Archives: Festival Events

Difficulty: Easy. Mostly flat walking on well-groomed trails for no more than one mile at a stretch. Bathroom and water on-site. Drive time to location approximately 75 minutes on paved roads.)

The famous Paton Center for Hummingbirds is known for its backyard birds and scenic location dating back to 1973. Wally and Marion Paton first began inviting birders into their yard shortly after moving to Patagonia, and after their passing, the center was acquired by the Tucson Bird Alliance. Since then we’ve worked to improve the habitat by removing invasive plants, installing native gardens, and much more. Explore the area with Community Habitat Restoration Project Manager, Ivy Ilkay, and Paton Center Site Manager, Alexis Stark, for a first-hand tour of how the center is being re-invigorated and you’re also sure to find Violet-crowned Hummingbirds amidst the array of riparian specialty birds. Limited to 9 participants.

Violet-crowned Hummingbird by Dan Weisz

Difficulty: Moderate. Fairly flat dirt walking trails that may be muddy, for 1 – 2 miles roundtrip under mostly shaded areas. Bathroom nearby at Ron Morriss Park. Drive time to location approximately one hour.

A stroll through this lush riparian corridor along the Santa Cruz provides many opportunities for fall migrants, Zone-tailed and Gray Hawks, Thick Billed, Tropical, Cassin’s and Western Kingbirds, and many chats, tanagers, and warblers. There might even be a chance of seeing Rose-throated Becards, though their numbers have been declining along the river. Monsoon rains will dictate the portions of the trail we walk. Director of Habitat Stewardship Kari Hackney will also share how Tucson Bird Alliance and the Tubac Nature Center are partnering together to preserve this beautiful area. Limited to 9 participants.

Yellow-breasted Chat by Shawn Cooper

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.

Join Wesley Homoya of Natural Selections Tours to 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.

Red-faced Warbler by Shawn Cooper

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 Elegant Trogon! Limited to 8 participants.

Arizona Woodpecker by Mick Thompson

Difficulty: Moderate. Some steeper slopes with portions that may have rocky/rooted trails. Most walking is on groomed gravel road in shorter spurts. Drive time to location approximately one hour with some gravel roads. Bathroom available at mouth of canyon.

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. We’ll also keep our eyes out for dazzling Varied Buntings on territory. Limited to 9 participants.

Five-striped Sparrow by Richard Fray

Difficulty: Moderate. Mostly flat walking dirt trails on possibly some uneven and rocky terrain. Bathroom on-site. Drive time to Arivaca is about 75 minutes.

Just outside of the small town of Arivaca is the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge, known for its grasslands and cienegas, along with being a place where efforts to re-introduce Masked Bobwhites are being undertaken. Led by Joshua Covill of Hillstar Nature, we’ll focus our birding efforts at the Arivaca Cienega and along the Arivaca Creek where we’ll look for Black Vultures, Gray Hawks, four species of kingbirds (Tropical, Cassin’s, Thick-billed, and Western), Lark Sparrows, and buntings among others. Limited to 9 participants.

Tropical Kingbird by Jim Burns

Difficulty: Moderate. Some mild hiking on fairly flat and rolling trails or gravel roads with some incline. About 50 minutes to destinations. Bathroom on-site.

We’ll head to beautiful Oracle State Park, located at 3,700’ to 4,600’, with landscape dominated by rolling hills and panoramic vistas as it transitions from desert grassland to oak-woodland. There, we’ll likely encounter common desert species, such as Harris’s Hawk, Gila Woodpecker, Say’s Phoebe, Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay, Curve-billed Thrasher, Canyon Towhee and summer visitors such as Summer Tanager, Lucy’s Warbler, and Brown-crested Flycatcher, among others.  Then we’ll move onto Peppersauce Canyon, an oasis mostly shaded by huge sycamores, where Bell’s and other vireos, plus Acorn Woodpeckers and Western Wood-Pewees are common, amongst a variety of lovely summer surprises. Limited to 9 participants.

Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay by Alan Schmierer

Difficulty: Moderate. Some walking on mild slopes, and possibly rocky/uneven surfaces. Drive time to location approximately one hour on some paved and gravel 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. You’ll enjoy this beautiful area with Louie Dombroski who spent many years working at the nearby Paton Center for Hummingbirds and with John Coons of Field Guides. Limited to 9 participants.

Summer Tanager by Hemant Kishan