Bird, animal and insect life is abundant and varied  and presents a constantly changing cast of characters and activities depending on the time of year. The Gila area provides sanctuary for Golden Eagles, Rufous Hummingbirds, Great Blue Herons, Greater Roadrunners, Summer Tanagers, Cardinals to name but a few. 

Because of the isolation and the lack of human presence, including roads and motorized vehicles, the terrain traversed during the Gila Nature Expedition truly is a wilderness. As a result, almost all of the animals of the Upland Desert and Southern Rocky Mountains can be found here and can be seen most any time. Included are Javelina, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Bobcat, Mountain Lion, Bighorn Sheep, and Coyote. Close-up sightings of the elusive and rare Coatimundi are not uncommon.

As you might expect, most of the reptiles typical of the Upland Desert are here, too — lizards of all sizes,  rattlesnakes, bull snakes, and horned toads. For those interested in insects, the insects of the Gila region are remarkable!  Butterflies, beetles, scorpions and the primal-looking vinagaroon are all present.  

Southwestern New Mexico and the Gila Region is truly a birder's paradise. Join us at Double E Guest Ranch for a birding experience your senses will not soon forget.

The tremendous variety of habitat types and the geographic proximity to Old Mexico provide for a phenomenal diversity of avian species. Ranging from desert to deciduous riparian, more than 280 bird species have been recorded by biologists at the Double E Guest Ranch, including the spectacular Hooded Merganser, the Northern Goshawk, the beautiful Peregrine Falcon, the White Throated Sparrow, and the Phainopepla.

Adjoining the Gila National Forest and Gila Wilderness area, the Double E Guest Ranch also provides a private refuge for nearly one-third of all bird species in North America, many of which have been sighted in the area, including the Gila Woodpecker.  Vegetation types range from Ponderosa pine at the mid elevation of 6,000 to 7,000 feet, to Pinon/Juniper or Oak/Juniper/Pinon woodland found on drier sites throughout the Gila Forest and the Ranch. This extreme range in elevation and the many corresponding vegetation types provide for a diverse bird fauna. Included are 170 bird species known to breed in the immediate area, 110 species known to occur at some time of the year, and 38 species considered to be casual or accidental.

The Double E Guest Ranch and its nearby neighbor, the Gila Riparian Preserve, protect a prime example of the Southwest's fragile riparian habitat and a verdant gallery woodland, near the Gila River, the last of the Southwest's major free-flowing rivers. Naturally provided and protected is one of the most diverse broadleaf deciduous woodland areas in New Mexico.