whitewater draw wildlife area

We went to see the sand hill cranes, but were just blown away by the wave upon wave of birds flying in over the marsh. Even if birds aren't your thing, this is an experience that is a memorable one! The sky fills with black specks that are the thousands of birds flying back after their morning of looking for food in the fields. Bring your binoculars, and maybe a chair--we were there for 2 hours!!

This is a small bird sanctuary, but thousands of Sandhills cranes, along with snow geese, coots and countless varieties of ducks arrive in October and leave at the beginning of March. If you are there when the cranes levitate or return, it Is a sight and sound you won't forget. It's easily accessible by car. The light at dawn or dusk is fabulous. I live nearby and visit now and then. In the past, only a few visitors; this year the numbers have increased some. It's just a truly wonderful little spot. A birdwatcher's heaven and for anyone around the area, it's most definitely worth a visit.

Heard many stories about this location and the wildlife. Drove out on Saturday afternoon to check out the site so we could do an early morning visit. Easy to get to, some gravel road. Need to walk just a bit but there are benches available. Lots of birds, lots of photo ops. Did get to see a large group of cranes returning to the site for the night. Sights and sounds are terrific. Highly recommend.

If you type the name in Google Maps, it will lead you to the entrance. We reached it driving North on 191 from Douglas, then Double Adobe West and Central Ave North. We could see the birds from far away (they were just coming to feed in the early evening), we could hear them, but we could not get any closer due to the road. It had rained for a couple of days and the road was red mud interspersed with ditches, holes and other such pleasantry. Moral of the story: check the weather prior to going and do not attempt this trip if it had rained recently.---------------

Whitewater Draw is famous for the Sand-Hill Crane fly-in, where on a good winter's day thousands of cranes fly in to the fields in the late morning. The ponds are full of coots and ducks. I was there on a cloudy day so only a few hundred cranes appeared, along with teals, shovelers, snow geese, 3 species of phoebe, and the resident great horned owl. The roads in to the draw are lined with harriers, kestrels, and other hawks.

We visited Whitewater Draw, about two hours drive from Tucson, 30 minutes from Bisbee. A great time to arrive is in the winter around 10:30 in the morning as the sand-hill cranes are returning from their morning feed. From 11:00-12:00 there is a full-fly in as up to 10,000 sand-hill cranes return to rest-up for the long-flight north in March. The entire sky is filled with cranes floating, soaring and landing. Cranes to the north, south,east and west. It is a magical experience and one not to be missed if in Arizona during the crane season. Truly a natural wonder.We left around 1 pm and had a nice lunch in Bisbee and returned to Tucson by pm for a nice day-long outing. Will definitely do again.

When I asked my husband to take me to the Whitewater Draw to see the Sandhill Cranes, he thought we were going to look at a few birds. When we arrived it was truly amazing! The sky was filled with Cranes, and they sounds they were making were incredible. There were also a few Snow Geese, Northern Shovelers, and Coots. The area is home to many mammal species as well, and during the right time of year it hosts bats from Mexico. There is a huge ramada for shade with picnic tables. Bring the family and a lunch! You won't be sorry.

Whitewater Draw is a wildlife preserve which hosts thousands of Sand Hill cranes each winter. There are also lots of different varieties of ducks, wading birds, hawks, owls, songbirds, and flycatchers that winter over here. I have also seen bobcats and coyotes here. It is a lot like Bosque del Apache in New Mexico, but it is smaller and there are virtually never any crowds. The area is flooded each winter to provide habitat for the birds. There are walkways that wind through the area with several viewing platforms that will allow you to get as close to the birds as they are willing to tolerate. It isn't unusual to see 15 - 30 thousand Sand Hill Cranes on the playa in the morning and evening. Lift off is spectacular as they all start to depart to feed.

What a great place to see the Sandhill Crane and other wildlife. This is our third time here and we’ve haven’t been disappointed yet. We see several types of water birds, ducks and geese. Of course, the Sandhill crane are the featured bird during the winter months. If you want to see them, December, January and February will be the best viewing times. There are hard-packed paths around the wetlands with an occasional viewing platforms and benches. We were fortunate enough to see a coyote stalking the different birds while we were there.This site also offers dry-camping for a short period of time (no hookups whatsoever) and there are basic accommodations as you enter the grounds. Plan accordingly.