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 us as we explore Southeast Arizona’s birding hotspots during spring migration. This is Arizona birding at its best!
Morning arrival to Tucson International Airport (TUS). We’ll hit one or two Tucson area hotspots to start. We’ll then continue at the Willcox Playa/ Cochise Lakes IBA (Important Bird Area) hotspots before ending in Portal where we’ll spend the next two nights. Plan to arrive to TUS Airport by 11 am.
Accommodations: Portal Peak Lodge
Meals: Lunch and Dinner
Willcox Playa/ Cochise Lakes ~ 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 (aka Lake Cochise) and the Twin Lakes Golf Course.