Join FUN BIRDING TOURS for a great winter birding vacation in southeast Arizona.
Southeast Arizona is a wonderful place to be in the winter. The weather is usually pleasant; warm, sunny days and cool nights. The birding is excellent, with a variety of sought after species. Spectacular flocks of cranes, 15 or more species of sparrow, thrashers, awesome raptors, Motezuma Quail, and scarce wintering birds such as Elegant Trogon, Painted Redstart and Olive Warbler make for an impressive list. And we’ll have FUN whilst we rack it up!
Tours for 4-6 people. Larger or smaller groups by arrangement.- Prices are per person.
- Price includes full-time guiding, all accommodations, meals, entrance fees and travel during tour hours.
- Price does not include alcoholic drinks, gifts or other additional items.
- Bonus! I always carry my camera and I’ll send you my best digital images from the trip, free of charge.
- We recommend you buy travel insurance for your trip.
- The following tours are for 7 nights/8 days. Longer/shorter/custom tours are always available - please ask.
Winter tour, Economy, 7 nights/8 days: Price per person TBA please contact me
- Tucson area: Sweetwater Wetlands, Mt Lemmon, Saguaro National Monument East, Santa Cruz Flats, Catalina State Park
- Willcox Lakes, Sulphur Springs Valley, Whitewater Draw, Cochise Stronghold, Tombstone
- San Rafael Valley, Patagonia Lake, Paton’s, Ruby Road, Sycamore Canyon
- Tubac, Tumacacori, Rio Rico, Madera Canyon, Florida Wash, Florida Canyon
- Sites subject to change to some degree, to include current hot spots, rare or target species, as requested.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Tucson. The tour officially starts at 5pm, but depending on your arrival time, local birding will be available throughout the day at sites such as Sweetwater Wetlands and Reid Park, picking up a few local specialties. Arrange your own lunch, or a packed lunch will be provided on request. We will dine at the Cup Cafe in historic Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, and retire to the hotel’s comfortable rooms to prepare for an early start.
Day 2: We will take an early breakfast at the hotel and make a quick circuit of Agua Caliente Park in east Tucson before we head into the Santa Catalina Mountains and to the top of Mt Lemmon. The equivalent of driving from Mexico to Canada, we’ll start in Sonoran desert and traverse several distinct zones of grassland, oaks and junipers, enjoying different species in each, before finishing in Rocky Mountain pines and maybe some snow. Our box lunches will be consumed at one of the scenic birding sites on the mountain. Heading back down, we’ll arrive at Saguaro National Monument East in the late afternoon to experience prime Sonoran Desert at its best and enjoy the often spectacular sunset. After dark we’ll head back downtown for dinner and a well-earned early night back at the hotel.
*Leisurely option: later breakfast, skip Agua Caliente Park.
Day 3: Breakfast in the hotel, and then we hit the road. We’ll stop at a couple of easy roadside sites on the way to Willcox Twin Lakes and the Sulphur Springs Valley. Lunch will be taken in Willcox at a quirky diner in a train carriage (Willcox is like that). We’ll check the agricultural fields around Kansas Settlement and Elfrida for Sandhill Crane, Mountain Plover, four thrasher species, many, many sparrows and a wide selection of raptors including stunning Ferruginous Hawks. We’ll arrive at Whitewater Draw in time for a late afternoon crane extravaganza! At dusk we’ll head back north a little way and into the Dragoon Mountains, where we’ll stay at the delightful Cochise Stronghold B&B. We’ll grill our evening meal over an open fire.
Day 4: A birding breakfast to remember at the Stronghold, followed by birding around the B&B and beautiful Cochise Stronghold Canyon. We’ll explore the high desert grassland in the Pearce/Sunsites area before heading back south into the heart of Sulphur Springs Valley. We’ll eat our box lunch in the open barn at Whitewater Draw with the roosting Great Horned Owls (keeping a respectful distance, of course). The afternoon will be spent better appreciating Whitewater Draw and the sheer number of Sandhill Cranes. We’ll leave by 4pm for the drive to Patagonia (about three hours, including a quick stop at your choice of the famous Crystal Palace Saloon or Big Nose Kate’s in ‘Wild West’ Tombstone for a beer and snacks). We’ll check in at the Stage Stop Inn, Patagonia, and dine either in the hotel’s Home Plate restaurant, or if everyone wants pizza, The Velvet Elvis.
Day 5: Breakfast at the Home Plate, followed by a morning birding in the San Rafael Valley, searching the grasslands for Baird’s Sparrow, Chestnut-collared and McCown’s Longspurs, White-tailed Kite and more. We’ll eat our box lunches whilst watching the feeders at the famous Paton’s house in Patagonia. The afternoon will be spent at Patagonia Lake, looking for Black-capped Gnatcatchers, wintering Elegant Trogon and a host of fun birds in the varied habitats here. At dusk we’ll head down to the border and dine at a Mexican restaurant in Nogales (on the Mexican side of the border, if everyone has a passport). We’ll stay at a hotel in Nogales, Arizona.
* Optional gift shopping in Patagonia and Nogales.
Day 6: Early breakfast at the hotel, then a morning of birding along Ruby Rd and Sycamore Canyon in search of Montezuma Quail and other great birds in this special place. Box lunches will be taken before we head back to the I-19 corridor and check the highly productive birding sites along the Santa Cruz River at Rio Rico, Tumacacori and Tubac. We’ll have dinner in Green Valley and stay at either the Santa Rita Lodge or Kubo Cabins in the world famous birding mecca, Madera Canyon, in the Santa Rita Mountains.
*Leisurely option: a later breakfast, then spend all day either in the Ruby Road area or the I-19 corridor.
* Optional gift shopping in Tubac.
Day 7: Breakfast at the lodge, then we’ll bird Madera Canyon all morning, keeping an eye out for wintering Painted Redstarts and Olive Warblers amongst other things. We’ll eat our box lunches overlooking the feeders at Santa Rita Lodge, in the company of jays, juncos, Acorn Woodpeckers and usually a rowdy bunch of turkeys. In the afternoon we’ll explore the adjacent Florida Wash for sparrows and high desert birds and Florida Canyon for Black-chinned Sparrow and possibly Rufous-capped Warbler. We’ll head back to Tucson for dinner at the Cup Cafe or alternative restaurant, and a final night in Hotel Congress.
Day 8: breakfast in the hotel, followed by your choice of a morning in the Santa Cruz Flats, for more raptors, sparrows and thrashers, or Catalina State Park for Sonoran desert specialists such as Rufous-winged Sparrow and Crissal Thrasher. We’ll eat a box lunch before heading back to Tucson and an afternoon at Sweetwater Wetlands, for ducks, wintering warblers and usually a few surprises. The tour ends at 5pm. I’ll drop you off at a hotel, shuttle or at the airport (TUS), or optionally you can join me for dinner and a few drinks to end a FUN BIRDING TOUR of southeast Arizona.
- A countup of the day’s species will take place every evening after dinner. Lists and maps will be provided.
- Drinking water, sunscreen, field guides and a telescope will be available at all times while birding.
- The pace and emphasis of the tour can be catered to the needs of the particular group. The above itinerary is set to a “medium” level.
