Month / February 2025

by kritterspaw

South Eastern Arizona

Living in Northern Arizona, Southeastern Arizona is a bit of a trek for us. This area is home to a lot of undiscovered (by us) territory to explore, and worth spending some time to get to know better.

We started our trip in Douglas, just North of the Mexican border, at a place that many have suggested we go to see the fantastic stained glass, Gadsen Hotel.

The Gadsen Hotel was originally built in 1907 and named after the Gadsen purchase of the territory as a railroad opportunity. The hotel burnt down in 1928, but was rebuilt over the next two years and reopened in 1930.

We found the hotel displayed it’s opulence and elegance of a time gone by with grandeur. Wood and marble finishings throughout, marble pillars and large stained glass embellished the gorgeous hotel.

From our fun stay in this historic hotel, we headed Northwest to Whitewater Draw. A place we have now been to several times to witness the sandhill crane migration.

We enjoyed watching the snow geese and pintail ducks navigate the pools of water interspersed with sandhill cranes.

For more photos of our Whitewater Draw sandhill crane experience, check out my blog… https://kritterspaw.com/2025/02/01/whitewater-draw/

Whitewater Draw is not only a refuge for sandhill cranes, but for a variety of owls, hawks, ducks, numerous waterfowl and birds. For the birdwatcher and nature lover, it’s a great place to experience.

Following our immersive trip of Whitewater Draw, we headed another hour Northeast to the New Mexico border and took in the Chiricahua National Monument.

We delighted in our first coati sighting and a very pleasant stay in a nice park on the outreaches of Arizona.

Check out my photos of Chiricahua’s here… https://kritterspix.com/2025/02/01/chiricahua-national-monument/

by kritterspaw

Whitewater Draw

Whitewater Draw is a large marshland obtained by the Arizona Game & Fish Department (AZGFD) from previous ranch land to manage as a natural habitat for the many birds and animals that frequent the area.

The AZGFD has re-seeded the native grassland to restore and conserve the environment, by flooding the wetlands, creating a natural habitat.

Between November and March sandhill cranes flock to the area to escape the harsh climate as far away as Siberia, Canada, and Alaska. They must have been none to pleased to find themselves skating on sheets of ice during the cold front we witnessed during our visit in January.

There were far less cranes this year than in previous visits, possibly as a result of the temps, but more likely due to the reduced water levels at the site, which made it difficult to sustain the normal large volumes of previous years.

We were last at Whitewater Draw in 2022 when there were estimated 40,000 cranes. This year (2025), there were only 12,000.

Still, it was great fun to see the cranes mass fly out in early morning (6:30am – 7:00 am). Some would return to feed on the grain around 10:30am – 2pm, then the rest would return in bulk around 5pm.

We spent 5 days at the site allowing us to observe their behavior throughout the day. We loved watching them ‘sing’ and ‘dance’ as they talked to one another vying for position and mates.

Hopefully, in future years they will return to their higher levels. No matter, the site is quite the spectacle to see, and certainly worth a visit to watch and enjoy.

Check out my other posts on our trip here .. https://kritterspaw.com/2025/02/01/south-eastern-arizona/ and here .. https://kritterspix.com/2025/02/01/chiricahua-national-monument/