Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Bubbling Ponds IBA Field Trip with Steve Hoffman, Featured Speaker

This trip features the Featured Speaker Steve Hoffman of Hawk Watch International. The Page Springs area is a favorite hangout for birds and birders alike. This trip will take you to one of the locals’ favorite hot spots on the banks of Oak Creek. Bubbling Ponds has been a project of the Northern Arizona Audubon with trails, invasive plant species eradication and habitat restoration and is part of the Lower Oak Creek Important Birding Area. The Audubon Society identified habitat at the Page Springs Fish Hatchery and riparian area along lower Oak Creek as an Important Bird Area (IBA), and it draws thousands of wildlife watching enthusiasts each year. We will end with lunch at Brewha in Cornville. E-bird link Rating: 3 Transportation: Vans Meal: Yes Cost: $145 Trip Guides: Steve Hoffman Conservationist, Founder, HawkWatch International Steve has devoted his entire 45-year career to wildlife conservation. After 10 years of government service (primarily as an Endangered Species Biologist for the US Fish & Wildlife Service in the American Southwest), in 1986 Steve founded HawkWatch International. He has authored more than 50 publications/manuscripts on raptor migration, ecology and conservation, and endangered species management. Steve continues to coordinate the local Bridger Raptor Migration Project (through Bozeman-based Sacajawea Audubon Society), and also runs his own nature-based tour company, Merlin Birding & Nature Tours, LLC (headquartered in Bozeman). Steve has given dozens of public presentations on the identification, natural history, migration and conservation of North American raptors. He received his Master’s degree in Wildlife Ecology from Utah State University (1979). Tice Supplee Audubon Arizona Tice has been the Audubon Southwest Director of Bird Conservation since 2005, after a career with the Arizona Game and Fish Department that included experiences in research, habitat management, game management, and urban wildlife. Her National Audubon Society work is focused on birds and their habitats. She coordinates Audubon science related activities in Arizona and New Mexico with National Audubon Society programs and offices in other states and co-manages the Arizona Important Bird Areas program. Her National Audubon Society work is focused on birds and their habitats. In addition, she teaches Environmental Biology at Phoenix College. She earned her B.S at Cornell University and M.S. at the University of Arizona, both in Wildlife Ecology. She has received awards from the Arizona chapter of The Wildlife Society, Arizona Wildlife Federation, and National Audubon Society.           Part of the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival It’s the 2024 Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival! In 2024, join us as we explore the theme of migration and its impact on riparian areas in our environment. Our keynote speaker, Richard Crossley, will lead discussions, and the featured bird for the year is the common black hawk. The Free Family Nature Festival at the Verde Valley Birding & Nature Festival will be in the lagoon area on Saturday, April 27th from 9am to 3pm. There will be armchair birding and guided bird walks all across the Verde Valley from April 25th - 28th that you do need to register for.