There are several reasons to visit Arizona during spring break. The primary reason is getting a break from the winter weather up here in BC. Arizona also has excellent opportunities for bird watching and botanizing. It has superb sky watching as well.
Last March I joined two fellow naturalists and spent a week traveling around southeastern Arizona. One of our primary destinations was Madera Canyon which is internationally reknown for excellent birding. The signature species in the canyon is the Elegant Trogon (Trogon elegans). Although we spent 3 days in the canyon we heard but didn’t get a good look at it. We would see it later on our trip at Patagonia Lake.
Nestled in the Santa Rita Mountains, Madera Canyon provides good access to the unique bird and plant species of the Arizona’s sky islands. These “islands” are higher in elevation than the surrounding land. Because they are cooler and wetter, they support lush ecosystems characterized by juniper and oak. In addition to a variety of oaks, distinctive Arizona sycamores (Platanus wrightii) grow along Madera Creek and other water sources in the canyon.
For those interested in visiting Madera Canyon I would highly recommend staying at the Santa Rita Lodge. This rustic lodge is set in the heart of Madera Canyon and provides good access to birding and trails in the canyon.
Thank you for this report, Dave. I do not know anything about birding in that part of the world but can recognise gorgeous landscapes when I see them. I especially like your first image with the perspective captured by the barbed wire and stretching out to include the mountain and the sky.
I am setting up a birding expedition with my brothers and their spouses for the first half of 2010 at the Maquarie Marshes in northern NSW in Australia.