PROGRAMS

September 2003 through May 2004 

Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month, September-April, at the Phoenix Zoo Auditorium.  Meetings start at 7:30, and feature a speaker, book sales, refreshments, and a chance to socialize with fellow MAS members.  Visitors welcome!

Join us for a pre-meeting dinner at Pete’s 19^th Tee, 1405 N Mill Avenue, Tempe (at the Rolling Hills Golf Course) starting at 6:00 p.m.  Meals average about $5.00 with a variety of choices on the menu.  Join us!  Except at the September meeting we will have our annual potluck starting at 6:30.  Each attendee is invited to bring a platter of his or her favorite h’ors de oeuvres, sufficiently large enough to serve at least six people.  We will provide the eating utensils, the plates, and the drinks.  The regular meeting will begin at 7:30.

Join us for a season of dynamic speakers and captivating topics!  Visit Iceland, Alaska, Peru, Mexico and Arizona to see our favorite creatures and their associated environments.  Learn to identify birds in the field by their sounds, get close-up and personal with digital photography, view habitat restoration along the Santa Cruz River, experience Arizona’s sky island ecosystems and discover major conservation efforts throughout the state.  Wow!  And if that isn’t enough to whet your interest, our banquet speaker for May 2004 is Kenn Kaufman!

To conserve space, only a short list of our speakers and topics is included in this edition of the newsletter.  A summary of each speaker’s topic will be available on our web site (www.maricopaaudubon.org).

September 2, 2003  
David Reesor 
"Birds of Iceland"

October 7, 2003  
David and Jen MacKay  
"Birds and Natural History of Northwestern Mexico"

November 4, 2003
 Kathy Groschupf
"Identifying Bird Sounds in the Field"

December 2, 2003
Gary Rosenberg
"Digital Photography Through a Telescope:  A Tour Leader's Travels from Alaska to Peru"

January  6, 2004
Ann Phillips and Kendall Kroesen
Along the Santa Cruz River:  Its Birds and Reconstruction Efforts"

February 3 ,2004
 Peter Friederici
"Those Exotic, Thick-billed Parrots of the Sierra Madre"

March 2, 2004
 Bob Witzeman
"Sky Islands of Arizona:  Their Life Zones and Birds"

April 6, 2004
  Pat Graham
"The Nature Conservancy in Arizona:  Past Present and Future"

May 4, 2004
Kenn Kaufman 
??????? (stay tuned!)

  By Deva Burns

COMMITTEES/SUPPORT

Activist Alert: 
Shawn Bauer 
602-828-3607
shawnbaur@hotmail.com

Arizona Audubon 
Council Rep:
Herb Fibel 
408-966-5246
herbertsfibel@aol.com

Audubon Phone
408-829-8209 

Book Store

Field Observations
Janet Witzeman
602-840-6089 
jlwitzeman@aol.com 

Hospitality

Web Page
Michell Fulton
480-968-5141 
webmaster@maricopaaudubon.org 

Maricopa Audubon Web Site
www.maricopaaudubon.org 

AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE 

Bequests are an important source of support for the Maricopa Audubon Society.  Your chapter has dedicated itself to the protection of natural world through public education and advocacy for the wiser use and preservation of our land, water, air and other irreplaceable natural resources.

You can invest in the future of our natural world by making a bequest in your will to the Maricopa Audubon Society .  Talk to your attorney for more information on how this can be accomplished.

At the highest level, the Board would love to see some new names step up and present themselves for consideration to serve Maricopa Audubon as Board members.  Herb Fibel's article tells you who to contact on the nominating committee if you are interested.  The vote will take place at the annual banquet in May at Shalimar Country Club in Tempe.

If you believe in the Audubon cause in Maricopa County, you may want to consider contacting Sam Campana at the Audubon Arizona office.  In order for the new Rio Salado Center to become a reality, Sam needs clerical help, fund-raisers, and book donations.  If you can volunteer, read Sam's article and give her a call.

If you can't commit for an entire year, but would like to do one weekend, why not plan to participate in some way in the Tres Rios Nature Festival that will take place in Estrella Mountain Regional Park in March.  This first of what will be an annual celebration should be the most exciting conservation event in Arizona this year.  It is a wonderful opportunity to help spread the word about Phoenix birds and Arizona conservation.  See Tom Hildebrandt and Mike Rupp's article.

And last but not least, anyone with only a few minutes to spare should contact their representatives to let them know how they feel about the endangered Endangered Species Act.  The ESA celebrates its 30^th birthday this year.  It's hard to believe it's been around that long, but all is not well as noted by Brian Nowicki from the Center for Biological Diversity.  Your calls and letters can help.

Finally, since we are printing only issues that go to our "Friends of Maricopa Society", and they are supporting us by donating an additional $20, we will return to the six issue per year schedule.  However, in 2004 there will only be 5.

Be sure to check out our website at www.maricopaaudubon.org!

Needed—Book Store Volunteers!—If you are interested, contact any Board Member.

Raptor Field Identification Course ~ February 6-8--Bisbee, AZ.  Held by Bill Clark, author, teacher and field trip leader for over 30 years.  The course is $100 and does not include meals or lodging.  For more information call Janine Higgins at 800-714-4365.

Backyard Bird Count ~ February 13-16--You may submit your observations through BirdSource www.birdsource.org.  Last year enthusiasts submitted almost 50,000 checklists totaling more than 4 million birds of 512 species.  Developed and managed by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology with sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited store owners and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the USDA.

Tucson Audubon to donate $25 to MAS for everyone who signs up for their Copper Canyon or Beliz trips:  How exciting! A fabulous bird tour and a donation to MAS!  Copper Canyon is scheduled for October 7-16, 2003 and January 24-February 1, 2004. On their past trips they have seen Eared Trogons and Russet-Crowned Motmots.  The Belize trip is scheduled for February 14-24, 2004.  For detailed itineraries and a list of past birds seen on these trips, please see www.tucsonaudubon.org  or www.naturetreks.net .  Rochelle Gerratt can be reached at (520) 696-2002 or at rochelle@naturetreks.net .

North American Owls:  Journey Through A Shadowed World--MAS writer/photographer Jim Burns' owl book is being published by Willow Creek Press and should be available in bookstores early in March.  It covers our 19 owl species with color photographs, a CD of their vocalizations, thumbnails their natural history, and compelling personal anecdotes.

Tres Rios Nature Festival ~ March 13-14--Estrella Mountain Regional Park in Phoenix.  See the article by Tom Hildebrandt and Mike Rupp for details.

6^th Annual Aleutian Goose Festival ~ March 26-28--Extreme north coast of California.  The festival offers work shops and field trips.  Call to receive their program booklet of for more information: 800-343-8300. Visit their website www.aleutiangoosefestival.org for complete information and online registration.

ABA Convention ~ 2004, April 26 – May 2—McAllen, TX.  Field Trips, Seminars, Workshops.  For more information, visit ABA’s web site at www.americanbirding.org.

The Birdseye Guide to 101 Birding Sites, Phoenix:  A guide published by Rupp Aerial Photography.  The maps are excellent, it is all in color and is $23.95.  For more information check www.ruppaerialphoto.com.

The Dovetail Directory  ( www.dovetailbirding.com ):  The Directory is an online catalogue of world birding tours, and our goal is to help  birders locate that special birding tour, to any of 85 countries around the world.  This is a free service. There are no hidden costs or surcharges. Tours are offered at the operators price. In addition to tours, the Directory also carries a comprehensive inventory of birding-related books.  For your further convenience we maintain a North American, toll-free number (877) 881-1145, and someone will always happy to take your call. 

Shade-grown coffee:  If you are searching for a source to purchase shade-grown coffee and haven’t been successful, try ABA Sales.  They carry seven kinds of Song Bird Coffee.  For information call 800-634-7736.

More birding and nature festivals.  www.americanbirding.org . and www.birdinghotspot.com .

Audubon Adventures:  Give the gift of discovery and share your love of the environment.  The program is designated for students in grades 4-6.  Introduce an entire classroom (up to 32 students) to the wonders of nature for just $35 (plus shipping charges).  You can select your favorite school or let Audubon do it for you.  For orders:  call 800/813-5037.

Maricopa Audubon T-Shirts
For information, contact Laurie Nessel at (480) 968-5614 or laurienessel@hotmail.com

Do you have an interesting story to tell about birding?  Please forward your submissions to the Editor—Deva Burns.  Check the back page for address/e-mail.  Actually, attaching an article to an e-mail is the absolute easiest way to submit an article.  If you have pictures or slides, you do need to send those to me directly.  Remember, all articles may not be published the first month after receipt.

The election of the MAS board of directors will take place at our annual meeting on May 4, 2004. Our board consists of: president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, conservation chair, publicity chair, program chair, field trip chair, membership chair, education chair, and newsletter editor.  With the exception of the newsletter editor, who is selected by the board, all chapter officer and other board positions are open for election each year.  You may have noticed that a number of board members have served in their particular positions on the board for many years.  This is not because he or she has a lock on that particular position, it’s because no one else has stepped forward and volunteered to serve in his or her place.  Our bylaws do not provide for term limits.  

If you are interested in serving on the board, it is suggested that you contact the existing officer or chairperson, and ask for more information about the position.  Then contact one of the following members of the nominating committee: Doug Green, chairman, (480) 998-5638; Jim or Lynn Blaugh, (480) 491-2509; or Charlotte Norrid, (480) 967-4957.  If you do so, your name will be placed in nomination.  

Come and join us as we celebrate the completion of our 51^st year of conservation activism on behalf of the environment worldwide, and of environmental education in our community.

Once again we’ll be gathering in the dining room of Shalimar Country Club at 2032 E. Golf Avenue in Tempe on the first Tuesday in May, which, this year happens to be May 4^th.  There will be a no host cocktail hour from 6 to 7, with the buffet to start at 7.  There will be food selections to satisfy all tastes and food regimens. 

The cost is $25 per person, ($22.50 with your “Friends” discount.)  You may mail in your checks to Herb Fibel, treasurer, ahead of time, or pay at the door.  Reservations, though, are a must.  Call Herb Fibel at (480) 966-5246, or Cynthia Donald at (480) 283-4515 to make your reservation.

Under consideration presently is the formation of a bylaws committee, with the submission of proposed updated bylaw provisions to the membership at this annual meeting.  Since, in order to do so, we must announce this to the membership in a newsletter ahead of time, please consider this as your announcement, but please don’t let this deter you from attending, because we have a lot of goodies in store, not the least of which is our awesome guest speaker, Kenn Kaufman.

For the few of you who do not know who Kenn is, Kenn is a longtime friend of Maricopa Audubon. He lives in Tucson with his wife, Lynn.  At the age of sixteen Kenn  dropped out of school and took to the road to look at and identify birds.  His adventures are chronicled in “Kingbird Highway”. Kenn is a birder’s birder.  I am privileged to own three of the books he has authored--“Kingbird Highway”, “Peterson Field Guides--Advanced Birding” and “Kaufman Focus Guides--Birds of North America” (a field guide designed for the beginning birder.  It is the textbook I use for my Basic Birding Class.)  Kenn has numerous other titles to his credit, but one I look forward to regularly is his regular contribution to the bi-monthly publication, “Bird Watcher’s Digest”, which he calls “After the Spark”.

Come, join us for the festivities!