6-Nights An Intimate Encounter with Arizona’s Forest Owls

Follow Owl Calls in the Arizona Mountains and Uncover the Hidden Story of a Changing Forest

In Arizona’s Chiricahua National Monument, nights reveal a rare window into the lives of owls few people ever encounter. Here in a high-elevation sky island, where an isolated mountain range rises from the desert floor, join researchers in listening for calls, searching for nest cavities, and helping to band and release owls as part of a long-term effort to understand the health of their forest environment. Each sign matters: a cavity hidden high in an old pine, a pair returning to the same canyon year after year, a call carrying through prime habitat after dark. Together, these details help scientists track where owls live and raise young, and what their presence reveals about changing forest conditions. Along with conducting fieldwork, you'll explore the secluded peaks, canyons and sculpted formations that have earned the Chiricahua Range the nickname “Wonderland of Rocks.” This expedition combines hands-on wildlife research with an immersive experience in one of North America’s most biologically diverse environments, where four major ecosystems and five biomes converge.