Birding the Chiricahuas with the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
May 1-3, 2026
Southeastern Arizona is a paradise for birders. Join us for three full days exploring different elevation habitats as we search for great birds! Among our targets will be the Mexican Chickadee, Elegant Trogon, Montezuma Quail, Painted Redstart and Red-faced Warbler. We will also do some owling at night and set up a blacklight to see what insects we can attract. Our leader is Jeff Babson, owner of Sky Island Tours, who is an expert birder, plus has a keen eye for butterflies and dragonflies. The price of this tour is all-inclusive covering three meals a day, lodging and transportation from Tucson. We will stay at the Southwest Research Station nestled in the oak-pine woodland of Cave Creek Canyon.
Cave Creek Canyon is home to at least 21 species of bats, more species than in any similarly sized area in the U.S. Yet bats are among the most challenging animals to study since they are active at night, fly high and fast, and are largely silent to human ears. Bat Survey Solutions presents two classes each year for professional biologists, students, and serious naturalists.
Instructors with over 30 years of experience at SWRS will acquaint participants with detailed bat inventory and monitoring techniques designed to shed light on this amazingly diverse order of mammals. Choose from an 8-day / 7-night comprehensive monitoring workshop that teaches a full range of capture, handling, identification, natural history, bat-detector use and other bat survey techniques. Or choose a 6-day / 5-night course specializing in non-contact survey methods using bat-detectors and echolocation analysis software.
Dates
Field Survey: May 12-19 & June 2-9, 2026
Acoustic Survey: May 21-26, 2026
Tuition
Field Survey: $3,695 Acoustic Survey: $2,995
Transportation
Costs for travel to SWRS are to be borne by all participants. As participants register, we can facilitate participants contacting each other to carpool to and from the station.
Apodemia ares - Ares Metalmark
Courtesy of Laura Paulson
The Lepidoptera course is designed for students, amateur naturalists, conservation biologists, and others who have an interest in learning more about butterflies and moths. It emphasizes taxonomy, ecology, and field identification of lepidopterans in Southeastern Arizona. The course includes lectures on the morphology, biology, and ecology of Lepidoptera and their importance in the environment, such as for pollination. Field trips provide participants with collecting, sampling, and observation experience; and lab work will provide instruction on specimen identification, preparation, dissection, and labeling. Instructors are scientists from universities and museums across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Fees that cover tuition, shared dormitory housing and meals are $1,950.
Cancellation Policy: With at least 45 days advance notice from the course start date, deposits will be refunded, less a $20 cancellation fee. No deposits will be refunded with less than 45 days notice.
Payment can be made with a personal check, certified check, or money order, made payable to SWRS.
Credit card payments are also possible but we ask that you keep in mind that the Station is a non-profit organization and fees for credit card charges continue to increase.
If you reside outside the United States: please submit your payment in the form of a certified check, money order, or bank transfer in U.S. Dollars or email [email protected] to obtain details for a bank transfer to SWRS.
Transportation
Costs for travel to SWRS are to be borne by all participants. As participants register, we can facilitate participants contacting each other to carpool to and from the station.
Eumorpha typhon caterpillar on Vitis arizonica
Courtesy of Laura Paulson
Herpetology Field Course
August 1–9, 2026
Incilius alvarius - Sonora Desert Toad
Courtesy of Stephen Mullin
This 8-night course is designed for students, conservation biologists, and other individuals who have a background in biology at the college level. It will emphasize taxonomy, ecology, and field identification of reptiles and amphibians of southeastern Arizona and parts of southwestern New Mexico. The course will include lectures, field trips, and labs. However, field trips will be a major part of the course. Students will visit a wide diversity of habitat types ranging from mountain tops to desert.
Participants will obtain hands-on experience in amphibian and reptile identification, collecting and marking techniques, and data documentation. The course will also cover how to prepare a museum voucher specimen, including tissue vouchers.
The instructors for this program each have at least 15 years of experience working with herpetofauna in habitats throughout the southwestern U.S.
Collection of specimens during the course will be confined to instructors; no private collecting is permitted. You must be 18 years or older to register for this course.
Dates
August 1–9, 2026
Tuition
Fees that cover tuition, shared dormitory housing and meals are $1,570.
Cancellation Policy: With at least 45 days advance notice from the start date, deposits will be refunded, less a $20 cancellation fee. No deposits will be refunded with less than 45 days notice.
Payment can be made with a personal check, certified check, or money order, made payable to SWRS.
Credit card payments are also possible but we ask that you keep in mind that the Station is a non-profit organization and fees for credit card charges continue to increase.
If you reside outside the United States: please submit your payment in the form of a certified check, money order, or bank transfer in U.S. Dollars or email [email protected] to obtain details for a bank transfer to SWRS.
Transportation
Costs for travel to SWRS are to be borne by all participants. As participants register, we can facilitate participants contacting each other to carpool to and from the station.
Designed primarily for botanists, conservation biologists, pollination ecologists, and other biologists whose research, training, or teaching responsibilities require a greater understanding of bee taxonomy. Emphasizes classification and identification of more than 50 bee genera of North and Central America (both temperate and tropical), and the general information provided is applicable to the global bee fauna.
Lectures include background information on the biology of bees, their floral relationships, their importance in maintaining and/or improving floral diversity, and the significance of oligolecty (i.e., taxonomic floral specialization). Field trips acquaint participants with collecting and sampling techniques; associated lab work provides instruction on specimen identification, preparation and labeling. Information on equipment/supply vendors, literature, and people resources is also presented. More information on The Bee Course.
Chiricahua Tree Course
TBA
Rose Rothpletz
During this 5–6-night course, participants will be introduced to the ecology, field biology, and utilization of desert adapted trees.
This course involves:
Field observation, both day and night
Classroom lectures
With a focus on tree adaptations to divers environments such as
Land forms
Water resources
Relationships of trees to other organisms
Dates
TBA
Tuition
Fees that cover tuition, shared dormitory housing and meals TBA.
Cancellation Policy: With at least 45 days advance notice from the start date, deposits will be refunded, less a $20 cancellation fee. No deposits will be refunded with less than 45 days notice.
Payment can be made with a personal check, certified check, or money order, made payable to SWRS.
Credit card payments are also possible but we ask that you keep in mind that the Station is a non-profit organization and fees for credit card charges continue to increase.
If you reside outside the United States: please submit your payment in the form of a certified check, money order, or bank transfer in U.S. Dollars or email [email protected] to obtain details for a bank transfer to SWRS.
Transportation
Costs for travel to SWRS are to be borne by all participants. As participants register, we can facilitate participants contacting each other to carpool to and from the station.
Biodiversity and Animal Behavior of the Chiricahua Mountains: A Fall Field Camp
This workshop provides an introduction to the fauna and flora of the Chiricahuas, and includes several studies of the animals (insects, reptiles, and birds) that are adapted to the high desert and mountains. Understanding the behavior of diverse species helps us appreciate human evolution and increases our ability to preserve biological diversity through conservation. In addition to our own projects, we will have the opportunity to interact with other scientists, attend their seminars, and even accompany them into the field. The workshop is led by Howard Topoff, a retired scientist from the the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. He has been conducting field research and teaching in the Chiricahuas for almost 50 years. This program is put on by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. More information on the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's Biodiversity and Animal Behavior of the Chiricahua Mountains field camp.
Weevil Course & Roundup
This course will provide information and resources for weevil identification at the subfamily level, highlighting relevant characters for genus-level identifications. At the end of this 9-day course, participants will be competent in basic taxonomy of weevils, their biology, current classification, collecting methodology, curatorial and identification techniques.
Coleoptera Course: Beetle Morphology, Classification and Identification
Megapurpuricenus magnificus
Courtesy of Steven Lingafelter
Southeastern Arizona has one of the most diverse beetle populations in North America, making it an excellent location for beetle research and education. The course will include a rigorous examination of over 100 families of beetles, half of which can be collected during the course. The course is intended for students, biologists and entomology professionals.
Students will learn the diversity, morphology, classification, and identification of beetles. Students will receive training in the lab and in the field. At least 70 families of beetles are likely to be collected during the course. Lead instructor Richard Leschen will provide the foundation of taxonomic knowledge for this formidable order of insects, complemented by a team of coleopterists from around the country.
Richard Leschen, Lecturer
Steven Lingafelter, Organizer
Christopher Carlton, Instructor
Brittany Owens, Instructor
Andrew Johnston, Instructor
Evan Waite, Instructor
This course will be limited to 15 students with a strong desire to greatly enhance their knowledge of beetles.
Spider Biology Field Course
During this 8-night course, participants will experience the outstanding biodiversity of spiders and non-spider arachnids found in diverse habitats of montane southeastern Arizona. In an immersive field setting, participants will:
Gain foundational knowledge of arachnid diversity, anatomy, evolution and ecology.
Obtain a fundamental understanding of the evolutionary history of spiders , with a focus on relationships among living groups.
Delve into current scientific research and discover the cutting-edge questions and approaches implemented by leading arachnologists.
Develop skills in spider collection, photography, preservation and identification, with a special emphasis on taxa found in the western US and neighboring Mexico.
Instructors
Greta Binford, Ph. D., Professor of Biology, Lewis & Clark College
Paula Cushing, Ph. D., Senior Curator of Invertebrate Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Marshal Hedin, Ph. D., Professor of Biology, San Diego State University
Conservation Medicine and Diseases of Amphibians and Reptiles
Frog Virus 3 (FV3; Ranavirus)
The six night course is designed for undergraduates and graduate students in Conservation Ecology, Wildlife, Biological Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine who expect to study, breed, and manage populations of amphibians and/or reptiles in the field and in captivity. “What does conservation medicine mean” and “How can it functionally be used to manage populations of amphibians and reptiles” will be explored. Concepts of infectious diseases, anesthesia, the use of pain medications, sampling techniques, surgical techniques, and handling of venomous species will be covered. The course will include lectures and necropsy labs. There will be opportunities to go out locally in the field to observe native herps.
The Fungi of the Sky Island program is a multi night program during the summer Southwestern monsoon season that is dedicated to the exploration and documentation of the macrofungi of the Chiricahua Mountains. Students should come to the course with prior experience collecting mushrooms and possess a knowledge of basic mycology. Nestled within the Chiricahua Mountains at an elevation of 5,447 feet in gorgeous Cave Creek Canyon, the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) will be our base for exploration and study.
The American Southwest is a hot spot for North American ant diversity, with over 350 species of ants known from Arizona, and a variety of ecologically interesting taxa - including leafcutters, harvester ants, army ants, and honeypot ants. In this 10-night course, participants will gain knowledge of the outstanding diversity, ecology, and behavior of southwestern ants. This course is designed to complement rather than compete with the California Academy of Sciences Ant Course, which is also held at the SWRS once every few years, and which focuses heavily on the taxonomy and systematics of ants. The main focus of this course will be the ecology and behavior of ants.
Courtesy of C. Grinter
