AUGUST 14 - 21, 2010
AUGUST 20 - 27, 2011
DOUBLE: $2450; SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $450
DEPOSIT: $350
PARTICIPANTS: 6 – 10
GUIDES: 1 or 2; Wezil Walraven plus another if more than 7 participants.
From Tucson, pickup & drop-off at Tucson Airport, seven nights lodging, all meals, transport, guide, taxes, & tips.
Not included: alcohol; personal phone calls, laundry, other personal expenses.
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Join us for this seven night trip of birding at its best in Southeastern Arizona. More than 300 resident and neotropical avian species can be seen here, many found only in this fascinating land of amazing contrasts where the Sonoran Desert, the Sierra Madres, the Rocky Mountains and the Chihuahuan Desert all converge in a startling explosion of biodiversity unmatched in North America. We expect to see about 150 of the species, including 13+ species of Hummingbirds.
DAY ONE: Pickup at Tucson Airport at 4:30 PM. Drive to Sierra Vista and Ramsey Canyon Inn. We’ll be in early enough to see some of the many hummingbird species that come to the feeders at the Inn, including Magnificent, Blue-throated, White-eared and Berylline. Dinner at the Mesquite Tree at 7:00 PM.
DAY TWO: We’ll have breakfast at Ramsey @ 7:00 AM, then head over to Miller Canyon and Beatty’s for hummingbirds. We’ll spend the day in the area, and pick up any vagrant hummers that might be in the Sierra Vista area. We’ll have dinner about 6:30 at Delio’s in Sierra Vista, After dinner, we will do some owling in Carr Canyon, with hopes of finding Western & Whiskered Screech-Owls, Elf Owls, and Common Poorwill and Whip-poor-will.
DAY THREE: Continental breakfast @ 5:30 AM off to Patagonia. for Paton's hummingbird feeders, Roadside Rest and Kino Springs. Birds may include Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Rose-throated Becard, Thick-billed and Tropical Kingbird. Dinner at 6:30 in Sierra Vista.
DAY FOUR: Continental breakfast at 5:30 AM. We take the short drive to Garden Canyon and its famous side canyons, Scheelite and Sawmill. We expect to see Buff-breasted Flycatcher; Olive, Grace’s, Townsend’s, Blackthroated Gray, Red-faced & Hermit Warblers; Painted Redstart; Dusky-capped & Cordilleran Flycatchers; Greater Pewee; Hepatic Tanager, and last, but not least, Elegant Trogon and Mexican Spotted Owl. Dinner at 6:30 at Outback Restaurant in Sierra Vista.
DAY FIVE: We’ll leave after continental breakfast at 5:30 AM from Ramsey Canyon and make our way over to Portal and Cave Creek Canyon. Spend the morning around the Portal area where we should see Lucifer’s Hummingbird, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Western Scrub-Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Bendire’s & Crissal Thrasher & Black-chinned Sparrow among others and then head up to the upper levels of the Chiricahua Mountains: This is our opportunity to find the Mexican Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet and, perhaps, Red Crossbill. We’ll have a box lunch at Barfoot Park. We’ll have dinner at 6:30 at the Bisbee Grille on our way back to Sierra Vista.
DAY SIX: Continental breakfast at 6:00 AM, then head down to the San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area. We’ll walk the river in the morning, then have a box lunch there as well. Afternoon, we’ll go to the Sierra Vista Sewage Ponds, and then back to Miller for some more hummingbirds. Dinner at Rosa’s in Bisbee.
DAY SEVEN: Breakfast at 7:00 AM and then spend the day at Ramsey Canyon Preserve, exploring the Canyon and its environs. For those who like to hike , we can hike to the Ramsey Canyon Lookout, then down into the Upper Canyon, and the Miller Canyon Wilderness Area. We should get good looks at a large number of species. Those who don’t wish to take a long hike can spend the day around the Ramsey Canyon Nature Conservancy Preserve where there are numerous birds to watch. Dinner at 6:30 in Bisbee, an old mining town and artist haven at our longtime favorite Café Roka.
DAY EIGHT: Breakfast and departure for the airport, to arrive about 10:00 AM.
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 are fairly moderate, especially during the monsoons. Temperatures will range from 50 in the early morning to 85. At lower elevations, temperatures can reach 90+ degrees.
Hat with brim/visor
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Water bottle (we will carry extra water for refills)
Small day pack/fanny pack
Hiking boots or sturdy walking shoes
Long-sleeve shirts
Walking shorts
Long pants
Light weight jacket or light sweater for evenings and early mornings
Wind-breaker/rain jacket
Binoculars (scope is optional; we will have one or two scopes)
National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America. 2007. Dunn, et.al.
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, David Sibley.
Field Guide to Birds of North America. National Geographic, 5th Edi-tion.
A Birder’s Guide to Southeastern Arizona. (Lane Guide). Richard Taylor.
A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors. Brian Wheeler & William Clark.
A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of The Sparrow of the United States and Canada. James Rising & David Beadle.
Birds of North America. Kenn Kaufman.
Going Back to Bisbee. Richard Shelton. University of Arizona Press. 1992.
J. A. Jance mystery series about JoAnn Brady, Sheriff of Cochise County, Southeastern, AZ.
All books can be obtained from Madison Audubon Shoppe (888) 505-9056 at a 10% discount for High Lonesome BirdTours trip participants.