Looking for Burrowing Owls with Paul Bannick and Dan Weisz

Difficulty: Easy. Mostly birding around vehicle, possible short walks over dirt trail or on road. Be prepared for the heat and bring water. Drive time to locations about 40 minutes on paved roads.

We’ll travel up towards the small town of Marana just northwest of Tucson with hopes of finding Burrowing Owls. Once we find them, we’ll spend some time at a respectful distance admiring these unique long-legged owls and hopefully getting some fantastic photography opportunities. The surrounding agricultural fields and nearby water treatment facility will offer us the opportunity for a variety of other birds, including possible Lesser Nighthawks at dusk – but our focus will be the owls. Leaves from festival venue in 15-passenger van. Limited to 9 participants.

Image by Paul Bannick

Box and Florida Canyons with Alex Lamoreaux

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

Guindani Canyon with Tim Helentjaris

Difficulty: Hard. Prepare for about 3 miles roundtrip walking on some steeper slopes and rocky/rooted trail. Be prepared for sun exposure and bring 2 liters of water. Drive time to location approximately 50 minutes.

Guindani Canyon is situated on the east slopes of the Whetstone Mountains and accessed through Kartchner Caverns State Park. The trail begins in grassy desert with intermixed mesquites and a narrow line of oaks in the canyon bottom while the foothills are festooned with flowering agaves that attract a variety of hummingbirds, especially Costa’s, Black-chinned, Broad-billed and migrating Rufous Hummingbirds. Lucifer Hummingbird is possible as well. Wrens (Canyon, Rock, and Cactus) should be singing and it is a great spot for Scott’s Oriole and Varied Buntings. Limited to 9 participants.

Varied Bunting, Martin Molina

Montosa Canyon with Ethan Kistler

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 Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Bell’s Vireo, 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, Richard Fray

Altar Valley with Alex Patia

Crested Caracara by Michele Weisz

Difficulty: Hard. Will include walking through desert with uneven surfaces for about 2-3 mile roundtrip. No bathroom on-site but we’ll stop beforehand at a gas station. Bring 2 liters of water. Drive time to location is about 75 minutes.

This area just southwest of Tucson has some of the highest biological diversity in the state but is little visited by birders. Amidst the amazing rolling landscape of Sonoran Desert and grassland we’ll hope to find numerous species characteristic of this rich desert habitat including Gilded Flicker, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Black-throated and Rufous-winged Sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, and Varied Bunting. Crested Caracara are known to nest in this area as well. Limited to 9 participants.

Crested Caracara, Michele Weisz

Hummingbird Photography Field Workshop with Stephen Vaughan at the Paton Center

Difficulty: Easy

Hummingbirds can flap their wings up to 80 times a second, which can present quite the challenge for a photographer. This is the perfect opportunity to learn the specialized techniques needed to create stunning images of hummingbirds. We’ll travel to the famous Paton Center for Hummingbirds and discuss ambient light, fill-flash and high-speed flash photography techniques. Join professional nature photographer Stephen Vaughan for this fantastic opportunity to experience the joys of photographing these flying jewels. Recommended equipment: Digital SLR, TTL flash, tripod and a telephoto lens capable of focusing close enough the fill the viewfinder with a 5 x 7 inch object. You can email Steve at StephenHVaughan@Gmail.com if you have questions. Lunch included. Limited to 9 participants.

Blue-throated Mountain-gem, Stephen Vaughan

Sabino Canyon Evening Hike with Jim Rorabaugh

Lesser Nighthawk by Dan Weisz


Difficulty: Moderate. Will include walking in the dark, including some uphill on dirt trails and some paved road. Total distance about 2 miles. Bring 2 liters of water.
Sabino Canyon night hikes during monsoon season are a local favorite past-time. Bring your flashlight as we walk up in the light and walk down in the dark in search of birds, toads, snakes, bugs, and more! Good possibilities for Lesser Nighthawk and Common Poorwill at sunset and we’ll hope for monsoon rains so we can see and hear Spadefoots and giant Sonoran Desert Toads. Lizards, scorpions, and tarantulas are crowd favorites and maybe we’ll run into a Gila Monster. We will go at a slow pace and be sure to bring a water bottle and be prepared for hot weather. Drive time to meeting location from festival venue is approximately 25 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 15 participants.

Lesser Nighthawk by Dan Weisz

High Elevation in the Catalinas with Adam Dudley

Difficulty: Moderate. 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 high elevation areas of Mt. Lemmon and the small mountain hamlet of Summerhaven. Birding hotspots will include Incinerator Ridge Road, Bear Wallow, and Mt. Bigelow Road. 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.

Grace’s Warbler, Shawn Cooper

Rose Canyon Lake with Janice Travis & Cedar Stanistreet

Olive Warbler by Shawn Cooper

Difficulty: Moderate. Mostly walking on paved road or dirt trails, but will involve some incline at elevation and possibly some rocky/rooted trails. Bathroom on-site.

Rose Canyon Lake in the Catalina Mountains is the top destination for birding on Mt. Lemmon. The oak and pine habitats contain many Madrean species normally found only south of the border.  This short paved road is interspersed with camp sites and picnic grounds which affords easy access for several targets for birders coming to the Sky Islands including Western Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Hutton’s Vireo, Hepatic Tanager, and several warblers including Red-faced, Olive, Hermit, Virginia’s, Black-throated, and Grace’s. Limited to 9 participants.

Olive Warbler, Shawn Cooper

Anza Trail at Tubac with Rob Rutledge and Sneed Collard

Difficulty: Moderate. Mostly flat walking on dirt trails that may be a bit sandy or muddy depending on conditions. Bathroom close-by at Ron Morriss Park. Drive time to location approximately one hour.
We’ll take a leisurely stroll through the riparian forest along the Santa Cruz River following the historic De Anza Trail. We’ll be looking for Green Kingfishers, Thick Billed, Tropical, Cassin’s and Western Kingbirds, Zone-tailed and Gray Hawks, lots of tanagers and warblers. We will spend most of the day in the shade of the cottonwoods as we explore lots of different areas going south along the river. There might even be a chance of seeing Rose-throated Becards, though their numbers have been declining along the river. Limited to 9 participants.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Martin Molina