Meetings 2009

January 14, 2009
Social Time 6:30 p.m.
Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

George Wall
Birding Australia

George Wall only started bird watching in April, 1997, but since then he has become an avid world-wide bird watcher traveling around the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Nicaragua, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and most recently Australia.

He is a board member of the Sonoran Audubon Society, editor of their newsletter and on several committees. He was also the leader of the birding group “Birders’ Anonymous” for 8 years in Sun City. Over the past few years, he has also led numerous birding trips in Arizona.

Come out and hear how he traveled with different bird guides into the wilds of Australia.

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February 11, 2009
Social Time 6:30 p.m.
Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

Moez Ali
Birds of Kenya

Moez Ali was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and has always been very interested in birds and wildlife. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Martin College in Pulaski, TN.

He is an avid and experienced birder, active member and field trip leader for the Tucson Audubon Society and always enthusiastic about any birding travels and adventures. He came to southeastern AZ in the summer of 2003 to work with nesting Red-faced Warblers and other Montane forest birds. He was immediately drawn to the fascinating Sonoran Desert and very intriguing Sky Island mountain ranges abundant with diverse bird and plant life.

Some of the projects he has worked on include nest predators of groundnesting forest passerines in southeastern Arizona; effects of fire on Montane forest birds in southeastern Arizona; effects of clutch size in the cost of reproduction in birds; and the influence of perennial pools on the abundance, diversity and reproductive success of breeding birds in riparian woodlands in southeastern Arizona.

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March 11, 2009
Social Time 6:30 p.m.
Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

Amy & Tim Leu
Feathered Hearts

Amy Leu will present a program on the work being done at her organization “Feathered Hearts” which is located in Cordes Lakes, Arizona. Feathered Hearts is a 501 c 3 nonprofit wild bird sanctuary whose mission is to educate the public on the importance of wildlife and the environment. The birds at Feathered Hearts are currently two ravens, two crows, white dove, mourning dove and Gila Woodpecker although this may have changed before you read this. The organization attends several different festivals to educate people on how they can help wild birds and what they can do once they find an injured bird.

Amy Leu is an Arizona state and federal permitted wildlife rehabilitator and “Feathered Hearts” an Arizona state and federal permitted wildlife holding center for educational wild birds. She has been rehabilitating birds since 1996 and has also been a vet technician for three years. Feathered Hearts webpage is http://featheredhearts.com/

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April 8, 2009
Social Time 6:30 p.m.
Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

Tim Cullison
Kittlitz's Murrelet with Alaska Wildlife

In June-July, 2008, Tim Cullison enrolled in a summer course in Marine Ornithology given by the University of Alaska-Juneau. Tim participated in a research study on the declining Marbled Murrelet and Kittlitz's Murrelet.

He will present a Power Point presentation on his experiences as well as discuss some of the other wildlife he observed including Orca, Humpback Whale, Sea Otter, Brown Bear, Steller's Sea Lion and many Bald Eagles.

Tim Cullison, is not only a member of the Sonoran Audubon Society, but is currently handling the publicity for our programs and is also on the Education Committee.

Come out and see one of our own in what should be an exciting program.

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May 13, 2009
Social Time 6:30 p.m.
Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

Tom Hildebrandt: "Rapid Stream Riparian Assessment (RSRA) - A Tool For A New Appreciation of Riparian Systems"

Tom Hildebrandt is the Regional Wildlife Program Manager for the central Arizona operational office of the Arizona Game and Fish Department located in Mesa. Tom did his master's degree work on Arizona Bald Eagles at ASU and formed a life-long affinity for riparian systems and their abundant wildlife in the process. Tom is a committed member of the local conservation community and tries to participate in organizations and activities that further the conservation of wildlife and even more importantly, their habitats. Tom is president-elect of the Arizona Chapter of The Wildlife Society, the primary professional organization for wildlife biologists, and has also served as their treasurer and board member. Tom is a founder of the Tres Rios Nature and Earth Festival, an annual celebration of riparian wildlife and their habitats centered on the Gila River corridor just west of the Phoenix metro area. AndTom is the immediate past-president of the Arizona Riparian Council, an organization of diverse individuals dedicated to developing and sharing information about riparian systems and working for their conservation. Tom will talk this night about the Arizona Riparian Council's efforts to assess Arizona's streams and associated habitats.

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September 9, 2009

Social Time 6:30 p.m.

Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

Mike Foley: Birding in and around Anchorage, Alaska

Mike Foley has been birding over 10 years now and one of his favorite areas to bird is South central and Southeast Alaska. His presentation will include some birding hot spots in and around the Anchorage area and is experiences at the Copper River Shorebird festival. Mike is also head of the Volunteer Management Team and Manager of Trail Experiences at the Phoenix Zoo and is affectionately known as the resident "bird nerd".

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October 14
Social Time 6:30 p.m.
Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

Dr. Gerald Rosenthal - Sonoran Desert Life

Dr. Gerald A. Rosenthal, a retired Professor of Biological Sciences and Toxicology, earned his doctoral degree in Botany from Duke University. Dr. Rosenthal spent his career engaged in distinguished research and teaching in Botany and Plant as well as Insect Biochemistry: topics on which he has authored several highly regarded technical treatises and numerous research articles in scientific journals.

He has traveled the world for nearly four decades observing and photographing its major plant communities. A resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, he has lived in, hiked, and studied the Sonoran Desert for more than 11 years.

He wrote a book entitled “Sonoran Desert Life” which was highlighted in the Arizona Republic not long ago. The book has more than 400 photographs showing the complexity of the Sonoran Desert and its plants, insects, birds and other wildlife.

If you are interested in desert life, this program should be a must.

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MONDAY November 9th
Social Time 6:30 p.m.
Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

Kenneth "Tuk" Jacobson - Bald Eagles

In 1967, the Bald Eagle was declared endangered and became one of the first species protected after Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act in 1973. In 1995, it was moved from endangered to the less protective threatened category under the Endangered Species Act. In 2007, the Interior Department said the eagle had recovered sufficiently to be removed from the protection of the Endangered Species Act and it was taken off. The Bald Eagle is currently protected under other laws.

Kenneth “Tuk” Jacobson is currently the Bald Eagle Management Coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. A graduate from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, he has been heavily involved with raptor related research projects across the United States which included Hawaii and also in Puerto Rico. Since 2002, he has concentrated more on the Bald Eagle.

Because of people like Kenneth “Tuk” Jacobson, the Bald Eagle has made a dramatic comeback.

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December 9th

Social Time 6:30 p.m.
Meeting and Program 7:00 p.m.

John Arnett - Why are birds Important?

If you are like many Audubon Society members, you have probably spent innumerable hours and dollars on birds - bird books, birding trips, expensive binoculars, contributions to bird-related charities, bird seed, etc. But why ?Why are birds important? Why are birds important to you, to society, to our planet as a whole? In this program, John Arnett will not answer these questions for you – only you can do that. However, he will provide you with some ideas and frameworks for you to consider as you think about the importance of birds, and will highlight some great reasons provided by many of your fellow Sonoran Audubon Society members about why they think birds are important.

In addition to being the Secretary for Sonoran Audubon Society, John is currently a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Air Force’s 56th Range Management Office and is the Arizona representative in the Department of Defense Partners in Flight working group. John has a B.S. in Forest Resources and Conservation and a M.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida, and has worked on a variety of research projects in the U.S. and South America including scrub lizard demographics and Reddish Egret nesting ecology (Florida), Swallow-tailed Kite migration (Florida and Brazil), and landscape use by Chimango Caracaras and Guinas (Chile). He is currently studying habitat use of Le Conte’s Thrasher and Gray Vireo. John has been birding since he was about 10 years old and has birded much of the U.S. as well as Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Ecuador.