Name that Fruit, too!

Photo by Matt Ball 11/18/2015

All together now: The fruit is the thing with the seed(s)!
You can easily find the fruit of Desert Vine (Cottsia (fka Janusia) gracilis). Each of the 'wings' contains a seed. Click on the link to see the distinctive (but small) flowers.

A Chub is a Chub

Photo by Marty Horowitz 11/19/2015 

We first thought these might be Gila Topminnows, a native fish recently reintroduced into the Sabino system. But it turns out these are Gila Chub, fine native fish in their own right.

Ichthyological updates from Josh Taiz, District Biologist:

These are all our hungry and curious little chubs. I have not had the opportunity to place a trap in the water in Sabino to determine if they topminnow have persisted since their reintroduction to the system. Perhaps I will get a chance this winter. 

[on distinguishing between the species] The basic idea to keep in mind is that topminnows are essentially guppies. But, since they are not bred for show, they don’t have extravagant fins or tails. The first thing to look for to distinguish between chub and topminnow is the tail: Chub tails are deeply forked; topminnow are somewhat rounded.
Second, the position of the mouth can be helpful. Chub are mid-water hunters so they have a terminal mouth (i.e. the margin of the mouth opens outward toward the front and is not slanted either upward or downward). Topminnow by contrast have a mouth that slopes upward and opens at the top of their skull (called “superior” in ichthyological terms) like a tarpon or arawana.

Your Daily Dose: Your Source for ichthyological news from Sabino Canyon!

Name that Fruit!

Photo by Matt Ball 11/18/2015
Anne Green Thumb 

I took my Honey-Matt out for a hike and made him stop for fruits. (Remember: the fruit is the thing with the seed(s). A fruit doesn't always look like an apple.)
This spiky ball in front is the fruit of Range Ratany (Krameria erecta). Those magenta 'petals' on the flower in back are actually the sepals (hold flower on stem); the flower itself is really small (as you can see by comparing it to my gigantic thumb). This plant is a hemi-parasite, i.e., it can photosynthesize, but it taps into the roots of other plants to siphon off water and nutrients. Very sneaky. Because it grows low and under other plants, look carefully for it. And check out those cool fruits.

Friends of Sabino Canyon campaign

Guest post from Bob Wenrick, president of  Friends of Sabino Canyon 

Thanks to all you ‘Friends’ for the progress we have made in the Got Your Kid Covered campaign. We need continued support to complete greening this saguaro - our barometer for measuring progress.

As of November 15, we have raised $49,600 and are at 66% of our goal. You may recall the campaign is to raise $75,000 for three important projects that support nature education in the Canyon.

1. Build three new ramadas to provide shade over the tables in the elementary teaching area. We are pleased to report this phase is complete. 

2. Upgrade the elementary-area restroom to reduce wait time for the students during the field trips;

3. Build a new ramada for the puppet show and assist the Forest Service in upgrading the ramadas in the kindergarten teaching area.

If you have not yet contributed to this campaign, please consider doing so now. We prefer your check, but you can also visit our website at www.sabinocanyon.org and make an online contribution. We hope to complete the campaign by the end of December.

Friends of Sabino Canyon

5700 N Sabino Canyon Rd

Tucson, AZ 85750-1392

Lucky Luke

Photos by Marty Horowitz 11/19/2015

Back for the sixth season is the leucistic (or partially albino) Phainopepla affectionately known as Luke. See the other 5 posts about him here. Luke was first reported about a month ago by Jean and Mark (and seen by others in the weeks that followed), but these are the first photos for this year. Thanks, Marty!

Water dances

Photos by Marty Horowitz 11/19/2015

Always great to see (and hear) water flowing over the dam!

A real snipe hunt

On Wednesday 11/18/2015, Gayle and I saw Fred at the marsh by the Bear Bridge. He was looking intently through binoculars at the reeds. No fooling! He found a snipe!

Photo by Fred Heath 11/18/2015

Fred writes:

There was some confusion on my part as to the correct name of this bird. When I first started birding in NYC (way back when), it was called Wilson’s Snipe. Sometime maybe 20+ years ago, the experts decided it was conspecific [the same species] with the Common Snipe from Eurasia, and it became a Common Snipe. More recently, the splitters decided it was, in fact, a separate species and has been renamed Wilson’s Snipe.

Photo by Fred Heath 11/17/2015

In Arizona, this bird is a primarily a migrant and winter visitant. It breeds in wet mountain meadows, and, according to the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas, there have only been a handful of confirmed or probable breeding records for Arizona in the White Mountains.
In winter, it can be found in damp or shallow wet areas with soft muddy bottoms (ditches, lakesides, open marshes) with a little vegetation in which to hide. There, it probes for various arthropods. You normally wouldn’t expect this bird in Sabino even in a wet year, because most of Sabino Creek runs over rocky or sandy bottoms. However, the spot just below the first Bear Bridge is perfect habitat, as long as it stays somewhat moist.

Thanks, Fred, for a successful snipe hunt!