Date: 11/16/25 3:02 pm From: The Cornells (via aznmbirds Mailing List) <aznmbirds...> Subject: Re: [AZNMbirds] CANCELLED: Sunday Sierra Vista EOP Walks
Hello from the UK.
What awful news.
The EOP Walks are and have been so valuable and have been followed around
the world.
Such sad news.
The EOP birding group have done a fabulous job, creating an invaluable set
of research data, as well as welcoming visitors from both within your
country and around the world. Thank you, Erica and co.
Many kind regards, and thank you, from you Nick and Victoria, UK.
On Sun, 16 Nov 2025, 22:24 Erika Wilson, <aznmbirds...> wrote:
> Yes, you read that correctly. Today was the *LAST* Sunday morning EOP
> bird walk behind the locked gates at the Sierra Vista Environmental
> Operations Park.
>
> Why? This was a decision based on an increasing concern for the liability
> vulnerability of the sponsoring parties, and due to projected long term
> changes to the EOP facility that will make it less favorable to birding.
>
> This morning a dozen locals and visitors walked the Sierra Vista EOP dikes
> for the *last* time, noting 52 species. Despite steady winds, which kept
> the small birds down, we had wonderful views of 11 species of ducks, with
> 175+ Am. Wigeon in flight in the bright sunshine at one time. Also present
> were: a Great Egret, the off-and-on again presence of a Neotropic
> Cormorant, and the usual chorus of Soras and Virginia Rail. The melanistic
> N. Harrier was seen briefly quartering over the cattails.
>
> Over the past 22 years, we have led over 1,000 Sunday morning bird walks,
> and seen over 275 species, some of which are the only records for the San
> Pedro Valley. Thousands of birders have attended these walks, coming from
> all over the United States, as well as other countries such as Canada,
> England, Sweden, Germany, India, and South Korea.
>
> Although there will be no more Sunday morning bird walks, the EOP bird
> viewing platform remains open Monday-Friday, 6 am - 3 pm, but is closed on
> the weekends. For those of you who have done this walk, you have the many
> volunteer leaders to thank for a unique experience that we will all miss.
> Remember that the EOP lists, including today, can be accessed on eBird for
> the hotspot called *Sierra Vista EOP* <
> https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/a7urCk6WGkCXYX0PyS2fRCGOQdF?<domain...> > <https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/a7urCk6WGkCXYX0PyS2fRCGOQdF?<domain...> > >.
>
> Cheers, Erika
>
> --
> Erika Wilson, Sierra Vista, AZ
>
>
