Beginning Bird Photography at Sabino Canyon with Jennifer Leigh Warner


Bring your camera gear… whatever you have and join Jennifer Leigh Warner of Wildside Nature Tours for this fun, casual photo walk-a-bout. Jennifer will help find subjects while discussing exposure, reading light, and composition while helping each person with setting up their cameras for quick response to the action. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 8 participants.


Bring your camera gear… whatever you have and join Jennifer Leigh Warner of Wildside Nature Tours for this fun, casual photo walk-a-bout. Jennifer will help find subjects while discussing exposure, reading light, and composition while helping each person with setting up their cameras for quick response to the action. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 8 participants.

Going Batty with Addison Lander and Genavieve Gray-Sandoval

Difficulty: Easy (Easy watching from pathway/parking area and short drive.)
Join Addison Lander and fellow bat researchers from the University of Arizona on an adventure to watch thousands of bats come out of their roost at dusk. This nightly Tucson spectacle is a must-see for all ages and could even bring out a raptor or two preying on the bats. You will meet Addison on-site in mid-town Tucson near the River/Campbell intersection. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is approximately 15 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 15 participants.

Lesser-Long-nosed-bat by Dan Weisz

Birding & Photography with Hunt’s Photo at Madera Canyon with Simon Tolzmann and Christopher Smith

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult (1-2 miles of bumpy/rocky trail depending on activity of birds and the desire of group)

Enjoy a mix of birding and photography with leaders representing your favorite photography retailer, Hunt’s Photo. Some of the special species found here include Arizona Woodpecker, Broad-billed, Anna’s, Rivoli’s, and more species of hummingbird are possible, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, and Elegant Trogon just to name a few. $8 Coronado National Forest parking pass not included. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Rivoli’s Hummingbird by Roger van Gelder

Birding & Photography with Hunt’s Photo at Sweetwater Wetlands with Simon Tolzmann and Christopher Smith

Green Heron by Hemant Kishan

Enjoy a mix of birding and photography with leaders representing your favorite photography retailer, Hunt’s Photo. Highlight species of this location include; Vermilion Flycatchers, Common Gallinule, Black-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, various species of flycatcher, and more. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Green Heron by Hemant Kishan

Birding with a Purpose: Plants & Birds with Tony Figueroa and Janice Travis

Difficulty: Moderate (Some mild slopes–mostly flat ground and good surfaces. Watch out for pokie cacti!)

The Sonoran Desert is amazingly dense with vegetation compared to other deserts, but this sensitive habitat is at risk due to invasive species such as buffelgrass. Join Senior Invasive Plant Program Manager, Tony Figueroa to hear how Tucson Audubon is constantly working to restore and preserve these places for future generations of people and birds to enjoy. We’ll find some great birds too as we explore the desert and riparian areas around Colossal Cave. Limited to 9 participants.

Summer Tanager by Hemant Kishan

Saguaro NP East with Troy Corman

Difficulty: Moderate (Some walking on mild slopes, but still on excellent surfaces. Drive time to location approximately 30 minutes)

We will travel through the iconic saguaro cactus forest of Saguaro National Park East around the Cactus Forest Loop Drive looking for Gilded Flicker, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and other desert denizens. The tour will stop at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center with its exhibits, restrooms and air conditioning. National Park entry fee included. Limited to 9 participants.

Gilded Flicker by Bruce Taubert

Cienega Creek & Davidson Canyon with Pima County Naturalist Jeff Babson

Difficulty: Moderate (Steeper slopes or more rocky/rooted trails. Drive time to location approximately 45 minutes.)

The perennial stream flow and lush riparian vegetation at Pima County’s Cienega Creek Natural Preserve is an important nesting and migration corridor for a multitude of avian species. Home to Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Bell’s Vireo, and Lucy’s Warbler, the creek has also hosted a number of vagrants. Cienega Creek has potential for Yellow-billed Cuckoo as well. Under the shade of towering Fremont cottonwoods, we will explore this well-watered and increasingly rare habitat on a half-day outing. This outing is offered in partnership with Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation (NRPR).  Limited to 9 participants.

Gray Hawk by Bryan J Smith

Altar Valley with Tim Helentjaris

Crested Caracara by Michele Weisz

Difficulty: 3 (Will include walking through desert with uneven surfaces for <3 miles.  Drive time to location ~75 mins)

This area just southeast of Tucson has some of the highest biological diversity in the state but is little visited by birders. Amidst the amazing rolling landscape of Sonoran Desert and grassland we’ll hope to find numerous species characteristic of this rich desert habitat including Gilded Flickers, Bendire’s Thrashers, and Black-throated and Rufous-winged Sparrows. Crested Caracara are known to nest in this area as well. Lunch included. Limited to 8 participants.

Crested Caracara by Michelle Weisz

Tohono Chul with Ray Deeney

Difficulty: Easy (some mild slopes–mostly flat ground and good surfaces)

For visitors and those new to the Sonoran Desert, Tohono Chul’s easy-walking trails and gardens provide close-up looks at many of the desert specialties. Of the more than 500 bird species that spend time in Arizona during the year, 140 are known to have visited Tohono Chul, and on any given morning you might see up to 10 or 20 species here. All year long you can watch our state bird, the Cactus Wren, flit from cactus to tree and back again, chattering as he goes. Observe the Curved-billed Thrasher, with its saucy two-part whistle, scrabbling on the ground or nesting in cholla cactus. Enjoy our two year-round resident hummingbird species, Anna’s and Costa’s, as they dart about, feeding among the many colorful flowers. And be sure to look upward for a glance of our majestic Cooper’s Hawks, a pair of which has nested in the gardens for each of the last four years. Meet at Tohono Chul. Limited to 10 participants.

Costa’s Hummingbird by Francis Morgan

Reid Park

Difficulty: Easy (Flat walking on some sandy/gravel trails)

The tall aleppo pines and eucalyptus, along with two large ponds, create great bird habitat right next to the festival venue. We’ll look for Black-crowned Night Herons, Neotropic Cormorants, Cassin’s Kingbirds, Vermilion Flycatchers, and more. This is a great opportunity if you’re just getting into birding. Drive time to the meeting location from festival venue is about 2 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Vermilion Flycatcher by Greg Lavaty