Monthly Archives: March 2009

lucky shot

Red Tailed Hawk returning to nest
Red Tailed Hawk returning to nest
While showing my favorite desert area to my visiting friend Dayton, he spots a huge nest in a Saguaro. We decide to continue on and then stop on the way back. At that time, we see both a male and female Red Tailed Hawk sitting in a Palo Verde by the Saguaro so I grabbed my little Canon with the 24x zoom and pointed it at the nest. It didn’t take long for one to return to the nest. Lucky shot!

wildflowers

Gilia
Gilia

During our hike to Inspiration Viewpoint this morning, MANY wildflowers were spotted. The majority were seen about one and a half miles up but there were plenty of species in the first mile. All in all, I was very surprised at the number. Here’s a list: Fiddleneck, Filaree, Comb Seed, Lacepod, Chuparosa, Golden Eye, Cryptantha, Popcorn Flower, Blue Dick, Gilia (lots), Chicory, Phacelia, Blue Fiesta Flower (lots), California Suncup (1), Poppies (lots), Lupine, Fairy Duster and finally….a single Silverpuff at the ViewPoint!

The above photo was from last year on the same trail. Although I had my camera with me this morning, the hike was fast paced and if I was going to make the 7 miles round trip, I had to keep going!