Madera Canyon

At the junction of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts rise the Santa Rita Mountains in southern Arizona. This small range is known as a sky island because it has an isolated and contrasting environment compared to the surrounding arid deserts. In terms of its flora and fauna, it has more in common with the nearby Sierra Nevada range in Mexico than it does with North America's Rocky Mountains. As a result, a number of neotropical birds only venture as far north as this part of our continent.

The most popular area of the Santa Ritas to visit is Madera Canyon. The Coronado National Forest maintains a paved road several miles along Madera Creek, affording access to a number of trailheads, picnic areas and a campground. As a result, a hike through dense pine forests to the highest peak, Mount Wrightson at 9,453 feet, is possible, albeit a bit challenging. But lower in the range, springs and seasonal creeks feed lush riparian areas filled with sycamore and oak trees. Higher, cooler and wetter than the surrounding deserts, these mountains have their own array of ecosystems that allow for abundant wildlife.

On my recent stay in the canyon, there were reports of many black bear sightings. Campers were warned to keep their sites clean of debris because nighttime raids from coatimundi and ringtails were guaranteed. The smell of skunks permeated many areas of the parkland. And deer were a constant reminder that mountain lions had an ample supply of game.

But it's the plethora of birds that is the star attraction in these mountains. And the superstars of the canyon are the elegant trogons that grace our state with their presence every summer. A neotropical bird related to the quetzal, he may be the prettiest bird in the southwest. Alas, I didn't see him on this trip, but I did hear his distinct call from a side canyon high up on Old Baldy Trail, just below Josephine Saddle. Echoing from the distant treetops was the "Quank, quank, quank...." of his cluck, or bark, or oink. Whatever you call it, it's a fabulously non-tweet-like bird call.

The other wonderful sounds resonating from the lower canyon sycamores were the calls of the sulfur-bellied flycatcher. Another bird without a tweet, he sounds more a dog's squeaking toy or your bath's rubber ducky. Like the trogon, they seem to come in pairs from lower in Mexico to breed in the Santa Rita Mountains. And unlike the trogon, they are numerous and more visible to the many birders that come to see them.

The list of seasonal visitors is endless and include various warblers, tanagers, grosbeaks, buntings, hummingbirds and owls. A first sighting for me was a nesting elf owl, who if not the smallest is technically the lightest in this order of the species. Her nest was in a utility pole at the Santa Rita Lodge, where you can rent cozy and picturesque cabins just above the creek, about halfway into the canyon. Their collection of feeders guarantee a sighting of the many hummingbirds that visit from south of the border, including the rufous, the broad-billed, the black-chinned and the magnificent.

Of course there are some permanent residents who spend the year crisscrossing the lower and the higher elevations of the mountain, depending on the weather and the season. Wild turkeys, yellow-eyed juncos, Arizona woodpeckers, acorn woodpeckers, Mexican jays, Hutton's vireos, bridled titmice, white-breasted nuthatches, Montezuma quails and painted redstarts are just several of the birds that call these mountains a year-round home.

Finally, nature is a wide frontier just outside our windows or beyond our backyard fences, where wildlife and landscapes lie waiting. But there is a far more vast and just as wondrous frontier overhead, in the form of twinkling stars and orbiting planets. Madera Canyon’s rugged isolation reminded me that with Arizona’s wide open and clear skies - and hopefully a telescope - we can find even more amazing adventures in the wild by just gazing skyward.

Mount Wrightson and the pine, oak and sycamore forests as seen from Super Trail in Madera Canyon.

View of the surrounding desert from Old Baldy Trail.

Sycamore tree along Super Trail.

Possibly a type of oak tree along Super Trail. The red leaves punctuated the lush green of the mountainsides.

Wild turkey close-up.

Bridled titmouse. They were abundant, frequenting the also abundant alligator juniper trees.

Yellow-eyed junco at Josephine Saddle.

Mexican Jay.

A pair of Montezuma quails, one of several first sightings for me. I was surprised to stumble upon them, and snapped this shot before I even knew what they were.

Painted redstart high on the trails.

Acorn woodpecker at one of Santa Rita Lodge's many bird feeders.

My first encounter with the tiny elf owl, also at Santa Rita Lodge. Birdwatchers gather every night at dusk when she leaves her nest for a night of hunting. Thanks to Scott at the lodge for shining a flashlight!

Sulfur-bellied flycatcher, another first sighting for me. Its rubber ducky-sounding squeaks make the sycamore, oak and juniper forests sound safe and friendly.