By Jim Gain

On Monday, 5/9/22, Rich Brown and I (Jim Gain) rendezvoused in Turlock, CA to begin Operation PhotoTrogon. Our target lay deep in the canyons of the Santa Rita and Huachuca mountains in SouthEast Arizona. With plans to traverse the most treacherous terrain filled with cold-blooded reptiles, sharp-spined Saguaro and crafty Coati we departed before the break of dawn.

OPERATION PHOTOTROGON

The name Operation PhotoTrogon came about weeks ago as Rich Brown and I started planning our trip. We discussed the potential top target birds for the adventure and it didn’t take long for us to settle on Elegant Trogon as the clear winner of the #1 bird we wanted to photograph.

Below are the blog posts for each significant birding stop we made on this adventure

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  Operation PhotoTrogon Stop #9 – Santa Rita Mountains
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  Operation PhotoTrogon – Finito
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  Operation PhotoTrogon Stop #8 – Paton Center Redux
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  Operation PhotoTrogon Stop #7 – Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary Redux
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  Operation PhotoTrogon Stop #6 – Carr Canyon
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  Operation PhotoTrogon Stop #5 – Miller Canyon–Beatty’s Guest Ranch
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  Operation PhotoTrogon Stop #4 – Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary
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  Operation PhotoTrogon Stop #3 – Paton Center for Hummingbirds
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  Operation PhotoTrogon Stop #2 – Tucson’s Sweetwater Wetlands
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  Operation PhotoTrogon