Pima Canyon

I took an afternoon hike into Pima Canyon about 2 hours before sunset. Usually I bring binoculars but this time I decided that I just needed to hike and not stop for birds constantly. But I managed to stir up a pair of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers while on the trail and they got so close to me that I could see all of their field marks. Adorable little guys. I had been looking for them on other trails without much luck, and here they presented themselves to me. I’m pretty sure that the sound of tiny fluttering wings is one of my all time favorite sounds.

I didn’t get very far into the canyon before the sun started setting behind the canyon walls so I hung out, scrambled up on top of some rocks, and messed around with my camera for a while. I love sunsets and silhouettes so I took a bunch of photos as I headed slowly back out of the canyon. I didn’t have a tripod so I had to be creative. Once I got back out of the canyon I could see all the lights of Tucson—without thinking about horrible city sprawl it was quite beautiful. I needed to use my headlamp for the last part of the hike and the Great-horned Owls were calling.