Wildlife of Willcox {Arizona}

In Willcox, our friends joined us for four nights at another Boondockers Welcome host with a beautiful, wild, desert property. They were a nice family who not only invited the kids to jump on their trampoline, but their daughter even taught the kids some new gymnastics skills on it. When we arrived they warned us of many different kids of wildlife that can be found on the property. He mentioned snakes, bobcats, coyotes, and three kinds of skunk! I only knew two existed! Boy did I want to see some skunks! Oh, and once there was a mountain lion in the tree by the house! This place is perfect!

When we booked this, I had no idea that Willcox was a birding destination due to the popularity of Lake Cochise, a water treatment lake and the grasslands nearby where thousands of sandhill cranes spend the winter. The cranes had already headed north when we arrived, but I saw a good number of birds between the lake and the adjacent golf course. I birded here twice. The first day, I had not even parked yet when I saw an Upland Sandpiper drop onto the golf course! I had no idea that was the coveted bird of the day, until I ran into birder after birder asking me about it. Though it was no longer where I saw it, my sighting gave them hope to keep looking. One guy actually drove the lake loop one last time just to tell me he finally saw it and to thank me. He said without my info, he would have left for the day. 

May not look like much from the photo, but I identified 65 species between here and the adjacent golf course. A great variety of birds and I love the mountains in the distance. I noticed this heart-shaped tree on the golf course.

One birder stopped to make sure I saw the celebrity couple, a pair of Bendire's Thrashers, unusual for the area, that had nested in a bush. I was able to watch for them as they brought food back to their young.

White-faced Ibis (above)      American Avocet (below)

Back at the ranch... Our host had a third RV staying with them. The other RVers had an archery set and let Daddy and Asher borrow it. Nice! Target practice in the yard. Check out the shadow in the last photo.

One night this snake slithered past while we were eating dinner outside. We took photos and I researched it, finding out it's a Desert Kingsnake, a snake known for a mild temperment. I decided if I saw it again, we were going to get a closer look. The day we were leaving, Asher spotted him just outside our door. I ran out and picked him up as gently as possible. He did not try to bite or musk. We held him for a bit then returned him to where he was headed. Such a cool opportunity for my kids to learn more about snakes and interact with a wild one.

This was a great base to explore the Chiricahuas, Portal, and visit a hummingbird banding station near Sierra Vista!