Locations

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

Flagstaff - Grand Canyon - Page

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.

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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Mexico
Thick billed Parrot
Thick-billed Parrot © Felipe Guerrero
Alaska
Northern Hawk Owl
Northern Hawk Owl © Felipe Guerrero
California
Mountain Quail
Mountain Quail © Felipe Guerrero