Mike in the Wild

I will soon be going back to Madera Canyon, located on a sky island in southern Arizona, not far from the Mexican border.  It's in a mountain range that has high elevation ponderosa pine trees but is surrounded by low Sonoran Desert, hence the reference to an island.  Every spring, many migratory birds pass through this area while other unique birds like the yellow-eyed junco and Arizona woodpecker call this home all year long.  But one summer visitor, the elegant trogon, has fascinated me since I became interested in birding and bird photography. He’s quite uncommon in the state, let alone in a park that lies at the very northern edge of his geographic range.  He’s really a Mexican bird, related to the quetzal, with a southern range that goes as far south as Costa Rica.  In the summer he’s known to come into southeastern Arizona for nesting, and Madera Canyon might be as far north as he flies. So what’s really the big deal about the elegant trogon?   B...