Field sketches of a nestling Short-tailed Hawk in the Chiricahua Mountains. Photo: Narca Moore-Craig
WINGS invites you to join our inaugural field sketching tour to one of the world’s iconic birding destinations: the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona! Have you ever wished to hone your skill at drawing birds and other wildlife? To refine your powers of observation? We’ll have fun doing that––in a peerless setting, where the burnt-orange cliffs of Cave Creek Canyon tower overhead and the cries of Elegant Trogons and Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers echo down the canyon. You’ll join wildlife artist Narca Moore-Craig for an in-depth, intimate encounter with the birds and other creatures of the Sky Islands.
Day 1: We’ll gather at our first night’s hotel in Tucson and begin the tour with a briefing, a welcome dinner, and an introduction to field sketching. Everybody will be provided with a notebook for field sketching, pen (for the brave!), pencil and kneaded eraser.
Night in Tucson.
Day 2: This morning we’ll jump right into field sketching during a trek to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, followed by an afternoon drive to Portal––a tiny village nestled at the foot of the incomparable Chiricahua Mountains—and check in to our accommodations at Cave Creek Ranch.
Days 3-6: From our comfortable base at shady Cave Creek Ranch, we will explore nearby locales in the Chiricahua Mountains, with a focus on both field sketching and birding. Our outings will include outstanding sites such as South Fork, Cave Creek Canyon, Barfoot Park, and Rustler Park. We will also sketch at local feeders, especially at the start of the tour, and then move into the field where sketching can be more challenging. Feeders offer another bonus––remember that late August is prime time for hummingbird migration in southeast Arizona!
You will be in the Chiricahuas during the summer monsoon, when rains usually cool the land and nourish a wonderful bloom of wildflowers. Our day-to-day schedule will be flexible to allow us to take advantage of unexpected opportunities, and to dodge any inconvenient thunderstorms.
Day 7: This morning we’ll return to the Tucson International Airport where the tour will end at 12 noon for flights home.
Updated: 09 October 2012
Prices
- 2013 Workshop Price : $1,500
- Single Occupancy Supplement : $340
Notes
Maximum group size seven with one leader
*The standard rooming arrangement at Cave Creek Ranch is one bath shared by two private rooms. A limited number of rooms with private bath are available. Please contact the WINGS office for details.