Madera Canyon with Janice Travis and Andrea Serrano

Difficulty: Moderate. Walking will mostly be on road or groomed trails but may have some steeper slopes with possibly rocky/rooted trail areas. Bathrooms available.

Iconic Madera Canyon is one of the top destinations for any birder. 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 Coppery-tailed Trogon! Limited to 9 participants.

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Jim Burns

Cochise Lake with Louie Dombroski

Difficulty: Easy. Easy walking on dirt road/trail. Bring a wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen, water bottle, and be prepared for hot and sunny weather. No bathroom on-site but there is one in close by in Willcox.

This half-day trip to Cochise Lake in Willcox will add a wide variety of shorebirds to your Arizona and festival species list. Likely species include Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Wilson’s Phalarope, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Western, and Least Sandpipers. The lakes also play host to an array of migrant swallow species, as well as birds of the open grassland like Scaled Quail, Chihuahuan Raven, and Lark Sparrow. With sometimes hourly turnover nearly every visit during migration has a good chance of turning up something unusual. This will be a very relaxed paced half-day trip with limited walking on level surfaces. Limited to 9 participants.

Scaled Quail, Ned Harris

Desert Birds in Pastel Workshop with Laura Milkins 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 and green of a Coppery-tailed Trogon 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 in 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 Coppery-tailed Trogon using these simple pastel techniques. All materials provided by The Drawing Studio.

Image by Cathy Wasson

Tucson Bird Alliance Presents: LISTERS at The Loft

Join us at The Loft Cinema for the 2025 documentary film, Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching, created by brothers Owen and Quentin Reiser and published on YouTube. The film will be introduced by Tucson Bird Alliance’s Alex Patia, who had a small “starring” role in the film! Tickets to be purchased here later in June. Limited to 90 participants.

Anza Trail at Santa Gertrudis with Tom Brown

Difficulty: Moderate. Around 1 ½ miles of mostly flat walking on some sandy/gravel trails and road. No bathroom on-site. Bring water.

We’ll walk in the shaded riparian forest along the Santa Cruz River which is a fantastic location for three types of kingbirds (Cassin’s, Tropical, and noisy Thick-billed) along with a wide variety of other desert riparian species like Inca Dove, Gray Hawk, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Bell’s Vireo, and Blue Grosbeak. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 50 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Blue Grosbeak, Matthew Studebaker

Birding with a Smartphone and Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Enabled Camera with John Amoroso

Difficulty: Easy. Flat walking trails in the city park. Bathroom on-site.

Take a bird walk in the field with experienced “I-birders” and learn how to use your technology to enhance your birding. Bring a pair of binoculars, your smart phone (with Merlin, E-bird App, and a field guide (i.e., Sibley) pre-loaded), and a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi enabled camera (if you have one), and learn how to FIND birds more easily, ID them more accurately, and SHARE information more quickly. Specific meeting instructions emailed beforehand. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is less than 5 minutes. Limited to 10 participants.

Verdin, Mick Thompson

Lakeside Park with Donito Burgess

Difficulty: Easy. About one mile walking on concrete, paved surfaces and some grassy lawn. 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 12 participants.

Vermilion Flycatcher, Greg Lavaty

Sweetwater Wetlands with Luke Safford

Difficulty: Easy. About one mile walking on easy dirt (and some concrete) walking paths. Bathroom and water on-site.

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 15 participants.

Abert’s Towhee, Greg Lavaty

Tohono Chul with Ray Deeney

Cooper's Hawk by Michele Weisz

Difficulty: Easy. A few mild slopes but mostly flat ground and good walking surfaces. Bathroom and water on-site.

For visitors and those new to the Sonoran Desert, Tohono Chul’s easy-walking trails and gardens provide close-up looks at many of the desert specialties. Of the more than 500 bird species that spend time in Arizona during the year, 140 are known to have visited Tohono Chul, and on any given morning you might see up to 15 species here. All year long you can watch our state bird, the Cactus Wren, flit from cactus to tree and back again, chattering as he goes. Observe the Curved-billed Thrasher, with its saucy two-part whistle, scrabbling on the ground or nesting in cholla cactus. Enjoy our two year-round resident hummingbird species, Anna’s and Costa’s, as they dart about, feeding among the many colorful flowers. And be sure to look upward for a glance of our majestic Cooper’s Hawks, a pair of which has nested in the gardens for each of the last four years. Meet at the Tohono Chul Admission Window. Limited to 10 participants.

Cooper’s Hawk, Michele Wiesz

Pokemon and Birding: Gotta Bird ‘em All with Christina Baal


Difficulty: Easy. Walking on excellent surfaces at a city park. Bathrooms on-site.

Calling all birders, AND Pokemon trainers! We’ll search midtown Tucson’s largest park for Pokemon and birds! Join artist and birder Christina Baal of Drawing 10,000 Birds on this epic search of our two favorite things at Reid Park. Pokemon was created by an individual who became fascinated with observing the insects and creatures living in his backyard. If you think about it, birding is just like Pokemon- but in real life! We will see just how many Pokemon are based on living (and non-living thing) things all around us, particularly birds, and see how many entries we can add to our group Pokedex while exploring the natural world. A fun activity to test your Pokemon AND birding skills and knowledge, and earn your very own Birder Gym Badge! Limited to 15 participants.