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)
You can now buy Flora Guide directly from me.
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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’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.
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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).
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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.
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This morning was the first official public hike to the Marcus Landslide! The Tom’s Thumb Trailhead opens officially on October 18th but I have already seen a big increase in activity out here and I predict it will become very popular, very quickly! I’m out there almost every morning because I live close by and have always had the entire area to myself. No more! But that’s OK because I think it will impress on everyone just how special the Preserve is.
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.
Various caterpillars are showing up all over the Preserve. On the fringes where Desert Milkweed might be growing, you can find Queen Caterpillars. I have some at my house and have been fortunate to witness their entire cycle! The images below show the caterpillar eating and then become a Chrysalis and finally emerging! The two images on the right are linked to my videos of these events. Click images below to see full size.
Pictured below is another caterpillar that has come by the thousands to our area. In fact, there are so many, they’ve made local news several times! It is a White Lined Sphinx Moth caterpillar. I’m guessing all the wonderful rain we’ve had has produced a banner crop of plants for them. Click images below to see full size.
Then there is Five-Spotted Sphinx Moth caterpillar which you might see in the Preserve if you come across Datura. It is a plant with enormous white blooms you can’t miss. This caterpillar loves to eat Datura so if you come across this plant, look under the leaves but be careful not to touch the plant and get any oils on your hands because as all parts of this plant are poisonous. I don’t have a photo of the moth but here are a couple of photos of the caterpillar on some Datura. Click images below to see full size.
The last caterpillar you might come across is the Pipevine Swallowtail. Itwill be the most difficult to spot because it only eats the Pipevine plant also known as Dutchman’s Pipe and this plant is VERY difficult to find. I’ve seen the caterpillars at Boyce Thompson Arboretum but thanks to our Botanist expert, Steve Jones, I have now seen them in the Preserve. Below is a caterpillar and a photo of the Butterfly. Click images below to see full size.
