Arizona: Second Spring

Southeastern Arizona, especially from late spring through the summer, and ranks among the favorite of North American birdwatching destinations. In this varied region, where mountain ranges rise like islands above the surrounding deserts and grasslands, northern birds follow the coniferous zones of the peaks southward and overlap with subtropical species that reach their northernmost outposts in Arizona’s mountain canyons. As a result, the diversity of breeding birds is remarkable. By early August the summer monsoon rains have usually arrived, and these typically brief showers bring notable changes. During this “second spring” the vegetation becomes green again, temperatures drop from early summer highs, and there is a resurgence of birdsong and activity. Birding in Arizona is excellent throughout the summer months, but we favor late July and early August because it offers ideal opportunities to study grassland sparrows, increased chances of seeing rarer hummingbirds and the potential for early fall migrants and uncommon to rare species from Mexico. With the monsoon in full swing, we should also see a wide variety of reptiles, and butterflies should be near their peak abundance.

Apart from our time in Tucson and the Santa Cruz Valley, our tour takes place in the southeast Arizona highlands above 4,000 feet, where the days are cooler, the surroundings greener, and life in general more vibrant.

A delightful feature of this tour is our lodging.  We make a special effort to stay in local lodging, where our group will have easy access to feeder watching and be close to many birding hotspots.