Accessible Birding: Birding by Ear & Beyond at Agua Caliente Park with Donna Posont

Difficulty: This field trip is designed to meet the needs of participants with accessibility needs.
Join Donna Posont, coordinator of the Birding by Ear and Beyond Program, for a birding experience designed to use all of your senses to identify birds! Donna graduated with an Environmental Studies degree from the University of Michigan and was the second blind person in the United States to be recognized as a Certified Interpretive Guide by the National Association for Interpretation (NAI). Donna’s efforts with Birding by Ear and Beyond have received national attention. To see and hear more about Birding by Ear and Beyond, click here. To view a complete accessibility review for this location, visit the official Birdability Map. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 30 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Rufous-winged Sparrow by Jim Burns

Sunset Birding at Lakeside Park with Hannah Buschert and Erik Ostrander

Difficulty: Easy (Just over a mile walking on excellent surfaces.)
Lakeside Park in southeast Tucson is a great place to get to know your urban birds, and the lake increases our chances for a rarity. We’ll explore the lake and the adjacent lawns and ball fields. Likely sightings include Black-crowned Night-Heron, hummingbirds (Anna’s, Black-chinned, & Broad-billed), Cassin’s Kingbird, Vermillion Flycatcher, Cooper’s Hawk, swallows, Abert’s Towhee, and more! Drive time to park and meeting location is about 15 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Cassins Kingbird by Alan Schmierer

Birds and Bingo at Bawker Bawker Cider House

Birds N Bingo

Come out to Bawker Bawker Cider House for some birds, brews, and bingo! You’ll put your bird ID knowledge to the test, compete to win sweet birdy prizes, and sip some of the best cider in town with your friends from Tucson Bird Alliance! Note that bingo will start promptly at 6:30. Drive time to the location from the DoubleTree is about 10 minutes. Limited to 60 participants.

Beginning Bird Photography at Reid Park with Jennifer Leigh Warner

Bring your camera gear… whatever you have and join Jennifer Leigh Warner of Wildside Nature Tours for this fun, casual photo walk-a-bout. Jennifer will help find subjects while discussing exposure, reading light, and composition while helping each person with setting up their cameras for quick response to the action. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 8 participants.

Cooper’s Hawk by Kristofer Drozd

Photography & Birding at El Rio Preserve with Ben Knoot

Difficulty: Easy (1 -1.5 miles on mostly flat surfaces with some uneven terrain)
Join professional photographer, and founder of Experience Nature Tours, Ben Knoot, for a photography and birding experience at El Rio Preserve. This nature preserve area just northwest of Tucson in Marana offers an opportunity to see a variety of birds including waterfowl, shorebirds, and flycatchers. This will be a causal session of photography and birding and is perfect for anyone who would like to learn more about birds and camera techniques for bird photography. Bring your binoculars and your camera. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 30 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Black Phoebe by Mick Thompson

Sunset Birding at Sweetwater Wetlands with Bruce Webb & Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik

Difficulty: Easy (Just over a mile walking on excellent surfaces.)
This artificial wetland is the premier birding hotspot in the Tucson Valley, offering a stunning variety of species that can be found here at any time during the season. Green Heron, Common Gallinule, Tropical Kingbird, Common Yellowthroat, and Abert’s Towhees are some of our prime targets. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 20 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 12 participants.

Tropical Kingbird by JBurns

Desert Birds in Pastel Workshop with Laura Milkins hosted at The Drawing Studio

Milkins-Laura-Invitation-to-Appreciation-Ode-to-My-Mothers-Wisdom-pastel-on-paper

Capture the colors of Sonoran desert birds, from the vibrant red of a vermillion flycatcher to the subtle browns and tans of a cactus wren. Since the days of Audubon, art has been a way to understand birds on an intimate and detailed level. In this workshop, we will focus on the color found on birds of the Sonoran desert. First we will enjoy some colorful bird images from art history. Next we will use pastel to create color patches to match the colors of several desert birds. Step by step, I will walk you through pastel techniques that make this process of color matching fun and accessible to beginners as well as more advanced participants. Finally, working from a photo, we will create a vermillion flycatcher using these simple pastel techniques. Materials provided by The Drawing Studio, 2760 N. Tucson Blvd. Limited to 12 participants.

Invitation-to-Appreciation-Ode-to-My-Mothers-Wisdom-pastel-on-paper by Laura Milkins

Moths: A Nocturnal Exploration

Difficulty: Easy (Easily accessible location with a short drive)

On this trip, we will shine a light into the hidden diversity that exists in the Sonoran Desert! Pima County Naturalist, Jeff Babson will set up a UV light and see what treasures the night produces.  UV lights, also known as black lights, emit wavelengths that attract many insects, including moths and beetles.  Many of these insects are common, but live their lives in darkness and many people are unaware of their existence. Feel free to arrive anytime during the allotted timeframe. Great for families! Location will be at Sabino Canyon. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is approximately 25 minutes, and specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. $8 parking fee. Limited to 15 participants.

White-lined sphinx moth by Doris Evans

Going Batty with Karen Krebbs

Difficulty: Easy (Easy watching from pathway/parking area and short drive.)

Join Karen Krebbs on an adventure to watch thousands of bats come out of their roost at dusk. Karen has studied bats for more than 30 years and will share her vast knowledge of these misunderstood night creatures. This nightly Tucson spectacle even brings in a Cooper’s Hawk or Peregrine Falcon on occasion. You will meet Karen on-site on the east side of Tucson near Pantano and Broadway. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is approximately 15 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 20 participants.

Lesser long-nosed bat by Dan Weisz

Scorpion Adventure with Chris Benesh

Difficulty: Moderate (Will include walking in the dark on possibly some uneven surfaces and gravel roads. Recommended to have a black light)

Go beyond the birds and explore the world of scorpions with Chris Benesh. Arizona is one of the world’s hot spots for scorpion diversity, especially Southeast Arizona! Location will be up to the discretion of the leaders based on weather, but will be within 45 minutes of the festival venue. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand.  Limited to 10 participants.