Patagonia Lake State Park with Tiffany Kersten and Louie Dombroski

Difficulty: Moderate (May include walking along mostly level trail but with uneven surfaces for around 2 miles, one area with steep stairs. Drive time to location about 80 minutes)

Patagonia Lake is the top eBird hotspot in the state thanks to its mix of waterbirds and great riparian habitat. Mexican Duck, Ruddy Duck, and Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants should be readily seen on the lake along with raptors, flycatchers, and tanagers along the Birding Trail. As one of the few “large” bodies of water in SE Arizona you never know what could show up. Limited to 9 participants.

Neotropic Cormorant by David Quanrud

Las Cienegas Grasslands with Keith Kamper

Difficulty: Moderate (Some walking on mild slopes, but still on excellent surfaces. Drive time to location approximately one hour plus driving on gravel/dirt roads)

Las Cienegas is a 45,000-acre national conservation area with high desert grasslands, riparian strips and perennial streams, marshes, and juniper-oak woodlands. Here we can find grassland breeders such as Cassin’s, Botteri’s and Grasshopper Sparrows, Chihuahuan Meadowlark, and Loggerhead Shrike, as well as riparian-associated species including Gray and Zone-tailed Hawks, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow Warbler, and Summer Tanager. Las Cienegas is great for mammals, too — we’ll visit a colony of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (road condition permitting) and keep an eye out for Pronghorn Antelope. Limited to 9 participants.

Loggerhead Shrike by Mick Thompson

Montosa Canyon with Brian Gibbons

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. Some more common species we can expect to encounter include Bell’s Vireo, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Canyon Wren, and Ladder-backed Woodpecker. We’ll also target rare species which have nested in the canyon in past years, including Five-striped Sparrow and Black-capped Gnatcatcher. We’ll also keep our eyes out for dazzling Varied Buntings on territory. Limited to 9 participants.

Five-striped Sparrow by Richard Fray

San Pedro House with Kristy Gallo & Julie Michael

Difficulty: Moderate (some walking on mild slopes, but still on excellent surfaces. Prepare for possibility of chiggers. Drive time to location approximately 90 minutes)

The San Pedro River is one of the single most important biological features in the arid Southwest and serves as a migratory corridor for an estimated 4 million migrating birds each year. The conservation and restoration of the San Pedro River has been a long-standing priority for Tucson Audubon and this field trip will give you the opportunity to see it up close. Riparian specialties like Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Gray Hawk are expected along with a good mixture of flycatchers like Western Wood Pewee, Cassin’s Kingbird, and plenty of Vermilion Flycatchers. Limited to 9 participants.

Gray Hawk by Axel Elfner

Agua Caliente Canyon with Ethan Beasley

Difficulty:  Hard (Total round trip hiking distance about 3 miles. We will be away from the vehicle for 3 hrs.  The trail is hot, of uneven tread, and steep.  Drive time to final location approximately 75 minutes) Located south of Tucson on the west side of the scenic Santa Rita Mountains, the habitat of Agua Caliente Canyon is typical of mid-elevation canyons in the Sky Island mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona. Species seen in previous years include Arizona Woodpecker, Bushtit, Virginia’s Warbler, and Varied Bunting. Limited to 9 participants.

Mexican Jay by John Hoffman

High Elevation in the Catalinas with Patrick Maurice and Mike Hillman

Townsend's Warbler by Shawn Cooper

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 high elevation areas of Mt. Lemmon and the small mountain hamlet of Summerhaven. Birding hotspots will include Incinerator Ridge Road, Bear Wallow, and Mt. Bigelow Road. 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, Steller’s Jay, Mountain Chickadee, and Western Flycatcher. Lunch included. Limited to 8 participants.

Townsend’s Warbler by Shawn Cooper

Harshaw Creek and Patagonia Hotspots with Jake Thompson & Cedar Stanistreet

Difficulty: Moderate (Some walking on mild slopes, and possibly rocky/uneven surfaces. Drive time to location approximately one hour on mostly paved roads)

Harshaw Creek is lined with Sycamores making it a great location for woodpeckers, flycatchers, tanagers, and more. We might catch a look at one of the Elegant Trogons that breed through here and Mexican Jays are common in the oaks. After exploring the Harshaw area we’ll head over to the Paton Center for Hummingbirds to look for Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Gray Hawks, and more. Lunch will be provided courtesy of local favorite, Gathering Grounds. Limited to 9 participants.

Hepatic Tanager by Hemant Kishan

Mt. Lemmon: Sonoran Desert to Mixed Conifer Forest with Ethan Kistler

Red-Faced Warbler by Shawn Cooper

Difficulty: Moderate (Steeper slopes or more rocky/rooted trails. Drive time to final location approximately 75 minutes.)

Rising over 6,000 feet above Tucson, Mount Lemmon is the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains at 9,157 feet, and a popular escape from urban life and the Arizona’s dry early-summer heat (before the relief of the cooling monsoon rains). It is also an incredible birding experience and biology lesson. Traversing six life zones, from the Sonoran Desert at the base to mixed conifer forests at the highest elevations, the 25-mile drive up the wide, paved, two-lane Catalina Highway is equivalent biologically to traveling from Mexico to Canada. Our efforts will be concentrated on the higher elevations far above the desert below. We’ll look for typical mountain species like Steller’s Jay, Acorn Woodpecker, Spotted Towhee, and Plumbeous Vireo. We’ll make a special effort to track down a variety of warblers; Painted Redstart and Olive, Red-faced, and Grace’s Warblers all breed in these mountains and by August they are beginning to form mixed-species foraging flocks. A few hummingbird feeders are scattered about our route as well. Combine the birds with temperatures nearly 30 degrees cooler at the top and unparalleled scenery, it is hard to beat the Catalinas in August! Lunch included. Limited to 8 participants.

Red-faced Warbler by Shawn Cooper

Birds, Wine, & Brew Tour—Las Cienegas Area with Melissa Fratello and Rob Ripma of Sabrewing Nature Tours

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate (Some walking on mild slopes, and possibly rocky/uneven surfaces. Drive time to locations approximately an hour)

We’ll combine birding and good drink during a tour of the grasslands around Sonoita in the Las Cienegas grasslands. We’ll look for grassland breeders such as Cassin’s, Botteri’s and Grasshopper Sparrows, Chihuahuan Meadowlark, and Loggerhead Shrike, as well as riparian-associated species including Gray and Zone-tailed Hawks, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow Warbler, and Summer Tanager.  A visit to one of the local wineries and lunch at the Copper Brothel Brewery will keep us busy as well. Limited to 8 participants.

Botteri’s Sparrow by Jim Burns

Walker Canyon and Pena Blanca Lake area with Tim Helentjaris

Arizona Woodpecker by Mick Thompson

Difficulty: Moderate (Will include walking along some graded roads and mostly level trail but with uneven surfaces for about 3 miles.  Drive time to location about 75 minutes)

This area is located in the southern mountains just a few miles from the border and west of Nogales with excellent oak habitat, and much less birder visitation than many other better known locations.  Walking along the old road/trail in the shade of the riparian zone and flanked by grasslands, we’ll have opportunity for many target species, including Montezuma Quail, Gray Hawk, Elegant Trogon, Acorn and Arizona Woodpeckers, Rufous-winged and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Scott’s Oriole and Varied Bunting. Thick-billed Kingbird have also recently colonized this drainage and we’ll be actively hunting for them as well. After walking Walker Canyon we’ll enjoy lunch at a nearby picnic area by Pena Blanca Lake. Lunch provided, limited to 8 participants.

Arizona Woodpecker by Mick Thompson