Guided Explorations SE Arizona

Explore the Birds and Nature of Southeast Arizona

Birds, wildlife, fantastic landscapes, special species, wild places, and adventures await our explorations!

“What you’re seeking is seeking you.” Rumi

Nature/ecology guiding, especially for birds, within Southeast Arizona & beyond

Nature InSight provides guiding along the Santa Cruz and San Pedro rivers and tributaries, in the Sonoran desert, and in the forested “Sky Island Mountains” near to Tucson, Green Valley, Tubac, and Patagonia areas of Southeast Arizona (all within < 2.0 hours driving time from Tucson), and sometimes further afield to special places throughout the region. 

Our focus is guiding for birds and other wildlife, understanding their habitats & ecology, as well as the components and interactions of the whole ecosystem. Of course, we will help you find the birds and wildlife you most desire to see (and photograph, maybe)! The avian habitats/ecosystems of our focus are riparian/riverine, canyons, wetlands, Sonoran desert, mesquite bosque, montane forest, oak woodlands, and grasslands. All levels of experience welcome! We help you learn by teaching: identification, behavior, and ecology of birds and wildlife and about their ecosystems and conservation.

We can also have our adventure just seeking out special species/places, for example: a nesting area of a special bird species for photos, visiting a purple martin saguaro nesting hotspot, searching for migrating ibis, trekking down a river or overland to a remote beaver complex, exploring for black bear sign and learning about their ecology along our desert river corridors, watching a “prairie dog town” and their nemesis coyote predators, spotting pronghorn antelope herds in vast grasslands, or visiting a track of wild desert known for harboring Gila monsters or Sonoran desert tortoise, etc.! Let us know your interests- we can make plans. We offer ½ day (back by ~1:00-1:30 pm) and full-day guiding adventures (back by ~5:30 pm).

* Scott also periodically contracts with National Geographic Expeditions, providing expert role wildlife/ecology guiding for tours across the U.S. West to Alaska and the Arctic. See: nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/ (and may be unavailable locally during those times).

Half-Day Field Experiences

Half-day: For locations 1 hr. driving time or less (~5 hrs., back by ~1:00-1:30 pm):  Covid-19 health precautions practiced appropriately.

1-2 persons:  $160

3 persons:  $180

4 persons:   $200

Payment by check, cash, Venmo, or Zelle. PayPal/Credit Card payments add 3.2% ($165.12, $185.75, or $206.40): Link here

*Mileage Fee: ($0.30/mile, applied for touring/travel for cross-Tucson or beyond birding locations. No fees for “meet-up guiding” for Tucson/Green Valley. Suggested mileage/gas contribution for travel to meet: Tubac: $15, Patagonia: $20)

Locations Featured:

  • Santa Cruz River and riparian habitats in the Tubac/Tumacacori area, Arizona, with side visits to sites for desert habitat, as time permits.  Very birdy! Recommended for all physical abilities and experience, as well as comfort of travel and field time, providing a great first experience with Nature InSight.  Outstanding native riparian and desert habitats.
  • Sweetwater Wetlands and Santa Cruz River:  Ponds, wetlands, and riparian. Recommended for all physical abilities and experience, as well as comfort of travel and field time, providing a great first experience with Nature InSight. 
  • East Tucson Valley (Tanque Verde Creek) & Reddington Pass or Cienega Creek:  Tucson’s close-in native riparian, lakes, mesquite bosque, Sonoran Desert, and various montane habitats. Surprisingly diverse!
  • Santa Rita Mountains & Surrounds. Outstanding riparian, oak woodland, and pine/oak habitats. Warblers, kingbirds, orioles, tanagers and flycatchers and others abound here.
  • Canoa Ranch: lake/wetlands and scrub desert habitats. Very reliable and highly accessible to all.
  • Tucson Mountains: Outstanding Sonoran Desert habitat. A spring-time hiking favorite for desert birds!
  • Catalina State Park: Sonoran Desert, mesquite bosque, and canyon riparian. Another spring-time (or fall) favorite. Super scenic and birdy. Great un-visited canyon to show off!

Full Day Field Experiences

Full-day: (8-10 hrs., back by approx. 5:30 pm.  Longer/backcountry trips timing is less predictable.): Covid-19 health precautions practiced appropriately.

1 person:  $300

2 persons:  $325

3 persons:  $375

4 persons: $400 (By special arrangement. Clients provide 2nd vehicle or we meet at nature site)

Payment by check, cash, Venmo, or Zelle. PayPal/Credit Card payments add 3.2% ($309.60, 335.40, 387.00, or $412.80): Link here

*Mileage Fee: ($0.30/mile, applied for touring/travel for cross-Tucson or beyond birding locations. No fees for “meet-up guiding” for Tucson/Green Valley. Suggested mileage/gas contribution for travel to meet: Tubac: $15, Patagonia: $20)

Locations Featured:

For full day field experiences, i.e., for those folks looking to get deeper into nature with more adventures and less comforts, 8-10.5 hrs. duration, the below are featured sites we can typically add to half-day sites or focus on solely (and back by ~5:30 p.m.). Add $25/hr. for wildlife adventures after sunset. Entrance fees (including for the guide), when required, added to the above rates.

  • Local “Sky Island” Mountains, Canyons, & Lakes (Santa Rita, Patagonia, Atascosa, & Catalina Mtns.) and surrounds: Oak/Juniper, Pine/Oak, Mixed Conifer habitats, and Open Waters and Wetlands.
  • San Rafael Grasslands: Outstanding un-fragmented native grasslands of the high valley rolling landscape of the San Rafael Valley, just south of Patagonia in the border region.
  • Sonoita Grasslands: Conserved open grasslands in the ranching and vineyard area near Sonoita, AZ.
  • Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Arivaca:  mesquite bosque, cienega, desert grasslands & lakes, and Sonoran desert habitats in the protected Altar Valley of the border region.
  • Aravaipa Creek Watershed, a tributary of lower San Pedro watershed:  Outstanding native Sonoran Desert habitat.
  • Lower San Pedro River watershed.  Loop (short-stop) tour through Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, and Dudleyville:  Classic Arizona oak woodlands, riparian, Sonoran Desert, and mesquite bosque habitats in the undeveloped remote lower (northward) lower San Pedro valley. 

We will typically spend 2 to 4 hours exploring for birds/wildlife and other nature at our first area visited (and an additional 2 to 4 hours at another area, if we are out for the full day). 

*Note: My day-tour guiding service area in Southeast Arizona generally does not cover the Sierra Vista/Hereford area, Portal area, and other areas east. I may be able to recommend other local guides for these areas.

We partner with AZ-Birding for info on our availability and your trip scheduling, see link below (feel free to contact us first – if desired, by email or phone, for your special interests):

BOOKING CALENDAR CLOSED: On Health Sabbatical (see Home Page for updates)

Find my calendar here: https://az-birding.com/guides/scott-wilbor/

Photo Credits: Costa’s Hummingbird, Ryana Candee; Happy Birder, S. Wilbor; Pyrrhuloxia, Don Faulkner.

Here’s how Nature InSight guiding works for you:

My guiding services:

1)  I guide for 1-3 people at a time typically (occasionally more), and you sign up here on the website and provide me with a phone number to contact you.  Please try to give 1 week prior notice to your desired tour date (special circumstances? – please inquire). 

2.  You can use a credit card with PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, check, or cash, to pay me at the end of the tour. 

3)  I meet you at your hotel, bed and breakfast, lodge, resort, whatever(!) in the Tucson/Green Valley/Tubac/Patagonia area at a time that you desire (typically between 6 and 7 a.m., later in winter).

4)  We drive in my vehicle (Subaru Forester 2022) typically 1 to 1. 5 hours (if from Tucson) to our first wild area for exciting nature exploration!   

5)  Our destinations are of your choice that we discuss beforehand, given your desired birds/wildlife, the season, weather, and access conditions.

*Full days: Lunch (café or picnic).  We can go to a nearby café to our sites visited (i.e., in Tubac, Patagonia, E. Tucson, W. Tucson, Arivaca, Oracle, or Mammoth, or we can bringing sack lunches for a mid-day break during our full-day trip.  I’ll inquire to your style of field day/tour. Snacks (bars, cookies, & fruit) and extra water are provided for all trips (in the vehicle). Cooler space is provided for you too.

Special Backcountry Trips:

Special wilderness trips (two days, overnight tent/cabin camping) are available for the hardy desert explorers (with advanced planning), to the following places:  Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, Sonoita Creek State Natural Area, San Rafael grasslands, Hot Springs Canyon Wilderness, or the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico. 

Rate based on distance and itinerary, please inquire.