Capturing The Beauty Of Southern Arizona: A Weeklong Birding Photography Adventure

[@HopeSmith-tc1pq]

Hee-Haw! All you need now is a cowboy hat! 🤠🐮I sure envy you those Zeiss binoculars; how are they, by the way?!

[@ScottHammel005]

Binocular's are incredible! Still like em' as much as when I first tried them in this video!

[@l15t47]

Hi, thank you for the beautiful photos, the light, the mood, the angles, colors, all so perfect. I follow a lot of birder channels and yours popped up in my feed and so glad it did. And how awesome you got to share with your dad, I just lost mine so call him up and tell him you love him right now :) . All the best!

[@ScottHammel005]

Thanks so much, I am so glad you enjoyed it!

[@craigpiferphotography]

Great adventure(s).

[@ScottHammel005]

Yeah it was fun! Got to see some good stuff! Damn barn owls though!

[@Haastility87]

Another excellent video, Scott! Thank you for sharing. Owls have consistently been my nemesis as well.. I was finally able to find some burrowing owls at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal but the heat distortion made it nearly impossible to photograph :( I keep trying to go out and find some GHOs but that has also proven to be difficult. Very exciting about the ZEISS binoculars, enjoy those!

[@ScottHammel005]

Yeah those burrowing owls are so tough! Thanks for the nice comment, I really appreciate it!

[@pamelabassett7778]

I really enjoyed your video. It’s so refreshing when people narrate their own videos, with their own personality and interests included. So many now seem to be just pictures and music or AI generated. Yours was great! I am spending this coming February, March, and April in Mesa, Arizona and I plan to go down in the areas you visited to try my first attempt at birdwatching. I know nothing about the birds but I’ve been trying to study up on it. I won’t have any great camera or binoculars either, but I think it will be fun.

[@ScottHammel005]

Thanks so much for the nice comment! I try my best to let my personality come through in my videos so I'm glad to hear that it's noticed :) Have a great time down there and enjoy that awesome winter weather. I would recommend picking up a pair of binoculars, even if they aren't expensive. It will absolutely help you see things!

[@pamelabassett7778]

@@ScottHammel005 Thanks good idea! The worst part about it is I have to drive cross country from North Carolina to go to Arizona.

[@cpwm17]

Saguaro NP east section auto tour route is good. Of course early mourning is always important for birding, especially when it is the warm season in the desert. Spring season also comes early in the desert.

[@ScottHammel005]

Yeah, we for sure were not there at an ideal time. I would for certain go back and try again, such a beautiful area!

[@markdayton6759]

Good job on the video! I’ve been to most of those places myself.

[@joncothranphotography9375]

Great stuff! I found a species of bird that I really loved to see as well. The Cedar Waxwing is one of my favorites. That looked like a cool trip. I'm sure that it is awesome to spend that time with your dad. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

[@garyives1218]

Camped at Rose Lake on Mt Lemmon and really like a few pics I got of Yellow Eyed Junco visiting me. One right next to my cap on my table, another of one checking out my coiled up bungee cord on a rock in front of my motorcycle. Yeah, like them.

[@ScottHammel005]

It's those yellow eyes that just makes them stand out, they're great!

[@douglaskaye1395]

Can’t go wrong with Zeiss!!!

[@ScottHammel005]

They are very nice for sure!

[@ESan-yq1tm]

Mr. Hammel. Excellent video. Thank you. Watching from Puerto Rico.

[@ScottHammel005]

Thank you for the kind words! I need to get down to PR for some photography for sure at some point

[@JonnyPink65]

An absolutely amazing adventure. I think I am going to have to drive up there for some photography!!! LOVE the photos and thank you for sharing!!! 💖🤗

[@ScottHammel005]

Thanks so much! The later we get in to Spring, the better it will get down in that part of Arizona. Good luck when you go!

[@JonnyPink65]

@@ScottHammel005 I will use your video as a guide for my video when I go. There are two places here I want to hit. We don't have those hummingbirds here in Sothern California. The one that did come up recently was so special, it even made the news!! Thank you again. 💖🤗

[@LiLi-qz1nc]

Really enjoyed this, on my way to Tucson for migration and your suggestions will be very helpful. Looking forward to more of your videos...LiLi from CT

[@ScottHammel005]

Awesome, glad the video helped! Have a great trip!

[@daram5257]

You got some great shots and video - thanks for sharing! I’m heading to a few of these spots in a couple of weeks. Also did a trip last year to Costa Rica - did a private birding tour with a local guide who was amazing if you want a referral.

[@ScottHammel005]

Awesome, enjoy your trip! I am already booked through a tour company for Costa Rica (PIB - Partnership for International Birding) so I think I'm good to go there. Thank you though, I appreciate it!

[@judygilbert9628]

Lot of good information. I will be in Tuscon area March 25 . Thanks so much!

[@ScottHammel005]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bruceholmes4006]

Scott, thanks for the video. I have been to many of the places you shared as I lived in Arizona for many years so brought back nice memories. The Cow story around Patagonia lake was great. I actually was around that lake when I was "stuck between two cattle and had to "bushwack" my way out of there. Thought it was better than piss-off cattle with horns. But it gets dense around there so better to use a trail.

[@ScottHammel005]

Yeah I didn't realize the ranches were so close there and shared range!

[@TracyBirds]

New subbie from Alberta, 🇨🇦. Great video! 😊

[@ScottHammel005]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed!

[@rogerashley8616]

I went to SE Arizona last July and and being from Tennessee practically every bird I saw was new to me. Ended up with 84 new birds to my photography list including 13 different species of Hummingbirds. It was a great trip. Going back this July because the one bird I wanted the Elegant Trogon evaded me lol plus there are a few others I like to get. Enjoyed your video !

[@ScottHammel005]

Thanks for the comment Roger! Yeah SE AZ brings me a ton of new species as well and I'm not that far away in Colorado. We kept our eye open for the Trogon as well but March was definitely a little early in Spring to have a realistic shot at it. I definitely plan to go back next year later in the Spring migration. Good luck and enjoy it when you go in July!

[@rogerashley8616]

@ScottHammel005 thanks Scott, and good luck to you also !

[@markzambrowski5319]

Great video, very helpful for our upcoming trip. Where were the burrowing owls in Marana? Near the water treatment plant?

[@ScottHammel005]

Yep, right by there!