Arizona: Photo Tour

Arizona is a unique combination of habitat and birds; featuring Sonoran Desert, oak woodlands, pine forests, expansive grasslands, riparian corridors, and occasional water features, Arizona boasts a bird list of ~570 species, a total ranking it behind only Texas and California. Most excitingly, at least twenty-five Mexican and Central American species reach their northern range limits in the region, specifically in the mountain ranges or ‘sky islands’ which dot the southeast corner of the Grand Canyon State. This tour focuses on the four most productive ranges — the Catalinas, the Santa Ritas, the Huachucas, and the Chiricahuas — so we’ll have excellent chances of viewing and photographing this special subset of Arizona’s avifauna. Against a backdrop of incredible landscapes and with the ever-present possibility of encountering reptiles and mammals, Arizona is fantastic destination for bird and nature photography. ​

As this is a dedicated photo tour (versus a more general birding tour), it is important that clients understand how the days will unfold before booking this departure.

• This tour will utilize a modified meal schedule because we want to be in the field when the light is best and the temperatures are lowest. Sunrise in mid-May is around 5:30am, so our morning outing will run from ~5am until ~10am, at which time we’ll have brunch. Sunset is around 7:15pm, so we’ll return to the field at ~4pm and shoot until around 7pm, at which time we’ll have dinner. Snacks will be provided in the morning and afternoon to bridge the gap between meals.

• We will have a lot of midday downtime because the birds aren’t active in the heat of the day and the overhead light at those hours doesn’t lend to pretty pictures. Clients should plan to use the time between ~11am and ~3:30pm for resting, editing photos, etc.