Jim Hoagland Recently Kim Matsushino of the Tucson Audubon Society and I presented a program for the Master Gardeners at DesertView Performing Arts Center in SaddleBrooke. The topic was “Common Birds of Southeast Pinal County and How to Attract Them to Your Home’s Backyard.” There were more than 220 people in attendance, and you may have been one…
Gerald Tietje Lightning and thunder invoke both awe and fear in our imaginations; there is even a name for fear of lightning, astraphobia. That’s probably why the San Diego Chargers (now the Los Angeles Chargers) chose to have a lightning bolt on their helmets, even though lightning is seldom seen in that fair city. And…
Gerald Tietje Have you ever wondered what those barrel-looking cacti leaning to one side in the desert might be called? It’s the fishhook barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizeni). It flourishes in southwestern Arizona, southern New Mexico, western Texas and northern Sonora, Mexico. Generally, these cacti are cylindrical in shape, 3 to 4 feet tall and 2…
Jim Hoagland The Tucson Audubon Society (TAS) held a Wrap-Up Party for their 2023 Birdathon Fundraising teams at Bawker Bawker Cider House in Tucson on May 25. The SBR Cuckoos were one of 29 teams (and 111 participants) who raised more than $88,000—exceeding their campaign goal of $70,000. Representing the SBR Cuckoos at this gathering…
Gerald Tietje Noah may have been the first person to see a rainbow, but those of us who live at SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR) are fortunate to see many rainbows, especially during the monsoon season. We even see some double rainbows! Rainbows are optical illusions, dependent on the location of the observer. For a rainbow to…
Gerry Tietje One of the first things Claire and I noticed when we moved to SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR) in June 2021 was how many lizards were around—in our backyard, on the Nature Trail, and in nearby state parks. With my penchant to know more about things in nature, I began to identify and study them.…
Jim Hoagland Every March, hundreds of birders converge on Ron Morriss County Park in Tubac for the annual Hawk Watch, a free event. The stars of the show are the Common Black Hawk, the Zone-tailed Hawk, and the Gray Hawk, but other raptors may appear, including vultures, eagles, and accipiters as they migrate north along…
Gerald Tietje “April showers bring May flowers,” an adage I learned as a youngster growing up in Wisconsin where we waited through long winters for crocus and tulips to sprout and bloom. Not so here in Southeastern Arizona where wildflowers germinate after the onset of early winter rains like we had last December. If we…
Gerald Tietje I first heard that Whitewater Draw was a good place to see Sandhill Cranes in winter on one of Jim Hoagland’s monthly bird walks. I had heard of thousands of Sandhill Cranes wintering in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, but Whitewater Draw? Where was that? When I found out…
Jim Hoagland This year, more than 80,000 volunteers will participate in the Audubon’s 123rd Christmas Bird Count (CBC) starting on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, through Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. It is the longest-running citizen science census survey in the world, starting back in 1900. What is the history of the CBC? Up through the 19th…