Arizona: Black Hawk Migration

Description of Arizona: Black Hawk Migration

This five-day tour focuses on observing the spectacle of the annual Common Black Hawk migration when this large, rare raptor returns north into the United States through the Santa Cruz River Valley near Tubac, Arizona. We will also search for other migrating, wintering, and resident southwestern raptors, in addition to side-trips for classic Southeast Arizona specialties like Mexican Duck, Painted Redstart, Arizona Woodpecker, and various hummingbirds. Signs of spring will be everywhere and dozens of butterflies and some unique mammals can be found throughout the region. Part of our time will be dedicated to witnessing the Common Black Hawk migration and we will explore the surrounding Sky Island region where these hawks call their summer home. This tour is as perfectly suited for the raptor aficionado as it is for the all-around birder, and photographers will have plenty of great opportunities too! Come on down to southeast Arizona for this relaxed but immersive birding experience and enjoy the spectacle of spring hawk migration!

Common Black Hawk range map showing their spring/summer breeding season dispersal (orange) into SE Arizona. Range map from Cornell.edu

Common Black Hawks are large, tropical raptors that have a very restricted range in the United States. Although fairly common year-round residents in the lowland areas of Central America, these hawks just barely reach into Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah during the summer months to nest in lush cottonwood riparian forests. Recent hawkwatching efforts near Tubac have discovered that during the middle of March you can expect to see black hawks migrating north in the skies above the Santa Cruz River. The river corridor in Tubac works to funnel birds north, and also provides the Common Black Hawk with its preferred hunting and nesting habitat. Peter Collins and other volunteers offer their time to count the migrant raptors from a hawkwatch site in Tubac from March 1st to 31st, and counters have averaged an astonishing 199 Common Black Hawks per year! Counts have ranged widely though, from 32 to 296! March 2019 saw a record 95 black hawks in a single day on March 11th, and the peak count usually falls between March 10th and 15th. Zone-tailed Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Golden Eagles, and many other raptors can be seen migrating through this area as well. For more information on the Tubac Hawkwatch, check out HawkCount.org.

This short tour begins and ends in Tucson, Arizona and we will be staying at the same hotel for each of the four nights – the Canoa Ranch Golf Resort! Each day will have time dedicated to hawkwatching from Tubac so that we make sure to catch a good flight of Common Black Hawks. Additional time will be spent exploring the region’s many other birding hotspots. We can expect to see many exciting birds including Mexican Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Greater Roadrunner, Rivoli’s Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Costa’s Hummingbird, Harris’s Hawk, Gray Hawk, Whiskered and Western Screech-Owls, Arizona Woodpecker, Gray Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cassin’s Kingbird, Mexican Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Bridled Titmouse, Phainopepla, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Lark Sparrow, Yellow-eyed Junco, Abert’s Towhee, Chihuahuan Meadowlark, Lucy’s Warbler, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, and Lazuli Bunting!