Southwestern Research Station-SWRS

03/02/2024

SWRS is up and running for the 2024 season. We are looking for volunteers from now until the end of October. Free room and board for kitchen and light housekeeping duties. It is a fantastic place to live and work! Stints are usually 6 weeks, but shorter terms may be possible. Visit the Station website to learn more, or give the office a call at (520) 558- 2396. We would love to have you join the team!

12/20/2023

Nature gets a vote in Cave Creek Canyon!

Entrance to Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona

05/02/2023

Lots of amazing things happen at SWRS but none are more special than today's wedding of staffer extraordinaire, Caitlin, to her sweetheart, Ryan. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Clancy!

Photos by mother-of-the-groom, Victoria Hamelin Clancy, who has fed many of you over the years. Congrats, Vickie! This was a happy day for you too! And if you look close, you might recognize Ron from the Nature Shop performing the ceremony. Keeping it all in the family! What a great day!

03/02/2023

Well, spring-feel weather for Nature Shop opening day proved to be overly optimistic. Maybe tomorrow. But Ron is in today, ready to serve. The store is open Thursday-Sunday, 8-4ish. The road is fine. Come on up!

02/26/2023

We had a little bit of the white stuff today ... not quite as much as in this photo taken last month ... but by this Thursday, when the Nature Shop opens for the season, the scene should be shifting. Willows are budding, lizards are basking, pollinators are pollinating. Spring is just around the corner even though today still feels like winter.

02/12/2023

Coming to SWRS in August!
https://www.savehummingbirds.org/2023workshop.html

Are you interested in a workshop to develop and improve the skills needed to band hummingbirds safely? North American Banding Council-approved techniques are taught in compliance with the Code of Ethics for Banders. As a first step in the process of becoming a permitted hummingbird ba**er, priority will be given to participants interested in the HMN's coordinated monitoring program. If you are interested please visit our website and apply!

https://www.savehummingbirds.org/2023workshop.html

02/11/2023

Birds wearing bling. After a 2 year covid-induced hiatus, researchers Piotr Jablonski and Sangim Lee, and their students, spent chilly, short winter days here at SWRS last month, continuing very long-term Mexican Jay studies. Findings from this year are not in yet but here are interesting links to work from previous years.

Dominance interactions
https://youtu.be/mXBe0lzumao

Choosing Peanuts by shaking and weighing them
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/658073
https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/880679
https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/jays-identify-good-nuts-shaking-them

Smart birds!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPEFMylKCak

02/04/2023

Beautiful things can happen when art meets science, and this very cool collaboration has its roots here at the Station. We love that the research of Dr. Stacey Weiss inspired artist Dorothy McCuistion to create these lovely art books.

Striped Plateau Lizard Dorothy McCuistion (artist) and Stacey Weiss (scientist) Biologist Stacey Weiss introduces her research on the behavior and ecology of the Striped Plateau Lizard that is found in the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. Her research inspired artist Dorothy McCuistion....

01/30/2023

It may still be winter, but season change is just around the corner, and many of our upcoming courses are open for registration now. Find out more!

Further your knowledge and skills with advanced courses for biologists, researchers, professionals and experienced naturalists in a stunning biodiverse setting.

01/28/2023

When last summer's wonderful monsoons got a little too intense, this Berylline Hummingbird wasn't adverse to hawking gnats inside! What an incredible office companion to have!

01/28/2023

Engaging in a little summer dreaming here on this hummer-less January day. This Berylline Hummingbird was a star of the Station for months last season, and was often seen collecting nesting material. Our ba**er for the Hummingbird Monitoring Network banded both a male and female so perhaps we shall see them again this summer. This gorgeous photo, taken as it left the feeder on the upstairs office window, was generously shared by Jonathon Dowell.

01/25/2023

Well-fed scientists are happy scientists. SWRS is looking for a cook and a kitchen/gift shop assistant for the upcoming season. Could one of these jobs be right for you?

https://careers.amnh.org/postings/3537
https://careers.amnh.org/postings/3218