February 11 – 15, 2011
COST PER PERSON, DOUBLE OCCUPANCY: $1150
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $250
DEPOSIT: $350
From Tucson Airport, includes four nights lodging, all meals, transportaton, en-try fees, guides, taxes, tips.
Not Included: laundry, alcohol, phone calls, other personal expenses
Easy, with one moderate to difficult, optional hike for Spotted Owl.
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Southeastern Arizona is truly a birder's paradise. The tremendous variety of habitat types and the geographic proximity to Mexico provide for a phenomenal diversity of avian species.
Most of the neotropical species go south in the winter, but many other species move in to winter, and a number of resident species are easy to find. Hawks, eagles, falcons, sparrows and other resident birds will be our focus for this long weekend. We will enjoy some of the fine food in Southeast Arizona. Our last day, we’ll have a meal prepared at the Inn by our fine French chef from Phoenix.
DAY ONE: We'll provide a Tucson Airport pickup at 4:00 PM for those arriving by air. Others should arrive at Ramsey Canyon Inn by 5:30 PM. Dinner together at 6:30 PM at the Outside Inn.
DAY TWO: Breakfast at 7:30 AM. Depart at 8:15 AM. We drive West today through Coronado National Monument and San Raphael Valley. We’ll stop in Patagonia to see if any hummers are at the Paton’s feeders, then go to Kino Springs and, finally, Patagonia Lake where we hope to find the pair of Black-capped Gnatcatchers that have been wintering there. Dinner at 7:00 PM at our favorite restaurant, Café Roka, in the old mining town turned artist colony of Bisbee.
DAY THREE: Breakfast at 7:30 AM. Depart at 8:15 AM. We’ll spend the day in Sulphur Springs Valley-- in search of Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks, Prairie Falcons, Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Bendire’s Thrasher, Mountain Plover, Sprague’s Pipit, Sage Sparrow, and Sandhill Cranes. Dinner at 6:30 at the Mesquite Tree, Sierra Vista.
DAY FOUR: Breakfast at 7:30 AM. Depart at 8:15 AM. We'll spend the early morning at the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area--the first desig-nated Globally Important Bird Area and one of the Nature Conservancies 12 "Last Great Places on Earth"— where we hope to see the elusive Green Kingfisher.
Later, we’ll drive to Fort Huachuca and Garden Canyon. We’ll visit Scheelite Canyon for Mexican Spotted Owl, and Sawmill Canyon for high eleva-tion species, e.g., Yellow-eyed Junco. Gourmet dinner prepared by our French chef from Phoenix.
DAY FIVE: Tour ends after breakfast. We’ll return you to Tucson Airport by about 9:30 AM.
Casual, informal attire is acceptable for all restaurants. Casual, informal attire is acceptable for all restaurants. The following items are important to have for you comfort and safety. We are at about 5000 feet most of the time, so temperatures can drop below freezing in the morning. Windy days can produce a significant wind-chill factor. Temperatures usually moderate during the day getting up into the 60’s most days at lower elevations
All books can be obtained from Madison Audubon Shoppe (888) 505-9056 at a 10% discount for High Lonesome BirdTours trip participants.