Explore the festival’s Nature Expo on the first night and talk with leaders and exhibitors about their favorite birding locations in Southeast Arizona while checking out new optics, beautiful nature-oriented art, and more.
Difficulty: Easy.
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.
Black-crowned Night Heron by David Kreidler
Difficulty: Moderate (mostly flat walking trails on some uneven and rocky terrain)
One of the best known U.S. birding hotspots with tall cottonwoods and willows lining a perennial stream. Open fields, mesquite bosque and a cienega compound the habitat diversity that make it a birding paradise. Listen for the Gray Hawk’s whistle in the cottonwoods while looking for Common Ground Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Thick-billed Kingbird, and more. Please bring $8 per person for Nature Conservancy fees. Be prepared to wear chigger protection. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 70 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.
Gray Hawk by Ned Harris
Moderate (mostly easy with paved trail and overlook, but some steep grade if walking down to sandy trails)
Explore this nature preserve area just northwest of Tucson in Marana along the Santa Cruz River which is also part of the historic Juan Bautista de Anza Trail. You’ll enjoy the view from the overlook where you’ll be able to scope the water to see a variety birds including waterfowl, shorebirds, and flycatchers. A walk around the new trail should turn up 35 or more species. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 30 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.
Common Yellowthroat by Mike Henry
Difficulty: Easy (1.75 mile round trip on concrete and paved surfaces. Restrooms are available)
Lakeside Park in southeast Tucson is a great place to get to know your urban birds. We’ll be at the front end of the possibility of migrating shorebirds, wading birds, gulls or terns, so while unlikely, we’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for unusual birds as well. Osprey is a possibility. We’ll explore the lake and the adjacent lawns and ball fields. Likely sightings include Black-crowned Night-heron, hummingbirds (Anna’s, Black-chinned, & Broad-billed), Cassin’s Kingbird, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cooper’s Hawk, swallows, Abert’s Towhee, and more! Drive time to park and meeting location is about 15 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.
Vermilion Flycatcher by Greg Lavaty
Difficulty: Moderate (Some mild slopes, but still on excellent surfaces.)
This state park on the northwest side of Tucson sits adjacent to the western slopes of the Coronado National Forest’s Santa Catalina Mountains and contains a good mixture of desert scrub, mesquite bosque, and riparian vegetation. These habitats support a varied mix of bird species including Brown-crested Flycatcher, Rufous-winged Sparrow, and Northern Cardinals. We will explore the Birding Trail which crosses a seasonal wash and depending on monsoon storms you may get your boots wet. $7 parking fee. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 40 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.
Crissal Thrasher by Jim Burns
Difficulty: Easy (Less than a mile walking on excellent surfaces.)
This artificial wetland is the premier birding hotspot in the Tucson Valley, offering a stunning variety of species that can be found here at any time during the season. Green Heron, Common Gallinule, Tropical Kingbird, Common Yellowthroat, and Abert’s Towhees are some of our prime targets. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 20 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.
Green Heron by Hemant Kishan
Difficulty: Easy
Join Victor Emanuel Nature Tours leader, Brian Gibbons, for a fall migration watch from his backyard, located in east Tucson near the Pantano Wash. Brian’s yard is noted for once having a Juan Fernandez Petrel fly over, and while we probably won’t have this notable of a species, we will experience fall migration in a unique manner, noting kingbirds, swallows, mockingbirds, tanagers, and more. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.
Migrating Blue Grosbeak by Nick Pulcinella
Difficulty: Easy (Flat walking trails. Drive time to location approximately one hour.)
A stroll through this lush riparian corridor along the Santa Cruz provides many opportunities for migrants, Gray Hawks, flycatchers, and hordes of Yellow-breasted Chats. Rose-throated Becard, whose nests look like a large football hanging from the end of a branch, have nested along this trail the past few years. Monsoon rains will dictate the portions of the trail we walk. Time permitting, a stop at the Amado Wastewater Treatment plant on the way back could be good for Black-bellied Whistling-Duck. Limited to 9 participants.
yellow-billed Cuckoo by Martin Molina
Difficulty: Moderate (some walking on mild slopes, drive time to location about 50 minutes on paved roads)
Enjoy birding where Tucson residents escape the summer heat in the small mountain hamlet of Summerhaven. We’ll look for mixed warbler flocks which may include Red-faced, Orange-crowned, Virginia’s, Townsend’s, Hermit, Wilson’s, and Grace’s Warblers. Birding in the conifer forests of Mt. Lemmon can also produce species like Hairy Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, Mountain Chickadee, and Cordilleran Flycatcher. Back by noon. Limited to 9 participants.
Red-faced Warbler by Axel Elfner