Wildflowers on a barrel cactus, Tucson, Arizona.
A quick photo from my iPhone – surprised at all the blooming barrel cacti there were on our Arizona property this late into the summer!
Game Cam Deer
Male mule deer, Tortolita Mountains, Tucson, Arizona.
Back from a very fast trip to Arizona to check on the Arizona Desert Photo Retreat! I was amazed at how green things were, evidently it has been a very wet monsoon season. Also surprised to see wildflowers.
Judging from the game cam, the water drip worked most of the summer, and it is going again right now, although not nearly as important thanks to the summer rain. There weren’t any big surprises on the game cam – was hoping for something like a mountain lion, or another ring-tailed cat, but it didn’t happen. We did have a number of deer, including this young male. I have seen many deer near our property, but only one on it until now. Lots of javalina, including another set of babies. A pair of red-tailed hawks also became regular visitors. Otherwise it was the regular cast of characters including the fox with what appears to be a kit, skunks, coyotes etc.
Best of Arizona Game Cam – winter 2017
Bobcat. A very infrequent visitor to the water hole.
I have been wanting to do a post like since last spring where I share some of the highlights from the game camera at our Arizona Desert Photo Retreat. Last winter and spring I put a game camera out by the water hole every evening. It was always fun to check it in the morning, as I never knew what new animals I might see! There were some nice surprises. Here are some of the highlights.
I figured this was a good time to post this. I left the game camera at a water drip over the summer. Turns out, it sounds like there is an issue with the waterline, so we are flying to Tucson for a very short trip to check on the property, make sure the water drip is working, and pull any images from the camera summer. Makes me wonder what was there while we were gone! Read More
Gila Woodpecker
A gila woodpecker returning to the next, near Tucson, Arizona.
This is the second spring in a row that a pair of gila woodpeckers nested in this hole near our camp. That is a treat, as they usually dig a new nesting hole each year. We also have a pair of nesting gilded flickers also near or camp – it is fun to hear the babies screeching for attention every time the adult flies to the nest.
We are excited to be flying back to Alaska in the morning, but are going to miss all the wildlife that had become such a big part of our life in Arizona. I have had people ask about how the animals are doing. I can report, both gray foxes were still around and came by most evenings around sunset. The two little baby javelina are still alive – I saw them recently during the middle of the night, and they are almost as big as the adults. And finally, the quail family sill had all 8 little babies, although they were getting bigger. We left a water drip for them while we are gone – it will be interesting to see how everyone is doing when we return in the Fall.
Gray Fox Still Alive!
Two gray-fox in the game cam.
If you read my last post about the gray-fox, you will understand why the first thing I did late last night was pull the game camera to inspect the images. I knew it probably wouldn’t be conclusive because only a couple of times all winter have I seen both fox at the same time in the frame. So, I figured I really wouldn’t know if I’m just seeing the same one over and over, or two. But, to my excitement and relief, both foxes appeared in a single frame a couple of nights ago, so I know conclusively they are both still alive! So cool.
A lot of animals visited the water hole during the short time we were gone including return visits by the coyote, a number of visits by a great horned owl, numerous skunks, even a raptor which I haven’t take the time to ID – o, and lots of javelina!
Safe to say, this is the worse photo I have ever posted here, but still a good one to me! 🙂
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