Steven, I believe our January Sparrows Workshop group may have had a
reservation, but we also had 17 people plus prior arrangements to attend
a graduate student's field site. The Ranch must have a phone number; I
know that they do have general public visiting hours as such, but you may
need to call ahead.

The headquarters, itself, is a treat to visit; the yard feeder wintering
birds include acorn woodpeckers, gray-breasted (Mexican)jays, and
roadrunners. And, the ranch really appreciates/needs any donation you
may wish to give. Also, a sturdy, high-clearance car or 4-wheel drive vehicle
really is necessary to travel to some of the great birding places; the ranch
roads were fairly "rustic."

Your daughter is so fortunate to live in such a wonderful place---still
lots of open un-populated space, no traffic-choked freeways, four season
climate with easy winters, all-year sunlight, clear starry nights,
fabulous birding, fascinating plant communities, and a number of large
close-to-home conservation areas for hiking and nature
study. Hopefully the prevalent unpaved roads, blistering hot summers
and lack of employment opportunities will discourage casual mass
immigration. The environment of this area is already taxed by the
current human population from what I could observe.

I also THANK YOU for those who took the time to define the puzzling
species-related terms.

Maureen E. Ellis
me2 at u.washington.edu
Seattle, Washington, USA
*************************************************************

On Sun, 4 Feb 1996, Steven Coles wrote:

> Our daughter lives in Sierra Vista, AZ. We may visit her and are
> wondering what activities might be available for very casual birders at the
> Audubon Research Ranch.

snip (I don't know about the electronics corp tours)
>
> A big thanks to those who asked for & posted definitions.
>
> Steven S. Coles
> Seattle, Washington State, U.S.A.
> <scoles at zebu.serv.net>
>
>