Birding Tour USA: Comprehensive Southeast Arizona – The Desert and Sky Islands

Southeast Arizona is a land of stark contrasts and spectacular scenery. In the lowlands, granite outcrops, towering Saguaro cacti, and sandy washes typify the Sonoran Desert, a landscape featured in so many ‘Western’ movies. The fabled Sonoran Desert is the home of such iconic species as Greater Roadrunner and Gambel’s Quail. Rising from the desert, isolated mountain ranges, clad in beautiful Madrean pine-oak woodland, provide a habitat found nowhere else in the United States. At remarkably cool (compared to the very hot desert plains below) higher elevations on these sky islands, pine forests can also sometimes be found. These forested mountain islands, with provocative names such as the Huachucas and Chiricahuas, are the northernmost outposts for a long list of primarily Mexican species such as Elegant Trogon and Mexican Chickadee. The canyons surrounding these mountains carry ephemeral streams to the parched lowlands below, creating ribbon-like groves of cottonwood that act as a conduit for even more tropical birds to enter south-eastern Arizona, such as Thick-billed Kingbird and Violet-crowned Hummingbird. Together, these contrasting habitats make southeast Arizona one of the most exciting regions to bird in North America, with more bird species than any other land-locked area of comparable size in the United States. With incredible birding areas like Cave Creek Canyon and the Ramsey Canyon Preserve and Nature Conservancy, it is no wonder why only California, Texas, and Florida have state lists longer than this relatively small region! The Arizona bird list boasts over 570 species! Of these species, 36 are only occasional anywhere else within the United States, making Arizona a must for North American birders.

The striking Five-striped Sparrow is one of many specialties of southeast Arizona.

We begin this tour in the city of Tucson, where we explore the Sonoran Desert via Saguaro National Park, as well as travel up the impressive peak of Mt. Lemmon. In the southeast corner of the state, the Santa Ritas will provide us with our first true taste of birding the Madrean sky islands, with specialties such as Elegant Trogon. Further east we will punctuate our time spent in the upper elevation of the Huachucas with vigils at lowland hummingbird feeders for Violet-crowned Hummingbird and Lucifer Sheartail (Hummingbird). Heading even further east, we straddle the border with New Mexico and explore the Chiricahuas, which hosts more specialties like Mexican Chickadee and Olive Warbler.