Archives: Festival Events

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

We’ll visit Mission Garden (at the base of “A” Mountain) which revives Tucson’s history through garden plots representing four millennia of multicultural and gastronomic history. Find some of the same birds that have been visiting Tucson gardens for 4,000 years! Drive time to the meeting location from festival venue is about 15 minutes. Limited to 10 participants.

Greater Roadrunner by Michael Sadat

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

Difficulty: Moderate. Mostly flat walking trails on some uneven and rocky terrain, about 2 miles total. Bring 1 to 2 liters water. Bathroom on-site.

One of the best known U.S. birding hotspots with tall cottonwoods and willows lining a perennial stream. Open fields, mesquite bosque and a cienega compound the habitat diversity that make it a birding paradise. Listen for the Gray Hawk’s whistle in the cottonwoods while looking for Common Ground Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Thick-billed Kingbird, and more. Please bring $8 per person for Nature Conservancy fees. Be prepared to wear chigger protection. Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 70 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand.  Limited to 10 participants.

Thick-billed Kingbird by Martin Molina

Difficulty: Moderate. More will be known when location is determined but expect some possible incline with some uneven or rocky terrain, but the trip will be planned to not be difficult.

Join Robert Gallardo of Emerald Valley Lodge in Honduras and Vernie Aikins of Naturalist Journeys on an adventure to look for something beyond our feathered friends. Location will be determined ahead of time based on butterfly activity. Robert is the author of “Guide to the Butterflies of Honduras” and oversees the Honduras Butterfly Festival. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue will be determined, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Monarch by Dan Weisz

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

Difficulty: Easy. Mostly flat, groomed trails at a large city park. Bathrooms on-site.

This beautiful park in northeast Tucson includes a large lake (with a few smaller ponds), grassy park area with palm trees, and is surrounded by Sonoran desert. This mix of habitats creates opportunities for many birds including Anna’s, Costa’s, and Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Brown-crested Flycatcher, the Hesperia subspecies of Purple Martin, Phainopepla, and Hooded Oriole. 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.

Phainopepla by Shawn Cooper

Difficulty: Moderate. Around 1 ½ miles of mostly flat walking on some sandy/gravel trails and road. No bathroom on-site; use restrooms at rest stop along I-19 beforehand which is about 15 minutes from exit. 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. This walk is sponsored and led by Neblina Forest. 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.

Thick-billed Kingbird by Martin Molina