Las Cienegas National Conservation Area - Part I

There are three large (hot) deserts in North America (Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Mojave). Deserts are defined as areas with less than 10 inches of rainfall per year. There are cold deserts as well, the Great Basin being the largest in North America. Las Cienegas is 45,000 acres where the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts meet. 

Empire Ranch, part of Las Cienegas, began in 1871 with 160 acres and grew to over 180 square miles. It was the site of over 50 films with a wide range of stars like John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Burt Lancaster, and Steve McQueen. It remains a working ranch today as part of Las Cienegas in a cooperative agreement with the US Bureau of Land Management.

Las Cienegas is a diverse wildlife area with a stable population of Pronghorn (often seen), Javelinas, Gray Foxes, Coyotes, White Tailed Deer, and the endangered Black Tailed Prairie Dog among other animals. As far as birding it has a wide range including many of Arizona's sparrows, all four Kingbirds, both Meadowlarks -- and several raptors.  There is also a spring in Empire Gulch which provides water above ground for a hundred yards or more. This creates a diverse riparian area with warblers, grosbeaks, cardinals, tanagers, and other birds.

I'll spend the next few posts sharing photos from Las Cienegas. First, the Pronghorn:

Cienega Creek Preserve

Interrupting my "5" rated photo series -- with a new "5" rated photo (and some others) I took yesterday. I got out to the Empire Ranch section of Cienega Creek Preserve which sits between Arizona Highway 82 and Interstate 10. (There is another 4,000 acre section north of Interstate 10). So, 25 miles long and about 10 miles wide. The Empire Ranch area has lots of dirt roads, many passable by non-four wheel drive vehicles, some passable only by 4x4's, and in one case simply not passable by any means. Terrain changes dramatically, flatlands, hills, mountains, creeks, willows, cottonwoods, mesquites, grasses etc. It is a heaven for birders but also some rare or endangered fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals including Black Tail Prairie Dogs, Coatimundi, and Pronghorn, which is what I was looking for. I like to get off the beaten path so was exploring roads I hadn't been on before. I turned on one road which was the Pipeline Road. Pipeline roads are by necessity straight. And when they go through mountains or hills the road can by quite steep and challenging --- even if you were a Bighorn. I got to one spot and thought "Do I really want to go up that road?" It reminded me of the Phil Silvers scene in Mad, Mad, World. As I got closer I saw that much of the road had been washed out, but there was a detour path that serpentined up the hill about 100 yards away. So, away I went. 

I did find lots of birds: western meadowlark, loggerhead shrike, tropical kingbird, pyrrhuloxia, white crowned sparrow, cooper's, sharp shinned, harrier, and red tail hawks among others. I suspect some rarer species as well, but finding and identifying birds has become more difficult since I have gone deaf.

But, on to the Pronghorn. I found two small herds; one of 15 animals and one of about 10. They let me get some wonderful photos: eating, staring, and running. (click to enlarge)

A "5" Rated Photo

Cautiously Staring

Eating

Running