Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Fauna

What did we think about our day at the Desert Museum - it was AWESOME! The Desert Museum is part zoo, natural history museum, and botanical garden. There are almost two miles of paths traversing 21 acres of beautiful desert.

There are 1200 kinds of plants and more than 300 animal species some of which follow:

Barn Owl

Western Screech-Owl
American Kestrel (one of John's favorites)
Mountain Lion
Mexican Wolf
White-Tail Deer
Raven
Great Horned Owl
Harris's Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk

A very thirsty Chipmunk - water from the drip system was more important than being concerned about all the people walking by.

Some type of Dove
A couple of Doves mating dance
Pyrrhuloxia
Black-headed Grosbeak
Bighorn sheep ram
The stately Ram
Sleeping Bobcats
Harris's Hawk
Coati
River Otter
Tortoise
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Female Costa's Hummingbird (I think)
Male Anna's Hummingbird (I think)

The Hummingbirds have their own special enclosure and they are zipping around everywhere. It was difficult just getting these pictures because they don't sit still for long.

We spent over six hours at the Desert Museum and enjoyed every minute. There are docents available to answer questions, give demonstrations, and talks through out the park. It is a fabulous place and if you are ever in the Tucson area, this is definitely a must stop. Good walking shoes are a must. Of course, I would suggest a visit during the winter months as it would be to darn hot otherwise. We also made sure that we were at the viewing area for the Raptor Free Flight (a dynamic bird of prey flight demonstration) in plenty of time. The demonstration was fascinating and beautiful. For more information on the Desert Museum, click on the link here: Desert Museum.

On our way home, we stopped at the Gilbert Ray Campground to check it out. The campground has electricity (30 amp), potable water (not at campsite), and a dump station. The campground does not have showers and we didn't check out the restrooms but we have heard that the facilities are nice. The sites are of various sizes and they have some tent only sites. It was a very nice campground in the desert.

What a wonderful day.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Flora

We shared fauna pictures from the Desert Museum so we thought it would be only right to share some flora pictures. If we know what the plant is, we will so note it.
Blooming Agave
Blooming ocotillo
Two types of blooming agave
Silver Torch Cactus


Pin Cushion

Crested Saguaro that is considered rare. Biologists disagree on the cause of this crest (fan) or cristate. Some biologists say it due to a genetic mutation and others say it is caused by environmental causes like a lightning strike or freeze damage. Whatever the cause, it does make for an interesting Saguaro. We have seen a few around town and it is reported that Saguaro National Park has only about 25 Crested Saguaros in all of its acreage.

Here is a dead Saguaro that I think is interesting because you can see the outer and the inner parts. We were told that a 6 foot Saguaro can weigh around 2,000 lbs. It takes about 60 years before they grow an arm and they can live between 150 to 200 years.

Octopus Agave
Hop Bush

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

On the move

After showers and breakfast, it was time to get the rig ready to roll on down the road. We will still be in the Tucson area just in the southwest part. Our next home for at least the next week is Justin's Diamond J RV Park. We will be backed up to 40,000 acres of public land that has many trails we can hike right from our site.

We got to Justin's around 11 a.m. after leaving Catalina State Park around 9:45 a.m. As we were getting settled in, there were all sorts of birds in the desert behind us; that this is a good sign. We also had three cotton tails frolicking behind the rig.

I was going to make us some sandwiches for lunch and was looking out the window when a bird flew in to the Palo Verde tree behind the rig. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This is a bird I have been hoping to see. I got so excited and thankfully John grabbed the camera and put it in my hands. To my surprise, the bird stuck around long enough for me to get one picture. Whoo Hoo! The bird is called a Pyrrhuloxia (pie-rue-LOX-ee-ah) which is also known as a gray, cardinal-like bird. This is the male of the species. Click on the picture to enlarge to take a better look at this gorgeous bird. Notice the yellow, down-curved parrot like beak.

Here is a shot towards the rear of our site - nothing but desert with a number of hiking trails.

We have the bird feeder out, as well as the hummingbird feeders, and John scattered some seed into the wash behind us. Hopefully, we will be drawing in more fascinating birds. Later in the evening, we had a cute little visitor munching on the corn and sunflower seeds from the southwest bird seed mix.

John took this nice shot of the moon this evening.

Thankfully, we had a breeze to help counter the heat and humidity today. The clouds produced a beautiful sunset.

We think we are going to like our stay here and hope to see wild Javelina's while we are here.

Our neighbor next door is from El Dorado Hills; a small world isn't it? The woman came back from a hike with her dog and said she saw coyotes and cotton tails. We've already met another Excel owner who is staying at the RV park next door as they were riding their bikes over here. They told us they saw us pull in this morning. Us Excel owners look out for each other. There is also another Excel just down the row from us. Hopefully, we will get to introduce ourselves soon.

Tomorrow we are going to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. I can't wait and have been looking forward to this visit for a long time. We've have been told repeatedly how wonderful a place it is from everyone who has visited the museum. Tune in tomorrow to find out what we thought and to see the pictures.