Birding in Madera Canyon

In southern Arizona, at the junction of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, rise the Santa Rita Mountains This small range is known as a sky island because it has an isolated and varied 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 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 visit to the canyon and with much excitement, I successfully photographed a male elegant trogon - a neotropical bird - that was wintering lower in the Canyon, close to the popular hiking trails between Proctor Parking Area and Mount Wrightson Picnic Area.

But the plethora of other birds are also a big attraction in these mountains, with an endless list of seasonal visitors that includes warblers, tanagers, grosbeaks, flycatchers, buntings, cardinals, sparrows and owls. A collection of feeders at the Santa Rita Lodge guarantee a sighting of the many hummingbirds that visit or reside here, including the rufous, the broad-billed, the black-chinned and the magnificent (sometimes called Rivoli's).

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.

Is Madera Canyon a birder's paradise? It may be as close as it comes in an easy day trip from Phoenix.