The Sonoran Desert - divided down the middle by the Colorado River - makes the Yuma area a premier wildlife and bird viewing destination

The best way to enjoy the birds and wildlife of the Yuma area is to camp over night. During the evening you can hear owls and coyotes; and the early morning and evening hours are the best times to view the many desert inhabitants. Coyotes, badgers, grey and kit foxes, bobcats, ground squirrels, black-tailed jackrabbits, big horn sheep, mule deer, wild horses and burros, muskrats, beavers, raccoons, bats along with over 380 species of birds and a variety of reptiles are abundant and just calling to nature lovers to come and see them.

Kofu Queen Canyon is the best place to spot the Big Horn Sheep. A four wheel drive vehicle is recommended. The Trigo Mountains within the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge is another great place and the Painted Desert Hiking Trail offers excellent wildlife viewing for the quiet hikers.

US Highway 95 between Yuma and Quartzsite (from mile marker 42 - 80) is known for opportunities to view wild horses and burros, especially during the winter months.

During the warmth of daytime, chuckwallas, collared lizards, side-blotched lizards, tree lizards, zebra-tailed lizards, desert iguanas, horned lizards and leopard lizards can be found sunning themselves. The Yuma King Snake may be seen in milder weather and western diamondback and sidewinder rattlesnakes are often seen--as are gopher snakes, coachwhip and ground snakes.

During the spring, you can hear the mating calls of Woodhouse’s Toads coming from the canals at night. Leopard frogs, spadefoot toads, red-spotted toads and Arizona toads also frequent the canal areas.

One of the rarest sites is the desert tortoise, now listed as a threatened species. They are most active in the spring and fall and are protected, fortunately, by both California and Arizona laws, so they can no longer be collected as pets.

The rich green vegetation lining the banks of the Colorado and Gila Rivers makes Yuma an important wintering and migratory area for hundreds of birds. The Pacific flyway follows the Colorado River Valley right through the Yuma area and is used during the fall and spring by various species of hummingbirds, the American redstart, the northern oriole and a variety of warblers.

Among Yuma’s year round bird residents you will find the rock wren, great blue heron, Yuma clapper rails, roadrunners, verdin, Albert’s Towhee, LeConte’s thrasher and Anna’s and Costa’s hummingbird.

The Imperial National Wildlife Refuge is an super place to view wintering waterfowl such as Canada geese, pintails, canvasbacks, teal and redheads and even sandhill cranes. The Cibola National Wildlife Refuge offers a chance to see thousands of Canada geese and hundreds of sandhill cranes. The West Cocopah Indian Reservation along the Colorado River is an excellent viewing place for black-crowned night herons, great egrets, blackbirds, warblers, verdins and gnatcatchers.

The Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve is recommended as the place to see thousands of Yuma clapper rails, shorebirds, wintering waterfowl, herons and egrets.

A rare opportunity offered is the chance to see pupfish, which can be seen at the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biopsphere Reserve and the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. Other areas of interest for wildlife and bird viewing are Mittry Lake Wildlife Area, Betty’s Kitchen Wildlife and Interpretive Area, and the Quigley Pond Wildlife Area.