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Sky Island Tours offers exciting field trips to southern Arizona’s most desired destinations. Many of these trips are suitable for birding and butterflying. Take a look at our standard tours below. If you cannot find one to fit your needs, please contact us and we will develop a custom tour just for you! Classes can be incorporated into any of the tours for an additional cost and discounts are given when multiple tours are booked together (See rates for details).

Quick Link to Tour Descriptions Garden Canyon Madera Canyon Patagonia/ Kino Springs Saguaro National Park Sweetwater Wetlands Mt. Lemmon Sulphur Springs Valley

Garden Canyon Garden Canyon is located on Fort Huachuca, a U.S. Army base, just over an hour southeast of Tucson. Because the habitats are relatively undisturbed on the base, we have a good opportunity to see a wide variety of species. It's a fun and productive trip. Bring your driver's license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance to gain access to the base. Insect repellent is a good idea in the summer. Bird Tour We are mainly in search of songbirds and trogons in Garden Canyon. May through September is the best time to visit for these birds. Butterfly & Dragonfly Tour Canyon Rubyspot, Painted Damsel, Riffle Darner, Arizona Sister, Two-tailed Swallowtail, and Dull Firetip are among the many species we can anticipate on this tour. Late April through October is best for this tour.

Madera Canyon Madera Canyon, located in the Santa Rita mountains, is 25 miles south of Tucson and 11 miles east of Green Valley. Madera Canyon is world famous for its birds, but it's also great for butterflies! Many of the trails are paved. There are some that are well-maintained gravel with occasional loose rocks. Bird Tour Hummingbirds, woodpeckers, trogons, and songbirds are the principal targets for this tour. This area is most productive from April to November. In addition to walking some trails, we will make stops at businesses that maintain feeding stations for birds - these sites offer excellent birding opportunities. Butterfly & Dragonfly Tour Golden-banded Skipper, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Checkered White, Arizona Hairstreak, and Red Satyr are only a few of the species that we hope to see on this trip. The best time for this trip is late April through October.

Patagonia/ Kino Springs This bird and butterfly hotspot is a little over an hour and half from Tucson. We stop at The Nature Conservancy's Sonoita Creek Preserve, Patagonia Lake State Park, and Kino Springs. This is a fun trip if you like a variety in tour stops. Insect repellent is a good idea in the summer. Bird Tour Songbirds, raptors, hummingbirds, and waterfowl are the target groups for this tour. April to October is the best time of year for this trip. Butterfly Tour This tour is spectacular in October and early November, when rabbitbrush is in bloom. It is quite productive from May to September as well. This trip offers, arguably, the highest species count possible in southern Arizona! Pipevine Swallowtails, Acmon Blues, Common and Tropical Buckeyes, and many skippers are among the species that are possible. Wear or bring shoes that can get wet.

Sweetwater Wetlands This site is the best spot in Tucson for dragonflies and damselflies. In addition, it is an excellent location for urban birding where multitudes of ducks spend the winter. Sweetwater Wetlands is a Tucson Water property consisting of ponds and recharge basins. There are well-maintained, graded gravel paths, several benches for taking breaks, and a covered gazebo for shade. Bird Tour In addition to ducks, we have the opportunity to see shorebirds, rails, raptors, and songbirds. December through March is the best time for ducks and shorebirds. Songbirds, rails, and raptors are present throughout the year. Dragonfly Tour Desert Firetails, Bluets, Common Green Darners, Roseate Skimmers, Mexican Amberwings, and Red Saddlebags just hint at the possibilities of what we can find. April through November are the most productive months for this tour.

Saguaro National Park Saguro East, located at the base of the Rincon Mountains, is an excellent trip for those new to southern Arizona or to birding in general. Trails that we will be taking are well-maintained, consisting of sand, gravel, and bedrock. There are occasional stretches of loose rocks and there is some elevation gain on some trails. Rattlesnakes are a possibility during the warmer months. This area can be very hot during the summer months, so early starts are necessary. Bird Tour Songbirds, quail, roadrunners, doves, and raptors are the likely groups to be seen on our tour. This tour is productive all year.

Mount Lemmon Mt. Lemmon is part of the Santa Catalina Mountains and is just north of Tucson. This trip offers an excellent opportunity to see many of the Sky Island specialties without serious hiking! Round trip to/from Tucson is about 70 miles. We travel from hot desert, up the mountain, to the cool mountain top. Dress in layers. Bird Tour Songbird and hummingbirds are the main attractions for this trip. April to October is best for this tour.

Sulphur Springs Valley Come see 30,000+ Sandhill Cranes, hundreds of ducks and geese, and many species of raptor! This is one of the best areas for birding in the winter in southern Arizona. Sulphur Springs Valley is located between Bisbee and Willcox, about two hours from Tucson. Dress in layers as temperatures can very from day to day and morning to afternoon. This is a driving tour where we visit sites such as Twin Lakes in Willcox, Whitewater Draw, and many agricultural areas. Bird Tour Wintering cranes, raptors, waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds will be our targets. December through February is the best time for this tour.

Please book tours at least two weeks prior to desired date.

Phone: 1-520-488-8551