Mike in the Wild

I write a lot about the sounds I hear in the wild: the hoot of an owl, the melody of a mockingbird and the squawk of a woodpecker, to name just a few.  But the song of a canyon wren might be one of the most beautiful in the bird world as it beckons the hiker and birdwatcher like a Siren calling Odysseus.  And there's a double reward because spotting this tiny bird is also a singular visual delight, well worth the effort and patience it might take. Fitting for such a special bird, each memory of my three life-time encounters with the canyon wren is indelibly etched in my brain.  The first time I saw one was at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Arizona's oldest and largest botanical garden, located an hour east of Phoenix in Tonto National Forest.   The individual of this wide-ranging bird species was perched on a boulder in the Sonoran Desert Exhibit and initially seemed more curious about me than I was of him; I was new to birding and didn't quite know the differenc...

Ten miles on rough forest roads promise a spectacular look at an archaeological site, riparian areas and grassland mesas - all under the park's protection. Pueblo La Plata is the name of the remnants of a long-abandoned native American settlement in the preserve. Its crumbled stone masonry walls still outline this ancient pueblo's many rooms.  It sits atop the highest point on this section of the Perry Mesa, were you could easily see approaching visitors and intruders miles away.  At the same time, it's above its namesake Silver Creek Canyon and a critical source of flowing water.  It's a dramatic setting, with a panorama of the flat mesa-top's grasslands meeting the big, blue sky. The prairie is periodically punctured by the cliffs of a defending canyon's walls. You are free to wander in the structure's roof-less rooms, but they're not well-excavated.  Dense grasses and over-grown bushes might house venomous critters.  In any case it's ...

It's a short and easy hike that promises a good look at the ancient cultures, riparian areas and grassland mesas that the park is protecting. Lightly streaming water crisscrosses the one mile descent from the mesa-top trailhead along the course of  the Badger Springs Wash.  Just before its confluence with the Agua Fria River you're greeted by a collection of ancient petroglyphs high on canyon walls.  Upriver to this waterway are massive, rounded boulders with several waterfalls. Meanwhile, all around you is a lush riparian area with tall cottonwoods and deep water.   While the trail ends at this point, the park service encourages you to explore the banks of the river.  Flora and fauna abound, with wildflowers and grasses thriving during my early spring trip.  I was able to identify a number of desert birds, including phainopeplas, Costa's hummingbirds, house wrens, canyon wrens and verdins.  I saw a medium-sized red bird that could have been a car...