What the Bird?

Driving for work, I have a camera near me in the car.  I was driving through Leisure World (it's a gated community in Mesa, don't think like that!), and at the corner of the street I saw the tree near me suddenly sag and shake.  I looked up and noted a bird shape, large enough to be moving a good 3-4" bough of the tree.  I saw traffic coming at me, so I did a drive by shooting as I turned my corner.  This is the cryptic photo I got.

I tried to zoom in, but I still don't know enough to identify it from the few markings I can make out.  Give me time, though.  It was a hefty bird, and it seemed to sit like a falcon or kestrel, ready for an attack and a little hunched.  Though, it may just have been in an awkard position when I clicked.  I'll keep trying to find a similar photo or otherwise ID this one. 

*Update:  I think I found it!  I couldn't find any birds with dark and thin white stripes on the shoulder/scapula of wings, BUT, the black crowned night heron during mating season grows two long white feathers that fall across the back.  All the other colorings appear correct, considering the picture was taken in the shade of the tree, and they are known for hunching down in trees.  There is precedence of them in the area, attracted to neighborhood ponds (which there were nearby.)  What do you think?

Black Crowned Night Heron - Photo: Copyright © 2014 Jim Boone 2001-2010:
http://www.birdandhike.com/

Camoflauged cottontails

So, when running about the wild, you often have to look twice to see many critters.  That is the case for trying to see a cottontail that isn't obviously running across the road.  The mix of grays and tans and blacks in their fur help them blend into the brush.

Can you see the cottontail rabbit?

How about now?

There it is!

I couldn't tell if it was a desert cottontail or not, but I think it was a juvenile desert cottontail based on:
Size- it was rather small for an adult cottontail as I've seen them, so I assume young.
Ear length - ears were longer than I'd expect for his size, or for the Eastern cottontails I've seen, suggesting a Desert cottontail, which naturally have larger ears kept erect
Location - The Eastern, Desert and the Mountain cottontail are all roughly the same size, though the Eastern and Desert cottontail prefer brushy desert climes like the one here.

Although it was early afternoon when I saw this little fella' scampering in the brush, cottontails are mostly active in early mornings and late afternoons.  They avoid the high noon-day heat by hanging out in the shade of shrubs until it cools off.  The ears, with their thin skin with blood vessels near the surface, help keep the rabbit cool, as does the light colored fur that reflects sunlight.  Interestingly, you don't see cottontails when it is really windy out, because the wind interferes with their hearing, so they stay close to home, since they can't 'hear' oncoming danger as well.  I guess when scared, a rabbit may jump straight up 2' in the air (and scare the bejeezus out of you in the process), take off at close to 20mph, or may even climb a tree to escape.

Desert Cottontail (I think)

I did a little reading at home, and found that desert cottontails often move into already made burrows, usually made by badgers or rodents, instead of digging their own home.  If this makes them lazy or just smarter, I don't know.  A cottontail rarely leaves the area it was born, so the rabbit I saw is probably from a long line of Gilbert-dwelling rabbits.   Also, the fact that an estimated 80% of rabbits don't survive their first year (being prey for a large number of animals) makes me wish this little guy the best.  Looking around the preserve at the number of rabbits running around, I'd say this rabbit has numbers on its side.  One rabbit can breed at about 3 months old, and can quickly breed again after having a litter, which can be of up to 10 babies.  Considering they mate from January to late summer, and are capable of up to 4 litters or more a year, the term 'breeding like rabbits' makes sense.

The question of why a cottontail has a white tail comes up regularly.  As you can see in the first photo, the white tail is the only give away there is a rabbit there.  So far, suggested reasons based on observation account for the showy white tail (called a 'scut') as acting as a caution flag to other rabbits in the area, so if a rabbit takes off, flashing its white tail, other rabbits are alerted to danger.  While not social with other cottontails, a cottontail rabbit will easily co-exist in an area with others of its kind (not true of the jack-rabbits, who developed 'boxing'.)   Also, it has been seen that, while running 20 mph in a zig zag formation flouting its tail, a rabbit may suddenly stop and sit on its white tuft, thus confusing the predator who was chasing the white.  However, there is no 'single' reason yet determined.  Watch a cottontail rabbit near you and look for any behavior that gives you ideas why the tail is white.

Friendship Gardens, Phoenix Arizona

On a trip with friends, we headed off to the Japanese Friendship Garden, at 1125 N. 3rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85003.  This is a very relaxing space that is juxtaposed against the city landscape around it and the I-10 below it (the I-10 being perhaps one of the least relaxing things in Phoenix.)  The garden is meant for contemplation, relaxation, and meditation of the natural world, and isn't designed to be a 'park' in the Western sense of the world.  That, however, does not stop them from charging you $5 admission to get into the place.  You can contemplate nature after you pay the gate fee.  Though part of me saw this as a capatilist move on a Japanese custom, another part knows that, up until this century, a Japanese garden was built for the noble or wealthy, and were not open to the public, at all.  So, in some regards, to have access to a joint effort of American and Japanese artists/architects is a rare treat to be enjoyed.
 

 After paying $5 dollars, they told me not to be too loud, not to take up space on the paths, not to bring any food or drink in with me, and that they have cameras and that they would be watching.  All this made me feel very unwelcome, like I was the person they started charging money to try keep out.  But, again, the Eastern ideas of a trip to the park aren't like the rather loud and raucous American good time, so my group and I tried to hold to the garden's rules.

Once inside, though, I was welcomed by the warm greens and bubbling waterways of a Japanese styled garden, with a path that wound around the site.  Many Japanese stone lanterns were noted ornamenting the garden.  The lanterns placement have much to do with how they are perceived.  Located on a hill, they are associated with Air, as they reach up to the sky.  Located with one leg in the water (or over water as seen) suggests a balance of Earth and Water.  The elements are huge part of how the garden is designed, so that every few feet further down the path you go, the view changes a little, and you perceive a different combination of the elements working together.

There were other statues, though my camera card corrupted and I haven't been able to get all my photos off of it.  They did have explanations of some of the larger statuary on plaques.  I wish I had read this website on symbolism and aesthetics of a Japanese garden before going here, as I would have liked to have been on the lookout for such elements.

White Hibiscus (Hibiscus arnottianus?) flowering

 The flowers were gorgeous in their blooming, and the air was fragrant.  The plants were various and positioned with care, some to frame a view and others to be a presence all of their own.  You could see them shaping trees, an age-old custom similar to working with bonsai, and a job for the patient.

The Aleppo Pine (Pinus Halepenisis) native of the Mediterranean area

Turtles were sunning themselves on available rocks, and fish, pigeons, doves, sparrows, hummingbirds, ducks, and other animals were going about their business.  Or, checking out the people to see if they had any koi food, which it seems almost everything was willing to chow down.


I admit, I'm not likely to pay $5 just to walk somewhere, but this space was well done while being compact enough you didn't get tired.  The only thing you need to watch out for in the garden is the viscous competition for koi food - the fish jump on each other to get it, the ducks walk on the fish to get it, and the pigeons aren't always patient enough to wait for you to toss it.

Feeding Frenzy in the Koi Pond

As the crow walks...

We've all seen them.  Crows.  The big black birds that are smart enough to crack nuts by dropping them on the road and waiting for a car to drive over it.  I've seen it.  The one I was watching would then wait for a red light to retrieve his cracked nut.  They seem to find their way anywhere the possibility of food exists.  Ironically, they are common enough I've never taken a good photo of one, so here is a nice shot of the American Crow from wikipedia/GNU license.

American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos
Photo: from the Wikimedia Commons.

The reason I started thinking about crows was while playing with some vector program (Inkscape) and trying to draw out an approximation of a crow track.  I'd like to think that isn't too bad for no formal drawing program training.  Here is some information I gleaned reading up on crow tracks.

You may not see it on a small screen, but crows have pronounced joints on their toes and the feet are quite thick for a bird (though it is a large bird.)  The print itself is 2.5" to 3" long.  It has 3 forward facing and 1 rear facing toe.                                                                                                                                                                                   The toes point inward when they walk (similar to the expression pigeon-toed), and often have an alternating left right pattern, only they can angle oddly as the bird quickly changes direction. If the crow hussles, as when getting ready to fly, the distance between prints gets longer. Crows also hop, so you may see 2 prints side by side, then 2 more further away. They have long toes that may curl, creating long marks to the print in softer surfaces (snow).  Also, their medium to long length tail may make light marks on the surface as it touches the ground they have walked over, called a dragline.

Photo: jpmckenna via Flickr/Creative Commons

 In my image, I drew in the pad area of the print, between the individual joint bones and the last joint and claw, which wouldn't show on a harder surface.  As you can see in this photo, a crow's feet can mean business.

If you want a copy of the vector art of the crow track, just let me know.  If you have an animal track you'd like to have turned into vector art, also let me know!  Deer, Moose, Dogs, and Foxes are in the near future.

Weather Station Pt 2- Goal Setting

So, how fancy do I want my weather station?  I came up with some goals for the project::

• I want all my readings to be taken without the assistance of electricity.
• I want instruments as basic as possible while providing consistent and accurate data.  
• I want to complete my weather station for less than $10. 
• I want to record the following aspects of weather to the specified accuracy:

Temperature = to the degree

(Relative) Humidity = with approx 5% accuracy

Wind speed = to nearest 5 mph

Wind direction = to the cardinal or intermediate direction

Cloud coverage/Cloud Type = in octas / state clouds by name

Air pressure movement (Barometric pressure changes) = tell rate of change up or down

Precipitation = in nearest 1/8 inch (because I'm in a desert)

Sunset on my family farm in Erhard, MN (that's machinery, not a house)

Ironically, in completing the research to create a weather station to these goals, I found this Salem Clock website that provided great information about weather and how to make affordable, fairly accurate meters.  His projects work for both adult sensibility and a kid's sense of wonder, not just 'look alike' children's activities.

Salem Clock provided so much great information along with meter constructing ideas, I feel silly continuing, but my goals are different than his. I will provide my notes on the decisions I make regarding construction and operation of the different weather tools.  I will note the historical aspects of early recording tools and what has changed since that time, and what hasn't. I especially want to provide some ideas or templates for recording the weather, as I find this an important part of a naturalist's day.   Please comment if you know any other good websites to research, want to share projects from your past, or have factual/historical tidbits about certain weather tools!

Duck, duck... GOOSE!

So, looking up some names to go with the gaggle of geese, and a....  flock of ducks.  Looking up online, I found that a group of ducks actually can be a badelynge, bunch, brace, flock, paddling, raft or a team, per Ask.com.  Mallards in a group are a 'sord'.  Regardless, they are present at the Riparian Preserve, so photos were had and here are some better ones.  There were some other birds at the watering hole, as well.

Female Mallard and Ducklings, enjoying the water.

Male Adult Mallard Duck - Anas platyrhynchos

Baby mallard duckling - Anas platyrhynchos

House Sparrow - Passer domesticus

The boy's club, poolside.  Most male mallards here
looked a little on the rough side.

Mourning Dove -  Zenaida macroura

White Swan Goose/Chinese Goose - Anser cygnoides domesticus

The white swan goose, or Chinese goose, has a distinctive 'bill knob', the bulbous upper portion to their beak, present only in the Chinese and African goose.  A little Wiki note, "all birds of the family Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans) have a nail, a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip of the beak."  This is used for moving mud to get at seeds, or for some diving birds, to pry open mollusks.  Did you know that ducks are classified by how they eat?  Divers are the ones that go under the water for their lunch, while dabblers usually skim the water around them, sticking their butts up in the air to get to a meal.  The act of a duck up-ending itself head-first into the water is called 'dabbling'.  Now you know, too!

Camera: Olympus Deconstructed

I just started playing with my manual focus lenses from my mother's old SLR camera (and sadly, out of necessity rather than exploration as my only digital lens got sand in it).  However, after some setting twiddles, I did get things working rather well in A mode with the old lens.  The photos didn't have the blue tint I'd been contending with and seemed to be pretty sharp on my 10 megapixel SLR.  However, I couldn't seem to affect other things I wanted to, and so it was a mixed bag of results.  Here are some photos with a 24m/m Macro lens.

HAHA!  Just kidding - because I chose today to shoot in .RAW, which with an Olympus camera means a file type of .ODF, which isn't read by anything that can edit them to .JPG for web use.  Olympus has free software, but I have to grab my camera from the bedroom to get the serial number to download it, and my bf's already sleeping.  SO, another day I will show you my Macro photos.

Weather Station Pt 1: Research and Ideas (online)

So, part of this new environment I find myself, and perhaps the hardest for me to adjust to, is the weather.  I'm from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, walked along a canal to work for 2 years.  But, out here in Arizona it is dry, dry, dry.  I found open water within 30 minutes is at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve, but that doesn't change the weather.  And the weather this year is supposed to be even more dry than even usual, and I am already anxious to survive my first summer in Arizona.  Part of making it through, I think, will be identifying the weather daily and understanding the process that creates it.  In that mindset, I have been looking up some simple yet effective ideas for making weather measuring devices for the backyard.  Some may not look pretty, but each will have a purpose and some range of detail.  Also, I went and found some sites for information on current and average weather for the area.  

WEBSITES::
National Weather Service- 
Providing national coverage of current weather activity, as well as links to climate info, past weather, etc.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - 
Information that tracks climate, ocean activities, etc, and provided much of National Weather Service's information.

Storm Prediction Center 
By the NOAA - national coverage and information available, with information regarding storms.

Weather Underground:   
Gives a nice little 'personal weather station' reading of things and forecasts for your area.  Also has Maps of US showing : Fronts, Radar, Temperature,  Heat Index, Windchill, Moisture, Humidity,  Dew Point,  Wind, Jet Stream, Cloud Cover, Satellite, Visible Satellite, Visibility, Precipitation, Precipitation, Snow Depth.  Also has astronomy bit and webcams/photos for the US of - weather.

Weather Spark: 
Appears a wordy front page with an intricate dashboard providing lots of past and present and forecasted information.   Tries for a 'quick read' forecast, but looks more complicated than 'will it rain/how hot will it get'.

SPC created this Modified Fujita scale 
Has some descriptions on what the numbers mean. Not a lot of tornadoes in the area, but still interesting to look over.

Weatherbug: 
Appears a nice clean forecasting machine, and says they have their own network for weather, meaning their readings are their tools telling them, not the NOAA. I like the concise forecast display.  I also like their 'area summary' for Mesa: 

"Mesa weather tends to be warm and dry year round with an average annual rainfall of only eight inches. Mesa is also one of the sunniest cities in the nation, with 320 days of each year featuring sunshine."

Skywarn: 
Some interesting information on training and preparing and using the Skywarn system.  I like their PDF of the storm weather "Basics's Spotter's Field Guide"

Skywarn AZ - 
The southern Arizona chapter of Skywarn, though others exist, and training available.  Appears to have a Coyote Crier comment tracking set up, as well as mostly be radio broadcasters of monsoon and other weather issues.


Some Simple Projects:

There are times when having the newest tech is awesome - and there are times and reasons to want to see how basic you can go and still be accurate with things.  I've always wanted to make a 'home-made' weather station, a Macgyver-esque collection of odds and ends that can tell me the weather, and I can understand the factors that allow the stuff to work.  Here are some online variations I've seen.

Weather Wiz Kids - Website:  

Appears a simpler site (go gifs!), but links still working. For kids, but this site has great question/answer format, with questions I haven't even thought to ask (wait to go, creator of site!). Also contains lesson plans/teacher relevant ideas for teaching weather - including some experiments I may do. Also has some neat temperature converter calculators (relative heat is the heat and the dew point calculated against each other, and wind chill being the speed of the air with the temperature.)

Nuture Store - Blog: 
The reason I marked this page is for the 'what color is the sky chart', which I find a great idea for a Nature Journal to include, and the cotton ball wasps of clouds and crayons make it artistic and fun. Otherwise, it just shows a rain gauge without volume to measurement ratio consider.  It is geared to kids, so... :)

Song Of My Heart - Blog: 
This is geared towards homeschooling lesson on weather, but shows cursory completion of some tools, but a novel concept for measuring air pressure - a barometer of glass jar with balloon over top and stick attached to center of balloon- air pressure increase from what was in the jar makes the straw move, recorded on a paper chart with lines.  Neat?  Also great list of kids books dealing with weather, for those with young ones.

Beaufort Scale - Google search, for image:

Results have various picture or icon or descriptions to express the different wind speed estimates.

Se7en - Blog: 

All weather stations need certain instruments and this site shows a decidedly child-like weather station (designed for children, so duh). But of their tools: An Anemometer - theirs being cups taped to a plate, which with the Beaufort Scale works, but still isn't a 'measurement' unless you can count the number of spins per minute or second. A Wind Vane- I like the simplicity of a paper vane with a pen cap to spin on, though it wouldn't hold up to rain or heavy wind. A Thermometer- They seal water in bottle with a straw at top, so temperature is relevant to the starting day. Still neat. A Barometer. Same balloon topped method as above blog. A Rain Gauge- the split and sunk 2 liter bottle, though still just marking comparatively. A Weather Chart - I really liked the cloud cover chart being an eight pie piece square - gets one thinking in eighths, or oktas.

May Flowers!!

It is May here in Arizona, and the flowering of all sorts of plants is going on with fervor.  Though I have never been good at naming more than the basic flowers, I am developing some better skills at it.

Orange Globe Mallow - Sphaeralcea munroana

Like, I know this photo of the orange flowers is likely to be an Orange Globe Mallow plant. The mallow leaves are fuzzy, and the color of the flower usually shows off the variation, if any.

Engelmann Prickly Piear - Opuntia engelmannii

And the prickly pear cactus are blooming, too.  Notice the flower on the left, and the remnants of another flower to the right of it coming off the same piece of cactus.  I want to identify this as an Engelmann Prickly Pear cactus, for its short white spines spread out sparsely on the pads, and its yellow flower with no red inside/at base.  However, this was taken from a roadside pullover on Hwy 88 west of Apache Junction, so, more wildlife than at a park had their teeth chewing into the overall cactus, and its shape was harder to verify.

Silverleaf Nightshade - Solanum elaeagnifolium

And this deadly little beauty I determined to be Silverleaf Nightshade, complete with little ripened fruits seen at the bottom right corner.  This variety grows in the desert and upland, and the prickly weed is common in highly disturbed areas, like the park it was seen in.  And yes, it is toxic if eaten.

Yerba Mansa - Anemopsis californica

Or perhaps, you like the calm but boring Yerba Mansa.  Yerba Mansa grows in alkaline wetlands and is a native plant of Arizona.  It also grows in parts of Nevada and California.  It produces long runners bearing new leaves and roots, so you notice them in large 'clumps' of growth.  Apparently, this plant was used by Native Americans as an herbal tea.  The name 'yerba mansa' means "herb of the tamed Indians" (per wikipedia).

At any rate, it is wonderful to see flowers.  Though it is not quite the relief after winter colorlessness that it is up north, the spring season is a breath of fresh air and new beauty.  Now if it would just rain. :)

Websites to Wander

Here are some websites with either on line (and free!) guides or local information of Arizona available, tips on nature or wildlife, or information that is applicable to any area of the US (SEEDs is geared for New Jersey, but the information is good for anywhere, and what a neat program!).  Well, happy surfing::


Birder from Maricopa - a local guy with oodles of info on Arizona birds, specifically Maricopa county birding sites, birds, and spottings.

Cochise Master Naturalists - most of the websites come from this site's links page.

The Nature Conservancy - worldwide coverage of areas, tackling multiple issues of conversation, problem solving, habitat protection, etc.  They have their own magazine.

Arizona Game and Fish Department - although mostly about registering to hunt or fish, they have some nice tips on outdoor nature watching.

Hotspot Birding - although the search doesn't seem to work right for me, there is a nice quiz section and  a 'notable bird alert' for locations where certain birds have been spotted.  Also, they have an online 'Birding Field Guide' that, though not all complete, is pretty extensive for a free service.  I noticed the 'Hotspot Finder' search works great, and noted some new locations I may have to check out.

Wildlife Viewing Areas - Find a viewing area by the state, and narrow by what you want to see there or just use there interactive map with pinpoints.  Viewing tips for wildlife.

Riparian Preserve - probably my nearest birding hotspot, the site has a map, bird list of those found on site, and some minor information regarding the construction and activity at the location.  Mostly, site is for a listing of programs and their operation times and program opportunities.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology- All About Birds - Has bird guides, birding basics, bird cams with multiple video feeds from across the US, book reviews, articles regarding birding, and I think is producing "Living Bird" magazine with those articles, as well.

Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona - An online guide for snakes, turtles, lizards, and amphibians in the area of AZ, with a 'habitat' map of AZ.  Online guide requires you to know a bit about the catagorization of family/order to locate, though appears to have good photos of specimens.

Arizona Native Plant Society - Organized in multiple ways (common names, latin names) this lists the native plants and has some good info and links about invasive species.  For searching for a 'guide' it appears to just link to:

Arizona Sonora Desert, Flora Guide 

SEI Net - Guide for locating plant specimens from networked entities.  Interestingly enough, it is the Southeast Environmental Information Network.

USDA, Soils - Super heavy science laden information on soil types, soil sample locations.  Also some good copies of articles and publications for how to use soil surveys, and history of the act.  However, you pay for the USDA gathered info - which I thought would be illegal since they are government funded research.

Geology of Arizona - maps of various geological references.  Careful, lots and lots of little ads that look part of the page, and pop ups, and video ads - I think this site was sold and used for ad business.  There are some basic rock and mineral guides.

National Weather Service- providing national coverage of current weather activity, as well as links to climate info, past weather, etc.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - tracking climate, ocean activities, etc, and providing much of National Weather Service's information.

Bug Guide - an online bug field guide. Per caption, "Identification, Images, & Information For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin For the United States & Canada".

Audubon - had to happen, right?  Well, there is the national Audubon site. They are birds, but also conservation, education, and outside activity.  Here are the birding topics:
About this guide
How to Bird
How to Identify Birds
Plumage and Molt
Parts of a Bird
Classification of Birds
Bird Families
Natural History of Birds
Endangered and Threatened Birds
Bird Conservation
Glossary

Then there is Arizona Audubon, and the chapter of that, Desert Rivers Audubon, which is in my area.  The websites show the meetings and events each group holds.

EPA - Air quality and other things
their printout pdf on Air Quality and Toxins aka Air Index

SEEDS resources: awesome collection of subjects being covered by these guys
Really liking their community activities.

Arizona: Beetles, Bugs, Birds and More - A blog somewhat like mine, talking of one woman's ventures through nature, with a focus on all things appreciated through a macro lens.

Owls: Live Action!

I just stumbled on a live streaming feed from the inside of an owl box.  Currently, there is a screech owl and her baby, and one egg that appears to not have hatched.  It is black and white with audio, and definitely an insight into the true, nitty-gritty daily life of an owl, not the storybook kind.  There are some ads slipped into the feed, but it's worth to put up until the little guy's feeding time.  And the chick's little 'pay attention to me' noises are cute!

Watch the Owls!

Owls in this area are actually quite common, so I'm led to believe.  Northern Pygmy owl, elf owl, great horned owl, barn owl, burrowing owl, spotted owl, flammulated owl, western screech owl, and long eared owl all call at least some area of Arizona home.

And for the record, owls and nightjars are categorized together, often.  Photos I've seen of nightjars leave me wondering if it was an off day in the workplace when they were thought up.  They remind me of the really funky squat owl/bird hybrid statuary that were popular in the early 70's.

Bibliography in progress...

I went shopping over the last few days, and have started to develop a collection of guide books more specific to this area, as well as reference books that just looked really well done for their subject matter.  I plan to start making reviews on the books I read and suggest to others what they may want to look for in different types of books.   Thrift stores are great ways to build up a collection like this without breaking the bank.  Also, used book stores may have some more affordable, out of print editions of things that the initial naturalist can still use.  Don't forget to ask your family - some of these tend to accumulate in dusty shelves, and even though the book is from the '60s, it still has valuable and pertinent information.  Roughly, I would categorize my nature books into:  Field Guides, Reference Materials, Children's Books, Nature Journal/Activities Books, Magazines, Publications and Catalogs, and Environmental Policy/Resource books.

Here are the Guide Books:::
National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States - Peter Alden, Peter Friederici
Cactus of Arizona Field Guide - Nora and Risk Bowers, Stan Tekiela
Butterflies of North America - Jeffrey Glassberg
A Golden Guide Reptiles and Amphibians - Herbert Zim, Hobart Smith
A Golden Field Guide Birds of North America - Robbins/Bruen/Zim/Singer
A Golden Field Guide Trees of North America - C. Frank Brockman
Marshall mini Bugs (with image CD) - Steve Setford
Mushrooms & Other Fungi - Eleanor Lawrence and Sue Harniess
Simon & Schuster's Guide to Trees
Blandford Colour Series Minerals and Rocks in Colour - J.F. Kirkaldy
Arizona Outdoor Guide - Ernest E. Snyder
National Audubon Society First Field Guide Night Sky - Scholastic

Some Reference Books/Materials I've found:::
Whitney's Starfinder (with small locator wheel) - Charles A Whitney
The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds - John K Terres
The Great Big Book of Snakes & Reptiles - Barbara Taylor, Mark O'Shea
Philip's Stargazer "Guide to the Northern Constellations (with large planisphere, 3 star charts) - Robin Scagell

Some nature journal and/or nature activity books I've come across:::
The Practical Naturalist: An illustrated guide to teh wonders of the natural world - Audubon

The Kids Guide to Nature Adeventures - Joe Rhatigan

Nature Walks - Clara Hussong (C) 1961
A Kid's Fall EcoJournal - Toni Albert
Wildlife Watching with Charles Eastman - Michael Elsohn Ross
Photographing the Patterns of Nature (for film, but good info)  0 Gary Braasch
One Square Mile: An Artist's Journal of America's Heartland - Cathy Johnson

Great kids books on nature I've found over the years:::
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Animal Homes (Pop up!)  - National Geographic Action Book
Usborne Science & Experiments The Power of Nature - Scholastic

Barron's The Fascinating World of... Bears - Maria Angels Julivert

Flying Start Science: Water - Kim Taylor

Usborne Animal Homes (Lift-the-flap)- Debbie Martin

Animals Exposed! The Truth About Animal Intelligence - Bernard Stonehouse, Esther Bertram

Eye Witness: Insects

Magazines of Note for a naturalist:::
New York State Conservationist (if you are in that area)
Birds & Blooms
National Geographic
Audubon
National Wildlife
Astronomy

Teacher Publications:
ScienceScope

Catalogs of interest:
Acorn Naturalists - REsources for the trail and classroom


Environmental Education:
Natural Resource Economics: An Introduction -  Barry C Field

And these I've borrowed from the libraries near me:::
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees (Western Region) - Elbert L Little
Animal Tracks of Arizona & New Mexico - Ian Sheldon

Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature - Cathy Johnson

And some books that I will be finding new homes for, since they aren't so useful to me now:::
Animal Tracks of Minnesota & Wisconsin - Sheldon, Eder
A Golden Field Guide Birds of North America - Robbins/Bruen/Zim/Singer (duplicate)
Beginner's Guide to Birds- Eastern Region - Donald and Lillian Stokes

A Game of What Rodent...

While casually sitting and listening to the birds chirp, I noticed an un-bird like chomping noise.  I looked to my right and saw a furball.  Looking at it, it reminded me a of a baby guinea pig a friend of mine once had, but with a rat tail.  I think it was the ears.  Looking in what books I could find, I determined from the shorter tail, brownish coloring, lighter underparts, and large ears it was likely an Arizona Cotton Rat.

For a rodent, he was pretty laid back with my being there, and it wasn't until a Coyote sprang from the opposite side of the stream into the nearby brush that it took off.  Fast lil' bugger.  He lived to tell the tale, though, as he came back about 20 minutes later, still grubbing up the new growth.

Cotton Rats, if that is what this fellow is, are attracted to water sources and denser vegetation to try hide in.  They have litters of 10-12 pups (I believe they are called pups, anyway) and breed year round in an attempt to maintain their population, since they are the bottom mammal of the area's food chain, being eaten by foxes, coyotes, hawks, eagles, and the like.  The tail is somewhat shorter than what you'd expect to see in a 'rat', and their nose appears a little more snubbed, like on a squirrel, then the common rat.  

Apparently, the Cotton Rat, along with the deer mouse and the white-footed mouse, are known to possibly carry the hantavirus.  There have been 72 cases in Arizona total, so I don't think it's common, but 40% of those proved fatal.  With this in mind, don't try grab the rodents, don't touch their poop, and stay out of any brush they may be nesting in. You shouldn't be doing any of the things, anyway, at least not at the Riparian Reserve, but here's to you not getting sick.   

Gila Woodpecker In A Cactus

At the Riparian Reserve on May 8, 2014, I was sitting at the gazebo and had an interesting discovery - a Gila woodpecker had made a home in the Saguaro cactus north of the gazebo.  I noticed many holes in the cactus, and saw both the male and female Gila woodpecker coming in and out, bringing home the bacon - er, insects - to baby.  The male seemed to fly away the second my camera was ready, though.  These photos show the mama, who is lacking the bright red head of the male woodpecker, but has the same black and white striping on the back.

I learned that woodpeckers like the cactus because after being damaged, the cactus oozes a natural Neosporin that heals the wounds, creating a natural and tidy home for the bird, who may eat the flesh of the cactus, too.  Home and a meal, in one!  Smart bird. 

However, the woodpecker is known to get too amibitious sometimes, and may peck out a variety of holes before it moves into one.  The other holes aren't wasted though, and other birds are quick to grab up the prime real estate.  At the cactus I was by, a European Starling had moved in upstairs.  (See its little beak?)

I was able to identify the starling because of its obvious bright orange/yellow beak and glossy black body with greenish hued feathers.  Apparently, they look quite different in winter time, but they are the only bird of their size and overall color with the yellow beak in this area.

What birds have you identified lately?