Arizona boasts the third highest total of bird species by state in the United States, pretty impressive for being completely landlocked. In particular, the southeast corner holds the highest diversity due to the confluence of eastern and western species; and many southern species that just spill over the international border here. Southeast Arizona is a land of contrasts, where rugged, forested mountains form “sky islands” within the Sonoran Desert. Rivers, like the Santa Cruz and San Pedro, flow slowly across arid valleys, creating ribbons of greenery along their banks by supporting cottonwoods and willows. Middle elevations are covered by rich grasslands and juniper-oak woodland while the highest elevations harbor mixed coniferous forests. In between, one finds desert areas dominated by impressive saguaro cacti, dense mesquite thickets, man-made wetlands that are magnets for water birds, and ancient stands of sycamores along creeks and canyons. This variety of habitats packed into a relatively small area is home to the greatest diversity of breeding birds in the United States. Many species from further south reach their range limits in southeastern Arizona and occur nowhere else in the country. This tour will focus on these southeast Arizona specialties, southwest desert birds, and the spectacular variety of nocturnal birds that can be found here, including up to nine species of owls and four species of nightjars.

Day 1  Start at breakfast in Phoenix, transfer to Hereford via Tubac area
Day 2  Santa Rita Mountains and Madera Canyon
Day 3  Huachuca Mountains, Patagonia and Sonoita Creek
Day 4  Huachuca Mountains
Day 5  Transfer to Phoenix, tour ends with dinner

This tour is designed to be a moderately paced tour, but still offer the opportunity to see the majority of specialties of the area. Several optional outings in the evening and at night can add an excellent variety of owls and nightjars.

We stay at only one guesthouse, Casa de San Pedro and limit ourselves to shorter drives to nearby birding sites. This accommodation is considered a luxury guesthouses with a 3* rating.

Each day begins with an early or slightly later breakfast between 06:00 - 07:00, depending on our night outing the previous day. We then head off to our preferred birding site for the remainder of the morning, taking a break for a field lunch, usually in a scenic and bird rich location. For the remainder of the afternoon, we will complete a short drive to another birding location and finish the day there. We will have an early dinner at the hotel or a fine local restaurant nearby before starting an optional evening outing to look for owls and nightjars on some nights. Overall, we will spend the majority of the day in the field.

This tour has several short drives and a few longer ones of approx. 2.5 hours. The longer drives are on tarred roads in good to excellent condition.

Spanish missions and historical parks are nearby and can be visited independently before or after the tour.

Please note: these prices are subject to foreign exchange fluctuations.