Desert Springs Golf Course/Pavilions → Surprise Park → Maricopa Lake 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: Desert Springs Golf Course/Pavilions → Surprise Park → Maricopa Lake Park

Date: October 4, 2026 (Sunday)

Time: 8am-12pm

Difficulty: 1-2

Limited to 12 participants.

Meeting Location: Desert Springs Golf Course / Angela’s Kitchen Sunday, October 4, 2026 8am

Meeting point: Outside Angela’s Kitchen, located at 19900 N. Remington Dr., Surprise, AZ 85374, at the Desert Springs Golf Course.

We will meet outside the restaurant before beginning our birding walk. We can also discuss carpooling arrangements here before heading to our next location.

Getting There

From Grand Avenue/US 60, take Sunrise Boulevard south and turn west onto Remington Drive. Continue on Remington Drive until you reach the Desert Springs Golf Course/Angela’s Kitchen area. The golf course and restaurant are at the end of Remington Drive.

Stop 1: Desert Springs Golf Course

We will begin our birding walk around the Desert Springs area, exploring the water features, golf-course surroundings, and other habitat for birds and wildlife.

Birds you may encounter include: Acorn Woodpecker, Rosy-faced Lovebirds, Black-crowned Night-Herons, Green Herons, Great Blue Herons, and others.

After completing our walk, we will regroup at the cars and head to Surprise Community Park.

From Desert Springs to Surprise Community Park

Destination: Surprise Community Park
16089 N. Bullard Ave., Surprise, AZ 85374

From the Desert Springs/Remington Drive area, head back toward Sunrise Boulevard and travel south toward Bell Road. From the Bell Road area, continue toward Bullard Avenue and head north to Surprise Community Park.

The park is part of the larger Surprise recreation area and includes an urban fishing lake, walking paths, and a variety of other recreational facilities. It provides another opportunity to look for birds associated with lake, landscaped, and desert habitats.

Stop 2: Surprise Community Park

We will explore the lake and surrounding areas for additional birding opportunities.

Birds you may encounter this time of year include: Mallards, Killdeer, American Coots, Northern Mockingbirds, and Anna’s and Costa’s Hummingbirds around the Xeriscape Gardens.

After our time at Surprise Community Park, we will regroup at the vehicles for the final drive to Youngtown.

From Surprise Community Park to Maricopa Lake Park

Destination: Youngtown Maricopa Lake Park
11472 W. Lakeshore Dr., Youngtown, AZ 85363

From Surprise Community Park, head south/east toward Bell Road, then continue east toward the Youngtown area. From there, follow the local streets toward Lakeshore Drive and Maricopa Lake Park.

Please use the destination address in your preferred navigation app for final turn-by-turn directions, as the exact route can vary depending on traffic and road conditions.

Stop 3: Maricopa Lake Park

Our final stop will be Maricopa Lake Park, a smaller neighborhood lake in Youngtown. The lake and surrounding vegetation provide another opportunity to look for water-associated birds and other urban wildlife.

This park has been full of surprises for me. Depending on the day, we may encounter a variety of warblers, waterfowl, and common desert scrub birds. You never quite know what might turn up!

Because this is a multi-stop birding crawl, carpooling between locations is encouraged. We can coordinate who is riding with whom when everyone arrives at the Desert Springs meeting point.

Please register by emailing sonoranaudubon@gmail.com