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Late Summer Birding in the Dreamy Hills of Southern Arizona

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August 14-19, 2018

• From our base at the lovely PANDORA RANCH in Arivaca Arizona, we’ll enjoy daily excursions to some of the best birding locations in the country – Madera Canyon, Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, Patagonia Lake State Park, Arivaca Creek, Paton Center for Hummingbirds, and the Chiricahua Mountains.  

• We’ll become acquainted with the birds from this stunning and unique part of the world like the Elegant Trogon, Painted Redstart, Olive & Red-faced Warblers, Gray, Common Black, & Zone-tailed Hawks, Greek Kingfisher, Violet-crowned & Rivoli’s Hummingbirds, Bridled Titmouse, Tropical & Thick-billed Kingbirds, Sora, Varied Bunting, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, and the Purple Martin and so many more.

Our days will be leisurely, allowing us space to truly appreciate and get to know the birds we come in contact with…. PLUS… give us the time to dive deeply into lessons from the Bird Mentor curriculum. 

These lessons will improve your skills, awareness, and depth of relationship with the birds no matter how much experience you have. 

NOT YOUR TYPICAL BIRDING TOUR

Ever wished your bird tour moved a little slower, allowed you space to settle into the natural rhythm of the land, slowing yourself to a pace where the birds become comfortable enough to come close to you without the use of devices to call them in, where you could linger just a bit longer with the beautiful creature in front of you? 

On a BIRD MENTOR tour you will:

Learn techniques to get close to birds, or more specifically invite them to come close to you. 

Move slowly and quietly through the landscape, often witnessing intimate and spectacular interactions with the birds. 

Expand your skills through daily lessons and exercises designed to increase your awareness and ability to recognize patterns and individuals more quickly. 

Receive individual attention and guidance from expert mentors in the areas you struggle most in.

ADVANCED BIRDING SKILLS

Whether you are brand new to the world of birding or already have a strong base knowledge, you will quickly improve your skills of identification, expand your awareness and build your repertoire of bird calls.

TIME HONORED SKILLS:

Whether you are brand new to the world of birding or already have a strong base knowledge, you will quickly improve your skills of identification, expand your awareness and build your repertoire of bird calls.

You will learn the 7 Questions to Mastering Bird Identification and The Art of Questioning and Observation, the keys to identifying a bird by the flick of its tail, the signature swoop it makes in flight or its distinctive silhouette atop a far off tree. You will also become adept at the skills of deep bird language, bird behavior, habitat coding, field-mark identification, bird tracking, and bird song.  

EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BIRD SONG:

You will gain unique techniques to help learn & remember bird song that you can start implementing right away.  Plus, we’ll practice activities each day that will allow what you learn to really sink in, so you’ll leave with a new level of confidence in understanding and interpreting the birds you hear, no matter where you are.

ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE WELCOME.

YOUR GUIDE

Kristi has been a birder for 25 years. She is the founder of the educational website, BirdMentor.com, a hub for resources and courses to help people all around the world build confidence learning about birds and the natural world. Through her courses students are immersed in the principles of deep nature connection, bird language and advanced bird identification skills.

For the last 20 years, Kristi has been known for igniting curiosity, child-like passion and building confidence in her students.

She leads birding courses at traditional skills events like Rabbit Stick, Winter Count, Buckeye Gathering, Saskatoon Circle and for organizations like the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, The Women’s Wilderness Institute & The Powerhouse Science Center.

Kristi is also a Field Ornithologist, Naturalist, Herbalist, and Photographer.

Kristi is a collaborator on the Dipper Project, studying the effects of the Gold King Mine spill on bird life in Colorado.  She also leads tours for the Bosque del Apache Sandhill Crane Festival,  Mesa Verde Bird Festival and the Durango Bird Club.  She has volunteered at bird banding projects on Great Gull Island, focusing on the Roseate & Common Terns, as well as migratory birds at Oxbow Preserve and hummingbirds at Mesa Verde National Park.

IMAGE APPRECIATION

1. Madera Canyon, WarrenIC, Flickr Creative Commons, November 2015
2. Patagonia Landscape, Phillip Capper, Flickr Creative Commons, April 2005
3. Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Isaac Sanchez, Flickr Creative Commons, May 2015
4. Bridled Titmouse, Alan Schmierer, Flickr Creative Commons, February 2013
5. Red-faced Warbler, Alan Schmierer, Flickr Creative Commons, May 2017
6. Sora, Brandon Trentler, Flickr Creative Commons, March 2018
7. Common Black Hawk, Dominic Sherony, Flickr Creative Commons, February 2009
8. Green Kingfisher, Bernard Dupont, Flickr Creative Commons, July 2016
9. Painted Redstart, Dominic Sherony, Flickr Creative Commons, April 2014
10. Elegant Trogon, Bettina Arrigoni, Flickr Creative Commons. April 2016
11. Vermillion Flycatcher, Bettina Arrigoni, Fickr Creative Commons, April 2017