Wildlife of The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast - Part VI

Continuing with wildlife seen and photographed since the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic:

Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail

Cooper's Hawk Juvenile

 Coyotes come by frequently but don't linger. They may stop to get a drink in one of our water bowls. Otherwise they are just passing through on the hunt. Here's a very healthy looking one:

Coyote

Desert Cottontail

Desert Kingsnake

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Christine and I headed up to Flagstaff over the past weekend to see our grandson in the musical "Chicago." On the way we stopped at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. We hadn't been since 2011 and so had forgotten just how amazing and beautiful it is.

While I had my camera, I spent more time just contemplating its beauty rather than looking for birds to photograph.

I did come away with some photos, but they don't do justice to this wonderful place.

Turkey Vulture

Wilson's Warbler

Great Blue Heron and Turkey Vulture

Lesser Goldfinch

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel

Canyon Lizard

Pipevine Swallowtail

Queen Butterfly

Cactus Flower

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel Climbing Cactus

"5" Star Photos don't have to be Grizzly Bears, Caribou, Elegant Trogons, or butterflies. Almost any wildlife can present itself in a way that gives the potential for a "5" Star Photo. Today, this Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel provided such an opportunity. These little events happen very quickly. If you don't have your camera with you, ready to shot, ..............  well, as they would say in Jersey, "forget about it." This little chipmunk looking squirrel was really quite cute and fun to just watch. Here he is climbing a small fishhook barrel cactus looking for its fruit:

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel

Photo Trip

I started out at 3:15 (am) so that I would get to Sells, Arizona just at dawn (4:45). I have often seen Crested Caracaras between Sells and Why (another small Arizona town) so I was hoping this time would be no different. Although I did see one, it was flying in my direction and I didn't have a chance for a photo. However, I did manage to get a "Sonoran Sunrise" that I liked in the littler town of Quijotoa:

From Why, I turned south and headed into Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument which is just north of the US/Mexico border. The 21 mile drive up around and into the Ajo Mountains is one of my favorite drives in Arizona. Although there are Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Ajo's I have never found them. This time no exception either. But, again found some scenery and some wildlife to photograph:

Organ Pipe Cactus

Organ Pipe Cactus with Blossom

Organ Pipe Cactus with Fruit

An unusual Saguaro with Fruit

Red Tailed Hawk

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel

Black Tailed Jackrabbit

From Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument I headed up to Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Most of Cabeza Prieta is closed from March 15th to July 15th during Sonoran Pronghorn Fawning. Sonoran Pronghorn are endangered -- only a few hundred left so the Refuge has been set aside primarily for them. There are also Desert Bighorn Sheep on the Refuge, but not where they can be seen during closure. I still like the drive through the part that is open.

Tomorrow, the Big News! Imperial National Wildlife Refuge along the Colorado River. Lots of exciting stories to tell.

Squirrels?

What's up next? I thought maybe squirrels for a couple of days. The Abert's Squirrel, also known as the "tassel-eared" tree squirrel is confined to the Ponderosa Pine forests on Colorado Plateau and the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico; its range extends south in the Sierra Madre Occidental to Chihuahua and Durango in Mexico. Abert's Squirrel also extends a short distance into Wyoming where ponderosa pine  is present. Abert's squirrels transplanted to the Graham and Catalina mountains of Southern Arizona have established stable populations. It feeds exclusively on the various parts of Ponderosa Pine trees:

Abert's Squirrel

photo taken in the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff

The Arizona Grey Squirrel found only in Arizona is found in deciduous and mixed forests of Arizona and New Mexico:

Arizona Grey Squirrel

photo taken in the Tucson Mountains

The Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel is a subspecies of Antelope Squirrels that is restricted to the Sonoran desert or scrub areas. It adapts to the hot desert sun by keeping its tail bent up over its back as an umbrella. It can also withstand body temperatures up to 104 degrees:

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel

photo taken at The Azure Gate, Tucson

Then we get the Round Tail Ground Squirrel of the Southwestern deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. Like other "ground squirrels" it dig holes in the ground in which to escape predators -- or people. Usually these holes are under Prickly Pear Cactus, Creosote Bushes, or Mesquite Trees. These holes also serve as "dens" for the winter months and the hottest parts of summer days. They eat just about any vegetation, including berries, as well as any insects they can find. This one climbed a Creosote Bush to get at the berries:

Round Tail Ground Squirrel

photo take at The Azure Gate, Tucson

Saguaro National Park

I thought I'd take a drive this morning at dawn around Saguaro National Park. I was hoping to maybe see a mountain lion or bobcat. And, although I drew a blank, I did find something to photograph:

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel

White Winged Dove eating the fruit of a Saguaro Cactus

Our Little Friends Are Back

Yesterday, we were talking with some guests in the living room, when just outside the big picture window was this Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel. He was standing on a rock looking in at us. (I didn't have my camera so this is an earlier photo.) I was reminded of just how much fun they are. They stay underground during the cold winter months although they do not "hibernate." But it is starting to warm up here so we are starting to see them. Their tail is bushy and in the summer months held back over it's body -- as an umbrella to keep them cool. When they run they are like those little Matchbox Cars of the 60's and 70's. They zoom around as if hydroplaning. You can't see the feet move at all. Although, they look like Chipmunks they are in fact, squirrels and only found in Southern Arizona.