White Water Draw State Wildlife Refuge

After breakfast, we headed out to the White Water Draw Wildlife Refuge as we heard yesterday that the Sandhill Cranes numbers were vastly decreasing as they were heading out towards New Mexico and Nebraska. We wanted to see if we could view any in their wintering spot. Our path would take us through Tombstone. We plan on visiting Tombstone either Monday or Tuesday so we didn't stop but the drive-thru didn't impress too much. We were amazed at the flat grassland. If there wasn't Mesquite growing, we would have thought we were in the plains states somewhere.

When we got to the refuge, it sort of looked like any wildlife refuge in California except it is in the middle of the desert. We had been advised that there could be some Barn Owls in the barn that is on the premises. We didn't see any Barn Owls but we were treated to a pair of Great Horned Owls. One is sitting out on the beam and the other can be seen towards the left side behind a truss. So beautiful and the very first time we have seen any out in the wild.

As we walked along the refuge trail, we first spotted some Cinnamon Teal ducks. A first for both John and I.

This is a view of one of the ponds closest to us. No Sandhill Cranes but a few Northern Shovelers (no pictures).

As we stood on the viewing platform, we met up with a group who had a guide. We were able to eavesdrop on some good information of which none comes to memory right now. We were standing there looking at a few Sandhill Cranes way out in a distant pond when we noticed that large groups of Sandhill Cranes were coming. We must have stood there for almost an hour watching wave after wave Sandhill Cranes landing. The first wave landed in the pond with the earlier arrivals.

Soon, we had them flying over us and landing in the pond closest to us. What a sight as they dropped down from high above in the sky until they came in for landing. Along with the Sandhill Cranes were a few Snow Geese. Their white bodies with dark wing tips stood out amongst the Sandhill Cranes.

Wings locked and landing gear is down. One fact, Sandhill Cranes don't like to land on water. They will land on land and then walk into the water.

Here is a shot of one of the ponds closest to us after the arrival of several hundred Sandhill Cranes. We must have seen close to 1,000 Sandhill Cranes land. It must have been amazing when there were close to 20,000 of them in the air and on the ground not too long ago.

What a banner day. We saw Great Horned Owls, Cinnamon Teal Ducks, Northern Shoveler Ducks, Northern Pintail Ducks, Greenwing Teal Ducks, Snow Geese, Vermillion Flycatcher (its sweet song drew me in), and an American Kestrel.

We ate our lunch in the barn under the watchful but sleepy eyes of the two Great Horned Owls. One of the best dining views we have had in a long while. While we were eating lunch, we were approached by a guy camping there who had locked his keys in his car. He was ticked off because he had called Geico for assistance two hours ago and was told someone would be there in a half-hour. The unlucky guy was able to give me the name and location of the tow company and with Google's assistance, we got him connected to the tow company. With no pen or paper, he was given another number to call so we called John's phone into use. Isn't technology great sometimes? Happily, by the time we left, the tow truck was there and he was getting his car open.

We decided to take a different route home. This route would take us to the outer edge of Bisbee, within two miles of the Mexican border, and up to the Coronado National Monument. We went inside the Visitor Center and had a nice conversation with the ranger who gave us some ins and outs of the area. We opted not to take the gravel road to the top of the mountain just so we could look down on Mexico. We headed home with a stop in Sierra Vista to get some fuel.

Got home and took a walk around the park and then headed in to fix dinner. As we were finishing dinner, Melissa gave us a call. Poor thing is fighting another cold. As always, it is good to hear from her and to get caught up with her life. Love ya honey. The rest of the evening was spent chilling with a bit of TV.