Arizona's premier local guiding service for birders and bird photographers
More Birds. Better Photos. Your List.
Our Services
Birding
A popular choice for birders seeking to discover Arizona's spectacularly diverse birdlife.
Starting at $250.
Bird Photography
A birding experience designed to get you the best possible photos of Arizona birds.
Starting at $300.
The BEST OF ARIZONA North AND South
We guide in all regions of the state, from the birder mecca of Southeastern Arizona to the world-famous canyon country of Northern Arizona. We want to get you the best of Arizona birds north and south – Elegant Trogons and hummingbirds to Pinyon Jays and California Condors.
Our REVIEWS
Jake Thompson was a terrific guide...racked up 60 life birds in 3-4 days, along with over 120 species...he was knowledgeable on plants as well and pointed me to an area where I got to see a Pronghorn antelope! We hit all the Tucson hot spots between there and on over east towards Sierra Vista. Hiked up to 6 miles a day but it's your pace as want. Strongly suggest staying at Casa de San Pedro!
Chris Andrews
1715969061
5 plus stars!! David was so knowledgeable about the area, wildlife and of course the birds! Being from the Midwest and wanting to be sure to capture certain birds, we booked with Arizona Birding tours and BAM! They delivered with David!
Jim Tucker
1715963706
We had a great experience with our young and enthusiastic birding guide in Tucson, Bobby! Over two full days, his interest and knowledge of the local birdlife made each outing amazing. From spotting rare species to sharing insights about the region's natural history, his dedication was evident. Highly recommend for anyone looking to explore Tucson's avian wonders!
Sandy Sipe
1715959006
Our Guide, Kadynn Hatfield was wonderful! He communicated well and listened to our wishes. His skills were amazing! We got several of our target species (and lots more) within a few hours! Kadynn zeroed in on our abilities and paced our trip accordingly. We enjoyed our trip so much that next year is already being planned. Appreciated the professionalism of Arizona Birding Guides and will definitely use them again!
Peggy Jones
1715887645
Jake was amazing. Can't say enough good things about him. His hearing and sound recognition are unbelievable . His mimicry is uncanny. Those elf owls thought he was the real thing. I highly recommend him.
bill schafer
1715876192
A.Petio was a great guide who kindly met the needs of his clients
Mike Sullivan
1715740699
Alex Patia was an absolutely perfect guide. He not only knew birds (by song, call and appearance) but also plants, trees, reptiles etc. A true naturalist. I found AZ Birding Tours to be a highly professional organization. From my first contact with Felipe, and through my subsequent arrangements with Alex as to our birding interests, plans for meeting , etc.,communications were promptly responded to and clear. I would highly recommend this guide service.
Patricia Ray
1715724934
We had the best day with Alex. He was so knowledgeable and passionate and he got our whole group excited about the birds we were seeing. He asked about our hopes for birds for the day, and he created an itinerary that gave us the best shot to see them. 2 life birds that day- Elegant Trogon and Northern Pygmy Owl. Incredible. Highly recommend!
Sandy Heiser
1715523166
My husband and I went on a half-day birding outing with Alex Patia of Arizona Birding Tours on May 9, 2024. We went to the Burrowing Owl colony in Marana, El Rio, and Sweetwater Wetlands. It was a FANTASTIC experience! Alex is extremely knowledgeable and we learned a lot from him. He is like an encyclopedia and I know we only got the "tip of the iceberg" of all his knowledge. Alex recorded 63 species with us on ebird! My favorites were the Burrowing Owls, the Green Heron, the Black-chinned Hummingbird, the active raptor nests and the Summer Tanagers. We could feel Alex's passion for the birds and their habitats it was contagious. If we go birding again in southeast Arizona, we will ask for Alex! We had such a rich experience with him! Sincerely, Betsy Keyack, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Betsy Keyack
1715474073
Another outstanding experience with Felipe’s company. This time we were staying in Ramsey Canyon and spent a day with Eric and a day with Kadynn for bird photography. Both guides were excellent. Went further afield with Kadynn to find red-faced warbler - ended up seeing 21 ! Lots of migratory warblers etc., over 70 species in all. Highly recommended.
Steve K
1715470781
We had a great time birding with Kadynn from Arizona Birding Tours. We spent 2 days and 2 nights with him, birding a variety of habitats from the riparian areas of Tubac, the saguaro of Sabino Canyon, up Madera Canyon, and to the top of Mt Lemmon. Kadynn has both a great attitude about birding, as well as an excellent technical knowledge of both the birds we were seeking and their habitats. He put us in great position to get excellent views and photos of a number of bird species we have never seen before. We would highly recommend Kadynn and Arizona Birding Tours.
Mark Zambrowski
1715461771
I spent the day birding with Kadynn and it was a fantastic experience. We birded Madera Canyon and number of other spots in the broader area. We saw many birds, including 30+ lifers. Definitely more than I expected to get coming into the day.Kadynn had a great plan that got us into a lot of different habitats. He was super knowledgeable, always calling out what he heard and helping me to learn them as best I could. Kadynn even stayed after dusk to help get me on the owls and nightjars in the canyon. Such an awesome day
Neil Pankey
1715455275
I spent two half days birding with two different guides that I booked through Arizona Birding Tours. Both Eric and Michael were excellent guides and took me to some wonderful birding sites, including Madera Canyon and Patagonia Lake. It was a pleasure birding with them and I got to see some species I'd never seen before. Well worth it.
Christine Psyk
1715449722
This is the second time I’ve hired Arizona Birding Guides to help me find specific lifers. Kadyn was our guide for a single day of birding culminating in an evening of owling. We had some difficult targets but Kadyn got us on our birds, he himself was very enthusiastic about getting Five-striped Sparrow and Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. He also helped us with intel on LeConte’s Thrasher and Ridgway’s Rail. He has an excellent ear and knows his hotspots and habitats well. He really made effective use of the time we had to strategically get us on birds.
Jim Kettelkamp
1715447197
The day with Alex was so full of birds and bird knowledge. He suggested going up Mount Lemmon and my husband saw so many lifers, which were largely migrants. Alex has lots of knowledge and tools to use to bring the birds in. Excellent morning!
Sarah K
1715445263
The whole experience was great! I submitted a request/message on their website and heard back from Felipe quickly. We discussed dates and locations and he connected us with one of their guides, Jake. Three of us did a night of owling and a full day of birding with him south of Tucson. We saw so many lifers and enjoyed seeing a wide variety of habitats. Jake was extremely knowledgeable on all of the birds and their different calls/songs, as well as the plants and trees in the region. We highly recommend booking with Arizona Birding Tours!
Laura Mobley
1715271707
We Had a half day birding trip in Flagstaff organized by Arizona Birding Tours and it was great! Felipe put us with an awesome guide, John Wilson. He was knowledgeable, professional, friendly, and patient! The three of us felt that John tailored our trip to match our experience and meet our wants. We will be back!
Patti Hassing
1715124098
I have birded with many guides in many places and I highly recommend Arizona Birding Tours. I had outstanding days with Felipe and with Bobby. Expert knowledge of birds and much more, most capable in the field, thorough, organized, fun to be with. It doesn’t get any better!
Barbara Kelley
1714864765
I recently spent a day with Kadynn Hatfield birding around the Tucson area. I had previously birded with Kadynn and already knew that he is a fantastic birder and guide. Kadynn went out of his way to take me to multiple locations, making sure that I saw as many lifers as possible, and making sure I had time to enjoy previously seen birds as well. Kadynn's ability to ID birds through quick looks and birdsong (calls) is phenomenal. A bonus is that Kadynn is a really fun person to spend the day with, and just a fantastic person overall.
Carol Disney
1714693936
We spent a wonderful day at Lake Patagonia State Park with David Griffith. He was very knowledgeable, and made sure everyone got to see the birds we found. He also made appropriate allowances for our various physical capabilities.A week later we spent a couple of hours owling with Alex Patia at Madera Canyon. Also very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We didn’t see any owls, but heard several species. At that point I was feeling the effects of the elevation (total flatlander here) and couldn’t do the hiking I would have liked.
Leanne Pemburn
1714582322
Kaydynn was absolutely fantastic! Incredible knowledge and instinct as to where the birds were, and a very nice guy with whom I enjoyed conversing. He'd checked my eBird profile and suggested that I might get 45-50 lifers; we ended up with 55. I had a great time visiting Arizona (from PA) and my 2 days with Kaydynn made the trip all the more memorable. He's also a top-notch "herper", a term with which I was not familiar but the attached photo attests to his expertise.
Eric Allen
1714527162
I can think of nothing more enjoyable outdoors than spending a day or more birding with Alex Patia as your guide. His birding skills, his communication skills, his environmental education, and his research efforts to locate individual bird species that you identify as a priority make for an exceptional experience.
Stephen Craven
1714511086
Four of us from the Seattle area had a fabulous day birding with Alex Patia of Arizona Birding Tours. Alex took us to four different sites and four different habitats to look for birds. He explained how each of the habitats supported the birds we saw. We were able to see birds that we would not have seen on our own because Alex was aware of what was going on around us. For example, he noticed Painted Red Starts flying around excitedly and then pointed out a Northern Pygmy Owl on a nearby branch. He seemed as excited as we were to see it. We all ended the day with many new Life Birds and great memories. We would all go birding with Alex again when we’re back in Arizona.
Karen Roll
1714502463
Excellent. Thoroughly enjoy the experience. Excellent birder with an amazing ear.
Cerissa Tanner
1714489566
I spent a delightful two days with Kadynn, birding in various locations throughout SE Arizona. Kadynn has an amazing ear and could easily decipher 6 calls at once. He knew details about behavior, habitat, and species variation. He also shared information about the local vegetation, and conservation efforts. Kadynn accommodated my interests and we visited several hotspots, and hiked a few miles each day. We crossed paths with a few people he knew, and it was obvious that Kadynn was respected as an expert, and friend. I enjoyed his stories of chasing lifers across the country, and how his love for birding began at an early age. Despite the windy conditions, we added 43 new birds to my life list! I absolutely recommend Kadynn and Arizona Birding Guides!
Victoria Danby
1714455687
Mike knew the exact locations for the species I was looking for! His ear birding skills were top notch! Definitely recommend Arizona Birding Tours!
Jason Cole
1714424747
David designed our trip with our needs and appetites and it was just what we wanted. Great breadth and depth of knowledge.
geoff cowper
1714420612
Levi was punctual, personable and extremely knowledgable. He communicated well to create a day that exceeded all of our goals for the trip.
HBSG Commercial
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David Gilman
1714402117
We spent a wonderful day with our birding guide, Kadynn. He knew just where to take us and recognized all the birds by ear. I highly recommend Arizona Birding Guides and Kadynn. We will definitely return and will spend more than one day with Kadynn!
Terry Cerisoles
1713897786
We had an amazing day. We are novices to birding. It was amazing to see all the different species in the Tacoma landscape. Nate was so knowledgeable and professional. Thanks for the memories.
Julia Kretschmar
1713799759
Wonderful day with an amazing guide who understood that were novice birdwatchers and gave us a great birdwatching experience at several locations. A listing of all birds seen and where was provided later the same day. Highly recommend the company (and ask for Alex)!
Sue Simons
1713568061
Alex Patia was our guide. We had requested to see lots of birds and did we ever! He is constantly listening for bird sounds, knows all of their calls which helps to attract them, and is a wealth of knowledge about each bird species. On top of all that he is fun, friendly, and courteous. If we ever want to go on another bird tour we will ask for him!
Lisa C.
1713567779
Michael was incredibly knowledgeable and willing to answer any question. He’ll make sure to fill the time with seeing as many birds as possible. I definitely highly recommend these folks no matter your level of birding.
Tyler Henderson
1713493130
My mom and I booked two full day tours with Arizona Birding-- one in Phoenix with Levi and one in Patagonia with David.Levi is incredibly kind, accommodating, and professional. His bird ID knowledge and photography skills are absolutely unmatched. He was extremely helpful at finding the birds we requested and gave us photography tips in real time so that all our photos turned out amazing. We had a fabulous time and would highly recommend him to anyone and everyone!David is friendly, flexible and fun, and his knowledge of all things nature is absolutely astounding! He was very patient with us and worked hard to create a customized itinerary with multiple options to get us to the species we wanted to see. He exceeded our expectations and we can't imagine how we could've had a better day with him. Highly recommend!
Leah Turner
1713491572
Michael was a fantastic guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable particularly when it came to bird calls and songs. Highly recommend!
Dan
1713453204
What a remarkable experience! My wife and I spent the better part of two and a half days touring with Jake, including an evening of owling. In addition to being a remarkable guide and a wealth of knowledge -- birds, botany, mammals -- Jake is a great person, whose company and calm personality made our time with him simply extraordinary. His passion for birds and for what he does comes through every minute. He made sure we saw our target birds (60 lifers with him!) and found the best places for me to get "the shot" of the bird instead of just being satisfied with hearing its beautiful song. He was so visibly disappointed when we only heard the Western Screech-Owls and Whiskered Screech-Owls that my wife had to let him know that we were more than satisfied with the evening adventure. And, in addition to birds, he knows first aid, which came in handy when a rock unexpectedly interfered with our first hike on Mt. Lemmon. I hope we are able to join Jake for some trips during monsoon madness at the end of the summer. Thank you, Jake! Thank you, ABT.
Steven Kessler
1713316956
We recently had a fantastic experience birding with Michael Sadat in Portal Arizona. Mike was outstanding and this was one of the best birding experiences we have had. Extremely accommodating, he wanted to ensure we really enjoyed our time so asked us a lot of questions about how we wanted the morning to go. He is a talented birder who birds by ear and he was very generous teaching us about the ecology, about bird song, and all about the birds, including some avian anatomy! We had a problem with our schedule due to an issue back home, and Felipe was SO NICE making sure we got to bird, changing the date and the guide at the very last minute. The original guide was also worried and offered advice. This is a fantastic company and I plan to bird with them whenever I am in the area. Thank you Felipe for everything!!!
Leanne Ogasawara
1713202811
We spent two half days with Jake Thompson. Jake’s enthusiasm is contagious and his knowledge of birds is fantastic. He is excellent not only at finding the birds, but also is knowledgeable about their habits and quirks. His familiarity with plants and trees was unexpected but much appreciated. We would wholeheartedly recommend Jake to anyone who wants a friendly and skilled guide for exploring the rich birding areas of SE Arizona. As soon as we left, we wanted to go back! Thanks to Felipe for setting us up with such a wonderful guide!
Trudy O'Connell
1713196987
What a great experience we had with Arizona Birding Guides. We were coming from Iowa and birding on our own so wanted a couple days with a guide when I contacted them they were able to advise me as to areas to bird for the birds we were hoping to see. Levi and David were our guides. They not only could identify the songs but did an amazing job of locating them. Not only were they amazing guides but great company. We just had an amazing time birding and were able to get 12 lifers. More than we expected for the whole week. We will definitely be using their services again.
Sylvia Gieseke
1713052043
We’re from MN and went birdwatching around Tucson AZ with Caleb as our guide. We were very excited to see many many birds that were native to the southwest and a great number were new to us. Great experience
Andrew Lucy
1713050702
My husband and I had an excellent time birding with Kadynn over a couple half days and one night of owling. He was very professional, knowledgeable, and infectiously enthusiastic about the birds in Arizona! We got great lists of birds, including a fantastic night of owls. Booking was easy and quick, and it was very easy to communicate with the company while booking and subsequently when Kadynn picked locations for us to meet. This is my second time birding with Arizona Birding Guides and Kadynn, and I would book again and recommend them wholeheartedly.
Michelle Arguelles
1712978258
Had a wonderful experience with ABT in January. It exceeded our expectations. My wife and I were relatively new to birding but studied ecology in school. Kaydnn was super knowledgeable, smart and a great guy to spend the day with. He was able to answer all of our questions as academically as we were willing to discuss. We learned a ton about birds and the ecology of the area. And we had plenty of laughs talking with him about a variety of topics! I would highly recommend this company and Kaydnn. You’ll see and ID more birds than you thought was possible and have a great time!
Christian Matson
1712874709
I booked a tour for my parents, who are 80 and 86. Kadynn did a great job finding routes that were manageable for them and was both knowledgeable and courteous. We all learned a ton and it was a joyful experience. Thanks!
jean philips
1712603794
We had a great day birding with Jake. He was excellent at identifying birds by sight and sound, and he taught us a lot about bird identification, local trees, and plants. We spent over eight hours with him and visited approximately six sites. He also prepared the eBird checklists to share with us. We are novice birders, and this was our first trip to Arizona, so he got us over forty new life birds! Felipe was also extremely quick in replying to my inquiries even with very short notice for our visit. Highly recommend their birding services!
Holly Kleman
1712240319
I booked a custom birding tour with several specific and difficult targets in the Tucson area. Booking was easy. David was my guide and came up with a loop birding itinerary to find my targets. He was a great guide and a lot of fun to spend the day with. I'm an intense birder but David would have been just as good with a less intense trip as he knows far more than just birds. Despite being late for wintering birds, we doing Baird's Sparrow and Chestnut collared Longspur among five lifers for the day. I highly recommend Arizona birding tours
Bryan Gieszl
1712202780
Look no further than Jake Thompson from Arizona Birding. Jake was a stellar guide who has a deep passion for all of nature. He not only knew his birds, but also the flora and where to go to find whatever we were searching out. He’s also just a congenial person, fun, and flexible. We had to change our destinations due to snow, our time due to a late night before, and Jake just rolled with it. He genuinely loves the natural world and his enthusiasm is contagious. We really enjoyed our 7 hours with Jake. He also knew a good lunch spot!
Laurie Danforth
1712154811
We enjoyed our 2 half days of birding with John in the Oak Canyon and Flagstaff areas. Despite a wild mix of wintery weather, we managed to get good looks and some lifers. A laid back style and pace enabled us to linger on the birds that were most interesting to us. Great banter on birds, plants, wildlife and photography made it an educational experience for us as well.
Zoltan P
1712096255
Had a wonderful experience with AZ Birding Tours. My guide, Kadynn was an expert birder with in-depth knowledge of all the hotspots and bird species, resulting in 17 lifers! Everyone I had contact with was helpful and professional. I highly recommend!
Michael Murphy
1712096190
Felipe was very helpful and supportive giving us guidance and ideas. Our, guide, David, was wonderful. His passion for birding was evident as we were always ready to call it a day before he was. My wife has birding, and naturalist, interests. He was constantly engaging her interest. I am a rank amateur, yet David was amazingly patient and funny. We couldn't have been more pleased.
Mark Porizky
1710457460
Arizona Birding Guides
Arizona Birding Guides is about following passions – passion for being in nature, for exploring beautiful places and amazing birds, for getting the best possible photo, and for having new experiences that create lasting memories. We are honored to be able to share our passion for Arizona birds with you!
Answers to your questions!
What time of year is best for birding in Arizona? Where should I go birding when I visit? What species of birds will I see while I’m there? Find answers to all your questions and more on our FAQ page.
Pro Tips For Birding IN Arizona
Get a copy of our free mini-guide, Pro Tips for Birding in Arizona, and learn how to make the most of your Arizona birding trip!
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