Southeast Arizona offers some of the best birding in the world. The region’s diversity of landscapes, elevational range, and plant communities provide habitat for more than 400 species throughout the year. Montane vegetation extending from the Rockies meets southern flora from the Sierra Madre Occidental. On the east, the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts meet. Cool coniferous forests, oak and pine woodlands, deserts, and grasslands separate the mountain ranges. Birds associated with all of these habitats are easily accessible within a half-day drive from Tucson.
Join Front Range Birding & Optics + Reefs to Rockies for an immersive 6-day experience at some of Southeast Arizona’s best birding hotspots. This is Arizona spring birding at its best!
Chip Clouse is a long-time bird tour leader and a Reefs to Rockies’ Naturalist Guide. He’s also ProStaff for Opticron Optics and Former Manager of Front Range Birding Company.
Originally enamored with tooth and claw predators, his fascination with birds started by volunteering with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to monitor Peregrine Falcon nest sites. His fascination and love for birds was cemented once he saw his first Western Tanager while working for the Peregrine Fund in Oregon. Chip’s experience includes 20 years of bird research and project management experience in nine states and the Caribbean nation of Grenada, a Masters in Conservation Biology from Colorado State University, five years with the American Birding Association, two years as a rep with Novagrade Digiscoping adapters and stints guiding at 15+ different US birding festivals.
Chip is excited to share his love of Arizona birds and habitats with you.
Add $445* if you prefer a private, single occupancy room. Please note that private rooms may not be available at Portal Peak Lodge and Casa de San Pedro. If you plan to book a private room, check with us first to confirm availability.
Morning arrival to Tucson International Airport (TUS). We’ll hit one or two Tucson area hotspots to start. We’ll then continue to the Willcox Playa and Cochise Lakes IBA (Important Bird Area) hotspots before settling in for the night in Willcox. The heart of this IBA is the massive Willcox Playa, a broad alkaline lakebed fringed with semi-desert grassland, primarily saltgrass and sacaton and mesquite. The playa is seasonally flooded to a shallow depth. Outlying this playa are the satellite lakes and wetlands of Cochise Lakes and Twin Lakes Golf Course. Get to know fellow travelers this evening during our Welcome Dinner.
Plan to arrive to Tucson International Airport (Airport code TUS) by 9 am today.
Accommodations: Arizona Sunset Inn
Meals: Lunch and Dinner