Soaring Birds and Snake Cotton

September 30, 2016
Soaring Birds and Snake Cotton
Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey
Soaring Birds and Snake Cotton

Sep 30 2016 |

/

Show Notes

IMG_2988

Autumn is the season of migration for many avian species and in the borderlands of southern Arizona hummingbirds are passing through, sparrows are arriving northern harriers too, and sandhill cranes soon will appear in the agricultural fields of the Sulphur Springs Valley. Oh there are so many things happening, but I find the hawks arriving or passing through pretty darned exciting. To look up into our immense and open sky and watch hundreds of hawks soaring, diving and swirling by almost all day long is simply magical.

Not having my camera in my truck is bad, but to not have my binoculars in my truck, well that’s a cardinal sin. I had gotten very lackadaisical and when I finally had them beside me I counted on my naked eye for an identification. Ha! A photo of a golden eagle on a road kill would have been a nice shot.

Snake Cotton (Froelichia  arizonica) is nothing to write home about I guess. I mean you’re not going to find it a nursery and why would you look, right? But there is something nice about learning all the plants and critters we encounter out in the wild. It’s fun to be a nature geek don’t you think? Yeah it is.

A couple notes: the photos are mine. You can see the snake cotton sitting in a sea of blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), but the in the close up, that is sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) in the background. Beautiful.

IMG_2991

Other Episodes

Episode 0

January 31, 2025 00:04:19
Episode Cover

California Buckthorn

I grew and sold California buckthorn for several years. Early on I sold it wholesale to other nurseries, but I also sold it at...

Listen

Episode

May 16, 2018 5:33
Episode Cover

Fallugia paradoxa

Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa) is very common around out little homestead. There are thickets of it all along the banks of the Ol’ Guajolote....

Listen

Episode

July 25, 2018 00:04:32
Episode Cover

Monsoon Pudding Days

I don’t think the botanical name Phemeranthus aurantiacus for our local flame flower is set in stone just yet. I went to the SEINet...

Listen