Greater Roadrunner at the End of Life — Images by kenne
–Charles Mackay
— kenne
“Now You See It” is the Title of One of the SCVN Elementary Programs
— Images by Phil Bentley
As a Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist, I enjoy teaching children about nature — thanks for sharing, Cathy. It was a pleasure to be with polite, inquisitive children interested in learning about nature.
Life is good and I love it!
kenne
Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist, Ralph Mersiowsky Recently Passed Away In Tucson
— March 27, 2014 by Images by kenne
The Man In The White Shirt
Panning for Garnets — Images by kenne (Click On Any Of The Images To See A Slideshow)
One of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist’s programs is Strike It Rich. This program is designed to teach elementary school students about the geology of the Santa Catalina Mountains, which include panning for garnets is the Sabino Canyon creek.
kenne
Harris Hawk on a power pole along the Sabino Canyon south border. — Image by kenne
Gray caps placed over wires to protect rafters from electrocution. — Image by kenne
Raptors are often injured or killed on electric power poles in urban areas like Tucson. The poles make attractive perches for the big birds
Last December a Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist found a dead Peregrine Falcon below a utility pole on the border of Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. The Tucson Electric Power (TEP) was contacted, responding quickly with representatives from the University of Arizona to evaluate the area. To reduce the possible electrocution of rafters, TEP designed caps to be placed on the power poles (gray caps in the third image above).
Harris’s hawks occur in the United States only in the southern portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, with the largest concentration is between Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. Electrical power poles are like a magnet to raptors looking for the highest point they can find to perch, creating the largest single cause of mortality facing raptors.
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) has stated that due to the hawks’ nesting and hunting habits, they are at greater risk of electrocution than other raptors. “Harris’ hawks are unique in that they breed, nest, and hunt communally, they are vulnerable to multiple deaths at once.”
kenne
This Agave Stalk Has Grown Over Twelve Feet Since Thanksgiving.
The Power of Tequila! — Image by kenne
Agave [Cactus]
by Carol Hamilton
This poem can be found in the book, AGAVE —
“If you like tequila,
you will love the art,
songs, poems, stories,
and recipes in
AGAVE.”
Since moving to Tucson and becoming a Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist, I know agaves are not cacti, and I live in the Sonoran Desert, not the Sonora Desert. However, since poets like to take poetic license, I will give Carol a pass on this one.
kenne
“Cactushenge” — Image by kenne
English: Stonehenge Stonehenge, Wiltshire. Stonehenge itself is owned and managed by English Heritage whilst the surrounding downland is owned by the National Trust. Français : Stonehenge Stonehenge, Royaume-Uni. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When I saw this group of cacti, the image that came to mind was that of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. In my mind, they represent what remains of a ring of ancient cacti — use your imagination! (The hikers in the image are part of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) Friday lead hike.)
— kenne
Image by Jay Carey
Many of us who spend time in Sabino Canyon, and the Tucson area mountains in general, would love to have an opportunity to photograph a mountain lion. Tuesday morning Jay and Nancy Carey were able to video a big cat near the Cactus Panic area, which is where the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist (SCVN) kindergarten program takes place. This is an area when mountain lions have been spotted before, so all SCVN are on alert as they work with children. Click the link below to read more in the Arizona Daily Star.
kenne
Tosh Lawrence Conducting a Training Session In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Last week I was videoing and taking photos of one of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN), Tosh Lawrence, conducting a nature walk training session for new and experienced naturalists. Tosh shared a lot of her excellent teaching techniques, and one point in the riparian area by the dam, we spotted a small bird jumping around among brush on the ground. At the time, I had the video camera going and the following short clip was what I was able to capture. Note the back and forth as to what kind of bird we were watch. Our expert birder friends have got to love it, but remember, some of us are still learning.
kenne
Two-tailed Swallowtail on a Wheeler Thistle
Black Swallowtail on a Wheeler Thistle
Pipevine Swallowtail on a Wheeler Thistle
Azure butterflies, which a brilliant blue color when the wings are open.
Arizona Sister
Arizona Sister In Stealth Position (Note the body shadow through the wing.)
Azure Butterflies
These butterflies were among the many alone the mountain stream trail going up from Marshall Gulch on Mount Lemmon, conducted by the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) yesterday.
kenne
Red-tail Hawk — Image by kenne
This past Monday, the “Monday Morning Milers” were hiking south of Rose Canyon Lake on a trail that provides beautiful views in the Santa Catalina mountains. My camera setting were for high-resolution and excellent depth of field photographs when two red-tail hawks began diving at one another in the sky behind me — turning, I quickly zoomed in on one of the hawks, knowing that my camera settings were inappropriate for action rafter shots. Clicking away while changing the shutter speed, time became my enemy as the hawk flew between the sun and my camera.
The above image was shot at a shutter speed of 160th of a second, too slow for 300 mm shots. I usually try to hike with my camera preset and therefore ready for high-speed action shots, which is a practice I learned from fellow Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist (SCVN) and expert rafter photography, Ned Harris — maybe next time I will be ready.
kenne
Yellow-eyed Juncos — Images by kenne
The yellow-eyed junco does not have blue coloring. However, when the photographer (me) has only a working knowledge of birds and when the lighting may give a blue cast to its gray areas, the result can offer some difficulty in identifying the bird. I appreciate the help of Mark Hengesbaugh and Edi Moore, fellow Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN), in helping me focus less on what looked like blue to see that this very active little bird is a yellow-eyed junco, not a bluebird.
kenne
Images by kenne
This little guy was busy gathering elegant lupine within a two foot radius of her den. She would slink out, nip a lupine and back straight back into her hole in the ground. She entertained several Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists as we waited for the arrival of a group of third graders.
kenne
Ground Squirrel — Image by kenne
Most of the time it’s not easy to photograph these little ground squirrels, since they move quickly behind desert ground cover. However, on this day when some of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists were walking back from conducting the “Web of Life” program with 60 3rd graders, this guy was spotted behind a prickly pear cactus near the path. We stopped, not realizing that this must have been a signal for him to come out and greet us. When I reached into my pocket for my point & shot camera, he stood up. This response led us to conclude he thought I was reaching for food, which means this behavior was being reinforced by visitors to the canyon. Not wanting to reinforce the behavior, we moved on.
A short distance on down the trail, we made the mistake of looking back, to see he was still standing there.
“How could we keep going without giving him something?”
But, we didn’t have anything to give him, that is until one of us checked the many pockets in our naturalist vests and found the mesquite bean pod we use when working with the elementary-school kids. So, we walked back and gave him a pod.
Okay, we know this was not good naturalist behavior, but . . .
kenne
Ground Squirrel with Mesquite pod. — Image by kenne
