San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area

Lesser Gold Finch at the San Pedro House

    Today, Saturday, February 4th, also Rachel's Birthday, we visited the San Pedro Conservation Area or, I should say, a very small area by the San Pedro house which is a restored ranch house. We met several people who were outfitted for serious bird watching as this 57,000 acre conservation area is a nationally protected flyway and breeding area for over 400 species. Around the San Pedro house were numerous feeders with many species to see. Among them where the Gila woodpeckers, screech owls in the huge Fremont Cottonwoods, and a Northern Cardinal. There were many trails to walk but we took the self-guided nature walk across the flats from the San Pedro house to the river. This area was once farming and grazing until it was overused and the native grasses destroyed. The area was declared a National Conservation Area in 1988 and work was begun to allow the native grasses to return along with the basques or shrubby small trees (velvet mesquite) which are native to the area. These plants with the Yucca and some cacti as well as the towering old Fremont cottonwoods along the river create a rich habitat for birds and animals not only in this area but others since it lies in the flyway for North America.

      The San Pedro River requires the cooperation of both the U.S. and Mexico to protect it against overdraft. I try to have hope that the Trump administration will have the skills to continue the important task of protecting the wild San Pedro and the entire ecosystem which relies on it. The birds are counting on us.

Pencil Cholla in bloom at San Pedro House 

Gila Woodpecker feeding near the San Pedro House