Hart Prairie Preserve - May 19th from 8:00am to 11:00am

Hart Prairie Preserve - May 19th from 8:00am to 11:00am

Join us up high where the weather is still nice and cool on the northwest side of the San Francisco Peaks. The Nature Conservancy is kindly allowing us access to their Hart Prairie Preserve, which is normally closed to the public. It is a beautiful area, with mixed conifers, aspen groves, and parkland, as well as a vanishingly rare community of Bebb Willows . You can expect many of our high altitude year-round residents like Red Crossbills and a variety of woodpeckers, as well as the first summer seasonal visitors. The property typically has breeding Mountain Bluebirds, Great Horned and Northern Pygmy Owls, Warbling Vireos, and Violet-Green Swallows, among others, and an assortment of potentially interesting warblers and flycatchers in the willows.

Please bring binoculars, hats, water/snacks, and a jacket. Most of the walking will be on a gravel road, but we intend to go off trail through the willows and into the forest in places, so sturdy shoes and long pants are recommended. There is a composting toilet on the property, though we will not always be close. There is reliable cell phone service thanks to the tower at SnowBowl.

The property is roughly a half-hour’s drive North from downtown Flagstaff. To get there, head out North of Flagstaff along Fort Valley Road past Snowbowl and the community of Fort Valley until you reach N Hart Prairie Road and hang a right. Follow the dirt road for about 4.75 miles (it’s passable with a courageous sedan, but a bit of clearance will make you happier), passing Camp Colton, until you reach the entrance to the Nature Conservancy property on your right. The gate will be open or at least unlocked.

Parking space is limited to ten cars, so please carpool if you can and email trip leader James Rounds (james.c.rounds@gmail.com) if you are attending so he can keep track and coordinate rides as needed.