Curiouser and curiouser: Blackett's Ridge: Birds, Deer, and Adorable Chipmunks

Last week I did one of the more challenging short hikes in Sabino: Blackett's Ridge. It's about 6 miles roundtrip, and while the first mile from the parking lot is quite flat, the next two miles climb over 1765 ft (or 538 m; for scale, One World Trade Center in New York City is 1,792 ft including the spire, but the roof is only 1,368 ft tall). It was great exercise, and there were lovely views, but it was a particularly good morning for wildlife.

First, there were the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). We saw at least four different individuals in two groups of two.

Then there were the birds, including this lovely cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) perched on a tree branch.

And this phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), perched atop the neighboring tree.

The route is steep enough that I required frequent pauses to catch my breath. But there were lovely views to take in while I did so. Those of you who read my post about my Wasson Peak hike might remember that I mentioned Kitt Peak; although Sabino is even further away, from this angle you can see more of the observatory, including the solar telescope (the angular structure to the left of the shinier domes; click on the image to look more closely). The Tucson mountains and part of the city are in the midground.

Reaching the top of Blackett's ridge definitely felt like an accomplishment, which is particularly appreciated in these times (and really in graduate school generally).

At the top there are lovely views of both Bear Canyon and Sabino Canyon, as well as the Catalinas.

And especially "Thimble Peak".

But perhaps the best part about reaching the the end of the trail were these extremely cute cliff chipmunks (Tamias dorsalis). They were clearly used to scavenging the crumbs of hikers' lunches, whether left intentionally or unintentionally (note: please don't feed wildlife!).

I could easily have sat there for hours photographing these adorable creatures.

But eventually, we headed back down, much more quickly than we had clambered up. Once we'd reached the road again, we saw this male cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) hopping around on one of the bridges. This isn't the conventionally best photo, because of the angle of the light, but I like that it captures how the crest was brilliantly illuminated in the sunlight, outshining the rest of his plumage.

And here's the same individual, just a few moments later.

Just a little ways on--near the end of the hike--my friend suddenly put her hand out to stop me from walking any further. There was a roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) right in the middle of the road and walking towards us. (Side note for folks in Tucson: in my experience, Sabino canyon is the place I most frequently see roadrunners!)