Birds and Nature
in Southeast Arizona
May 8 -16, 2015
Led by Mark Smith
Southeast Arizona is perhaps the most exciting birdwatching destination in North America. Our southwestern deserts have a distinctive avifauna. Rising above the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts in southeast Arizona are the cool “Mexican Mountains,” isolated ranges covered in oaks, pines, and firs. These beautiful ranges (the Santa Ritas, Chiricahuas, and Huachucas) are biologically similar to the Sierra Madre to the south, and many Mexican species reach their northern limit here. Typical western forest birds also occur in these mountains; the result is a remarkably high bird diversity in a small area. By mid-May all the regional specialties have returned and are in full song, yet temperatures are not so high as to make the desert uncomfortable.
As we search for birds we’ll also have opportunities to photograph flowers and cacti, and to see mammals and reptiles distinctive to the region. We will visit well known sites such as The Nature Conservancy’s Sonoita Creek and Ramsey Canyon (hummingbirds), the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Patagonia, and Cave Creek Canyon. Some of the regional specialties include zone-tailed, gray and common black hawks, the elegant trogon, elf, whiskered and spotted owls, over ten possible hummingbirds, Strickland’s, gila and ladder-backed woodpeckers, sulphur-bellied and buff-breasted flycatchers, Mexican chickadee, crissal and curve-billed thrashers, red-faced, Grace’s, Virginia’s, Lucy’s and olive warblers, painted redstart, Abert’s and canyon towhees, and yellow-eyed junco among many others, which are detailed in the itinerary that follows. In addition to seeing birds, there will be time for photography, plant identification, and discussions of the region’s ecology.
LEADERSHIP
Mark J. Smith has been a keen student of nature since he was a small boy. At Oregon State University he studied biology, and now he organizes and leads natural history tours. His trips and travels have brought him many times to Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia and Europe. In his home state of Oregon he has led numerous tours for The Nature Conservancy of Oregon, The Portland Audubon Society, Full Circle Tours, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and Elderhostel. He has conducted research and in Alaska for the National Marine Fisheries Service. He is the co-author of Birds of Oregon. His broad knowledge and contagious enthusiasm keep travelers returning to his trips year after year.
LODGINGS, TRANSPORTATION AND GROUP SIZE
We will be staying in comfortable hotels throughout the tour. Approximately 80% of all meals are included. Meals paid for individually are indicated in the itinerary. Formal dress is not necessary. The group will be limited to nine. Transport will be by air-conditioned 15-passenger van.
preparation
Participants will be sent maps, an equipment list, bird lists, copies of selected articles, and a list of suggested reading to aid in preparation for the trip.
activities and expectations
In desert areas most of our activity will be in the cool of the morning; however we may experience temperatures in the 90’s in some places. There will be several walks for distances of about three leisurely miles. A few days we will be driving about four hours. Beware of the sun. Be sure to bring plenty of sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat.
costs and reservations
The price of this tour is based on at least eight travelers in double occupancy. If our group size falls below eight, a minimal small-group supplement will be added to the tour cost.
Initial reservation deposit $500
Final Payment due March 8, 2015 $1650
Ground Fare Total $2150
Deposit and final payment checks should be made payable
to Mark Smith Nature Tours, and sent to:
Mark Smith
P.O. Box 3831
Portland, Oregon 97208-3831
If you have any questions, please call Mark at
360-566-0458 or send email to marksmithnaturetours@hotmail.
single supplement
The single supplement for this tour is $320.
FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS
Pam Davis of Willamette International Travel is familiar with our itinerary and may be of assistance in arranging flights to Tucson. This will help coordinate arrivals into Tucson.
Pam Davis of Willamette International Travel
1314 NW Irving St. #101
Portland, OR 97209-2721
Email:
Phone: 503-224-0180 or 1-800-821-0401
cancellations and refunds
Any cancellation for which a suitable replacement is found receives a full refund. Other cancellations are subject to
the following: forfeit of $600 of ground costs if cancellation is received between 90 and 30 days prior
to departure and forfeit of 60% of ground costs for cancellation received within 29 days of departure. Participants are encouraged to consider trip cancellation insurance.
ITINERARY
(Meals paid for individually are indicated by “individual dinner,” etc.)
Day 1 Friday, May 8 Tucson
We meet at 6:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Clarion Hotel to get acquainted and discuss our plans for tomorrow. The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service from the airport to the Clarion, just five minutes away. (Individual dinner.) For those that come in later Mark will meet you later or leave a detailed message for you regarding tomorrow’s departure plans.
Day 2 Saturday, May 9 Tucson/Saguaro Monument/Desert Museum, Chiricahuas
After breakfast we leave early for spectacular Saguaro National Monument and the adjacent Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a fantastic outdoor museum featuring the life of the Sonoran Desert. After exploring the Monument for an hour and a half, we continue to the museum, which provides an excellent introduction to the plants and animals that we will be viewing during our tour. On the museum grounds (but not captive) are curve-billed thrasher, roadrunner, verdin, Gambel’s quail, black-throated sparrow, cactus wren, and black-tailed gnatcatcher, among others. After a picnic lunch we head for the Chiricahua Mountains, a three hour drive, with short stops en route. We will look for waterfowl, shorebirds, stilts, and avocets at Willcox Playa. After check-in at delightful Cave Creek Ranch and dinner at the Southwest Research Station of the American Museum of Natural History (where we have several meals), there will be optional owling until about 10 p.m. Whiskered screech, elf, and flammulated owls, along with whip-poor-wills are some of the possibilities. (Individual lunch at Desert Museum.)
Day 3 & 4 Sunday, Monday, May 10 & 11 The Chiricahuas
We stay two more nights in bird-filled Cave Creek Canyon, exploring the varied habitats of the enchanting Chiricahuas. We’ll walk the South Fork Trail of Cave Creek Canyon to find the elegant trogon, and watch well-known hummingbird feeders for beauties like blue-throated and magnificent hummingbirds. At Rustler Park and other forest sites we’ll search out the high mountain specialties of the areas – warblers such as Grace’s, red-faced, Virginia’s, olive, and painted redstart; flycatchers such as sulphur-bellied, dusky-capped, and greater pewee. The gray-breasted jay, hepatic tanager, Strickland’s woodpecker, bridled titmouse, and yellow-eyed junco are other exciting species.
Day 5 Tuesday, May 12 Chiricahuas to Sierra Vista
A final early morning birdwatch to Cave Creek Canyon and then we pack and head for Douglas. En route we will search yucca flats near Rodeo for scaled quail, Swainson’s hawk, and Bendire’s thrasher. After lunch in Douglas we continue on to Sierra Vista with stops along the way. One stop will be the historic mining town of Bisbee where we will view the Lavender Pit Mine. In the evening we’ll visit the scrub and riparian woodlands along the San Pedro River, where we may find Gambel’s and scaled quail, lesser nighthawk, Chihuahuan raven, crissal thrasher, summer tanager, Lucy’s warbler, yellow-breasted chat, and Abert’s towhee. There is always the possibility of a green kingfisher. (Individual dinner.)
Day 6 Wednesday, May 13 Huachuca Mountains, Ramsey Canyon, Patagonia
Early this morning we may find Botteri’s Sparrow in the grasslands, before continuing higher to search for a spotted owl in Scheelite Canyon. We will see many other species in the pine-oak woodlands, and after a picnic lunch we search for buff-breasted flycatcher and greater pewee. In the afternoon, the hummingbird feeders at the Nature Conservancy’s Mile Hi Ranch in Ramsey Canyon attract broad-billed, blue-throated, magnificent, black-chinned, Anna’s and broad-tailed hummingbirds, and others are possible. We continue to Patagonia where we stay two nights. (Individual dinner).
Day 7 Thursday, May 14 Patagonia
This morning we visit The Nature Conservancy’s Sonoita Creek Sanctuary. The preserve protects examples of some of North America’s rarest habitat types: a cienega and desert riparian woodland. We will likely see gray hawks, Lucy’s warbler, Cassin’s kingbird, brown-crested flycatcher, summer tanager, lesser goldfinch, and possible yellow-billed cuckoo just arriving from their wintering grounds in South America. Green kingfisher, Violet-crowned hummingbird, zone-tailed hawk, northern beardless tyrannulet, and thick-billed kingbirds are also regulars. Nearby Kino Springs often has tropical kingbird and black-bellied whistling duck, while olivaceous cormorant is possible in the area. (Individual lunch.)
Day 8 Friday, May 15 California Gulch, Madera Canyon
Today we depart early to investigate California Gulch, one of the few canyons outside of Mexico where the five-striped sparrow regularly breeds. We will take a walk along this beautiful narrow canyon, which also attracts varied bunting, Costa’s hummingbird, rufous-crowned sparrow, common black hawk, golden eagle and Montezuma quail. At Tubac, a town of artisans, we break for lunch and shopping. We then continue north to Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. Here the feeders have hummers, and we can do a delightful walk down the creek in search of any pine-oak species we may have missed. We return to the Clarion in Tucson for our final dinner. (Individual lunch.)
Day 9 Saturday, May 16 Tucson/Home
Depart for home. The hotel provides courtesy shuttle to the airport.