This tour combines the best of the riparian habitat and cottonwoods along the Santa Cruz River and the madrean-oak habitat of Madera Canyons and its beautiful sycamores. We’ll start early in the morning by birding the De Anza trail along the Santa Cruz River looking for Lucy’s Warblers, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and Tropical Kingbirds. We’ll cross...
Rising over 6,000 feet above Tucson, Mount Lemmon is the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains at 9,157 feet, and a popular escape from urban life and the Arizona’s dry early-summer heat (before the relief of the cooling monsoon rains). It is also an incredible birding experience and biology lesson. Traversing six life zones,...
We’ll start in grassland habitat around Proctor Road looking and listening for singing sparrows first thing in the morning. Along with sparrows we will be looking for birds of upland riparian habitat including Bell’s Vireo, Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, and Varied Bunting. Next we’ll head into the mid-elevation oak-juniper habitat, looking for desirable southeast Arizona...
Join Wesley Homoya of Natural Selections Tours to enjoy birding where Tucson residents escape the summer heat! In the small mountain hamlet of Summerhaven we’ll look for mixed warbler flocks which may include Red-faced, Orange-crowned, Virginia’s, Townsend’s, Hermit, Wilson’s, and Grace’s Warblers. Birding in the conifer forests of Mt. Lemmon can also produce species like Hairy Woodpecker,...
A stroll through this lush riparian corridor along the Santa Cruz provides many opportunities for fall migrants, Zone-tailed and Gray Hawks, Thick Billed, Tropical, Cassin’s and Western Kingbirds, and many chats, tanagers, and warblers. There might even be a chance of seeing Rose-throated Becards, though their numbers have been declining along the river. Monsoon rains...
The famous Paton Center for Hummingbirds is known for its backyard birds and scenic location dating back to 1973. Wally and Marion Paton first began inviting birders into their yard shortly after moving to Patagonia, and after their passing, the center was acquired by the Tucson Bird Alliance. Since then we’ve worked to improve the...