HOLIDAY DINNERS -

OK we know its a bit early to start thinking about the holidays. BUT, now is the time to reserve your spaces for:

•     Thanksgiving Dinner at the Casa!  Roast Turkey plus all the traditional dishes in a fabulous spread for your dining pleasure.  Join us for a fun weekend - Lots to do besides the feast! Bisbee has its weekend celebration which is fun.  And, head to Whitwater Draw to see 1000's of Sandhill Cranes and tons or waterfowl - and that little guy will above will have moved from the Casa to Whitewater Draw for the winter....  interesting move on his part.
•     Christmas Dinner at the Casa!  Another opportunity to savor the season with our traditional Roast Prime Rib dinner.  Served Christmas evening (12/25).  Remember, there is also good birding in our mountain canyons and along the San Pedro River, just outside our back gate.
• Call for reservations at (9888) 257-2050.

 HUMMING BIRD RIOT!

The Reverse Migrationl picks up steam by mid-August every year.  And sure enough, here we are having to fill our feeders constantly.  These gems are numerous, hungry, and very busy!  Feeders are mobbed with Black-chinned, Broad-billed, Rufus, Violet-crowned, and Caliopes.  Yes, between mid August and mid October the overwheling attraction becomes hummingbirds.  

During the Spring Migration the adults zipped through the San Pedro River Valley to head North to find mates, build nests, and hatch hungry chicks.  Now, with our Monsoon Rains turning our high praire grasslands into lush green expanses with tons of wildflowers in boom, the table is set to host those families of humers who drift South for the winter, but lingering in this perfect habitat to refuel for the long flights ahead.

Bring you binoculars, your cameras and join the fun!

Call us at (888) 257-2050 for reservations.  Experience the serenity of the Casa while the hummers entertain you!

The Amazong Season of the COLORFUL Birds!

 As the main flow of the Spring migration subsides a bit, our eyes are thrilled by the arrival of our most colorful birds of the year - our Summer residents.  Every day has a new splash of color to excite our senses:  Western Tanagers (Wow!), Summer Tanagers (RED!, Vermilion Flycatchers (Even MORE Red!), Orioles (Scotts, Hooded, Bullocks) with their brilliant yellows. The Chats can hide or flash into the open with their own brilliant yellow displays. 

And not to be forgotten are our many colorful hummingbirds: Black-chinned, Broad-billed, Broad-tailed, Annas, Rufus, Calliope, and incidental others through the Summer.   Indigo, Varied, and Painted Buntings are soon to arrive for even more color to add to our back yard tapestry.  Bird watching is so much fun when the birds do not hide their identities - flashing their colorful welcomes to their prospective mates and, fortunately also to us!

Nighttime offers less color, but maintains the busy flights of Lesser Nighthawks, Great Horned and Barn Owls (plus the hooting of Western Screech Owls - much hardet to see!).  Plus the flights of Bats from our bat house as dusk settles in over the landscape - also fun to watch!

Springtime Birds Galore

 Here we are in mid-April and the Spring Migration is kicking in for a lot of exciting days with new arrivals.  Our bright male Vermilion Flycatchers are breathtaking in their breeding plumage.  Then there is another Oriole, and over there several Broad-billed Hummers are competing with Black-chinned Hummers and an occasional Rufus. Gray Hawks are calling along the San Pedro River and a flight of Mexican Malalards just took off from the pond.  And the Cactus Wrens are scolding everyone.

What fun!

And our many guests are enjoying great weather as Springtime weather has arrived.  Great hikes, photo ops, and birding adventures abound around every corner.  Our guests are enjoying early morning River Walks with the SE Arizona Bird Observatory, great Mexican Dinners (Mondays and Thursdays) at the Casa the nights prior to the walks, and Friday afternoon Hummingbird Banding in the back yard.

More Fun!

And the pies just seem to keep coming out of the Casa kitchen for all to enjoy. Yum!

An Early Spring?

 We know that weather an be extremely variable - making forecasts rather uncertain.  BUT, the weather this year seems to be trending to early warming, and with that it appears that bird migrations may also be pushing the envelope a bit.  Our Haiku Box has recorded 116 species in a small area of our back yard in the past month.  We suspect that a few of those ID'd species may be just a little off.  But most are our "usual suspects", but being noted far earlier than in our experience from prior years.  An early migration?  The hints are there.

So when should you come to visit the San Pedro River for optimal Spring Migration flocks.  As noted above, those foredasts are subject to change with the whims of the weather gods.  But its currently looking like early April with be quite entertaining!  We have noticed the early arrival of our "logo bird" the Vermilion Flycatchers just this week.  That appearst to be at least two weeks early for them to arrive.

Naturalist Journeys Tour to SE Arizona - At the Casa Feb 5 - 9, 2024

 Naturalist Journeys offers Nature Tours world-wide, utilizing the best lodgings, local guides, and travel accommodations coordination for tour participants.  

NJ just brought another great tour group to visit SE Arizona on a birding tour.  They stayed with us for 5 nights as they headded out in various directions and habitats to discover the charm of SE Arizona and to find notible birds along the way.  The tour guides and tour participants have had a great time, adding many new birds to their life lists, and learning about each of the species and the lore of the various mountain canyons, wetlands, and the Sky Islands.

While we did have a bit of rain during the tour, the group was undaunted and soldiered on to reach each of thier intended birding locations, coming back to the Inn each evening for dinner with excited chats about each of the birds and locations that they explored.

We travel with Naturalist Journeys whenever we can and we highly recommend the company, their tour leaders, and their well planned itineraries.  Our personal travels with NJ have taken us to Alaska, Yellowstone, Panama, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Peru and Machu Pichu, Trinadad Tobago, Belize, Honduras, and Costa Rica (our birding list and life advenutre lists continue to grow and grow!)

Contact Naturalist Journeys for information about their tours, locations, and dates!  Head over the horizon to new adventures with their small group tours.

Try Stress Relief Coloring Books - ZoCoProducts.com

We recently added some neat NATURE coloring books to our gift shop. Our recent guests Mel and Peter run a small family buisness selling (and designing!) coloring books for kids and adults. Find them at ZocoProducts.com. Ours came with the colored pencils for coloring in the many nature themed framable Nature pix. Highly recomnmended! Buy them in our gift shop or go directly to Zoco - Products for a Prepared Life. And Thanks to Mel and Peter for their visit and for introducing us to their fine products. Color On.