Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory

The Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (SABO) is a nonprofit membership-supported scientific and educational organization founded in 1996 in Bisbee, Arizona, USA. The mission of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory is to promote the conservation of the birds of southeastern Arizona, their habitats, and the diversity of species that share those habitats through research, monitoring, and public education. The observatory's founders are Tom Wood and Sheri Williamson, former managers of The Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon Preserve.

Monitoring bird diversity

Southeastern Arizona is at a biogeographic crossroads, where the

In November 2020, SABO assumed ownership and management of Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, on the southeastern slope of the Huachuca Mountains in Sierra Vista Southeast in southwestern Cochise County, Arizona. Purchase of the property, former home of the late Mary Jo Ballator, was accomplished through a single donation. The site is managed by SABO staff and volunteers; operations are funded through memberships and site-specific donations. The sanctuary is best known for its pollinator gardens and bird feeding stations, which are open to the public. The property lies in the transition zone (ecotone) between desert grassland and Madrean pine–oak woodlands and includes portions of a ciénega, a rare wetland type unique to the arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded at the site, including lucifer sheartail, plain-capped starthroat, elegant trogon, Montezuma quail, and rufous-winged sparrow. Sightings contributed to iNaturalist have recorded over 240 non-bird species, including over 180 species of arthropods.

The Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory also supports community-based outreach and economic development programs such as the Southwest Wings