With Arizona's variety of landscapes comes thousands of birds that make this area their home. Here are a few popular places to visit if you are a bird watcher.
Arizona offers a wide variety of landscapes including high and low deserts, swift moving rivers, meadows and grasslands, beautiful canyons, and tall mountain ranges. With this variety of landscape comes thousands of species of birds that make Arizona their home. Arizona is a popular hot spot for bird watching enthusiasts. There are many places to visit in Arizona while bird watching and they can't all be mentioned in just one article. Listed below are just a few of the most popular places to visit.
The Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum is a great place to start, whether you are a novice or an expert bird watcher. It is open every day of the year, including holidays. With its exhibits of live animals in the most natural settings and beautiful desert landscaping, the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum inspires humans to live in harmony with the natural world. For bird lovers the Museum offers the Hummingbird Aviary, an exhibit where people can walk among 7 different species of native hummingbirds. The Walk-in Aviary, or bird sanctuary, contains cardinals, ducks, doves, quail, and many more species of birds.
The Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior is Arizona's largest and oldest botanical garden. It is home to more than 250 species of birds. Walking along the Arboretum's trails you could come upon quail, dove, woodpeckers, swallows, or coots. Many raptor species, such as Cooper's hawk or the Zone-tailed hawk have been spotted here.
In southern Arizona you will find the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area with 58,000 acres of public land offering abundant food, water, and cover for wildlife. One half of the breeding species of bird in North America have been found in this area. People from all over the world make it a point to visit this beautiful place.
At the southern end of the Huachuca Mountains you will find Miller Canyon and Beatty's Guest Ranch and Orchard. In Upper Miller Canyon you will find the Red-faced Warbler, Hepatic Tanager, Greater Pewee, Grace's Warbler, and the Sulpher-bellied Flycatcher. On occasion you could also see the Eared Trogon, Flame-colored Tanager, or the Aztec Thrush. Beatty's Guest Ranch and Orchard features a hummingbird feeding and watering station in which over 15 species were spotted in the early part of 2002.
The Arboretum at Flagstaff is home to 100 species of birds and 2500 species of high-elevation plants. Daily-guided tours are offered and are one hour in length. The Arboretum is open from April through December and is closed the rest of the year due to colder weather.
Arizona hosts many birding festivals throughout the state and throughout the year. In January the birding festival called Wings Over Willcox is held. This festival offers entertainment and education for the beginner or expert bird watcher. You will learn about and possibly see herons, geese, ducks, eagles, hawks, cranes, quail, dove, roadrunners, owls, and much more. In August, the Southwest Wings Birding Festival is held in Bisbee and offers various field trips suited to every need from easy trails to more difficult hiking.
To learn more about bird watching in Arizona visit your local library or the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.
