Southeast Arizona
Where the desert turns green in summer and tropical birds meet the Wild West.
Southeast Arizona is one of North America’s premier birding destinations. I’ve been there many times for both work and pleasure. Most people are surprised at the natural and cultural diversity of the area, from monsoon season to its status as hummingbird capital of the United States. There are four bird festivals in southeast Arizona every year. It also hosts the historic mining towns of Tombstone and Bisbee and features a distinctive Southwestern cuisine shaped by Indiginous, Mexican and Spanish traditions.
Monsoon storms are small, isolated but very violent thunderstorms surrounded by blue sky and white clouds. They are common in July and August, turning the landscape green and attracting a variety birds.
Arizona features more than hummingbirds. From the iconic Greater Roadrunner to the colorful Coppery-Tailed Trogon (formerly Elegant Trogon), Southeast Arizona offers an extraordinary variety of birds rarely encountered elsewhere in the United States.
Tombstone
Silver mining boomtown.
The U.S. - Mexico Border
Southeast Arizona hosts a combination of features contributing to its wide variety of hummingbirds. It overlaps both the Pacific and Central migration flyways and overlaps the northern limits of many Mexican birds species’ ranges.
Curiosities
One sees a lot more than birds when birding in Southeast Arizona. The roadside curiosities can be very eye-catching.
Bisbee
Copper mining boomtown.
The Taste of Arizona