Birding around southeast Arizona

Birding

Our central location gives you easy access to 16 popular southeast Arizona birding destinations such as Ramsey Canyon, Beatty’s Orchard, Garden Canyon, Patagonia Preserve, San Pedro Riparian Area, Kino Springs and White-water Draw. Elevations of 4250′ on the San Pedro River to 7500 feet in the mountain canyons provide comfortable birding in our high desert environment. A rich variety of sparrows, songbirds, quail, flycatchers, phoebes, towhees, kingbirds and hawks/falcons are available for your study and pleasure. See below for more details. Let us arrange for local guides to make your birding experience more productive.

Cooperative Southeast Arizona Birding Programs

Join one of the variety of tours and learning experiences led by Sheri Williamson and Tom Wood of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (SABO). These educational programs, offered for the discriminating nature enthusiast, combine outstanding southwestern hospitality with some of the most exciting and diverse birding in North America. Please request a reservation to participate in a SABO workshop when making your Casa reservation.

Summer and Spring bring out the best in the sky islands region of southeastern Arizona. Wildflowers in an astounding variety of shapes and colors attract equally diverse pollinators – hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, even bats. Participants will stroll along the San Pedro River and hike the canyons of the neighboring Huachuca Mountains in search of up to 13 species of hummingbirds, 100+ species of butterflies and dozens of species of wildflowers. Remember, our Spring really occurs in August when the Summer monsoon rains bring green to the valley and water to the San Pedro River (in abundance!). Our “spring flowers” with all the butterflies are available in August (temperatures in the mid-80s during the day and dipping into the low 60s at night – who knew you could come to Arizona and even survive in August!!

Resident Bird Species

Green Heron, Green Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher, Mexican Duck, Black Vulture, White-tailed Kite
Quail: Montezuma, Scaled, Gambel’s
Common Moorhen, Inca Dove, White Winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner.
Owls: Western Screech, Whiskered Screech, Burrowing, Mexican Spotted, Great-horned, Barn
Hummingbirds: Blue-throated, Magnificent, Anna’s, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Violet-crowned
Woodpeckers: Acorn, Gila, Strickland’s, Gilded, Lewis’s
Phoebes: Black, Say’s
Jays/Ravens: Steller’s, Mexican, and the Chihuauan Raven
Thrashers: Curved Bill, Bendires, Crissal
Silky Flycatchers: Phainopepla
Sparrows: Rufus-winged, Five Striped, Lark, White-crowned, House
Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Black-throated Gray Warbler
Pyrrhuloxia Yellow-eyed Junco
Towhees: Spotted, Canyon, Aberts, Green Tailed
Wrens: Cactus, Rock, Canyon , Bewick’s

Summer Birds

We think Summer is the best season to see birds locally – the Summer weather here is warm but it is much less hot than Phoenix or Tucson – often 10 – 20 degrees cooler! No wonder the birds flock to the San Pedro River Valley and the mountain canyons! And we also have a lot of different butterflies as well. Not the arid desert that many expect to find in SE Arizona!

Great Horned, Elf, Western & Whiskered Screech, Burrowing, and Barn Owls
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier, Swainson’s, Ferruginous, Gray, Harris’s and Red Tailed Hawks
Eared Grebe, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Common Black-Hawk, Gray Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Greater Yellowlegs
Band-tailed Pigeon, White-winged Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Elf Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, Buff-collared Nightjar
Black Chin, Anna’s, Broad-billed, Broad-tailed, White-eared, Berylline, Violet-crowned, Rufous, Magnificent, Calliope, Blue-throated, Plain Capped Star-throat – hummingbirds
Elegant Trogon, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Willow Flycatcher, Greater Pewee
Cordilleran Flycatcher, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Sulfur-bellied Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird, Thick-billed Kingbird, Western Kingbird
Rose-throated Becard, Plain Titmouse, Bell’s Vireo, Hutton’s Vireo
Virginia’s Warbler, Lucy’s Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart, Olive Warbler
Summer Tanager, Hepatic Tanager, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak
Varied Bunting, Lazuli Bunting
Botteri’s Sparrow, Cassin’s Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow
Yellow-eyed Junco, Hooded Oriole, Bullock’s Oriole, Scott’s Oriole, Lesser Goldfinch