Mary Ann, Father Charlie, and I went to the Verde River on March 6, 2025. We left at 8:00 for the 50 minute drive. It was cold and rainy when we left. There were some light sprinkles when we got there, but it cleared up nicely during the day. We first went to the Box Bar Recreation Site, then ate lunch at the Needle Rock Recreation Site, and finally went to the Verde River Recreation Site. It’s a short drive between these sites.
We saw a Northern River Otter when we first got there. It’s the first otter I’ve seen in Arizona. Indigenous Northern River Otters (the ‘Sonoran’ subspecies) were once widespread in Arizona, but were hunted to extinction in the 19th century. A subspecies from Louisiana was introduced to Arizona in the 1980s, and is now doing well here. I didn’t get good pictures of it, but it was fun to see.
We saw mostly common birds there. The Red-naped Sapsucker isn’t very common, and we got some nice shots of it.
It’s a beautiful spot, close to town, and it was fun to get out and enjoy creation on a rare rainy day.
