Madera Canyon, Santa Rita Mountains

World famous for its diverse flora and fauna, Madera Canyon lies south of Tucson, within the Santa Rita Mountains, in the Coronado National Forest. The Canyon rises through 4 life zones, from the bottom desert to high elevation forest providing home for the many kinds of plants and animals.

Madera Canyon is world renowned for bird watching, and is rated as the 3rd best in the US. With bird watching being a favorite activity of ours, this birding opportunity is what brought us to Madera Canyon. As one would expect, bird watching is a hit and miss endeavor. You get what you get! At least seeing birds here provides a chance to see species not seen back east. We were rewarded with some new sightings, and some not so new. There is a bird watching area with feeders provided by a lodge and open to everyone. To our surprise we were greeted by a flock of Wild Turkey, pecking leftovers off the ground from various bird feeders. Not so new since we can see turkeys in our backyard at home. But we did see several "western" birds. Watching these colorful feathered friends provides an opportunity for some very quiet, relaxing time.Read more