Arizona Spring Birding

Napa Solano Audubon Presents our May Zoom Speaker Series: Arizona Spring Birding with Mark & Lucas Stephenson on Thursday, May 12th at 7:00 p.m. Many years ago Mark led a birding expedition to Organ Pipe National Monument and later backpacked down the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River and back. From the amazing Geology and unique desert reptiles, to the spectacular birding, these were some of my most memorable trips he has ever experienced and he vowed to return someday. When Lucas was old enough, they took their first Birding Trek outside of California to Arizona in the Spring of 2015. They enjoyed it so much that they returned the following year during Lucas’ Spring Break. Aching to return they reserved Lucas' Spring Break of 2021 for another Arizona sojourn. Lucas was still not satiated and topped this trip off by attending the American Birding Association’s Camp Chiricahua for 2 weeks in July. Together, they have explored canyons from the Grand Canyon in the North to Sabina, Madera, Carr, Ramsey, and Cave Creek Canyons in the South and West. We have transecting mountains from the Kaibab Plateau to Santa Catalina’s spectacular Mount Lemon, to the slopes of Santa Rita’s Mt Wrightson, to the Huachuca’s Miller Peak, to the Chiricahua’s Rustler Peak. They have visited numerous birding hotspots from Saguaro National Park to Mt Lemon, to Madera Canyon, from Tubac’s Hawk Watch, to Patagonia Lakes, … from Lake Havasu to Cave Creek Canyon. They will share their many adventures, photos, and Arizona’s spectacular birding with you.
About the Presenters: Mark began birding in the 4th grade and expanded his experiences when his family moved to Ithaca, NY and he birded regularly with experts from Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology. After High School he worked summers at Sapsucker Wood’s and for Massachusetts Audubon before heading west and directing Foresta Institute’s Environmental Education, Summer Camps, and Expedition Programs. After a career of more than 30 years in public education teaching and administrating in Benicia and Napa he is enjoying retirement and birding in Northern California. Lucas is a sophomore in High School and has been birding since he was 8, when he got the “Birding Bug” as a Great Horned Owl called outside his tent and when he spotted a colorful Varied Thrush. Now, with his young eyes and ears he helps his Dad locate those challenging and “hard to find” birds.