Birds Butterflies Dragonflies Damselflies

No matter whether you prefer flora or fauna, Q Ranch is a fantastic place to view nature. And add to that: the night sky.

It's the perfect conflation of circumstances:

• It is remote (the nearest paved road is 20 miles);
• The elevation varies from about 5000 to over 6000 feet;
• It is extensive in area -- about 600 acres -- and is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest;
• It is pristine and unspoiled;
• At night, there is no light except what the moon and stars provide: you can see the Milky Way with the naked eye.

The best time to view wildflowers is right after the spring snow melt and again after the summer monsoon storms. Breeding birds that are not resident begin to arrive in March or April and generally remain through the end of September. The stock tanks and nearby Gentry Creek and Walnut Creek are great places to seek dragonflies and damselflies when the days get warm.

Click here to download a checklist of the wildlife species that have been recorded at Q Ranch since June 2009, when we began to keep written and photographic records.

Photos on this page are courtesy of Les Rogers and Ken Furtado.