Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival

About the Event

This family friendly event is our main one with expertly guided field trips, pre-festival Jamboree, free programs, including some new ones just for kids, exhibitors, vendors, live animals and Keynote Buffet Dinner.

The small-group guided field trips will be mainly in Group Vans but there will also be several Car Caravan style, in participants' own vehicles, to nearby easily-accessible locations. Each trip is led by an expert guide and this year we welcome two special guest guides, Greg Homel and Rick Wright.

Schedule of Events:

7:00-8:45 AM: Kathe Anderson: Introduction to Birdwatching - Bird Walk Sponsored by Swarovski Optik

This is an introduction to local birds, geared for beginning adults who are interested in what may be showing up in their backyards.  As we stroll the area we’ll talk about common species, vocalizations and behaviors.  At about 8:45am we will head indoors to go over a list of what we’ve seen and answer questions.  Walking Difficulty: Easy

​Meeting place: Parking Lot at Garden Canyon Linear Park

​9:15-10:15 AM: Kathe Anderson: Hummingbirds

Following her early morning Bird Walk at Garden Canyon Linear Park, Kathe's presentation at the Fairfield Inn & Suites at the Mall will feature a 30 minute video created in Southeast Arizona, the US Hummingbird Capital. This class will review the different kinds of hummingbirds found in Arizona, and their behaviors. In addition, see a hummingbird, a hummingbird nest and a hummingbird feather up close, and learn about their unique anatomy and lifestyle.

10:30-11:45 AM: Glenn Minuth: New Birds Names Are in the Spotting Scope - To Achieve Racial Inclusion

Our relationship with nature fundamentally originates from a name. It functions as a starter that conveys something about that animal or plant, like twin spotted rattlesnake, canyon tree frog, or red-tailed hawk. In numerous cases, that organism's name offers no view into its natural history, but only represents a legacy of a human name. America is attempting to come to terms with its problematical reckoning for its racial past by changing the names of its institutions, ranging from military bases to national monuments to collegiate/professional athletic league teams.  Currently, there’s dynamism to transform the names of several living monuments — birds. Find out what every bird watcher wants to know:  Why and how this is happening and on what scale nomenclature changes will occur, including its perceived impacts to the birding community and people of color. This may significantly affect you as a birder/naturalist.

​12:00-1:15 PM: Allen Dart: The Antiquity of Irrigation in the Southwest

Before 1500 CE, Native American cultures took advantage of southern Arizona’s long growing season and tackled its challenge of limited precipitation by developing the earliest and most extensive irrigation works in all North America. Agriculture was introduced to Arizona more than 4,000 years before pre-sent, and irrigation systems were developed there at least 3,500 years ago – several hundred years before irrigation was established in ancient Mexico. This presentation by archaeologist Allen Dart provides an overview of ancient irrigation systems in the southern Southwest and discusses irrigation’s implications for understanding social complexity.

​12:00-1:15 PM: Flyways - a PBS Nature special

This PBS Nature special highlights some of the more spectacular migrations of bird species around the world. Flyways spotlights the migrations of Hudsonian Godwits in the Americas, Far Eastern Curlews in Asia, and Red Knots in Europe. These birds travel hundreds or even thousands of miles every year, often flying non-stop without food or water. But their populations are crashing amidst climate change and urban development. Follow a conservation movement of bird-loving experts and citizen scientists as they mobilize to the challenge of understanding and saving shorebirds.

​1:30-2:45 PM: Karen Krebbs: The Exciting Night Life of Bats!

Karen Krebbs worked at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for more than 26 years and now works independently as a contractor for the National Park Service. She has extensive knowledge of birds, mammals, deserts, and animal adaptations and behavior. Karen has researched bats in the United States and Mexico for more than 40 years. Karen has participated in natural history learning trips in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Mexico, Baja, Costa Rica, Africa, Galapagos, and Ecuador. Karen’s latest books include Desert Life: A Guide to the Southwest’s Iconic Animals and Plants & How They Survive; Desert Life of the Southwest Activity Book; Explore Tucson Outdoors; and Bat Basics: An Introduction to the Life of Bats in the United States & Canada & Their Many Benefits.

Karen will lead a car caravan field trip to Ramsey Canyon to view nectar bats feeding at 7:00 PM on Friday. Limit of 10 participants. This is a paid trip, please book via the field trip registration page.

3:00-4:15 PM: Jillian Cowles: The Thief in the Web and Other Stories

Who doesn’t like a good heist caper? You don’t have to go to the movies to see one; it might be happening right on your front porch. No… I’m not talking about those folks who steal packages delivered to other people’s front porches. I am referring to the tiny kleptoparasitic spiders, Argyrodes pluto, that reside in the webs of the western black widow. They must accomplish the dangerous task of stealing the precious egg sacs from the refuge of the formidable and protective mother black widow spider. Please join me to hear about this tiny thief spider, as well as a few other arachnid puzzles.

4:30-5:45 PM: Jennie MacFarland: Desert Purple Martins - Star Birds of the Arizona Monsoon

Charismatic, large swallows, Purple Martins are a beloved and iconic nestbox species in the eastern half of the United States. Did you know they can be found here as well? The Desert Purple Martin (Progne subis hesperia) is a distinct subspecies that times its nesting to monsoon abundance and nests almost exclusively in saguaros or other large columnar cacti. These are “wild” martins that use naturally occurring cavities, while the eastern subspecies is said to be entirely reliant on human-made nestboxes. Desert Purple Martins are extremely understudied with large gaps in knowledge about their nesting, migration, and wintering grounds. Tucson Audubon launched the Desert Purple Martin project in 2020 and has learned so much about these intriguing birds. Very recent discoveries and data results will be shared along with lots of video and audio that showcases the charming and fascinating Desert Purple Martin.

Click here to Register.

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