Guided Birding Trips

Additional Trip Details

Meet your Lead Guide: Bryant Olsen

Bryant Olsen is Tracy Aviary’s Conservation Ecologist. Bryant’s passion for birds and over twenty years of birding experience have made him one of the most well-respected bird authorities in the state of Utah, and he was the recipient of the 2017 Utah Birder of the Year Award. Bryant spends his time leading field trips, teaching bird identification classes, and training volunteers for local conservation projects. On top of his extensive bird expertise, Bryant has in-depth knowledge about many subjects, from general natural history to geology, astronomy, and more.

Transportation:

Participants must make their own way to Tucson, AZ. We can arrange pickup from the Tucson International Airport during the day on Monday, August 12 and drop off to the airport on Saturday, August 17. Because the trip is subject to cancellation due to low registration, we recommend that you not purchase plane tickets until we confirm the trip will take place (after Mar 1). We also recommend purchasing trip insurance with your flight, in case there is hazardous weather/ natural disasters or other unforeseen events.

We will rent one large passenger van or two medium-sized vans (depending on availability) to transport participants during the trip.

Lodging:

We will stay in shared vacation houses or economy-midscale hotels/motels throughout the trip. Unless participants have purchased tickets at the pair/ couple price, they will have their own room.

We can work with participants wishing to room share to find a roommate. However, if we cannot find another trip participant to share a room with you, you will need to pay the singles price.

Food and Drinks:

All meals from dinner on Monday, August 12 to breakfast on Saturday, August 17 are included in the trip price. We will eat in a variety of restaurants depending on group preference.

Breakfasts will often be “continental” or “continental-plus” style meals eaten in the hotel, or will be similar when staying in a shared vacation house.

Lunches will be from local or chain counter restaurants, with some packed sandwich lunches.

We’ll sample local restaurants for dinner or have a family-style meal. One beer, wine, or mixed drink per dinner is included in the trip price. Additional drinks must be purchased separately by the participant.

We will try to accommodate food allergies and preferences as best we can, but participants with significant food allergies or dietary requirements may need to bring additional food for instances where their needs cannot be met with local restaurant options.

Itinerary:

This schedule represents a general overview of the trip, but is subject to change depending on local conditions.

Monday, August 12: Fly into Tucson

• Bird Sweetwater Wetlands (Common Gallinule, Green Heron, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Vermillion Flycatcher, Bell’s Vireo, Verdin, Abert’s Towhee) example eBird list

• Stay in Tucson

Tuesday, August 13: 

• Bird Mt. Lemmon and the Santa Catalina Mountains (Gila Woodpecker, Black-throated Sparrow, Scott’s Oriole, Greater Pewee, Pygmy Nuthatch, Virginia’s Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, Olive Warbler, Zone-tailed Hawk)

• Drive south to bird Madera Canyon (endemic subspecies of Purple Martin (hesperia), Mexican Whip-poor-will, Berylline Hummingbird, Plain-capped Starthroat, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Rivoli’s Hummingbird, Gray Hawk, Acorn Woodpecker, Arizona Woodpecker, Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse Hepatic Tanager, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher) example eBird list

• and Florida Canyon (Bell’s Vireo, Varied Bunting, Vaux’s Swift, Mexican Jay, Rufous-winged Sparrow, Varied Bunting, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Five-striped Sparrow, Botteri’s Sparrows) example eBird list

• Stay in Madera Canyon

Wednesday, August 14: 

• Visit Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia (Inca Dove, White-winged Dove, Anna’s Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal) example eBird list

• Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary (Lucifer Hummingbird, Calliope Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Cactus Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher)

• Stay in Sierra Vista

Thursday, August 15:

• Bird the Chiricahua Mountains, Paradise and Portal Areas (Mexican Chickadee, Hepatic Tanager, Greater Pewee, Olive Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Elegant Trogon, Curve-billed Thrasher, Crissal Thrasher, Bendire’s Thrasher, Scaled Quail, Chihuahuan Ravens, Blue-throated Mountain-gem, Violet-crowned Hummingbird) example eBird list

•  Stay in Portal

Friday, August 16: 

• Bird Portal Area, Cave Creek Canyon (Scaled Quail, Gambel’s Quail, Greater Roadrunner, Crissal Thrasher, Botteri’s Sparrow, Chihuahuan Meadowlark) example eBird list

• Stay in Portal

Saturday, August 17: Drive back to Tucson (2.5 hours), Depart

Physical Requirements:

Moderate amounts of walking (up to 2-3 miles per day) on paved or gravel/dirt roads or trails will be required. We will be standing for long periods of time to observe birds, and may have fairly long (1-3 hours) uninterrupted periods of time in the vans, especially during travel days. This trip will include early mornings, and will have morning and afternoon birding sessions.

Smoking:

The shared trip spaces will be a smoke-free environment. If you smoke, please be sensitive to others and refrain from smoking at meals, in vehicles, inside trip lodging, and in close proximity to the group while out birding.

Trip Cancellations and Refund Policy

• Participant Cancellation: In the event a participant cancels a reservation, we will provide a full refund up to one month before the trip departure date.

• Trip Cancellation due to Insufficient Registrations: Tracy Aviary may cancel the trip due to insufficient registrations. A full refund will be issued in this instance.

• Trip Cancellation or Alterations due to Unforeseen Events: In the event of cancellation before the trip due to unforeseen events such as but not limited to natural disaster, military activities, social uprising, or other dangerous conditions, Tracy Aviary will issue a full refund. If any of these issues take place during the trip, causing it to be cut short, no refund will be issued.