|
Bisbee,
Arizona news, reviews, art, events, history, business and entertainment
|
 |
From the editor
|
Curious locals, folks who love to watch birds, and other ecologically conscious people have an excellent opportunity to learn from and take trips with a diverse group of knowledgeable and passionate experts in the upcoming twelfth annual Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival. For the second year in a row Bisbee will be proud host to the Festival, which was the first of its kind in Arizona when it was conceived in 1991 and now is one of five. Using proceeds from the previous festival to make the current festival even better, each year the organizers are able to expand their scope. This year, also, the festival has received a Heritage Grant from Arizona Fish and Game, a solid ally.
Bisbee is a wonderful place to watch birds from the comfort of a porch or a perch on a mountain, but its also a great central location for the field trips organizers have planned. Field trips will be taken in every direction: to the east to the Chiricahua Mountains, to the west to the Sand Pedro River, the Huachuca Mountains, and the Patagonia Area, to the south to Arivaca, Villa Verde Reservoir and Sierra La Mariqueta in Mexico, and to the north to the Amerind Foundation in Texas Canyon. This writer (although for the most part ignorant of bird names and expecting to learn much when August comes) is greatly tempted to share further details of the field trips, casually mentioning such birds as the elegant Trogon, Gray Hawk, and Vermillion Flycatcher. But interested parties would be best served by a visit to the Southwest Wings website,www.swwings.org, wherein questions of itinerary, birds expected, and prices (which range from $20 to $200), can be answered and e-mail contact made. Though most trips are for the birds, some feature the fascinating anthropology, archeology, geology, butterflies, dragonflies, and bats found in this area of the world. All of the trips look interesting for the visitor and potentially enlightening for the native. The only problem: it's impossible to go on them all, even if a person were to skip the programs and activities taking place within Bisbee.
A five-dollar admission fee paid at the festival hub, the Convention Center at the Copper Queen Plaza, will grant access to a wide variety of events and workshops. Locations of some will be determined by the number of participants. There are three events that children may be especially interested in: Phoenix Zoo Tales, The Magic and Mystery of Birds, and Sssssnakes. Classes include a Beginning Birding Workshop, Wildlife Photography, Hummingbird Banding, Sparrow ID Workshop, and Bisbee History. Presentations include The Neotropical Connection, Birds of Southeast Arizona, Bats, and Masked Bobwhites/Semidesert Grasslands. Of gustatory note is the Wednesday, August 6th Welcome Reception, which will feature dishes form various Bisbee restaurants so that festival participants can have a foreshadowing of meals to come, and Saturday's Hors D'oeuvres Buffet and Presentation with keynote speaker Ken Kaufman at the Bisbee Repertory Theater (limited seating, reservation required, $25).
Birding celebrity Kaufman will also be conducting the Sparrow ID Workshop. Author of numerous guidebooks as well a great speaker, he is just one of the talented people that festival participants can meet. Sheri Williamson, of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (SABO), will be hosting the hummingbird open house. Williamson and Tom Wood, former managers of the Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon Preserve, are founders of SABO and popular speakers. They were also primarily responsible for the first Southwest Wings Festival. An informational presentation on SABO will be held on Saturday. Butterflies of Arizona, A Photographic Guide authors and founders of South East Arizona Butterfly Association (SEABA) Priscilla and Hank Brodkin will teach the Butterflies for Birders workshop on Wednesday. The next day Priscilla will share her slides.
|
