Hassayampa River Preserve

Life in the arid deserts of the Southwest has always depended on ribbons of life, or riverways, to provide much needed water.  One notable example is the Hassayampa River that flows south for 100 miles - mostly underground - on a course from its headwaters in the Bradshaw Mountains in central Arizona to the Gila River.

Its waters emerge just south of Wickenberg to nourish cottonwood and mesquite forests, where 770 acres are currently protected in a joint partnership between the Nature Conservancy and the Maricopa County park system.  The preserve includes a lush riparian habitat that numerous animals call home, and that provides a critical stop for many migratory birds like orioles.  Several springs even feed a small lake that serves as a habitat for water-loving flora and fauna.

My recent winter visits to the Hassayampa River Preserve have provided firsthand looks at forest, river, desert and lake landscapes, all reachable in one single and easy walk.

View of the riparian area protected in the Hassayampa River Preserve.  Seen to the left, a railroad track from Phoenix follows above the river's path.

A visitor on a path through the preserve.

Spring-fed lake at the preserve.

American coot diving for a leaf in the lake.

Pied-bill grebe on the lake.

Turtle at the preserve's spring-fed lake.

A female ladder-backed woodpecker.

A bashful ruby-crowned kinglet.

The Hassayampa River flowing through the preserve.

Possibly a Lincoln sparrow near the Hassayampa River.

Black phoebe, a type of flycatcher, above the Hassayampa River.  The next visit, in early spring, might allow the sightings of migratory birds.