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Migration
A time fraught with hazards. This warbler didn’t make it. Perhaps it was taken by one of the Merlins scouring the air over the park lately, for raptors are on the move, too.But also a time of new life, as a Common Yellowthroat in his first year makes his way south, towards the Southeast, Florida,…
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Reptiles
There were a lot of lizards, which you would expect for a desert. They are tough subjects to photograph, though, being such dashers and darters. I got a few: This Garter subspecies was unfortunately run over by an earlier vehicle. Still kicking here, but extruding innards elsewhere, so it may not have made it.
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Yellow Bear Crossing
Yellow Bear caterpillar (Spilosoma virginica), a.k.a. Virginian Tiger Moth. The very long hairs here are key to identifying this species, since they can be quite variable in coloration, starting cream to yellow and darkening with age, some becoming black. We saw a few of the older ones as well on the paved trails at Fresh…
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Wood Duck
A male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) in fresh breeding plumage, which he will sport until early next summer.
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Mammals, Too
We were pretty much surrounded by a Gunnison’s Prairie Dog colony, and heard them call from the meadow across the stream. A couple were sitting upright in the distance. Then a herd of Elk (Cervus elaphus) charged across the colony, surprisingly quiet, through the stream and into the misty meadow beyond. We also saw two…
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Late Summer, Early Fall
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) pods bursting.
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Tarantula!
I think this is a male Arizona Desert Tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes), also known as Arizona Blond Tarantula because of the female’s coloring. Our intrepid, and hawk-eyed, guide Jake swerved the van out of the way and then backed up to coax this spider onto his hand. And then, up his wrist.The males wander over a…
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Birds II: Life Species
My cup overfloweth, and I didn’t have to leave the continent, much less travel south of the U.S. border. Cinnamon Teal:This is a female, with her very N. Shoveler bill. Neotropic Cormorant, smaller than our familiar Double-crested, with a pronounced white < chin patch. Eared Grebe:In breeding plumage. And below, another in non-breeding: White-faced Ibis.…
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Some More Southwestern Insects
The largest beetle I’ve ever run across. It was wider than my thumb. Giant Palm Borer? Like the butterfly below, this dragonfly, a Pale-faced Clubskimmer (Brechmorhoga mendax) I think, was deceased.Queen male (Danaus gilippus) and the spider who caught him. This stink bug — genus Eleodes? — has assumed the position and is ready to…
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Homeboy Mammal
First glance on rounding the corner of a shady tree: I thought this was a hairy cat on the loose. I mean, a big, low-slung hairball, one of those Persians who’s been to Paris, if you know what I mean.Woodchuck. Whistlepig. Groundhog. Land beaver. Marmota monax. In Green-Wood. I’ve seen them there before, but this…
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Backyard and Beyond 