The Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival is a weekend of outstanding birding and wildlife-watching held at the Riverpark Inn. Tucson Audubon hopes to make this an annual event.

Today the Sky Islands Birding Cup – a twelve hour bird-a-thon – takes place as part of the festival.

From Arizona Public Media about the festival:

“We are planning a full weekend of activities, family friendly, free stuff, birding field trips,workshops, live animal exhibits,” says Erin Olmstead, who is coordinating the festival coordinator for the Tucson Audubon Society. “It’s really about celebrating the diversity of the Sky Islands in the Tucson region.”

The festival will draw participants from over 17 states and overseas. The Tucson area’s unusual landscape and environment is one of the factors that the Tucson Audubon Society says will bring visitors to the festival.

“One of the things that makes Southern Arizona unique is you basically have the meeting point of four meta-eco[logical] regions,” says Mich Coker, former vice president of the Tucson Audubon Society.

Please contact Tucson Audubon Society at 520-629-0150 for more information on the festival as online registration is now closed. Or visit their website here.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Nature bites. Or in the case of the scorpion, stings. So far this year over 1,000 Arizonans have felt the burn.

Scorpion stings are often painful, but the majority don’t require special medical treatment. Washing the site of the sting, applying a cool compress and elevating the sting site above heart level along with an over-the-counter painkiller usually handles the injury. The pain of the sting can last from minutes to days.

Severe symptoms can disrupt the nervous system and require immediate medical care. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, uncontrolled jerking, drooling and wild eye movements. Small children are at the highest risk of severe reactions.

If you’ve had a close encounter of the scorpion kind, call UA’s Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center at 1-800-222-1222 and describe your symptoms to the poison specialists. The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center is located at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy in Tucson.

For more information on scorpions, their stings and treatment visit the UA College of Pharmacy scorpions section.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

From the University of Arizona calendar:

Kids and adults are invited to learn their lizards and see the Boyce Thompson Arboretum’s most common little reptiles on a relaxing walk around our 1.5 mile Main Trail. Casa Grande reptile enthusiast “Wild Man Phil” Rokoci is our special guest tour guide. Bring your binoculars for the best close-up views of these colorful little reptiles. Carry water bottles, too.

No pre-registration is required; just be here at the start time for this popular tour.

Admission: Arboretum admission: $7.50 for adults, $3 for ages 5-12
Audience: All

When: Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 8 AM

Where: Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, Ariz.

Contact:

Boyce Thompson Arboretum
520-689-2811
BTAinfo@ag.arizona.edu