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Upcoming Tour Date(s)
May 12-15, 2025 During the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival.
3 of 7 Spaces Available
Not only did Tim deliver the birds, but he kept us in good spirits, even when hiking up a mountain at 3am.
Daniel T. Most Wanted, 2017
Tour Details
Utah Highlights May is one of the best times to go birding across Utah.
While some of the best high elevation sites are still inaccessible, many of the low elevation locations more than make up for birds with migrants! This tour will cover the entire western half of the state, starting at the Great Salt Lake, and then spending 3 days discovering the incredible birding anchored around the southwest corner of the state and the Mojave Desert.
Leader: Tim Avery
Itinerary
Itinerary subject to change due to weather, birding conditions, and other factors out of our control.
Day 1 - Mon, May 12 From the Great Salt Lake to the Desert
To make the most out of our 4-days, we will be departing SLC at 6:00 AM today. If you are flying in before the tour, we will help you plan accommodations for pick up this morning, and if you are a Utah resident, we will provide meeting details prior to the start of the tour.
Our first highlight will be a visit to the Great Salt Lake where migrant shorebirds, waterfowl, and other waterbirds should be a nice introduction to the region. Long-billed Curlew, Snowy Plover, Wilson’s Phalarope, and American Avocet are some of the shorebirds we expect to encounter. Eared Grebe, American White Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, and both Clark’s Grebe and Western Grebe should be some of the other waterbird highlights this morning.
After spending the morning indulging in the habitats around the lake, we’ll begin our journey to southwest Utah and the northern edge of the Mojave desert. The drive takes about 4-hours, but we may break this up with several stops for birds along the way depending on current conditions. After checking in to our hotel and having dinner, we'll head to higher elevations and after dark we’ll see what nocturnal species we can track down. In the past, we’ve located Common Poorwill, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and even Spotted Owl at this location. The focus tonight will be the Flammulated Owl, one of the smallest owls in the world, and Utah is one of if not the best place in the world to see this species. Once we’ve exhausted our Owling opportunities, we’ll make the drive back to the hotel for the night.
Night in Hurricane
Day 2 - Tue, May 13 Great Zion Birding
Visiting a boulder strewn canyon we will try to find the elusive and fairly uncommon Rufous-crowned Sparrow—this is the only place in Utah to find this bird. We should see things like Black-throated Sparrow, Rock Wren, and Say’s Phoebe as well.
A nearby Ghost Town along a riparian corridor often provides some of the best birding in the area. While we hope for some migrant songbirds, it’s not uncommon to see a variety of colorful local breeders there like: Yellow-breasted Chat, Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, and from time to time—Vermilion Flycatcher.
From here, the drive to the Kolob Plateau will take us through juniper, oak, pine, and aspen woodlands, allowing for a large diversity of species and possibilities. Black-chinned Sparrow, Juniper Titmouse, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Pygmy Nuthatch, Grace’s Warbler, and Lewis’s Woodpecker are some of the species we hope to track down. Other possible highlights include Vesper Sparrow, Cassin’s Finch, Violet-green Swallow, Mountain Bluebird, and Western Bluebird. At the highest elevations we will spend some time scouring the skies for the elusive California Condor and enjoying the reprieve from the desert heat.
Eventually we will wander back to the lowlands, and transfer to a hotel in St. George for our last 2 nights. This evening we will do some light birding around town, before calling it a night.
Night in St. George
Day 3 - Wed, May 14 The Mojave and Lytle Ranch Preserve
Leaving before sunrise we’ll make our way to Utah Hill to look for Gray Vireo and Scott’s Oriole at sunrise. Descending into the Beaver Dam Conservation area, we’ll cross the Beaver Dam Slope and its unique Joshua Tree forest. Here birds like Cactus Wren, Black-throated Sparrow, and Ash-throated Flycatcher thrive. In the Beaver Dam Wash, we’ll visit the Lytle Ranch Preserve—a migrant trap known to boast one of Utah’s most diverse property lists. Breeding species we’ll focus on finding include Brown-crested Flycatcher, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Verdin, Lucy’s Warbler, Phainopepla, Bell’s Vireo, and Costa’s Hummingbird. While the Mojave specialists are a treat, on the right morning during migration there is no telling what we may find. Tanagers, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Warblers, Flycatchers, Thrushes, and even birds of prey use the cottonwoods here to refuel on their treks north for the spring. We’ll walk the length of the ranch and back and see what this morning holds.
As it typically gets quite warm in the desert this time of year, our birding will likely wrap up by 11am at the latest. Afterwards, we’ll grab lunch at a local cafe in a small desert town, before ascending into the Pine Valley Mountains to escape the heat and see what montane species we can track down. High on the list are birds like Pygmy Nuthatch, Clark’s Nutcracker, Western Tanager, and some years we even track down Northern Pygmy-Owl here.
After dinner tonight we will spend some time trying for Lesser Nighthawk and Western Screech-Owl around town.
Night in St. George, Utah
Day 4 - Thu, May 15 Desert Bird Cleanup
It’s cleanup day! We will likely have a small number of target birds we haven’t picked up yet, and this morning will allow us to casually jump from park to parks around town making sure we’ve seen everything we planned on. Birds like Crissal Thrasher, Abert’s Towhee, Hooded Oriole, and Vermilion Flycatcher can often be finicky, so our clean up spots will hopefully make sure we leave with all of this wonderful desert color. We will make the most of the morning birding up until lunch, and then hitting the road north to get everyone back to SLC/Farmington between 4-5pm.
End of Tour!
2025 Pricing
On Sale - $150 off 2024 Tour Prices!
What's Included & What to Expect
What to Expect on Your Tour
To make the most out of our 4-days, we will be departing SLC at 6:00 AM on Day 1. If you are flying in beforehand we will help you plan accommodations for pick up this morning, and if you are a Utah resident, we will provide meeting details prior to the start of the tour. At the end of the tour, we will drop you off in SLC or Davis County by 6:00 PM.
Transportation
Throughout the tour, we will travel in our comfortable 12-person Transit Van (aptly named Otus). Since this tour caps at 7 people, that means each of our 3-rows in the back has just 2-people, with the 7th passenger riding shotgun. Lots of room to stretch out with your gear and not feel like a sardine in a tin. Throughout the tour, we'll switch up seating arrangements so everyone gets a different view day-to-day.
We provide a step stool for easy access in and out of the van and ice-cold water is available whenever you need from the back of the van with a custom tour water bottle provided for you to keep at the beginning of the tour.
Accommodations
Accommodations are typically quite comfortable and we favor newer accommodations when available. For this tour we stay at the newly constructed Comfort Inn in Hurricane, and the Comfort Inn at the St. George Convention Center.
Meals
Breakfasts will usually be boxed and eaten in the field. Some mornings we may eat at hotels if time permits with our itinerary. Lunches will include both sit-down restaurants, and sandwiches to go. Most dinners are at our favorite local restaurants, but depending on birding we may take a boxed dinner into the field or provide a picnic dinner. Water and soft drinks are included with meals, but alcoholic drinks ARE NOT. They may be purchased on your own with meals.
Pace
The pace of the tour is medium-fast--we cover nearly 1,000 miles in 4-days and have several early mornings and late nights to pick up our target birds. We usually reserve afternoons for travel or to relax at the hotel, but with 14-hours of sunlight in May, we often have long days.
Difficulty
For the most part, the tour is not physically demanding. We will take numerous short hikes typically on mostly even ground, trails, and roads. We will bird between 2,000-8,000' in elevation so there is some elevation but nothing too bad. During the days in the Mojave, the temperatures can reach 100 degrees even in May, so be prepared for the hear.
Weather and Temperature
If the weather stays nice during the tour, day time highs will be in the 70's in the mountains, and in the 80's-100's in the valleys and desert. Night time lows in the desert won't drop below 70, and in the mountains we might drop into the high 40's. It is generally dry this time of year, but if rain is in the forecast we will recommend rain jackets.
Insects, Snakes, and Predators
Oh my! Mosquitoes can be found at most places we will be visiting, so protective clothing or repellent is highly recommended. Biting flies and sand fleas will likely be encountered at various locations as well. There are several species of Rattlesnake in Utah, but we have not encountered them on any tours. With that being said, please be aware it is possible to encounter them. And lastly, there are both Black Bear and Cougar in the Mountain West, but in 15+ years of guiding I have never encountered either during a tour!
Non-bird Highlights
- Upper Zion National Park
- Red Cliffs
- Desert Reservoirs
- The Kolob Plateau
- Beaver Dam Conservation Area
- Desert Sunrises & Sunsets
- 10-20 Possible Mammal, Reptile, and Amphibian Species
- Some really good food!
What's Included
- Professional Guide Service
- Transportation from SLC
- 3-nights Accomodations
- Meals from Breakfast on Day 1 to Lunch Day 4
- Spotting Scope while Birding
- Water for Refreshment
- Birds—we’ll find some birds
- Some Flammtastic Tour Swag
- Delightful Conversation about Birds
- A Thoroughly Enjoyable Time!
We also include SFW dad jokes, witty bird puns, and the occasional commentary on things non-bird related!
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic Drinks
- Binoculars
- Cameras and Lenses
- Personal Flashlights/Headlamps
- Bug Spray
- Jackets or Sweaters
- Shoes and Socks
- Flights or Transportation to Utah
We highly recommend all of the above ;)
Still have questions? Ready to book a tour? Either way tapping the buttons below will put you in touch with us!
Past Utah Highlights Tours
May 13-16, 2024
2024 Utah Highlights
View Trip Report
May 11-14, 2022
2022 Utah Highlights
View Trip Report
May 3-7, 2019
2019 Utah Highlights
Read Recap
94 Reviews
2020, '22, & '23 Trip Advisor Travelers' Choice Award Consistently earning great reviews from birders!
Top Rated Wildlife Tour
in Salt Lake City
Tim was passionate about the birds, enthusiastic about getting everyone on every bird, professional with planning and guiding, and extremely knowledgeable about the birds. We got all of our targets...
Becky L Most Wanted , 2019
Recent Photos from this Tour
Check out more photos from this tour on Flickr
Still have questions? Ready to book a tour? Either way tapping the buttons below will put you in touch with us!