Welcome to Birdquest
ARIZONA
Birdquest's spring Arizona birding tour explores a classic North American birdwatching venue. Our Arizona tour features the most comprehensive itinerary available and records a remarkable number of Arizona specialities.
Saturday 11th May -
Monday 20th May 2013
(10 days)
Northern Arizona Post-Tour Extension to Thursday 23rd May (3 days)
Leader:
to be confirmed
Group Size Limit: 9
Tour Category: Easy for the most part, occasionally Moderate
The smart Elegant Trogon just sneaks into the southern USA in Arizona - the bulk of its range is in Mexico and Central America (Pat & David Wileman)
The southwestern United States ranks amongst the most scenically varied and spectacular regions on earth. Featured for very good reason in hundreds if not thousands of ‘westerns’, its landscapes epitomize the ‘Wild West’ and, thanks to the efforts of the National Parks Service and many others, vast unspoilt tracts can still be enjoyed by the outdoors-conscious visitor today.
Arizona is a classic North American bird tour that samples the very best the continent has to offer, made especially pleasurable by the addition of spectacular scenery, excellent roads and comfortable accommodations. This itinerary is the most comprehensive Arizona bird tour available, designed to seek out more of these superb states’ specialities than any other. (It should be noted that tours in May are better for owls and nightjars than those later in the year.)
Arizona is a state of stark and contrasting landscapes: a harsh desert spattered with candlestick-shaped cacti is punctuated by oak and pine-clad hills and wild mountains with atmospheric names like Huachuca and Chiricahua. This was once Apache country, with lonely forts dotting the frontier and renegade bands of Indian warriors under shrewd chiefs like Geronimo causing mayhem and disruption amongst the white soldiers and settlers who had taken their land. In the north of the state is one of the natural wonders of the world, the immense Grand Canyon, a groove carved out of the Earth’s surface of truly awesome majesty.
From a birding viewpoint Arizona not only possesses the richest assemblage of desert and mountain species in North America but also boasts a large number of Mexican species that, north of the so-called ‘tortilla curtain’, can only be found here. Indeed, some of the latter cannot be seen on standard Mexico tours, making a visit to Arizona even more appealing.
We will begin our journey in Tucson, the largest city in southeastern Arizona, where we shall investigate the arid, saguaro-studded landscapes of the Sonoran Desert, home of Gambel’s Quail, Greater Roadrunner, Gila Woodpecker, the strange Pyrrhuloxia and Rufous-winged Sparrow.
From the hot lowlands we head for the hills, first exploring famous Madera Canyon where we should find such specialities as the lovely Elegant Trogon, surely the bird that epitomizes Arizona’s tropical influences, Whiskered Screech-Owl, the delightful Elf Owl, Arizona Woodpecker, Mexican Jay, Lucy’s Warbler, the beautiful Painted Redstart and Yellow-eyed Junco. Back in the lowlands at California Gulch and at Patagonia, we will look for the rare Five-striped Sparrow in desert shrubbery and Gray Hawk, Western Screech-Owl, Violet-crowned and Broad-billed Hummingbirds, Rose-throated Becard and Thick-billed Kingbird amongst the cottonwoods, but more montane excitements await us in the Huachuca Mountains, notably Blue-throated, Anna’s and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Grace’s, Virginia and Red-faced Warblers, and the saturnine Spotted Owl.
Our travels through southeast Arizona will culminate in some exciting birding in the dramatic Chiricahua Mountains, last stronghold of Cochise, where we should see a wide spectrum of birds ranging from woodland species like Flammulated Owl, Mexican Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse and Olive Warbler to desert specialists such as Scaled Quail, Crissal and Bendire’s Thrashers, and Black-chinned Sparrow. We will finish off the main tour with a visit to the San Pedro River valley and Aravaipa Canyon with their Mississippi Kites and Common Black-Hawks.
During the optional extension we head northwards, The last part of this marvellous journey through wild Arizona will see us exploring the area around Phoenix for Gray Vireo and Le Conte’s Thrasher, standing on the spectacular rim of the Grand Canyon as reintroduced California Condors sweep past, and exploring the montane woodlands and canyons around Flagstaff in search of Gray Flycatcher, Clark’s Nutcracker and American Dipper.
Birdquest has operated tours to Arizona since 1992.
(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)
Accommodation & Road Transport: The motels are of normal Birdquest standard throughout. Road transport is by minibus/passenger van.
Walking: The walking effort is mostly easy, with a few moderate walks (and possibly one optional harder walk in search of Spotted Owl if the birds are roosting unusually far up the canyon).
Climate: Predominantly warm or hot, dry and sunny. Overcast conditions are likely at times, but rain is rather unlikely (although the occasional shower cannot be ruled out).
Bird Photography: Opportunities are good.
Tour Price: (provisional): $2620 Tucson/Tucson. Post-Tour Extension: $840 (ending in Phoenix). Price includes all transportation, all accommodations, all meals, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.
Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $510. Post-Tour Extension: $190.
Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).
Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.
It's a great tour for seeing the very handsome Pyrrhuloxia (Pat & David Wileman)
The scarce and localized Five-striped Sparrow is an Arizonan speciality (Pat & David Wileman)
A good number of colourful hummingbirds can be seen on the tour, including the fabulous Anna's Hummingbird (Pat & David Wileman)
It's a great trip for gamebirds, which include Wild Turkey (Pat & David Wileman)
... Gambel's Quail (Pat & David Wileman)
... and the localized Scaled Quail (Pat & David Wileman)
Mexican Duck is still often treated as a subspecies of Mallard, though it is very distinctive as the female and male are virtually identical (Pat & David Wileman)
Western Bluebirds provide more colour (Pat & David Wileman)
... as do striking Vermilion Flycatchers (Pat & David Wileman)
Birdquest LLC, 3721 Executive Center Drive, Suite 268, Austin, TX 78731
Ph: 512-343-1700, Fax: 512-343-1701
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