The annual Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival was held in Sierra Vista this year after being held in Bisbee the previous year.  The festival is good for the refuge, which hosts a booth at the festival every year, by allowing the refuge to contact more of the public and inform them on the great wildlife opportunities that the refuge has to offer.  The Refuge Manager gave a presentation on reptiles and amphibians that can be found in Southeastern Arizona and was on the festival’s steering committee.  A tour was also available for participants of the festival for birding in the riparian area of the Leslie Canyon NWR, the area is usually closed to visitors due to research and endangered species considerations.  The birding tour was very successful and it was the only tour location of the festival that participants were able to see a black-capped gnatcatcher.  Overall the festival was very successful.  There were a record number of people, 262, who registered for the tours that the festival offers and there were close to 600 hundred people that attended the festival.