Wildlife near Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is a Sonoran Desert city, and the desert is right there in the yards. Gila woodpeckers hammer at the saguaros, greater roadrunners dash across the streets, and desert cottontails and round-tailed ground squirrels work the gravel. Anna’s and Costa’s hummingbirds stay all year. The desert preserves on the edges, from South Mountain to the McDowells, add Gambel’s quail, Harris’s hawks hunting in packs, and the desert spiny lizards that own every rock pile.

Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near Phoenix. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.

Most-observed species near Phoenix

Built from recent research-grade iNaturalist observations. Identifications are community-sourced and may occasionally be wrong, and the ranking reflects where people record and photograph wildlife, so a species seen often here is not necessarily rare elsewhere. Some plants and animals are only out in certain seasons. Treat this as a lively snapshot of what people are finding, not a formal checklist.