NEOTROPICAL SPECIALTIES OF SOUTHEASTERN
ARIZONA
DATES
MAY 5 - 12, 2007
May 3 – 10, 2008
COST (PER PERSON)
DOUBLE: $1975 SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $300
DEPOSIT: $350
PARTICIPANTS: 7
GUIDES: 1
INCLUDES
From Tuscon, 7 nights lodging, all
meals from 1st night dinner through final day's breakfast, guides, taxes, tips.
OVERVIEW
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 most of the 15 species of Hummingbirds.
We'll spend two nights in the Tucson area, two nights in Cave Creek, and three nights in Sierra Vista. These comfortable and beautiful locations give us easy access to all the premier birding spots of Southeastern Arizona without long drives at the end of the day.
We carry a box lunch or have lunch catered in the field. To enhance your experience and comfort, we will have two guides. While our focus will be on birds, we'll also point out the enormous variety of flora and fauna as well as the cultural and historical highlights of S.E. Arizona
ITINERARY
THE ITINERARY MAY
CHANGE FROM YEAR TO YEAR, BUT ALL AREAS WILL BE VISITED.
Day One: Tucson Airport pick-up at 4:00 p.m. Drive to Portal for dinner and overnight at Cave Creek Ranch.
Day Two: Up early to explore the South Fork of Cave
Creek. To Paradise feeders for
Juniper Titmouse. We'll drive up high to Rustler and Barfoot
Parks for lunch and some high elevation birding to include Mexican
Chickadee. Dinner and owling
after. Overnight at Cave Creek Ranch.
Day Three: Early breakfast, then we'll depart for Sierra Vista. We'll stop at Wilcox Pond for shorebirds. Box lunch. Arrive in Sierra Vista in the afternoon at the Windemere Hotel where we'll overnight. After dinner, we will do some owling in Carr Canyon, with hopes of finding Western & Whiskered Screech-Owls, Elf Owls, and Common Poorwill & Whip-poor-will.
Day Four: Breakfast at Windemere. Off to Garden and Scheelite Canyons in the Huachuca Mts. We expect to see Buff-breasted Flycatcher; Olive, Grace's, Townsend's, Black-throated Gray, Red-faced & Hermit Warblers;
Painted Redstart; Dusky-capped & Cordilleran Flycatchers; Greater Pewee;
Hepatic Tanager, and last, but not least, Elegant Trogon. In the afternoon, we'll hike up Scheelite Canyon to find the Mexican Spotted Owl. We'll have dinner and overnight in Sierra Vista.
Day Five: : Early breakfast at the Windemere, We'll spend part of the day exploring the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek area, the famous Paton's hummingbird feeders, and Kino Springs. Birds include Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Rose-throated Becard, Thick-billed & Tropical Kingbird. In the afternoon, we'll drive back to Sierra Vista and stop at Ramsey Canyon Preserve and Miller Canyon for the best hummingbird watching in the US. We should see as many as 12 species of hummingbirds in these areas. Dinner in Sierra Vista.
Day Six: Check out of Windemere following breakfast. We'll stop at the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area to look for breeding birds, e.g., Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Willow Flycatcher. Box lunch at San Pedro, then onto Tucson where we'll look for some birds such as the Rufous-winged Sparrow and LeConte's Thrasher. Dinner and overnight.
Day Seven: After an early breakfast we'll bird some different areas around Tucson. We'll head for the beautiful and remote California Gulch on the Mexican border in the early afternoon. Enroute we hope to see Montezuma Quail and, at the Gulch, the elusive Five-striped Sparrow, Varied Bunting, & Northern Beardless Tyrannulet. We're going in the afternoon so that we can do a box dinner and look for the Buff-collared Nightjar in the evening. Overnight at Tucson Courtyard Inn.
.Day Eight: Breakfast and shuttle to the airport for your flights home.
CLOTHING/EQUIPMENT
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. We spend
little time at lower elevations, but temperatures can reach 100 degrees
there.
v Hat
with brim/visor
v Sunglasses
v Sunscreen
v Water
bottle (we will carry extra water for refills)
v Small
day pack/fanny pack
v Hiking
boots or sturdy walking shoes
v Long-sleeve
shirts
v Walking
shorts
v Long
pants
v Light
weight jacket or light sweater for evenings and early mornings
v Wind-breaker
/rain jacket
v Binoculars
(scope is optional; we will have
one or two scopes)
Recommended Books:
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North American,
David Sibley.
A BirderÕs 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 American. 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.
RESERVATIONS
For
reservations or detailed brochures contact:
HIGH LONESOME BIRDTOURS
570 S. Little Bear Trail, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635
Phone (520) 458-9446 or 1-800-743-2668
Email: hilone@hilonesome.com
Website: www.hilonesome.com