Tohono Chul with Ray Deeney

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.

Curve-billed Thrasher, Martin Molina

Tucson Botanical Gardens with TBG Docent

Difficulty: Easy. Mostly flat ground and good walking surfaces. Bathroom and water on-site.

Located on the site of the historic Porter property, Tucson Botanical Gardens (TBG) is a five and a half acre collection of 20 gardens in the heart of Tucson, Arizona.  A true urban oasis, Tucson Botanical Gardens was selected #4 in USA Today’s 10Best Botanical Gardens Readers’ Choice Awards, 2 years in a row. 20 curated gardens including the Cactus & Succulent Garden, Barrio Garden, Zen Garden, Bird Garden, and many more, showcase a diversity of plants both native and those you wouldn’t expect to see in the Sonoran Desert. Drive time to the meeting location from festival venue is 10 minutes. Limited to 15 participants.

Abert’s Towhee, Greg Lavaty

Behind the Scenes at the Reid Park Zoo

Difficulty: Easy. Paved pathways and bathroom/water on-site.

Join keepers at the Reid Park Zoo for a tour of the South American and Flight Connection Aviaries, as well as visits to the flamingo and Abdim stork habitats. Please be prepared for moderate walking in the heat. Participants will meet keepers at the Zoo’s main entrance at 8am. Includes zoo entry fee. Limited to 15 participants.

Danny Lopez Park with Gerry Hodge

Difficulty: Moderate. Flat walking surfaces, mostly packed dirt around the lake, with less than two miles covered. Fairly exposed so wear sun protection and bring 1-2 liters of water. Bathroom on-site.

This city park on the west side of town hosts two lakes, Silverbell and Archer Lakes, that provide habitat for herons, Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants, a resident Snow Goose, hummingbirds, kingbirds, Lazuli Buntings, and more. Vermilion Flycatchers are all over the place and the water resources bring a variety of other bird species to the park. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 20 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand.  Limited to 10 participants.

Vermilion Flycatcher, Greg Lavaty

Easy Digiscoping with Jeff Bouton of Kowa Optics at Reid Park

Learn about simple ways to use spotting scopes to take beautiful images of the natural word with Jeff Bouton of Kowa Optics! Today, birders have a wealth of excellent spotting scopes available to them, and the state-of-the-art in smartphone computational photography means that birders can take photographs that are near-DSLR quality in a portable, easily shareable format. Meet at Reid Park, which is close to the festival headquarters for a field workshop designed for hands-on work and problem solving for anyone just getting started. Vermilion Flycatchers, Neotropic Cormorants, and Broad-billed Hummingbirds will be on our radar for digiscoping! Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is less than 5 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 12 participants.

Neotropic Cormorant, David Quanrud

Beginning Birding at Lakeside Park with Kathe Anderson

Broad-billed Hummingbird by Shawn Cooper

Difficulty: Easy. Flat walking surfaces in a city park, with less than two miles covered. Bathrooms on-site.

Lakeside Park in southeast Tucson is a great place to get to know your urban birds and it’s possible to get some early fall migrants as well. Join the fabulous Kathe Anderson, who is one of the best birding teachers around, on an outing designed for those just getting into birding. We’ll explore the lake and the adjacent lawns and ball fields with likely sightings including Black-crowned Night Heron, hummingbirds, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cooper’s Hawk, and swallows. Drive time to park and meeting location is about 15 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Broad-billed Hummingbird, Shawn Cooper

Tohono Chul with Ray Deeney

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.

Costa’s Hummingbird by Francis Morgan

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

Difficulty: Easy. We’ll enjoy the feeders from the benches and chairs. No bathrooms at the lodge feeders. Bring your own water.

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.

Hepatic Tanager by Hemant Kishan

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

Difficulty: Easy. Mostly flat, groomed trails at a city park, no more than one mile walking. 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.

Vermilion Flycatcher by David Quanrud

Birding with a Camera at Sweetwater Wetlands with Krisztina Scheeff

Are you a birder and would like to learn more about your camera and how to capture your own photos? Join professional Nature Photographer Krisztina with KS Nature Photography for a casual session of birding with the added bonus of photography. This program is open to all ages, birders, photographers, and anyone who would like to learn more about the birds and about basic camera techniques for bird photography. Bring your binoculars and any camera, if you like (point and shoot, DSLR, Mirrorless – and any lens). Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. To read more about Krisztina, please visit www.KSNaturePhotography.com. Limited to 12 participants.

American Kestrel by Krisztina Scheeff