Photography & Birding at El Rio Preserve with Ben Knoot

Difficulty: Easy (1 -1.5 miles on mostly flat surfaces with some uneven terrain)
Join professional photographer, and founder of Experience Nature Tours, Ben Knoot, for a photography and birding experience at El Rio Preserve. This nature preserve area just northwest of Tucson in Marana offers an opportunity to see a variety of birds including waterfowl, shorebirds, and flycatchers. This will be a causal session of photography and birding and is perfect for anyone who would like to learn more about birds and camera techniques for bird photography. Bring your binoculars and your camera. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 30 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Black Phoebe by Mick Thompson

Sunset Birding at Sweetwater Wetlands with Bruce Webb & Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik

Difficulty: Easy (Just over 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 12 participants.

Tropical Kingbird by JBurns

“Big Sit” at Madera Canyon’s Santa Rita Lodge with Hollie Mansfield

Arizona Woodpecker by Mick Thompson

Difficulty: Easy. We’ll enjoy the feeders from the benches and chairs. No bathrooms at the lodge feeders.
Join festival volunteer and leader, Hollie Mansfield, for a 90 minute “Big Sit” at the Santa Rita Lodge feeders. We will enjoy the variety of birds at the feeder station, where benches are available. Possible birds include Rivoli’s Hummingbird, Acorn & Arizona Woodpecker, Mexican Jay, and Hepatic Tanager. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 55 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 8 participants.

Arizona Woodpecker by Mick Thompson

Sabino Canyon with Clay Taylor & Bruce Webb of Swarovski Optik

Difficulty: Moderate (mostly flat walking trails on some uneven and rocky terrain)
We’ll bird Sabino Canyon Recreation Area walking a loop that includes both Sonoran desert upland and Sabino Creek riparian area. Gila Woodpeckers, Purple Martins, and Cactus Wrens should be readily seen with other desert and riparian birds. Meet at the ramada by the Visitor’s Center at 5700 N Sabino Canyon Road. $8 parking fee. Return to car by 9am. Sunhat, water and walking shoes always recommended. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 25 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Cactus Wren by John Kennedy

Desert Birds in Pastel Workshop with Laura Milkins hosted at The Drawing Studio

Milkins-Laura-Invitation-to-Appreciation-Ode-to-My-Mothers-Wisdom-pastel-on-paper

Capture the colors of Sonoran desert birds, from the vibrant red of a vermillion flycatcher to the subtle browns and tans of a cactus wren. Since the days of Audubon, art has been a way to understand birds on an intimate and detailed level. In this workshop, we will focus on the color found on birds of the Sonoran desert. First we will enjoy some colorful bird images from art history. Next we will use pastel to create color patches to match the colors of several desert birds. Step by step, I will walk you through pastel techniques that make this process of color matching fun and accessible to beginners as well as more advanced participants. Finally, working from a photo, we will create a vermillion flycatcher using these simple pastel techniques. Materials provided by The Drawing Studio, 2760 N. Tucson Blvd. Limited to 12 participants.

Invitation-to-Appreciation-Ode-to-My-Mothers-Wisdom-pastel-on-paper by Laura Milkins

Scorpion Adventure with Chris Benesh

Difficulty: Moderate (Will include walking in the dark on possibly some uneven surfaces and gravel roads. Recommended to have a black light)

Go beyond the birds and explore the world of scorpions with Chris Benesh. Arizona is one of the world’s hot spots for scorpion diversity, especially Southeast Arizona! Location will be up to the discretion of the leaders based on weather, but will be within 45 minutes of the festival venue. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand.  Limited to 10 participants.

Sunset Birding at Reid Park with Steve Valasek and David Lindo

Difficulty: Easy (Mostly flat, groomed trails at a city park. Bathrooms available.)

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. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is less than 5 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 12 participants.

Black-crowned Night Heron by David Kreidler

Sunset Birding at Sweetwater Wetlands with Alex Patia

Difficulty: Easy (Just over 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 12 participants.

Abert’s Towhee by Greg Lavaty

A Bird Photography Adventure with OM SYSTEM’s Tech Expert Mike Amico

Difficulty: Easy (Mostly flat, groomed trails at a city park. Bathrooms available.)

Guided by seasoned bird photographer and OM SYSTEM Tech Expert Mike Amico, this casual walk at the nearby Reid Park welcomes both nature enthusiasts and photographers alike. Mike will offer insights into capturing breathtaking bird photos and fine-tuning camera settings for optimal results. Join us for a fun photo walk amidst nature, where we’ll appreciate the outdoors and experience beautiful bird moments together. Photographers using any camera system are invited. Birders without a camera are welcome too! OM SYSTEM will provide loaner equipment on a first-come, first-served basis. Limited to 10 participants.

Curve-billed Thrasher by Martin Molina

Fort Lowell Park: Learn and practice Merlin Bird ID and Sound ID phone app with Laura Couchman

Belted Kingfisher by Dan Weisz

Difficulty: Easy (Mostly flat, groomed trails at a city park. Bathrooms available.)

Improve your bird ID skills using your smartphone!  The Merlin Bird ID app is like having a well-informed birding field trip leader in your pocket. Tucson’s Fort Lowell Park has a variety of habitats is a great place to see and hear a variety of Tucson’s urban birds, and it’s only 5 miles from the DoubleTree Hotel.  By the end of the outing you’ll know how to use all of the FREE Merlin Bird ID app’s great features:  Sound ID, Photo ID, the Explore field guide, and more!  IMPORTANT:  Download the Merlin Bird ID app to your phone (iPhone or Android) before the field trip, and log in to (or create) your eBird username and password with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (if you have any difficulties, come 10 minutes early and we’ll do it together). Bring your phone (fully charged) and your binoculars, and we’ll learn and practice using the app to help you identify birds by sight and by sound. Beginners and young people are welcome; no prior experience with birding or with Merlin Bird ID necessary. Even if you have used Merlin before, it’s a good opportunity to practice its latest features and get your questions answered. Limited to 12 participants.

Belted Kingfisher by Dan Weisz