Birding in North Dakota and Boreal Forest

Detailed Itinerary

For more information or to register for this trip, call
Charles at 888-203-7464 ext. 912 or Charles directly
at 720-320-1974 or by email at info@PIBird.com.

Also feel free to call BG Adams in Mountain Home,
Virginia at 540-576-2399 or email at bg@pibird.com.

Day 1: Arrival Flights and Birding in Tucson
(Sweetwater Wetlands and Ina Road Bridge)

Arrive in either Phoenix or Tucson.

Choice 1 Tucson: Arrive in Tucson and take shuttle

to Country Inn and Suites by 2:00 PM.

Choice 2 Phoenix: Arrive into Phoenix by noon. We

will provide one pick up for everyone flying into

Phoenix. The van will likely arrive at 12:00 noon and

transport the whole group to Tucson. We will

arrange an arrival point at the airport once all flights

have been purchased.

The whole group will then plan to get to a nice start on
birding in the area at about 2:30 PM. We travel to the
Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson. We hope to see Cactus
Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Verdin, Tropical Kingbird,
Harris's Hawk to get started. We may take some time to
look for any rarities reported in the area.

After dinner, we will give everyone the option for watching
bats, swallows and nightjars as they change guard at Ina
Road Bridge. This late night birding will end by 8 PM to
support an early start the next morning.

Trail Overview: Easy walking on level ground.

Day 2: Madera Canyon and I-19 Corridor

We will depart at 5:30 AM. Our first destination is Madera
Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. Madera is known for
its hummingbirds, and we should see Broadbilled and
Magnificent, and with a little luck Blue-throated. Other
specialties of Madera include Elegant Trogon, Acorn
Woodpecker, Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse, and a variety
of flycatchers, including Dusky-capped, Brown-crested and
Sulphur-bellied. We will take short walks on level ground
as we work our way up in elevation from Proctor Road to
the Roundup parking area at 5400 feet.

We will spend the afternoon birding several key sites in the
I-19 corridor from Montosa Canyon to Pena Blanca Lake
and Rio Rico Ponds. In addition to any rarities being
reported, we hope to find Least Grebe, Varied and Lazuli
Buntings, Black-bellied Whistling-duck, Black-capped and
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Rufous-winged Sparrow.

Trail Overview: Easy walking on fairly even ground with a
little elevation gain in a few places.

Day 3: Catalina State Park, Dudleyville, Aravaipa, Oak
Flat Campground

We will again start at 5:30 AM and will investigate sites
north of Tucson. We will visit a variety of excellent birding
localities as we gradually move up in elevation. We will
search for a number of hard-to-get species, including
Common Black-hawk, Gray Vireo, Black-chinned Sparrow,
and Bendire’s and Crissal Thrashers.

Trail Overview: Most of our birding will consist of exploring
areas near where we park. We will have a bit of walking on
fairly level ground with little elevation gain.

Day 4: Patagonia

Again starting at 5:30 AM, we will begin our birding at
Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, which is a great place
to see Lucy’s Warbler, Abert’s Towhee, Vermilion
Flycatcher and black Phoebe. A stop at the famous Paton
residence nearby will give us an excellent opportunity for
Violet-crowned Hummingbird and other hummers. The
“bird-scaped” grounds are also good for Scaled Quail,
White-winged Dove and Common Ground-dove. Just
outside the town of Patagonia is the pull-out which gave
birth to the famous “Patagonia Rest Area Effect”; a rarity
found here many years ago resulted in more birders
visiting the area, which resulted in the discovery of more
rarities, etc. A quick stop here should produce a few birds,
including some of the flycatchers for which the site is
known; Dusky-capped Flycatcher and Thick-billed Kingbird
are possibilities.

Trail Overview: Easy walking on fairly level ground

Day 5: Catalina Mountains

We will make a number of stops at great birding localities
today. The Catalinas feature wonderful scenery as well as
opportunities for a variety of warblers, including Red-faced
Warbler, Olive Warbler, Virginia's Warbler and Grace's
Warbler. Other possible species include Cordilleran
Flycatcher, Acorn Woodpecker, Stellar’s Jay, Spotted
Towhee and Painted Redstart.

Trail Overview: Easy walking on fairly level ground

Day 6: The Huachuca Mountains and Vicinity

We’ll start our day early again as we head towards
Huachuca Canyon and move up in elevation later in the
day. Specialties of the area include Band-tailed Pigeon,
Elegant Trogon, Arizona Woodpecker, Zone-tailed Hawk
and the much-sought-after Buff-bellied Flycatcher. We will
finish our day with visits to Beatty’s Guest Ranch and Ash
Canyon B&B. Each is known for its hummingbird viewing,
and could get over ten hummingbird species, including
Blue-throated Hummingbird, White-eared Hummingbird and
Lucifer Hummingbird.

Trail Overview: Easy walking with a bit of elevation gain.

Day 7: Chiricahuas

Pick-up at 5:30 AM. The first stop will be Willcox for the
shorebird migration, then we will head into the Chiricahuas
looking specifically for the Mexican Chickadee and the
Short-tailed Hawk. We may also find Yellow-eyed Junco,
Juniper Titmouse, Blue-throated Hummingbird and Olive
Warbler. This is another long drive day, but should be
worth it.

Easy walking with some elevation gain.

Day 8: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and California
Gulch

Most on the trip participants will join BG Adams for a day at
the Desert Museum, but sleeping in and/or spending some
time in Tucson will also be options. The extensive desert
gardens at the museum are a great place to get stunning
looks at Cactus Wren, Gila Woodpecker and Curve-billed
Thrasher, whose “whit-weet” calls echo through the
grounds. With a little looking we might find Inca Dove,
Pyrrhuloxia, Phainopepla, Hooded Oriole or Costa’s
Hummingbird. Some of the many wonderful things about
the Desert Museum are the opportunities to escape the
mid-day heat by exploring the many galleries and exhibits,
some of which are underground.

We will enjoy lunch at one of the several eateries at the
museum and then return to our rooms for an afternoon nap
to prepare for the evening’s outing at California Gulch.

We will depart for California Gulch at 3:00 PM and will look
for Five-striped Sparrow and Montezuma Quail en route.
We’ll take in the beauty of an Arizona sunset at the canyon,
followed by dinner and some owling. Owls and nightjars
are on the menu (for birding, not dinner!), and possibilities
include Elf Owl, Western and Whiskered Screech-owls,
Common Poorwill, Mexican Whip-poor-will and Buff-collared
Nightjar.

Easy walking with a bit of elevation on uneven ground.

Day 9: Departures from Arizona to All Points Home

Everyone should plan to depart Arizona today, but you can
choose to stay longer.

The inn in Tucson will offer shuttle services to the Tucson
airport.

Based upon flight schedules, we will make one departure
for the Phoenix airport. This will likely be early in the
morning.

Weather: You can expect some rain each day in
August/September usually late in the afternoon, and this
will help cool things off. Most of the birding will be in the
upper elevations getting us the chance to escape the heat
of the Tucson area on a daily basis.

Overview of Trail Conditions: This trip does not entail a
lot of hiking. Mostly we will work each area within reach of
the car, except for short hikes into the upper Madera
Canyon. Some places will have fairly even walking, but the
terrain will be uneven in most areas.

Southeast Arizona Birding at a Relaxed Pace