This page will be a portal to a section on this website exclusively devoted to Sonoran Desert Wildlife, and in particular, the special critters I’ve had the pleasure of befriending and filming. It is an ongoing project -- a mini-website in the making. So thank you for your patience and please check back often for updates. Among the creatures sighted by me, and to be featured and filmed (see videos page) are:
MAMMALS
coyote
mexican gray wolf
desert cottontail rabbit
round-tailed ground squirrel
rock squirrel
white-tailed antelope squirrel
javelina (collared peccary)
mule deer
REPTILES
gila monster
desert iguana
desert spiny lizard
desert tortoise
western diamondback rattlesnake
mojave rattlesnake
sidewinder rattlesnake
gopher snake
longnose snake
leaf-nosed snake
western banded gecko
side-blotched lizard
tree lizard
zebra-tailed lizard
eastern fence lizard
side-blotched lizard
desert whiptail lizard
AMPHIBIANS
sonoran desert toad
red-spotted toad
woodhouse toad
couch's spadefoot toad
RAPTORS
red-tailed hawk
harrier hawk
sharp-shinned hawk
zone-tailed hawk
ferruginous hawk
swainson's hawk
harris hawk
common black hawk
peregrine falcon
prairie falcon
merlin
kestrel
osprey
great horned owl
burrowing owl
turkey vulture
BIRDS
greater roadrunner
raven
gambel’s quail
dove (several varieties)
bullock’s oriole
scott’s oriole
cardinal
pyrrhuloxia (silver cardinal)
verdin
phainopepla
curve-billed thrasher
bendire’s thrasher
lazuli bunting
gila woodpecker
flicker woodpecker (northern and gilded)
house finch
cassin’s finch
cactus wren
rock wren
red-winged blackbird
western kingbird
western tanager
pyrrhuloxia
brown-headed cowbird
western bluebird
european starlings
barn swallows
horned lark
western meadowlark
black phoebe
say’s phoebe
butterbutt (yellow-rumped warbler)
dark-eyed junco
dusky flycatcher
vermillion flycatcher
blue-gray gnatcatcher
black-tailed gnatcatcher
red-winged blackbird
yellow-headed blackbird
killdeer
chipping sparrow
song sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
albert's towhee
spotted towhee
summer tanager
great-tailed grackle
black-headed grosbeak
rose-breasted grosbeak (migrating)
american robin
hummingbird (several varieties)
black-necked stilt
american coot
green heron
blue heron
night heron
egret
common moorhen
wild duck (several varieties)
SPIDERS & INSECTS
desert wolf spider
giant crab spider (golden huntsman)
tarantula hawk
desert honey bee
paper wasp
orange skimmer (flame) dragonfly
blue-eyed darner dragonfly
common green darner dragonfly
damselfly
cicada
arizona blister beetle (lytta magister)
iron-cross blister beetle
ladybug beetle
palo verde root borer
dung beetle
milkweed tussock caterpillar
desert millipede
ground mantis
praying mantis
horn worm
european earwig
mormon cricket
pallid-winged grasshopper
creosote walkingstick
western short-horned walkingstick
antlions
green lacewing
desert leafcutter ant
harvester ant
leafcutter bees
carpenter bees
honey bees
sonoran bumble bee
house fly
termites
MOTHS & BUTTERFLIES
painted lady
queen
funereal duskywing
reskirt’s blue
pipevine swallowtail
white-lined hummingbird sphinx
milkweed tussock