Category Archive

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.

Wildflower blooms on a saguaro cactus, near Tucson, Arizona.

There have been blooming saguaros for a couple of weeks already – seems early this year, no surprise given how much warmer than average it has been around here.