Join Golden Gate Bird Alliance and East West Birding Tours during the peak

Rufous-capped Warbler by Ken Blankenship

of SE Arizona’s famous “Second Spring” — the Monsoon Rain Season! Hummingbird numbers and diversity are at their highest… White-eared, Berylline, Anna’s, Costa’s, Violet-crowned,
Rivoli’s, Broad-tailed, Lucifer, Broad-billed, Black-chinned, Calliope, Rufous, and Blue-throated Mountain-gem are all possible! Late breeders are singing and conspicuous: Five-striped Sparrow, Botteri’s Sparrow, Varied Bunting, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Cassin’s Sparrow, and much more! Many of our local and migrant breeding birds use the bounty brought by the rains to raise a second brood. Huge agave stalks are in blossom, the grasslands green up,and wildflowers abound.

This is one of GGBA’s new class of trips called “Home Base”. You will stay in the same lodging (Ramsey Canyon Inn) for the entirety of the trip. Think how relaxing it will be to not have to pack/unpack/lug luggage every day or two. Instead, you will spend your evening, in a comfortable patio chair, watching 10 or more species of hummingbirds at Ramsey Canyon Inn’s many feeders.

Notes:
Because you will bird at US Army Fort Huachuca, you must be a US citizen to attend this trip.
Please arrive at the Tucson International Airport (TUS) before 3pm on 16-Apr.
Please plan to return home from TUS after 12 noon on 22-Aug.
We will book a maximum of 4 single occupancy rooms.

Limit: 8 people (15-passenger van; 2 guides)

Contact: If you are interested in this trip, contact Dawn Lemoine.  This trip is being organized by the GGBA Travel Program.  Dawn will answer any of your questions and sign you up for the trip.  Do not contact East West Birding Tours or Ramsey Canyon Inn.…

Southeastern Utah—part of the Colorado Plateau—is a geological wonderland. The layers of red rock here have been carved into a wild assortment of amazing landscapes. On this tour, we'll visit three national parks: Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef.

Explore the Siskiyou and Cascade Mountains of southwestern Oregon—a rugged, beautiful region of high biodiversity. On this five-day tour, you’ll get to see and learn about the region’s birds, wildflowers, rivers, and fascinating geology.

American Three-toed Woodpecker by Timothy Piranian

We’ll go birding and botanizing along the wild-and-scenic Rogue and Illinois rivers. There are many endemic plants in these mountains, including the carnivorous Cobra Lily. The oak and conifer forests are home to great birds and some interesting reptiles. We’ll cross the Cascades to go birding for a day in the rich wetlands of Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. Our home base will be the charming town of Jacksonville, and we’ll be sure to take some time to stroll the streets of nearby Ashland. Note that this tour involves some easy hiking (less than 3 miles) on trails that are sometimes rocky, uneven, and moderately steep.

Our guides will be Wild Latitudes, who have led outstanding trips for Golden Gate Bird Alliance to locations such as Iceland, Montana, and Alaska.

Itinerary will be posted soon.…

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John James Audubon spent his most formative years as an artist in Kentucky which, in 1807, he described as “a spot designed by nature to become a place of great importance.”  On this natural and cultural history tour we will follow in his footsteps during the region’s peak spring birding and wildflower season. The tour begins and ends in Louisville. Naturally, the primary focus is birding, with a Kentucky twang.

Kentucky Warbler

Tour Highlights:

• Spring migration: this tour is timed for peak spring bird migration with visits to specialized habitats, hoping for uncommon birds like Bobolink, Cerulean Warbler, Swainson’s Warbler and Henslow’s Sparrow
• Audubon State Park: superb birding in Ohio River Valley wildlife preserves and home to the largest collection of JJ Audubon’s works
• Mammoth Cave National Park: spring birding in a unique ecological setting, optional
• Appalachia: birdy days in one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth
• Camp Nelson: great grassland birding at a unique Civil War monument
• Bourbon and fast horses: taste and experience what KY is famous for
• The Shakers: a stay at the historic Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill within 3,000 acres of beautifully conserved wildlife habitat

Your guides for this trip, Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden, have been leading Nature Trip tours since 2004.  Eddie is a native of Kentucky and has been birding there since childhood.

Before signing up, please read What To Expect on this trip in terms of pace, activity level, and other logistics.

For questions, contact Dawn Lemoine at travelprogram@goldengatebirdalliance.org.…