RFI: How to spend my time in Southern Arizona (Flying in TUCSON)
I’ll be in Tucson for a week, half sight seeing, half searching for wildlife. For the sightseeing aspect I have two nights at Chiricahua National Monument, where I plan to do some hiking and I’ll poke around before and after looking for any critters I might be able to find. The only desert like environment I’ve ever searched for animals in would be Badlands park which was pretty small and didn’t require much thinking. I’m a little perplexed how to spend my time in Southern AZ and I’m not too sure I want to expend a huge amount of energy on animals that are long shots at seeing since it’s my first trip to a southwestern desert. I was thinking more of targeting low hanging fruit that might be easier to find like javelina, jack rabbits, and ground squirrels, all of which would be very interesting and likely new to me. If anyone has any thoughts and suggestions I’d appreciate it. Sometimes there’s just nothing like first hand experience.
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6 Comments
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Kyle Finn
I remember seeing a couple roadkill ones along the C001 (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17730848). I don’t think we saw any live ones that night or else i would have saved an observation on iNat. Walking the road edge during the day may scare one. There’s quite a few records around Portal on iNat, try the road that runs along thr AZ-NM border just before you reach the Chiricahua Musuem (31.865034,-109.049072).
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Michael Johnson
I did a five-day trip to South-East Arizona in 2023 and saw 19 mammals. I stayed at Cave Creek Ranch, which makes a good base. If doing it again I would spend more time in the Cave Creek Canyon area.
You might like to check out my trip report:
https://www.mammalwatching.com/community-post/south-east-arizona-cartoon-critter-caper/
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Kyle Finn
Hey, I’ve done a couple trips that area, mostly staying closer to Portal. Have you checked iNaturalist for spots? Driving the roads around Portal and Herb Martyer campground can be good for coati and javalina (peccary). I saw a bobcat on the lower slopes of Barfoot Peak (31°55’07.4″N 109°16’44.8″W) before sunrise one morning, I was camping at about here 31.914295, -109.268473. Driving the roads in Portal as well as 80 and 9 at night can get you kangaroo rats and pocket mice. Lots of Harris antelope squirrels around the Sonora desert museum (and I saw some at the Red Hills visitor center in Saguaro west). Check Sweetwater wetlands park in Tuscon for desert cottontail and round tailed ground squirrel. Jackrabbits are super abundant, so you shouldn’t miss them. Herp and bird diversity is also nuts there, if you want snakes (and horned lizards) cruise the road from the monument down to Portal at night as well as the C001 south of Animas (in NM). For trogons, check this area out 31°52’07.5″N 109°11’18.4″W. And the Cave Creek visitor center for birds at their feeder (including blue-throated hummingbird!), and Mexican fox squirrel.