Chris Parrish, the CEO and president of the nonprofit Peregrine Fund, stands in front of a towering red rock backdrop. Shielded by his khaki-colored cowboy hat and wraparound sunglasses, his boots lightly dusted in Mars-like sandstone, he grips a microphone in his left hand and greets a crowd where usually there wouldn't be one.
Opposite Parrish, hundreds of eager bird watchers, conservationists and volunteers create their own gallery seating for what's to come. They sit low to the dusty ground on Tommy Bahama folding chairs, guarded by umbrellas and bucket hats to protect them from the intense September sun that beats all the way down into the canyon...