Archives: Festival Events

Difficulty: Moderate. Some walking on slopes/inclines at elevation. Bathroom will be available at different times. Drive time to location about 50 minutes on paved roads.

Enjoy birding where Tucson residents escape the summer heat in the small mountain hamlet of Summerhaven.  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. Limited to 9 participants.

Steller’s Jay, Shawn Cooper

Difficulty: Easy. Flat walking on groomed trails or roads. Shade structures available. No bathroom on-site but we’ll stop before/after. Drive time to location approximately 80 minutes.)

This half-day trip to the Willcox area and Cochise Lake will add a wide variety of shorebirds to your Arizona and festival species list, but also is the best field trip for Scaled Quail. Likely shorebird 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 Swainson’s Hawk, Chihuahuan Meadowlark 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

Difficulty: Moderate. Some walking on mild slopes, but still on excellent surfaces. Drive time to location approximately 30 minutes. Bathroom at visitor center.

We will travel through the iconic saguaro cactus forest of Saguaro National Park East around the Cactus Forest Loop Drive looking for Gilded Flicker, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and other desert denizens. The tour will stop at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center with its exhibits, restrooms and air conditioning. National Park entry fee included. Limited to 9 participants.

Gilded Flicker, Bruce Taubert

Difficulty: Moderate. Some steeper slopes or more rocky/rooted trails. Bathroom available at trailhead. Drive time to location approximately 45 minutes.

The perennial stream flow and lush riparian vegetation at Pima County’s Cienega Creek Natural Preserve is an important nesting and migration corridor for a multitude of avian species. Home to Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Bell’s Vireo, and Lucy’s Warbler, the creek has also hosted a number of vagrants. Cienega Creek has potential for Yellow-billed Cuckoo as well. Under the shade of towering Fremont cottonwoods, we will explore this well-watered and increasingly rare habitat on a half-day outing. This outing is offered in partnership with Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation (NRPR).  Limited to 9 participants.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greg Lavaty

Difficulty: Moderate. Mostly flat walking trails along roads or dirt/gravel trails, but does involve some incline and uneven path along the river.

The agricultural fields of Marana northwest of Tucson provide some vital habitat for the localized Burrowing Owls and also opportunities for other open-land birds such as Western Kingbird and Horned Lark. Blackbird flocks are also regular which may include Yellow-headed Blackbird or Bronzed Cowbird. We’ll check out a number of birding hotspots in the area including the Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Stingray Drive), Hardin Road, and the Santa Cruz River near Trico Road. Limited to 9 participants.

Burrowing Owl, Ned Harris

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.

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.

Arizona Woodpecker, Mick Thompson

Difficulty: Moderate. Some walking on mild slopes, and possibly rocky/uneven surfaces. But mostly even and easy walking. Bathrooms available. Drive time to location approximately one hour on mostly paved roads.

The Patagonia area is one southeast Arizona’s best-known destinations for riparian birds. Some of the specialties found around Patagonia are Gray Hawk, Thick-billed Kingbird, Varied Bunting, Violet-crowned Hummingbird and Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet. There are many famous and wonderful places to bird here including the Patagonia Roadside Rest, Harshaw Canyon, and of course the Paton Center for Hummingbirds. Our exact itinerary will be at the leader’s discretion, based on where our target birds are being seen most readily. Limited to 8 participants.

Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Dan Weisz

Difficulty: Moderate. May involve some steeper slopes or more rocky/rooted trails, but most of walk will be on dirt/gravel roads with little incline. Bring 2 liters of water. Drive time to location approximately 90 minutes, some gravel road.

The Arizona Important Bird Area website describes this area beautifully: Oak savannah and oak woodland with a heavy Madrean influence dominate almost all of the Atascosa Highlands with undulating bajadas of oak savannah, spectacular intact canyons and highly valuable riparian habitat, alive with streams and precious pools. The exact location will be at the discretion of Tucson Bird Alliance’s Conservation Biologist, Jennie MacFarland. We’ll search for a myriad of Arizona specialty species including Brown-crested Flycatcher, Bridled Titmouse, and Varied Bunting. Expect some walking on some rocky trails and/or forest service roads. Limited to 9 participants.

Varied Bunting, Martin Molina

Difficulty: Moderate. Will involve some walking on mild slopes with some elevation and possibly on some rocky/uneven surfaces. Bathrooms available. Drive time to first location about 45 minutes.

We’ll explore the oaks to pines of the Catalina Mountains starting at the Gordon Hirabayashi Campground scrub oak woodlands which is good habitat for species such as Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay, Bushtit, and Scott’s Oriole. We’ll then head up into Bear Canyon which puts us in a beautiful canyon with sycamores and pines where we’ll search for Mexican Jay, Plumbeous Vireo, and Grace’s Warbler among others. Depending on timing and activity we may visit other locations. Limited to 9 participants.

Mexican Jay, John Hoffman

Difficulty: Moderate. May involve walking a narrow rocky trail in Florida Canyon with uneven surfaces and some increase in grade. Drive time to location about one hour on paved and gravel roads. No bathroom on-site.

These two canyons are just north of the more famous Madera Canyon and offer fabulous birding in riparian areas flanked by upland desert and grassland. We’ll bird mostly from the road in Box Canyon looking for the rare Five-striped Sparrow, nesting Gray Hawks and Thick-billed Kingbirds, singing Rock and Canyon Wrens, and Bullock’s, Hooded, and Scott’s Orioles. Perhaps we’ll catch a glimpse of the soaring resident Golden Eagles. From the Florida Canyon parking lot we’ll keep our eyes open and ears alert for Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black-chinned and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, along with Varied Bunting. Depending on water levels and bird activity we could work our way up higher along the creek as well. Limited to 9 participants.

Thick-billed Kingbird, Martin Molina