Spectacular Birdwatching Across the USA

Sierra Vista, Arizona, is Something to Tweet About!

It’s official. Sierra Vista, Arizona is the Hummingbird Capital of Arizona. And it also lays claim as the Hummingbird Capital of the United States since this area hosts the most hummingbird varieties that visit the U.S.—and welcomes one found nowhere else north of Mexico. Sierra Vista is truly an Instaworthy destination for birders or tweeple looking for scroll-halting vistas.

And the list of bird species doesn’t end with 15 species of hummers! The high, cool canyons and lush riparian areas create a migratory superhighway that more than 350 bird species pass through or take up year ‘round residency around this southeastern Arizona community.

Those canyons ripple across the Huachuca Mountains that bracket Sierra Vista to the west and have earned international fame among birders for… well, birding. Miller Canyon, with trails leading to Miller Peak, the highest southernmost peak in the U.S. at 9,465 feet, offers fantastic birding spots. Part way up the canyon, Beatty’s Guest Ranch ($5 fee for birding), with charming cabin rentals, holds the record for the most hummingbird species spotted in one day—fourteen! Public bird viewing areas offer a chance to see some of them, as well a wide variety of other fliers.

A bit further down Highway 92, Ash Canyon hosts the aptly named Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary ($10 recommended donation). Owned and managed by the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, the sanctuary makes for excellent birding all year. Nearly 200 species have been spotted here, including some of the Southwest’s most sought-after and rarely seen avian species. Check the sanctuary’s website for directions and parking, and to reserve a photo blind.

Ramsey Canyon Preserve, a 300-acre Nature Conservancy site, is world-famous for birding opportunities, and for good reason. Here you can spot some life-list birds, like the Elegant trogon, Blue-throated and White-eared hummingbirds, Sulphur-bellied and Buff-breasted flycatchers, and Painted redstart, to namedrop a few. While walking along the stream, Coues deer will pose for photos, and a Gould’s turkey or two might show up for a cameo.

A riparian excursion along the San Pedro River is an easy stroll that parallels the waterway. Although the riverbed may be dry in places, rest assured that water is flowing underground. Sometimes hidden, sometimes flooding, the San Pedro creates a lush life zone for Freemont cottonwoods—some more than a century old—and serves as a major resting place for migrating birds. Keep your binocs at the ready for Gray hawks, Bell’s vireos, and Yellow-billed cuckoos. Bright Vermillion flycatchers are hard to miss in the spring and summer, and resident Kingfishers are always elusive. It’s like a treasure hunt, without the shovel! Make your first stop at the San Pedro House visitor center for maps and helpful info about the wildlife that lives in this National Conservation Area.

Discover more about Sierra Vista’s extraordinary skies and the birds that fill them, plus cozy places to stay, tasty things to eat, and amazing places to explore at VisitSierraVista.com.

Derby Hill, Oswego County, Upstate New York

The Derby Hill Bird Observatory, an Onondaga Audubon Society sanctuary, is known as one of the premier spots in the Northeast to watch hawks due to its strategic location on the southeast corner of Great Lake Ontario.

Derby Hill has been recognized as a prime vantage point for viewing the spring migration since the 1950s, and in 1997 the area was designated an “Important Bird Area” by the National Audubon Society.

A wide variety of hawks and migrant land birds are regularly spotted in substantial numbers at Derby Hill. Raptors, including Red-tailed hawks, Osprey, and various other birds of prey, are sighted daily in the spring. Other regulars include Bald and Golden eagles, Peregrine falcons, Eastern bluebirds, Sandhill cranes, Common loons and ravens, blue jays, and American robins. Occasionally arctic species such as Northern shrike and Short-eared owl are spotted heading north to their breeding grounds.

Located on Sage Creek Road, just off NYS Route 104B in the town of Mexico, the 90-acre observatory includes north and south lookouts as well as viewing overlooking Sage Creek Marsh. For more information about Derby Hill or the festival, visit www.onondagaaudubon.com.

For more springtime fun, go to www.visitoswegocounty.com.

Ashokan Rail Trail Bird Spotting, Upstate New York

Spanning the northern rim of one of New York City’s largest sources of unfiltered fresh drinking water, is the 11.5-mile Ashokan Rail Trail. This multi-use recreational trail riming the Ashokan Reservoir travels through lands that until three years ago were closed to the public for over 100 years. Running over a wide variety of environs from wide open views to quiet forest glades, rocky cliffs, deep forest valleys, rush-filled wetlands and protected ponds, the avid bird watcher can encounter up to 194 species of birds.

The American Bald Eagle, which likes to soar between the Catskill Mountains and the creeks feeding into the Ashokan Reservoir, can be spotted frequently from the trail. Easily recognizable by its size and color, Great Blue Herons can be found standing in the shallows of the ponds doting the Ashokan Rail Trail. Scarlet Tanagers, with their stunningly bright red feathers can be hard to spot, but they live happily in the dense forests surrounding the trail. And Belted Kingfishers perch high in the trees on open branches on the lookout for fish.

The Ashokan Rail Trail is accessible from the Woodstock Dike Trailhead, located at 1285 NY-28 in West Hurley; the Ashokan Station Trailhead, found at 3045 NY-28 in Shokan; and the Boiceville Bridge Trailhead is off Route 28A in Boiceville.

Birding in Cayuga County, Upstate New York

Geographical area and the seasons impact the birds you will see in Cayuga County. Open countryside, densely forested woodlands, lake shores and backyards all offer different food and habitat inviting diverse species to stop and explore. Keep your eyes open as you travel the country roads. You may see Turkey Vultures riding the thermals or a flock of spring robins scouting new housing or a massive gathering of Canada Geese on Cayuga Lake feeding, honking loudly and generally socializing as they prepare to move north. Cayuga County can offer you 350 or more “Life List” birds in the flyways and skyways from north to south and east to west. You may encounter a 3-inch hummingbird, a 4-foot tall Great Blue Heron or a tom turkey strutting his stuff for his harem of hens. Special sites to learn more about include: The Cayuga Lake Blueway Trail, Dorothy McIlroy Bird Sanctuary, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, and Sterling Nature Center. You can find birds at any time of year, but spring migration brings out the best show as birds are decked out in their breeding plumage and brilliant colors. Fall offers the same numbers, but in more subdued shades. During the winter when the leaves are off the trees, you can easily enjoy busy birds looking for food. Summer brings nesting and the emerging babies.

Schoharie, Upstate New York

The Schoharie Valley is one of the best places to birdwatch in Upstate New York. With its rich farmlands, cliffs, rolling hillsides and the Schoharie Creek, it is the perfect habitat for birds of all species. Schoharie Valley has year-round resident birds and over-wintering birds, so there is something beautiful to see no matter the season. Schoharie County is also home to a large contingent of Bald Eagles and the occasional Golden Eagle, which is on NYS DEC’s Threatened List. Some of the best places to view a variety of different species are the Cobleskill Reservoirs, Cobleskill Creek, Mine Kill State Park, Franklinton Vlaie Wildlife Management Area and numerous sites along Route 30.

Landis Arboretum in Esperance, NY is one of the local favorite birding spots in the county with plenty of walking trails, open fields, and ponds. Don’t miss your chance to drive some of the rural roads in Argusville, Summit and Jefferson that crisscross the beautiful county. Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest is a great place to look for the 8 species of owls, 9 species of woodpeckers and other woodland birds that call Schoharie County home. All you need is your hiking boots, binoculars and time to look for them.

Spectacular Places for Bird Watching in Skagway, Alaska

Driving north from the Yukon on the Klondike Highway, I am greeted at White Pass by two of the largest Ravens I’ve even seen. They are always there. I affectionately call them Big Fred and Lundy after a couple highway workers that walked into the forest many years ago.

It is there, above the timberline that you may see sooty grouse and ptarmigan. The highway meanders steeply into Shgag̱wéi Valley and the habitat shifts to old growth forest and eventually gives way to coastal land on northernmost point of Lynn Canal.

Tlingit elder, Andrew Beierly is at the mouth of the Skagway River, where he recently photographed an ivory seagull for which, there had never been previously recorded sightings. I call my grandfather, John McDermott in nearby Dyea Valley. He tells me of an adventure he had in the 1970s where he ran into an old man with a bulky tape recorder slung over his shoulder and a parabolic antenna in his hand; looking to record sounds of the red-breasted sapsucker. Being an avid bird lover too, my grandpa lead UAF professor Leonard J. Peyton to a hairy woodpecker nest. They recorded mother woodpecker’s explosive rage at their intrusion. And I wonder to myself if that recording is on Dr. Peyton’s “Bird Songs of Alaska”. Whenever and wherever you are birding in Skagway, it is certain to be a spectacular experience!

Millions of Migrating Birds in Cape May, New Jersey

Cape May is THE location for observing birds in North America, and was favored by such celebrated naturalists as John James Audubon and Roger Tory Peterson.

More than 400 different bird species have been seen on the peninsula during the fall migration, and the area is known for spectacular flights of peregrines, merlins, ospreys, and sharp-shinned hawks. Cape May Point is one of the premier places for birding, with marked, easy-to-follow trails to help even the novice birder spot ducks, swans, osprey and other shorebirds and wildlife.

One of the best ways to experience fall migration is to attend the Cape May Fall Festival, which, in 2022, is scheduled for October 13–16. Immerse yourself in witnessing visible migration and attending bird conservation education sessions and leave a better birder!

Along the bay side in Cape May and Cumberland Counties, birders can enjoy spotting multitudes of birds—the region sees more than a million migrating birds each spring, which is the second-largest assembled shorebird population in the Western Hemisphere.

The World Series of Birding takes place in mid-May throughout the State of New Jersey, and challenges birders to count as many species as possible in a 24-hour period. Nearby, in Cumberland County, bald eagles, great blue herons, osprey and more can be found in Turkey Point, the Maurice River, and Stow Creek.

For more information, contact Cape May Bird Observatory on 609-884-2736 or 609-861-0700, or visit the website at www.birdcapemay.org.