The only thing that happens constantly at my home in Stamford is planning of which place to visit next for our vacation and the activities during the vacation. My mom and dad love traveling, mostly to places in the middle of nature. My dad does not wait for the vacations though. He is out hiking, watching birds, animals, flowers, trees every weekend. He always carries his long and heavy lenses and cameras. I am going out with my dad on hiking and bird watching since I was very little. Naturally, I have grown to love and admire nature too and I have grown to love taking photos and videos.
Recently my dad and I went on a weeklong vacation to Madera Canyon in southern Arizona from 19th to 25th April, 2021. My mom was stuck in India for almost six months due to the pandemic and hence could not come along. Since the time of our vacation was in the middle of spring, we decided to go to southern Arizona to watch the birds coming back from south and to attend a Hummingbird photography workshop. My dad and I both want to learn new photography techniques all the time. During this trip I was able to use and experiment with my brand-new Nikon P1000 camera.
We stayed at the beautiful and serene Santa Rita lodge in Madera Canyon. Hummingbirds were buzzing everywhere. And then there were plenty of other birds like Redstarts, Bridal Titmouse, Orioles, Tanagers, and Warblers. In other words, it was birds galore. The lodge had Hummingbird feeders at specific places inside the compound. The hummers were visiting the feeders frequently. Many times, we watched them fighting over the right to feed from a specific feeder. The most bully among all the hummers was a Magnificent Hummingbird. He was literally guarding one feeder and would chase any other Hummingbird that came anywhere near that feeder. It was amazing to witness such territorial fight among birds over food.
There are mainly four species of Hummingbirds you can see in southern Arizona. Broad billed, Black Chinned, Rufous and Magnificent. Magnificent Hummingbirds are the largest of the four species and probably the most beautiful with brilliant colors. Rufous Hummingbirds generally migrate first and are visible in southern Arizona in the beginning of Spring. We were bit too late to see them. They all went further north by the time we arrived on 19th April.
We had couple of other wonderful birding experience at the lodge. I saw an Elf Owl for the first time ever. A pair of Elf Owls nest on a telephone pole right opposite the lodge. We were able to see the male Elf Owl flying in after dark and were able to photograph it with the help of a flashlight. The Elf Owl is the smallest owl in the world. The second experience was seeing a Nightjar late in the night. We heard a Whip-poor-will calling repeatedly near our cabin. My dad went looking for it and found it following the calls. I joined him a little while later and we both watched and photographed and then left it alone. It was amazing to see a Nightbird at night. Their eyes literally glows when the flashlight falls on them. That is why we watched it for a short period and switched o f the light to ensure we do not disturb it.
The Madera Canyon region offers spectacular trekking and bird watching opportunities. In the mornings and evenings on different days of our trip, we went on hikes on the mountains and desert in the area. We hiked on the nearby Mt Wrightson trail and the Elephant trail in the desert. Arizona is very dry, and the trees and bushes are different. I began learning the cacti and trees. I felt the tree trunks. Some were very smooth while some were like crocodile skin
On our treks we spotted a number of new bird species. Red Faced Warblers, Ash flycatcher, Black Throated Grey, Mexican Jay, Western Tanager, Hermit Thrush, Peregrine Falcon, and lot more. We did not see much wildlife though except White tailed deer and a Mountain Spikey lizard. Our biologist guide Scott mentioned that the mountains we were hiking are home of Mountain Lions and even some Jaguars. In the evening we watched moonlight washing over the mountains. It was an incredible sight to remember for a long time.
I am really happy I had the opportunity to visit southern Arizona because I was able to see many new life birds, and to experience the desert southwest of America. I was able to capture good pictures of the Hummingbirds and many other birds including Owls and Night birds. I loved this trip and I hope and look forward to returning to further explore southern Arizona.
