News
Free seminars at Wings Over Willcox Festival
By Don Hammer/For the Range News
Come and learn more about the Sulphur Springs Valley during the Wings Over Willcox Festival on Jan. 15-18. All seminars are free, open to the public and presented in the Willcox Community Center on Stewart Street. The wide variety of topics is certain to have something for everyone.
This is your opportunity to learn more about your world as well as explore the diversity of enticing items offered at the concurrent trade fair. Vendor's wares include natural history books, binoculars and other equipment, original art, crafts and more. Additional information on the seminar topics and speakers is available at www.wingsoverwillcox.com.
The seminars start on Thursday Jan. 15 with "Lifestyles of the Not So Famous" from 4:30-5:30 pm. Pinau Merlin, the author of several books on the natural history of the Sonoran Desert, will focus on the less well known desert critters including ringtail cats, coatimundis, jackrabbits, Gila monsters and roadrunners. At 7:15 pm - 8:15 pm Jack Childs will discuss the history of jaguars in Arizona. Jack and his wife Anna Mary have conducted jaguar surveillance in southeastern Arizona since 1997.
The Friday, Jan. 16 free seminars begin with "Rainwater-Only Landscapes" at 1:30 - 2:30 pm with Carmen Miller showing how to manage your landscape so that only rainwater is needed to Grow Green in the desert.
At 3 - 4 pm Homer Hansen will present "Birdwatching Basics" or all you need to know to identify and enjoy our feathered friends. Concurrently, Janice Pryzbyl will present "Tracking Wildlife for Conservation" a volunteer tracking program employing citizen scientists to document tracks and other signs of mountain lions, jaguars, black bears, bobcats and coatimundi.
From 4:30 - 5:30 pm Virginia Wolfe will present "The Siberian White Crane - the Perfect Flagship!", the International Crane Foundation's programs to protect this charismatic and critically endangered species in Asia. Concurrently, Steve Marlatt will present "Sandhill Cranes 101" more about the birds that started our birding festival including everything you wanted to know about the oldest (going back over 65 million years) and one of America's most magnificent birds. "Astronomy in Arizona & the Impact of the Large Binocular Telescope" by Dr. John Ratje at 7 - 8 pm will discuss what the new telescope is used to explore in our search for answers to some very fundamental questions on the origin of the universe. And rather than answers he may raise more questions that may give you pause for thought!
On Saturday, Jan. 17, "Nest Box Building & More" runs from 8 am - 5 pm. Kate Scott's class is for kids ages 8 and up! Open your eyes and your yard to the wonders of nature, and share this adventure with your children or grandchildren. Parents or grandparents are also welcome. This class repeats on Sunday at the same times. Charles Rau's "Rattlesnakes: Separating the Myths and Realities" at 10 - 11 am will include the behavior and life histories of Cochise County rattlesnakes and may include live animals.
From 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Rob Call will present "Nut Production in the Sulphur Springs Valley" on the cultivation of pecans and pistachios, their water needs and their importance to the local economy. In "The OTHER Wings Over Willcox: BATS!" from 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm, Dr. Ronnie Sidner will discuss the biology and ecology of bats of Arizona. From 4 - 5 pm, Karen Krebbs in "Those Amazing Hummmingbirds" will explore some of the amazing behaviors and breeding biology of Arizona hummingbirds with her spectacular and amusing slide images.
On Sunday, Jan. 18, the WOW seminars begin with "Nest Box Building & More" from 8 am - 3 pm. At 11 am - noon, William Radke will discuss the importance of the San Bernadino and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuges to several threatened and endangered species in "Cochise County's National Wildlife Refuges". His talk will include why the refuges were established, how they are managed, what fish and wildlife they protect and how you can visit and enjoy them.
This is your opportunity to learn more about your world as well as explore the diversity of enticing items offered at the concurrent trade fair. Vendor's wares include natural history books, binoculars and other equipment, original art, crafts and more. Additional information on the seminar topics and speakers is available at www.wingsoverwillcox.com.
The seminars start on Thursday Jan. 15 with "Lifestyles of the Not So Famous" from 4:30-5:30 pm. Pinau Merlin, the author of several books on the natural history of the Sonoran Desert, will focus on the less well known desert critters including ringtail cats, coatimundis, jackrabbits, Gila monsters and roadrunners. At 7:15 pm - 8:15 pm Jack Childs will discuss the history of jaguars in Arizona. Jack and his wife Anna Mary have conducted jaguar surveillance in southeastern Arizona since 1997.
The Friday, Jan. 16 free seminars begin with "Rainwater-Only Landscapes" at 1:30 - 2:30 pm with Carmen Miller showing how to manage your landscape so that only rainwater is needed to Grow Green in the desert.
At 3 - 4 pm Homer Hansen will present "Birdwatching Basics" or all you need to know to identify and enjoy our feathered friends. Concurrently, Janice Pryzbyl will present "Tracking Wildlife for Conservation" a volunteer tracking program employing citizen scientists to document tracks and other signs of mountain lions, jaguars, black bears, bobcats and coatimundi.
From 4:30 - 5:30 pm Virginia Wolfe will present "The Siberian White Crane - the Perfect Flagship!", the International Crane Foundation's programs to protect this charismatic and critically endangered species in Asia. Concurrently, Steve Marlatt will present "Sandhill Cranes 101" more about the birds that started our birding festival including everything you wanted to know about the oldest (going back over 65 million years) and one of America's most magnificent birds. "Astronomy in Arizona & the Impact of the Large Binocular Telescope" by Dr. John Ratje at 7 - 8 pm will discuss what the new telescope is used to explore in our search for answers to some very fundamental questions on the origin of the universe. And rather than answers he may raise more questions that may give you pause for thought!
On Saturday, Jan. 17, "Nest Box Building & More" runs from 8 am - 5 pm. Kate Scott's class is for kids ages 8 and up! Open your eyes and your yard to the wonders of nature, and share this adventure with your children or grandchildren. Parents or grandparents are also welcome. This class repeats on Sunday at the same times. Charles Rau's "Rattlesnakes: Separating the Myths and Realities" at 10 - 11 am will include the behavior and life histories of Cochise County rattlesnakes and may include live animals.
From 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Rob Call will present "Nut Production in the Sulphur Springs Valley" on the cultivation of pecans and pistachios, their water needs and their importance to the local economy. In "The OTHER Wings Over Willcox: BATS!" from 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm, Dr. Ronnie Sidner will discuss the biology and ecology of bats of Arizona. From 4 - 5 pm, Karen Krebbs in "Those Amazing Hummmingbirds" will explore some of the amazing behaviors and breeding biology of Arizona hummingbirds with her spectacular and amusing slide images.
On Sunday, Jan. 18, the WOW seminars begin with "Nest Box Building & More" from 8 am - 3 pm. At 11 am - noon, William Radke will discuss the importance of the San Bernadino and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuges to several threatened and endangered species in "Cochise County's National Wildlife Refuges". His talk will include why the refuges were established, how they are managed, what fish and wildlife they protect and how you can visit and enjoy them.
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