Northern Wings – Connecting People and Birds of Northern Arizona

Located a few miles south of Flagstaff, Kachina Wetlands Preserve is one of four sanctuaries supported by the Northern Arizona Audubon Society.  It teems with activity, drawing in walkers (many with dogs), bicyclists, and birders.  In this episode, I chat with Christina Votja, the steward for the preserve, about its history, biodiversity, beauty, important role in bird migration, and more. 

Links:

Northern Arizona Audubon Society Calendar 

   https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org/page-18090

NAAS Webpage: Kachina Wetlands:

https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org/Kachina-Wetlands-Preserve

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

In this episode, I chat with Abbie Brozich and Samantha (Sam) Grow, the first two recipients of the Northern Arizona Motus Student Grant Program, about their experiences with the program and how it advances their education and career goals.  As part of the Motus Student Grant Program, Abbie and Sam used the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, and other resources, to learn more about two birds that had “pinged” the Motus system in northern Arizona.  Abbie researched an American White Pelican and Sam a Flammulated Owl.  We talk about what they learned about, and from, their bird’s background and flight paths, and discuss some of the conservation efforts which may protect these species.   In addition, we talk about what the future may hold for Abbie and Sam as they graduate from NAU and begin exciting new chapters in their lives.  

https://motus.org/

https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org/Motus-Wildlife-Tracking

https://www.audubon.org/about/welcome-flight-plan

https://northernarizonaaudubon.org/motus-student-grants

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

This episode features Harry Jones, Ph.D., an applied field ecologist who, in addition to his scholarly pursuits and conservation efforts, is a frequent guide on bird walks hosted by the Northern Arizona Audubon Society.  We chat about his work at the intersection of community, landscape, population, and conservation biology, the joys of birding in northern Arizona, and his recommendations for birders related to identification and conservation.  In addition, Dr. Jones offers students interested in pursuing graduate education and employment in the field with sage advice regarding academic planning.   Truly, there is something in this episode for everyone.  Since we chatted about participatory science, I’ve taken the liberty of adding a link below to information on Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count.  

Relevant Links:

https://motus.org/

https://www.birdpop.org/

https://www.nps.gov/im/scpn/index.htm

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

https://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

Join Matt as he talks with Dr. Emily Cory, a northern Arizona native, animal behaviorist, and researcher with a Ph.D. in psychology and a minor in astrobiology. Dr. Cory has studied raven intelligence, traveled from Arizona to Rwanda observing mountain gorillas, and presented her work on corvid cognition at NAAS meetings—often alongside her African White-necked Raven, Shade. In this episode, she shares captivating stories from her research, insights into the remarkable intelligence of ravens and other corvids, and the experiences that shaped her journey in the study of animal behavior. 

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

In this episode, NAAS member Matt Anderson interviews Nancy Steele, President of the Northern Arizona Audubon Society, regarding her love for birds, wildlife and nature, the path she’s taken to her current position, and the organization’s accomplishments, plans, and connections with birders and communities in Northern Arizona.  

This conversation was recorded in August 2025 and mentions a few activities that are now in the past.  For current information on everything from bird walks to volunteer opportunities to Motus pings, visit Northern Arizona Audubon Society’s website. 

We are grateful to William W.H. Gunn and the Macaulay Library, at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for the clip used in the Name That Birdsong segment of the podcast.  

Relevant Links:

https://motus.org/

https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org/

https://northernarizonaaudubon.org/page-18090 (events)

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

In this bonus episode of Northern Wings, we continue our conversation with Becky Hardy, this time, focusing on creating habitats for butterflies and hummingbirds.  Becky is the president of the Butterfly Enthusiasts of Northern Arizona, a Yavapai County master gardener, birding guide, and the education chair for the Northern Arizona Audubon Society.    

We recorded this episode at Bubbling Ponds Preserve in the beautiful Anita MacFarlane Ramada following a wonderful butterfly walk Becky led at the preserve.

https://www.butterflyenthusiastsofnaz.org/

https://xerces.org/

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

In this episode, Matt talks with Becky Hardy.  Becky is a Yavapai County master gardener, bird guide, Northern Arizona Audubon Society's education chair and most recently co-founded Butterfly Enthusiasts of Northern Arizona (BENA).  BENA is a wildlife conservation and education nonprofit with the mission to “create a world where butterflies thrive, for the benefit of nature and people.”  In this podcast we discuss a wide range of butterfly related topics, including how BENA benefits our small wildlife, BENA volunteer opportunities, the butterfly species likely to be seen in Northern Arizona, their migrations and how we can create gardens to support butterflies and birds.  Also discussed is how BENA partners with the Northern Arizona Audubon Society.

Credits for Media Used in Name That Bird Song Segment in This Episode

Institution: Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.

Contributor: Andrew Spencer

Relevant Links

https://www.butterflyenthusiastsofnaz.org/

https://naba.org/

https://swmonarchs.org/

https://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

In this episode, you get two Matts for the price of one.  Matt Anderson interviews Matt Jenkins, a third-year doctoral student at the University of Arizona, about the fascinating research he’s conducting regarding bluebirds (both Western and Mountain) using data he’s collecting in Northern Arizona and elsewhere.  We talk about Matt’s fascinating journey, from his boyhood interest in birds to his scientific research exploring the evolution of behaviors over time and how they influence birds’ dispersal, range expansion, and developmental environments.  We also discuss the goals of Matt’s research, his data-collection practices, and more.  Here is a link to Matt Jenkin’s page on the University of Arizona’s website: 

     https://eeb.arizona.edu/person/matthew-jenkins

Thanks to Jay McGowan and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library for the use of the bird song clip and to Christina Vojta, NAAS steward for Kachina Wetlands, for her assistance with the bird song segment.  

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

In this episode, I chat with Alice Madar, who serves as both the executive director of the International Hummingbird Society and vice president of the Northern Arizona Audubon Society.  We discuss the beauty of hummingbirds and the challenges they face, the upcoming Sedona Hummingbird Festival, her deep commitment to conservation, and her extraordinary photographic adventures.  

We are grateful to the Macaulay Library, part of Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, for the use of an audio clip of birdsong in this episode.  

Relevant Links:

https://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/

https://sedonahummingbirdfestival.com/

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

In this episode, I chat with Paul Dougherty, Ph.D., about the research he is conducting that brought him to northern Arizona to collect data.   Dr. Dougherty is a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  One of his primary interests is molting behavior, a chronically understudied aspect of avian biology that can render bird populations vulnerable to climate change.  Listen to this episode to learn more about his interesting research and academic journey.  

This episode includes a new Name That Song segment (birdsong, that is).  We are grateful to Rich Hoyer and the Macaulay Library, part of Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, for the use of the audio clip.  

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.