Join experienced birder and Park Volunteer Tom Locascio—a proud member of the Audubon Society and Sun City Birding Club—for a guided bird walk through Estrella Mountain Regional Park. After the walk, gather in the Nature Center classroom for an engaging presentation on the park’s feathered residents, from desert dwellers to seasonal visitors. Please wear protective clothing...
Enjoy a full day birding with professional guide Kristy Gallo, on Arizona’s largest military base, famous for over a century for its Arizona specialties. We will cover a wide range of habitats from grasslands to pine-oak woodlands. At higher elevations, we will hope to encounter Coppery-tailed Trogon, Arizona Woodpecker, and Dusky-capped and Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers in Huachuca Canyon....
Join professional tour leader Scott Olmstead for a trip to the Patagonia area. Patagonia is one of south-eastern Arizona’s best-known destinations for riparian birds. Specialties that can be found here include Gray and Zone-tailed Hawks, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Thick-billed Kingbird, and Rufous-winged Sparrow. Good birding sites in Patagonia are numerous and our probable itinerary will include Harshaw Canyon,...
The focus of this trip with professional bird guide Homer Hansen will be the Benedictine’s Holy Trinity Monastery, a 132-acre site on the east side of the San Pedro River in St. David, Arizona. A popular retreat center, the grounds include a 1.3-mile birding trail, several small ponds, a pecan orchard, mesquite woodland, a working farm, and...
A visit to what was formerly one of the Southwest’s largest cattle ranches. This expansive BLM National Conservation Area is home to Pronghorn Antelope, Prairie Dogs and a wide variety of birds. Professional guide Jennie MacFarland will visit rolling grasslands, mesquite thickets and cottonwood-lined Cienega Creek, one of the area’s only sources of permanent water, looking for...
Join professional guide Matt Brown on a trip which will take you to Madera Canyon via Box Canyon and the Santa Rita grasslands and explore this famous birding site. For the last couple of years Box Canyon has hosted breeding Five-striped Sparrow and we will stop to look for this rare species, also hoping to see Varied...
Join professional guide and environmental educator, Jeff Babson, on a mini Big Day. The object on this trip will be to see as many different species as possible, covering the different...
Join professional bird guide Steve Tracey for a trip to the Chiricahua Mountains to search for the Mexican Chickadee. The trips starts with a drive across the Sulphur Spring Valley and chance to see grassland species before ascending into the Sierra Madrean pine-oak woodlands along past Pinery Canyon where we will look for Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Painted Redstart...
The San Pedro River is a vibrant green ribbon of life, its riparian vegetation forming an avian super highway through the desert for millions of migrants. Join local naturalist guides Gordon and Lori Lam in an exploration of the lush cottonwood/willow forest which is home to Gray and Zone-tailed Hawks, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, low elevation warblers...
Join local bird expert, Dan Hoobler, on a visit to the world famous Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. Owned by The Nature Conservancy, this area has been a hot spot for birding for decades. The lower canyon is good for Montezuma and Gambel's Quails, Gila and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Rufous-crowned, Chipping and Botteri's Sparrows, Blue and Black-headed...
This is a casual drop-in program that gives you an opportunity to come and meet some of the animals at McDowell such as, snakes, scorpions, a tarantula and even a Gila monster! At this program you will get to ask questions, learn new things, and possibly even touch a snake. MEETING LOCATION: Nature Center No registration required. All...
Interact with some of our special animals, which for many people is a once in a lifetime experience. Guests will get to learn about endangered species, how we contribute to conservation of those animals, some of the considerations we must take into consideration when having these reptiles in Arizona, which reptiles are good pets for children or adults, adaptations...
Interact with some of our special animals, which for many people is a once in a lifetime experience. Guests will get to learn about endangered species, how we contribute to conservation of those animals, some of the considerations we must take into consideration when having these reptiles in Arizona, which reptiles are good pets for children or adults, adaptations...
Want to learn about and see hundreds of elk in one place at one time? Join us for the annual elk viewing workshop! Hosted through the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD). The event includes a 1-hour presentation held at the AZGFD Flagstaff Regional Office (3500 S Lake Mary Rd) and then we will caravan...
Want to learn about and see hundreds of elk in one place at one time? Join us for the annual elk viewing workshop! Hosted through the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD). The event includes a 1-hour presentation held at the AZGFD Flagstaff Regional Office (3500 S Lake Mary Rd) and then we will caravan...
Join Ranger Kevin for a story and an introduction to some of the desert’s most amazing animals. Looking for something to do with the kids this weekend? Want to come out to the park, but don’t want to melt or spontaneously combust on a hike? Join Ranger Kevin for this indoor, kids-of-all-ages program! We have a great story lined up,...
Would you like to meet a few of the critters that call our desert home, and learn a little more about them? Drop in on this Discovery Station with Ranger Kevin. There...
Get ready for wild summer evenings you won’t want to miss! Join us for Summer Safari Nights, presented by TMC Health, and experience the Zoo like never before—after the sun goes down and the desert cools off. Wander the paths in the evening breeze while discovering something new around every corner. Each week is packed with adventure:...
We’re setting up our version of the silver screen near the back patio of the Nature Center tonight. Once it’s dark, we’ll turn on the spotlight and enjoy the show that unfolds, as all manner of arthropods are drawn to the light. We’ll even have a few “creepy-crawlies” on hand to look at. Plus, conditions permitting, we’ll take a short night hike out on our...
Meet the rangers and settle in for an awesome introduction to scorpions inside the Nature Center, with a slide show and meet n’ greet with the park’s captive scorpion ambassador. Then, we’ll get on the trails in search of bark, striped-tail, and giant hairy scorpions to marvel at and photograph. We will also be on the lookout for other nocturnal critters such as bats, owls,...
With a white sheet and some bright lights we’ll try to draw in bugs from the night sky! Join us once more for this year’s opening event of Bug Theater! Bring a flashlight, magnifying glass, or UV light and join Ranger Shaun as we gather round the curtains to see what sorts of insects, arachnids, and occasionally even other things show...