Archives: Festival Events

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.

Summer Tanager by Hemant Kishan

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, Stellar’s Jay, Mountain Chickadee, and Western Flycatcher. Sponsored by Natural Selections Tours. Limited to 9 participants.

Painted Redstart by Matthew Studebaker

Difficulty: Moderate (steeper slopes or more rocky/rooted trails)

We’ll start in grassland habitat around Proctor Road looking and listening for singing sparrows first thing in the morning. Along with sparrows we will be looking for birds of upland riparian habitat including Bell’s Vireo, Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, and Varied Bunting. Next we’ll head into the mid-elevation oak-juniper habitat, looking for desirable southeast Arizona species like Arizona Woodpecker, Painted Redstart, and Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. After this we’ll spend some time walking along the nature trail and investigating the hummingbird feeders at the Santa Rita Lodge that make Madera one of the best spots for hummingbird diversity in the country. Maybe we’ll find an Elegant Trogon! Sponsored by Naturalist Journeys. Limited to 9 participants.

Arizona Woodpecker by Mick Thompson

Difficulty: Moderate (Some walking on mild slopes, but still on excellent surfaces.)

Southeast Arizona is a fabulous region to study flycatchers with three common types of Myiarchus (Ash-throated, Brown-crested, and Dusky-capped) and four species of kingbirds (Western, Cassin’s, Tropical, and Thick-billed) all along with phoebes, Empids, and of course Vermilion Flycatchers. Join flycatcher fan and expert, Chris Benesh, on this outing to enjoy and learn about our favorite flycatchers. Limited to 9 participants.

Difficulty: Hard (Steeper slopes or more rocky/rooted trails. Drive time to location approximately one hour with some gravel roads.)

While Madera Canyon has long been the most visited spot in the Santa Rita Mountains, this adjacent canyon to the south is deserving of more birders’ attention. Join us on a half-day exploration of Montosa Canyon, which supports some hackberry thornscrub habitat as well as a nice drainage with scattered oaks and mesquites. Our top target is the Five-striped Sparrow, a skulky sparrow which frequents the area.  We’ll also search for Black-capped Gnatcatcher, which has been breeding in the area for several years, and keep our eyes out for dazzling Varied Buntings on territory. Some more common species we can expect to encounter include Bell’s Vireo, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Canyon Wren, and Ladder-backed Woodpecker. Limited to 9 participants.

Difficulty: Moderate (mostly flat walking trails on some uneven and rocky terrain. Drive time to Arivaca is about 75 minutes.)

Just outside of the small town of Arivaca is the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge, known for its grasslands and cienegas, along with being a place where efforts to re-introduce Masked Bobwhites are being undertaken. We’ll focus our birding efforts at the Arivaca Cienega and along the Arivaca Creek where we’ll look for Black Vultures, Gray and Zone-tailed Hawks, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Tropical Kingbird, and buntings. Limited to 9 participants.

Difficulty: Moderate (Some mild hiking on fairly flat and rolling trails or gravel roads. About 50 minutes to destinations)

We’ll head to beautiful Oracle State Park, located at 3,700’ to 4,600’, with landscape dominated by rolling hills and panoramic vistas as it transitions from desert grassland to oak-woodland. There, we’ll likely encounter common desert species, such as Harris’s Hawk, Gila Woodpecker, Say’s Phoebe, Curve-billed Thrasher, Canyon Towhee and summer visitors such as Summer Tanager, Lucy’s Warbler and Brown-crested Flycatcher, among others.  Then we’ll move onto Peppersauce Canyon, an oasis mostly shaded by huge sycamores, where Bell’s and other vireos, plus Acorn Woodpeckers and Western Wood-Pewees are common, amongst a variety of lovely summer surprises. Limited to 9 participants.

Difficulty: Moderate (Steeper slopes or more rocky/rooted trails. Drive time to location approximately 90 minutes, some gravel road.)

An interesting man-made lake makes a great water source and stopover for migrants and nesting birds. The adjoining canyon is a good location for Elegant Trogon, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, and Hepatic Tanager. Montezuma Quail favor the hillsides surrounding the lake, while other interesting species could include Gray Hawk, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Varied Bunting. Expect to walk on groomed trails around the lake and a gravel/loose rock forest service road through the canyon. Limited to 9 participants.

Difficulty: Easy (Birding from vehicles and the road but very hot by mid-morning. Drive time to flats area approximately one hour. Will include driving on gravel roads.)

This flat area of agricultural fields, mesquite bosques, pecan groves and desert scrub is rarely birded in the summer, but it can hold many surprises. Tropical Kingbirds should be fledging their young at this time, and we can expect to see them in the rows of pecan trees along the road. Raptors such as Black Vultures, Swainson’s Hawks, and Burrowing Owls and if we are lucky, an early Crested Caracara, are possible. Sludge ponds and flooded fields at this time of year have yielded a variety of shorebirds, waders and blackbirds, while swallows and flycatchers catch our attention in the air. It will be very hot by 10 am so put on sunblock, bring a water bottle and wear a hat. Limited to 8 participants.

Difficulty: Moderate to Hard (Walking a narrow trail with uneven surfaces and some increase in grade.  Drive time to location about 1 hour)

These two canyons are just north of the more famous Madera Canyon and offer fabulous birding in riparian areas flanked by upland desert and grassland. From the Florida Canyon parking lot we’ll keep our eyes open and ears alert for Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black-chinned and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, along with Varied Bunting.  Depending on water levels we could work our way up higher along the creek, we’ll look for Gray Hawk, three species of Myiarchus flycatchers, Bell’s and Hutton’s Vireo’s, Hooded Oriole, and perhaps even catching a glimpse of the soaring resident Golden Eagles. Next we will drive through Box Canyon hoping to find a rare Five-striped Sparrow or singing Scott’s Orioles. Sponsored by Sabrewing Nature Tours. Limited to 9 participants.