May 28
With all the other cactus putting on such a good show this year, I am surprised our Saguaros are not as full of blooms as past years. Another thing I’ve noticed is a lower population of bees. This image was captured a few years ago.
May 26
I was really looking forward to seeing this Echinopsis full of red blooms but it was not to be. Steve (flora expert friend) had told me that Javelina weren’t the only ones who love to eat flowers and buds and I got first hand proof last week. The fence keeps the Javelina out but Pack Rats and Mice can get through easily. I’m disappointed but at least they left me one bloom 🙂
May 22
I was lucky to capture two shots of my prize Bloody Net-winged Beetle as he was leaving. Canon 7D, 24-70mm lens with 500D close-up filter. ISO 400, 1/1000th sec at f/5.6
May 21
Yesterday was the last official day for the flora survey until after the hot weather. Although I did get some photos of flowers, my prize captures yesterday were a couple of butterflies and a gorgeous red beetle! At upper left is a Marine Blue Butterfly. Lower left is a Mormon Metalmark Butterfly. It took a lot of googling to ID the beetle but I finally found that it’s a Bloody Net-Winged Beetle. What a name!
May 20
According to Stephan Buchman, there might be as many as 1000 species of native bees in the Sonoran Desert. Many are very small and some are brilliantly colored but best of all, most are solitary which makes them not as threatening as the European honey bee. They are all fascinating to watch as they fly in and out of holes in the ground, trees, or even spaces between blocks. (Solitary Bee loading up on pollen from an Echinopsis)
May 15
I added a layer of texture to this scene shot in infrared at Greasewood Flat.
May 14
I finally saw a Canyon Wren up close and personal yesterday! I was hiking in the north access area of the Preserve with several of my bird enthusiast friends and when we heard a Canyon Wren call (very distinctive!), one of the guys used an iPhone app to call back to him. They had conversation going for quite a while 🙂 P&S zoomed into 560mm equivalent. Grainy and not very sharp but I’m happy to have it!
May 11
Ironwood (Olneya tesota) is the largest and longest living tree in the Sonoran Desert and when it’s in bloom it is spectacular! Some years are better than others for blooms and this is a good one. The blooms remind me of Disney’s singing flowers 🙂
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