Hiking is a way to get exercise in Nature's Wonderland instead of indoors at a gym. Often I'll hike with Christine in Saguaro National Park. It is essentially a hike: 2 to 5 miles at about 3 miles per hour. Although I usually take my camera, I am not actually birding, I am out for exercise -- and, besides most of the birds that I might find in Saguaro National Park I can find in my "backyard." But I take my camera .... just in case.
Birding, on the other hand is stopping along the trail to enjoy nature's birds (flowers, animals etc). We have some wonderful guests that have been staying with us every year we have been open (12 years). They have become good friends. And, we have done many hikes with them. They were here for the second time this year just last week. They usually come in January or February. But May is great birding, so our "hike" in Huachuca Canyon was a little more like "birding". We did walk nearly four miles -- but it took four hours.
Birding is a bit challenging for me since I am deaf. I can hear birds now that I have a Cochlear Implant, but since only one ear "hears" I can't tell where the bird sounds are coming from. We heard the Elegant Trogon several times, but it was Bob who found him. The Trogon was about fifty yards up into the woods sitting nicely on the end of a branch.
Here are a few of the photos from that hike, or birding trip:
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| Spotted Towhee |
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| Elegant Trogon |
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| Dusky Flycatcher |
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| Summer Tanager Female |
