This post is republished in our “From the Archives” series, featuring highlights of our vast back catalogue of more than 10,000 birding-related posts published over the last 15 years or so.
*** A note of thanks to Corey and Mike, for their patience, while I took a break after a very busy 2018!!
Now that Jeanne and I have finally settled on Tucson, Arizona at least for a while, I will pick up where I left off at the end of 2018. Arizona, specifically the South East portion of the state, will be my “beat” for the rest of this year. I have lived most of my life in a desert of some form, be it the high desert areas of Oregon, to the more arid Southern Baja of Mexico, so I am truly amazed at the birding opportunities this area provides! Every day it seems, I get to learn about a new, and equally amazing location. So far, for me the crown jewel of the area is what I refer to as the “Madera Canyon Complex”. This incredible area is probably the best known area to birders, especially from outside this area and maybe worldwide. Now don’t get me wrong, I have only been here two months now, but have posted 114 eBird submissions, from nearly 40 different locations. My Pima County list for those same 60 days is at 186 different species, and over 40 of those came from the Madera Canyon area. I personally refer to the Madera Canyon area as a complex, due to both the varied habitats it provides, The difficulty in learning the area, as well as the nearby Florida Canyon that in many ways gets lumped in with the Madera Canyon. This area has no less than 17 eBird hotspots recorded, many of which boast nearly 200 species. The Proctor Road loop stands at 219, and the Lower Florida (Pronounced Flor-ee-da) Canyon is at 224…