Wildlife on our Patio
We’re always excited to see wildlife on our patio, not only because we get a close-up view of some non-human desert denizens, but due to the way our patio is structured (it’s enclosed on 5 of 6 sides with a ceiling, floor & 3 walls, and only open on one side), any wildlife that crawls, walks, runs, flies or slithers onto our patio is probably there more intentionally than accidentally. Also, we don’t have fences or high walls on our property so wildlife is free to roam through our yard and visit our patio.
Recently we saw a baby bun (Desert Cottontail) relaxing on our patio for a couple of days. The bun was so small! 🥰 We estimate it was only 5” from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. <SQUEE alert!!!>
More Wildlife!
Maybe or maybe not coincidentally, just 2 days after our bun friend was relaxing on our patio, I looked out at our patio from our dining room window and said (I quote myself verbatim here) “Whoaaaaa!! Gila Monster!!! On the patio!!!!” as we watched it climb up onto our patio from our sidewalk (a 2.5” step). It circumnavigated our patio (starting out by exploring the area where the bun had been—did it sense the bun??), then walked down our sidewalk, paused on our driveway, walked back & forth on our front pathway, crossed our driveway again, & finally disappeared in our back yard. Wowza! It’s always an honor to see one of these beautiful reptiles! 😍
My favorite Gila Monster encounter was a few years ago when I opened our back door, took two steps onto our patio, and saw a Gila Monster just 4’ in front of me, looking up at me! I don’t know who was more surprised (MY eyes certainly popped out of my head!)! I quietly reversed-ho, stepped back inside, and then excitedly ran to tell Hubby we had a Gila Monster on the patio! 🥰 Meanwhile, our Gila Monster friend “hid” under our glass-topped patio table! Ha.
Back to last week’s Gila Monster…less than half an hour later, we had another visitor to our patio—this time, a Tarantula Hawk (Pepsis Wasp). It flew around our patio, then walked around, exploring many of the same places we saw the Gila Monster.
"King of Sting" entomologist Justin Schmidt (who, sadly, passed in February 2023) ranked 83 different insect stings from 1-4 (4 being the most painful) in his Schmidt Pain Index—all based on his own experiences(!). He described a Tarantula Hawk sting as "Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair dryer has just been dropped into your bubble bath." You bet your sweet bippy I keep my distance from these wasps!
And Yet More Wildlife!
Last July we enjoyed watching a Bobcat hang out on our patio. It even marked our patio before moving on! This is part of my Tucson Yard Journal ~ July art.
We’re used to seeing Harris’s Antelope Squirrels running around our yard at full bore even when mid-day temps exceed 110° F. I guess this one on our patio was just too pooped to pop! (Actually, it's probably splooting—trying to cool down by spreading out on a cool surface.)
So what other wildlife have we seen on our patio? I’m glad you asked!
📃 A Partial List of Wildlife We’ve Seen on our Patio
Mammals: Bobcat, Javelina, Desert Cottontail, Harris’s Antelope Squirrel, Rock Squirrel, White-throated Woodrat, Bailey’s Pocket Mouse, other Mouse sp. (species), Bat sp.
Birds: many species including Hummingbird (4 sp.), Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus Wren, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, Gambel’s Quail (including chicks!), Verdin, Warbler (2+ sp.), Gila Woodpecker, Elf Owl, Cooper’s Hawk, Emperor Penguin (ha—just kidding!)
Butterflies & moths: many species including Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly (adult, larva & pupa), American Snout Butterfly, Queen Butterfly, Sphinx Moth (2+ sp.; adult & larva), Emerald Moth
Other insects: many species including Lacewing, Crane Fly, Robber Fly, Opuntia Borer Beetle, Iron Cross Blister Beetle, Ironclad Beetle, Grasshopper, Cicada, Praying Mantis, Katydid, Tarantula Hawk, Paper Wasp, Sweat Bee, Native bee sp., Honeybee (non-native), Carpenter Bee, Millipede, Leafhopper, Kissing Bug, Ant sp.
Arachnids: many species including Tarantula, Giant Crab Spider, Black Widow, Cellar Spider, Jumping Spider
Reptiles: Gila Monster, Desert Spiny Lizard, Whiptail Lizard, Zebra-tailed Lizard, Tree Lizard, Gophersnake, Western Banded Gecko, Mediterranean House Gecko (non-native), Desert Tortoise*
* We saw one Desert Tortoise baby one time, and technically it was on the sidewalk adjacent to our patio, not on the patio itself, probably because the tortoise was only 2” long and couldn’t climb the 2.5” vertical step up to our patio. I’m counting it in our Patio List anyway! 😁