 From the award-winning nature series, Southwest Horizons. White Sands of New Mexico. The largest gypsum dune fields of the world. But they are more than just grains of sand. Venture 2, White Sands, White Wilderness. Episode 1 of Southwest Horizons. It started 500 years ago when Columbus in search of Barton's gold and silk returned with new world treasures. Seas which spread around the globe were ever-changing civilizations and a human destiny. Today, researchers are finding that the original genetic material from which these plants came are disappearing at an alarming rate. Follow the race against time as modern science meets the challenges of a rapidly decreasing gene pool. The real treasure that Columbus took back to Europe and then gave to the rest of the world was the gift of the Indians to Columbus Ringgold. Don't miss Ringgold from the Maya to the Moon. For these and other worthwhile videos from the archives of New Mexico State University's award-winning Department of Agricultural Communications call toll-free 1-888-750-4156. Most titles are 2495 plus shipping. Major credit cards accepted. And now for our feature presentation. They have been called the Sky Islands, a wonderland of rocks. And by resident Apache natives, the land of standing up rocks. Welcome to the Chiracaua Mountains. This inactive volcanic range located in southeast Arizona borders the state of New Mexico to the east and the country of Mexico to the south. The Chiracauas are home to a wide range of unusual animals and an eclectic selection of plants. Why these varied species exist here is partially due to the mountains attracting the limited precipitation that passes over the surrounding desert. This is the basic idea of the Sky Island concept. But more on that a bit later. Perhaps it is best to reflect on the ancient past first and understand how these amazing mountains came to be. What forces shaped this unique range? Why did the Chiracauas rise so rapidly from the desert basin? And how did it come to be that there is such a variety of rock forms in this area? Probably the most striking feature of the range is in the northwest section. Here at the Chiracaua National Monument extraordinary rock pinnacles are found. Spires, hoodoos, balanced rocks, towering columns. These natural formations are what attract many here. But long before they were formed there was a series of cataclysmic events that set the stage for these spectacular natural sculptures. The geologic story of the Chiracauas is one filled with violent, fascinating events. The first major occurrence that affected this area occurred 600 miles to the west of here where North America meets the Pacific. 30 million years ago the Pacific Plate was forced under the westward moving North American Plate. The Pacific Plate was shoved down into the mantle where it was turned into magma or melted rock. A gigantic magma chamber was formed right here under the Chiracaua region. Behind me on the high crests of the Chiracaua Mountains are the remnants of the Turkey Creek caldera that erupted here 27 million years ago. That eruption ejected vast amounts of volcanic ash, cinders and bombs into the atmosphere. Accompanying that eruption were fast moving clouds of incadescent gases that rushed down the hillside in speeds of more than 100 miles an hour. Building up this large volcano that eventually collapsed inward and has since eroded to the remnants that are left on the high crest of the Chiracauas. Some of you may remember the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State. This eruption here was 1,000 times greater, producing a caldera 5,000 feet deep and 12 miles across. This trail cut is an excellent exposure of the volcanic tuff that was exposed here 27 million years ago with the eruption of the Turkey Creek caldera. The fragments that you see here are pumice, soft rock permeated by gas bubbles. The white streaks are pumice that has been crushed by the heat and the weight of the overlying ash. In between the two are small crystals of silica and fellspar and volcanic glass that make up the bulk of the tuff. The next big cataclysmic event that occurred here was during basin and range faulting, during which some blocks of the Earth's crust were pushed up and others were dropped down. Uplifted blocks produced mountains such as the Chiracauas. Blocks that dropped down produced basins such as the San Simone Valley here on the Arizona-New Mexico border. It was during the cooler, wetter periods of the last ice age that the maze of narrow canyons and awesome pinnacles were formed. As frost and ice wedged into cracks, the rhyolite tuff began to split. Water runoff between freeze and thaw also aided the process. Today, the results of this relentless ice age erosion can be easily seen if you know what to look for. I'm standing here in a slot canyon. This is the perfect example of weathering that occurred during the last ice age. Repeated freezing and thawing of ice in joints such as this roughed out these large-scale features. A process that was quite active during the last ice age but has since come to a virtual standstill. It has been 10,000 years since the last ice age. The climate has become increasingly warmer, drier. This has dramatically slowed down the erosion of the pinnacles here at the Chiracauas. But it has not stopped completely. What you see on much of the tuff today are lichen. These plant colonies consist of fungus and algae that contribute to the continued erosion of the spires. Lichens produce acids that etch minerals such as feldspar and silica in the rhyolite. These acids concentrate minerals on rock surfaces which then form a type of rock varnish. The lichens also expand when they are wedded by rain. These plants can exert enough pressure to dislodge minerals and chip off rock flakes. And so the erosion process continues. It would appear that these pinnacles could be easily toppled by earthquakes. Yet studies indicate that they could withstand 12 to 13 times their stress weight. So you can be assured that these pinnacles will be here for many generations to enjoy. The grandeur of this magnificent mountain range extends beyond the area of the pinnacles. The Chiricawis thrust up almost 5,000 feet from the surrounding desert floor to its highest peak, almost 9,800 feet above sea level. This dramatic relief is characteristic of some 40 neighboring mountain groups that exist in southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Scientists label this complex the Madrean Archipelago. An archipelago is a large group of islands which aptly describes these mountains rising above the surrounding desert landscape. But there is perhaps a better term for the Chiricawis and its isolated mountain ranges. They make up what many simply call the Sky Islands. The Sky Island concept is based on water. These mountains behind me trap the limited precipitation from weather systems as they move across the arid plains. Here in the flats we might only get about 8 inches of precipitation annually, while the base of the Chiricawis might get 15 inches, and the tallest peaks might receive more than twice of that annually. Temperature also plays a critical role in the Sky Island story. If I were to stay here at these low elevations on this August day, temperatures will easily reach into the 100 degrees. But here in the comfortable high peaks, it will probably only get up into the 80s. It's the height of these mountains relative to their surroundings that create this virtual oasis in the desert. Here's how it works. As weather systems are forced up over the Chiricawis, the air masses are quickly cooled. The moisture condenses into rain which is then released over the mountains. It is the progression of the water-filled storms crossing the desert floors, then being captured by the tall mountain peaks that create the Sky Islands. Because of the nourishing water, plants and animals thrive in these mountain ecosystems. The Chiricawis are the most massive of the Sky Islands in the Mediterranean archipelago and support a rich and varied forest. The Sky Islands are biotic islands as well as climatic islands. With the vast expanses of hot desert separating each mountain ecosystem, a kind of island isolation exists. The plants from the mountains simply stop growing at the desert's edge. Isolation holds especially true for some reptiles and small animals. They cannot survive the long trek over the parched desert in order to reach another Sky Island. Only birds and larger mobile animals who can quickly travel the distance between these mountain oases have that choice. For many animals here, life is played out exclusively in the Chiricawis Sky Islands. It is where they will remain their entire lifetime. The summer monsoon rains bring most of the precipitation here. From July through September, more water flows as large storms develop. Waterfalls spring from the hillsides. Dry creek beds become a lie. Both plant and animal thrive. Summer storms are so frequent that they made a strong impression on the Chiricawa Apache, residents of these mountains for centuries. The Chiricawis believed that the noise heard during the storms was created by the thunder people and that lightning itself was considered the arrow of the thunder people. Called lightnings or thunder's arrow, some Apaches believed that certain flints found in the mountains and later used for hunting were actually shot during a thunderstorm by the thunder people. The Chiricawa Apache also honored the Child of Water, a character central to many ceremonies. The relative abundance of water in these mountain islands also explains why a certain original aquatic species still survives here today. Hidden along the banks of the Chiricawa streams is a colorful amphibian which got its name from this mountain range, herpetologist Phil Rosen. The Chiricawa leopard frog is actually a fairly widespread species in the Sierra Madre and even in the White Mountains of Arizona. It happened to first be recognized as a distinct species here in the Chiricawa Mountains along this stream. That's a great big pretty green frog. It's kind of a neat frog. If you have any taste for frogs, it's pretty much Kermit. Leopard frogs are a fairly ancient group and we know that a lot of the species, all of which are very similar to each other, are ancient. It looks like the Chiricawa leopard frog might be as old as 100,000 or even a million years. This mountain range is a big one in Southern Arizona, the biggest and the best watered, and presumably was one of the best places in Southern Arizona for the Chiricawa leopard frog at one time. At this point, there are very few left and we're actually trying to save them. The Chiricawa leopard frog is struggling with the Chiricawa today. Over the course of a number of years, the introduced species seem to have eliminated the Chiricawa leopard frog from almost every perennial stream in the Chiricawa. We're trying to preserve the genetic diversity of the species so it will be viable into the future. The significance here specifically for this set of Chiricawa leopard frogs is that there's a lot of environmental diversity for the frog. There are lush environments, springs, Sienegas, marshes, and small streams on the valley floor that can support very large numbers of frogs and there are these refugia up in the mountains that can support frogs in very dry times. So the diversity, the landscape diversity created by the Sky Islands is significant specifically here. So this is the best watered mountain range in Southern Arizona. It's got the most fish and most fish species and it has lots of good habitat therefore for this relatively aquatic frog. Among the fish species of the Chiricawas several exist that are indigenous to these mountain islands, native types that began here long ago. This is Leslie Canyon. Through vigilant efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, introduced fish types have been kept out of these waters in the Southern Chiricawas. The result? Two native fish species have been able to survive along with the Chiricawas leopard frog. The Yaki Chub is a small minnow. At full size it will be maybe four to six inches. The Yaki Chub isn't a endangered species and it's found only in the United States now on two wildlife refuges near the ones in the Chiricawas and then it's found in West Turkey Creek and the Chiricawas too. So there's three populations of the Chub now. The most distinctive thing on the Yaki Chub is the triangular black spot at the base of the tail. The Longfin Dace is another native minnow to the Chiricawas. It's probably three inches long as an adult. It has a black and gold colored stripe along the side of the body that goes the whole length of the body and it also has a round spot at the tail. It's probably the abundant native fish although it has declined over the last 20 to 30 years. It's still one of the few native fishes that's doing fairly well. The native fishes of the Chiricawas they have some unique adaptations. The Longfin Dace can be found in streams that dry up. There's some evidence that they dry up during the day that the fish will get under mats of algae or leaves that are wet and that's kind of one of its adaptations for drought. With the Yaki fishes the isolation here is that they have small stretches of stream depending on the rainfall and the year they'll expand and contract but they very rarely ever get a big enough rainfall that they connect with the main streams down in Mexico. So basically the fish in the Chiricawas are becoming isolated because they never connect. They've been here an incredibly long time back when there was more connection of the different rivers in this area so they've been here hundreds of thousands of years. As the desert expanded in the valleys the sky islands in a lot of cases are the last refuge for these fishes so that even though there's small habitats and there's not much water they can survive through time here. If you take the time to look at them and watch them they're really fascinating fish and very beautiful fish and uniquely adapted to the Chiricawas. Further down the slopes of the sky islands the role of water plays out in a very different way. These are the surrounding foothills of the Chiricawas. Elevation here is in the 4 to 5,000 foot range. Rainfall is considerably less than at the peaks but the foothills do benefit from precipitation gathering properties of the sky islands. While the flow of surface water from the mountaintops can flow directly into the surrounding desert basins often the route is less direct. Much of it goes underground instead of traveling the entire length of the slopes. Lower elevations are not deprived of surface water however. They receive substantial amounts of precipitation compared to the nearby basins just because of their proximity to the geomass of the major peaks a principle which scientists call the Miriam effect. The result an amazing mixture of plant communities unique to this elevation. These foothills surrounding the Chiricawas mountains exhibit different kinds of plants throughout the year. Right now it is autumn a time that the Chiricawapache referred to as the earth is reddish brown and in this reddish brown earth there are some surprising plants plants we wouldn't expect to find in a dry desert environment. Hiding out in the cracks and crevices of these rock outcrops are the deserts resurrection plants and what we have here is a desert moss. Now we normally expect to find mosses in wet moist areas along a stream, a brook, by a waterfall but these mosses live out their lives in a dormant state dry, shriveled, seemingly dead and in the summer rains they spring to life. The moss life cycle requires that the sperm swim in a film of water across the surface of the plant to the egg. Fertilization takes place and then the life cycle begins again. Another example of a desert resurrection plant is this desert cloak fern growing next to this barrel cactus and here we have the contrast of water and desert life. The fern like the moss fires water for its life cycle and so it waits for the rains. The cactus stores its water in its tissue using it whenever it needs it. These desert survivors are here throughout the year but in the spring when temperature and precipitation are just right these same hills become covered in magnificent color. While the desert bloom of the foothills is certainly a sight to behold it is not what necessarily separates the Chiracahuas from other southwest mountain ranges. Rather it is where these sky islands sit in relationship to four very different biomes or major ecosystems that make it so special. Because of its whereabouts this range is a meeting place for many of the living things that surround it. There are about 20 sky island complexes around the world but the Chiracahuas and other sky islands of the Madrean Archipelago are unique for a number of reasons. Its mid-latitude position on the globe placed it on the edge of the ice age. While sky islands in more northern latitudes witnessed mass extinctions of species the Chiracahuas and the other sky islands in the Madrean Archipelago were relatively untouched. The significance? Ancient species from that time still remain in the Chiracahuas. The Madrean complex also has a north-south axis which spans about 250 miles. Running through it east to west is the deming gap of the Rocky Mountains. The importance? Easier movement of animals from all directions making it a more diverse habitat than many sky island complexes. And lastly the Madrean is the only sky island group which straddles two major plant zones two major animal zones and elements of three major climates which include tropical, subtropical and temperate zones. The result? A combination of plants and animals unsurpassed by any sky island complex on the planet. That's what makes the Chiracahuas Mountains so unique. You've heard the popular phrase location, location, location? Well the Chiracahuas Mountains are the biological crossroads where four major ecosystems come into contact and this results in a very unique plant and animal community that's found nowhere else on the earth. What you have here are the biotic representatives of two of North America's greatest deserts the Chihuahuan from the east and the Sonoran from the west. And then the life forms of two major mountain ecosystems also join here the Rocky Mountains from the north and the Sierra Madre of Mexico from the south. For a forest scientist like myself the Chiracahuas offer an area unsurpassed in the variety of plant forms found in North America. Let me show you some distinct examples from the four ecosystems. Here we have a representative of the Rocky Mountain ecosystem Anglemen spruce. These sky islands are the southern most extension of the species. Anglemen looks very similar to white fir which also grows here and more closely you can identify the species by its sharp pointed needles. Anglemen spruce is well adapted to the heavy snowfalls that can occur in the high peaks of the Chiracahuas. Its branches have a downward drooping look to them giving this tree the ability to shed snow more easily. Here we have an example of a tree from the Sierra Madre ecosystem the Apache Pine. This is at the northern end of its natural range. Probably the most distinguishing feature of this tree is its extremely long needles which add a special look to the Madrean influence forest of the Chiracahuas. Apache Pine with its distinctive red bark graces many of the lower canyons of these mountain islands. The influence of the surrounding desert biomes is quite evident in the dry foothills of the Chiracahuas. A distinctively Sonoran plant growing here is the Cain Choya. This cactus is quite small, only about 5 to 10 inches high but it has extremely long needles in relationship to its size. Like all Choya cacti it has the characteristic photosynthetic stem and reduced leaves. And here, representative of the Chihuahuan ecosystem is the soap tree yucca. This soap tree derived its name from its root. Native Americans would mash the root from this yucca into a usable substance that would serve as soap. The soap tree, like all yuccas, is a member of the Lily family. This dry land relative shows its floral elegance in the late spring with plentiful white blooms. They are so prolific in the Chihuahuan desert that the state of New Mexico has proclaimed the soap tree yucca its state flower. Just like some of the plants in these mountains animals representing the four ecosystems that surround the Chiracahuas are also found here. But locating a distinct Rocky Mountain species one that exists in the Chiracahuas but not predominantly in the other three ecosystems is difficult at best. John Boran explains. Many of the animals here, like the mule deer and black bear, reside in the Rocky Mountains. But they also occur in the surrounding ecosystems in about the same number. Therefore, there's really no clear cut Rocky Mountain animal representative. An ecosystem that contributes a great number of interesting animals is the Sierra Madre in Mexico. The species from that region that is easily seen here in the Chiracahuas is the Coos Deer. Coos Deer are desert white tails. They're well adapted for hot and dry conditions. You'll notice that Coos Deer aren't very large. In fact, they're seldom over 120 pounds in size. In addition, you'll notice that they have relatively large ears compared to the rest of their body. This species is very elusive and quite alert. When the Coos Deer is alarmed, you may see the tail lift upward showing the white underside. You may even hear the deer snort. Coos Deer occur in a wide range of habitat types. But generally, you're going to find them up in the rough, rushy country in the higher elevations of these desert mountains. Coos Deer will prefer oak woodland and oak pine woodland communities like here near this area near Sunny Flat. In spring, these deer consume large amounts of new twig and leaf growth from a variety of woody species. But they also eat forbs and grasses during this time. By the end of the growing season, they're primarily towards brows, such as leaves from oak trees. Another Sierra Madre animal that sometimes chooses the Chiricahuas at its home is a Quata Monday, or commonly called a Quati. It is in the canyon bottoms, like here at South Fork, that you might just have the opportunity to spot one. Quatis are mammals that are about 7 to 10 pounds the size of maybe a cocker spaniel or a really large house cat. Quatis are really a tropical animal. They get down into the tropical rainforest of South America, up through Central America, and they're found throughout Mexico and we're at the northern extreme of the range, some of these sky islands down in Southern Arizona. John Koprowski has been doing research on Quatis here in the Chiricahuas National Monument. By tracking the animals with radio collars, he and his team have discovered some interesting behavior. Quatis here in Southern Arizona are much different in some of their behaviors than the species is in the tropics where they've been probably the best studied. We've had animals go as far as 5 or 6 miles in search of food throughout the course of the day and that's very unlike something you would see in really lush tropical habitats. When you get a good look at a Quati, watch the nose. It's probably the most unique aspect of the animal. The nose looks like another appendage. They're often rooting around under leaf litter. They roll over rocks almost half their size. They can roll them over, find a variety of beetles, lizards, snakes. They'll go after all those things and they're able to find them using that nose. Probably the most striking thing that anyone would notice if you're following these guys for very long is that of their social behavior. They travel in really large groups. The groups can be 15 or 20 animals at times. In the Chiricahuas there have been some reports of groups greater than 40 individuals. You may think that the Quati would be the most unusual animal from the Sierra Madre ecosystem that could be found here in the Chiricahuas mountains. But that's not the case. What about a large spotted mammal? One that we generally picture in a steamy South American jungle. Well that's exactly what one local rancher, Warner Glen observed, about 20 miles from where we're standing. Big head. That impressed me right away with the relation to the size of the head to the body and the big shoulders, big massive powerful chest and shoulders. What Warner encountered was the largest cat in the Americas, a jaguar. In the last 150 years there have been only 54 confirmed sightings in Arizona. Fortunately, Glen had the presence of mind to photograph this historic encounter. When I looked at that jaguar on that rock it was just this big, just a beautiful cat and kind of a buff cinnamon type of orangish color with the black spotter rosette pattern. I would think that his body was approximately five feet. It was just an absolute thing of beauty sitting there. It's a most, well I've seen a lot of wildlife and it was the most beautiful wild animal I've ever seen. Warner Glen was hunting a mountain lion when his dog first saw this impressive cat. When two of his dogs broke away, Warner followed, hoping to catch them before they would get entangled with the jaguar. He was on a ledge and he was what I called Bade on this ledge. After the second time that the dogs Bade him I got in to take the close pictures that I took of him. I was starting to try to get my dogs away. A mountain lion, you can get in close to big old Tom mountain lion and they might spit at you and growl and maybe even jump forward and then back up but they won't just come right out there and get you. Now this jaguar didn't do that. He was locked on to my eyes. When I got in close he looked at me and his eyes never left mine and now he came out there and he was the only thing to save me when those two dogs ran in and met him head on. He pulled those two dogs right in there with him. Although Warner's dogs were bitten and clawed they both somehow managed to escape and survive the attack soon after the jaguar sped off. From the spot I saw the jaguar to the edge of the church house it would be approximately 20 miles, not that far. Jaguar could do that one night. It was a wonderful experience for me. One that you may dream of and then it happens so rarely you finally quit dreaming of them and I'm glad I got the photographs of it so other people can just see what I saw that day. Few of us will ever have the rare opportunity to see a jaguar like Warner Glenn did but you may have a little bit better luck spotting another elusive creature that lives here in the Chiricawas. It is a common resident of the Snorin ecosystem. It is the seldom seen heli-monster. Why is this reptile so difficult to observe? Because it wonders above ground only about 5% of its entire life. That's when this colorful lizard searches for food in the lower, drier elevations of the Chiricawas. The other 95% of the heli-monster's time is spent sheltered below ground in its dark, cool burrows. Like all lizards the heli-monster's skin is made up of scales but you can see they actually look like a series of small bumps. Underneath each scale or bump is a separate bone plate giving the animal a tough outer hide that protects it from predators. Not only is a heli-monster America's largest and only poisonous lizard it is also our slowest moving lizard. Now heli-monsters have a forked tongue that they use to sense out their prey while most other lizards really rely on their vision rather than sensing with their tongue. The jaws of the heli-monster are extremely powerful to be taken not to get too close to one. Their teeth have sharp cutting edges and are grooved. When it attacks its prey the lizard clamps down and chews. This action allows the venom to flow down the vertical grooves in its mouth and into the wound. Although their venom is used to kill small animals for food it is rarely fatal to large mammals including humans. Heli-monsters actively seek whatever foods are available. They feed primarily on small animals such as desert cottontails and squirrels. They also eat eggs from ground-nesting birds and reptiles. This lizard stores fat in its tail. So efficient is this storage system that the heli-monster can sustain itself for an entire year on only three to four meals. The biological crossroads concept would not be complete unless we discussed some animals from the Chihuahuan desert that do reside here in the Chericahua Mountains. A number of Chihuahuan species make the sky island their home but perhaps one of the more fascinating of these animals is Halena. Also called the collared peccary this animal ranges into the Sonoran desert but is widely distributed in the Chihuahuan ecosystem. Halena are generally two feet tall and weigh approximately 40 to 50 pounds. They prefer brushy semi-desert habitats with cacti, oaks, chaparral and mesquite much like here in the lower elevations of the Chericahuas. It is here that they feed on a variety of foods including nuts, berries, fruits, seeds, grubs and bird eggs. An important food source for this species is the prickly pear cactus. In fact, it supplies most of the water requirements for the Halena. With its life sustaining nourishment that it gets from cacti, Halena can go days without any free standing water. The Halena is not the same as a wild boar or wild pig. It is in the Tasasuidae family while the wild boar and domestic pig are in the Suidae family. What distinguishes these two animal groups is the location of their upper teeth or tusks. Halenas are pointed downward while the upper canines of a wild boar are curved or flared upwards. Halena are usually seeding groups of 2 to 25 animals. In fact, they are very social animals and will remain in the same group year round. Obviously, the Chericahuas are a great place to visit if you'd like to see a wide variety of animals. With a little bit of time and patience, you'll have the opportunity to spot creatures from two diverse deserts and two major mountain ranges. The proximity of the Chericahuas to these large unique ecosystems makes it a biological crossroads that just shouldn't be missed. Of all the animals that live in the Chericahuas, none is more sought after than those that fly. Birdwatchers come from all over America and indeed the world to see the different species that reside here in these mountain islands. And as with other animal types that meet here at this biological crossroads, birds from all four of the surrounding biomes are also represented. Hummingbirds are a big draw. Several species can be found throughout the range. A good place to see them are at the feeders at Spofford's Ranch or the Southwest Research Station. The well-watered canyons of these sky islands provide a breeding ground for insects. This attracts a number of fly catchers. Other insect eating birds are also present. The soft wood of pines and sycamores attract different woodpecker species. These trees provide shelter. They also often harbor insects under the bark, an ideal place to find the next meal. There are finches. Warblers can be found throughout the range. Ground feeders are also abundant in the Chiricahuas. But it is the sheer variety of colorful species that attract many birdwatchers here. Over 300 bird species are found in the Chiricahuas. But perhaps the most colorful, the most sought after, is one that resides here in the Cave Creek area. It is called the Elegant Trogon. This neotropical bird ranges from the rainforests of Costa Rica to its northernmost limit, the Sky Islands of Arizona. People come from all over to see this beautiful creature. Understandably so. It is only here in these Sky Islands that Trogons nest in the U.S. But it is the bird's rainbow of colors that makes this species highly prized by birdwatchers. It easily lives up to its name, the Elegant Trogon. Males have eight distinct colors. A brilliant red breast surrounded by a white breast bar. And a white tail. On its mostly black face, a yellow bill stands out. Along with an orange eye ring. Depending on the light, feathers on its back range from iridescent emerald green to a shimmering turquoise blue. Likewise, the upper tail feathers appear all of green or metallic brown. Its wings are a dark, smoky gray. The female Trogon, while not as brilliant in color as the male, has its own special beauty. A white oval eye ring with a milky white tear spot to the side. A more subtle rose-colored breast. Well-defined black bars on the undertale. And a gray brown back. An ordinary metallic brown tail gives this species its former label. The coppery-tailed Trogon. While color makes the Elegant Trogons literally stand out in the Chiricahuas, they have other, less noticeable characteristics. Ones that show just how highly adapted this bird is to its Sky Island environment. The Elegant Trogon, unlike all other species of Trogons in the world, are the only species in the family. Elegant Trogons are the only species that don't create their own nest. The Elegant Trogon lives primarily in cavities excavated by woodpeckers. The primary cavity excavator in the Chiricahuas mountains would be the Acorn Woodpecker. Their cavities are slightly too small for Elegant Trogons. But it turns out that the northern flicker, the red shaft it forms the subspecies that we have here, enlarges these nest cavities to just the right dimensions for Elegant Trogons. So that the Trogons are dependent on not just one woodpecker species, but two, for about 95% of all their cavities. The other 5% are naturally occurring cavities in sycamores. Another adaptation of the Elegant Trogon is its foraging style armed with an effective serrated bill and superior aerial skills the Trogon can get to food that its competitors cannot. They're after a wide variety of plant and animal foods and they're competing with species such as the American Rob and the Mexican J which are both here in abundance in the same area. But because they hover pluck fruit something that neither a Robin nor a J can do and because they're going for larva further out on twigs because they're sit and wait predators looking for extremely slow-moving prey they're able to find plenty of food from everything I've ever observed. It is late May within the Chiracaua Wilderness along upper reaches of South Fork Creek the Elegant Trogons have returned from spending their winter in the warmer climes of Mexico south of the border. This is nest number one. This Trogon pair has chosen a tight-fitting cavity in a dead ponderosa pine for the second consecutive year. The choice is a bit unusual since two-thirds of Elegant Trogon nests are usually found in Sycamore trees. Throughout the day the male and female relieve each other from caring for the eggs. They are extremely nest attentive with one of the two staying within the cavity about 90% of the time. This female has been waiting for over an hour. Shift changes today have been occurring about every 45 minutes. As the heat of the day rises temperatures within the nest can reach maximum levels for an adult Trogon. She calls repeatedly for her mate. After another 10 minutes the male finally returns. The two take turns at incubation throughout the day but it is the female who covers the eggs at night. About three weeks after the first egg is laid the hatchlings will emerge. Several miles downstream near where the South Fork meets Cave Creek a different pair of Trogons are nesting. This is nest number 2 located about 20 feet high in an abandoned cavity of a Sycamore tree. The Elegant Trogons here are also busy with incubation activities each taking turns with the duties. There are only between 20 to 30 Trogons that reside in the Cave Creek area of the Chericoas in any given year with only about 5 to 7 miles of prime nesting habitat here nests can be as frequent as 3 to a mile. On occasion they are as close as 200 yards from each other. Surface water is usually present in the prime Trogon nesting habitat. The stream environment allows for healthy tree growth which provides nesting opportunities. It also creates a haven for other plants which harbor insects that Trogons feed on. Some plants like this green viney canyon grape on the left produce fruit a basic food for this neotropical bird. Elegant Trogons reside in several other canyons in the Chericoas as well as similar environments in other neighboring sky islands. This special mix of water, plants and food are rare however. This bird is one of the rarest breeding species in the United States. Adult populations in these Arizona sky islands are estimated at around 100. It is early July at nest number one. Usually by now the nourishing monsoons summer rains have begun but this year they are late. South Fort Creek is almost totally dry and the day's heat begins early this morning. There is no activity at nest number one. By now the young should be chirping for food but only the sound of cicadas can be heard. The Trogons have abandoned the pine tree here even after waiting hours there is no sign of life at nest number one. There are a number of possibilities why the birds have left. The eggs could have been eaten by a snake. They have been known to climb to such heights to reach Trogon eggs. One of the parents could have been attacked by a predator. Cooper's Hawks are Trogon's chief threat and they often search the canyons of Cave Creek. The incubation duties could then overwhelm a single bird. Or it is possible that there was too much human activity around the nest. Trogons have been known to abandon nests where humans continually get too close. Whatever the reason nest number one will not contribute to the Chiracawa Trogon population this year. But there is good news at nest number two. Newborn fledglings can be heard from the Sycamore above. Both parents are busy gathering insects to feed their young. While Cave Creek is dry right now the area still hosts a number of different insects. The male brings a moth caterpillar and on the next trip an adult moth. The female captures an angle-winged Katie did and later a short horned grasshopper. The male returns minutes later with a cicada. The environment around Cave Creek is producing insects well this year. The Trogons bring a constant stream of fresh food for their young. They arrive about every 5 to 15 minutes with another insect. In less than a week this brood of young Trogons will be leaving the nest. It is now mid-August. Nests number two is quiet now. The Trogon family left a number of weeks ago but remain nearby. On this day the juveniles favor a thick stand of medrean oak. Both sexes of these young birds bear their mother's characteristic teardrop located just below the eye. Later the male juvenile will lose this marking. It has been suggested that this mark helps diffuse aggression from the father toward the male juveniles for a few months. The parents are still supplying food to their young but the diet now is predominantly fruit, choked cherry, canyon grape, buckthorn berry. Some juveniles though are beginning to forge for themselves. And as the August days roll on the juveniles become more confident with flight. It is certainly time for the family will be departing the Chiracahuas in just a few weeks to find new climates for the winter. While elegant Trogons range from Central America to just over the United States border the elegance from this region are believed to winter somewhere in the northern Mexico states. But for the juveniles who have just acquired flying skills the trip is quite arduous. Only about half of the young Trogons will survive the first year. Of that group nearly 90% are lost to disease or predation. Elegant Trogons are very watchful. They're very nest attentive. The adults invest a great deal of energy in bringing off the two young as the average for most nests. So that the survivorship is fairly high but once again with a single nest and only two young in it you can see the Trogon recruitment into any canyon is very slow. I think that with present habitat management policies by the Forest Service and self governing policies exhibited by this generation of bird watchers that we're not apt to see the Trogons disappear at any time in the near future. It is now fall. The Trogon family from nest number two flew south weeks ago with luck all of them will return again next year to the Chiricahuas but it won't be until next spring that their familiar call will be heard again. Then the process of producing another generation will begin. The Elegant Trogon is symbolic of one of the richest breeding bird communities in the United States. The rhythms of nature in Cave Creek and South Fork are special. The continuity here assures the continuance of the bird from the south. Traveling through the forest trails of these mountain islands one can witness different vegetational zones as the elevation changes. But like so many things in the Chiricahuas the vegetation here doesn't quite resemble other western forests. One of the roles that scientists feel they have is to try and bring order to the apparent disorder that mother nature often presents us. The only way we try to do that is to classify plants into different zones. These so-called zones are often well-defined in many of our western forests with specific trees growing at specific elevations in these forests. However, here in the sky islands of the Chiricahuas all bets are off. The plants do not lay out in neat ecological zones like we might expect. In fact, some people have referred to the Chiricahuas as the vegetation zones. We've got the intersection of the two deserts, the Chihuahua and the Sonoran Desert. Plus we have the forests of the Sierra Madre coming in and the forests of the Rocky Mountains coming in here. So we have a tremendous diversity of plants. In this area alone we've got Arizona Sycamore we have Arizona Cyprus and the Chiricahuas Mountains along two forest service trails and along the way we'll stop at different areas in the forest and try to make some botanical sense of what we find there. So let's get started. One of the fascinating things about the forest during the rainy season is a tremendous bloom of mushrooms that we'll find on the forest floor. This particular fungus that we have here appears to be a wood rotting type fungus. Yes, it's got the gills. These fungi are very important food sources for all sorts of wildlife during this time of year. Let's head on up the trail and see what else we can find. We've only come a few hundred yards from where we looked at the mushrooms along the stream there, but already you can see the tremendous change in the ecosystem here. We're in a much drier site according to my altimeter we're at 5,500 feet as a traditional oak woodland. But there's still a fair amount of confusion in this particular site here. We've got Arizona cypress that's normally found in much wetter sites and over here we've got several species of oaks from the Sierra Madre region and we even have the Chihuahua Pine, which is very characteristic of the Sierra Madres. Now let's go on to the high country. We're on the north side of the Chiricahua Mountains now and we're at an elevation of 8,140 feet. So we're at a much moisture site, it's a lot cooler here and we see differences in the species composition. For example the tree on my right, this is Douglas fir, it's a major timber species in the northwest and it's fairly important here as well. But this tree will occupy the site shade the ground make it a little moisture yet for this tree here will come in underneath it and soon overtop it. Now let's take a walk over to the south side of this mountain and see what species we have occupying the same sites at the same elevation. We've now come around the Chiricahua Mountains to a south-southeast facing slope and you can see we're in a much more open stand and it's predominantly ponderosa pine. We have some very nice old growth trees here and underneath them we have southwestern white pine coming in and also some Douglas fir. As we've seen here in the Chiricahuas there is a tremendous diversity of plants as we increase in elevation and even though these zones don't lay out as neatly as the textbooks describe we've still seen some wonderful micro-environments here in the Chiricahua Mountains. Truly the diversity of the Chiricahuas is outstanding. It's geology. It's abundance of water. It's plants. They all contribute to making this one of the more unique environments in North America. If not the world, the extremes of this region define both its borders and character. The Chiricahuas mark a blending of its surrounding biomes a biological crossroads between the Sonoran and the Chihuahuan the Rockies and the Sierra Madre. They are indeed distinct mountain islands in the desert.