Our travels took us to state parks and National Forests in southern Arizona, and even to a small private RV park in Bisbee, overlooking an open pit copper mine. In Catalina State Park, About 20 km north of Tucson, we hiked some birding trails and saw quite a few familiar southwest birds.
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| On a trail in Catalina State Park |
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| The Saguaro in Catalina St Pk have many arms and must be very old. They don't begin to make arms until they are about 50 years old. |
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| Another fat cactus |
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| This cactus is home to a little owll |
Patagonia Lake St. Pk. was a favorite last year and was excellent again for the birding opportunities, both in the park and at Pattons in the town of Patagonia. The Pattons, who are now deceased, created a bird haven with feeders throughout their large yard, and invited birders to come to view the birds. The tradition continues and the property is managed by a volunteer who lives on the propoerty and maintains the yard and the feeders. Guests contribute donations which are used to keep the bird feeders full. The variety and sheer numbers of birds that stop there is amazing and we almost always see something new each time we visit.
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| The acorn woodpecker at Pattons' yard |
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| Looking for the elegant trogon in the mesquite woods at Patagonia Lake |
The Coronado National Monument doesn't have any camping, but we went for a walk there before driving to Bisbee to find a place to camp.
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| Coronado National Monument |
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| Last year's seed pods on an agave |
About 20 minutes drive from Bisbee, where we camped overlooking the copper mine pit, we went on a bird walk with Rick and Cindy in the San Pedro wildlife refuge. We met Rick and Cindy in Mindo, Ecuador in January when we asked Rick about a bird we were looking at and he shared his Field Guide to Ecuadorian Birds with us. They live in Ramsey Canyon near the San Pedro refuge and offered to take us out to look at some birds while we were in that area. We spent a pleasant morning with them, saw a few new birds and got some tips on sparrow identification.
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| Kathy with Rick and Cindy |
Our last camp in Arizona was at Portal on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. We had a beautiful campsite here in a forest campground. A pyrrhuloxia lived in the brush beside our van and the bridled titmice came every morning, along with some mexican jays, to eat from our feeder. We hated to leave there and will definitely add it to our list of favorite camping places in Arizona.
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| Our campsite, in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains |
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| Pyrrhuloxia on our feeder |
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| Bridled titmouse - one of the cutest birds we have ever seen |
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| A hiking trail in the forest near our campground |
