"I have known Rick Bowers for many years. In that time I have spent a lot of time with Rick and have traveled with him all across the US including Alaska and numerous trips to Arizona. I have found Rick to have outstanding trip leader qualities. His planning and fore thought are unparalled. More importantly, his mastery of natural history information is astounding and he is an excellent photographer. In over 20 years as a professional wildlife photographer and author I have yet to meet a photographer or naturalist with as much photographic experience and natural history knowledge as Rick has. Anyone from a veteran wildlife photographer to a beginner would benefit from a workshop or safari with Rick Bowers."

Stan Tekiela
author/naturalist, wildlife photographer

Gambel's Quail and Cooper's Hawk © Rick Bowers

Spend three days photographing birds at the peak of their fresh plumage. Part of our time will be spent at a specially designed water feature. Shoot Pyrrhuloxia, Northern Cardinal, Canyon & Green-tailed towhees, Curve-billed Thrasher, Ladder-backed & Gila woodpeckers, Gambel's Quail, and more. The spectacular low desert light makes the birds glow and their immaculate feathers will make images even more stunning! Another portion of our time will be spent working various duck species at several local ponds. Ring-necked Duck, American Wigeon, Redhead, Canvasback, and Lesser Scaup are all usually present. At least one evening will be devoted to capturing images of Western Screech-Owls near Catalina. These owls are fairly common and we should have good chances of getting some stunning images. Another locally common raptor is the Cooper's Hawk are we will spend some time trying to capture photos of these handsome predators.

In the afternoon we will work at a water drip in a mesquite bosque (dense mesquite forest growing along a water course). This offers some different species from the uplands where Rick's water feature is located. Abert's Towhee, Chipping, Brewer's, Vesper, and Lark sparrows, plus Gila & Ladder-backed woodpeckers.

Night: Best Western Catalina Inn.

Day 3; 21 March 2011 - Ducks and Owls. Tucson offers numerous ponds around town that attract numbers of wintering ducks. We will visit one of these this morning as the sun rises to capture images of these colorful birds on green and blue water! Most of the birds are habituated to people and are easy to approach. American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Redhead, Canvasback, and Pied-billed Grebe are the most common species. Not all the species will let us get close and we will learn ways to attract those that want to play hard to get.

Afternoon will find us working birds in the open desert. This offers species not attracted by food or water such as Gray Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Black-throated & Lincoln's sparrows, and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. As it gets dark we will work on photographing Western Screech-Owls in a mesquite bosque.

Night: Best Western Catalina Inn

Day 4; 22 March 2011 - Ducks & Cooper's Hawk. Another pond in Tucson offers Ring-necked Duck and possibly Gadwall and Wood Ducks. This pond offers even more spectacular water colors from the surrounding vegetation than yesterday's pond! The combination of the iridescent colors of the Ring-necks and the greens and browns of the surrounding vegetation reflecting in the water makes for wonderful image making.

Night: Best Western Catalina Inn

Redhead & Ring-necked Duck on local ponds © Rick Bowers

March is the beginning of the breeding season for Cooper's Hawks around Tucson. The adult males are aggressive and vocal and we will take advantage of this to shoot portraits this afternoon.

Day 5; 23 March 2011 - Desert birds and departure for Home. Our final morning will be spent at Rick's water feature for more chances to capture colorful images of desert species. Then we will head back to the hotel to pack our last few items before catching the shuttle back to the airport for your flight home.

This is an all inclusive tour. Transportation, lodging, meals, guide service, animal handling, and entrance fees are all covered from the time you are whisked from the airport to our hotel until you are dropped back a the airport for your flight home. It does not include flights, alcoholic beverages, laundry, phone calls and other items of a personal nature.

TOUR LEADER, NATURALISTS, & INSTRUCTORS:

Rick Bowers has been a passionate wildlife photographer, naturalist and writer for over 35 years, and has been self-employed fulltime for the last 10 years. Rick's wildlife career began at twelve years old, when the local Audubon members began requesting his help in showing local birds to birdwatchers from out of state. He continued his wildlife training while at the University of Arizona, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology. Even as an undergraduate his field expertise was sought after by professors and grad students wishing his assistance in conducting their field research on wild animals. Rick is expert at finding, identifying, and handling all sorts of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Extremely skilled at setting up photo opportunities based on his extensive knowledge of animal behavior, he has assisted videographers of the British Broadcasting Corporation filming wildlife in Arizona and Mexico. His know-how also includes trees and other native plants.

Before turning to professional photography and writing, Rick led nature-watching tours for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and his own company. He has led wildlife watching tours throughout the New World from Barrow, Alaska (the northernmost city in North America) and Churchill, Manitoba to Tierra del Fuego (an island at the southern tip of South America), and to the Kamchatka Peninsula of Siberia as well as Antarctica. Rick is the originator of the Nightbirding tours focusing on the seventeen species of owls and nightjars available in Arizona and now conducted by many bird-watching companies.

Rick's own photo credits span the gamut from National Geographic and International Wildlife magazines to calendars, books, and fish and game publications. Rick has coauthored and photographed six books with his wife Nora including Wildflowers of Texas, Cactus of Texas, Wildflowers of Arizona, Cactus of Arizona, Wildflowers of the Carolinas and the Kaufman Field Guide: Mammals of North America. Rick lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife Nora. They can be reached through their web page at www.BowersPhoto.com.

Tour Costs: The fee for this tour is $2500 US per person in double occupancy. This includes all meals from dinner on Day 1 to lunch on Day 5, transportation, lodging, guide service, and entrance fees. It does not include flights to and from Tucson, alcoholic beverages, laundry, phone calls and other items of a personal nature. A single supplement of $200 US will be charged if you wish single accommodations or if you wish to share a room and cannot find a roommate and we cannot provide one for you.

A $500 deposit is required for tour registration. If you should need to cancel before the tour, a $125 cancellation fee will be charged.

After e-mailing with your registration info, please send your deposit check made out to "BOWERS PHOTO LLC" to this address:
14680 N. Swan Road
Tucson, AZ 85739 USA

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Rick at 520-241-7088.