Paton Center for Hummingbirds — Attraction in Town of Patagonia

Owned and operated by Tucson Audubon Society, the Paton Center is a unique, world class bird sanctuary that specializes in attracting wild hummingbirds. The highly sought-after Violet-Crowned Hummingbird is the star of the Paton Center, where it is resident and local breeding bird. The Paton Center is probably the best place in North America to reliably find this stunning hummingbird. The site is located at about 4800 foot elevation in grassland and oak territory of Southeastern Arizona in the quaint town of Patagonia. There are four distinct seasons along with the natural passage of migrants, residents, and breeding birds. The property includes nature trails, a small pond, and a beautiful wildflower garden which attracts feeding hummingbirds. The special feature of the Paton Center is a bank of hummingbird feeders set up within easy viewing and photography range of a covered, seating ramada. By spending an hour here in the right season you will see a variety of hummingbirds and some of the best of southern Arizona's spectacular avifauna. Highly...

If you love watching birds, you have to visit the Paton Center for Hummingbirds. Need Violet-crowned Hummingbird for your life list? You have to visit. I have been stopping by the Paton's in Patagonia for at least the last twenty years. I enjoyed the company of Marion Paton on several visits. She gave me good advise to use those ubiquitous address labels (those that you get unsolicited) in all my field guides and field notes as she was always finding these left behind by visitors. She told me if the birder had included their mailing address, she always made an effort to mail the book back to them. Each time I place an address label in my books, I think of Marion and bless her time in my life. So stop by and watch the birds that the Paton's loved to share with us all. The Tucson Audubon Society continues to maintain the feeders and grounds to honor the Paton's love and care for the birds of...

Neat birdwatching place in the middle of nowhere (ha!) started by some locals residents decades ago, and maintained as a free (please donate if you can ) entry experience for all who want to learn about and watch the many beautiful birds of the Arizona southern scrub forest. There’s a shade ramada with benches and chairs near the many hummingbird feeders where folks can sit and enjoy the many avian visitors. I was delighted 👆🏻💫 by near constant sights of different hummingbirds. Bonus: there was a bird expert there helpfully pointing out the different birds for us! And if you’ve worked up an appetite with your birding activities, there’s a BBQ cart across the street. The town of Patagonia looked cute and somewhat quaint and quirky but this writer didn’t have enough time to explore. I came for the...