Search for LeConte’s Thrasher & Santa Cruz Flats with Luke Safford

Search for LeConte’s Thrasher & Santa Cruz Flats with Luke Safford

Friday, January 10: 6:30am – 2:30pm
$50/member, $75/non-member

Trip Difficulty: Moderate, with up to 1 mile walking on uneven desert ground.

Our most secretive and hard to find thrasher is the LeConte’s, partly because it’s preferred habitat is unattractive, and creosote dominated, barren wasteland. But seeing the bird scurrying through the desert with its deeply curved bill is a thrill! We’ll meet for carpooling in the Marana area at 6:30am and head up into the far southwest corner of the Santa Cruz Flats. After searching (and hopefully finding) the LeConte’s Thrasher, we’ll explore the agricultural fields for
specialties of the Flats, including Crested Caracara, Mountain Plover, Mountain Bluebird, and Ferruginous Hawk. The plan will be to return back to the carpooling location about 2:30pm.

Bring a lunch and dress in layers. Trip is limited to 10 participants.

Leader: Luke Safford (lsafford@tucsonaudubon.org)

Header image: LeConte’s Thrasher by Peggy Steffens