Field Notes
A Sampling of Flora in the San Rafael Valley: Grasses
February 26, 2021I’ve always loved plants, but it wasn’t until I adopted a vegan diet that I started to see plants as separate from each other instead of one big sea with fifty shades of green (or uninspiring brown, depending on the time of year). After moving to the Sky Island region from Minnesota, where everything is either very green or covered in snow, I was…
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The Border Wildlife Study Rodeo
February 24, 2021For many youngsters around the West, it is Rodeo Break. I hardly ever went to the actual Rodeo, but I sure miss having those two days off! In our Border Wildlife Study, I’ve seen plenty of animals both cattle and wildlife having their own rodeo days all year long—with no stinkin’ humans around. Enjoy this…
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Field Notes: Joining the Great Backyard Bird Count
February 12, 2021 One amazing thing I’ve realized by staying home during the pandemic is that if I just simply look out my window for more than a few seconds, it’s impossible NOT to see birds. My husband and I joked last spring that it seemed there were so many more birds around our house than the year before, when really we’ve just…
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A Microscopic View of a Palo Verde Root Borer Beetle
February 1, 2021In this week’s Microscopic Monday post, we are going to continue to explore the amazing diversity of beetle species in our Sky Island region by focusing on the Palo Verde Root Borer Beetle—also known simply as the palo verde beetle (Derobrachus hovorei). Formerly classified as Derobrachus geminatus, our local (and quite common) Palo Verde Root Borer was…
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A Microscopic View of a Cathedral Vista Beetle
January 4, 2021If we don’t include single-celled organisms, then beetles are the most numerous and diverse group of living things on this planet. They make up about 40% of all insects. One out of every four animals on this planet is a beetle. In fact, there are more known species of beetles then there are all known…
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A Lesson from the Bears
December 30, 2020I appreciate closing the year with reflection on where I’ve been, where I’m going next, and what I’ve learned that I want to carry with me. Here at Sky Island Alliance, we’ve marked our weeks, months, and seasons this year with special glimpses of our beautiful wildlife neighbors and springs through several of our programs:…
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Community’s Choice: The 19 Best FotoFauna Photos of 2020
December 17, 2020As 2020 comes to an end, we’re excited to look back at the best FotoFauna submissions of the year. Judges from several partnering organizations first helped us whittle 1,000+ photos down to 57 finalists across 19 categories. Then, earlier today, over 50 coffee break attendees voted live to select the the winners from these finalists. As the community…
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¡Hemos detectado más de 100 especies en las tierras fronteriza entre Estados Unidos y México!
December 11, 2020En marzo de 2020, Sky Island Alliance se asoció con la organización sin fines de lucro mexicana Naturalia, A.C. para documentar la vida silvestre que vive o migra a través de las zonas fronterizas entre Estados Unidos y México, uno de los últimos tramos restantes del corredor de vida silvestre abierto en la región. ¿Cómo…
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We’ve Detected Over 100 Species in the Borderlands!
In March 2020, Sky Island Alliance partnered with Mexican nonprofit Naturalia, A.C. to document the wildlife that lives in or migrates through the U.S.–Mexico borderlands, one of the last remaining stretches of open wildlife corridor in the region. How does the documentation work? An array of 58 trail cameras operates 24/7 along 34 miles of…
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Microscopic View of a Hedgehog Cactus Fruit
November 23, 2020Hedgehog cacti of the Echinocereus genus are relatively small-stature cactus plants with multiple cylindrical stems. In eastern Arizona, Fendler hedgehog (Echinocereus fendleri) may go unnoticed for much of the year until its brilliant pink blooms open in April-May. The large round fruits are bright red and ripe, attractive to many wildlife species that help disperse the hedgehog cactus seeds after…
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