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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune UTAH/INTERMOUNTAIN Sunday, January 24, 1999 Flocks With Binoculars Agree That Arizona Is for the Birds Nature-lovers hatch a whole newbranchoftourist industry ByJERRY NACHTIGAL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Valley are well Fall brings migrating birds of The Wetzels estimate that prey like peregrine and prairie falcons, merlins, roughlegged hawks and golden and bald eagles, which sometimes gather at the carcass of a road-killed javeli- phur Springs knownfortheir birding opportunities. PHOENIX — From California condors soaring on 10-foot wings above the Grand Canyon to about 80 percent of their business mingbirds flitting among wild- other nature-oriented tourists, who drive, hike and bicycle through the nearby Huachuca comes from bird-watchers and thumb-sized blue-throated humflowers near the Mexican border, Arizona is a bird-watcher’s para- Mountains. home to an assort- dise: ment of owls, hawks, eagles and songbirds. Southeastern Arizona is one of the world’s most renownedbirdwatching destinations, with up- “We've had guests from ail over the United States, Canada, wardof 500species of birdsliving in or migrating through its desert washes, riparian woodlands and pine-forested mountains. England, Australia and Germany,” Chuck Wetzelsaid. “If they see a bird, sometimes they're gone — mentally and physically. Birdwatchers get very charged up, very excited.” Some are found nowhereelse in the United States, such as the vio- let-erowned hummingbird, Mexican chickadee and elegant trogon Sue Weinreis ofBillings, Mont., — anexotic tropical bird with a rose-red belly, shimmeringirides- gazed at a feederoutside the Wetzels’ B&B on a recent winter morning and saw a Gila woodpecker, whitewinged and mourning doves, and a scaled quail. Perched nearbywas a loggerhead shrike, nicknamed the “butcher bird” for its habit of impaling cent green head and shoulders and long copper tail with a flared tip. “There are so many opportuni- ties to see anything you want ex- cept sea birds,” says Sheri Wil- Southeastern Arizona Bird Obser- the mice andinsects on thornsto feast onlater. vatory in Bisbee. “Some birds stray across the border from Mexico, which makes for very inter- “I try to go birding somewhere every year and southeast Arizona is one of my favorite places,” said ing. species in two decades of birdwatching and hopedto add the endangered spotted owl to her list liamson, director of esting and surprising bird-watch- na. In far northern Arizona, two separate flocks of California con- dors — 22 birds in all — ride the thermals above the same canyons where their ancestors feasted on saber-toothed tiger carcasses thousands of year ago. ‘Thegiant vultures occasionally wing through the Grand Canyon. to the surprise and delight of tourists and river rafters. The 15 birds in the first flock reintro- duced in Arizona in 1996 can oftenbe spotted through binocular roosting on rockyledges in the Vermilion Cliffs, about 30 miles southwest of Page. thusiasts from around the world on this trip. “Winter is a good time to see birds here, but you whocome herefor the sole purposeof seeing birds they've never In winter, thousands of sandhill cranes descend upon marshesand World: On the Role of Citizen Scientists in the 21st Century,” will begin at 7 p.m. at the Skaggs January with a festival featuring seminars and guided tours. Spring brings a colorful parade of warblers and rarities such as black-headed grosbeaks and Biology Building auditorium on the University of Utah campus. Admission isfree. Keyto collecting and organizing information is the Internet, said Fitzpatrick. The Cornell Laboratory has developed an easy-to-use Internet site (http://birdsource.cornell.edu) that permits says each season offers its own birding highlights. A small cottageindustry of bed and breakfasts, gift shops and or- ganized tours catering to bird- watchers and eco-tourists has sprung up around communities like Bisbee, Sierra Vista, Patago- nia, Willcox, Hereford, Elfrita green-tailed towhees on their and Sonoita Chuck and Judy Wetzel ditched banking careers in Hawaii three northward migration In summer, several varieties of warblers, tanagers, orioles and yearsago to open Casa de San Pe- dro, a 10-unit, Spanish-style B&B at Hereford, next doorto the avi- hummingbirds nest in southeast- ern Arizona. an-rich San Pedro Riparian Na- tional Conservation Area. The San Pedro River, which flows In late summer, bird-watchers to submit information on their observations. Thesite also includes information on bird identification Some15,000 people contributed bird sightings last winter during the first “Great Backyard Bird when drenching thunderstorms generate a carpet of blooming Count” sponsored by the Cornell Laboratoryof Ornithologyand the National AudubonSociety The second backyard bird countis scheduled to see 15 species of hummingbirds for Feb. 19-22, and Fitzpatrick is seeking greater participation from bird-watchers in the West and wildflowers, “it’s not unheard of through the conservation area, plus Ramsey Canyon, Cave Creek Canyon, MaderaCanyon and Sul- ca’s 50 million bird-watchersinto an armyof vol- farm fields around Willcox, which celebrates the birds each Williamson, of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory $128 million industryin thestate. Many officials believe the economic impact has grown considerably as interest in birding hasincreased and word of Arizona’s abundanceof birds has spread. the prairiestates — areas with only modestparticipation in the first count. “We need more cov- BY JIM WOOLF THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE John W. Fitzpatrick wants to transform Ameri- unteerfield biologists collecting information on the abundance and distribution of speciesin their yards and parks. “Bird-watehing is not only fun, rewarding, entertaining and enlightening, but it can be enormouslyuseful,’ said Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y., in a telephone interviewFriday. He will discusshis ideas Thursdayin Salt Lake City as partof a lecture series sponsored by Tracy Aviary. The speech, entitled “Birds Can Save the come here in the spring and the birds are so thick they are practically flying in your face.” seen before A study conducted in 1995 found that bird-watching was a in a week's time,” Williamson said. Glide effortlessly up thestairs in your home Ornithologist Plans to Tell Utahns This Week How Birds, Volunteers Can Save the World Weinreis, who has seen 300 bird Bird-watching has become a big business in Arizona, attracting en- The Associated Press flock of sandhill cranes flies over the Whitewater Draw Wildlife area near McNeal, Ariz. Avian life is drawing avid birdwatchersto the state, spawning a new arm oftourist industry. erage across the United States,” he said. Fitzpatrick acknowledged that amateur birdwatchers sometimes makeerrors, and a few Internet users purposely submitincorrect information. But he said all sighting reports are “filtered” to make certain the species reported are those that would be expected in that region About 10 percent of the reports in last year’s backyard bird count wererejected as‘highly im- A probable,” but hesaid thatstill left thousands of ~~ ~ Ask about our Excel® Stairwaylift! observations to develop a “therough and detailed” picture of wintertime bird distribution in the United States. Compiling this type of information with tradi- * Easily attached to steps (not walls) + Folds outof the way + Fits most stairways * Optional full-time battery operation * Very affordable tional scientific methods would cost millions of dollars, said Fitzpatrick. Although the data in amateurbird counts are not perfect, it is “far better than nothing,” said Dale Clayton, an assistant professor of biology at le in the USA 487-0111 the Unive sity of Utah and research director at 2572 8. West Temple “potential” for using bird-waichers to collect scientific data, said Clayton. “You just have to be really careful.” Nigella Hillgarth, curator of ornithology at the aviary, said programssuchas Fitzpatrick’s help FAIPara Quad1 ( Authorized Dealer for Access Industries, Inc. break downthe barriers between amateur birdwatchers andscientists, and lets bird-watchers makea contribution to the conservation of the animals they find so fascinating. “It gives a higher purpose to bird-watching,” Ummmm. explained Fitzpatrick Cherry Chocolate Cake (See pege 220) Gos kingWithDonna Lou Morgan 5 at the TibStore 143 South Main Sorlaca cn) Uonesit prcestenis Lawmakers Likely to Keep 2002 in Spotlight elected officials from becoming lobbyists immediately upon leaving public service. Proposed is a one-year“cooling off” period for both legislative- and executive: branch officials. A second bill would tighten the restriction on lobbyist gifts to law- @ Continued from C-1 makers. Currently, legislators maynot accept gifts valued at drewhis bid for an unprecedented third term in the House’s top — such as Jazz tickets, golf rounds, meals and trips. That loophole would close under the measure. The twobills passed the Goy- ernment Operations Committee and are headedtothe full House. Lawmakersalso advanced two more than $50. But there is a bills intended to improve the quality of marriedlife in Utah. loophole allowing more expensive presents if they are “intangible” One measureraises to 16 the minimum age for marrying in post Ethics reforms also are being Utah. Current law allows people as young as 14 to marry with parental permission. The proposed law would allow someone 15 to marryafter a judge evaluatesthe situation and approves the union. A separate bill would mandate that anyone, regardless of age, who wants to obtain a marriage license must watch a yet-to-be- produced video that outlines the legal implications of marriage. The video would center on laws pertainingto divorce, child custody and spouseabuse. In addition, counties could opt to require broader premarital education programs that might be administered by marriage coun- selors and cover such issues as conflict resolution and communication skills. Marriage-license ap- plicants could avoid the work- Full contentof The Salt Lake Tribune is available daily on the Web. www.sltrib.com shops by going through classes offered by their religious institutions. king About proposedin two bills that havein past years beenrepeatedlyrejected by lawmakers proneto see VorceStream Ericsson688 or Siemens $12 themasattackson theirintegrity. One measure would prohibit List Price $69.95 Yours Absolutely ZF! 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