November 29 & 30, 2022

CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

66600 Cibola Lake Rd, Cibola, AZ 85328

“Cibola National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge in the floodplain of the lower Colorado River between Arizona and California and surrounded by a fringe of desert ridges and washes.” - Wikipedia

I found myself with a couple free days while staying along the Colorado River in southwest Arizona.  An internet search suggested the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge as a place to visit in the area.  I’ve learned that such refuges can be very interesting places, so I decided to check Cibola NWR out. The refuge was created as mitigation for the channelization and damming of the Colorado River.

Upon arrival I stopped at the Visitor Center, where I was greeted by a nice lady on her first day volunteering at the refuge.  We had a nice conversation before I set off to drive the Goose Loop auto tour around noon.  At the beginning of the loop is a pond where I found hundreds of ducks swimming around.  I did my best shooting pictures out the opened passenger-side window, as you are not allowed to get out of your vehicle.  I recognized Mallards and Coots, there were some others I should have known the names of, but then I saw a breed I had not seen before.  I noticed them as they were going headfirst into the water looking for food.  As their heads went down, their tails went up, presenting an entertaining sight.  After surfacing I noticed both the male and female had spoonbills.  An internet search provided me with the name Northern Shoveler.  I won’t forget that. 

Moving on from the pond I came across some Sandhill Cranes out in a field.  This didn’t surprise me as I had read they were common sights in the refuge.  Driving a little further and I discovered a large gathering of cranes and Canadian Geese feeding in the field.  In the end I ended up spending almost an hour-and-a-half watching and taking pictures of the birds.  Then as I was almost finished with the loop, I spotted something bigger than a bird moving ahead of me.  Getting closer I found it was a Coyote walking along the tree line, eventually vanishing into the brush. 

On the drive home I was thrilled with my day, however, when I looked at the photos I shot I was a little disappointed (like usual).  A few turned out ok, but I wanted better. 

The next morning, I awoke relatively early for me, and for some reason decided to forgo breakfast and drive back to the Refuge to try to redeem myself by taking more photos.  When I arrived at the Refuge, I discovered why it is called a wildlife refuge, and not a zoo, the pond only had a few coots swimming on it and when I got to the field where the majority of the Sandhill Cranes were the day before, there were about a dozen.  However, as I approached a cornfield suddenly a swarm of black birds flew up out of the field, did a huge circle and returned to the field.  They settled down, and then it happened again, this massive swarm (I don’t know if that’s the right term, but that’s what it reminded me of) took off again.  Some returned to this field while others headed off to other parts of the refuge.  When I drove further along the loop, I found the birds at a different place.  I later discovered the birds were yellow-headed blackbirds, along with some red-winged blackbirds.  Also in the area were Sandhill Cranes and Canadian Geese, and today they were joined by some Snow Geese, but they were quite a distance from the truck and difficult to photograph.

Finished with the auto loop, I stopped at the Visitor Center where I received directions to visit some of the other areas of the refuge.  Hoping to see more migratory birds I set out on non-maintained roads to visit the Hart Mine Marsh, the Cibola Lake Overlook, and a little of the Island Unit.  These were beautiful settings, but I found very few waterfowl.  I did see some White Pelicans fly overhead and a few herons, but that was about it.  I finished by driving the Goose Loop auto tour road again, where the Snow Geese were closer to the road.  I was also able to capture a couple Blue Grosbeaks on a fence post, a great ending to the day.

I really enjoyed this refuge.  If I’m ever back in this area, especially in January or February, I will return to see what animals are stopping by.