Birding spots · Arizona

Best Birding Spots in Maricopa County, Arizona

Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch leads Maricopa County's birding spots with 292 species reported, best in fall. 270 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch	292	20,312	196	234	171	251
Palm Lake	239	5,615	149	191	148	197
Tonto National Forest	226	3,647	159	177	136	193
Initial Point	224	1,660	158	160	108	181
South Area Water Recharge Site	214	1,913	131	154	116	180
Veterans Oasis Park	212	4,034	150	183	116	169
Tonto National Forest (Raccoon Bluff)	199	2,466	141	172	88	145
Tonto National Forest (east)	191	726	117	157	83	135
Theba	191	599	70	110	117	153
Maxwell Lake (historical)	184	953	123	148	80	125
Jones Canyon	180	917	132	135	58	114
Arlington Wildlife Area	178	760	123	120	90	140
Estrella Mountain Regional Park	176	793	122	140	71	106
Tonto National Forest (north)	176	727	108	142	65	121
Tonto National Forest (north 2)	176	671	111	148	83	127
Lower Lake	171	394	85	116	66	122
Rio Salado A	169	1,486	110	139	74	126
Papago Park	161	5,295	97	135	90	123
Tonto National Forest (northeast)	161	505	114	128	53	104
Tonto National Forest (north 3)	161	257	104	116	59	109
Tonto National Forest (northeast)	153	729	79	123	83	117
Kiwanis Lake	151	1,811	94	113	58	107
Fountain Lake	150	1,477	88	87	58	128
Kitty Joe Canyon	147	526	90	121	81	91
Arizona State University Research Park	144	1,265	78	106	63	114
Kentuck Spring	144	462	84	115	65	99
Lower Gila Terraces and Historic Trails Area of Critical Environmental Concern	143	627	96	84	70	101
Papago Park (Hole in the Rock)	142	2,007	94	100	75	105
Calcord Springs	138	1,084	49	124	97	91
Desert Foothills Land Trust	138	687	69	104	44	102
Moon Valley Park	137	1,481	80	111	73	107
Papago Park (Marlborough Park)	135	945	80	86	62	106
Northsight Park	132	1,219	59	106	71	105
Tonto National Forest (Saguaro Lake)	132	788	102	104	40	55
Rio Vista Community Park	132	627	87	85	56	107
Rio Salado A (South Phoenix)	131	865	94	98	37	92
Reach 11 Rec Area	131	830	70	106	66	97
Steele Indian School	130	768	70	88	68	97
Seven Springs Wash	129	342	80	105	55	76
Sonoran Desert National Monument	129	221	44	85	76	95
Desert Breeze Park	127	944	58	101	53	84
Phoenix South Mountain Park	126	1,508	69	104	60	98
Nature Park	126	462	76	90	56	80
Red Mountain District Park	125	611	81	96	51	88
Lower Gila Terraces and Historic Trails Area of Critical Environmental Concern (Arlington Valley)	125	433	94	72	34	67
Thunderbird Park	124	840	91	83	39	93
Stone Park	124	138	43	79	13	102
Blue Point Picnic Area (Bulldog Canyon)	122	212	98	51	38	66
Scottsdale Ranch	120	673	75	91	47	79
Mcdowell Sonoran Preserve	118	711	68	96	46	87