Custom Field Trips & Tours
SABO offers a variety of customized field trips and bus/van tours suitable for groups of friends, families, Audubon Societies, bird clubs, civic groups, and school classes. Rates for custom itineraries will vary depending on trip length and destination(s), group size, and transportation arrangements. Multiple shorter activities may be combined into a half-day or all-day trip at discounted rates. For more information on custom field trips and tours,
contact SABO.The field trips and tours listed below are rated by interest and age/physical activity level.
Sulphur Springs Valley Bus TourNovember - April
4 to 9 hours, 6 to 12 participants
Beginning to advanced birders, wildlife watchers
Ages 10 to adult, easy
Located west of the Chiricahua Mountains between Bisbee
and Douglas to the south and Willcox to the north, the Sulphur Springs Valley is an ideal destination for birders on the
move. A mosaic of ranches, farm fields, and small settlements provides habitat for large numbers of birds of prey, sparrows, and wintering Sandhill Cranes as well as Gambel's and Scaled quail, Greater Roadrunners, and other typical birds of the deserts and grasslands. A highlight of these tours of the southern part of the valley is a stop at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, the "jewel in the crown" of the Sulphur Springs Valley.
All-day tours are $340 for 6 to 12 non-members; half-day tours (4-5 hours) are $240 for 6 to 12 non-members. SABO members (Family level and above, including business members) and nonprofit conservation organizations are eligible for a discount of $20 for all-day tours, $10 for half-day tours. Participants travel in SABO's
roomy, comfortable birding bus that can accommodate 12 passengers and
makes an excellent "blind" for photography.
Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area Field TripNovember - April
2 to 5 hours, 4 to 12 participants
Beginning to advanced birders, wildlife watchers
Ages 8 to adult, easy to moderate
This rare desert wetland is considered the "jewel in the crown" of the Sulphur Springs Valley. Though most famous for the flock of up to 22,000 Sandhill Cranes that winters here from November through February, the site is also winter home to hawks, eagles, falcons, owls, waterfowl, and songbirds and a rest stop for migrating birds such as American Avocets, White-faced Ibis, Tree Swallows, and Ospreys. Winter options range from a midday visit with a one-hour introduction to the lives and travels of Sandhill Cranes to a leisurely morning walk in search of owls, thrashers, sparrows, waterfowl, and other birds with the return of the cranes as a grand finale. After the mid-March departure of the cranes, northbound migrants such as swallows, warblers, shorebirds, and waterfowl are the main attractions.
Whitewater field trips are $150 for 4 to 12 non-members, $140 for SABO members (Family level and above, including business
members) and nonprofit conservation organizations. Participants meet the guide at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area.
San Pedro River Field TripYear round
3 to 5 hours, 4 to 12 participants
Beginning to advanced birders
Ages 8 to adult, easy to moderate
Come explore the green ribbon of life that serves as a highway for millions of migrating birds. Various field trip formats are available for groups ranging from elementary students to visiting birders, with walking distances up to 3 miles.
San Pedro River field trips are $150 for 4 to 12 non-members,
$140 for SABO members (Family level and above, including business
members) and nonprofit conservation organizations. Participants meet the guide at the San Pedro House or Casa de San Pedro Bed & Breakfast (see activities map).
Garden Canyon Field Trip
April - September
3 to 5 hours, 4 to 10 participants, U.S. citizens
Beginning to advanced birders
Ages 12 to adult, moderate to challenging
Garden Canyon on Fort Huachuca (an active military base) is one of the most beautiful and "birdy" canyons in the Huachuca Mountains. The stars of the show are the gaudy but surprisingly elusive Elegant Trogons and the Mexican Spotted Owls of Scheelite Canyon, but Red-faced Warblers, Zone-tailed Hawks, Buff-breasted Flycatchers, Montezuma Quail, Yellow-eyed Juncos, and a wide variety of other birds also call the canyon home. A special treat in late summer is a rainbow of wildflowers and butterflies.
Garden Canyon field trips are $150 for 4 to 10 non-members,
$140 for SABO members (Family level and above, including business
members) and nonprofit conservation organizations. Participants normally meet the guide at one of the picnic areas in Garden
Canyon and walk/carpool from there. With sufficient advance notice, transportation can be arranged for
groups that prefer not to take their own vehicle(s) onto the fort or up
the rugged road to Scheelite and Sawmill canyons.
Huachuca Mountain Owl Prowllate March - early June
2 to 3 hours, 4 to 10 participants
Beginning to advanced birders
Ages 10 to adult, moderate to challenging
Six of southeastern Arizona's twelve owl species nest in the canyons of the
"sky islands," but they can be difficult to find and identify. Join SABO
naturalists on a night walk in search of Whiskered
Screech-Owl, Elf Owl, and other night creatures.
Each
prowl begins with a short introduction to the voices, behavior, ecology, and distribution of the small owls of southeastern Arizona. No recordings will be used on the
trails. Participants must be comfortable with walking less than a mile
on gravel roads and unimproved trails with the aid of small flashlights.
Custom Owl Prowls are $150 for 4 to 10 non-members,
$140 for SABO members (Family level and above, including business
members) and nonprofit conservation organizations. Participants meet the guide at the trailhead.
San Pedro House Hummingbird Banding StationApril - September
2 to 3 hours, no group size limits
Appeals to everyone
All ages, wheelchair accessible
Up
to ten species of hummingbirds use the San Pedro River as a freeway between
their tropical winter retreats and northern nesting grounds. Groups are invited to get a close-up look
at these tiny travelers as SABO staff and volunteers capture, band, measure, and release them
as part of long-term studies of the bird life of this internationally important
migration route.
With prior arrangements, a SABO naturalist will meet the group before the banding session begins (4 p.m.) for an orientation.
There is no charge to visit the San Pedro House banding station, but donations are appreciated. Participants meet at the San Pedro House (see activities map).
Carr Canyon Hummingbird Banding StationApril - September
2 to 3 hours, 10 participants maximum
Appeals to everyone
Ages 10 to adult, easy
The Huachuca Mountains have been famous for more than a century for their diversity of hummingbirds. At a private home in Carr Canyon, just minutes from Sierra Vista, SABO staff and volunteers capture, band, measure, and release resident and migrating hummingbirds to better understand the importance of how these and other birds use the diverse habitats of southeastern Arizona.
These sessions, which take place from 4 to 6 p.m., are not normally open to the general public. Visiting groups will receive an orientation from a SABO naturalist before the banding session begins.
Carr Canyon hummingbird banding field trips are $5 per person for non-members,
free to SABO members and nonprofit conservation organizations. Participants meet at the Carr Canyon banding station (directions will be provided).
Madera, ChihuahuaApril - September
4 to 6 days, 4 to 9 participants
Beginning to advanced birders, parrot enthusiasts
Adults only, moderate to challenging
The mountains around this logging town in the Sierra Madre are home to the largest remaining population of the endangered Thick-billed Parrot as well as Eared Quetzal, Elegant Trogon, Short-tailed Hawk, Tufted Flycatcher, Crescent-chested Warbler, Brown-backed Solitaire, and a host of other fascinating birds. Our route takes us through the grasslands of northwestern Chihuahua and the "suburbs" of the world's largest remaining Black-tailed Prairie-Dog town. Late summer and early fall expeditions also enjoy abundant butterflies, wildflowers, and other natural wonders brought forth by the summer rains. Short detours to the ruins of Paquime and the famed pottery town of Mata Ortiz provide unique cultural experiences as well as meaningful souvenirs of the journey.
Custom five-day, four-night tours to Madera, Chihuahua are 
$875 per person for SABO members, $895 for non-members, including lodging, transportation from Bisbee, and most meals. Five-day/four-night and seven-day/six-night itineraries can also be arranged. For departures from Tucson, add $100 per group.
Southern and Coastal, Sonora
October - April
6 days, 4 to 8 participants
Beginning to advanced birders
Adults only, moderate to challenging
Within a day's drive of Bisbee, Arizona, the Sonoran Desert gives way to mountains cloaked in subtropical thorn forest studded with giant cacti and winter-blooming trees. This area is
a paradise for birders, butterfly watchers, and botanists. Wildlife of the area includes Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, Streak-backed Oriole, Elegant Quail, White-fronted Parrot, Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana, Mexican Leaf-frog, and a host of tropical butterflies. The 326-year-old
Spanish colonial town of Alamos provides comfortable lodging and excellent dining for visiting naturalists. Six-day, five-night tours also visit the
city of Navojoa on the lower Río Mayo and the seaside resort of San Carlos,
where isolated rocky islands provide nesting and roosting sites for thousands of seabirds, shorebirds, and wading birds, including Brown and Blue-footed boobies, Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Heerman's and Yellow-footed gulls, and Elegant Terns.
Custom six-day, five-night tours to southern and coastal Sonora start at $1395
per person for SABO members, $1440 for non-members, including lodging,
transportation from Bisbee, and most meals. Five-day/four-night and seven-day/six-night itineraries can also be arranged. For departures from Tucson, add $100 per group.