Sabino Canyon with Sabino Canyon Naturalists Jean & Mark Hengesbaugh

Difficulty: Moderate. Mostly well groomed walking trails but may have some incline and may be on some uneven and rocky terrain for about 2.5 miles roundtrip. Bathrooms on-site. Bring 2 liters of water.

We’ll bird Sabino Canyon Recreation Area walking a loop that includes both Sonoran desert upland and Sabino Creek riparian area. Gila Woodpeckers, Purple Martins, and Cactus Wrens should be readily seen with other desert and riparian birds. Meet at the ramada by the Visitor’s Center at 5700 N Sabino Canyon Road. $8 parking fee. Return to car by 9am. Sunhat, water and walking shoes always recommended. Leaders are Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 25 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Purple Martins, Henry T McLin

Empire Ranch and Area with Ken Blankenship of East West Birding Tours

Difficulty: Moderate. Mostly flat walking trails but there is some uneven and rocky terrain, and possibly muddy. Bring 2 liters of water. Bathrooms on-site.

Las Cienegas is a 45,000-acre national conservation area with high desert grasslands, riparian strips and perennial streams, marshes, and juniper-oak woodlands. You will meet at Empire Ranch and bird the significant riparian areas along Cienega Creek. Here we can find riparian-associated species including Gray and Zone-tailed Hawks, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow Warbler, and Summer Tanager. Join Ken Blankenship of East West Birding Tours to explore this beautiful area. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 50 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 8 participants.

Zone-tailed Hawk, Ned Harris

Sweetwater Wetlands with Luke Safford

Difficulty: Easy. About one mile walking on easy dirt (and some concrete) walking paths. Bathroom and water on-site.

This artificial wetland is the premier birding hotspot in the Tucson Valley, offering a stunning variety of species that can be found here at any time during the season. Green Heron, Common Gallinule, Tropical Kingbird, Common Yellowthroat, and Abert’s Towhees are some of our prime targets. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is about 20 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 15 participants.

Abert’s Towhee, Greg Lavaty

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

High Elevation in the Catalinas with Troy Corman

Steller's Jay 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.

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

Cochise Lake with Scott Olmstead sponsored by WINGS

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 outing, sponsored by WINGS Birding Tours, will explore Cochise Lake where we should find a wide variety of shorebirds and is also the best festival opportunity 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 relaxed paced half-day trip with limited walking on level surfaces. Limited to 9 participants.

Scaled Quail, Ned Harris

Saguaro NP East with Janice Travis and Kyle Hudick

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

Cienega Creek & Davidson Canyon with Pima County Naturalist Jeff Babson

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

Marana Area Hotspots with Jack Parlapiano and Steve Valasek

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

Madera Canyon with David Simpson

Arizona Woodpecker by Mick Thompson

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