TUBAC Hawk WatcH
MARCH 1 - 31, 2025
Expert birders will be available every day to show and share their birding skills and tell you more about the many other birds that migrate through Santa Cruz County.
Join a bird walk or bring your favorite camp chair and sit, watch and listen as Hawk Watch veterans identify the Common Black Hawks (and other bird species) as they journey up the Santa Cruz Valley.
SPECIAL HAWK watch CELEBRATION
THURSDAY MARCH 13 – TUESDAY MARCH 18
Special activities will be available each day throughout this time. HawkWatch International and Tucson Bird Alliance Booths will be open during this time. Special days will be dedicated to different activities as noted below, the area is home to some of the rarest bird species in the world. Join our expert guides and experience the thrill of spotting these elusive birds.
March 13 – Kid’s Day at the Tubac Hawk Watch
This is Thursday of school Spring Break and what a great place to bring the children. We’ll have lots of exciting activities. All events are at Ron Morriss County Park in Tubac and are created for a great family experience. All free!
You are invited to enjoy all activities from 8:00am – 12:30pm or come for just part of the time. We ask that all children are accompanied by an adult. It will be best to wear closed-toed shoes, (like tennis shoes) if participating in the nature walk. We will be outside at all times so bring a hat, water, snacks, and excitement.
If your family is unable to come for this event, look at information on Saturday, March 15 at 3:00pm. We will have a special “Reading with Raptors” presentation at the Tubac Community Center.
7:45am: Registration begins.
Kid’s will be given a “passport” to get stamped at the different activities they participate in. This is also the time you can register for one of two Owl Pellet Dissection classes. Registration will take place all morning if you are unable to attend our Nature Walk.
8:00am – 9:00am: Family Walk with Nature Scavenger Hunt
We’ll walk right from the park along the Anza Trail looking for items on our nature scavenger list. This is a great way to get your children’s eyes open to the amazing world along the trail. We’ll end up back at the park in time for the rest of the day’s activities.
9:00am – 11:15am: Activity Time
Your children will be able to try their hand at many activities from learning how to use binoculars for birdwatching, learning local bird ID, working on their own hawk journals, creating a nature button they will get to take home, and playing the Migration Game. In addition to these booths which are sponsored by the Tubac Nature Center we will have booths set up from Tucson Audubon, Tumacacori National Historical Park and Dark Skies. All promise to be full of learning and fun activities.
9:30am – 10:00am: Owl pellet dissection
We will have actual owl pellets that kids will be able to dig into which shows what owls have eaten. Very hands on. This booth is provided by HawkWatch International and Tucson Audubon. Space is limited to only 20 kids so sign up at registration if your child is interested.
10:00am – 10:30am: Meet Pancho
Pancho is the mascot from Tumacacori National Historical Park. He makes a great photo op. You can’t miss him. He’s big, red and has very, very large binoculars.
10:30am – 11:00am: Owl pellet dissection
This is the second class for those interested. Make sure to sign up at registration as space is limited to 20 participants.
11:30am – 12:30pm: LIVE Raptor Presentation
Everyone is excited for this. See raptors up close! The stars of the show are getting their feathers preened and ready to meet you.
March 15 - 3:00pm – 4:00pm - Reading with Raptors
Tubac Community Center
Special Family Presentation, “Reading with Raptors”. This is a story time with a raptor related book followed by a live raptor appearance. We then discuss what parts of the story were make believe and which parts reflect reality. This promises to be a very special event for the family.
MARCH 14 - Non-Profit Group Day
Joining the Tubac Nature Center will be non-profit organizations from the area who have dedicated their group to preserve and conserve the natural habitat of the Santa Cruz River Valley. Stop by each of their tents to pick up information and discuss their plans and projects for sustaining the natural spaces. Their booths will be open from 9 – 12. Hawk watching will go on all day, of course.
MARCH 15 – 18 – Optics Days
Led by event presenter KOWA Optics, we will have Optic Representatives from KOWA, Zeiss, Vortex, Hawke and Swarovski on hand from 9 – 2 from the 15th to the 18th to share with you the latest in binoculars and scopes. You can try the latest and greatest binoculars and the Reps will show you how to use the spotting scopes.
OTHER EVENTS
Bird Walks and Nature Walks led by Tucson Bird Alliance and the Tubac Nature Center are scheduled. There are also lectures and guest speakers presenting on the 14th, 15th, and 16th. See the speaker series section below.
Speaker series
MARCH 14 – Tips on identifying birds
1:00 PM Tubac Community Center, Long Room
Luke Safford, Director of Engagement, Tucson Birding Alliance
Luke will share “Tips on identifying birds”
This presentation is perfect for the beginning birder and a “brush up” for more experienced birders. This presentation is free to the public.
MARCH 15 – Black Hawks
11:00 AM Ron Morriss Park, near the tents
Peter Collins, Father of The Tubac Black Hawk Watch
Peter will share “Everything you wanted to know about the Common Black Hawk but were afraid to ask!”
MARCH 16 – Bird Migrations
1:00 PM Tubac Community Center, Long Room
Dave Oleyar PhD, Director of Long-term Monitoring & Community Science, Hawk Watch International
Why we watch hawks, and how we use count data to assess population trends
Dave will discuss bird migrations throughout the planet, their numbers, their patterns, their adaptations and many other fascinating topics in his very timely topic. This presentation is free to the public.
Link to Dave's Bio: https://hawkwatch.org/team/staff/dave-oleyar/
T-SHIRTS - $30 EACH
T-SHIRTS - $30 EACH
T-SHIRTS - $30 EACH
STONEWASH GREEN
T-SHIRTS - $30 EACH
T-SHIRTS - $30 EACH
STONEWASH BLUE
HATS $25 EACH
HATS $25 EACH
HATS $25 EACH
KHAKI WITH BLACK LETTERS
HATS $25 EACH
HATS $25 EACH
BLACK WITH KHAKI LETTERS
HawkWatch International
The Tubac Hawk Watch is now an official hawk watch spot on the HawkWatch International map. In partnering with us, they are sending 2 hawk counters to count hawks from February 15 through April 30.
Our Partners
