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A peak into the beauty and wonder of the Sonoran Desert in Phoenix

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This was a rare sighting in the park. It actually took us quite a while to identify him (?). We initially thought it was a sharp-shinned hawk. When we asked the 'experts' that we knew, we came to the consensus that he is a cooper's hawk. A true beauty, with the handsome tan and white chest, and the slight blue tint on his grey plumage. The snowy white feathers at the base of the tale are about as pure  as any feathers that I've seen before.

I came across this little jewel this morning, July 1, as I was heading back after checking on the night hawk chicks. I have never seen a hummingbird with this plumage. My research led me to believe that this is a fairly rare bird, called  leucistic.

I added a page for this critter, called hummies.

Back in mid-January, Joel and I encountered this beauty. He was busy hunting, and didn't seem to mind our hanging out and following him around. This was quite a pleasant surprise, as most of the raptors we encounter rarely allow us to get very close. We ended up tracking him for over an hour, and covering more than a mile. We ran into what we think was the same bird a few days later. It was a great couple of days. I have just added a Kestrel page to celebrate this experience.

Glory be! We encountered the first of our chicks from last week. I was sure that we had seen the last of him (?), thinking he was going to move off too far for us to track. Fortunately, Joel and Stan spent a lot of time looking yesterday. They flighted the mother, but couldn't find the chick. Today Joel took me out there, and again we flighted the mother, and I was able to spot the chick. It was very surprising. He had grown a lot in the few days since we saw him last. His plumage was gorgeous, with the black markings. I added a couple more shots of him, along with some others on the Night hawks page.

Notice the light-colored tail feathers. That is the key to identifying this great flier as a youngster. As these birds get older, their tales will redden.

photo by Joel Pearson

These birds rule the cliffs of the park. It is mesmerizing to watch them fly...so effortless.

photo by Joel Pearson

Lesser Night Hawk chick

Stan made a great discovery this morning, an adorable little hawk chick. She (?) is about the size of a ping pong ball. We were standing right over her and couldn't see her for several minutes. That is their defense, virtual invisibility. We are predicting that she is about 2 days out of the egg. This is the only one that we have seen. and we have been waiting several weeks. Joel went back later and saw the mother next to her, pretty much ignoring each other, just hanging out.

There are 3 more egg pairs out there that we have found. We are hoping that they all hatch. How great would it be to see the young siblings together! Below is a video clip from the encounter.

Spring was certainly active in the park, with babies in nests all over. I was a bit surprised to these little critters this late in the season, in early June.

It seems like the mortality rate for the little ones is high in the park, with many being taken by other birds. It feels harsh, but the balance of nature goes well beyond my feelings and thoughts. Even so, there appears to be plenty of these great birds gracing the land with their presence.

This red-tailed hawk image was captured by my friend Joel Pearson, just north of Piestewa Peak. This was one of the most aloof hawks we have ever encountered, seemingly oblivious of our presence. It was like we weren't important enough to pay attention to, looking right past us and right through us, almost like we weren't even there.

I love how he (?) is perched on one leg, tucking the other below his chest, barely visible.

There is something magical about spending time with such a powerful creature in the wild.

It was indeed a great day.

Bee gorging on Barrel Cactus bloom yummies.

This leaf cutter bee is partying hard in this saturated sun-like blossom. I have never noticed a tongue on a bee before, much less a split tongue, or maybe it is even 2 tongues.

These creatures are hugely impactful for the well being of us human animals. Without bees, many of our crops would not produce fruit. We would have to do what a village in China does for its apple trees; they hand pollinate each blossom.

These are another great example of the genius design of our earth, of how things work that are far beyond us, and that need to be honored and respected.

Wind Scorpion, aka Camel Scorpion, Sun Scorpion

May 17, 2009    1.5" long

Thanks to the folks at www.bugguide.net for helping me identify this critter. I have been fascinated by these crawlers for years now. They run around and around and around, high-speed. They have these long front 'legs' which sometimes look a bit like scorpion claws. I think that is one of their natural defenses, imitating a scorpion, though they have no relation to them.

I was very pleased to come across this one, as she (?) was standing still, which is rare in my experience. I never saw one this close-up before. The transparent body skin reveals what looks to be eggs.

I was fortunate to cross paths again  with my new favorite monster, about 10 days after my first encounter. I was able to watch as he (?) was on the hunt for food, and maybe a mate too.

These creatures move slowly, but can cover a surprising amount of ground, much more than it appears than they would at their lumbering speed. They are also agile climbers, able to scale desert walls that are nearly vertical.

I also got to watch him poop, contrary to the myth that they have no such ability. At least the one I saw does, and I even took pictures of the droppings to prove it.

Gila Monster 

May 13, 2009   7pm

The highlight of my nature adventures so far this year. This glorious creature was making his (?) way along a wash when I happened upon him. He looked my over and decided to go the other way, which took a little while. He did a u-turn and was off. Fortunately, I was able to capture some video of him walking along.

This is the most prehistoric creature in The Park. I am very curious to see how little he has changed in the millions of years of existence. Looking at the video, it reminds me of those great dinosaur shows where they animate according to what they think it was like. What an amazing animal.

Well, what do you know. About 10 hours after my first rattlesnake sighting of the new year, another finds its way to my path. This one is an adult, about 5 feet long, contrasting the youngster below. She (?) didn't rattle a single time, though she did pull herself into a coil. After about 12 minutes of photographing her, she slid off into a bush, completely invisible. Makes you wonder how many are out there in the bushes that we never see, that never rattle at us.

Here is a video of the rattlesnake shown above. I love watching her coil, how her tail follows everything inside and underneath, then continues to fill up all the space inside, which seems to go on and on and on before it is full. The elegance and grace with which these creatures move is almost mystical, mesmerizing. It is interesting to note that as she coils, her rattle is buried underneath her body, not up and ready to rattle. It is like she was telling us that it was ok to hang out with her for a while, that she was glad to have us take photos of her.

Thank you.

I spent a few days of spring break camping in Sedona and Prescott with my friend Karen. During our stay in Sedona, we visited Oak Creek. While enjoying a picnic on the shore, I noticed a familiar form, a Great Blue Heron. He (?) was about 40 yards downstream, looking a bit out of place, like another out of town visitor enjoying a snack by the creek. Then he flew to a rock in the middle of the creek, where he looked right at home. I love the way that they fly, slow-motion, reminding me of what a pterodactyl would likely look like.

I think that they are well named: they are pretty great, they have a bunch of blue on them, and they are Herons. Thanks for hanging with us o great one!

This image was captured at Willow Lake in Prescott. These interesting creatures were busy building their nests. They are rather clumsy birds, challenged to land on the branches of this tree. During the hour that I was watching and photographing them, there was one unfortunate soul that tried to land at the top of the tree, lost its footing and fell to the next branch, where he (?) tried to grab on, but failed. This process continued all the way down to the ground, where he lightly thumped on the wet ground.

These birds made some fascinating noises, sounding more like orangutans than birds, with deep booming calls. A most enjoyable encounter.

With war paint a blazing, this bird is ready to get after anything that flies within sight. These tiny birds have the biggest attitudes of any animal in the park.

The amount of harassment that they inflict is astounding. At first I thought it was kind of funny as I watched it happen. After a while I began to feel for the harassed birds. There is nothing that they can do to get away. They even seem to have trouble landing when a Hummie is buzzing them. Sometimes they get it as soon as they launch into flight, instantly bugged and bothered.

Hummingbirds will go after any bird in the park, even the great Red Tailed Hawk. Often times I will be admiring a hawk soaring and notice this tiny object buzzing around it, a speck of a flying object, doing that relentless thing that they do.

This is another great photograph taken by my friend Joel Pearson.

Great Horned Owl

This image was captured by my friend Joel Pearson. This great owl was sleeping on some rocks when he encountered her, at about 10am.

The 'horns' are showing nicely here. I love the light coloring of her feathers, looking like an owl from a snowy part of the world instead of the Sonoran Desert. This is may be an indication that this is a youngster.

Loggerhead Shrike, the ninja of the Sonoran Desert

This bird is a skilled killer, specializing in taking down birds it own size and smaller. Several years ago I saw a Shrike ambush and kidnap an Inca Dove, and then quickly kill it. It was fast and stealthy, and caught us all by surprise (me and the other birds). The Dove was about the same size as the Shrike, maybe a little smaller.

My reaction at the time is rather humorous looking back. I immediately got angry, and wanted to rescue the Dove. After a few minutes of watching the process, I realized that this is nature being nature. As harsh as it is watching an innocent little dove being killed in such a Ninja manner, it is simply another part of the great balance within creation. It was a most impressive strike.  True Beauty.

White-winged Dove, flashing some tail.

Is this Dove showing off her beauty for the camera? Nah, she was using what she's got to keep her balance on a windy day. Like most desert animals, these birds have incredible balance, far superior to humans. Even in the wind they rarely ever take a step to save it.

This is a good representation of  the split-second moments that pass us by, day after day. They are just too fast and too many to keep up with. It takes something like stop-motion art to enable us to examine and experience the deep beauty that surrounds us in everyday things.

Coopers Hawk with prey

Notice the little pink bird talons of the prey bird, just below the base of the tail of the Hawk. Not sure what kind of dinner is being served here.

It is interesting how different the hawk species are from one another, even with all of the similarities that they share. The Cooper's hawk hunts in a different manner than the red-tailed hawk. Instead of soaring high and spotting prey from way up The Cooper's hawk normally hunts just above the ground, chasing birds through trees and branches.  Another difference is how they kill their prey, by squeezing the life out of them with their large talons...and yes, hawks do have large talons!

Antelope Ground Squirrel

This little critter is a whale of an athlete. Here it looks like he is doing a sprinter stretch, which he definitely qualifies for. In terms of agility and speed, these animals are far superior to humans.

Many of the Sonoran Desert animals are exceptional athletes. as well as many of the insects.

I think I need to build an "Athletes of the Desert" page.

Chuckwalla

Straight out of the dinosaur age, this great reptile honored me with his(?) presence. This provided me with a great connection to my deepest past, buzzing on my reptilian brain.

It surprises me how docile many of these wild creatures are. This fella was deep into a sunning bliss when I happened by. He didn't pay me any mind, which I love. I worked the different angles for about 13 minutes before I finally got too close and he booked, disappearing into one of the cracks in the rock.

Aah to have that reptilian connection to life and living.

Gilded Flicker and Hummingbird 'friend'

I have been noticing a lot of bird harassment going on in the park,  by the Hummingbirds. It seems to be aimed at all birds, and likely some animals as well. It doesn't matter if the other birds are perched or flying. I recently spotted a house finch flying in a erratic ziggy pattern, then noticed why... a hummingbird was buzzing all around it, like some kind of hyper helicopter. Once I was watching as a finch was flying and getting bugged when it looked like it actually got poked by the tiny bird. It tried like mad to get away, but to no avail. The only remaining strategy is to keep on flying and hope that Hummie would soon get distracted by something else.

Barrel Cactus bloom, bud,  and fruit shells

This Barrel Cactus is performing a life and death drama, while paying  homage to the sun.

This cactus is showing the life cycle of this brilliant desert bloom, from the plump and scaled bud, to the burstingly beautiful bloom that seems to be singing loudly to the sun, to the half-eaten fruit, which looks a lot like a pineapple. There are thousands of tiny black seeds inside of each fruit shell, any one of which could grown into a mature cactus with blooms and fruit exactly like this one.

 The Sun is the great energy of our world. It, along with water and air, seems to be all that the the natural world needs in order to run perfectly.

Female Gilded Flicker

These birds have become one of my favorites to photograph. I love their formal attire, with the big black bowtie. It is interesting how the female has no face paint, while the male has a great red slash across his face.

There is something special about the entire woodpecker family. It is very interesting how different they are from one another, even with all of the similarities that they share. So far in the park I have seen the Gila Woodpecker, the Gilded Flicker, and the Ladderback Woodpecker.

Turkey Vulture

This great bird was working at the entrance of Phoenix Mountains Park, cleaning up what appeared to be a Ground Squirrel that had been hit by a car. I was amazed by the size of this creature, looking to stand more than 3 feet tall. I love watching them fly...so grand and graceful. I was able to experience these flights several times...as cars would approach he(?) would launch clear, then circle around and land again. It reminds me of a 747, where it needs lots of room to make its turns and approaches, and the take offs were so slowish.

Another great animal graces the park. Thank you.

Velvet Mite

This little critter, about the size of my fingernail, is doing one of the jobs that Velvet Mites do: eating grasshopper larvae after a rain. I love those tiny red 'glass' eyes.

These creatures only appear after the rain in the warmer months. They really stick out from the browns and grays of the ground.  I wonder why they have such thick fur, like a cuddly teddy bear. What a stuffed animal this would be.

I am fascinated by  such a creature. I admire it as a great creation, as one of the thousands that grace our planet, participating in the elaborate and symphonic balance of nature.

More Velvet Mites here.

Whiptail

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

I love the designs on her back, the combination of lines and circles. They remind me of hieroglyphics. I bet there is an actual hieroglyphic out there somewhere that has a very similar design.

Notice the extra long toe on the back foot. Those feet are works of art, the way that they hug onto rocks, even upside down.

Perfection.

Greater Roadrunner

 

I was very fortunate to get this shot. I heard some clicking sounds, and looked around to see what it was. It was an odd sound that I couldn't recall hearing before, kind of like a mini jackhammer, vaguely similar to woodpecker pecking, but distinctively different. I looked around and spotted him on the ground in the brush. At first I was disappointed because I wouldn't be able to get any clear photos or video where he was. As if sensing my frustration, this beautiful bird hopped up into a dead tree and hung out there for several minutes while I shot away.

A video of this encounter is available on the Video Clips page. He does the fast series of clicking twice in the clip.

all images on this page copyright 2008, 2009

Email address Joe(at)AZJoe.com