Fall Bird Migration

Arizona ranks as the third top state for birdwatching in the U.S. and Sedona and the Verde Valley sit along the Pacific Flyway, a continental corridor for migrating birds.

From late August through November, migrants push through Oak Creek’s riparian corridors and the canyons above. You may spot a Lazuli Bunting resting in the scrub, a Western Tanager on the move, or a Townsend’s Solitaire arriving to stake out territory for the season.

The landscape itself draws them. Oak, juniper, and pine forests offer songbirds a place to rest and refuel, while the towering canyon walls shelter raptors throughout the colder months.

Through it all, resident birds — among them the Bridled Titmouse and the canyon’s own Canyon Wren — remain close year-round. Some can be found nowhere but in Arizona.

Binoculars in hand, the rest is up to the birds.