There are a lot of places I frequent to photograph wildlife, but I have a couple of favorites and want to share the closest and best place where you can enjoy what nature has to offer all year round. Bubbling Ponds Hatchery in Page Springs is my go-to place. Thanks to Arizona Fish and Game, a place has been established where many needs are served. For instance, game fish are raised and then released into streams and lakes. The ponds attract many species of wildlife, with and without wings, as it provides food, water and shelter, and in abundance.
The Blackhawk Trail, which you can enter at the parking lot, will take you on a one-mile-and-a-half loop around the property. There is a ramada, viewing decks and picnic areas. It is open daily from dawn to dusk. Pets must be leashed. In short, it is a place for the entire family. Bring a camera, and you may end up with some beautiful photographs of Bald Eagles, Blackhawks, Osprey, Herons and Egrets. Red Wing Blackbirds are frequent visitors and during the migratory season, all manor of waterfowl and shore birds can be seen here. Otters, other mammals and nesting pairs of Wood Ducks are sometimes on the property too.
Take a short drive and enter a world apart from ours, where critters dominate the narrative. In the photo at the top of this page a Great Blue Heron is coming in for a landing on one of the levies between the ponds. They are amazing creatures with a large wingspan and an appetite for the fish in the ponds. In the photo just above, a Common Blackhawk is taking off from the top of a utility pole at the ponds and on his way to collect a fish or rodent. Blackhawks are found in riparian areas feeding mostly on fish, frogs and other creatures commonly found near water.
This photo is of a dock that goes out into a pond and is where fish gather to enjoy feed that’s thrown in the water. If you’re there at the right time, you will also get great reflections in the water.
