Blue Goose ~ Day 195

December 8, 2014 ~ Madera Canyon, AZ (Santa Rita Lodge to Coronado National Forest Bog Springs Campground)

As soon as it was full light I walked down to watch the birds where the one other lodger was already standing with binoculars. He and I did not exchange words, and he left after 15 minutes. Then Steve, the son of the owner showed up and we talked awhile. He asked if I had seen the Hepatic Tanager. No, I hadn’t and didn’t even know it was a possibility here. “Well, just wait and it will show up….It usually likes feeders 2, 4 or 6. It’ll be here….” And it did, an hour later - first the yellowish female and then the bright reddish male; lifer number nine for me in Madera Canyon!

Hepatic Tanager - Madera Canyon - AZ

A couple I had seen the afternoon before drove up and we also started talking....  Connie and Joseph live on Canoe Island in the San Juans. They had camped just down the road at a Bog Springs, a Coronado National Forest campground. They were a most attractive, engaging couple and run a French immersion summer camp on Canoe Island (check it out at www.canoeisland.org). They had worked for OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) for 25 years in the John Day area of central Oregon doing outdoor education camps for kids. A few days, they had flown to Tucson for a conference and now were camping while they hiked, birded and explored this corner of Arizona. They slept in a small tent, cooked their meals and made lovely little campfires each evening. (Richard, exactly what you always describe and still wish for and did with Maria….) I wished I had known of the campground the night before but hadn’t expected to stay up in the canyon and didn’t research the possibilities.  We went our separate ways for the day but both camped at Bog Springs that night. 

Of course, there is the Elegant Trogon… a bird that everyone wants to see in southeast Arizona. I did too, but knew the chances were slim this time of year. However, people had been seeing one up the Carrie Nation Trail in Madera Canyon and in the lower Florida (prounouned Flor-EE-dah) Canyon lately. Steve knew quite specifically where to look. He had stories about birdwatchers chasing this bird, and the trogon leading them on, teasing them, flying silently up the canyon, vocalizing, and when the birders approached, silently flying further, calling again, etc. He half jokingly said that he thinks the trogon knows its name and engages in this play when it hears excited birders talking about how close they are. He lives up here and had many stories, including big cat tales....of cougars, ocelots and a rare jaguar sighting. 

Of course I had to try to see the trogon so drove another 3-4 miles to the end of the road to the trailheads. Heavy trucks moved up and down the narrow road, so loud they made conversation impossible as they passed, and Steve told me how the Forest Service was replacing two one-lane bridges built by the CCC and how destructive the project was. I was appalled when I drove by to see how ugly and huge and damaging it actually was, with a gigantic hole in the ground and dozens if not hundreds of trees ripped out and monstrous heavy equipment gouging and tearing and rummaging in this pristine canyon. Why????

The Carrie Nation Trail became “very steep” and I only went half a mile, seeing only juncos. I was at 5000 feet so the air was thinner than I am used to, and I am not a long distance hiker. There were immense old whitened sycamores in this canyon, the preferred habitat of the Elegant Trogon. It undoubtedly was there, somewhere, but I didn’t see it, nor hear it, which is how most birders eventually find it. There are stories of people walking right on by a trogon quietly perched directly above them. Connie said she kept looking for its long tail in the branches. They were ultimately unsuccessful also in their quest to see a trogon….but perhaps next time. Perhaps DHC and I will see them in April. 

I went back to Green Valley to a Safeway where I bought some food and did some computer work. My uncle and aunt live here and I kept debating on whether to visit. I didn’t have their phone number, only an address.  

By late afternoon, I was in the sweet little campground at Bog Springs, where there were no sounds and no ambient light once the daylight faded. I am completely comfortable in the van and fuss with my iPhone and then read until I get sleepy. I will often awaken once or twice in the night but usually easily fall asleep again, especially when away from city light. There was a waning moon by which light I could see the silhouette of trees and a distant campfire. Most people stay in their RVs which is why I thought Connie and Joe were so cool….they camped the old way. Bill, you too, would have loved talking with them, especially about their outdoor education projects, as that is what you do so well, albeit only for a weekend, with your highly citified, affluent 5th graders. 

So DHC, prepare for the glories of birding in Arizona next spring!

Anna's Hummingbirds - Madera Canyon - AZ