The Tram Road in Sabino Canyon is not always my favorite - but today... Clouds and beautiful colors in the sky - Phainopepla in the trees - easy walking.

Good light makes it easy to see the grey color of the female Phainolpepla and the shiny black of the males - sometimes perched, calling, at the top of the trees, sometimes flying, flashing the light patches under their wings. The Phainopepla are here for the Mistletoe berries - they eat the outer layers and expel the the sticky seed giving the parasitic Mistletoe a chance to spread.

The easy walking on the tram road is appreciated today - with limited time I tried, and failed, to get to Bridal Veil Falls and after turning around under a just-out-of-reach deflated balloon stuck in a tree in Esperero Canyon (the first trash I had seen in miles) I was exhausted and happy to reach the tram road...