arizona birding tours reviews

Arizona's premier local guiding service for birders and bird photographers

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A popular choice for birders seeking to discover Arizona's spectacularly diverse birdlife. Starting at $250 .

Bird Photography

A birding experience designed to get you the best possible photos of Arizona birds. Starting at $300 .

The BEST OF ARIZONA North AND South

We guide in all regions of the state, from the birder mecca of Southeastern Arizona to the world-famous canyon country of Northern Arizona. We want to get you the best of Arizona birds north and south – Elegant Trogons and hummingbirds to Pinyon Jays and California Condors.

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Arizona Birding Guides

Arizona Birding Guides is about following passions – passion for being in nature, for exploring beautiful places and amazing birds, for getting the best possible photo, and for having new experiences that create lasting memories. We are honored to be able to share our passion for Arizona birds with you!

Answers to your questions!

What time of year is best for birding in Arizona? Where should I go birding when I visit? What species of birds will I see while I’m there? Find answers to all your questions and more on our FAQ page.

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Birding Arizona

Hummingbirds, breeding birds and vagrants from south of the border....

Some of the most beautiful canyons in North America: Madera, Ramsey, Miller, and spectacular Cave Creek Canyon, with their incredible birds, breathtaking beauty, and scenery extraordinaire.

Sonoita Creek Sanctuary, Patagonia Lake, San Pedro Riparian Natural Area, and Mount Lemmon, towering high above Tucson.

Willcox Twin Lakes, an oasis for ducks, grebes, terns, gulls, and shorebirds, including dozens of spinning Wilson’s Phalaropes, in the middle of the desert!

And what would an Arizona Tour be without birding a few sewage ponds? On past tours they have yielded Red Knot, Brown Pelican, Western Gull, Elegant Tern, Least Grebe, Purple Gallinule, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Reddish Egret, and Tricolored Heron, plus lots of shorebirds and waterfowl, all at sewage ponds and associated wetlands. Very nice birds for Arizona!

Arizona Tours

2024 Comprehensive Southeast Arizona – The Desert and Sky Islands

2024 Northern Arizona – The Grand Canyon and Condors

2025 comprehensive southeast arizona – the desert and sky islands, 2025 northern arizona – the grand canyon and condors.

Fun Birding Tours

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Fun Birding Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Arizona Birding Tours

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ARIZONA BIRDING TOURS (Patagonia) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

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Northern Arizona’s Canyons & Condor

Northern Arizona's Colorado Plateau is well known for its unrivaled beauty of canyons, mountains, pine forests, and Red Rock formations, as well as the Painted Desert and the spectacular Grand Canyon. On this short tour, based in the cool pines of Flagstaff at an elevation of 7000 feet, we will visit these breathtaking habitats in search of high-desert and mountain specialties, many not normally encountered in southern Arizona. Within short drives of Flagstaff we'll encounter birds from the southern Arizona deserts, the Rocky Mountains, and the Great Basin desert of the north. Such species as Common Black-Hawk, Red-faced Warbler, and Painted Redstart reach the northern limits of their ranges here, while some Rocky Mountain birds such as Dusky Flycatcher, Clark's Nutcracker, and MacGillivray's Warbler breed no farther south, and Pinyon Jays and Gray Vireos are found in the Transition zone.

During our five full days of birding we'll search for these species along with Zone-tailed Hawk, Lewis's Woodpecker, Williamson's Sapsucker, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Gray and Cordilleran flycatchers, Mountain Bluebird, Green-tailed Towhee, and Black-chinned Sparrow along with more widespread western birds. We'll explore the Red Rock area of Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona, the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona's highest mountains at 12,600 feet, and visit the Grand Canyon, where we'll seek the majestic California Condor, which was returned to the wild here in 1996 and has successfully nested on nearly inaccessible ledges of the canyon.

John Coons has lived in Flagstaff for more than thirty years. His enthusiasm and love for the area has caused some to ask if he is on the payroll of the Flagstaff promotional board!

Select the KEY INFO tab or click here for our itinerary plus space requests, status, fees, limits, and guides for any departure.

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Itineraries • tour status • details • space requests.

• 2025 (PDF expected Aug 2024)

DEPARTURES • We have 4 departures currently scheduled through 2026, with details including limits, guides, fees, and space available listed below.

May 11-17, 2024 Guided by: John Coons Tour Manager: Caroline Lewis Tour Limit: 7 Status: Open - This tour has enough participants registered to insure its operation, but it is not yet full. Click below to book one or more spaces. Tour Fee: $2925 Deposit: $300 REQUEST SPACE OR MORE INFO

May 18-24, 2024 Guided by: John Coons Tour Manager: Caroline Lewis Tour Limit: 7 Status: One space available - This tour has enough participants registered to insure its operation, and there is one space still open. Click below to book that space. Tour Fee: $2925 Deposit: $300 REQUEST SPACE OR MORE INFO

May 17-23, 2025 Guided by: John Coons Tour Manager: Sharon Mackie Tour Limit: 7 Status: Open - Space is still available on this tour, and we are accepting provisional bookings. No deposit is required until you receive the itinerary. Click below to book space. Tour Fee: Fee TBD / 2024=$2925 REQUEST SPACE OR MORE INFO

May 16-22, 2026 Guide: TBA Tour Manager: TBA Tour Limit: 7 Status: Open - Space is still available on this tour, and we are accepting provisional bookings. No deposit is required until you receive the itinerary. Click below to book space. Tour Fee: Fee TBD / 2024=$2925 REQUEST SPACE OR MORE INFO

Enjoy looking through the 8 most recent Field Guides triplists for this tour linked below!

• 2023 (May departure guided by John Coons)
• 2022 (Jun departure guided by John Coons)
• 2021 (Jun departure guided by John Coons)
• 2019 (Jun departure guided by John Coons & Micah Riegner)
• 2018 (Jun departure guided by John Coons)

SE Arizona Birding Guide, Richard Fray

Hire me as your guide for fun, customized birding days in Southeast Arizona, USA

When you’re birding in SE Arizona, you need a guide. A good one.

Make the most of your visit to SE Arizona by hiring Richard Fray, a professional southeast Arizona birding guide, to take you to the right places and show you the right birds. Whether you’re new to bird watching or a veteran birder, your Arizona birding experience will be greatly enhanced with the help of someone who knows the birds, and how to find them.

Based in Rio Rico, Santa Cruz County, Richard Fray has lived and birded in southeastern Arizona for more than 20 years, guiding full time for the last 13. Subject to availability, you can hire Richard by the day at very reasonable rates.

Southeastern Arizona has some of the very best birding in North America! With its tall mountains, vibrant canyons, rolling grasslands and lush desert, it’s also a region rich in natural beauty. Comfortable lodgings, easy transport, great food and warm weather all make for the perfect birding vacation.

• Birding in SE AZ
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Fun Birding Tours LLC

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Southeast Arizona: Day Trips

This region showcases a wide diversity of owls and other "night life!" (Photo: John Yerger)

Elegant Trogon is one of many sought-after species in the "Sky Islands" of southeast Arizona. (Photo: John Yerger)

The charismatic Hooded Oriole joins a colorful array of warblers, tanagers, orioles and hummingbirds annually in the scenic Southwest. (Photo: Jake Mohlmann)

It's more than just flashy colors...we encounter fascinating bird behavior on every trip! (Photo: Jake Mohlmann)

Many specialties (like this Five-striped Sparrow) can be found north of the Mexican border only in southeast Arizona. (Photo: Jake Mohlmann)

The Adventure Birding Company:   professionally guided birding & nature tours

The Adventure Birding Company was established in 2006 to offer bird watching and nature tours year-round in Southeastern Arizona and to select destinations worldwide .  Our goal is to make each outing an exciting or remarkable experience in its own way - the very definition of "adventure!"

The guides of the Adventure Birding Company are  experienced, friendly and fun-loving birders.  They know that it's not just about the birds – having a good time is what birding vacations are all about!  They are also well-rounded individuals, always willing to share their knowledge of the area, whether flora and fauna, culture, history, or food & drink.  Importantly, Adventure Birding Company is  owned and operated by the guides themselves.

Finally, we take environmental stewardship seriously.  In addition to supporting local conservation organizations, we are particularly proud that  our headquarters is 100% solar-powered!   To our knowledge, we are the first birding tour company to be powered solely by renewable energy – all of which is  produced on-site.

For more information about our services, please explore this website or contact us at:

Phone:  +1-877-BIRDERS  [+1-877-247-3377]

**If you get our voice mail...we're probably out leading a trip!**

IMPORTANT BEFORE BOOKING:  Please read our   Covid-19 Policy .  For the safety of our guides and our clients, all tours MUST adhere to this policy until further notice.

The Adventure Birding Company and its guides are fully insured and hold an official outfitter/guide permit for the Coronado National Forest.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity service provider.

Learn more about Adventure Birding.

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© 2024 Adventure Birding Company

Arizona offers the incredible combination of beautiful scenery, rich biological diversity, and exciting experiences. Naturalist Journeys offers Arizona birding tours to the Sky Island mountain ranges of Southeastern Arizona during spring migration and monsoon season in the late summer. These Sky Islands rise from deserts and grasslands; the drastic elevation change affords fantastic biodiversity, rare in such a small geographic area. Join Naturalist Journeys on a Southeast Arizona birding tour, Southeast Arizona nature tour, or a private Portal birding tour .

Guided Group Tours

Group travel is rewarding and fun! With more eyes you see more species. Travel Planners of Naturalist Journeys and Caligo Ventures have been creating memorable journeys for 40+ years. We offer you small-group birding and nature tours, limited to just 8-10 persons led by expert guides. Learn and explore with like-minded people, enjoy local food and culture, and immerse yourself in birding and nature.

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Arizona Birding Tours

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Arizona Birding Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

Arizona in Winter

• Winter birding in a North American hotspot for a diverse array of migrants, residents, and rarities.
• Diverse and stunning landscapes from saguaro cactus desert to high mountains.

Tour Overview

Winter in Arizona is full of delightful birding opportunities! Many species of waterfowl, raptors, sparrows and flycatchers migrate into southeastern Arizona, including birds like Sandhill Cranes, Ferruginous Hawks, Mountain Plovers and Lark Buntings.

Huge flocks of wintering White-crowned Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and juncos contain multitudes of rarer species like Rufous-winged Sparrow, Sagebrush Sparrow and Baird’s Sparrow. Depending on berry crops, some years mixed flocks of all three Bluebirds, Townsend’s Solitaires and Phainopelas roam the oak-coated hills.

Also present are year round species that are Arizona specialties like Olive Warbler, Bridled Titmouse, Crissal Thrashers, Montezuma Quail and living jewels like Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Blue-throated Mountain-Gem, Painted Redstarts and Vermilion Flycatchers. And in most winters, a few Elegant Trogons will overwinter in the lower reaches of canyons.

A cohort of Mexican vagrants are more easily found in the winter than summer months like Rufous-backed Robin and Ruddy Ground-Dove. Black-capped Gnatcatchers and Rose-throated Becard have morphed into low density year round residents and exciting strays to the area in the last few winters include Northern Jacana and Streak-backed Oriole.

Day-time temperatures are very pleasant and dry. Occasional cold snaps do occur and the evening temperatures can dip below freezing but heat up by mid-morning. The tour is a relaxed pace with some light to moderate elevation walking through some incredibly scenic mountain canyons.

Dates & Prices

Dates & prices, what's included, tour price includes.

• Good quality accommodation
• Includes all breakfasts and lunches
• Ground transportation (15-passender vans)
• One EET guide with 4 - 8 participants, 2 guides with 9 - 12 participants
• All park, conservation and entrance fees

Tour Price Does Not Include

• Flights to and from start of tour
• Travel Insurance
• Evening meals
• Items of a personal nature

Day 1: Arrival in Tucson

Our winter Arizona birding tour begins today. We will meet at the hotel for a welcome dinner. Night in Tucson.

Day 2: Madera Canyon

Today we will spend the day exploring the beautiful Santa Rita Mountains. The centerpiece to these lovely mountains is Madera Canyon, a classic example of the oak/pine drainages that attract birds to the sky islands. Here we will get our first taste of the Sierra Madrean birds that make birding Southeastern Arizona famous like Mexican Jay, Arizona Woodpecker, Painted Redstart and Hepatic Tanager.

The feeders at the Santa Rita Lodge will give us an excellent serving of the diversity of juncos with three different forms of Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon, Gray-headed and Pink-sided) comingling with the devilish-looking Yellow-eyed Junco. These feeders are also our best chance of seeing Rivoli’s Hummingbird (formerly Magnificent), the largest species of hummer in North American.

Most winters at least one to two Elegant Trogons roam up and down the canyon. We’ll also visit Florida Canyon which can be a dependable spot for the highly localized Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Black-chinned Sparrow and, if luck is with us, we may find one of the resident pairs of Rufous-capped Warblers that nest here. Night in Green Valley.

Day 3: Tucson area and Santa Cruz Flats

We’ll spend today birding the low country around Tucson ranging from the austere beauty of the saguaro desert looking for Gilded Flicker, Greater Roadrunner and Costa’s Hummingbird to urban parks like the Sweetwater Wetlands, full of waterfowl and blackbirds including impressive numbers of Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

We’ll also travel to the Santa Cruz Flats to look for some specialty birds that are hard to find elsewhere like Crested Caracara, Prairie Falcon, Sagebrush Sparrow, Mountain Plover and, if present, Ruddy Ground-Dove. Night in Green Valley.

Day 4: Tubac and Peña Blanca Canyon

This morning we’ll spend exploring the Santa Cruz river valley. Water is life in the desert and this relatively lush cottonwood woodlands that line the river are host to flocks of wintering warblers, sparrows, and flycatchers. Abert’s Towhees are common here. A number of headline rarities are seen annually here including the snazzy–looking Rufous-backed Robin and Rose-throated Becard. We have a chance at lucking into the small and stealthy Green Kingfisher hunting along the river.

We’ll also dip down towards the border to check out the wild beautiful hills of the Atascosa Highlands. Peña Blanca Canyon can be a wonderful hike and is an excellent location for the handsomely patterned Montezuma Quail. On occasions the exotic looking Coatimundis are spied creeping along the rocky cliffs. Night in Patagonia.

Day 5: Patagonia

We’ll start the day early in the golden light of the grasslands searching for the elusive Baird’s Sparrow in with the flocks of Savannah, Vesper and Grasshopper Sparrows. Several other open country birds can be found here like Chestnut-collared Longspur, White-tailed Kite and the range-restricted “Lilian’s” Eastern Meadowlark. We have a good chance of seeing Pronghorns wandering over the hills here.

We’ll then head over to Patagonia Lake State Park. The hackberry/mesquite groves can be full of wintering passerines like flycatchers, vireos, and even Elegant Trogon in most winters. There is often a good selection of ducks on the lake, and Green Kingfishers can be found along the swampy edges on rare occasion.

We’ll spend the rest of the day birding the very relaxing grounds of the fabled Paton Hummingbird Center. A delightful place to slowly wander around or just linger in front of one of the many feeders or water features. The Paton Center is always full of birds including Violet-crowned and Broad-billed Hummingbirds, Lazuli Buntings, Green-tailed Towhees and Gambal’s Quail. Often a Western Screech-Owl is roosting nearby, and recent winters have hosted Ruddy Ground-Dove and Rufous-backed Robins. Night in Patagonia.

Day 6: Patagonia/Sulfur Springs Valley

We’ll start our day with some more birding around Patagonia, and then start heading east towards the Chiricahua mountains. Depending on what is being seen we may head towards the Huachuca Mountains for some staked out rarity or wander the expansive grasslands looking for raptors.

We’ll bird Whitewater Draw where tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes come into roost in the large wetland complex. Snow Geese can gather in large numbers here and Vermilion Flycatchers patrol the shores. Large numbers of ducks attract predators like Golden Eagle and Ferruginous Hawk. The surrounding Chihuahuan desert scrub can be good for Lark Buntings, Sagebrush Sparrows and the uncommon Bendire’s Thrasher. Night in Portal.

Day 7: Chiricahuas

There are few places in North America as stunning as the towering red rocks of Cave Creek Canyon. The tiny village of Portal is nestled at the gates of the Cave Creek Canyon on the eastern side of the magnificent Chiricahua Mountains.

We’ll spend our day birding around Portal and the surrounding desert scrub and work our way up the mixed oak-sycamore-pine forest of Cave Creek Canyon. We’ll try for Crissal Thrasher and Scaled Quail in the low country, and enjoy the bird-friendly atmosphere in the village itself. Green-tailed Towhees, Townsend’s Warbler, and Blue-throated Hummingbirds are regularly sighted here.

As we work our way up the canyon into the oak-pine forests we’ll get into various mixed flocks of birds- Mexican Jays, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Olive Warblers, Bridled Titmice and Yellow-eyed Juncos are all frequently encountered here. Depending on road conditions, we may try to get to a high enough elevation to find Mexican Chickadees, Steller’s Jays, and Pygmy Nuthatches. Night in Portal.

Day 8: Chiricahaus and return to Tucson

We’ll spend the morning continuing our explorations of the Portal area. We’ll likely head to the Paradise area where we have a chance of Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Black-chinned Sparrow and Western Bluebirds. For the afternoon we’ll start back to Tucson, stopping for a birding break at the famous Wilcox Ponds, which are full of wintering ducks and cranes with often a surprise or two. Night in Tucson.

Day 9: Departure

Our winter Arizona birding tour concludes today. You can depart for flights home anytime today.

What to Expect

Our Arizona in Winter Birding tour will focus on finding a diversity of species with an emphasis on regional and local endemics. The daily travel schedule varies to account for weather, bird species and habitat, but is a fairly moderately-paced tour, due to having a few longer days with early mornings and four drives of 45 minutes – 2 hours.

Breakfast will usually be at the hotel or at a local cafe. Lunch will be out in the field, picnic style, or maybe at a restaurant. Dinner will be at the hotel or a restaurant. Each evening after dinner we compile the day’s checklist, review the day’s activities, birds, mammals and other observations, and plan the next day’s activities.

Accommodation

Accommodations during the stay vary from comfortable three star hotels to rustic birding lodges.

The walking on this tour is relatively easy. In general the walking is easy on level terrain. The longest hike is at Montoya Canyon at 1.34 miles (2.2 km) and 2.25 hours on a moderately steep trail, with some rocky or uneven stretches. There is an option to opt-out of this walk. The maximum elevation on this tour is 8000 feet (2400 m).

Every few days we will drive to a new location. The drives will be approximately a couple hours, with rest stops and some birding stops.

Temperatures will vary widely over the course of each day, and over the course of the tour. Some early mornings, especially whilst in the mountains, will be pretty chilly, around freezing temps, possibly even just below freezing. The weather tends to rise throughout the day to a comfortable 15-18°C (60-65°F) average daytime temperature. It's best to dress in layers, including a warm jacket, and a hat and gloves for the mornings. T-shirt weather is possible!

Featured Wildlife

While we cannot guarantee sightings of the birds or mammals listed below, we believe that encountering these species is quite likely during this tour.

• Mexican Duck
• Cinnamon Teal
• Montezuma Quail
• Ruddy Ground-Dove
• Blue-throated Mountain-gem
• Violet-crowned Hummingbird
• Costa’s Hummingbird
• Sandhill Cranes by the 10,000s!
• Mountain Plover
• Ferruginous Hawk
• Greater Roadrunner
• Western Screech-Owl
• Elegant Trogon
• Green Kingfisher
• Red-naped Sapsucker
• Arizona Woodpecker
• Gilded Flicker
• Crested Caracara
• Prairie Falcon
• Rose-throated Becard
• Mexican Jay
• Bridled Titmouse
• Black-capped Gnatcatcher
• Bendire’s Thrasher
• Crissal Thrasher
• Rufous-backed Robin
• Phainopepla
• Olive Warbler
• Rufous-winged Sparrow
• Baird’s Sparrow
• Sagebrush Sparrow
• Yellow-eyed Junco
• Rufous-capped Warbler
• Townsend’s Warbler
• Painted Redstart
• Hepatic Tanager

Past Tour Checklists

View the list of birds and other wildlife we encountered on our past tours.

• Arizona in Winter species list Jan 2024 #1 (eBird)
• Arizona in Winter species list Jan 2024 #2 (eBird)
• Arizona in Winter species list Nov 2023 (eBird)
• Arizona in Winter species list Feb 2023 (eBird)
• Arizona in Winter species list Jan 2023 (eBird)
• See More...
• Arizona in Winter species list Feb 2022 (ebird)
• Arizona in Winter species list Jan 2022 (ebird)
• Arizona in Winter species list Nov 2021 (ebird)
• Arizona in winter checklist 2006

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Birding Locations

We guide across the state and can meet you anywhere. Below are Arizona’s major birding regions accompanied by a selection of their characteristic birds. Explore these regions/birds for ideas on where to go and what birds to expect.

Tucson - Patagonia - Sierra Vista - Portal

Southeastern arizona.

The famous Madrean Sky Islands – where Sonora meets Arizona and isolated mountains harboring woodlands and forests tower above desert valleys like an island archipelago reaching north from the Mexican highlands. This region is the northern limit of dozens of specialty birds more common in Mexico and further south.

The place to go for range restricted specialties like   Buff-collared Nightjar ,  Blue-throated Mountain Gem ,  Lucifer Hummingbird ,  Broad-billed Hummingbird ,  Violet-crowned Hummingbird ,  Gray Hawk ,  Short-tailed Hawk ,  Whiskered Screech-Owl ,   Elegant Trogon ,  Arizona Woodpecker ,  Rose-throated Becard ,  Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet ,  Buff-breasted Flycatcher ,  Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher ,  Tropical Kingbird ,  Thick-billed Kingbird ,  Mexican Chickadee ,  Black-capped Gnatcatcher ,  Rufous-winged Sparrow ,  Botteri’s Sparrow ,  Five-striped Sparrow ,  Yellow-eyed Junco , and  Rufous-capped Warbler . Other southwestern specialties include  Scaled Quail ,  Montezuma Quail ,  Green Kingfisher ,  Chihuahuan Raven ,  Cassin’s Sparrow ,  Bronzed Cowbird ,  Pyrrhuloxia , and  Varied Bunting . Rarities include  Least Grebe , Plain-capped Starthroat ,  Berylline Hummingbird ,  White-eared Hummingbird ,  Eared Quetzal ,  Gray-collared Becard ,  Tufted Flycatcher ,  Pine Flycatcher ,  Nutting’s Flycatcher ,  Yellow-green Vireo ,  Sinaloa Wren ,  Blue Mockingbird ,  Brown-backed Solitaire ,  Aztec Thrush ,  White-throated Thrush ,  Rufous-backed Robin ,  Streak-backed Oriole ,  Crescent-chested Warbler ,  Tropical Parula ,  Fan-tailed Warbler ,  Slate-throated Redstart ,   Flame-colored Tanager , and  Yellow Grosbeak . Winter specialties include  Lark Bunting , and  Baird’s Sparrow .

Left to right: Rufous-winged Sparrow, Baird’s Sparrow, Mexican Jay, Arizona Woodpecker, Northern Beardless-Tyrranulet, Blue-throated Mountain-gem, Mexican Chickadee, Yellow-eyed Junco, Sprague’s Pipit, Buff-breasted Flycatcher.

Prescott - Sedona - Verde Valley

Central arizona highlands.

The rugged heart of the state – known for its famous rock landscapes and, increasingly, as an extraordinary biological crossroads. The region is a rich and varied mosaic of vegetation communities that could be described as desert southwest meets mountain west, with a smattering of chaparral, a sprinkling of plains grassland, and a dash of Mexico. The habitats and birds in this region are super diverse in a compact geographic area. 

The place to observe wider-ranging Arizona specialties including  Mexican Whip-poor-will ,  Rivoli’s Hummingbird ,  Common Black Hawk ,  Zone-tailed Hawk ,  Greater Pewee ,  Dusky-capped Flycatcher ,  Mexican Jay ,  Bridled Titmouse ,   Olive Warbler ,  Grace’s Warbler ,  Red-faced Warbler ,  Painted Redstart ,  Hepatic Tanager  with southwestern specialties like  Ladder-backed Woodpecker ,  Black Phoebe ,  Cassin’s Kingbird ,  Gray Vireo ,  Crissal Thrasher ,  Lesser Goldfinch ,  Black-chinned Sparrow ,  Canyon Towhee ,  Rufous-crowned Sparrow , and  Scott’s Oriole , and other western birds such as  Band-tailed Pigeon ,  Common Poorwill ,  White-throated Swift ,  Black-chinned Hummingbird ,  Anna’s Hummingbird ,  Swainson’s Hawk ,  Flammulated Owl ,  Western Screech-Owl ,  Northern Pygmy-Owl ,  Spotted Owl ,  Acorn Woodpecker ,  Gray Flycatcher ,  Cordilleran Flycatcher ,  Say’s Phoebe ,  Ash-throated Flycatcher ,  Western Kingbird ,  Hutton’s Vireo ,  Plumbeous Vireo ,  Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay ,  Mountain Chickadee ,  Violet-green Swallow ,  Bushtit ,  Pygmy Nuthatch ,  Rock Wren ,  Canyon Wren ,  Bullock’s Oriole , and  Black-throated Gray Warbler . Winter specialties  Pacific Wren ,  Sprague’s Pipit , and  McCown’s Longspur

Left to right: Scott’s Oriole, Gray Vireo, Common Black Hawk, Lucy’s Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, Northern Pygmy Owl, Black-chinned Sparrow.

Phoenix - Casa Grande - Ajo

Central arizona deserts.

The iconic Sonoran Desert – arid low-elevation mountains separated by vast desert valleys that stretch to the horizon. Almost the entire region is composed of upland and lowland desertscrub along with characteristic desert birds. River valleys contain deciduous woodland and wetlands with some of the regions most sought-after specialty birds. The highest elevations of desert mountains harbor semidesert and relict patches of chaparral populated by birds that don’t occur in the deserts below. 

The best region in the state to observe  Ridgway’s Rail ,  LeConte’s Thrasher ,   and the introduced  Rosy-faced Lovebird . Other s outhwestern specialties include  Gambel’s Quail ,  Inca Dove ,  Ruddy Ground Dove ,  White-winged Dove ,  Greater Roadrunner ,  Lesser Nighthawk ,  Costa’s Hummingbird ,   Neotropic Cormorant ,  Harris’s Hawk ,  Ferruginous Pygmy Owl ,  Elf Owl ,  Burrowing Owl ,  Gila Woodpecker ,  Gilded Flicker ,  Crested Caracara ,  Vermilion Flycatcher ,  Brown-crested Flycatcher ,  Verdin ,  Black-tailed Gnatcatcher ,  Cactus Wren ,  Curve-billed Thrasher ,  Bendire’s Thrasher ,  Phainopepla  , Black-throated Sparrow ,  Abert’s Towhee ,  Hooded Oriole , and  Lucy’s Warbler .  Western specialties include  Clark’s Grebe ,   Red-naped Sapsucker  (winter) ,  Great-tailed Grackle , and  Lawrence’s Goldfinch  (winter).

Left to right: Bendire’s Thrasher, Ridgway’s Rail, LeConte’s Thrasher, Ruddy Ground Dove, Gilded Flicker, Inca, Dove, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Black-throated Sparrow, Bell’s Vireo.

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Northern arizona.

The Colorado Plateau – home to Grand Canyon, the San Francisco Peaks, and the starkly beautiful Painted Desert. The vast majority of the region contains vegetation and birds characteristic of the Great Basin to the north. Scattered mountains and high-elevation plateaus harbor the bulk of Arizona’s subalpine forests and Rocky Mountain Birds. Along its southern edge Madrean habitats and birds reach their northern limits.

The only region in Arizona to observe the rare and endangered  California Condor . Other western specialty birds include  Dusky Grouse ,  Eared Grebe,   Broad-tailed Hummingbird ,  Ferruginous Hawk ,  Williamson’s Sapsucker ,  Lewis’s Woodpecker ,  Prairie Falcon,   Western Wood-Pewee ,  Dusky Flycatcher ,  Pinyon Jay ,  Steller’s Jay ,  Clark’s Nutcracker ,  Juniper Titmouse ,  American Dipper ,  Sage Thrasher ,  Mountain Bluebird ,  Townsend’s Solitaire ,  Cassin’s Finch ,  Brewer’s Sparrow ,  Sagebrush Sparrow ,  Green-tailed Towhee ,  Virginia’s Warbler , and  MacGillivray’s Warbler . Wider-ranging western and northern specialties include  American Three-toed Woodpecker ,  Evening Grosbeak , and  Red Crossbill . Rare and local irregularities such as  Black Rosy-Finch  and  Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch

Left to right: American Three-toed Woodpecker, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Northern Goshawk, Townsend’s Solitaire, Northern Shrike, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Black Rosy-Finch.

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