Going to Arizona in the middle of summer doesn’t seem like a smart thing to do. The heat can be stifling and pushes any wildlife to be active only during the early mornings before the sun comes up or late in the day at sunset. The middle of the day most wildlife lays low and tries to stay out of the heat.

Most days the skies start out clear and the sun shines. By the afternoon, the heat of the sun produces a lot of cumulous clouds. These are the tall billowing clouds that can produce thunderstorms that often dump large amounts of rain and spit out bolts of lightning.

I was in Arizona to give a couple presentations at the Sedona Hummingbird Festival. The festival featured speakers and activities centered around the abundant hummingbirds that inhabit Arizona. I figured while I was there, I would spend a little time exploring several favorite places around the state and look for some wildlife.

Arizona has a number of mountain ranges running through the state. The higher elevations are a great place to seek some cooler temperatures and therefore some active wildlife. So, one day we drove up into a nearby mountain canyon. Driving up the winding road, we slowly gained elevation and as a result the habitat changed from shrubs and bushes to sporadic trees. The scattered trees turned into a full-fledged forest with taller trees. We stopped round 5,000-foot elevation and got out to see what we could find. We had met up with a friend who told us a very uncommon bird had been heard calling nearby so we decided to try and find it.

Scrambling up a small, dry stream bed, being careful to watch out for rattlesnakes, we could hear the bird calling off in the distance. Just five minutes later we found the bird. Perched on a open branch sat a male Elegant Trogon (Trogon elegans). He was calling over and over again in a loud raspy, grunting call. The call is more of a bark than something a bird would make.

The Elegant Trogon is a tropical looking bird, about 12 inches long, with a deep green hood, white chest band and a red belly. The back and tail are an iridescent green. The tail is extra-long and squared off at the end. It has a large dull-yellow bill that it uses to crack open fruit and seeds. They also eat a wide variety of insects.

This bird is normally found in the mountains of Mexico and Central America. There is a very small population that extends up into the far southeastern corner of Arizona. They breed in just four mountain ranges in the region, and this location is one of the spots in the U.S. that you can see such a magnificent bird. Total population in the U.S. is estimated to be about 200 total birds. I don’t think I need to tell you that, 200 isn’t very much.

The Elegant Trogon prefers dry arid woodlands with oaks and juniper. They are often associated with streams cascading down mountain sides. They are short distant migrators with the main population of the Elegant Trogons found in Mexico and parts of Central America. The birds found in Arizona migrate up in the spring to breed then migrate back to Mexico for the winter.

I know of many groups of birders and photographers who travel from all over the U.S. just to see this bird. It is definitely one of the most sought-after birds by birdwatchers to see and photograph. So, we really couldn’t believe our eyes that after just a short hike we successfully found and were able to capture some great images of this most amazing looking bird. For the next 25 to 30 minutes, we followed the bird around as it moved from perch to perch. We were able to capture a number of wonderful pictures. Afterwords, we hiked back down to our car all along exclaiming how amazed we were to be so lucky to not only find the bird but also capture some images Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed at www.Instagram.com, www.Facebook.com and www.Twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.NatureSmart.com.