I live in Tucson, Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert. About a mile from my house is a bridge over the Pantano River (usually dry) which houses a colony of about 20,000 Mexican Free-tailed Bats. If I time the end of a ride to cross the bridge around sunset, I can watch the bats spiraling into the sky as they leave to forage. It's impressive (though the bridge is a bit stinky).

The riverbed is a wildlife corridor out to the less urban parts of the city and one evening I saw a Bobcat standing at the edge of the bridge, looking onto 6 lanes of traffic.

A popular ride in Tucson is at Saguaro National Park. Last week, I saw a Desert Tortoise and yesterday I spotted a tarantula, Desert Spiny Lizard, an unfortunately flat snake that I didn't stop to ID, and common desert birds, like Curve-billed Thrashers, Gila Woodpeckers, Cactus Wrens and Canyon Towhees.

Sharon