Tour De Tubac!

The city of Tubac sits along the Santa Cruz river south of Tucson on a lush riparian corridor that attracts hundreds of bird species during the spring migration. Near the historic Presidio area is Ron Morriss park, which is a hot spot for raptor watching during the migration. The De Anza trail, which parallels the river and is also a birding hotspot, is home to many beautiful species, including the Rose-Throated Becard and the Green Kingfisher. We are going to make this an overnighter, since there is so much to see in this area!

We will plan on meeting at 1:00 pm at the Bridge Road parking area and proceed to bird along the De Anza trail north of the bridge. We will work our way long the river to where the Becard nests are/were, looking for warblers, thrushes, kingbirds, buntings, orioles, and any other colorful birds we can find. This trail is about a half-mile each way thru a beautiful riparian corridor along the Santa Cruz river. Perhaps we'll get lucky and find the rare green kingfisher there too!

Afterwards, we will check into our hotels and get cleaned up for dinner. I recommend we stay in Green Valley (about 20 miles away), since the hotels are less expensive than in Tubac. I usually stay at the Vagabond Inn, but the Best Western and Comfort Inn are other options. For dinner, we'll eat at Manuel's Mexican Restaurant (121 W. Duval Road, Green Valley), which is near the Vagabond.

Sunday morning, we'll head to Ron Morriss park, arriving between 8:30 and 9am. Ron Morriss park is about a quarter mile south of the Bridge Road parking area. This is mostly an open grassy field, so we'll park together and get out our lawn chairs to watch the hawks migrate as they fly overhead. This is a popular birding event, so this area will probably be fairly crowded on this central weekend of the hawk watch. Our results have varied over the years, but we hope to see blackhawks, zone-tailed hawks, grey hawks, red-tailed hawks, ferruginous hawks, Swainson's hawks, and possibly even golden eagles and crested caracaras. Prairie falcons, peregrine falcons, and Cooper's hawks are also sometimes spotted. We'll also watch the trees for songbirds, woodpeckers, and whatever else shows up. Ebird reports over 175 species logged in this park in March in the last few years, so we should have a nice time there. For lunch, We can stop at the Longhorn Grill if anyone is interested; it's at 28851 S. Nogales Highway, Amado, AZ. It's a unique western establishment with a nice menu and beverages, just west of I-19 between Tubac and Green Valley. A trip up Madera Canyon to see the feeders at Santa Rita Lodge after lunch is optional, or we can head straight home!

*To get to the Bridge Road starting point, take I-19 south of Tucson towards Tubac. Take Chavez Siding Road, which is just after the Border Patrol checkpoint on I-19. Go left under the freeway, and turn right onto the frontage road. Proceed towards Tubac several miles until you see the sign for Bridge Road on your left. Turn onto Bridge Rd and follow it for about half a mile; you'll turn right at the stop sign by a small school, and then follow it until you see the bridge. The street before the bridge is Calle Iglesia; turn right there and park along the trees on the left side of the road.