Arizona's premier local guiding service for birders and bird photographers
More Birds. Better Photos. Your List.
Our Services
Birding
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.
Our REVIEWS
What a remarkable experience! My wife and I spent the better part of two and a half days touring with Jake, including an evening of owling. In addition to being a remarkable guide and a wealth of knowledge -- birds, botany, mammals -- Jake is a great person, whose company and calm personality made our time with him simply extraordinary. His passion for birds and for what he does comes through every minute. He made sure we saw our target birds (60 lifers with him!) and found the best places for me to get "the shot" of the bird instead of just being satisfied with hearing its beautiful song. He was so visibly disappointed when we only heard the Western Screech-Owls and Whiskered Screech-Owls that my wife had to let him know that we were more than satisfied with the evening adventure. And, in addition to birds, he knows first aid, which came in handy when a rock unexpectedly interfered with our first hike on Mt. Lemmon. I hope we are able to join Jake for some trips during monsoon madness at the end of the summer. Thank you, Jake! Thank you, ABT.
Steven Kessler
1713316956
We recently had a fantastic experience birding with Michael Sadat in Portal Arizona. Mike was outstanding and this was one of the best birding experiences we have had. Extremely accommodating, he wanted to ensure we really enjoyed our time so asked us a lot of questions about how we wanted the morning to go. He is a talented birder who birds by ear and he was very generous teaching us about the ecology, about bird song, and all about the birds, including some avian anatomy! We had a problem with our schedule due to an issue back home, and Felipe was SO NICE making sure we got to bird, changing the date and the guide at the very last minute. The original guide was also worried and offered advice. This is a fantastic company and I plan to bird with them whenever I am in the area. Thank you Felipe for everything!!!
Leanne Ogasawara
1713202811
We spent two half days with Jake Thompson. Jake’s enthusiasm is contagious and his knowledge of birds is fantastic. He is excellent not only at finding the birds, but also is knowledgeable about their habits and quirks. His familiarity with plants and trees was unexpected but much appreciated. We would wholeheartedly recommend Jake to anyone who wants a friendly and skilled guide for exploring the rich birding areas of SE Arizona. As soon as we left, we wanted to go back! Thanks to Felipe for setting us up with such a wonderful guide!
Trudy O'Connell
1713196987
What a great experience we had with Arizona Birding Guides. We were coming from Iowa and birding on our own so wanted a couple days with a guide when I contacted them they were able to advise me as to areas to bird for the birds we were hoping to see. Levi and David were our guides. They not only could identify the songs but did an amazing job of locating them. Not only were they amazing guides but great company. We just had an amazing time birding and were able to get 12 lifers. More than we expected for the whole week. We will definitely be using their services again.
Sylvia Gieseke
1713052043
We’re from MN and went birdwatching around Tucson AZ with Caleb as our guide. We were very excited to see many many birds that were native to the southwest and a great number were new to us. Great experience
Andrew Lucy
1713050702
My husband and I had an excellent time birding with Kadynn over a couple half days and one night of owling. He was very professional, knowledgeable, and infectiously enthusiastic about the birds in Arizona! We got great lists of birds, including a fantastic night of owls. Booking was easy and quick, and it was very easy to communicate with the company while booking and subsequently when Kadynn picked locations for us to meet. This is my second time birding with Arizona Birding Guides and Kadynn, and I would book again and recommend them wholeheartedly.
Michelle Arguelles
1712978258
Had a wonderful experience with ABT in January. It exceeded our expectations. My wife and I were relatively new to birding but studied ecology in school. Kaydnn was super knowledgeable, smart and a great guy to spend the day with. He was able to answer all of our questions as academically as we were willing to discuss. We learned a ton about birds and the ecology of the area. And we had plenty of laughs talking with him about a variety of topics! I would highly recommend this company and Kaydnn. You’ll see and ID more birds than you thought was possible and have a great time!
Christian Matson
1712874709
I booked a tour for my parents, who are 80 and 86. Kadynn did a great job finding routes that were manageable for them and was both knowledgeable and courteous. We all learned a ton and it was a joyful experience. Thanks!
jean philips
1712603794
We had a great day birding with Jake. He was excellent at identifying birds by sight and sound, and he taught us a lot about bird identification, local trees, and plants. We spent over eight hours with him and visited approximately six sites. He also prepared the eBird checklists to share with us. We are novice birders, and this was our first trip to Arizona, so he got us over forty new life birds! Felipe was also extremely quick in replying to my inquiries even with very short notice for our visit. Highly recommend their birding services!
Holly Kleman
1712240319
I booked a custom birding tour with several specific and difficult targets in the Tucson area. Booking was easy. David was my guide and came up with a loop birding itinerary to find my targets. He was a great guide and a lot of fun to spend the day with. I'm an intense birder but David would have been just as good with a less intense trip as he knows far more than just birds. Despite being late for wintering birds, we doing Baird's Sparrow and Chestnut collared Longspur among five lifers for the day. I highly recommend Arizona birding tours
Bryan Gieszl
1712202780
Look no further than Jake Thompson from Arizona Birding. Jake was a stellar guide who has a deep passion for all of nature. He not only knew his birds, but also the flora and where to go to find whatever we were searching out. He’s also just a congenial person, fun, and flexible. We had to change our destinations due to snow, our time due to a late night before, and Jake just rolled with it. He genuinely loves the natural world and his enthusiasm is contagious. We really enjoyed our 7 hours with Jake. He also knew a good lunch spot!
Laurie Danforth
1712154811
We enjoyed our 2 half days of birding with John in the Oak Canyon and Flagstaff areas. Despite a wild mix of wintery weather, we managed to get good looks and some lifers. A laid back style and pace enabled us to linger on the birds that were most interesting to us. Great banter on birds, plants, wildlife and photography made it an educational experience for us as well.
Zoltan P
1712096255
Had a wonderful experience with AZ Birding Tours. My guide, Kadynn was an expert birder with in-depth knowledge of all the hotspots and bird species, resulting in 17 lifers! Everyone I had contact with was helpful and professional. I highly recommend!
Michael Murphy
1712096190
Felipe was very helpful and supportive giving us guidance and ideas. Our, guide, David, was wonderful. His passion for birding was evident as we were always ready to call it a day before he was. My wife has birding, and naturalist, interests. He was constantly engaging her interest. I am a rank amateur, yet David was amazingly patient and funny. We couldn't have been more pleased.
Mark Porizky
1710457460
What a wonderful birding experience courtesy of Arizona Birding Tours! I had a full day tour with Levi as my guide. Levi was fully prepared for the day, putting together an itinerary that would meet my goal - seeing as many birds as possible. And, because of Levi’s preparation and excellent skills as a guide, we met this goal, with 29 lifers! Levi is a great guide, demonstrating great knowledge of birds as well as patience, making it easy for me to not only see birds but also learn along the way. I highly recommend Arizona Birding Tours to any and all!
Scott Seier
1710109234
My brother & I had 2 1/2 day tours in the Sierra Vista area with JakeWe are not experienced birders but we were quite keen & Jake was a good guideHe was good with birds but also good with botany & mammals too. Very personable & helpful.I hope to do this again with my husband next time, and I will definitely use Arizona birding tours again
Kathleen Harner
1709748085
Had a great time with David with a night of Owling and a 1/2 day of birding. He was very patient with us, and he sought after our target birds. He was very informative about all things Arizona too. I would definitely recommend Arizona birding tours and of course our favorite is David.As you’re planning your trip, book a time with a bird guide, and then they will give you hints and tips of where you can go on your own afterwards.
Rick Hartwig
1709689079
I had a wondeful experience with Arizona Birding Tours! Felipe was prompt in getting me scheduled and Caleb provided exceptional guiding services! Caleb was knowledgeable, professional and a real joy to spend a few days with. We had a really great time, and we saw some great birds! I've hired guides all around the world and this team is amongst the best of them. Thanks for a great time Felipe and Caleb!
Bill Eisele
1709521018
My experience with ABT was superb! I am a bird lover, but a novice at bird photography. I had two half day tours, first with Jake and second with Kadynn. They were so knowledgeable, as well as patient. They helped with my rented 100-400mm lens and camera and I learned how to draw the birds out. I highly recommend ABT--too many lifers to list for me!
Maureen Winkler
1709228189
Really happy with Arizona Birding Tours. Jake did a great job of introducing the different local habitats and species over the two days we were out. He picked locations convenient to where I was staying and to provide a good overview of what's around. He's excellent at birding by ear, and helped me to learn a few species by reinforcing what we were hearing and giving me a chance to guess before calling it out. I enjoyed my time, learned a ton, and was well set up for the rest of my time birding in the area. Thanks!
L Fitzpatrick
1709059263
I had a wonderful two days of birding with John Wilson. John is super knowledgeable about habitat and range, and our outings were well-organized and fun. With his expert ears and eyes, we were able to get more birds than we'd expected. I highly recommend Arizona Birding Tours without any reservations, and will definitely team up with them again on my next visit to Arizona.
Maria Elena Montero
1709009253
I highly recommend this tour company. Felipe, the owner, made coordination and setup very easy and paired me with an excellent guide, Kadynn, who was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and suited to the particular needs of my trip. That we dipped on a few species had nothing to do with Kadynn’s expertise or perseverance, and I was able to get those birds the next day because of the local knowledge he imparted on me. We’ve stayed in touch helping put each other on other birds, too. I think he’s a very impressive young birder and my time with him was invaluable. I'd like to bird with him again one day soon, and will definitely be asking Arizona Birding Tours for help with my next trip to the region.
Joseph Trezza
1708974876
My experience with Arizona Birding Tours was excellent! I heard back within 24 hours of submitting my request and sorting out a schedule with Jake was easy peasy. Felipe also checked in to make sure scheduling was running smoothly. I booked two tours and went on the first this past weekend with Kadynn. It was a fantastic experience and I am looking forward to our next excursion in May. I highly recommend Arizona Birding Tours, especially for those hard to get birds!
Deanna Tremblay
1708743218
Birded for 3+ days with AZ Birding Tours in SEAZ in mid-Feb. In all, 104 species including some hard to get birds. Our guide was Kadynn. My friend and I had a wide array of species which required a wide territory to be covered and Kadynn did a great job of organizing our path across the lower state. Kadynn has an amazing ear and can hear a whisper in a hurricane - which on one day we had (Can't control the weather), and yet we still got onto many of the targets we wanted.
Cal Walters
1708710392
Hired AZ Birding tour guides on non-consecutive days at Tuscon and Sierra Vista areas for 4 days. Tuscon guide David Griffin is a Biologist and Naturalist with immense knowledge of bio diversity and habitats for different species. It was a lot of fun and learning experience with David. Sierra Vista guide Jake Thomson had similar knowledge of habitats and was fun to bird with. We got a lot of birds in my target list. Very happy to have chosen AZ tours.
Lakshminarayanan Sundaresan
1708643572
I had a great experience birding with Eric from Arizona Birding Tours at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch. We saw 66 species of birds which by far exceeded my expectations. I am relatively new to birding and was happy to learn from Eric how to identify various birds by sound, behavior and through the habitats they lived in. I will definitely be applying all I learned in my future birding excursions!
Eliana Drier
1708628141
Did 3 full days of birding in SE AZ with Jake Thompson in January ‘24 along with my cousin.Jake is amazingly knowledgeable about birds and their habitats and behaviors and not only helped us find and identify many lifers, but also took the time to teach us along the way.It was clear from the beginning that Jake really listened to what we were looking for - seeing different habitats, finding some local / regional birds and taking enough time to learn and photograph when opportunity presented itself.We covered a ton of ground - and a ton of species! - in 3 days, but it never felt rushed when we wanted to dig deeper or look for a better photo op.Jake also has a really nice, easy going personality that just made the outings fun. We had a blast and I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to go back during a different season and keep exploring AZ birds.
John Karpovich
1707534659
I had a wonderful day birding with Gary R. He provided me with support before and after the trip and developed a detailed plan to see as many of my targets as possible. Gary is extremely knowledgeable and I learned so much from him! It was an all around perfect birding day in Arizona.
Ben Zerante
1706029260
I had a phenomenal half day birding trip with Jake Thompson of Arizona Birding Tours on January 13, 2024. Jake is amazing! He has great skills at both seeing and hearing birds which enabled us to see lots of different birds, including several life birds for me. He also recognizes different trees and plants and knows which microclimates are likely to hold which birds. His skill is uncanny! He is very warm and personable and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip. We met at 7 am birded the lower portion of Florida Canyon and then went up to Santa Rita Lodge to see some birds there. My half day birding with Jake was exceptional! I Highly recommend him!
Nelson Mostow
1705463189
We highly recommend Arizona Birding Tours! Felipe was super responsive, and our guide Kadynn was the best. My sister and I took our mother for her 80th birthday for a saguaro national park bucket list trip. Our mother is an amateur birder, so we were not sure a guide was necessary or if the outing would be too strenuous for her. But, it was the best decision we ever made, and the highlight of our trip! Kadynn led us at the perfect pace and trails (she was so excited we hiked for 4.5 hours) to see so many lifer birds for our mom! He taught us digibinning so we got great shots too! Road runner, phainopepla, gambel’s quail, rock wren, vermilion flycatcher, to name just a few of the over 80 species we saw. My sister and I started our birding fascination that day!
Chien Wang
1705164389
This was a fantastic experience! Kadynn is a great birding guide; he can hear the difference between hummingbird species, often knowing they were there before he saw them! He's very patient and made sure we saw the birds that he saw. We (3 in our group) would go birding with him any time.
David Blass
1704927054
Gary not only an exceptionally talented birder, but also extremely knowledgeable both about local and international birds and birding, making for a highly satisfactory and enjoyable day. I can recommend him (and therefore Arizona Birding Tours) without hesitation - highest recommendation! 🙂
Chris Overington
1703979537
Jake was a great guide. Good communication, knowledgeable, worked hard to find the birds. Five stars.
Eric Dyck
1703138560
Hiring our two guides, David and Levi, from Arizona Birding Tours was the best decision ever! Being from the eastern side of the US we weren’t as familiar with the birds found in AZ. Our first evening David took us out owling and we had the best time. He was incredibly knowledgeable and we love to learn so it was a perfect match! And we found owls too!! The next day we hired Levi for a full day tour. He found us so many birds that we would have never discovered on our own. We hiked 7 miles over 3 different locations and had the best time! As wonderful as that all was, both of our guides went above and beyond both before and after our tours. They answered all our questions, gave us lots of extra tips and hints, and sent numerous map pin drops of other locations to visit on our own. Because of all their help we were able to find 52 new species of birds during our visit! I can’t recommend ABT enough!!
Dawn Reece
1703125748
I did one day of birding and photography with Kadynn. It was the most memorable time spent at Tucson. We saw about 25+ species of birds. Birds were playing hide and seek, it was not easy to track them through lens when they were hopping around and having fun. Kadynn was extremely supportive, he helped me track and identify the birds quickly. I got many amazing shots. I do alot of solo trips just to avoid the noise and movements. This trip made me appreciate the like minded company. I got to hear epic stories on these birds. I am amazed with the variety and loved the mob party of these birds. I love birds and was very happy to hear the team works on the conservation too. So happy that I chose to do the tour with them. I am going to do one for the owls next.
Aks v
1700970362
We did a day tour with Louie D. in southeastern Arizona, covering Madera Canyon, Patagonia and Green Valley. We booked the tour kind of last minute, but Felipe was very prompt and accommodating and luckily there was guide availability!Overall, we had a wonderful time birding with Louie. The conditions were a bit tough with harsh winds. But Louie made sure we still managed to get 15 lifers! We managed to cover a number of hotspots over the course of the day, and the places were well thought out and tailored to our target list. Louie also gave us numerous suggestions on how best to spend our time on the first and last day when he was not guiding.Overall, I highly recommend Arizona Birding Tours and Louie as a guide!
Kalpesh Krishna
1700938287
Upon a recommendation, we used Arizona Birding Tours for 2 days to help us complete our 600 birds for the year. We initially spoke with Jake Thompson who was professional and prompt with his communication. Kadynn Hatfield was our guide and he was amazing. He was also extremely knowledgeable and professional, yet friendly and down to earth. He went above and beyond to help us find our target birds. We will definitely call them again and we hope to have Kadynn as our guide; however, we imagine any of the guides with ABT would be wonderful.
Charles Eliot
1700501901
What a great experience! Jake is a terrific guide, providing guidance and insights far beyond just finding and identifying birds. He clearly has deep knowledge of how species interact over time with geography, weather patterns, and food sources. Super friendly and very dedicated. Highly recommend. As a visitor from the US east coast and relatively new birder, I saw and photographed many new species in Madera Canyon, Las Cienegas, Patagonia, and other sites in Southern Arizona. Green Kingfisher, Baird's Sparrow, Ruddy Ground Dove, Sprague's Pipet, Hepatic Tanager, Violet-capped hummingbird, and many others.
Stewart Mayhew
1700358645
Arizona Birding Tours guides are a class act! I had an amazing two days with Caleb recently who is somewhat of a birding savant - He can id passerine flight song at 100+ ft! And the rest of the ABT crew are all generous with their time and talents and add vibrancy and camaraderie to the Arizona birding community. I give them my highest recommendation.
John Amoroso
1699505468
Spent the day with Nolan in the greater Patagonia area. Had a wonderful day with lots of new Lifers! His ability to hear and find birds is incredible and would highly recommend.
Thomas Skelton
1698246957
Had an incredible time birding with Jake! He helped me check off so many birds on my life list and was extremely knowledgeable and fun. Got to see a burrowing owl — which was awesome (pictured below). Highly recommend!
Sarah Kilgore
1697585665
It was a great birding experience!
Jennifer Zellmer
1697323394
Went on a private tour with Nolan on Oct 6-8, 2023. I had not been birding in the southwest except southern CA, and told my guide I would like to see as many southwest species as possible. I got photos of 106 species, half of which were new birds for me. I highly recommend Nolan. He has amazing ability to identify birds from a long distance as well as by calls. And of course, nothing beats local knowledge.
steven fuller
1697287787
I booked a half day visit with Arizona birding tours. Several things impressed me. First a response within a few minutes of booking to connect with some information. Second providing a target list of birds to see, made me feel i was more in control of birds i wanted to see. I was partnered up with Jake who absolutely knows his stuff. Not only the songs, but calls and chips which are very hard to identify. Not only was Jake professional, knowledgeable and insightful, but he was personable and friendly. We hit all my target birds save a handful. Thank you Jake and Arizona bird tours. Will book again when in town. Excellent ValuePeter
Peter Darcy
1696786508
I did a full day bird watching with Arizona Birding Tours, with David Griffin as our birding guide. It was such an amazing day! We went to 5 different locations and saw so many birds, 91 to be exact! David was excellent at identifying by sight and sound and could locate the birds so quickly. He also kept track of all the sitings on ebird for me, that was a treat. He used a pointer for me when I couldn’t locate the birds, super helpful. And he is such an expert on everything nature and has a great personality too. I highly recommend Arizona birding tours!
Nancy Baudendistel
1696071521
I used Arizona Birding Tours during my trip to Tucson in September 2023 and Kadynn was my guide. This was my first time birding and photographing the Tucson area so I wanted a guide to help get me in the right areas to photograph my target species. Not only did Kadynn get me in front of every target species I requested, he was able to get me in front of a ton of additional species that weren’t on my list. In 1.5 days with Kadynn I was able to get good photos of 47 new lifers! Kadynn’s knowledge and ability to ID by sound were very impressive…it was like hanging out with an encyclopedia for 1.5 days. If you’re looking for a birding guide, I strongly recommend Kadynn. I had such a good experience that I’ll definitely use Arizona Birding Tours next time I’m in Arizona.
Ben
1695862017
We booked two full days of guided birding and an evening owling for our trip to SE AZ while staying at Casa de San Pedro. Jake Thompson was our fabulous guide. He was very familiar with all the area birding hotspots, could identify all the birds by call, even faint and short segments, and shared complete ebird checklists.
Karl Biesemier
1695861237
This was my first major bird trip out of state. I did a 6 day private tour including 2 night sessions, because I knew there would be plenty of life birds in central and northern AZ also. I went with Caleb who is extremely knowledgeable about not only birds, but other fauna, habitats, plants, etc... He's awesome at birding by ear, great at getting people on the bird, and knows how to set people up for decent photos. There was also good communication ahead of time from Felipe and Caleb. I didn't give a big list of targets, just general guidelines that I wanted to see cool birds and cool habitats, and hopefully get some good photo ops. I wasn't trying to get a maximum list total but ended up getting 102 life birds on the 6 day tour, and I was really happy with the birds, habitats, and photo ops.We spent the first 3 days in SE AZ, covering a different area each day. We got pretty much all the southeastern specialties except rufous-capped warbler, which wasn't seen that day. Highlights included good looks at elegant trogon, spotted owl, tons of hummingbirds (Lucifer was my favorite), a pair of becards building a nest, plus some really cool looking birds like yellow-eyed junco and bronzed cowbird.After SE AZ, we had an extra day scheduled to cover any misses, but we had seen almost all the targets, so we took a side trip to the Sea of Cortez in Mexico where we got yellow-footed gull and some other nice sea birds. Then we spent one day around Phoenix area. I really enjoyed the Phoenix birds other than the heat. We got several nice birds like LeConte's thrasher, Ridgway's rail, and Common black hawk. We spent the last day in Northern AZ. We got to watch a family of 4 condors which was maybe the highlight of the trip. We ended in Kaibab NF, which was difficult birding but we saw a few nice birds there like Williamson's sapsucker.There were a few misses and a few missed photo targets but that will happen on any trip. I've attached a few photos but I'm only partway through the editing process.
Thane Dinsdale
1694564936
Arizona Birding Tours lined me up with Jake T. for two bird photography sessions at various lakes and trails near Prescott, Az., September 10 and 11. Jake is extremely knowledgable and enthusiastic, born and bred in the area. I learned a lot, saw some beautiful areas, and took got some great shots of blue heron, cormorants, ducks, ibis, blue birds, warbler, acorn woodpeckers and others. I had a wonderful time, thanks to Jake. Highly recommended.
Glenn Summers
1694475327
An end of August birding tour with Arizona Birding Tours was all I had hoped for. I had a list of birds I had hoped to photograph, and got almost all of them.The weather was fine except for heavy rain on a couple of nocturnal outings. My guide, Kadynn, was patient and persistent. We waited out the deluge and got our target bird. Kadynn was very flexible, and planned the day-long outings thoughtfully, with us spending cooler mornings in desert habitat to see the species there, then moving into the mountains in the afternoons for higher-level birds.Kadynn has a great ear for birds, and is up-to-date on locations of birds moving through at certain times of the year.I plan to use Arizona Birding Tours next spring with a new list of species for that time of the year.
Craig Huish
1694356728
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!
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