Difficulty: Moderate (some walking on mild slopes, drive time to location about 50 minutes on paved roads)
We’ll try to escape the afternoon/evening heat by heading up to higher elevation and the Catalina Mountains. Depending on weather conditions and bird reports we’ll explore a few hotspots such as Bear Wallow, Incinerator Ridge, Summerhaven, or Mt. Bigelow Road looking for mixed warbler flocks. Warblers we might see 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, Western Tanager, and Western Flycatcher. We’ll head back to the festival headquarters about sunset, so we’ll have about 2 1/2 hours of birding time. Limited to 9 participants.
Pygmy Nuthatch by Shawn Cooper