Catalina State Park with Mike Welch

Difficulty: Moderate (Some mild slopes and a mixture of rocky, sandy, and road surfaces.)

This state park on the northwest side of Tucson sits adjacent to the western slopes of the Coronado National Forest’s Santa Catalina Mountains and contains a good mixture of desert scrub, mesquite bosque, and riparian vegetation. Join local leader, Mike Welch, to explore these habitats which support a varied mix of bird species including Brown-crested Flycatcher, Rufous-winged Sparrow, and Northern Cardinals. $10 parking fee. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 40 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Rufous-winged Sparrow by Jim Burns

Danny Lopez Park with Andrea Serrano

Difficulty: Easy (Flat walking surfaces, with less than two miles covered)

This city park on the west side of town hosts two lakes, Silverbell and Archer Lakes, that provide habitat for herons, grebes, a resident Snow Goose, and many other bird species. 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.

Great Blue Heron by Greg Lavaty

El Rio Preserve with Gerry Hodge sponsored by the Town of Marana

Cinnamon Teal by Tom Brown

Moderate (mostly easy with paved trail and overlook, but some steep grade if walking down to sandy trails)

Explore this nature preserve area just northwest of Tucson in Marana along the Santa Cruz River which is also part of the historic Juan Bautista de Anza Trail. You’ll enjoy the view from the overlook where you’ll be able to scope the water to see a variety of birds including waterfowl, shorebirds, and flycatchers. A walk around the new trail should turn up 35 or more species. 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.

Cinnamon Teal by Tom Brown

The Spark Bird Project at Lakeside Park


Difficulty: Easy (Mostly flat, groomed trails at a city park)
One of the most common themes in spark bird stories isn’t birds at all – it is other people! Spark people help draw others into a shared love of birds! Do you know someone who you think would love birds but who just hasn’t quite found their way to becoming a birder yet or who is definitely a birder but doesn’t see themselves in that way? This is the outing for them! Bring them along as we create a joyful entry-level celebration of birds! Welcome all ages, interests, and abilities! Drive time to the meeting location from the festival venue is about 15 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants. 

Osprey by David Kreidler

Advanced Birding: Flycatchers at Sweetwater Wetlands with Alex Patia


Difficulty: Easy (Around a mile walking on easy, mostly flat trails.)

Join Sweetwater Wetlands Coordinator, Alex Patia, to take a closer look at the many flycatchers that make Sweetwater home. We’ll discuss, and hopefully see and hear, the differences between myiarchus species Ash-throated and Brown-crested Flycatchers, while also looking for other species such as Tropical Kingbird, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, and migrating empidonax. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 15 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Brown-crested Flycatcher by Lois Manowitz

Beginning Birding at Sweetwater Wetlands with Kathe Anderson


Difficulty: Easy (Around a mile walking on easy, mostly flat trails.)

Join Kathe Anderson on a beginning birding tour of the most visited birding location in the state. We’ll look for returning Cinnamon Teal, breeding Tropical Kingbirds, and singing Common Yellowthroats while discussing the best habits we can develop as birders. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 25 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Common Yellowthroat by Mike Henry

Mindful Birding with Holly Thomas

Yellow Warbler by Shawn Cooper


Difficulty: Easy (Expect easy walking on trails and some dry, sandy creek bed.)

Mindful birding is about the intention to focus on the present moment without judgment, just noticing and welcoming whatever shows up, opening our senses to take in the sights and sounds of birds.  Our morning will begin with an overview of mindful birding and its health benefits followed by a birding walk at Las Posta Quemada Ranch. Meet at the parking area at La Posta Quemeda at 6am. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 40 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Yellow Warbler by Shawn Cooper

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

Black-headed Grosbeak by Dan Weisz

Tohono Chul with Ray Deeney and Carol Massanari

Difficulty: Easy (some mild slopes–mostly flat ground and good surfaces)

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 Mick Thompson

Birding at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum with Michael Sadat

Difficulty: Easy-Moderate (paved pathways but some incline)

Join docent and bird guide, Michael Sadat, for a guided bird walk around the beautiful grounds of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The Desert Museum is ranked on TripAdvisor.com as one of the Top 10 Museums in the country and also is home to many Sonoran desert specialties such as Costa’s Hummingbird, Gilded Flicker, and Pyrrhuloxia. Entry fee of $29.95 not included. Limited to 10 participants.

Pyrrhuloxia by Mike Henry