hawkwatch festival presentations
March 13, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM, -- Tubac Community Center, -- 50 Bridge Road -- "Spooky, scary, cool, and tiny: All about cavity nesting raptors and CARES, a community science program studying their ecology and conservation". Melissa Halvorsen and Dave Oleyar, HawkWatch International.
This Friday the 13th come and learn about some of the tiny raptors that you are probably neighbors with and may not even know it! We know that both American Kestrels and Western Screech-Owls nest in tree hollows and occur in both wild and developed landscapes. We know that Kestrels are declining across much of North America, but we don’t yet know why. Owls in general are poorly studied and we lack robust data about their numbers and population trends. The HWI CARES program (Cavity Adopting Raptor Ecology Studies) addresses these questions and more. Come learn about this work and how you can join our CARES Community Science Team.
Melissa Halvorsen is HWI’s Education and Outreach Director and leads a multispecies team of humans and raptors to deliver both formal and informal programming aligned with the organizations mission. This includes visiting schools and communities across the state of Utah and the west. Melissa loves combining story telling and science to share about raptor conservation and engage new audiences.
Dave Oleyar is HWI’s Long-term Monitoring and Community Science Director and leads a team that oversees research programs focused on population monitoring of diurnal raptors, the ecology and conservation of cavity nesting raptors in urban settings, and understanding forest management and climate change impacts on communities of cavity nesting forest owls. These community science programs engage local stakeholders and volunteers of all ages in research and science, something Dave and the HWI team believes is central to effective conservation.
March 14, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM, -- Tubac Community Center, -- 50 Bridge Road -- "Conservation of Santa Cruz River Habitats in Tubac". Seth Ausubel, Vice President, Tubac Nature Center and Kari Hackney, Director of Habitat Stewardship, Tucson Bird Alliance.
The Santa Cruz River in Tubac includes a variety of critical habitats, such as the riparian forest and wetlands. The area hosts several threatened species and is a major pathway for migrating hawks and other birds, yet its habitats are threatened by declining groundwater levels, streambank erosion, invasive species and other factors. The speakers will discuss the collaborative efforts between Tubac Nature Center and Tucson Bird Alliance to conceptualize, plan, and implement projects to improve this habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Seth Ausubel has had a lifelong interest in nature. He worked for much of his career as an environmental scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in New York, supervising a staff of scientists in watershed management, water quality, and wetlands protection. Since retirement in 2017, he has devoted his time to his love of nature by birding and photographing the natural world, documenting thousands of insect species, and spearheading the Tubac Nature Center’s conservation efforts.
Kari Hackney is the Director of Habitat Stewardship for the Tucson Bird Alliance. She holds an M.S. in Parks and Resource Management and a B.S. in Biology. She leads the organization’s habitat stewardship programs, which include Community Habitat Restoration, Watershed Restoration, and Habitat at Home. Kari will discuss the collaborative efforts between Tubac Nature Center and Tucson Bird Alliance to conceptualize, plan, and implement habitat restoration projects along the Santa Cruz River in Tubac to improve this critical habitat for birds and other wildlife.
March 15, 2026, 11:30 AM, -- Ron Morriss Park -- Tubac HawkWatch founder Peter Collins will talk about the hawks (especially the Common Black Hawk), the history, and the joy of hawk watching in Tubac.
Tubac Hawkwatch founder, Peter Collins.
March 15, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM, -- Tubac Community Center, -- 50 Bridge Road -- "Hawkwatching 101". Dave Oleyar, HawkWatch International
What is hawk-watching? Why and how do we do it? What can it tell us about raptor populations? What is HMA, HWI, or RPI? Why is there a count in Tubac? If you’ve ever wondered about any of these questions or have others, join us on Sunday for some answers.
Dave Oleyar is HWI’s Long-term Monitoring and Community Science Director and leads a team that oversees research programs focused on population monitoring of diurnal raptors, the ecology and conservation of cavity nesting raptors in urban settings, and understanding forest management and climate change impacts on communities of cavity nesting forest owls. Dave and his team oversee HWI’s network of 8 long-term raptor migration monitoring sites and he co-chairs the Raptor Population Index, a partnership that uses count data from site across North America to assess population trends for our diurnal raptor species.
March 16, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM, -- Tubac Community Center, -- 50 Bridge Road -- "Buteo Basics: Natural History and Identification". Jeff Babson, Naturalist, Pima County Conservation, Lands and Resources.
Buteos are familiar birds that, due to variation within species, present some identification challenges. This presentation will help birders sort through the buteos and how to separate them from related hawks.
Jeff Babson grew up in New England and has always been interested in natural world. He owns Sky Island Tours, an environmental education and eco-tour company, offering field trips and classes on birds, insects, reptiles, and a lot more. He is a guide for Wings Over Willcox, Southwest Wings, and the Southeast Arizona Birding festivals. Jeff is also the Wildlife Viewing Program Specialist for Pima County Department of Conservation Lands and Resources, where he offers a range of walks and programs on a wide range of topics on the natural world. He is an instructor for multiple chapters of the Arizona Master Naturalists.
March 17, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM, -- Tubac Community Center, -- 50 Bridge Road -- "Ravens - Fascinating and Intelligent Birds". Jennie MacFarland, Director of Bird Conservation, Tucson Bird Alliance.
Famed for their intelligence and problem solving abilities, Ravens are interesting for many reasons. They appear in cultural stories all over the world due to their dynamic presence. We'll talk about what makes ravens so special and the two types of ravens found in Arizona.
Jennie MacFarland is the Director of Bird Conservation for Tucson Bird Alliance. Jennie coordinates community science bird survey projects such as the Arizona Important Bird Areas program and the Tucson Bird Count. She also coordinates species specific efforts such as Elegant Trogon surveys and the Desert Purple Martin project.