Canoa Ranch: Restoration Brings Bountiful Birds
By Brian Nicholas
Historic Canoa Ranch is a restoration success story located in Green Valley, AZ. In November of 2017, Pima County restored the Canoa pond which had dried up in the 1980’s. Native trees and plants, including cottonwood and desert willow, were added around the pond. In the first year of restoration (2018), birders using eBird reported 37 new bird species for Canoa’s overall list, bringing its total to 202 species.
Subsequently, 2019 proved to be another bountiful year at Canoa Ranch as 36 new species were recorded in eBird. Some of the new additions included Elegant, Caspian, Black and Forster’s Terns, Bonaparte’s Gull, California and Heermann’s Gulls as well as Sandhill Crane, Ferruginous Hawk, Common Black Hawk, White-tailed Kite, Black-chinned Sparrow, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Mexican Jay.
According to eBird, Canoa’s yearly total of 213 species recorded in 2019 was the second best yearly record for a hotspot in Pima County. The newly restored pond along with a…
Historic Canoa Ranch is a restoration success story located in Green Valley, AZ. In November of 2017, Pima County restored the Canoa pond which had dried up in the 1980’s. Native trees and plants, including cottonwood and desert willow, were added around the pond. In the first year of restoration (2018), birders using eBird reported 37 new bird species for Canoa’s overall list, bringing its total to 202 species.
Subsequently, 2019 proved to be another bountiful year at Canoa Ranch as 36 new species were recorded in eBird. Some of the new additions included Elegant, Caspian, Black and Forster’s Terns, Bonaparte’s Gull, California and Heermann’s Gulls as well as Sandhill Crane, Ferruginous Hawk, Common Black Hawk, White-tailed Kite, Black-chinned Sparrow, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Mexican Jay.
According to eBird, Canoa’s yearly total of 213 species recorded in 2019 was the second best yearly record for a hotspot in Pima County. The newly restored pond along with a…
