Hello Birding Friends!

PAS is pleased to announce another Amazing Arizona in August birding trip for our members. The dates are August 15-19, 2024. The first and last days will be travel days, with three full days of birding on the 16, 17 and 18th, with our fantastic guides, Pat and Ken Isaacson, from Tucson Audubon. The cost will be $175 per person, which will cover the guides’ fees for three days, guides’ gas, and entrance fees for three of the birding locations. You will be responsible for your own food, lodging and transportation. There is a limit of 12 participants for this trip.

Last August this trip was so popular that we had to divide into two groups, yet so memorable that we’ve had multiple requests to repeat it this year. Rather than offering it as first come/first served, we will have a lottery drawing this year, in order to make it more fair and give everyone an opportunity to apply. If this trip appeals to you, please contact Dianne Benham by text 858 243 9665 or email, diannebenham@me.com to put your name(s) into the lottery. On April 15 we will draw names and the first 12 names drawn will fill the trip. If there are more than 12 applicants we will create a waiting list. Please get your name in as soon as possible!  If you are not a current member of PAS, please fill out the membership form on our website, as membership is required.

Here are some highlights from last year’s trip:

Highlights from 2023:

Some of the amazing and memorable birds we were lucky enough to see were the Five-striped Sparrow, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Rivoli’s Hummingbird (it’s huge!), the Violet-crowned Hummingbird, the White-eared Hummingbird, Caliope Hummingbird (it’s tiny!) and the rare ones–Plain-capped Starthroat, Lucifer Hummingbird, and Berylline Hummingbird. We saw Varied Bunting, Whiskered Screech Owl, Elegant Trogons, Painted Redstarts, Botteri’s and Cassin’s Sparrows and many more!

Some trip highlights included our visit to Ramsey Canyon where we huddled under the overhang of the visitor’s center during a thunderstorm where it actually hailed! Our birding day almost ended then, but just as we were about to drive away, the storm ended and the blue sky returned—so back we went! We were so fortunate that the rain stopped, because we were able to see the Berylline Hummingbird at the feeders, the Violet-crowned Hummingbird on her nest, and best of all, a family of Elegant Trogons, including three juveniles and two adult males! Absolutely stunning! The trip concluded with an exciting night of owling in Madera Canyon, where our guides were able to call in and light up a Whiskered Screech Owl for all to see and photograph. The Mexican Whip-Poor-Will and other owls, including the Elf Owl, were also heard that night.

This is a trip not to be missed, so I encourage you to join us this August for another amazing PAS trip to SE Arizona!