Archives: Festival Events

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

Difficulty: Moderate (Will include walking in the dark, some uphill on dirt trails and some paved road. Total distance about 3 miles.)

Sabino Canyon night hikes during monsoon season are a local favorite past-time. Bring your flashlight as we walk up in the light and walk down in the dark in search of birds, toads, snakes, bugs, and more! Good possibilities for Lesser Nighthawk and Common Poorwill at sunset and we’ll hope for monsoon rains so we can see and hear Spadefoots and giant Sonoran Desert Toads. Lizards, scorpions, and tarantulas are crowd favorites and maybe we’ll run into a Gila Monster. We will go at a slow pace and be sure to bring a water bottle and be prepared for hot weather. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is approximately 25 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 20 participants.

Lesser Nighthawk by Dan Weisz

Difficulty: Easy (Flat walking trails in the city park)

Have you ever experienced the joy of birding without binoculars hanging around your neck or packing a camera? Join Rick Wright at Fort Lowell Park, one of the locals’ favorite birding destinations in Tucson, to experience birding in a new way. Optics, including cameras, are absolutely prohibited, on pain of possible mockery. Instead, let’s test our ears and eyes and memories by getting to know some of our commonest desert birds without technology, focusing instead on all the little clues that can help us identify birds without the need to see fine details. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 10 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Vermilion Flycatcher by Greg Lavaty

Difficulty: Easy (A/C indoors at the U of A)

How do we birders know the things we think we know? Where do “field marks” come from? And what on earth do all those dead birds on their backs in wooden drawers have to do with our hobby as we practice it in the 21st century? Join Rick Wright for a two-hour workshop exploring the intimate connections between museum specimens and conservation, research, and, yes, recreational birding. We will discover how collections are formed and maintained, and learn about the sometimes surprising results when old specimens are brought to bear on new problems. After this introduction to the enduring value of natural history collections, Rick will discuss a number of the Southwest’s rarest and most challenging birds, illustrating his remarks with representative specimens from among the more than 18,000 held by the University of Arizona. Along with stories of collecting adventure, daring, and even foolishness, workshop participants will come away with new knowledge they can use in the field—and a new respect for the sources of that knowledge, sources that lie on their backs in wooden drawers. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 10 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Cactus Wren by Mick Thompson