My beak is in the work

Costas Female, Photo by Ned Harris

White-winged Dove, Photo by Ned Harris

Some birds to know.

3 stripes

Once again, I need to correct a post. A poem, no less. I REALLY hope you didn't memorize the first version. It should be: Red on yellow (white), kill a fellow; red on black, venom lack. (I fixed it in the post, too.) This version with allow you to avoid the coral snake (venomous) and choose the mountain king snake (harmless) as your halloween accessory. Apologies for the potentially fatal confusion.

Camouflage

Canyon Tree Frog

Underwing Moth

Unicorn Mantis Nymph

Instead of standing out with their warning-I'm-yucky colors, these critters use the blending-in technique to avoid being eaten. Those who look more like their background survive to reproduce (and thus pass on their advantageous genetic code). As they sing in the hokey-pokey song: that's what it's all about.
All photos taken in Sabino Canyon by Ned Harris. If you haven't already spent a happy hour here, I highly recommend it.

Mimicry

Matt and I are two of the very few people who've seen a coral snake in Sabino Canyon. (Or in the 'wild' at all. Even "Reptile Guy" aka Tom at Tohono Chul asked for our photos for his presentations. And he's lived here a lot longer than we have.) We saw ours in 2008 on the Phoneline trail. As thin as a pencil, about a foot long or so, probably fully grown.

Coral Snake

Ned photographed this Mountain King Snake on Mt Lemmon. These snakes are probably an example of mimicry: "the similarity of one species to another which protects one or both." Basically, animals learned that coral snakes (not to mention gila monsters and other red/orange and black combos) are bad food choices, those mountain king snakes with the most of these colors were not preyed upon (as much, anyway). They survived to reproduce (as did the cautious animal who chose not to eat them or any other similarly-colored being). Evolution in a nutshell. Or a snake skin.

Mountain King Snake

One clever little rhyme I learned from a guy with a boa at one of the Tohono Chul events: "Red on Yellow (white), kill a fellow; Red on Black, venom lack." I say: My name is Anne Green and no snakes were harmed in the making of this message. (updated 10/29/10)

Anne makes the right choice in neck wear.

Herp-itude

Western Banded Gecko, 6/2009

Kingsnake

As the weather gets cooler, we won't be seeing as many of our herp friends in the canyon. I bring you, therefore, two herps I've had in my house. The gecko photo above was taken outside, after I moved one of my rainbarrels; but one of the same species was found two years ago in my daughter's room. Squeaked up a storm while being caught and put outside. The baby kingsnake was in my shower. No idea how or why. Anyone else have herps in the house?

Getting your burros straight

It took me quite a while to figure out the difference between burrobrush and burroweed (when one isn't blooming), despite various clever mnemonic devices. So I bring you some photos. Look at the links, too, for more photos and info. 

foreground: Burrobrush, background: Burroweed

foreground: BW; background (and barely discernable) BB

Burroweed: blooms in Fall, yellow flowers. Look now in the canyon. 

Burrowbrush; blooms in spring, tiny white flowers.

Take a walk to this one!

Photo by Matt, from Fall 2007

I recently pointed out this magnificent crested saguaro to Carol's sister, who was visiting from Florida. (No saguaros there!) I found this 'old' photo today, decided to post it, and ask for more recent versions (as I don't think I'm going to get my personal photographer out there any time soon). If you haven't already seen the best crested saguaro in Sabino Canyon, take a walk on the nature trail. (Yes, the 'lowly' nature trail, the first trail you come to from the main path).