Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival in Sierra Vista, Arizona—as a vendor, as a guide, and as a speaker. I personally love birding in southeastern Arizona, as it is my old stomping grounds when it comes to birding.

There are certain hours when vendors need to be present to staff their booth, but, as you might imagine, both before and after vendor booth hours I was out in the field birding.

Enroute to Sierra Vista, I stopped at Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains, and I made birding stops at the world-famous Patagonia Rest Stop on State Highway 82, as well as the Paton house in Patagonia. I have wonderful memories of visiting these birding destinations over fifty years ago when I was actively participating in guided bird walks sponsored by the Tucson Audubon Society.

I still have my hand-written records of bird watching trips to Madera, the Patagonia Rest Stop, as well as the Paton house in Patagonia. Those trips back in the early 70’s, over fifty years ago, are still fresh in my memory. I had to chuckle when I went to the Paton house this past Tuesday. A volunteer for the Tucson Audubon Society, asked me if I had ever been there before!

As an early teen I was blessed to have an elderly neighbor who took an interest in me and helped me grow in my birding knowledge. I did yard work for Julianne, and when she found out I was intensely interested in birds, she introduced me to the Tucson Audubon Society chapter.

My association with birding mentors has had a life-long impact on me. And now, through my birding activities, I have in turn been able to impact the lives of thousands of individuals through my business, field trips, weekly columns and mentoring.

One of the unique birding experiences in southeastern Arizona is the opportunity to visit “pay yards”. Owners of private property, as well as non-profit organizations who have birdy properties, allow individuals to go onto their property for a small fee. One can then bird watch ‘til your heart’s content. Needless-to-say, I took advantage of those opportunities.

Because of southern Arizona’s proximity to Mexico and the similarity in habitat in southern Arizona and northern Mexico, there are many varieties of bird species that occur in the extreme southeastern portion of Arizona that are not found in any other part of the continental United States. Serious birders, who are listers, come to Arizona from all over the United States just to add these rare bird species to their life list and to their North American list.

One of the places I visited was the Coronado National Monument at the southern end of the Huachuca Mountains. While birding there, I was probably only a mile from the Mexican border. Birds don’t care about man-made borders, but birders care about seeing Mexican species that occur in Arizona!

I had a great week bird-wise, visiting a variety of locations and habitats. I spent time at Ramsey Canyon, Carr Canyon, Miller Canyon, Ash Canyon, the San Pedro National Riparian National Conservation Area, Twin Lakes and Cochise Lake Wildlife Viewing area (in Willcox), and the Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David. When I wasn’t in my vendor booth, I was out beating the bushes.

Some of the more uncommon species I observed this past week were scaled quail, Rivoli’s hummingbird, violet-crowned hummingbird, Lucifer hummingbird, Berylline hummingbird, gray hawk, buff-breasted flycatcher, sulphur-bellied flycatcher, tropical kingbird, thick-billed kingbird, Bendire’s thrasher, eastern bluebird, rufous-winged sparrow, Botteri’s sparrow, flame-colored tanager and varied bunting.

Wow, what a week it was—and I even sold some product at my vendor booth! Until next week, Happy Birding!

Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark department, wild bird products, and Swarovski and Vortex optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.