This field trip begins south of Camp Verde where we will turn off of Route 260 and onto the open grasslands of Wingfield Mesa.

After birding here for sparrows, meadowlarks and other open-area-loving avian life, we will descend off the Mesa to Rancho Tres Brisas. Rancho Tres Brisas is a family run working cattle ranch made up of over 100 acres and borders the Verde River for ¼ mile. We will bird a variety of habitats, including desert scrub, pasture, cattle ponds and the riparian area of the Verde River. After birding, we will be treated to a lunch featuring beef from Tres Brisas Beef, as well as a vegetarian choice. During or after lunch, Jeni O’Callaghan, President of the Friends of Verde River and owner of Rancho Tres Brisas, will give us a talk on the Ranch’s history and the present day’s efforts to raise cattle and protect the Verde River. Jeni’s family has worked the land since her grandfather purchased it in 1963. On this trip there will be up to two miles of walking on mostly level, but sometimes rough ground. Restrooms will be available when we get to the Ranch. As with most field trips, it will warm up by mid-morning, please have what will keep you comfortable: water, hat, sunscreen, etc.

Rating: 3

Transportation: Vans

Meal: Yes

Cost: $115

Trip Guides:

Tim Weber

A New-Englander by birth, Tim grew up hiking over the cranberry bogs, barrier beaches and sand bars of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. At Middlebury College in Vermont, he began to hike, bike, camp and study the Green Mountains. Inspired by a flying squirrel and a hawk, he became enthralled by the world of nature and wildlife. Years later, he earned a Master of Science in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University where he studied the habitat of the reclusive northern goshawk in California. He then spent the better part of 20 years working as a biologist with the government, private industry, and non- profit organizations.

Since moving to Flagstaff, Arizona in 2004, Tim has birded extensively in Arizona for work and pleasure. He visits the Sky Islands in southern Arizona annually and has guided at the Verde Valley Bird and Nature Festival since 2013. In 2016, Tim’s dream of starting a birdwatching tour company came to fruition. Birding Northern Arizona, LLC received an outfitters and guide permit to lead birdwatching walks on the Coconino National Forest in Sedona and Flagstaff, and beginning in 2024, Grand Canyon National Park.

BNAZ is the only permitted and insured tour company in Northern Arizona dedicated to year-round birdwatching! BNAZ customizes each trip, offering easy and flat walks for a few hours, or an all-day adventure for the extreme birder. Let’s Bird the Heck out of it!

He now leads professionally through his guiding business: Birding Northern Arizona 

Kristen Rothrock

For the last twenty years, I have maintained a beginner’s mind while birding. My inspiration came from my mother who enjoyed every bird movement out the kitchen window. It wasn’t until I was in Costa Rica that I learned from touring birders that Arizona was a birding hotspot. From then on, from my own kitchen window in Arizona, I discovered the treasure of birding my yard. I started birding passionately. I joined Audubon and learned from local experts. As a retired school teacher, I continue to encourage learning by observation and inquiry. I love how birds keep us connected to nature.

Part of the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival