Day 3—Madera Canyon

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Elegant Trogon

We were up and out by 4:00 am and off to the Santa Rita Mountains and Madera Canyon in search of an Elegant Trogon. Each year, several of these gorgeous large birds defy Trump and cross the Mexican border into Southeastern Arizona. 

Our route to Madera Canyon was only forty miles but took close to two hours to navigate because we entered the canyon through Box Canyon on a twisty, one-lane, dirt, cliff hanger. Reminded me of the roads I birded in the Andes with Field Guides. Before entering Box Canyon we were stopped at a Border patrol checkpoint. The guy there told us that we were entering a dangerous area of banditos and desperados. He gave us his phone number in case we encountered trouble.This news and the cliff-hanging road made us uneasy; however, eventually we hit the paved road into Madera Canyon and joined many other birders at Santa Rita Lodge.

Road through Box Canyon

Madera Canyon’s Santa Rita Lodge has parking and seating before a water feature and many feeders. There were brush piles on the ground where the birds could take cover and several trees behind the feeders so that photographers, such as Deb, could photograph the birds in their natural environment rather that on the feeders. There was also a gift shop. At 9:00, when it finally opened, I was first in line for a cup of hot cocoa and a package of NutterButter cookies. It was chilly at 5000 feet.

At Santa Rita we saw  Mexican Jays (1), Acorn Woodpeckers (2) the clowns of the bird world, Lesser Goldfinch, Pine Siskins, a Hermit Warbler (3) at the water feature, Swainson’s Thrush, Green-tailed Towhee (4), Bridled Titmouse (5), Arizona Woodpecker (6),  and the usual group of White winged Doves. WWDO were everywhere, replacing the Rock Pigeon in Tucson and waking us each morning with their loud cooing. We saw only a handful of Rock Pigeons in Tucson. They were vastly outnumbered by the White-winged Doves. Deb's photo of an Acorn Woodpecker is below.

White-winged Dove left, Rock Pigeon, right: Both are so commonly seen that one forgets how striking each is. The WWDO has a red eye and wears blue "spectacles." The Rock pigeon can be any number and combination of colors but some of the most striking are iridescent.

This acorn woodpecker looks a little bit bewildered. Furthermore, she seems to have forgotten to use her napkin. c Deb Hirt

We spent the morning and early afternoon in the Canyon but did not see the Trogon though we heard that it had been spotted the day before. Apparently there is only one pair in the area. 

Back in Patagonia we drove again to the Nature Conservancy Preserve, this time getting there early enough to walk the trails. A volunteer told us of a screech owl nesting in a large cottonwood near the trail, so we searched for it but never found it. Screech Owls are nocturnal and I suppose it was sleeping soundly in its nest cavity. There were not  many birds at the Conservancy (probably because of nearby Paton’s with its feeders) but at one end of the trail we encountered HUGE cottonwoods, one that had fallen was more the size of a small redwood than a cottonwood. I learned that these were Freemont Cottonwoods, the largest trees in Arizona. They live to 120 to 130 years and can drink up to 230 gallons of water a day.

A young Jeanine McCabe (?) and another woman at the base of a large Freemont Cottonwood near the San Pedro River

The Sonoita and San Pedro Rivers (both what I would call creeks or streams) provide year-round water in this desert area. However, during our April/May stay, we saw more wide, dry gravel- and stone-filled washes than water. These washes would normally be filled when the monsoon season begins in mid-June, the storms generally peaking between mid-July and mid-August, but Arizona is experiencing a drought and water is scarce.  Below a photo I took off the Proctor Trail in Madera Canyon of some rocks smoothed by water when the wash was filled.

Rocks smoothed by years of waterflow. They look like Amazonian breasts to me.

Oklahoma is also in a prolonged drought. Lack of water is evident at our house. All of the tall, old cottonwoods along our drive have died because of Oklahoma's persistent drought. I believe that water and food will be much more precious than oil in years to come.

Abert'sTowhee (Internet)

We also returned to Paton’s Yard. Here we saw an Abert's Towhee, Lazuli Bunting, Pyrrhuloxia, and got more good looks at Gambel's quail, Inca and White-winged doves, as well as some hummers, pine siskins, and woodpeckers. Dinner, at 3:30 in the afternoon, was at the Wagon Wheel Saloon. We both had homemade chips and  salsa and thick, hand-shaped hamburgers topped with tomato, onion, and crunchy lettuce—our first real meal in three days. We’ve been turned around with the 2-hour time change. Arizona is on Mountain Time and does not observe Daylight Savings Time, so our internal Oklahoma clocks told us it was lunchtime.