Coppery-tailed (aka Elegant) Trogon in Huachuca Canyon
At first I thought we might head down to the San Pedro River this morning. But then Kelly really wanted to see how far up Huachuca Canyon we could drive the Jeep … kind of a scouting trip for next time we try to climb Huachuca Peak.
A couple of weeks ago when we were in Sunnyside Canyon on the backside of Huachuca Mountains we’d heard 3 or 4 male trogons calling out (they have a very distinctive call, that sounds a little like a barking dog). Since I knew that the trogons are here, I was kind of hoping we might run into one if we went with Kelly’s Jeep adventure idea.
As you can see by the picture above, I was rewarded for my flexibility. 😎
It turns out the road really wasn’t too bad. It’s rocky, but we never even had to switch to 4-wheel drive. Our original goal was to drive up Huachuca Canyon road as close as we could get to Crest Trail. We ended up stopping about a 1 1/2 short due to some hikers on the trail (but we could have kept going).
It worked out well that we stopped where we stopped though.
Almost as soon as we got out of the Jeep there was a male turkey strutting around and displaying his feathers for a couple of females.
I was happy enough with at least one shot I got of the turkey. But then Kelly showed me what she captured with her phone, and I think hers is better.
Then we heard the trogon calling … and it was really close. Kelly pointed out what looked sort of like a trail off to the right, so we headed down it.
The first picture I took in these woods was actually a different bird entirely.
But then we caught a little bit of movement about a 75 yards up ahead. This is where I’m really thankful to have a 600mm lens and a camera that still captures reasonably good images even at ISO 2000. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure until we got home and I had a chance to look on the computer screen whether or not I’d even gotten a “keeper”.
As it stands though, I think I like this shot almost as much as the image I captured the first time I saw this bird up close way back in 2014.
After the trogon noticed us and flew away, we turned around and started heading back down the “trail”. I realized I’d left my phone in the Jeep, so went back to retrieve it. When I didn’t get back to where she was quickly enough, she called out to chide me:
Oh, I see how it is, you got your bird picture now you’re ready to go home.
lol, not quite. I knew we weren’t done. We still had to verify whether or not the rest of the road would be drivable all the way to the end.
It turns out we could have kept driving just fine. But since we were out of the Jeep, we managed to get a little two and half mile nature walk in addition to our canyon drive and trogon encounter.
Also, of course we got some butterfly pictures.
Interesting aside:
Up until November of 2025, every time I’d photographed this bird, I had (correctly at the time) called in the Elegant Trogon. Now experts have determined that there are two distinct species; with the Coppery-tailed trogon covering a range from southern Mexico into extreme Southeast Arizona, and the Elegant Trogon now only being those found in Central America.
In any case, our Southeast Arizona sky islands are the only place in the United States that you can see this bird … and it is a big part of the reason birders come here from all over the country, and the world.
Your Turn:
Have you ever set out with one destination in mind, only to have a change of heart lead you to something even better? I’d love to hear about the best thing you’ve found by being flexible.
Til next time,
~ Todd
Every photo tells a story, and stories are better with company. If you enjoyed this glimpse into our life in the Sky Islands (and beyond), please pass it along to a fellow explorer. Thank you!
