Incident Report: Date: March 2, 2020 Location: Our property on an Arizona Street (a cul-de-sac) Nature of Incident: Hit and Run Details: Truck pulling a trailer misjudged their turning radius. Golden Barrel Cactus was unable to get out of the way. Medical Analysis: Bifurcation of cactus with distal crushing on road side Patient Prognosis: Certain […]
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I’ve edited the following popular Snowbird joke that circulates in emails. I made it an Alberta/Arizona joke instead of Minneapolis/Florida (though it is rather far fetched to think someone would choose to honeymoon in Arizona…) An Alberta couple decided to go to Arizona to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay […]
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The Feather Files Name: Eurasian Collared-Dove Species: Streptopelia decaocto Native to and Migration: In North America – most of the United States; SW Canada, Mexico; non-migratory. Date Seen: May 2017; March 2016 Location: North of Calgary, Alberta; north of Fountain Hills, Arizona Notes: These birds are now native to Europe and Asia, though they were […]
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The Feather Files Name: Greater Roadrunner Species: Geococcyx californianus Native to and Migration: Year round resident of the desert and semi-open, scrubby habitat of South West United States and Mexico Date Seen: March 2018; April 2015 Location: North of Fountain Hills, Arizona Notes: These raven sized birds eat mostly animals – almost anything they can […]
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The Feather Files Name: Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Species: Aphelocoma woodhouseii Native to and Migration: Year round resident of the dry lowlands from Nevada, United States into Mexico Date Seen: April 2016 Location: Grand Canyon, Arizona Notes: Unlike some other species of Jay, this one does not have a crested head.
At first glance, this was just another lizard. I wasn’t close enough to it to see the colors, or the beautiful scales. I just took some pictures, zoomed in to see it closer – but still didn’t appreciate what it looked like until I saw it on my computer screen! The Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus […]
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The Feather Files Name: Phainopepla Species: Phainopepla nitens Native to and Migration: Deserts and arid woodlands of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Breeds twice each year in two different habitats. Some spend winters in the southern part of its breeding range. Date Seen: March 2017 Location: North of Fountain Hills, Arizona Notes: Individual birds […]
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The Feather Files Name: Bald Eagle Species: Haliaeetus leucocephalus Native to and Migration: Resident to long-distance migrant throughout Canada and the United States. Northern adults begin fall migration when lakes and rivers freeze – migrating coastward or to open water. They return to breeding grounds when weather and food permit, usually January–March. Date Seen: April […]
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Prickly Pear Cacti are members of the Opuntia genus. There are over 90 species of Opuntia in the United States. They are flat-stemmed spiny cacti with edible fruit. Click on any photo to open Photo Gallery. There is a large patch of Prickly Pears in the lot next to ours. Then one day, there was […]
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The Feather Files Name: Gambel’s Quail Species: Callipepla gambelii Native to and Migration: Nonmigratory; lives in the hot deserts of the Southwest—the Sonoran, Mohave, and Chihuahuan—below about 5,500 feet elevation. Date Seen: March 2015, April 2019 Location: North of Fountain Hills, Arizona Notes: These birds walk or run along the ground in groups called coveys […]
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