Picture Canyon Bird Sanctuary Site Description: 6, 650 ft.,
ponderosa /oak forest, natural waterfall and riparian habitat
Picture Canyon is situated on the Rio de Flag but water is
provided by Wildcat Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant. Picture
Canyon was placed on the Federal Register of Historic Places in
2008 by virtue of its extensive petroglyph panels and evidence
of Native American historic habitation . With a grant from the
Arizona Water Protection Fund, the City of Flagstaff has
completed habitat restoration which includes returning the
historic meanders of the Rio de Flag, constructing a wetland,
and open water pond, and removing invasive non-native
vegetation. With lodes of before-restoration data in hand, it
will be quite interesting to see how bird population change in
the future. Picture Canyon is important as a migration stop-over
site for passerines in spring and fall. Peak times for diversity
are the end of May and the end of August. The Picture Canyon
checklist currently stands at 155 species. O