Indulgent Birding at Casa de San Pedro–3 Day Field Trip
June 26-28: Indulgent Birding!
This is a three-day program focusing on birds morning and evening, with afternoons free to relax at Casa de San Pedro or explore the many natural and cultural resources of the area. La Casa website: https://www.
For those who have never stayed at la Casa, this is a unique opportunity to escape to lovely southeast Arizona, experience a B&B dedicated to birds and birders (garnering 5 stars from 94% of those leaving reviews on TripAdvisor), and enjoy birding, unlimited pies, and more over three days of activities.
The itinerary below is a typical outline of what you can expect. The plans may change depending on availability of speakers and caterers. Plan to enjoy the adventure!
Estimated costs:
- Casa de San Pedro – 2 nights = $450 plus tax. Casa will donate $10 per room per night to Tucson Bird Alliance!
- Gas – suggested donation to your driver for carpooling (approx. 300 roundtrip miles from Tucson) = $30 (donations in my car will go to TBA)
- Meals –
- June 26 lunch at Copper Brothel Copper Brothel Brewery | Craft Beer in Sonoita, Southern Arizona; dinner brown bag or out, your choice
- June 27 lunch optional; tentative optional dinner plans – catered at Casa for $38 per person, including tax and tip
- Entrance fees –
- June 26 – Patons Center for Hummingbirds ($5 suggested donation)
- June 28 – Ramsey Canyon ($5 for Nature Conservancy members, $8 for others) and Ash Canyon ($10)
Folks should bring one snack to share. I’ll bring coffee cake and multiple snacks to share.
Friday, June 26:
- For those wishing to bird on the way to Casa, we’ll have a plan to carpool/caravan. Here’s a tentative itinerary for birding and lunch. Details will be available after folks register:
- Sweetwater Wetlands outside of Tucson.
- Las Cienegas, north of Sonoita
- Lunch at The Copper Brothel in Sonoita
- Patons Center for Hummingbirds
4:30pm-ish – arrive at Casa de San Pedro
- 5:30-6pm – review of feeders and layout at Casa
- 6-7pm – dinner on your own or bring dinner and eat with other participants in the dining room.
- 7pm – Flycatchers: The Tyrant Flycatcher family of birds is the largest in the world, including kingbirds, pewees and phoebes, and presents some of the most frustrating identification issues. In this interactive and investigative class, we will discuss the flycatcher family and focus on about 12 species seen locally, representing distinctive sub-families.
Saturday, June 27:
- 5:30am – coffee and coffee cake available.
- 6-7:15am – Early Bird Bonus! A slow wander around la Casa to see what’s showing up at the feeders and immediate environs.
- 8am – Breakfast. (Maybe sneak in an early swim before breakfast?)
- Right after breakfast (and we won’t rush the delicious meal!) – Approximately 3+ hour field trip to nearby grassland/oak habitat of Coronado National Monument and, time permitting, Brown Canyon Ranch and the lower part of Carr Canyon. We’ll be looking for variety of flycatchers.
- 3pm – Either a presentation from Friends of the San Pedro River or about owls. If the presentation is about owls, here’s the synopsis: Is an owl a raptor? What kinds of nests do they build? What do they eat? In addition to a few cultural references to owls, we’ll explore the unique and wondrous anatomical features of what makes an owl an owl, and wrap up with five common owls that can be found in Arizona. Perhaps we’ll find an owl around Casa?
- 5pm – a short walk down to the San Pedro River, perhaps with a Friends of the San Pedro River guide.
- 6:30pm – Dinner, currently planned to be catered at Casa for $38 per person, including tax and tip.
- After dark – a short stroll around Casa to listen for owls and possibly see nighthawks.
Sunday, June 28:
- 6am – coffee and coffee cake available.
- 6:30-7:30am – Early Bird Bonus! A slow wander in the area around la Casa to look for whatever shows up.
- 8am – Breakfast.
- Right after breakfast (and we won’t rush the delicious meal!): Approximately 3+ hour field trip to nearby Ramsey and Ash Canyons. Wrap up with snacks!
- Noonish – we’ll leave the Sierra Vista area to return to Tucson mid-afternoon.
Limited to 12 vaccinated participants.
If this sounds fun and you want to register here’s how:
· First, contact Casa de San Pedro at bedandbirds@gmail.com, to check for available space. Book your room! Let Casa know of any food allergies.
· Second, register online at the Tucson Bird Alliance website no later than May 15: Field Trips ⋆ Tucson Bird Alliance (After May 15, if there is space, the program will be open for the Phoenix area Audubon Chapters.)
- Feel free to contact Kathe Anderson (your guide) at kathe.coot@cox.net if you have any questions.
You’ll be responsible for your costs of the program listed above, and any incidentals you may incur. As a bonus, though, Casa de San Pedro is donating $10 of the regular reservation rate per room per night to the Tucson Bird Alliance. What a deal! You have a great time and TAS gets donations! Thank you, Patrick and Karl at Casa!!
