Field Notes

Acorn woodpecker

Friday Fauna Feature: Acorn Woodpecker

April 20, 2022

Written by Aleidys Lopez Romero Description Acorn woodpeckers have mostly black bodies with white faces and an iconic red cap on their heads. Both sexes range from 7-9 inches in…
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Friday Fauna Feature: Striped Skunk 

April 18, 2022

Written By: Aleidys Lopez Romero Conservation Status: Least Concern  Perhaps you can recall a time when you were young, snuggled up on your couch with a cup of hot chocolate…
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Friday Fauna Feature: Gila Woodpecker

April 8, 2022

Written by Aleidys Lopez Romero Description Picture this: You’re hiking around your favorite lowland region in the Sky Islands. The wind is blowing on your neck as the blazing sun…
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Bees

Power to the Pollinators

April 1, 2022

Written by Micah Kaufmann, Earth Grant Intern Have you noticed within the past few weeks more bees and wasps out and about? It’s a sign of spring time! Pollinators of…
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Mexican jay

Friday Fauna Feature: Mexican Jay

Written by Aleidys Lopez Romero Description  You’ve likely seen them swooping low to the ground and frolicking among the trees, their vibrant blue wings twinkling in the sunlight. The Mexican…
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Aravaipa Canyon: Field Report!

March 29, 2022

Sky Island Alliance and our wonderful volunteers are back in Aravaipa Canyon! We’re continuing our work of the last several years to hand-pull Vinca major from the banks of Aravaipa…
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Spring’s a Comin’ 

March 20, 2022

March 20th­ is the spring equinox of 2022, when the length of day equals that of night. This marks the first day of Spring for us in the Northern Hemisphere….
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Friday Fauna Feature: Gila Monster 

March 18, 2022

Written by Aleidys Lopez Romero While our species this week is certainly not the poster-child of “cute and cuddly,” their unique coloration and venomous bites are definitely a showstopper. We…
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Wavy scaly cloakfern

Wavy Scaly Cloakfern

March 15, 2022

When I moved to Arizona and left the coast redwood forest behind, I sadly thought my love affair with ferns was over. I was proven wonderfully wrong almost immediately during…
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Get to Know the Gray Fox

March 9, 2022

Author: Rosalyn Jackson, Sky Island Intern Gray foxes are small mammals native to North and Central America. Their species name, cinereoargenteus, roughly translates to “ashen silver” which appropriately describes their beautiful,…
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