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WOW, it's almost here: Wings Over Willcox Sandhill Crane Celebration is in its12th year
By CAROL BROEDER/Arizona Range News
Willcox's winter visitors from up North are here again.
No, we don't mean the ones who drive motorhomes.
They're the Sandhill Cranes, who began arriving in late October, alerting area residents with their distinctive calls.
And once the birds are here, it's only a matter of time before the Wings Over Willcox (WOW) Sandhill Crane Celebration begins.
The 12th Annual Wings Over Willcox will be held Thursday, Jan. 13 through Sunday, Jan. 16.
More than 20,000 cranes are anticipated to inhabit the Sulphur Springs Valley this year, along with more than 100 other species of bird that winter here.
Touted as Arizona's only winter birding festival, WOW offers four exciting days of activities highlighting southeastern Arizona's natural and cultural attractions.
As usual, there will be something for everyone, from novice to expert birder.
On Friday, there will be a full day of tours, including a daylong photography tour and a new tour of the Eurofresh greenhouses in Bonita, where pesticide-free tomatoes are grown hydroponically.
Offered again this year is a tour of the Johnson Camp Mine, a small mine located in the Dragoon Mountains southwest of Willcox.
Tour leaders will talk about local geology and history, and recovery operations for the mine. There will also be first-person accounts of life in the historical town of Johnson, which no longer exists.
Other Friday tours include a geology tour to Apache Spring at Fort Bowie, a tour to Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative Management Area, and a Special AEPCO Sandhill Crane viewing tour.
The Working Cattle Ranch Tour will be held on Saturday.
The lush grasslands of the Sulphur Springs Valley supported ranches that shipped more cattle from Willcox than any other point in the United States.
Tour participants will visit a historic, working cattle ranch continuously operated by descendants of one of the earliest pioneer ranchers.
The rancher-guide will discuss ranching history, show and explain modern cattle ranch and range management practices and relationships between ranching and wildlife.
Other Saturday and Sunday tours include geology tours to the Chiricahua National Monument (Saturday) and the Willcox Playa (Sunday); half-day and daylong sparrow seeks; half-day and daylong hawk stalks; and the wetlands and woodlands tours with a newly revised route.
Tours usually fill up fast. The registration desk will be open on Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Willcox Community Center, 312 W. Stewart St., for any unfilled tours and Saturday's banquet.
Free seminars at the Community Center offer a chance to learn even more about natural and cultural history. Topics include bird identification, species conservation, wildlife photography, astronomy, riparian ecology, backyard gardening, butterflies, and bats.
The Trade and Craft Show will be open on Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Community Center.
Highlighting this year's event is a visit from Clay and Patricia Sutton as the keynote speakers for the Saturday evening 12th Annual Wings Over Willcox Banquet from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Willcox Elks Lodge, 247 E. Stewart St.
The husband-and-wife team has more than 40 years of combined experience as professional naturalists and authors.
The Suttons will share their love of hawks and eagles, with special emphasis on finding raptors throughout the seasons, including wintering raptors in the Sulphur Springs Valley.
Their slide program is based on their recent book, and will cover raptor basics, finding hawks and eagles both near and far, and when and where to go.
The Suttons will be available for book-signing after their talk.
Tickets for the banquet and silent auction are $20 per person, and pre-registration is required.
People may register for unfilled tours or Saturday evening's banquet online at www.wingsoverwillcox.com, by calling the Willcox Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture at (520) 384-2272 or (800) 200-2272, or at the registration desk during the event.
This year, birders visiting the Cochise Lake Bird Watching Area, southeast of town, may have a better place from which to see the Sandhills and other birds.
Two bird blinds are planned for construction at Cochise Lake, a 45-acre treated effluent lake off Rex Allen Jr. Drive, near the Twin Lakes Golf Course.
Homer Hansen, WOW committee chairman, said construction is scheduled to begin this week.
No, we don't mean the ones who drive motorhomes.
They're the Sandhill Cranes, who began arriving in late October, alerting area residents with their distinctive calls.
And once the birds are here, it's only a matter of time before the Wings Over Willcox (WOW) Sandhill Crane Celebration begins.
The 12th Annual Wings Over Willcox will be held Thursday, Jan. 13 through Sunday, Jan. 16.
More than 20,000 cranes are anticipated to inhabit the Sulphur Springs Valley this year, along with more than 100 other species of bird that winter here.
Touted as Arizona's only winter birding festival, WOW offers four exciting days of activities highlighting southeastern Arizona's natural and cultural attractions.
As usual, there will be something for everyone, from novice to expert birder.
On Friday, there will be a full day of tours, including a daylong photography tour and a new tour of the Eurofresh greenhouses in Bonita, where pesticide-free tomatoes are grown hydroponically.
Offered again this year is a tour of the Johnson Camp Mine, a small mine located in the Dragoon Mountains southwest of Willcox.
Tour leaders will talk about local geology and history, and recovery operations for the mine. There will also be first-person accounts of life in the historical town of Johnson, which no longer exists.
Other Friday tours include a geology tour to Apache Spring at Fort Bowie, a tour to Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative Management Area, and a Special AEPCO Sandhill Crane viewing tour.
The Working Cattle Ranch Tour will be held on Saturday.
The lush grasslands of the Sulphur Springs Valley supported ranches that shipped more cattle from Willcox than any other point in the United States.
Tour participants will visit a historic, working cattle ranch continuously operated by descendants of one of the earliest pioneer ranchers.
The rancher-guide will discuss ranching history, show and explain modern cattle ranch and range management practices and relationships between ranching and wildlife.
Other Saturday and Sunday tours include geology tours to the Chiricahua National Monument (Saturday) and the Willcox Playa (Sunday); half-day and daylong sparrow seeks; half-day and daylong hawk stalks; and the wetlands and woodlands tours with a newly revised route.
Tours usually fill up fast. The registration desk will be open on Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Willcox Community Center, 312 W. Stewart St., for any unfilled tours and Saturday's banquet.
Free seminars at the Community Center offer a chance to learn even more about natural and cultural history. Topics include bird identification, species conservation, wildlife photography, astronomy, riparian ecology, backyard gardening, butterflies, and bats.
The Trade and Craft Show will be open on Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Community Center.
Highlighting this year's event is a visit from Clay and Patricia Sutton as the keynote speakers for the Saturday evening 12th Annual Wings Over Willcox Banquet from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Willcox Elks Lodge, 247 E. Stewart St.
The husband-and-wife team has more than 40 years of combined experience as professional naturalists and authors.
The Suttons will share their love of hawks and eagles, with special emphasis on finding raptors throughout the seasons, including wintering raptors in the Sulphur Springs Valley.
Their slide program is based on their recent book, and will cover raptor basics, finding hawks and eagles both near and far, and when and where to go.
The Suttons will be available for book-signing after their talk.
Tickets for the banquet and silent auction are $20 per person, and pre-registration is required.
People may register for unfilled tours or Saturday evening's banquet online at www.wingsoverwillcox.com, by calling the Willcox Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture at (520) 384-2272 or (800) 200-2272, or at the registration desk during the event.
This year, birders visiting the Cochise Lake Bird Watching Area, southeast of town, may have a better place from which to see the Sandhills and other birds.
Two bird blinds are planned for construction at Cochise Lake, a 45-acre treated effluent lake off Rex Allen Jr. Drive, near the Twin Lakes Golf Course.
Homer Hansen, WOW committee chairman, said construction is scheduled to begin this week.
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