Arizona Tour Report 2016

18th April - 28th April


TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Either for rarity value, excellent views or simply a group favourite.

  • The Grand Canyon!
  • Scaled Quail
  • Gambel’s Quail
  • Grey Hawk
  • American Avocet
  • Wilson’s Phalarope
  • Greater Roadrunner
  • Western Screech Owl
  • Whiskered Screech Owl
  • Mexican Spotted Owl
  • Mountain Pygmy Owl
  • Elf Owl
  • White-throated Swift
  • Violet-crowned Hummingbird
  • Magnificent Hummingbird
  • Anna’s Hummingbird
  • Rufous Hummingbird
  • Lucifer Hummingbird
  • Elegant Trogon
  • Arizona Woodpecker
  • Gilded Flicker
  • Greater Pewee
  • Buff-breasted Flycatcher
  • Thick-billed Kingbird
  • Cassin’s Vireo
  • Saunder’s Gull
  • Pinyon Jay
  • Phainopepla
  • Violet-green Swallow
  • Black-capped Gnatcatcher
  • Bendire’s Thrasher
  • Crissal Thrasher
  • Olive Warbler
  • Cassin’s Finch
  • Lucy’s Warbler
  • Virginia’s Warbler
  • Grace’s Warbler
  • Black-throated Grey Warbler
  • Rufous-capped Warbler
  • Red-faced Warbler
  • Painted Whitestart
  • Yellow-headed Blackbird
  • Scott’s Oriole
  • Lark Bunting
  • Yellow-eyed Junco
  • Rufous-crowned Sparrow
  • Abert’s Towhee
  • Western Tanager
  • Black-headed Grosbeak
  • Lazuli Bunting

 

SUMMARY:

Arizona is home to some of the best birding in the USA with a feast of scarce and localised birds to find and many of them only just creep over the border from Mexico, which makes this an extremely exciting destination. This was a private tour which visited most of the key areas in a relatively short period of time but a slightly later departure or a summer tour in July would have yielded quite a few more great birds. However, we had a fantastic time as we visited the key ‘Sky Island’ hotspots in the Santa Catalina, Santa Rita, Huachuca and Chiricahua Mountains in search of such delights as Mountain Pygmy Owl, Elegant Trogon, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Red-faced, Virginia’s, Grace’s and Olive Warblers, Yellow-eyed Junco and so much more. And of course there’s plenty of desert birding to enjoy with Gilded Flicker being a particular favourite. I cannot recommend birding in Arizona enough and look forward to returning sometime soon!

 

 

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