Wingtips

The Prescott Audubon Newsletter

February 2026

View All PAS Field Trips

Please visit the Prescott Audubon Society website by clicking the link above,

for information about field trips and how to register.

Birding in February

Saturday – Feb 7 – Watson Woods Walk – 9:30 a.m.
Saturday – Feb 7 – Gilbert Water Ranch

Upcoming Birding in March

Saturday – Mar 7 – Watson Woods Walk – 8:30 a.m.
Thursday – Mar 26 – Badger Springs/Agua Fria River Canyon

Click here for Bird Walks at the Lookout

Window on Nature

will be at the

Natural History Institute

126 N Marina Street, downtown Prescott
Tuesday,

February 17, 2026

"Our" Burrowing Owls

Burrowing Owls Relocation Projects

Come learn more about the Burrowing Owl relocation projects in Yavapai County and around the state. Project manager Greg Clark will share stories and images of the owls, describing how we can protect them by moving them from threatened locations to new colonies of man-made burrows. Several PAS members and supporters helped with the Paulden owl relocation last summer and fall.

Meet and greet at 6:30,

followed by program at 7:00 pm

Volunteers Needed!

Dates Announced for

Spring 2026 IBA Bird Surveys in

Watson Woods Riparian Preserve

By Leslie Loomis

Hello birders! Prescott Audubon continues its collaboration with Prescott Creeks--our spring survey dates have been set for Sunday, May 3 and Sunday, May 17, both at 7 am. We will count birds in three transects on the Preserve, with a maximum of four people on each of the three teams. You need to be comfortable walking off trail on uneven ground and have your own binoculars. Last Fall, we had a waiting list for both surveys, so sign up soon! Fill out the IBA Survey Interest Form at https://prescottcreeks.org/iba/ or email me at IBA@PrescottCreeks.org if you have any questions.

(photo of Steller's Jay)

Used by permission from author Rosemary Mosco, https://www.facebook.com/BirdAndMoon

Join the MOTUS Team

Have you heard about Motus?

Motus is an international research community working together to study the movement and behavior of birds, bats, and insects. Motus stations are installed in strategic locations around the world. Researchers attach Motus tags on the animal to be studied. Motus tags are among the smallest tracking devices available. Each tag emits a unique signal. Motus stations record detections of tagged animals within their range, logging the time, signal strength, and receiving antenna.

The data from Motus stations is either downloaded manually or transmitted to Birds Canada, where it is processed and stored in a permanent archive. The data is openly accessible and available to the research and conservation community. Compared to banding, this technology is less stressful to the tagged animal as it does not need to be re-captured to procure data. At present, there are 2,379 stations in 34 countries with 481 species tagged.

Recently, Desert Rivers Audubon along with the city of Gilbert installed a Motus station at the Gilbert Riparian Water Ranch. The first bird detection was an American White Pelican that was first tagged in Utah. This bird was also detected at seven different Motus stations on its journey.

Northern Arizona Audubon currently supports two Motus stations. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if Prescott Audubon became a Motus supporter? It would be fascinating to learn of the migratory pathways of some of the individual, unique birds we view at our lakes. Contact Jo Glaves@ pjglaves@swbell.net if you are interested in helping PAS investigate this opportunity.

Notice of Community Outreach Event on

Management of Willow Lake

We hope many PAS members and supporters will attend the February 21 drop-in event from 10:00 am to noon at the Adult Center, 1280 Rosser St. This is the City's effort to allow us, the public, to learn about Willow Lake's pending management plan and to share our thoughts and concerns. City staff will be at tables with information and to answer questions and take input. PAS has been participating in this planning effort, but more voices always have an impact.

We hope many of us will be there to voice our concerns about issues near to our hearts such as protection of wildlife, preserving the Willow IBA, controlling access in sensitive areas, and thoughtful signage. Lake management also involves water and vegetation quality, flood control, recreation, and more, so there is much to learn at this event. See last month's newsletter and a recent (Jan 20-21) article in The Courier for more about managing Willow Lake.

Hope you can drop by on Feb. 21st and lend your support for Willow Lake's natural areas. See you there!

Access Restored to the

Prescott Recharge Ponds (WTP's)

Ah, a turn for the better! As any of us with the Prescott City-issued key cards know, those cards have not worked as promised to open the the walk-through gate at the Prescott Wastewater Treatment Ponds, the ones near the airport. Not worked for months, in fact. We are happy to report that the cards and gate are once again working. Birder access is restored. For now, anyway.

To obtain your key card to be able to bird the WTP's, contact Carey at 928-777-1130, ext. 5003. Carey is the Prescott City Public Works Dept Business Operation Manager and she has been very helpful. For more info, go to our website News & Recent Events page and scroll down.

CONSERVATION MATTERS

Audubon Southwest’s conservation efforts for Arizona will focus on water and updating Arizona water law. Audubon Southwest has identified Legislative policy priorities to protect Arizona’s lands and waters.

Audubon Southwest will be working to achieve the following legislative policies:

Encouraging groundwater recharge in rivers.

Passing new Colorado River sharing agreements with the seven Colorado River Basin States.

Investing in water security in order to adapt to our drier future.

Managing groundwater throughout Arizona

Defending existing protections

Check out Haley Paul’s article, “Anticipating 2026 at the Arizona Legislature” from the Audubon Southwest website and get involved.

From PAS Leadership

Thank you to Sandy Klinikowski and Julie Cargill for planning and managing the CBC after-party at The Lookout. Thank you also to Eric Moore who graciously provided the space for us to gather.

PAS has supported the BCHP virtual Auction with a bird book package. Thanks to Leslie Loomis for a book donation and to Nita Morris for preparing the auction items.

Although PAS will not have an event for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), you can participate on your own, by birding anywhere and submitting an Ebird checklist. Ebird submissions from February 13-16 will count toward the GBBC