An Elegant Trogon
I'm back!! I spent four days with the annual Arizona Youth Birders Camp in the Chiricahua Mountains followed by a nice long visit with my grandchildren. I've been very busy and am just now getting back to my regular routine.
As stated in an old Tucson Audubon post, "Perhaps no other bird in the US regularly inspires more myth, legend, travel plans, and oohs & aahs, than the Elegant Trogon." https://tucsonaudubon.org/bird_profile/elegant-trogon/ Elegant Trogons can be found in some of the canyons of southern Arizona's Sky Islands and we were able to spot one during the Youth Camp.
In the excitement of seeing the Elegant Trogon, I didn't notice details that were visible once I looked through my photos. We first spotted the bird (above) in a perch at eye level just off of the road. I didn't notice that the bird's feathers were puffed up, but the bird quickly relaxed for the photo below taken moments later.
I was so excited about having a clear view of the trogon that I wasn’t aware of the behavior shown in the photos below.
The Trogon quickly flicked its tail forward. If you click on the photo above to enlarge it, you will notice little 'specks' in the air. This bird must have just finished a bath in the creek below, and was in the process of drying off. Look at how the tail is extended in the following shot. More water and debris is thrown off. Because of this effort, more of the bird's white collar is visible than can be seen in the first photos of this series.
The Elegant Trogon then flew back across the creek to another perch. Now the iridescent green feathers on its back are visible and the rosy red breast feathers are accented by the dark wings. The Trogon's head feathers are also iridescent green but without the right angle towards the sun, they appear black.
Again, the magic of photography revealed behavior that I hadn't noticed while just looking at the bird. The Trogon continued to shake its feathers to finish drying off.
The split-second action reveals the Trogon's quick behavior. Even the tail feathers separate during this last attempt to dry off.
The Trogon finally settled in and relaxed, with its feathers all gently in place.
After a few moments, it flew back towards us and into a cottonwood tree as if to say goodbye..
It then flew back across the creek. This perch let us see its 'coppery tail'. The bird, also known as the Coppery Tailed Trogon, was one of the highlights of our camp experience.
Four years ago I sent out a photo email on Elegant Trogons. Tucson Audubon posted it on their blog page called "Chip Notes". You can revisit it here: https://tucsonaudubon.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-very-elegant-bird.html Included are range maps and a Birdnote piece on Trogons to go along with my photos and stories.
For more on this special bird, take your time scrolling through the ‘allaboutbirds' page: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Elegant_Trogon/id
If you are interested in learning more, the local NPR podcast "Arizona Spotlight" ran a nice piece on Elegant Trogons a month ago. The story, by Rebecca Doyle, begins at the 15 minute,19 second mark and runs about six minutes long: