How to Watch Spring Migratory Birds in Southeast Arizona

Southeast Arizona, with its wooded canyons and majestic mountains, offers superb birding in spring and summer. While spring is best for migrating birds, you may want to come in the summertime - if you can stand the heat - in hopes of spotting rare hummingbirds and breeders from across the Mexican border.

Things You'll Need

  • Hats Or Visors
  • Maps
  • Bottled Water
  • Insect Repellents
  • Sunscreen
  • Binoculars
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose Tucson as your destination if you're flying. Rent a car and visit Madera Canyon first, as it's less than an hour's drive from Tucson. Hike the trails and look and listen for elegant trogons, as well as other Mexican strays.

    • 2

      Travel to Patagonia and bird the Arizona Nature Conservancy's Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary. And don't miss the famous Patagonia rest stop, which you'll find written up in any birding guidebook on Southeast Arizona.

    • 3

      Drive to Sierra Vista and bird the Huachuca Mountains if possible (sometimes access is limited). Also visit the Nature Conservancy's preserve at Ramsey Canyon, where the hummingbirds are stunning.

    • 4

      Stop at the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. More than 400 species of birds have been recorded here, many of them coming through in migration.

    • 5

      Visit the beautiful Chiricahua Mountains, known as one of the best birding spots in the United States. Enter at the small town of Portal and go into Cave Creek Canyon for the best birding.

    • 6

      Drive up to Rustler Park and bird the trails there for mountain species.

    • 7

      Check out the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum before you leave. Located in Tucson, the museum provides a fascinating look at the plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert.