Mike in the Wild

I hadn't seen an elegant trogon in almost four years - not since I'd spotted a nesting pair in Cave Creek Canyon located in the far southeastern corner of Arizona.  Before that, it was six years ago in Madera Canyon that I'd encountered one of these beautiful migratory birds.  In fact, in that sky island habitat only a two-and-a-half hour drive south from my Phoenix home, I hadn't seen any trogon at all on my last visit four years ago.  Nonetheless, I remained hopeful that I'd spot one when I returned to Madera over this past weekend. This spring was an especially excellent time to visit the mountains of southern Arizona because melting snowpack has been feeding streams at the same time migratory birds have started arriving from Latin America.  Lots of water meant lots of blooms and bugs and the birds that feed on them.  Madera Creek was actually flowing as strongly as ever while the towering peaks of the Santa Rita Mountains, rising over 9,000 feet, shed the la...

With temperatures forecasted close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit this week, there's no doubt that spring has arrived in the deserts of Arizona.  Another sure sign of the season's arrival are the palo verde trees' bright yellow blossoms speckling the clear blue skies.  And migrating birds are arriving from points south, with some just passing through the Grand Canyon State and others staying to breed. It's hard to say exactly when this annual ritual begins, but it might start when orioles show up in the southern half of the state like has been happening for almost a month now.  On Easter Sunday, I noticed a black-chinned hummingbird feeding off a fairy duster plant in my Phoenix neighborhood.  He's most likely on his way to the mountains and river valleys in northern Arizona and beyond.   In my own backyard the "who cooks for you" vocalizations of the just-arrived white-winged doves have replaced the softer trills of white-crowned sparrows that have just fl...

Besides the bald eagle, no bird is more associated with the United States than the turkey.  After all, we have a national holiday, Thanksgiving Day, that while not actually dedicated to the bird, is renowned for the accompanying feast that serves it stuffed and roasted, headless on a platter.  And it is a popular myth that one of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, prefered the turkey over the eagle as the national symbol of the new republic.   More factual is that the turkey has an historic range that covers much of North America, not just the eastern seaboard.  The Pilgrims in New England weren't the only humans to dine on this fowl, as much earlier residents, especially those in central Mexico, domesticated it for consumption centuries before the Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock.  But in all too typical fashion, mainly white settlers over hunted this game bird, extirpating it from much of the continent. However the turkey is such a popular ga...

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. ...

It's not the third but the fourth time that's really the charm.  At least that's the case when it comes to spotting an elegant trogon in Madera Canyon.  Since I was bitten by the birding bug, I've made four trips to this area of the Santa Rita Mountains in southern Arizona with hopes of finding this tropical relative of the quetzal.  Two years ago I succeeded in finding one in neighboring Florida Canyon, but until this week, I hadn't found him in Madera. 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,  with a southern range that extends to Costa Rica.  In the summer he’s known to come into southeastern Arizona for breeding, and Madera Canyon might be as far north as this guy ever actually gets. A solitary male very frequently winters in the Santa Ritas, waiting for female partners to return in late spring.  It was just the case this year, when this attr...

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 an...