Prickly pear
Peak: May–June- Yellow to rose cups; red fruit ripens late summer
- Elevation 3,500–5,500 ft · everywhere
- Bell Rock Pathway, Broken Arrow, roadsides
- 📷 Early morning, before the flowers close in heat
Wild Sedona · a living field guide
Seen around Sedona
A naturalist's journal for the red rocks and the Verde Valley — what's out there right now, what's in bloom, and what fifty years of watching this landscape from the towers has taught us. Real sightings, real conditions, updated live.
🌵 This week in nature
A live read on what the season and the last two weeks of sightings are showing across the red rocks.
Seen recently
Verified sightings logged near Sedona in the last couple of weeks. Filter by group; each card links to the original observation.
Live from the iNaturalist community within about 25 miles of Sedona, most recent first. Give wildlife plenty of room, and never feed or approach it.
What's blooming
Flagged in bloom right now — plus a guide to Sedona's signature wildflowers and when to catch them.
Bloom guide
Claret cup cactus
Ending: Apr–May- Scarlet cups that hummingbirds love
- Elevation 4,000–6,000 ft, sunny slopes
- Soldier Pass, Bear Mountain, upper trails
- 📷 Backlit at golden hour for the glow
Indian paintbrush
Peak: Apr–July- Fiery red-orange bracts among grasses
- Elevation 4,000–7,000 ft
- West Fork, Boynton Canyon, shaded washes
- 📷 Overcast light keeps the reds from blowing out
Sacred datura
Begins: June, with the heat- Huge white trumpets that open at dusk
- Elevation 3,000–5,000 ft, washes & roadsides
- Look low along SR 179 and creek edges
- 📷 Blue hour — and note: every part is toxic
Wildlife by category
A quick reference to what shares this landscape with us, from the canyon floor to the rim.
🐦 Birds
- Red-tailed & Cooper's hawks
- Peregrine & prairie falcons
- Common ravens
- Black-chinned & broad-tailed hummingbirds
- Great horned & western screech owls
- Acorn & ladder-backed woodpeckers
🦌 Mammals
- Mule deer
- Javelina (collared peccary)
- Coyote & gray fox
- Bobcat
- Ringtail (Arizona's state mammal)
- Elk, up on the rim
- Black bear — rare, mostly higher country
🦎 Reptiles
- Whiptail & fence lizards
- Greater earless & collared lizards
- Gopher (bull) snake
- Common kingsnake
- Western diamondback & black-tailed rattlesnake
- Short-horned lizard
🦋 Insects
- Swallowtail & monarch butterflies
- Dragonflies along the creek
- Native bees & honeybees
- Tarantula hawks (that big orange-winged wasp)
- Tarantulas, on the move in fall
🌵 Plants
- Prickly pear, cholla & claret cup cactus
- Seasonal wildflowers & penstemons
- Utah & alligator juniper, piñon pine
- Manzanita, cliffrose & Arizona cypress
- Cottonwood & sycamore along Oak Creek
The seasonal calendar
What to expect through the year around Sedona — the rhythm of a high-desert canyon country.
Spring
Mar–May- 🌼 Desert wildflowers peak
- 🐦 Hummingbirds return
- 🦋 First butterflies
- 🦎 Lizards emerge to bask
- 🌊 Oak Creek runs high with snowmelt
Summer
Jun–Aug- ⛈️ Monsoon clouds build most afternoons
- 🦎 Lizards & snakes most active
- 🌸 Second wildflower flush after the rains
- 🦌 Wildlife moves at dawn & dusk
- 🌌 Milky Way core high overhead
Autumn
Sep–Nov- 🦅 Migrating birds move through
- 🍂 Cottonwoods & oaks turn gold
- 🦌 Elk bugling up on the rim
- 🕷️ Tarantulas on the trails
- 🌡️ Perfect hiking weather returns
Winter
Dec–Feb- 🌲 Junipers & piñon hold the green
- 🦅 Bald eagles work the creek
- ❄️ Snow dusts the red rocks
- 🐦 Juncos & winter sparrows arrive
- 🌅 Long, low golden light all day
Native plants
The green backbone of the red rocks — a few of the plants that make this place what it is.
Engelmann's prickly pear
- Bloom
- May–June
- Elevation
- 3,500–5,500 ft
- Pollinators
- Native bees
- Uses
- Pads & fruit are traditional food
- Status
- Common · secure
Utah juniper
- Bloom
- Cones, late winter
- Elevation
- 4,000–6,500 ft
- Pollinators
- Wind-pollinated
- Uses
- Berries feed birds all winter
- Status
- Abundant · secure
Pointleaf manzanita
- Bloom
- Feb–April
- Elevation
- 4,500–7,000 ft
- Pollinators
- Bees, early-season
- Uses
- Berries for wildlife; smooth red bark
- Status
- Common · secure
Cliffrose
- Bloom
- April–June
- Elevation
- 3,500–7,000 ft
- Pollinators
- Bees & butterflies
- Uses
- Browse for deer; sweet scent
- Status
- Common · secure
Banana yucca
- Bloom
- April–July
- Elevation
- 3,000–6,000 ft
- Pollinators
- Yucca moths only
- Uses
- Fruit & fiber, long used here
- Status
- Common · secure
Fremont cottonwood
- Bloom
- Catkins, early spring
- Elevation
- Along Oak Creek
- Pollinators
- Wind-pollinated
- Uses
- Shade, nesting, fall gold
- Status
- Riparian · protect the creek
Enjoy them where they grow. Picking wildflowers, collecting cactus, or damaging native plants on public land is illegal — and it takes years to recover in this dry country.
Wildlife sounds
Close your eyes on a Sedona trail and this is the soundtrack, hour by hour — the featured calls rotate day to day.
Nature photography
What's worth pointing a camera at this week, and when the light is right.
The sightings map
Where the recent wildlife and blooms were logged, on the trails and creeks around town. Tap a dot for the sighting.
Live observation points from iNaturalist; trails from OpenStreetMap on a USGS topo base. Locations are approximate — sensitive species are obscured by iNaturalist.
Can you spot these?
For the young naturalists — tap each one you find out on the trail. Your list is saved right here.
🐾 Watching wildlife safely
- 🐍 Give snakes room — most bites happen when people get close. Step on rocks, not over them.
- 🦌 Never approach or feed deer, elk, or javelina. A fed animal is a dead animal.
- 🐻 Secure food and trash; don't leave a pack unattended.
- 🌵 Stay on the trail — it protects you, the plants, and the soil crust.
- 💧 Carry more water than you think, and start early in summer.
🌎 Respect the land
- Plan ahead and know before you go.
- Travel and camp on durable surfaces.
- Pack out everything you pack in.
- Leave what you find — flowers, rocks, and artifacts stay.
- Respect wildlife; observe from a distance.
- Be considerate of other visitors and the quiet.
The seven Leave No Trace principles. This is Yavapai-Apache homeland and public land held in trust — leave it better than you found it.
Explore more
Wildlife runs through the whole mountain. Keep going.