IBA Focus: Saguaro NP East with Jennie MacFarland

Difficulty: Moderate. Some mild slopes, and soft, rocky or uneven terrain for about one mile total. Bring 1-2 liters of water.

Come for a hike to see and hear many songbirds unique to the Southwest in the cactus forests of Saguaro National Park East which is designated an Important Bird Area. Likely species include: Verdin, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Cactus Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Phainopepla, Rufous-winged Sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, and maybe even a nomadic Greater Roadrunner.  We will walk about one mile on scenic trails that are sometimes soft, rocky, or uneven, with some slopes. Meet at the Broadway Trailhead for Saguaro NP East. Specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 10 participants.

Phainopepla, Shawn Cooper

Photography Field Workshop: Bat Photography at Pond at Elephant Head with Dano Grayson and Stephen Vaughan

Difficulty: Easy. Most of the time spent in photography blinds.

The desert comes alive at night and the Pond at Elephant Head offers the perfect opportunity to catch it in action with your camera. Bat migration is happening during the monsoon season and offers an amazing experience. Join Wildlife Photographer, Dano Grayson for an evening of photographing bats and other wildlife at this private photography location. Weather conditions play a large role in bat photography and we cannot guarantee success. Please email Stephen Vaughan at stephenhvaughan@gmail.com if you have questions. Important Equipment Needed for this Workshop: Camera with telephoto lens of at least 300mm along with tripod and shutter release cable. Limited to 8 participants.

Madera Canyon in the Evening with Alex Sundvall

Difficulty: Moderate. Short walks on mostly paved roads and some dirt trails with some incline. Will be birding in the dark; bring a flashlight if you have one. Will require good hearing to hear night birds. Bathroom on-site.

This is a unique opportunity to enjoy the beauty of evening monsoon birding in the iconic Madera Canyon. We’ll enter the canyon just before sunset and explore the canyon for birds as they finish up their day and then try to find nocturnal birds like Elf Owl, Whiskered Screech-Owl, and Mexican Whip-Poor-Will along with other desert critters. This is a great time of year to see all sorts of wildlife activity in the evening. We will not be using playback for night birds so chances of seeing them will be limited, but you never know! Limited to 9 participants.

Whiskered Screech-Owl, Jim Burns

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