Birding Opportunities Birders Paradise
at Double E Ranch and surrounding Gila National Forest Region

Indulge your Cowboy Spirit with a New Mexico working guest ranch vacation, lots of horseback riding, roundups, clinics, spectacular New Mexico vistas and  the undiluted, real sensations of ranch life in southwestern New Mexico. Unlike many working dude ranches or guest ranches, Double E Guest Ranch is a working cattle and horse ranch inviting its guests  to participate in the day to day activities on a real ranch.  On our working New Mexico guest ranch (dude ranch) we provide our guests with an opportunity to spend their days  with the Wranglers and Cowboys who live the cowboy life and work at Double E Ranch. 

Feel nature up close and explore a ranch vacation paradise exceptionally beautiful, filled with abundant wildlife and rich in  the history of  southwest New Mexico.  Located  in the heart of Apache country,  30 miles northwest of historic Silver City,  the Double E Guest Ranch and surrounding territory is the home of Billy the Kid, Geronimo, Judge Roy Bean,  "Dangerous" Dan Tucker and Ben Lilly.  The 3.3 million acre Gila (HEE-la) National Forest and pristine Gila Wilderness are our back yard!   A working New Mexico cattle and horse ranch consisting of nearly  30,000 acres, the Double E  Guest Ranch is family owned and operated.

Southwestern New Mexico is truly a birder's paradise. It's been said that this area is one of the top birding spots in the nation and birders who visit regularly believe this is true.  Excellent year-round birding can be found in most of our popular birding areas.  A variety of habitats, from riparian lakes, rivers and creeks to high mesas  to pine, pinon and juniper forests attract some 339 species.  Join us at Double E Guest Ranch for a birding experience your senses will not soon forget. Spend a weekend or a week in comfortable, private guesthouses  which are filled with western and southwestern furnishings and artifacts. Our facilities can accommodate singles, couples or small groups. Ranch access to secluded, isolated locales is extremely limited, accessed by only a handful of individuals, but can be reached by riding gentle, seasoned ranch horses, by hiking, by four-wheel drive vehicle, or by a combination. Experienced, knowledgeable guides who are familiar with the Double E Ranch and the surrounding Gila National Forest region will help you explore a paradise rich in natural flora and spectacular bird fauna.

The tremendous variety of habitat types and the geographic proximity to Old Mexico provide for a phenomenal diversity of avian species. Ranging from desert to deciduous riparian, more than 280 bird species have been recorded by biologists at the Double E Guest Ranch, including the spectacular Hooded Merganser, the Northern Goshawk, the beautiful Peregrine Falcon, the White Throated Sparrow, and the Phainopepla.

The Gila National Forest, comprising 3.3 million acres, is one of the more remote, pristine and least developed National Forests in the Southwest. The Forest is probably best known for its wilderness areas, in particular the Gila Wilderness — the first wilderness in the United States. The magnificent mountain scenery, cool summer temperatures and relatively warm winters provide a unique combination of both plants and animals which share this diverse ecosystem, where the Rocky Mountains extend into the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts.

Adjoining the Gila National Forest, the Double E Guest Ranch also provides a private refuge for nearly one-third of all bird species in North America, many of which have been sighted in the area, including the Gila Woodpecker. Vegetation types range from Ponderosa pine at the mid elevation of 6,000 to 7,000 feet, to Pinon/Juniper or Oak/Juniper/Pinon woodland found on drier sites throughout the Gila Forest and the Ranch. This extreme range in elevation and the many corresponding vegetation types provide for a diverse bird fauna. Included are 170 bird species known to breed in the immediate area, 110 species known to occur at some time of the year, and 38 species considered to be casual or accidental.

The Double E Guest Ranch and its nearby neighbor, the Gila Riparian Preserve, protect a prime example of the Southwest's fragile riparian habitat and a verdant gallery woodland, near the Gila River, the last of the Southwest's major free-flowing rivers. Naturally provided and protected is one of the most diverse broadleaf deciduous woodland areas in New Mexico.  Birds seen or heard during 2005 include: