Southern Arizona is one of the most exciting places in North America for bird and bat photography, and this trip gives us access to a rare combination of daytime and nighttime subjects in one incredibly productive location. Over the course of the trip, we’ll photograph a wide variety of desert birds, mountain species, nocturnal wildlife, reptiles, and bats using a mix of traditional field techniques and specialized nighttime setups. This is the kind of photography that feels different from a standard birding trip. We’ll be working from morning light through sunset and into the dark, creating images most photographers simply never get the chance to attempt.

During the day, we’ll focus on incredible birdlife of southern Arizona. With private access to a desert wildlife sanctuary, we may photograph classic Sonoran species like Greater Roadrunner, Gambel’s Quail, Curve-billed Thrasher, Pyrrhuloxia, Vermilion Flycatcher, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Hooded Oriole, Scott’s Oriole, Varied Bunting, Black-throated Sparrow, and more. At a higher elevation mountain site, the bird community changes dramatically, giving us opportunities for species such as Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse, Painted Redstart, Black-headed Grosbeak, Arizona Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, and the striking Coppery-tailed Trogon, the Arizona species formerly included under Elegant Trogon before a 2025 split.

As the light fades, the trip becomes even more unique. We’ll shift into specialized bat photography, using dedicated setups to photograph bats in flight over water or feeding at flowers. Possible species include Lesser Long-nosed Bat, Mexican Long-nosed Bat, Mexican Free-tailed Bat, Cave Bat, Pallid Bat, Townsend’s Long-eared Bat, Long-eared Myotis, Long-legged Myotis, and Arizona Brown Bat. The nectar-feeding bats are especially exciting because they are important desert pollinators, following seasonal blooms of agave, cactus, and other plants. The Mexican Long-nosed Bat is particularly notable, as its confirmed presence in Arizona was only recently announced, expanding what was known about this endangered species’ range.

This trip is also about embracing the full diversity of the desert after dark. Depending on conditions, we may look for Western Screech-Owl, Elf Owl, and Whiskered Screech-Owl, a small mountain woodland species that can overlap with Western Screech-Owl in parts of Arizona. We’ll also keep an eye out for reptiles and other desert wildlife, including Gila Monster, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Sidewinder, Gopher Snake, Sonoran Desert Toad, and, with some luck, mammals such as coatimundi, ringtail, gray fox, bobcat, spotted skunk, or even American black bear in the surrounding habitat.

What makes this workshop so special is the variety. In a single trip, we’ll have the chance to photograph perched birds, birds in flight, desert specialties, mountain species, bats in motion, owls, reptiles, dramatic monsoon skies, and the smaller nocturnal life of the Sonoran Desert, including tarantulas, scorpions, centipedes, and moths if light-trap conditions are productive. Each day will be flexible and built around wildlife activity, weather, and light, giving us the best chance to come home with a portfolio that feels truly different from almost any other bird or wildlife photography trip in the Southwest.