One of my favorite places on the entire planet is Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. While I was a graduate student at the University of Arizona I often joined my major professor and other graduate students to look for land snails (they were mostly malacologists) and to visit with my two ex-officio committee members, Vincent D. Roth and Willis J. Gertsch. I attended the founding meeting of the American Arachnological Society in 1972 and when I was employed in New Mexico I went back there several times and also visited the nearby Gray Ranch after it was acquired by the Nature Conservancy. I had access to the Gray for about ten years, until around 2000. The sky islands of SE Arizona and nearby SW New Mexico are really fascinating to biologists. Nearly 400 species of spiders have been recorded from the Chiricahuas and the vertebrate fauna is one of the most varied in the United States. It is a mecca for bird watchers and consistently makes the list of birding hot spots in any compendium. Studies of the flora have shown that the Animas, Peloncillo and Chiricahua Mountains are a northern extension of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The Chiricahuas in particular hold a lot of memories of times my wife and I went camping with our daughters. We hiked the trails, including the one at Greenhouse that led into a very Canadian forest, hung with lichens; cooked over a now destroyed grill (the flood last year got that!) that stood partly in the creek at Herb Martyr Dam; came back to camp (back when they allowed camping in South Fork) to find a male elegant trogon vocalizing in the tree above our tent; stayed in the tent as rain fell so persistently that it pooled underneath giving us the illusion of sleeping on a water bed; discovered a bashful black-tailed rattlesnake that kept covering its head; and many other delightful and not so delightful experiences that I'm sure led our daughters to become ardent hikers. This month I was privileged to participate as an instructor in a field course in spider identification, sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City at their Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) in Cave Creek Canyon a few miles from Portal Arizona. Nine students and four instructors participated, along with two special speakers. It was a magical return to my old haunts, despite the catastrophic forest fire that swept the mountains a few years ago, to be followed by a catastrophic flood last year. Following is a photo essay on the biota and scenery of the remarkably beautiful Chiricahua Mountains in mid July, 2015. As is usual all photos are by me.
The mouth of Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.
In South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona.
A Mexican fox squirrel on a branch near the hummingbird feeders at Southwestern Research Station of the American Museum of Natural History in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.
Coue's whitetail deer, Southwestern Research Station, Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona.
An Arizona woodpecker in South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon.
A female blue-throated hummingbird on its rather large nest of spider webbing, Southwestern Research Station, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona.
A western wood-pewee, Southwestern Research Station, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona.
Black Phoebe, Southwestern Research Station, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona.
Yellow-eyed Junco, Southwestern Research Station, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona. More photos below the fold!
Yarrow's spiny lizard, Herb Martyr Dam, Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona.
A Mojave rattlesnake near the mouth of Pinery Canyon, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona. This is one of the deadliest snakes in North America!
Vinegaroon, Southwestern Research Station, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona.
Arizona bark scorpion, female (top), male (bottom), from Chiricahua area. These have a very nasty neurotoxic venom.
"Cat-faced" spider, Southwestern Research Station, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona.
The jumping spider Phidippus tyrelli, Barfoot Park above 8000', Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona.
Red rock skimmer, Southwestern Research Station of the American Museum of Natural History, Cave Creek Canyon, Cochise County, Arizona.
Apiomerus assassin bug, East Turkey Creek, Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona.
A black swallowtail at the Southwestern Research Station, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona.
A satyr comma, South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona.