique state Not surprisingly, that first choice was bird. After all, this is the state with the Northern Cardinal, one of the most an official tie (the bolo), an official recognizable, brightly colored and popular rattlesnake (the Ridge-nosed) and an birds in the country. The cardinal was official gun, the Colt revolver. In 1931, so popular that six other states (all nineteen years after becoming the 48th J ohn Kennedy clustered around and near Kentucky) state, Arizona’s legislature chose the selected the same bird. One would think Cactus Wren. It’s probably not true that that competitive and independent states the choice was based on the bird’s song, as it snatched scraps from my table in would make a point of choosing unique a sputtering, staccato-chugging babble Costa Rica. birds, but one would be wrong. All 50 that might be compared with a state Far from shy, the Cactus Wren carries states now have official birds, but 30 of legislative session. That ‘song’, which David a chip on his shoulder and is not one to

those states share their selection with Sibley calls “unmusical….like a quacking mess with. They will destroy bird nests at least one other state. Following the duck”, is just one unique characteristic of and eggs, including those of other Cactus S p e c i al Se ct i on seven-state cardinal, six states chose the the Cactus Wren. While the other eight Wrens. I’ve had my hat knocked off after Western Meadowlark and five the Northern North American wrens are small, drab, shy getting too close to a Cactus Wren nest, Mockingbird. Other birds shared by at and furtive, the Cactus Wren stands alone. and inexplicably another made a high speed least two states include the American He is big, boldly patterned, boisterous, landing in the center of my back. I also saw Robin, American Goldfinch, Mountain brash and inquisitive. At eight inches, he one peck a downed House Finch to death. Bluebird, Eastern Bluebird and Black- dwarfs our other wrens, and his bullying Like Arizona retirees, they are mostly capped Chickadee. Playing copy-cat was behavior is more like a thrasher than a monogamous, adapt well to suburban hardly necessary, since there are plenty wren. Appropriately, his scientific name is desert neighborhoods ,and often growl of appropriately unique choices among a 10-syllable mouthful, Campylorhynchus when they meet their mates. This is a bird America’s birds. In addition, some of the brunneicapillus, meaning ‘brown-capped that, if it could, would sport a bolo tie and omissions are as surprising as curved bill’. The Cactus Wren builds multiple carry a Colt. Without question, this was nests, most of which are never occupied, B ob owers a good choice for the wild west state of Rufous-naped Wren and, as you might guess, these nests Arizona. Bob Bowers typically are found in cactus. Here the bird perches, oblivious to the sharp spines, Bob is a birder and freelance writer shattering the clear desert air with his specializing in nature and travel articles. staccato song. Limited in the U.S. to the He writes a monthly birding column for southwest, the wren is widespread south an Arizona newspaper, and lives with his to central Mexico, and a dozen generic wife, Prudy, in SaddleBrooke, in northwest cousins can be found from Mexico to Tucson. He writes a birding and travel Brazil. One of these, the Rufous-naped blog, www.birdingthebrooke.com, and his

Wren, made me think I was back in Arizona email is [email protected]. VF

16 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Conservation and Education News Available in the Tucson Chris McVie, Paul Green, Kendall Kroesen, BÉtÉ Jones, and Jennie MacFarland Audubon Nature Shop

What’s New at the Institute of the Environment?

AZFO seventh Annual Meeting Sierra Vista, October 4–6, 2013

If you enjoy observing, surveying, or Hot off the press is the new Department of Defense facilities in the solar energy and use very little water, conducting research Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest. and smart grid technologies. on Arizona’s birds, Southwest United States, a landmark In 2012, CLIMAS entered its IE also helps coordinate the UA’s please plan to attend study about the climate and its effects fourth consecutive five-year cycle of vast expertise in adaptation to climate the Arizona Field on the people in the region. The funding from the National Oceanic and variability and change through the Ornithologists (AZFO) annual state assessment is the latest project to Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). development of a cross-campus meeting. This year it will be held be led by the University of Arizona’s The 10 principal investigators on the Center for Climate Change Adaptation at Cochise College in Sierra Vista. Institute of the Environment (IE), project are focused on improving Science and Solutions. Both members and nonmembers are which brings together faculty across our understanding of the ways in The institute also created and invited to attend this enjoyable and multiple disciplines to collaborate which extreme events affect water maintains the UA’s Environment and educational gathering, which takes on projects that address complex resources, energy production and Sustainability Portal—a gateway place the same weekend as Tucson environmental issues. public health. A related initiative is to information about environmental Audubon’s Institute of Grassland The 506-page climate assessment the new U.S. Department of the research, faculty, events, programs Ecology (see page 4). report, published by Island Press in Interior Southwest Climate Science and departments across the campus. The meeting will focus on May, represents the efforts of 120 Center (SWCSC), a consortium of The portal features a Green Course the theme of the “Lesser Known researchers who describe how climate universities and research institutes Guide to all environment-related Southeastern Arizona”, both during changes will affect water resources, that is headquartered at the UA and classes at the University. the Saturday session and the ecosystems, agricultural production, coordinated by center director Steve In addition, IE invests in programs Saturday evening dinner and program. energy supply, and many other Jackson of the U.S. Geological that highlight and support graduate Dr. Janet Ruth, the featured speaker areas in the Southwest. The report Survey. Jonathan Overpeck, who co- research and those that foster at the dinner, will address the topic, also provides input to the National directs IE with Diana Liverman—both interdisciplinary graduate scholarship “Grassland Birds: 15 years of winter, Climate Assessment (NCA)—an scholars with substantial international and science communication, such summer, and migration research in ongoing process to communicate reputations—is the project’s lead as the Carson Scholars Program. southeastern Arizona.” The Saturday climate change science and impacts, researcher. In addition, IE has worked with session will feature presentations designed to help communities create UA REN is devoted to catalyzing entities across campus to invest in on changing bird status and field more sustainable and environmentally economic development in renewable 30 new environmental science faculty research in Arizona, plus reports sound plans for the future. Seven IE- energy and supporting renewable members since 2009. and future plans for the many AZFO affiliated faculty are NCA authors. energy technology development Gregg Garfin, University of Arizona activities. Sunday morning you can Other flagship IE projects include and transfer. Projects include Assistant Professor and Assistant participate in mini-field expeditions to the Climate Assessment for the demonstrations of breakthrough Extension Specialist in Climate birding areas in less birded areas of Southwest (CLIMAS), the Renewable research in the Solar Zone at the Science, Policy & Natural Resources— southeastern Arizona. More details Energy Network (UA REN), and a UA Tech Park, such as concentrated School of Natural Resources and and meeting registration information $1.2 million grant to study climate photovoltaic energy systems, which the Environment; Deputy Director for (as it becomes available) can be change impacts and adaptation on would dramatically reduce the cost of Science Translation & Outreach— found on the AZFO website. Institute of the Environment

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 17 Conservation & Education News

Santa Cruz and San Pedro: Our Once and Future Rivers?

Leaders of the City of Sierra Vista 100-year requirement and issued a seven years ago approved a certificate of water adequacy, arguing development by California’s Castle that the department does not have to and Cooke on 2000 acres to include consider any connection between the 7000 homes and apartments, plus aquifer and the flow of the river and offices, stores, parks and schools. that it lacks the authority to limit water The so-called Tribute project would be pumping to protect the river. just six miles west of the San Pedro The Bureau of Land Management River raising alarms that pumping (BLM) challenged the state’s decision. groundwater for these homes will BLM manages the 40-mile-long further lower groundwater levels and SPRNCA to the east of Sierra Vista, reduce river flow, resulting in loss and has an obligation to protect the of vegetation along the river. Three conservation area. BLM argues that its A potentially precedent-setting dispute pits the future growth of Sierra Vista against the last wells, planned to be located 4.5 to rights to the river’s water, approved by and most important perennial river in the Southwest. 6 miles from the San Pedro River, Congress when the conservation area will draw water from the aquifer at a was created in 1988, supersede those Despite the clear connection rights in the Upper San Pedro Basin L on & Q ueta depth of more than 600 feet below the of any local entity. It further argued between groundwater pumping and and will set important precedents surface of the ground. USGS models that there is not enough groundwater river depletion, Arizona law treats for other watersheds where the indicate that during Tribute’s first 50 available to satisfy both the needs of surface water and groundwater as conflicting goals of preservation years, up to 30 percent of its pumped the riparian area and the development, separate entities. of natural resources and urban water would have otherwise gone to according to court filings. June In August 2012, the BLM joined development meet. the San Pedro River. Shoemaker, chief of BLM’s Arizona Robin Silver and Tricia Gerrodette, BLM, Gerrodette, and Silver hold Tribute will eventually use renewable resources branch said, both local landowners, in filing that the certificate of water adequacy, a projected 3300 acre-feet of “Congress designated the conservation appeals of the state’s approval which includes the entire PDS service groundwater per year, to be provided area to protect streamflows and their of Tribute, “a very positive sign” area, should not be granted until by the Pueblo Del Sol Water Company associated values. The state’s decision according to University of Arizona law the adjudication court reaches a (PDS) which is also owned by Castle didn’t consider the impacts on the professor Robert Glennon. conclusion. That argument moves into and Cook. Hydrologists believe that river flow.” However, ADWR argued While PDS has the 100-year a new venue in the Superior Court excessive groundwater withdrawals that it does not need to consider the certificate of water adequacy from of Maricopa County. A date for the in the Sierra Vista area will eventually BLM’s claims to water rights, and the ADWR after the conclusion of one hearing has yet to be scheduled. deplete the aquifer and empty much Administrative Hearing Law Judge legal objection, the battle over the Gerrodette, Silver, the BLM, and of the San Pedro, including in the San Thomas Shedden agreed. water withdrawal is not yet finished. others have also filed objections Pedro Riparian National Conservation As Tony Davis says in his ADWR and PDS will have to face off to another much smaller Sierra Area (SPRNCA), which was just recent article in High Country News again with the BLM and landowners Vista development—Cañada rededicated as a Global Important Bird (February 18, 2013), the dispute, Tricia Gerrodette and Robin Silver, Vista—seeking a certificate of water Area (see p 7). The river maintains a which pits the future growth of who say that ADWR did not consider adequacy. wide diversity of plants, more than 80 Sierra Vista against the last and the effect that the projected 3300 The objections are based on species of mammals, several native most important perennial river acre-feet of water per year withdrawn the same arguments made against fish species, 40 kinds of amphibians in the Southwest, could become from the aquifer will have on the Tribute, which assert that BLM’s and reptiles, 100 species of breeding the first opportunity for Arizona to flow of the San Pedro River or the federal reserved water rights for birds and passage for 250 species of acknowledge that water availability SPRNCA. the SPRNCA should be considered migratory birds. An estimated 44,000 should limit growth. It could also set a BLM is currently in adjudication in calculating the 100-year water people a year visit the San Pedro, precedent for the question of federal court to establish its water rights adequacy. The objections also state and Cochise County benefits to the versus state control over water rights. in order to fulfill its mandate of that the potential impacts pumping tune of $24 million a year from wildlife Quoting John Leshy, a University protecting the riparian area and the could have on the San Pedro River watchers according to a new survey*. of California–Hastings law professor, San Pedro River as part of the general need to be considered too. Arizona state law requires Tony Davis in the Arizona Daily Star adjudication of the Gila River Basin. On April 26, ADWR issued a proposed developments in some (May 29, 2013) says that “The state Competing interests in the San Pedro decision to grant a certificate of areas that have adopted mandatory and the county want the economic River Basin pit federal rights holders water adequacy, making the same adequacy requirements to prove and other benefits of a San Pedro against each other and state rights reasoning offered in the case of that they have 100 years’ worth of National Conservation Area but they holders. Questions include federal Tribute. The decision states, “The water. Cochise County is one of don’t want to protect the river—which versus state jurisdiction regarding Department does not have authority to the few areas in Arizona that have is the whole basis for the area. the determination of federal reserved consider potential impacts on a river adopted this mandatory requirement. Apparently, it’s still true in Arizona that rights and uncertainty over the or stream from proposed pumping of The Arizona Department of Water land development trumps all, even legal and hydrologic definitions of groundwater by the applicant. The Resources (ADWR) has determined if it scoffs at senior water rights and “appropriable subflow”. These issues extent of any federal reserved right that Tribute and PDS do meet the destroys a world-class resource.” will drive the quantification of water for SPRNCA is unknown, as is the

18 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Conservation & Education News

impact the proposed pumping may have on such a right. Until the federal reserved rights to claims associated with SPRNCA have been finally adjudicated, it would be impossible to determine whether the proposed SunZia Environmental Impact Statement pumping would need to be curtailed to preserve SPRNCA, and if so, to what Avoids Issues, Harms Arizona’s Heritage extent.” Silver, Gerrodette, another resident On June 14, 2013, the Bureau of Land demonstrating the immense concern power plant. Because of this, the Dutch Nagle, and the BLM have filed Management (BLM) released the that it has generated. In responding project stops in east-central Arizona, appeals to this decision. L on & Q ueta Final Environmental Impact Statement to these letters, however, the BLM but its expanded, official purpose now Tony Davis in the Arizona Daily (FEIS) for the SunZia Southwest summarily dismissed some of is to transfer power generated in New Star cites Robert Glennon, as saying Transmission Project (available at the most substantive and critical Mexico to California. To complete the that “for BLM to win, it must show http://www.blm.gov/nm/sunzia). This comments that reviewers made to transfer, SunZia would rob Arizona with credible computer modeling that was a great blow for those of us who strengthen and correct the DEIS. The utilities and ratepayers of $400 million Tribute’s pumping will reduce the treasure the San Pedro Valley and its scale of this dismissal is stunning. of new transmission lines built for river’s flow enough to compromise biological richness. This FEIS includes This oversight would seem to leave our own use. This would consume federal water rights. I don’t know that the BLM’s preferred alternative route, the EIS open to legal challenge. transmission capacity vital to Arizona’s it needs to be a particular subdivision which would construct two 500-kilovolt To evaluate SunZia the BLM solar development in central and that makes the case but at some point lines down the west side of the valley employed a highly idealized western Arizona while subsidizing out- in time (one development) is going to for 47 miles, crossing three ranches renewable energy scenario that does of-state interests for their own gain at be the straw that breaks the camel’s that have been purchased as part not consider future overall power a huge cost to Arizona’s environment. back. You can’t continue to have huge of Pima County’s Sonoran Desert needs in the Southwest nor the project We can find better ways to meet developments going in when the river Conservation Plan, and spanning the proponent’s underlying intentions. In future energy needs and renewable is fragile to begin with.” sensitive lower Buehman Canyon. so doing, the BLM is sacrificing an energy ideals than by making these Coda: Arizona Republic, June 10, The San Pedro valley is the irreplaceable Arizona environmental kinds of extraordinary sacrifices and 2013: “It shouldn’t take more than principal migration corridor for birds gem that governmental agencies— blunders. The federal government has common sense for the Department of in the arid Southwest and hosts the including the BLM itself—corporations, an obligation to evaluate the project Water Resources to see the impact greatest mammal diversity in North public interest groups, and individuals based on how utilities will actually of groundwater pumping and the America. The alternative transmission have worked for more than three use it, not on the proponent’s sales importance of ensuring riparian areas route—crossing the Galiuro Mountains decades to protect. pitch or the wishful thinking of Obama continue to maintain their valuable between the Aravaipa and Galiuro The project is also incompletely administration policymakers. Without ecosystems.” Mountains Wildernesses—is equally conceived, having originally been this, the process lacks integrity and Paul Green, Executive Director, sensitive and no more of a solution. proposed by the SouthWestern Power thwarts informed public engagement. Tucson Audubon The public has a minimum of Group to serve its permitted but Norm “Mick” Meader, Co-Chair, 30 days to comment on the FEIS, not-yet-constructed Bowie, Arizona Cascabel Working Group Sources although the BLM does not legally 1,000-megawatt natural gas-fired Tony Davis. The BLM fights for the have to consider or incorporate Southwest’s last free-flowing river. High responses. The Record of Decision Country News, February 18, 2013. is scheduled to be signed on or Tony Davis. Dispute looms in Sierra Vista before September 10. At that time over housing vs. water rights. Arizona concerned parties will have 30 days Daily Star, May 29, 2013. to appeal the decision. It is unlikely Economic Contributions of Wildlife Viewing that the federal government will yield to the Arizona Economy: A County- to any challenges, however. Arizona Level Analysis, a grant funded project environmental groups are working by Southwick Associates based on US together on a response. FWS data and funded by a grant to Once the BLM has finalized its Tucson Audubon by the Arizona Game decision, SunZia must move on to the & Fish Department. Arizona Corporation Commission and Adam Curtis www.svherald.com/finding_ the New Mexico Public Regulation balance Commission for additional approvals. www.birdingwire.com/releases/290016/ SunZia must also acquire a host of Arizona Republic. A river runs through other federal, state and local permits. it (but it may not always), June 10, The BLM received around 2013. www.azcentral.com/opinions/ 900 comment letters on the Draft articles/20130607editorial-state-puts- Environmental Impact Statement Top: View of Galiuro Mountains and San Pedro River valley. Above: Map from the BLM’s river-risk.html (DEIS) critical of the project, Environmental Impact Statement showing the proposed San Pedro route for the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project.

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 19 Conservation & Education News

Going Down: Rosemont and Our Water ~BC 123 cobalt A rizona of B ill

L to R: View of Sonoita Hills from Highway 83; View (from Picacho Peak) of Interstate 10 between Tucson and Phoenix

When you drive to Phoenix from 660 ft. in the Elgin area. Groundwater Congress established Las “If someone said ‘name Tucson, you probably notice the declines could extend 25 miles to Cienegas National Conservation me a prosperous mining ecological devastation—the ground the east and southeast of the mine. Area: “In order to conserve, protect, town,’ you’d be hard- subsidence near Eloy, the dewatering Important seeps and springs upon and enhance for the benefit and pressed to come up of the once free flowing Gila River, the which wildlife depend will cease to enjoyment of present and future with a name” lack of vegetation and the abundance flow. The Draft Environment Impact generations the unique and nationally Dr. Tom Power, former Chairman, of dust. This experience is certainly Study (DEIS) did not consider these important aquatic, wildlife, vegetative, Department of Economics, a far cry from the drive south along dramatic modeling outcomes. archaeological, paleontological, University of Montana. Scenic Highway 83 on your way The Sonoita Plain is an area of scientific, cave, cultural, historical, to Sonoita. If the Rosemont Mine extensive exurban housing, livestock recreational, educational, scenic, that are more detailed so that we have is permitted and constructed, your production, agriculture and vineyards, rangeland, and riparian resources and a better idea of possible long-term Scenic Highway 83 may come to tourism and historic sites, native values of the public lands described outcomes of the mine’s development resemble that I-10 nightmare. grasslands, and natural riparian areas. in subsection (b)… (HR 2941, 2000).” before a decision is made. The ability for people, and the Most human-related activities in the Clearly, protection of wildlife and plants and animals of our region, area rely on groundwater pumped riparian areas was one of the key The Rosemont Pit Lake to thrive depends upon access to from wells, and all of the grasslands purposes. The impact of groundwater flow into adequate amounts of clean water. and water-sensitive bottomlands In addition to groundwater impacts, the Rosemont pit will extend beyond How would the proposed Rosemont depend on moisture derived from we would lose surface waters, leading the mine’s life of operations. It will be Mine influence the quality and the natural processes, all of which to reduced riparian-zone areas such permanent. Because the pit would quantity of water available to people are vulnerable to the permanent as along the Empire Gulch. We can extend into the aquifer, the bottom and wildlife in our region? Some of the dewatering that will result from also expect to see a reduction in the will fill as a pit lake, up to 1,000 feet possible answers to this question are Rosemont’s deep open-pit mine. density of vegetation that currently deep. As is the experience with other much more scary than you might think. The Sonoita Plain, including a supports the high level of biological copper mines, contamination of the pit portion of Las Cienegas National diversity throughout the eastern lake will exceed standards for wildlife The Rosemont Hydraulic Sink Conservation Area, has one of the last slopes of the Santa Rita Mountains, and aquatic species, and may become The story begins with the open pit remaining relatively natural grassland Davidson Canyon, the Sonoita Plain a potential death trap for migrating created by the mining process. This ecosystems of the semiarid American and beyond, areas that we all know birds. Pit lakes have been responsible pit will be more than half a mile deep, Southwest. Diverse habitats in the and love. One recent estimate is that for significant numbers of recent bird cutting down approximately 2400 feet area include native desert grassland, around 33,000 mature trees, including deaths in Arizona. Ducks, geese, and lower than the surrounding Sonoita riparian/wetland, mesquite bosque, hundreds of century-old oaks that other waterbirds land in them and die Plain. Since the bottom of the pit will and oak woodland. These habitats support a broad array of wildlife, as a result. extend well below the water table support many species, including would be lost. In 50 years, the Sonoita into the aquifer, it will dewater the threatened and endangered species Plain could come to resemble areas Rosemont’s Impact on surrounding aquifer in perpetuity that depend on intermittent-to-perennial along I-10. Water Quality as a result of groundwater draining flows of streams draining the Sonoita Loss of amenity value will affect On June 14, 2013, Administrative into the pit. The pit will become a Plain. A lowering of water levels as Sonoita, Elgin, and Patagonia, which Law Judge Thomas Shedden upheld “hydraulic sink.” a result of the Rosemont dewatering host a viable economy based on the mine’s aquifer protection permit Models of this cone of depression could adversely affect these plants wineries, ranching, small hotels, awarded by the state in 2012. The in the water table predict that it could and animals, an effect that would be restaurants, hunting guides, bird aquifer protection permit is supposed slowly spread eastward to increase in addition to the anticipated drying watching, and more. The project to ensure that groundwater supplies depth to groundwater by up to 980 ft. caused by climate change. evaluation process needs to insist are protected from mining and other in the Sonoita area and by up to upon the development of new models industrial activities. Judge Sheddon

20 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Conservation & Education News

said that opponents did not show Rosemont Water Impacts in the CAP pipeline is completed, there is org/news-events/96-consnews/191- that the Arizona Department of Santa Cruz River Valley (a) no viable way any of the 45,000 rosemontmine.html Environmental Quality’s (ADEQ) The mine has a permit from the acre-feet can be transferred to Green granting of the permit was “arbitrary, Arizona Department of Water Valley for recharge without extensive Finally unreasonable, unlawful, or based Resources (ADWR) to withdraw permits and extraction infrastructure, Are we in our communities really upon a technical judgment that was 6,000 acre feet of groundwater from and (b) Community Water’s CAP considering allowing the pumping clearly invalid.” the Green Valley area, just east of allocation of 2,858 acre-feet is far of potable water from our Santa The agency appears to have the existing Farmers Investment short of Rosemont’s projected annual Cruz aquifer and piping it over the accepted without question the results Company (FICO) wells where the usage. It remains an open issue how mountain, to run a copper mine that of technical reports paid for by water table has already dropped Augusta/Rosemont will fulfill their will send all of the copper to the Orient Rosemont. Key issues cited in the dramatically and subsidence is a promise to “ensure neutral impact to for processing, leaving us with a toxic recent appeal include the ADEQ’s: serious problem. Unlike farmers and local groundwater sources” (source: waste dump in our Coronado National • Failure to conduct an independent developers, mines can pump as much Rosemont’s A Bridge To A Sustainable Forest, and turning the Sonoita Plain evaluation of the data provided by water as they want. Irrespective of Future Fact Brochure). into a dustbowl, all for the promise of Rosemont; the amount Rosemont says that they 200 jobs? will pump today, they are not bound to Mitigation for riparian damage Tucson is seeking to rebrand • Failure to assess surface water stick to that amount in the future. Rosemont needs a Clean Water itself. We want to become a center impacts; The Forest Service’s DEIS Act Section 404 permit, issued by for higher-paying, science-based jobs • Failure to assess known major acknowledges that west of the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in university research, astronomy, modifications to the mine resulting Santa Rita Mountains, in the Santa which would authorize the discharge optics, solar, and aerospace. We seek from Forest Service NEPA review Cruz River Valley, the mine facility of dredged/fill material in Waters of to keep gifted graduates from the of Mining Plan of Operations; could adversely affect groundwater the United States (WUS). Rosemont University in our community. However, • Failure to impose discharge availability to public and private wells, would completely eliminate 38.6 the decrease in the value of the limits at the actual source of the especially in the communities of acres WUS as tributaries to Davidson Santa Ritas as a recreation amenity pollution. Sahuarita and Green Valley; water Canyon and Cienega Creek. Each will likely make our community less supplies to residents and businesses of these has been designated as attractive to companies and others It is unlikely that the state’s Water may be reduced. Here the proposed “Outstanding Arizona Waters” by the when considering locating here. You Quality Appeals Board will go against project would pump at least 5,400- state of Arizona. Rosemont would owe it to yourself to take some time Shedden’s decision when it hears the acre feet of groundwater annually for also indirectly impact 2.5 acres, for a serious and personal reflection case on July 8. 20 years. Rosemont or its successors and temporarily impact 0.75 acres on the effects on our water of the The water permit will allow may well continue in operation beyond of potential WUS. In 2009 the EPA proposed Rosemont copper mine. Rosemont to discharge materials if the alleged twenty-year operating identified these waters as “aquatic The outcomes of those effects on your it can show that it is using the “Best cycle, which will only further aggravate resources of national importance,” and quality of life may be rather large. Available Demonstrated Control the water issue. The water table that permanent loss and degradation Technology” to prevent pollutants “Statement of Concern—Ground-water would drop 70 feet in areas adjacent of water quality and other aquatic from reaching groundwater. The Resources of the Sonoita Plain” as an to Rosemont’s wells and 10 to 15 ecosystem functions is certain and permit includes a provision that allows official public comment of the Sonoran feet in areas three to four miles away, unavoidable. Rosemont to potentially pollute area Institute pursuant to the National affecting up to 350 wells. EPA has written on its concerns groundwater for at least two years Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Rosemont’s recharging of 45,000 and indicated that the permit before ADEQ even considers setting regarding the Rosemont Copper Draft acre-feet of Central Arizona Project be considered for elevation to pollution standards. That’s like not Environmental Impact Statement. water in Marana, 46 miles to the north Washington, DC, and possible posting speed limits on a new road Paul Green, Executive Director, of Green Valley/Sahuarita, between veto, should the Corps recommend until the entire stretch of road has Tucson Audubon 2007 and 2009, does not benefit issuance. At this point, the Corps has been completed and is in use. This is or help the local community with its not made a decision on the permit, not a safe practice, especially since groundwater depletion issues in any details of which can be found here: the aquifer standards already exist per way, since the Santa Cruz aquifer www.tucsonaudubon.org/what-we-do/ statute which could be relaxed in the flows from south to north. Even if the conservation/329-ace.html future if deemed appropriate. proposed Community Water/Augusta We do not believe that losses The tailings and waste rock, piled of such rare and protected aquatic high across 4500 acres of our publicly resources can be adequately owned natural landscape, will also “The copper will go to mitigated. We concur that a detailed influence the quality of our water. China, the profits will functional assessment and analysis of We are likely to experience seepage go to the investors, the impacted waters of the U.S. and of arsenic, lead, and other toxic and we’ll get left with the regional watershed groundwater elements in liquid leached from waste a massive hole in would need to be completed before rock and mine tailings. Water toxic the ground and, very adequate mitigation could be to wildlife could run into Davidson likely, toxics in our assessed. Canyon and Cienega Creek, and then groundwater.” For Tucson Audubon’s comments into our groundwater, in the event of a

— Gayle Hartman, President, on the proposed Rosemont Copper G riffiths large storm. Mine, go to www.tucsonaudubon. Save the Scenic Santa Ritas M att

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 21 Conservation & Education News

Attention, Southern Arizona Bat Watchers! Southern Arizona Nighttime Hummingbird Feeder Monitoring Study

We are delighted to report the southeastern Arizona. We were also to report this data. Please don’t give successful completion of the 2012 able to gather important natural up; we have volunteers that have

hummingbird feeder bat monitoring history information for these bats monitored for multiple years and find B ob W enric k study in the southern Arizona! In through the capture and evaluation of that bats may not be detected one 2012, 55 volunteers in southeastern numerous individual bats facilitated year, but return the next. Arizona participated in this watchable by netting at a number of your home This coming season we are wildlife program. Our network of feeders. looking to extend the boundary of Lesser Long-nosed bat at a hummingbird volunteers extended from Marana to We hope that the 2013 season our study further north into Arizona. feeder Nogales, Wilcox to Douglas and many will be as successful as past years If you know of others in northwest communities in between. Half of our and that your outstanding contribution Marana, Safford, Globe, Oracle, or to refer to when filling out the End of volunteers (stationed across southern of time and energy will continue the Picacho Peak areas who may also Season Summary. Arizona) reported bats visiting their to make this project a success. As be interested in assisting with this The successes of the 2012 hummingbird feeders! the monitoring season approaches, citizen science project, please help season are directly attributed to Through this project and your please continue to keep a vigilant us recruit them! If you are interested the countless hours you all have efforts we are better able to protect eye on your hummingbird feeders in volunteering again or know of devoted night after night. We endangered lesser long-nosed and submit your data online. The someone who is also interested, you extend our sincere appreciation bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae). information you give us greatly helps can visit the Town of Marana website, to those of you who assisted with During the 2012 season, you helped us understand these nectar feeding www.marana.com/bats to get more this project, and encourage you to document the distribution and bats. If you are not detecting bats information. Here’s a helpful tip: copy continue to participate in this annual seasonal time period when these at your feeders this is still important and paste your data entry sheets onto monitoring study. bats are visiting feeders. The earliest information, and we encourage you your computer, so you have a record Thank you again and we hope to arrival date that was documented hear from you all this coming season! last season was May 22 and the Janine Spencer, Environmental last departure date was November 7 Projects Coordinator, Town of Marana for lesser long-nosed bats in

Conservation Corner! Close Your Loops clippings and other waste material that could be used to produce compost The secret to ecological sustainability to grow food. We also ignore natural —whatever your definition of sources of food growing around us sustainability—is to close as many such as pods on ubiquitous mesquite ecological loops as possible. trees. Ecological loops, or ecological If you use harvested rainwater systems, are “closed” when matter to shower and use the left over is not exchanged—exported or graywater to water a fruit tree, you are imported—outside the system. closing an ecological loop. If you eat Desert towns like ours are locally produced food and compost notorious for being dependent on human waste* and use it to improve importing resources from other areas. soil to grow a fruit tree, you are There are many examples, like closing a loop. If you trim yard plants water. We use our local sources of and cut up the waste into mulch to water to excess and throw it away grow garden plants, you close a loop. when we’re done. Now we have Start thinking about loops— to import water from the Colorado reusing, recycling, importing River, to the great detriment to less—and let us know your ideas!! VF wildlife populations along the lower Colorado River. Kendall Kroesen We import most of our food Habitats Program Manager resources from far away, and *The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to we throw away the used water Composting Human Manure, Third Edition (graywater), together with yard (available from the Nature Shop) k A lan S tar C olorado R iver ,

22 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Weekly Bird Walks Tucson Audubon Field Trips Wednesdays, 6 am during the hottest Matt Griffiths | Interim Field Trip Coordinator months. Sweetwater Wetlands. Join Mike Sadatmousavi for an easy walk to see waterfowl July 30--Tuesday 8 am in the hundreds, regular and visiting warblers, Sierra Vista: Hummingbirds and several exciting species hiding in the reeds. for Beginners Birders of all experience levels welcome! Email Those new to birding or hummers are especially [email protected] to sign up. Check invited. We’ll visit Ash Canyon and Miller Canyon website for switch to later start time feeders. Sign up starting July 7. Leader: John Higgins, 520-578-1830 [email protected] Thursdays, July–August: 7:30 am, September: 8 am. Wake Up With the August Birds at Agua Caliente Park. A stroll through the bosque and along the ponds. August 4—Sunday 6:30 am Loaner binocs available, meet in front of the Santa Catalina Mountains ranch house. For more info call Pima County Lets hunt for a fall “superflock” of high mountain Catalina Mountains Parks and Rec., 520-615-7855. L ars H ammar species in Tucson’s own Santa Catalina Mountains. You MUST register with the trip leader Cliff Cathers Saturdays, October–May, 8–9:30 am. See more field trips and expanded at [email protected] or 520-982-3273. Tucson Audubon’s Mason Center. Families descriptions at our website and birders of all skill levels are welcome. Visit August 31—Saturday 8:30 am tucsonaudubon.org/masoncenter for details. tucsonaudubon.org/fieldtrips Monsoon Birding & Nature in or call 520-629-0510 x4. Madera Canyon Join naturalist Doug Moore for a nature See more field trips and hike on the lower Carrie Nation/Vault Mine Trail. July expanded descriptions online We’ll look for birds, monsoon flowers, herps & at tucsonaudubon.org/fieldtrips July 20—Saturday 6:00 am insects along the riparian corridor in mid-canyon Empire Cienega pine/oak woodlands. Contact Doug to sign up or call 520-629-0510 x4. Join Tucson Audubon for an outing around this [email protected]. lush riparian area, hopefully awakened by early General Information Tucson Audubon monsoon rains. You MUST register with the trip September field trips are are offered at no charge and are leader Cliff Cathers at [email protected] or 520- led by expert volunteers. For general information September 14—Saturday 5:30 am 982-3273. call 520-629-0510. For specific information St. David and Willcox about a trip, contact the leader of that trip. July 23—Tuesday 6 am We will begin in the riparian habitat in Please dress appropriately for your field trip. Catalina Mountains St. David and then head to the Willcox ponds to Always wear sturdy shoes, a hat, and use sun We’ll stop at various elevations to maximize bird see what shorebirds are migrating through. We protection. Bring plenty of snacks and water diversity enjoying the desert floor, Manzanita/oak, may stop at the Benson ponds on our return. for yourself. Always bring your binoculars, pine/oak and fir forests that make up Mt. Lemmon. Leader: Dave Dunford, 520-909-1809 ddunford@ field guide, and for most trips a scope can be Leader: Gavin Bieber, [email protected] dakotacom.net useful. Bring money to cover your share of the carpooling and any required entry fees (e.g. for state parks). Arrival Times Arrive before listed departure times. Trips will leave promptly at the time given. Carpooling Sites Tucson Audubon strongly encourages carpooling and for some trips it may be required. Check our website for frequently used carpooling sites. You are expected to reimburse the driver for the actual cost of fuel. Drivers and trip leaders are not expected to contribute. Rare Bird Alert Listen to the latest rare bird alert at 520-629-0510 ext. 3. Report rare birds at 520-629-0510 or rarebirdalert@ tucsonaudubon.org

Don’t forget to stop in our Nature Shop for your birding supplies. Madera Canyon k A lan S tar C olorado R iver , A le x D err

Visit tucsonaudubon.org/fieldtrips for updates and more July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 23 Tucson Audubon Field Trips

Birding Travel from our Business Partners

Adventure Birding C ompany Giant Nuthatch and Green Peafowl are just some www.adventurebirding.com potential highlights of this incredible tour! [email protected] • 520-495-0229 Solipaso Tours Big Bend Nat’l Park, Texas: Colima www.solipaso.com Kroesen Warbler short tour April 30–May 4, 2014, $1195. Leader: John Yerger. Big Bend is one of Madera: Thick-billed Parrots: August Kendall Peppersauce Canyon the most remote birding hotspots in the U.S., 19–22, 2013. $1000. Leader: David MacKay. and home to some of its most spectacular A short trip into northern Chihuahua to see the September 24-Tuesday 6 am scenery! It’s the only place in the country to find highly endemic Thick-billed Parrot and Eared Peppersauce Canyon Colima Warbler, the focus of one long day hike. Quetzal. Summertime in the Sierra Madre is a Among the sycamores, oaks, ash, and junipers, A surprising number of habitats and oases are sight to see with green meadows, lakes, blue sky vistas and monsoons! The trip starts in we’ve had an American Redstart, Olive-sided found within Park boundaries. Ideal for anyone Tucson and we bird the pinyon-juniper habitat Flycatchers, and a Broad-tailed Hawk here on desiring lots of birding and sightseeing on limited vacation time. Lucifer Hummingbird, Painted on the way to Nuevo Casas Grandes. We visit previous September field trips. Contact leader Bunting and Common Black-Hawk are just a few the remote Paquime ruins site, Cuarenta Casas beginning September 1. Leader: Doug Jenness, others we’ll seek on this fun-filled adventure! then spend two nights in the Madera area to see [email protected] 520-909-1529 the Thick-billed Parrots in their nesting habitat, South Texas: Rarities and Specialties along with many other high elevation species. September 28—Saturday 6:30 am short tour February 26–March 2, 2014, $1295. Leader: John Yerger. Limited vacation time? This Copper Canyon: September 17–25, 2013. Peña Blanca Lake $2600. Leader: David MacKay. The world It’s time to hunt for fall migrants at one of the better “short tour” will target some of the rarest birds in the ABA region! Our main focus: find mega-rarities famous Copper Canyon is a great destination for traps here in southeast Arizona. You MUST register in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. In recent years, summer birding! In Los Mochis, we explore the with the trip leader Cliff Cathers at [email protected] species included Crimson-collared Grosbeak, botanical garden and take a trip out into the Sea or 520-982-3273. Golden-crowned Warbler and Black-vented of Cortez. From El Fuerte, we board the train Oriole. In addition, we’ll seek rare residents like with stops in Cerocahui, Cusarare and Creel. October Clay-colored Thrush and Red-billed Pigeon. And Target birds are Eared Quetzal, White-striped of course, spectacular South Texas specialties Woodcreeper, Mountain Trogon, Rufous- Saturday, October 26—Saturday 7:00 am like Green Jay, Altamira Oriole and Buff-bellied capped Warbler, Striped and Rusty Sparrows Tubac De Anza Trail Hummingbird will round out the trip! See website and more. We’ll have the opportunity to see some of the Tarahumara villages and purchase Hopefully a fall cold front or two will have for details and on this and other tours. their crafts. Starts and ends in Los Mochis. deposited a few migrants along the Santa Cruz Rockjumper—Worldwide Birding River corridor at Tubac. You MUST register with Adventures Tropical Bir ding the trip leader Cliff Cathers at [email protected] or [email protected] www.tropicalbirding.com VF 520-982-3273. VF www.rockjumperbirding.com [email protected] • 1-800-348-5941 (USA & Canada toll-free): 1-888-990-5552 Madagascar’s Remote North—Pochard & Endangered Endemics 2013: Tour Dates: 19 Oct 2013–05 Nov 2013 (18 days). Check out field trips for the Tour Price (per person) US$ 6,475. This “off- the-beaten track” birding tour to Madagascar’s Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival remote north concentrates on some of the world’s in your festival insert. Find trip rarest birds and animals, including Sakalava Rail, the recently rediscovered Madagascar details and meet the leaders Pochard, Helmet Vanga, Madagascar Serpent Eagle, Decken’s and Crowned Sifakas, the at www.tucsonaudubon.org/ bizarre Aye-Aye and a wealth of other exciting mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Rusty Sparrow festival D ominic S herony Northern & Central Thailand—Asian Birding at its Best II 2013: Tour Dates: Available in our Nature S hops 30 Nov 2013–17 Dec 2013 (18 days). Tour Price: (per person) US$4,950. Thailand boasts Additional Bird a fantastic diversity of habitats, ranging from mountains draped with rhododendron forest, to Walks in Tucson and extensive mudflats and dense tropical lowlands Southeast Arizona resounding with birdsong. Our trip targets an For information on weekly regional bird amazing array of migrants and Asian birds walks from Agua Caliente Park to Ramsey including numerous range-restricted specialties. Canyon Preserve, please see our website, Siamese Fireback, Great Hornbill, Silver-breasted

www.tucsonaudubon.org/fieldtrips Broadbill, Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Blue Pitta, tucsonaudubon.org/alliance to learn more about the products and services offered by our Bird & Business Alliance partners Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Great Slaty Woodpecker, $39.95 $35.00 isit D oris E vans V

24 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org/fieldtrips for updates and more Tucson Audubon thanks our Birds & Business Tucson Audubon’s Alliance Members, who have shown their support for bird Birds & Business alliance 2010- 2011 conservation through annual contributions and in-kind Welcome to our new Birds & Business Alliance Member donations. Please show them you appreciate their support for us by supporting them. Visit A Feathered Nest in Amado is a fully west, Tubac, Tumacacori, Pena Blanca Lake and for more furnished and equipped vacation/short term rental Nogales to the south and Green Valley and Tucson tucsonaudubon.org/alliance information, including links to member websites. home located on a tree lined road in northern to the north. Whether your stay is a night, a week, Santa Cruz County a short walk from the Santa a month or more, let A Feathered Nest in Amado Gold Cruz River and pathway for the DeAnza Trail. Bird be your home away from home. Birds love it here Riverpark Inn • 800-551-1466 watching opportunities are endless with sightings and so will you! Sterling of resident and migrating birds throughout the C o pp er Contact: Laura Hudson Adventure Birding Company seasons any where you look. If you wish to travel 9B Amado-Montosa Road, Amado, AZ 85645 • 520-495-0229 • www.adventurebirding.com to other sights, we’re a short drive to the Santa 520-331-8649 • [email protected] Rockjumper BirdingTours • [email protected] Rita Mountains to the east, Arivaca Lake to the • www.rockjumperbirding.com Solipaso Tours • www.solipaso.com Tropical Birding • 800-348-5941 • www.tropicalbirding.com Birds & Business Alliance Silver Cox Communications join ToDAY Farmers Investment Co (FICO) • sahuaritafarms.ocm and connect with the Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Costa’s Hummingbird / V ir E o Tucson Audubon community Pima Federal Credit Union • 520-887-5010 Tucson Electric Power • www.tep.com For more information and to join, contact Erin Olmstead at [email protected] or 520.629.0510 ext 7009. Copper *A Feathered Nest in Amado • 520-331-8649 Associated Benefits Specialists, Inc. • 520-219-1950 Bed and Bagels of Tucson • 520-603-1580 Borderland Tours • www.borderland.tours.com Brooklyn Pizza Company • 520-622-6868 Casa de San Pedro B&B • www.bedandbirds.com Birds & Business EE n

r Down By the River B&B • 520-720-9441 g i ALLIANCE Financial Architects • www.financial-architects.com TUCSON AUDUBON SOCIETY Hughes Federal Credit Union • 520-794-8341 Paul & Eng- l Kimberlyn Drew, Realtor • 520-237-1408 Leica Sport Optics The Living Fence • 520-795-5300 Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Tucson Audubon wish list Visitors Bureau • VisitTucson.org The TAS-ifieds Habitat Restoration Program: Naturalist Journeys • 866-900-1146 Classified ADs Box trailer to haul all-terrain vehicle between work Lori Pascarella, Merrill Lynch • www.fa.ml.com/Lori sites. Specs: Quailway Cottage • 520-558-0019 Classified and display ads are accepted from • “Box trailer” (low metal, metal mesh or wood individual members and members of our Birds Ravens-Way Wild Journeys • 520-425-6425 sidewalls) & Business Alliance. Visit tucsonaudubon.org/ Salmon, Lewis & Weldon PLC • 6 feet wide; 10 or 12 feet long vfly for rates or contact Matt Griffiths mgriffiths@ Sierra Vista Ranch • Sasabe, AZ tucsonaudubon.org to book an ad. • 2 axles • Ramp Spirit Tree Inn B&B • 520-394-0121 Sundance Press • 800-528-4827 Birds & Beer. Third Thursdays at Sky Bar: July • Rated to about 1,500 lbs Sunglow Ranch • www.sunglowranch.com VF 18 and September 19, 5–7 pm. Free slice of pizza, • Requires ½-ton pickup with hitch beer at happy hour prices, share your bird photos. Multi-channel (10+) data logger (e.g. Hobo U30 Solar inverter needed. Tucson Audubon’s USB Data Logger) and temperature sensors Mason Center needs a new inverter to fit between Nature Shops: A basic iPad with the ability to our new solar panels and the grid. Cost is connect to WiFi for off-site events. approximately $3000. If you can help, please AZ Important Bird Areas Program: Garmin contact Paul Green at 520-209-1801 or pgreen@ GPS hand held units; Portable, hand-held, battery tucsonaudubon.org. *New operated speakers for play back bird surveys.

July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 25 Support Tucson Audubon... Tucson Audubon Become a Friend Today! Nature Shops Annual Membership subscription $35 Individual Contributor $100 q Tucson Audubon’s Nature Shops provide for your needs in natural $50 Family Sponsor $250 q history books and guides, birding optics and accessories, and gifts right $30 Senior Supporter* Guardian $500 q here in Tucson. We offer a great selection, the best prices, and member $25 Student* Steward $1000 q discounts. Remember to shop locally. Leadership Circle $2500 q *Individual The World’s Rarest Birds Erik Hirschfeld, Andy Swash and Robert Name Still. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Pp. 360. ISBN 9780691155968. $45. Address This is a book focused on endangered and critically endangered birds of world, based City / State / Zip on BirdLife International’s 2012 IUCN Red List. The book begins by providing very useful Email information on how species get assigned,

and moved between, different conservation Forest Owlet ariq S ani T categories from “extinct” to “least concern.” Phone The authors follow this with a discussion of how size between 50-249. Declines in its population q New membership Renewing membership bird species are distributed across the globe, and are likely due to a combination of habitat loss Please email me about Tucson Audubon the major threats that they face. Not surprisingly, and degradation, as well as hunting. A little events and conservation issues. most of these threats are human created. They further research led me to find just one research Please do not share my contact information. end this rather depressing introductory section paper on its biology. Published in Ibis is 2005, Please do not mail me Vermilion Flycatcher. the researchers Ishtiaq and Rahmani examined I’ll read it online. with a uplifting take on the effectiveness of conservation done right. The rest of the book is the vocalizations and breeding biology of this Donation divided into geographical sections on each of species. One of the best things about the World’s I would like to support Tucson Audubon the continents and one on oceanic islands. Each Rarest Birds is that it introduces us to many such Society with an additional contribution of charismatic species—species we currently know q $25 q $50 q $100 q $250. of these sections begins with a description of conservation challenges specific to these areas, very little about. And time is running out for many of Tucson Audubon Frequent Flyer Monthly Donor Program: I authorize the charge of and most have a few pages devoted to specific them unless drastic action is taken. $____ per month for ____ months to my threatened bird hotspots. These are followed by a Reviewed by Dr Chandreyee Mitra, credit card. short description of the threatened bird species in University of Arizona. Tucson Audubon Society will use the full amount of your tax-deductible gift for its environmental, educational and recreational programs. each region. These descriptions include a photo of the species when available, a map of where it is Method of payment found, its estimated population size and whether Tucson Audubon Check (payable to Tucson Audubon Society) the numbers are increasing or decreasing, and the Nature Shops MasterCard q Visa q AMEX major threats it faces. When you support your local Tucson This book is a wonderful read for anybody Audubon Society you are supporting birds Credit Card No. interested in conservation biology, especially in and bird habitat conservation. Thank you! regards to birds. The descriptions of how birds SHOP HOURS Expiration Date Amount $ get monitored so that they can be added to or moved from one conservation category to another Main Shop Monday–Saturday 10 am–4 pm, was especially illuminating to me, as an amateur Signature Phone: 629-0510 ext 7015 conservation biologist. It would be good addition On the southeast corner of University Blvd and 5th Avenue. Please send your completed form with payment to to the reference section of any household library—

Tucson Audubon Society, Agua Caliente Park Shop especially those with children. In addition, I think it July–September: Thursdays only, 9 am–1:30 pm, 300 E. University Blvd, #120, is a great guide for travelers (who don’t mind the October: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Tucson, AZ 85705 extra weight) interested in looking for rare birds on 9 am–1:30 pm (Attn: Jean Barchman, trips to different areas of the world. Phone: 760-7881 Membership Coordinator) From Tanque Verde Rd and Houghton, continue east on To end on a personal note, in the process of OR join, renew or donate online at Tanque Verde 2 miles. Turn left (north) onto Soldier Trail, reading this, I became fascinated with the Forest www.tucsonaudubon.org continue north for 2 miles. Turn right (east) onto Roger Rd, Owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti; pp 26 and 137). continue ¼ mile to the park entrance on the left (north). This species was considered extinct until it was When you need a book, think of rediscovered in the forests of India in 1997. The Tucson Audubon Nature Shops first! book describes it as a small owl, found in 12 highly Support your local book store. fragmented areas with an estimated population

26 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher July–September 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. Book Reviews

The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors Feathers: The Evolution of a Richard Crossley, Jerry Ligouri and Brian Natural Miracle Don’t Forget Your Sullivan. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Thor Hanson. New York: Basic Books/Perseus Sunday Hats Pp. 286. ISBN 9780691157405. $29.95. BooksGroup. Pp. 352. ISBN 0465020135. $15.99 (trade paper). when you head outside Widely praised since its publication in 2011, into the summer heat. Feathers has gone on this spring to be honored Sunday Afternoons Hats— with the John Burroughs Medal, awarded for “well- written and illustrated natural history publications.” Available from the Nature Shop As you read the book, it’s easy to see why. For a book with a topic as broad as its title Charter hat suggests, Hanson has created a book that’s engaging, lively, well-paced and comprehensive. Assortments of odd trivia—for example, golf balls were originally leather stuffed tight This volume joins the well-received Crossley ID with wet down that hardened Guide: Eastern Birds, and is designed to be useful as it dried—are woven almost for beginners and experts alike. The Raptors seamlessly into a narrative $50.00 guide distinguishes itself from other, more general running briskly over its pages guides by only focusing (as the title suggests) on and chapters. diurnal raptors of North America—just 34 species. His affable style brings By contrast, general guides present these species together personal stories (and in only about 30 pages, so this is a lot more time experiments) with historical investigations, the state Adventure hat spent per bird. of current academic thought and interviews with Along with a clear, conversational style that’s current experts in the use of feathers in research, willing to discuss the birds as creatures of beauty commerce and industry. The open, conversational (or not—sorry, Vultures), Raptors goes beyond tone at once invites you further into the book while simple reference to begin a dialogue and invite rewarding occasional upward glances to explore readers to learn about these birds actively. whatever details fascinate you. The book describes itself as “a halfway house Hanson sketches his interviewees—academic $38.00 between reality and traditional guides.” Its first half experts (like Peter Harrison and Richard Prum), a presents huge photo collages with unobtrusive goose down buyer, a New York couturier, an expert text, depicting the birds in their typical habitats as fly fisherman and many others—as real people with male and female, juvenile and mature, near and real occupations who have, in some way or other, a far, perched, flying and striking. Raptors shows not deep appreciation for feathers: their warmth, color, only what the birds look like, but how they look in beauty and perfection for the seemingly endless Caribbean hat motion. purposes they serve for both birds and people. In the second half we find range maps, informal In sum, this book manages, without apparent character sketches and about ten long, titled effort, to weave Hanson’s documentary-style paragraphs (Flight Style, Size and Shape, etc) for travels and interviews together with several strands each species. There is constant cross-reference, of narrative. He takes us along to learn about both from a two-column table of contents and the evolutionary history of feathers and birds between the two sections of the book. Ospreys generally, along with summarizing the attendant on page 36 refer you to Ospreys on 190, and vice scientific debate; to hear personal stories of people $30.00 versa. What’s more, the titled paragraphs make it encountering beautiful birds and feathers all over easy to compare molt, for instance, among all 34 the world (and even the Moon); and to explore in Sport hat species. depth the always-troubling balance between the A small series of “Mystery Photos” scattered economic value of feathers and conserving the through Part I (with answers in the back) places birds they belong to. similar birds beside each other to contrast their In fact, Feathers reads nothing so much like differences and let readers test themselves. a film documentary I’d love to watch, and I highly Crossley ID Guide: Raptors is an engaging, recommend it. A portion of the book’s proceeds accessible reference to these fascinating birds support bird conservation organizations. VF that also works as a teaching tool and an invitation Reviews by Eric L M Shuman $36.00 for readers to learn and think about raptors as a distinct class with distinct life histories. To raptor enthusiasts, its value is obvious, but even as a “second” guide it will be a fantastic resource.

Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. July–September 2013 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon 27 NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID TUCSON, AZ 300 E University Blvd, #120 PERMIT #1345 Tucson, AZ 85705

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Vermilion Flycatcher Volume 58, Number 3, July–September 2013 © 2013 Tucson Audubon Society The Vermilion Flycatcher is the newsletter of the Tucson Audubon Society, a chapter of the National Audubon Society. National Audubon Society members and members of other chapters may receive the Flycatcher by becoming a Friend of Tucson Audubon. See membership at www.tucsonaudubon.org.

Gilded Flicker and Tucson Audubon Keystones in Our Community D allaire Thank you for supporting our summer appeal with your cash gift. Call Jean Barchman at 520- 209-1802 or visit tucsonaudubon.org/flicker to make your tax-deductible donation today. G ilded F lic k er / J ean uy

E28ve ntsTucson C alAudubonenda Vermilionr page Flycatcher 5 • Livi Julyn–Sgeptember With 2013Nature page 6 • Visit tucsonaudubon.org for event updates