This past weekend was chock-full of films, birding and hawk-watching!

The annual Arivaca Independent Filmmakers’ Exhibition was March 4-5 in Arivaca, Arizona.  Film Festival curator, Bart Santello, introduced short films and documentaries from local and nonlocal filmmakers (approximately 20 films) at the Arivaca Community Center, followed by a Pot-luck on Saturday evening; the event is FREE and open to the general public!  Check out the Arivaca Filmfestival here.  Our lodging for two nights was in a secluded area of Arivaca with birds, hawks, everywhere.

A favorite place to “bird” near Arivaca is the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.  On Saturday morning we headed over to the Refuge; we were on a mission to locate and view the Long Eared Owl which is a much rarer species than a Great Horned Owl, “somewhere” within the Refuge.  Mission accomplished!  Following are photos our “guide” captured with my camera. You can understand why owls are so difficult to spot; this guy is nestled in a tree behind branches.

After a weekend of films it was time to leave Arivaca and drive to Tubac, Arizona to attend the annual Hawk Watch which takes place the entire month of March.  We were lucky to spot Common Black Hawks, Red-tail Hawks, Turkey and Black Vultures, Osprey, and a Golden Eagle. Binoculars and spotting scopes were used more than the camera. Afterwards, we took a short hike on the Anza trail to view MORE birds.