Madera Canyon, Oct 13, 2020

Mary Ann and I took a 3 day trip to southern Arizona. We went to Madera Canyon, California Gulch, and Arivaca. This post is for Madera Canyon.

We made the 2 hour drive to Madera Canyon on Tuesday morning, arriving around 8:30. We hiked the 1 mile trail that goes behind Santa Rita Lodge (from the amphitheater trailhead to the Whitehouse Picnic Area).

Then we spent quite a bit of time by the feeders at Santa Rita Lodge. Natural shots, without bait, are preferable. But, Santa Rita Lodge maintains a nice area with a lot of different feeders, and really attracts a lot of birds. The hummingbirds are the highlight. Southern Arizona is home to a large variety of hummingbirds, and the feeders at Santa Rita Lodge bring them in! Sixteen different hummingbird species have been reported there. We saw 8 different species while we were there. That’s assuming I identified them correctly. They can sometimes be difficult to ID. The Beryline Hummingbird is a new species for me.

After lunch we hiked the Super Trail. It was a beautiful trail and a nice hike, but we didn’t see many birds.

We stayed the night at the Best Western in Green Valley, which is about a 25 minute drive from Madera Canyon. We were happy with the accommodations. The breakfast was good. They have a restaurant inside, and they provide a free, made to order breakfast.

The next day we went to California Gulch, which will be the subject of my next post.