By Diane Drobka
Willcox – An incredible slate of tours and activities are sure to delight at the 31st annual Wings Over Willcox (WOW) Birding & Nature Festival. Mark your calendars and plan to attend on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend of Jan. 16-19, 2025.
Online tour registration is now open and closes on Dec. 31, but any remaining tour spaces can be purchased in person during the festival. Tours begin on Thursday afternoon and are followed by a welcome reception with music and hors d’oeuvres from 5:50 to 7:30 p.m. at the Willcox Community Center, the hub of all festival activities.
Popular tours such as Southwest Winter Specialties, Hawk Stalks, and Whitewater Draw Sandhill Cranes are among 30 guided tours that often sell out fast. For those with diverse interests, WOW offers tours featuring history, geology, ranching, and even wine-making and tasting.
A new WOW website at www.wingsoverwillcox.com with tour registration links provides information for a full slate of seminars, Nature Expo activities, and the Saturday-night banquet and silent auction at the Elks Lodge.
This year’s unique offering is a Friday night dinner with acclaimed biologist and author John Marzluff, Saturday’s keynote speaker. This will be an opportunity to relax and enjoy conversation, a locally sourced gourmet meal, and a locally produced alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage. Seating is limited to 12, and proceeds will help keep the festival growing. Marzluff will sign his books for sale, or guests can bring their own for him.
On Saturday, Marzluff will present Gifts of the Corvids, a unique view of crows, ravens, and jays, collectively known as Corvids. Marzluff’s research and books have shown that “the ongoing connection between humans and our ravens and crows—a cultural co-evolution—has shaped our species and theirs for millions of years. And the characteristics of Corvids that allow this symbiotic relationship are language, delinquency, frolic, passion, wrath, risk-taking, and awareness—seven traits that humans find strangely familiar.”
The WOW 2025 showcase design, a Chihuahuan Raven by award-winning artist and educator Linda M. Feltner, will be featured on WOW t-shirts and sweatshirts. It combines her creativity of artistic design with strict standards of scientific accuracy. The bird is one of southeastern Arizona’s local specialties and ties perfectly into Marzluff’s presentation. Order online in advance and pick up at the festival to ensure that you can get your size and color choice.
The Nature Expo will be in full swing on Friday and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. WOW’s longtime Associate Sponsor, the Arizona Game and Fish Department will bring their live raptors and other rehabilitated wildlife on the stage, joined by Liberty Wildlife. Entry is free, so bring the whole family.
Regional artists will sell photos, paintings, jewelry, and nature-inspired gifts. Regular exhibitors like Tucson Audubon will sell books, birding gear, and clothing. Huachuca Area Herpetological Association and Arizona Raptor Center will bring their live animals. Displays by the National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management are always educational and informative.
For questions, call Jeri Higgins, WOW Events Registration, at 928-274-4808 or email info@willcoxnature.org.
