Wingtips
The Prescott Audubon Newsletter
November 2025
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Please visit the Prescott Audubon Society website by clicking the link above
for information about field trips and how to register.
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Birding in Nov.
Saturday – Nov 1 – Watson Woods Walk – 9:00 a.m.
Thursday – Nov 6 – Highland Center – 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Friday – Nov 21– Bubbling Springs at Page Springs
Upcoming Birding in Dec.
There aren't any scheduled bird walks, but it is the month for the
Christmas Bird Counts:
The Prescott CBC will be Wednesday, December 17th, contact Sandy at PrescottCBC@PrescottAudubon.org .
An after-count gathering is in the works, similar to last year.
The Chino CBC will be Dec 15th, contact Russell at ChinoCBC@PrescottAudubon.org .
Upcoming Birding in Jan.
Thursday – Jan 1 – Start Your Year Right! -- 9:00 a.m.
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Field Trip Committee
Please welcome Lisa Garnes as the new Field Trip Committee Chairperson. A big thank you to Sue Noonan who chaired this committee for the past few years.
Hello everyone! I am the new Field Trip Coordinator for PAS. I was lucky enough to inherit the list of past trip locations and event ideas from Sue Noonan and the Field Trip Committee, and look forward to putting together our schedule for 2026. If you have an interest in leading a field trip or would like to suggest a destination, please contact me at: FieldTrips@PrescottAudubon.org
More about our upcoming Field Trips and how you can help HERE .
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Barb Stewert: A Remembrance
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by Mary Trevor
Barb Stewert, an avid birder and longtime supporter of Prescott Audubon, died September 24, 2025. She was 89. Many Lady Birders will remember Barb from the earlier years of the Monday Ladies, and in more recent years, from trips out Perkinsville Road in Chino Valley to support the bird-a-thon. Barb was a big supporter of Audubon Adventures and other PAS education projects. The annual Monday Ladies’ bird-a-thon outing was her most public way of engaging."
Read the complete tribute to Barb Stewart on the PAS website.
| 2019 Environmental Scholarship presentation. Left to right: Sue Drown (PAS president), Bonnie Pranter (scholarship committee), Natasha Ricio (scholarship awardee), Barb Stewart, Mary Trevor (scholarship committee), Laura Rhoden (PAS treasurer). Photo by Toni Kaus | |
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City of Prescott
Recharge Ponds Access
If you've tried to access the Prescott WTP recharge ponds with your key-card during the past few months, you'll have found that the card doesn't work. To get inside, you must call the number listed on the pedestrian gate to have someone from the WTP staff meet you to open the gate. This only works when they are at work, M-F, 7 AM -2:30 PM.
When we called the City to ask about the malfunctioning key-card reader, the person we spoke to recommended that we ask key-card holders to provide their card numbers to them. So, please call 928-777-1630 to add your key-card # to their list. Look for a faintly-printed number in a lower corner of your card.
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Spotlight on the
Conservation Volunteers
Sharon Andersen is our Conservation Chair. Sharon pens the monthly conservation article in this newsletter. Paul Glaves contributes information about water issues in the quad city area. Dave Frechette, with Cathy LeVine assistance has been the coordinator for the Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Upper Verde River IBA Surveys for quite some time. Cathy Wills will be lightening Dave’s load by coordinating the Yellow-billed Cuckoo Surveys from now on. Sandy Klinikowski took over as the Prescott Christmas Bird Count Coordinator last year. Sandy also coordinates the Watson and Willow Lake Ecosystem IBA which occurs every 3 years to maintain IBA certification. Russell Duerksen coordinates the annual Chino Valley Christmas Bird Count. Leslie Loomis in conjunction with Prescott Creeks, re-started the bird surveys in Watson Woods last month. Cathy Wills, Martha Baden, and Kurt Baden handle the Kestrel Nest box program. Sue Drown leads the charge working with the City of Prescott on habitat improvement initiatives. Send a note to contact@prescottaudubon.org if you are interested in joining any of these activities/initiatives.
Feed the Feeders
Prescott Audubon has a special initiative that provides much joy. PAS provides birdseed for the feeders at several senior care homes. Art and Delores Manburg have faithfully delivered the birdseed that Prescott Audubon purchases from Eric Moore of “The Lookout”. Eric generously stores the seed until it is needed. The “Feed the Feeder” is out at every Prescott Audubon meeting. At the next meeting put in a couple of dollars to support this wonderful initiative that brings smiles to the faces of those in a care facility.
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PAS Board Meeting
The next PAS Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2-3:30 PM at The Lookout. All are welcome to attend.
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Conservation Matters
The Roadless Rule
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Since 2001 the Forest Service Roadless Rule has protected 58.5 million acres in our National Forests. Roadless areas were designated to protect major water sheds (661 nationwide) and to prevent fragmentation and loss of connectivity for the protection of wildlife habit and protection of wildlife movement and migration. These wild spaces are critical to many endangered and threatened species. The Roadless Rule is considered to be the corner stone of environment protections for our National Forests.
In Arizona, 1,174,000 acres are designated as roadless. The Prescott National Forest has designated 12 areas as roadless, including two on Mingus Mountain, which provide watershed protection for Ash Creek and habitat protection for the Mexican Spotted Owl. The Roadless Rule is in the process of being rescinded. Legislation has been introduced in the US Senate and US House of Representations to codify the Roadless Act into law, continuing the protections to our wildlands and wildlife.
Check out the following articles to find more information and ways to support the pending legislation.
audubon.org - Protecting the Roadless Rules Safeguards More Than Just Forest
environmentamerica.org/What the Roadless Rules means for Arizona
PROTECT OUR WILD!! BLACK CANYON CITY CHRISTMAS BIRDS COUNT - Black Canyon City is now an official Audubon Christmas Bird Count Circle. Details and date to come.
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Sighting of the Year
By the First Saturday Watson Woods Walk Birders
For many of us, just birding in our “patch”, our yard, our comfortable favorite spot can be so fulfilling. Yes, it’s always good to see the usual birds, each in their expected season and location. Another benefit is that when we spot an unusual bird in our “patch”, we know it. We tighten our grip on the bins, we lean in for another look. So it was with the October Watson Woods Walk birders when they found this surprise, a Blackburnian Warbler! We believe this is only the second confirmed sighting of this species in Yavapai County, no less! Proof that, even in your same old birding patch, it’s always a treasure hunt. And, BTW, our last Saturday Watson Woods Walk for 2025 will be Saturday, November 1st, free and open to all.
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Flying With the Condors
By Leslie Loomis
On a gorgeous day, September 27, 2025, one of my bucket list items was realized. I attended the 29th annual California Condor Release at the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona on National Public Lands Day. Peregrine Fund, one of the hosts running the event, estimated that 600 people gathered that day. Various groups involved in condor conservation had tables with information, and many people had spotting scopes to share.
The release pen was a mile away on top of the mesa. Five young birds from the Oregon and San Diego Zoos were invited to take their first flights in the wild, although only one flew from the pen that day. The other four were released the following Monday, bringing the total for the Arizona-Utah flock to 88. Wild condors were around outside the pen, soaring majestically or sitting on the roof of the pen and socializing with the young birds. We were told that Milagra, the condor that was rescued as an egg and raised in captivity, was released there last year and was present!
Even though the birds were far away, they still seemed huge, especially compared to the Common Ravens flying with them. I was so glad to be a witness, and it made my heart soar to see these amazing birds!
| | Please visit the PAS FB Group page for more information, as well as fabulous photos and articles from Walt Anderson | | | | |
