Growth on a Saguaro spotted December 12, 2010 on the Quartz Trail in the southern McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Below are photos showing comparisons between 2010 and 2015. Click each photo and then click opened photo again for full resolution image.
2nd Specimen spotted in the North area of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve on January 29, 2015 (images at bottom)
Have you ever wondered how birds (especially the tiny ones) survive freezing temperatures? It wasn’t until our most recent long cold spell that I worried more than usual and finally did a little research. I did a Google search and found an answer quickly! All animals and birds have an amazing ability to put themselves in a type of deep sleep which reduces their metabolic rate by as much as 95%. Unlike true hibernation, however, they can do this as needed. Pretty cool, huh?! The scientific name for this phenomena is Torpor or Noctivation. (click words for more information) Nature is truly amazing.
If you feed Hummingbirds (as I do), the most important thing to worry about is keeping their nectar from freezing. If you’re going to bring the feeder in, wait until you know for sure the birds are asleep because they will continue to feed until dark in an effort to stay warm. I left my feeders out but put little cozies on them (plan to make more efficient ones!) and this morning, I gathered them up, warmed them under hot water and then refilled with warm liquid. The Hummingbirds seemed to appreciate that 🙂
I started off the new year (along with thousands of other bird lovers) taking part in the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. I did not know that the Audubon Society has conducted Christmas bird counts since 1900. Volunteers from across North America and beyond take to the field during one calendar day between December 14 and January 5 to record every bird species and individual bird encountered within a designated 15-mile diameter circle. These records now comprise an extensive ornithological database that enables monitoring of winter bird populations and the overall health of the environment.
I was part of the Carefree, Arizona Count (just 15 min from me) and I was excited to take part. I don’t mind admitting, though, walking all day was tiring! However, it was well worth the rewards of added bird knowledge gained from the experts I assisted. Most exciting for me was several occasions where my Canon SX50 provided identification where binoculars could not! One of these was a Loggerhead Shrike which was literally a dot on a tree branch. Not only was it too far away for everyone’s binoculars but we were looking into the sun so it was a silhouette. The image below is a very tight crop but it is clearly a Shrike. The other was a Red-Tailed Hawk. Also just a dot on top of a tower. Another highlight was seeing a Sage Sparrow (a first for me). As it turns out, it is not always spotted so it was a treat for everyone to see.
All in all, a really fun day and I hope to help out again next year. If you love birds, check out your local Audubon Society and become part of your state’s count next year! Here are some images from the day. Click on an image to enlarge. Look for navigation (next/previous) at top right of page.
I’ve been having such fun going to a tank in the Preserve every morning to document what might be visiting. (For those who might not know, a tank is a man made reservoir created in ranching days for watering livestock). We had a good bit of rain in early October which almost filled the tank. Even small bodies of water will entice migrating water birds to stop and I have documented a few species so far. Mallard Ducks, Green-winged Teal Ducks, Least Sandpiper and Killdeer.
Click any photo below to see full size. Then click photo to go to next one.
Much of the Preserve was once used for ranching so if you’ve done a lot of hiking, you’ve no doubt come across a Tank (a man made retention pond created for the purpose of watering their cattle). We’ve had some heavy rains in the last month and a half so there is a good deal of water in some of them. Since discovering a tank during a recent insect survey outing, I’ve been frequenting it regularly for the purpose of documenting water birds for our Bird Survey. (http://ezpixels.com/mscblog/beating-the-bushes/).
I also enjoy looking for interesting shapes and patterns so I went back specifically to photograph the abstracts I knew I’d find in the cracking ground. There were lots to photograph but when I looked really closely at the surface through my macro lens, I was fascinated by what looked like tiny green eggs.
I sent an email to Ron Rutowski to see if he knew what they were and he passed my request to a couple of his Aquatic Ecology colleagues who confirmed it as a colony of Cyanobacteria which is commonly called Blue-Green Algae. Like the Red-spotted Toad, these Algae can lay dormant for years and then come back to life with the least bit of water. I love learning something new! To learn more about this algae, click on the highlighted/bold word in the previous sentence.
Our last Flying Insect survey of the year (led by Ron Rutowski) was conducted in the evening using Light Trapping. Sangmi Lee, manager, and 3 students (Andrew Jansen, Michael Schillingburg and Naomi Pier) from the Nico Franz entomology lab at ASU led us into the Preserve and set up two locations to trap flying insects. Two different light sources were used. Mercury Vapor and Black Light. It was interesting to learn that each attracted different insects!
It was a slow night for insects but it was so much fun and we did get to observe a few interesting species including a Praying Mantis and a weird looking cricket. The majority of flying visitors were moths and other extremely small flying insects. Some of the moths were scooped into plastic containers easily but the tiny ones were collected using a glass vial aspirator…..a tool I had never seen. We were all given the opportunity to try it and only a few did including a child who came with his parents. I was happy just taking photos 🙂 I quickly learned I didn’t have nearly enough light but I learned from the experience and will be prepared for when we do it again (approx May).
CLICK FIRST IMAGE to go to manual slideshow. When page opens, click on each image to go to the next.
The survey for Large Flying Insects continued last evening with volunteers beating on bushes and trees. The hope was something large would come out! It was a really fun afternoon with the biggest surprise being a large amount of water in a tank. Tanks are man made depressions (from cattle ranching days) created for the purpose of capturing and retaining water. The first thing we noticed was a small flock of Mallard Ducks (are you kidding me?!) and then we saw numerous tracks around the tank, including Bobcat and Deer. Melanie, our survey coordinator, was quick to also notice a tiny Red-spotted Toad. CLICK HERE to read how these miniscule creators survive in our desert!
We didn’t encounter as many large flying insects as hoped but it is late in the season so it was understandable. Butterfly sightings included: American Snout, Marine Blue, Reakert’s Blue, Dainty Sulphur, Orange Sulphur (?) and Painted Lady. Also spotted were numerous unidentified tiny bugs and beetles. The largest sighting was a very large Robber Fly eating a Honey Bee and a very large green grasshopper which was new to the list.
Click the first image below to go to manual slideshow. When the page opens, click on an image to go to the next one OR look at the top right of the image for “Next” and “Previous”. Image descriptions are below each photo.
I hiked out to Marcus Landslide this morning and was delighted to see a Cactus Wren building a nest. I stood long enough to get several photos. Read some fun facts about this Wren by clicking HERE.
After over a month of going out every morning before sunrise, my perseverance finally paid off. Near the beginning of my hike this morning, 5 blooms on an Arizona Queen of the Night greeted me! 
I was beginning to think the buds were damaged somehow but Steve Jones, our botany expert, surmised the cactus were probably waiting for some trigger to bloom and I think he was right. We woke up this morning to heavily overcast skies and a strong chance of rain. This obviously made the Queen of the Night very happy 🙂
(click images to see full size)
I hiked in the North Access of the Preserve late afternoon yesterday and on the way back, I almost stepped on a Diamondback! Can you see him? Look to the left about center. Great camouflage! A good lesson to be extra careful in low light because you won’t see them!
I documented all the things needed for the Herp Survey and then left without disturbing him. (Click on photos for full size)
This morning I went back out on the same trail and there he was in the exact same spot! Maybe he had a big meal and needed the rest? Anyway…he was just starting to move so I quickly took some more photos and made note of his length (33 inches). (Click on photos for full size)
