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| The saguaro cactus is a favorite perch of the cactus wren. |
Some of the better birding trails in the park include:
Desert Ecology Trail
Day hikers can see some of the national park’s most famous birds on the Desert Ecology Trail. The short 0.3-mile lollipop trail sits in the park’s eastern Rincon Mountain district just off of popular Cactus Forest Drive. It’s a perfect walk for young children to experience and learn about desert ecology. The saguaro is a good place to focus your attention if looking for birds. The plant is like an apartment building for native wildlife, providing homes to a variety of birds, such as the Harris’s hawk, Gila woodpecker, and the tiny elf owl.
Javelina picnic area
The opening section of the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail, especially at the Javelina Picnic Area, mark an excellent spot to see canyon wrens and black-chinned sparrows. The area in the park’s Rincon Mountain (East) district is slightly more verdant than the surrounding desert and so provides more opportunities for homes and food. A walk around the picnic area and the first 300 feet of the trail for a 0.2-mile round trip journey should yield some sightings.
Visitor Center Trail
In the Tucson Mountain (West) district, ash-throated flycatchers, Say’s phoebes, curve-billed thrashers, and Gila woodpeckers can be seen near the visitor center buildings. In the winter season, neotropical migrant species including hummingbirds, swallows, orioles, and warblers also can be seen. To see them, try this 0.37-mile trail circling the Red Hills Visitor Center off of North Kinney Road.
