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.
On June 15, 2008 I took the dirt trans-mountain road that begins near Chiricahua Nat'l Monument on the west side and ends at the main "town" of Portal in the east. If you have the time, and the road isn't too muddy (or closed during the winter), this is the way to first see the Chiricahuas. Here is the view from the road looking east with colorful Cave Creek Canyon in the distance.
Simply one of the most spectacular scenes in the whole of the desert Southwest, this shows the entrance to Cave Creek Canyon looking west from Foothills Road, just before Portal. It was taken around 5:45am, with the sun rising and moon setting.
The Chiricahuas can be divided into 3 ecologically-different bird "zones" --- desert, canyons, and mountain highlands. The area around Portal is a transition area where both canyon and desert birds can be seen, and a good place for closeup looks and good variety is at Dave Jasper's feeders on Foothills Road just before Portal. When I dropped by Dave had just come from back after being gone for a week, so he apologized for the lack of birds as the feeders were kind of low, but a half-hour later all sorts of birds were there...Here's a Curve-Billed Thrasher...
A Gambel's Quail family gambols under the feeders...
A Northern Cardinal and Canyon Towhee square off...
While Mrs. Red Cardinal watches the macho posturings of Mr. Cardinal :o)
On the return trip to the Chiricahuas in May 2009, I went back to Dave's feeders and once again saw the usual suspects, including this Black-throated Sparrow.
And Dave Jaspers's feeders are one of the only places where the rarely-seen Crissal Thrasher comes out of hiding. Sibley's calls it a "secretive" bird, "difficult to see in dense mesquite and other brush along desert washes." But here it is in full-view, on a very photogenic perch...This photo alone is enough for me to thank Dave for allowing the public access to his feeders.
Just a little further up the paved road from Dave Jasper's is the "town" of Portal (actually, the main "drag" is down the road beyond that stone wall) and the Portal Peak Lodge and Store, where accommodations, good food and supplies can be arranged for your Chiricahuan rambles...Not a bad backdrop, either!
According to my camera Exif, this was taken at 5:12am...Early-morning light casts its glow on the rock outcroppings up the Cave Creek Canyon Road.
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