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Bird photography sounds peaceful. You probably imagine me relaxing in the wilderness, sipping coffee while majestic creatures land gently on branches and smile for the camera. That is incorrect. Real bird photography involves stumbling out the door before sunrise, hauling a tripod, folding...

Feeding the birds has its perks: beautiful photos, joyful noise, and the occasional feeling that you're running a feathered soup kitchen. It also attracts chipmunks, squirrels, and—every now and then—a Cooper’s Hawk with bad intentions and faster reflexes than I’d prefer. And sometimes... it...

It’s Winged Wednesday, where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re zipping, swooping, sunbathing, or striking a sassy pose, we want to see your favorite winged wonders. Birds, bugs, bats, or butterflies—if it’s got wings, it’s fair game! Last week, we went headfirst...

One of only two venomous lizards in North America (the other is in Mexico), the Gila Monster lumbers through the Southwest like it owns the desert, which it kind of does. It doesn’t strike—it gnaws to inject venom. Yes, chews. Slowly. It spends most of its time underground, emerging to snack on...

Claret Cup: Also known as: Hedgehog Cactus, Mojave Mound Cactus, Kingcup Cactus, That Spiny Thing You’ll Regret Touching. This cactus is the prom queen of the desert—short, spiky, and radiant in red. The flowers look like someone dipped a shot glass in cherry Kool-Aid and dared it to grow on a...

Perched on a grass blade, this female lynx spider (likely Peucetia viridans) guards her egg sac with silent intensity. Her body is almost translucent green, perfectly camouflaged among the stems and leaves. Look closer and you’ll see fine black spines on her legs, like botanical barbed wire...

It’s Winged Wednesday, where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re zipping, swooping, sunbathing, or striking a sassy pose, we want to see your favorite winged wonders. Birds, bugs, bats, or butterflies—if it’s got wings, it’s fair game! This week’s theme: Dive Bombers...

I’m toying with the idea of starting a recurring column—maybe weekly, maybe monthly (definitely not daily… that sounds like work). Writing is a fairly new hobby for me, but I’ve found it pairs well with bird photography and a sense of humor. This piece features three characters: Mortimer – a...

Two bison face off in a cloud of dust—no warm-up, no small talk, just a thunderous headbutt that echoed across the valley. It’s rut season, and for these one-ton contenders, romance begins with blunt force trauma. They charged like prehistoric linebackers in fur coats, hell-bent on impressing a...

This Harris’s Antelope Squirrel made herself right at home on a prickly pear in my yard, casually munching the fresh new paddle like it was the daily special. Spines? No problem. She held each bite delicately in her paws, savoring her cactus cuisine. The very first thing I tell visitors is...

It’s Winged Wednesday again, our weekly celebration where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re zipping, swooping, sunbathing, or just striking a sassy pose, we want to see your favorite winged wonders. Birds, bugs, bats, butterflies—if it’s got wings, it’s fair game...

Desert Revival: Triops and Fairy Shrimp from a Wupatki Roadside Puddle This is an older photo, newly reprocessed, with a fresh write-up to match. After a monsoon rain at Wupatki National Monument, I collected a quart of water from a roadside puddle, home to dormant eggs just waiting for...

With each rhythmic sweep of her broad, spoon-shaped bill, the Rosiette Spoonbill stirs the muddy shallows, sensing prey by touch alone. Occasionally, she flings her bill upward, perhaps to reposition prey or flush something hidden, but this time, she comes up empty. Around her, wide ripples...

Meet the Chuckwalla: A sun-loving lizard of the Southwest! Found from southern California to northern Mexico, these desert dwellers can grow up to 16 inches long. Herbivores at heart, they feast on flowers, leaves, and fruit, with a side of cactus when available. Males often sport a reddish band...

When mature, male Arizona Blonde Tarantulas are easily recognized by their enlarged pedipalps and slender abdomens compared to females. These males spend up to eight years growing and developing before leaving their burrows to embark on a wide-ranging search for a mate. During this perilous...

It’s Winged Wednesday, where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re zipping, swooping, sunbathing, or just striking a sassy pose, we want to see your favorite winged wonders. Birds, bugs, bats, or butterflies—if it’s got wings, it’s fair game! This week, I am...

Clean Critters, Clumsy Course: After foraging the mudflat buffet, this raccoon mom and her kits waded into deeper water to wash off the grime, ever tidy, but not thinking about the muddy trip home. 1. A raccoon will bathe to keep neat and clean, Then trudge through the mud, unbecoming...

With hind legs set and tail held high, She stares ahead with feeder in eye. Eight feet to soar, no net below, No brakes, no maps—just go, Chip, go!

This week’s theme is wide open with wings welcome, whether they’re soaring, fluttering, or simply striking a pose. What winged wonders have caught your eye lately? Birds, bugs, bats, butterflies, show us your favorites in flight or at rest! Wading birds are the long-legged pros of shallow...

This week’s theme is wide open—anything with wings is fair game! What’s been fluttering, flapping, or soaring through your part of the world? Birds, bugs, bats, butterflies, if it takes to the air, it’s welcome here. Wading birds are long-legged hunters of the shallows, expertly stalking fish...