I decided another visit to Madera Canyon was required (previous post). After all, how often do you get to search for the Elegant Trogon? Well, my Minnesota roots told me to arrive by sunrise. Thus, I drove the first car into the Proctor Road parking lot just a few minutes before the sun popped above the mountain ridge to the east.

Apparently I forgot to ask the birds if like Minnesota birds, they get up with the sun. Although this boy from the frozen Northland did not consider an air temperature of 38F cold (sun and no wind), the local birds begged to differ with me. For the next 90 minutes I hiked the mountain trails and saw zippo (or almost). Finally, when the air temperature soared into the mid forties the birds became active. Alas, four hours of hiking did not yield an Elegant Trogon, but I did see and occasionally photograph a lot of neat birds. For those of you who know the canyon, I never visit the Lodge’s bird feeders. I preferred hiking in the woods. It is cool when you reach a certain elevation and the habitat suddenly changes.

My rarest find was a pair of Montezuma Quail (lifer)

The ever present clown bird … the Acorn Woodpecker

It’s bigger cousin … the Red Naped Sapsucker (lifer)

A Painted Redstart (lifer) that would never stand still, let alone show its head.