Cactus wrens were one of the first Sonoran Desert birds I learned when I arrived in Tucson to go to the University of Arizona. They are such rascals! Oh, and I grew ironwood trees when I was working in nurseries in Tucson. My goodness that spiny desert native did not like to be tamed in a nursery bucket. Anytime you trimmed a branch, five new spiny shoots would grow out by the cut. Ha! I loved it!
The photo of the cactus wren is from the Tucson Audubon Society web page and the photos of the ironwood tree and blossoms are mine. I love the Sonoran Desert.
Unless you are a botanist and are comfortable keying out plants in a flora, the only way for the rest of us to identify...
I can’t believe I almost let November go by without at least mentioning desert broom (Baccahris sarothroides). It is the native plant the folks...
The scientific name for our gopher snake (or gophersnake. I’ve seen it written both ways) is Pituophis catenifer. The genus looks like a combination...
