Tell someone you're going to Arizona and they say, That's nice. Tell them you are going to Arizona in July and they say, That's crazy. Crazy or not, June through August is the best time to bird one of the hottest points on the birding circuit — and to see a surfeit of exquisite birds. How? Where? Easy. Just add water. Even in hot, dry Arizona, water turns the wheel of life.

Make tracks (and reservations) for Ramsey Canyon, a Nature Conservancy preserve. Listen for the croak, croak, croak of the aptly named elegant trogon emanating from streamside sycamores and pray for a glimpse of eared trogon, one of the canyons most uncommon and, thus, most celebrated residents. Down below, at Mile-Hi, the water is sugar coated and 11 or 12 hummingbird species may be present at the feeders around the lodge, including the white-eared (a specialty of the house).

You'll certainly want to journey to the Conservancy's famous Patagonia Preserve, a riverside stronghold for the gray hawk and green kingfisher. For the hardy, a trip to the Conservancy's rugged and beautiful Aravaipa Canyon may earn a treasured glimpse of a black hawk — another species found almost exclusively in Arizona.

Higher up, in the Chiricahua and Huachuca Mountains, altitude changes all the rules. You'll see southern species like Mexican chickadees, red-faced warblers and yellow-eyed junco right alongside northern birds like hermit thrush and red crossbill.

By the way . . . bring a sweater. It gets cold in Arizona in July (at 9,000 feet).

Birds you might see

• Gray hawk
• Montezuma quail
• Elf owl
• Elegant trogon
• Mexican jay
• Gila woodpecker
• Olive warbler
• Painted redstart
• Red-faced warbler
• Yellow-eyed junco

Top 10 Birding Spots was compiled by Pete Dunne who is the director of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory and author of "Tales of a Low Rent Birder," "Feather Quest" and "Before the Echo."

Explore our top 10 birding hotspots:

• Aleutian Islands, Alaska
• Cape May, New Jersey
• The Everglades, Florida
• Gulf Coast, Texas to Florida
• Monterey Bay, California
• Newburyport, Massachusetts
• Pawnee Grasslands, Colorado
• Point Pelee, Ontario
• The Rio Grande Valley, Texas
• Southeast Arizona

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Photo: Acorn Woodpeckers in Ramsey Canyon, Arizona. Photo © Flickr User: saraohio44; Gila woodpecker. Photo © Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART.