The next day, I returned to the Ajo Mountain Loop. The Estes Canyon – Bull Pasture Trail is described as a recommended spot for “owling,” particularly in the early morning. It doesn’t specify which owl species. The National Monument is home to the Elf Owl, a small owl that uses holes in cacti as its nest, but since there don’t seem to be many large cacti here, it might be a different species.
I’d like to start as early as possible, but most of the early morning trail is in the shade, which makes photography challenging.Various birds are flocking to the cactus flowers, so there must be something like nectar attracting them. Canyon Towhee.Brown-crested Flycatcher.Unfortunately, its face is hidden. Scott’s Oriole.A male Gilded Flicker.A Rock Wren scurrying along the distant cliff face.Rock Squirrel.
Unlike the Desert Trail from the previous day, the canyon is quite lively. However, although I could hear what seemed to be owl calls, they were still not easy to spot… Even so, I encountered many creatures, so choosing Estes Canyon was the right decision.
Costa’s Hummingbird.There were also swifts. White-throated Swift.
I took a break near the highest point of the trail. Other than the sounds of birds and insects, the world was almost completely silent. It took about 35 seconds of fly buzzing to realize how quiet it was.
Red-backed Whiptail.Black-throated Sparrow.White-winged Dove.Harris’s Antelope Squirrel, darting around on the ground.A female Gilded Flicker. No red spot on the cheek.A Northern Cardinal suddenly appeared just after I parked the car. At first, it was too close to photograph, but I managed to get a shot. Unfortunately, it disappeared soon after.Western Wood Pewee. It looks very similar to the Asian Brown Flycatcher.Zebra-tailed Lizard. It’s getting quite hot now, and I’m feeling dizzy. The rocks must be extremely hot too.Occasionally, you find these cactus balls that are larger than an egg, rolling around and sometimes getting stuck in your boots. Arizona’s version of burrs.
As a bonus, though the Saguaro Cactus is long-lived, (naturally) some do eventually wither.
It’s quite thick, so it must be over 100 years old.Inside, there are about 10 wood-like tubes running in a circle. They might be for supporting the structure or transporting water, or perhaps both.
The two-day, one-night trip exceeded my expectations. Choosing the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was a great decision.
