Veramonte Park → Gateway Park → Rio Vista Community Park

A Different Idea: The West Valley Bird Crawl

Playing off the idea of a pub crawl, the concept would be to visit several birding locations in one day, with participants traveling between locations by carpool or individually. Each stop would offer a different environment and birding experience, with plenty of walking along the way.

This is a fun and somewhat novel way to experience West Valley birding. Rather than spending an entire morning at one location, participants would get to see how bird life changes across several habitats in the same area.

Route: Veramonte Park → Gateway Park → Rio Vista Community Park

Date: November 6, 2026 (Friday)

Time: 8am-12pm

Difficulty: 1-2

Limited to 12 participants.

Please register by emailing sonoranaudubon@gmail.com

Veramonte Park – Litchfield Road & Cactus Road
This area has open fields and a greenbelt near a farm, with relatively flat, extended walking. There is shade, water, restrooms, and benches available. I’ve had some great birds there, including Acorn Woodpeckers, swifts, and Vermilion Flycatchers.

Gateway Park – Peoria Avenue & El Mirage Road
This gives us a different habitat, with open fields adjacent to the desert. There is plenty of shade and comfortable walking, and we can potentially find a good variety of species, including blackbirds, sparrows, kestrels, and others.

Rio Vista Community Park
I’d like to finish at Rio Vista because it’s always a bit of a grab bag. We never really know what might be there, which could make for a fun final stop and give us another opportunity to add something unexpected to the day.

Carpooling logistics will be discussed closer to the date.