Winter Southern Arizona 1/19/2026-1/25/2026

https://ebird.org/tripreport/466761

Once again, our Winter Southern Arizona tour was a huge success. We scoured a variety of habitats over the course of five full days—from the oak-juniper woodlands of Madera Canyon to the riparian habitat of Patagonia to the Sonoran Desert around Green Valley and the agricultural fields and desert scrub of the Santa Cruz Flats & Sulphur Springs Valley. We sought out a wide variety of birds, including Arizona specialties, southwestern residents, wintering waterfowl, raptors, cranes, sparrows, and several rarities. For the tour, we tallied an impressive 146 species, including 16 species of waterfowl, 17 species of raptors, an astounding ten species of woodpeckers, five species of hummingbirds, 17 species of sparrows, and an impressive five birds new to the cumulative list for this tour!

Rufous-winged Sparrow, Continental, Arizona, January 2026 © Barry Zimmer

Our trip got off to a great start on Day One in residential Green Valley at Desert Meadows Park. Brilliant male Broad-billed and Costa’s hummingbirds guarded feeders within the park. Abert’s Towhee and Verdin posed well. Gambel’s Quail, Gila and Ladder-backed woodpeckers, Vermilion Flycatcher, Curve-billed Thrasher, and Orange-crowned Warbler—the hits just kept coming. A nearby patch of desert in Continental yielded the localized and highly-sought Rufous-winged Sparrow, as well as Cactus Wren, and nearby mesquite scrub produced numbers of dapper Phainopeplas.

Much of the remainder of the day was spent in famed Madera Canyon. We headed directly to Santa Rita Lodge, where in short time the feeders were hopping with birds. An absolutely brilliant male Rivoli’s Hummingbird greeted us right out of the gate (at times just feet away) with its glittering green throat and purple crown glistening in the sun. Acorn Woodpeckers, Mexican Jays, Bridled Titmice, and Lesser Goldfinches were numerous. A pair of Hepatic Tanagers (very uncommon in winter) made an appearance, as did an out-of-habitat Inca Dove. A short walk along Madera Creek before lunch yielded Red-naped Sapsucker, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Cassin’s Vireo (rare), Western Bluebird, and a fabulous Painted Redstart at eye level.

Rivoli's Hummingbird, Madera Canyon, Arizona, January 20, 2026 © Barry Zimmer

After a picnic lunch, we headed up to the nearby town of Sahuarita, where a rare Red-breasted Sapsucker had been overwintering. We found the sapsucker in minutes after our arrival and enjoyed lengthy scope views (our sixth species of woodpecker for the day). 

We finished our day with a trek up to far northeast Tucson to look for a very rare Northern Saw-whet Owl that had been roosting in Agua Caliente Park for almost six weeks. Thanks to Mike and Brian, we walked right to the spot and enjoyed superb studies. This was a first ever sighting for this species for this tour! Quite incredibly, a second roosting bird was located in the same park! What a great first day!

Northern Saw-whet Owl, Tucson, Arizona, January 20, 2026 © Barry Zimmer

On Day Two, we headed northwest to the agricultural fields and desert scrub of the Santa Cruz Flats. A perched adult Peregrine Falcon got our day off to a rousing start. Just south of Arizona City we located our first Bendire’s Thrasher (one of our main targets for the day), and it allowed wonderful scope studies from about thirty feet away! Several Lark Sparrows were also spotted nearby, and in minutes we also had a somewhat unexpected Sage Thrasher. Further south in the flats, we located Say’s Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, and Sagebrush (one of our other main targets) and Brewer’s sparrows among others before we headed to an early lunch.

Bendire's Thrasher, Arizona City, Arizona, January 21, 2026 © Barry Zimmer

Shortly after lunch, we found soaring Prairie Falcon and Ferruginous Hawk in rapid succession. We scoured the sod farms for Mountain Plovers with no luck but had a wonderful trio of Crested Caracara, Burrowing Owl, and perched Merlin all at the same locale. A flooded field had six species of shorebirds in it, including two rarities—a Lesser Yellowlegs and a Western Sandpiper.

Late in the afternoon, we birded at Sweetwater Wetlands in northwest Tucson. Our visit was very productive with Cinnamon Teal, Common Gallinule, Wilson’s Snipe from ten feet away (thanks Nancy!), more Vermilion Flycatchers, and a mind-blowing Bobcat that walked within ten feet of our group! We may have even topped our first day’s success!

On Day Three, we headed south towards Patagonia and Nogales. Our first stop was at Canoa Ranch. After a little bit of searching, we enjoyed epic scope views of a male Lawrence’s Goldfinch (a big invasion of this notoriously nomadic species was occurring in the state), as well as a Sora feeding on the edge of a small marshy area. Heading further south, we paused at the Amado Sewage Pond, where we added Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, a rare pair of Hooded Mergansers, and a Belted Kingfisher. 

Then it was on to the Paton’s Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia. Feeders there were hopping with activity, including spectacular Violet-crowned Hummingbird (our primary target); Anna’s Hummingbird; Gila and Ladder-backed woodpeckers; Bewick’s Wren; Green-tailed, Abert’s, and Spotted towhees; Pyrrhuloxia; and several brilliant Lazuli Buntings. Additionally, we successfully chased a male Williamson’s Sapsucker in Patagonia town park while we were having lunch. The area around Peña Blanca Lake produced Cassin’s Kingbird and Canyon Towhee, both new to our list.

Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Patagonia, Arizona, January 22, 2026 © Barry Zimmer

We capped off the incredibly successful day with some owling. With a little effort, we had great views of Western Screech-Owl at eye level, heard Whiskered Screech-Owl, and saw a Great Horned Owl on a telephone pole. This was another wonderful day of birding!

The next day, we traveled east towards Willcox and the Sulphur Springs Valley. After three days of picture-perfect weather, we faced some seriously challenging weather conditions on this day. Near constant rain produced very muddy roads, making getting to some places impossible. We could not reach Whitewater Draw or drive the perimeter of Cochise Lake due to the conditions. However, we still managed to find a good number of birds despite the challenges. Chihuahuan Meadowlark and Yellow-headed Blackbird were quickly tallied, and soon we ran into flock after flock of Lark Buntings along the roadsides (totaling over a thousand for the day). While we didn’t get to see the huge crane gathering at Whitewater Draw, we did have great looks at several hundred Sandhill Cranes at various spots along the highway. Northern Harrier, another Merlin, a roosting pair of Great Horned Owls, and Chihuahuan Raven were among the other highlights. Late in the afternoon, we visited the Benson Water Treatment Plant, where we saw Eared Grebe, numbers of Canvasbacks, Bufflehead, and a lone female Common Merganser.

On our final morning, we started at a desert area near Sahuarita, where we had prolonged looks at a male Gilded Flicker. Then it was back up to Madera Canyon and Santa Rita Lodge. The feeders seemed even more active than before, and we quickly added our two main targets, Arizona Woodpecker and the always angry looking Yellow-eyed Junco—both Southeastern Arizona specialty birds. A couple of Townsend’s Warblers and two more Painted Redstarts rounded out our morning. After lunch, we ventured into Tucson to look for a reported Lewis’s Woodpecker. We found not only one but two (our tenth and final species of woodpecker for the tour).

Lewis's Woodpecker, Tucson, Arizona, January 24, 2026 © Barry Zimmer

In all, we tallied 146 species of birds (adding five species to our cumulative list for this tour), enjoyed mostly excellent weather (except for the Sulphur Springs Valley day) while much of the country was buried in a deep freeze, and traveled through endless beautiful scenery. I can’t wait to get back!

Favorite birds:

1. Western Screech-Owl (seven votes; nineteen points)
2. Painted Redstart (five votes; seventeen points)
3. Rivoli’s Hummingbird, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Lawrence’s Goldfinch all tied (four votes; eleven points)

A complete list of the birds recorded on our tour can be found at: https://ebird.org/tripreport/466761

Photo Gallery.

Description for the next departure of this tour.

Barry Zimmer's upcoming tour schedule.

Raymond VanBuskirk's upcoming tour schedule.

ITINERARY:

January 19 - arrival in Tucson  

January 20 – Desert Meadow Park in Green Valley, desert around Madera Reserve in Continental, Madera Canyon (Santa Rita Lodge & White House picnic area), Sahuarita (San Martin de Porres church), Agua Caliente Park (57 species)

January 21 – Debbie Lane pond & Arizona City Lake in Arizona City, Santa Cruz Flats all morning, including Phillips Road, Harmon Road, the Evergreen Turf Farm, Redrock Cattle Pens and Redrock Sewage Pond; afternoon to Sweetwater Wetlands (79 species; 105 total)

January 22 – Canoa Ranch, Amado Sewage Pond, Paton’s Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia Town Park, Nogales Dog Park, Peña Blanca Lake, Bridge Road in Tubac; evening owling in Florida & Madera canyons (78 species; 127 total)

January 23 – Sulphur Springs Valley, including Willcox, Cochise Lake (limited due to mud), Kansas Settlement, Elfrida area; late afternoon at Benson WTP (56 species; 137 total)

January 24 – Sahuarita (Alvernon Road), Madera Canyon (Santa Rita Lodge and Madera Creek trails), Proctor Road, East Lawn Palms Cemetery in Tucson (54 species; 146 species)    

January 25 - departures for home (146 species total)