Tucson is Home to Great Bird Watching?

Who knew?

According to the Tucson Convention and Visitor?s Bureau website, Tucson?s plethora of classic Sonoran desert vegetation, rolling grasslands, high mountains and warm winters all combine to make southeastern Arizona a bird-watchers' paradise. In fact, more than 500 species of birds call the area home, hummingbirds can be seen year-round and specialty birds like the the Red-Faced Warbler, the Grey Hawk and Vermilion Flycatchers can be found within a short drive of metropolitan Tucson.

Get this -- during the fall and spring migration it is possible to see 150 or more species in a single day?that?s amazing! Summer brings spectacular rarities including hummingbird species found nowhere else in the United States, while wintertime brings more than 20,000 Sandhill Cranes, myriad species of waterfowl, sparrows and raptors?all of whom are seeking the warm temperatures and sunny skies of the scenic Tucson real estate.

Several local communities host birding festivals throughout the year in celebration of the outstanding bird life found in this ultra-scenic area, and you can view a complete list of Tucson-area birding sites on the Tucson Audubon Society website, www.tucsonaudubon.org.

Additional resources for bird-ophiles include:

* Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
* Madera Canyon
* Sweetwater Wetland
* Agua Caliente Park
* Catalina State Park
* Saguaro National Park West
* Sierra Vista Birders Guide
* Las Cienegas NCA - Watchable Wildlife
* Southern Arizona Bird Observatory
* Nature Conservancy's Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve
* Tubac Birding
* Birding the Anza Trail at Tubac
* Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
* Tucson Audubon Society's Rare Bird Alert
* Tucson Audubon Society
* The Nature Conservancy Arizona
* Southern Arizona Bird Observatory

*Source: www.VisitTucson.org; information used with permission.