The Chiricahua Mountains in extreme southeast Arizona have been called THE premier bird area in all of North America. Home to Coatimundi (a relative of the raccoon) and other species of wildlife that are found only in this mountain range, the Chiricahuas are a perfect example of a "Sky Island". Just their name rings down through the lore of the Old West, too; this is the ancestral home of the Chiricahua Apaches, whose names include such legends as Cochise and Geronimo. With its spectacular landscapes, abundant birds, and location off-the-beaten-track, it's the kind of place where I can repeatedly return to and never tire of its wonders. I've arranged the photos in the form of a travel journal of a trip taken in June 2008, but I've returned twice since then (September 2008 and May 2009) and have included photos from those trips also. A place I can highly recommend for lodging while visiting the Chiricahuas is Portal Peak Lodge; their website is here ---http://www.portalpeaklodge.com . If after seeing my photos you do decide to visit, tell 'em Steve Wolfe sent you... :o)
The bird photos were taken with the Canon 40D DSLR and either the EF 100-400 f4.5/5.6L IS or 500mm f/4 IS lens, while the landscapes were captured with the Pentax K10D and a Pentax DA 16-45mm lens with a circular polarizer.
A book packed with information on southeast Arizona, and its birds in particular, is Rick Taylor's "A Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona," published by the American Birding Association http://www.abasales.com/index.php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info&products_id=493 ) It was my guide in the Chiricahuas, and a book I'd recommend for anyone visiting the area.
The bird photos were taken with the Canon 40D DSLR and either the EF 100-400 f4.5/5.6L IS or 500mm f/4 IS lens, while the landscapes were captured with the Pentax K10D and a Pentax DA 16-45mm lens with a circular polarizer.
A book packed with information on southeast Arizona, and its birds in particular, is Rick Taylor's "A Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona," published by the American Birding Association http://www.abasales.com/index.php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info&products_id=493 ) It was my guide in the Chiricahuas, and a book I'd recommend for anyone visiting the area.
This and the following photo are of a Bridled Titmouse just prior to taking a dunk in the water. I took these while sitting above on the dam.
And at Herb Martyr was my first encounter with a Yellow-Eyed Junco. I'd never heard of them before, and as they're quite-striking birds I thought I'd found something special, but they're "common in open pine forests" in the mountains of southeast Arizona. According to Sibley's, the Yellow-Eyed walks on the ground while foraging for food, while the more-common Dark-Eyed Junco "hops". AND I've read the Yellow-Eyed can be easily domesticated. This one certainly wasn't afraid of me; it came within 5 feet while I was sitting along the creek where this was taken...
Every angle seemed to present a photogenic setting for the Yellow-Eyed...
It then foraged around the dry parts of the creekbed and came up with a nice red ant..
After a bite to eat, time for shaking-out its feathers...
and doing a bit of preening...
And then, to cap its day, a bit of a song, which is sweeter and more musical than a Dark-Eyed's.
Here's the evening scene looking back towards the cliffs of Cave Creek Canyon on the road from Herb Martyr. Yes, that's my truck...
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