I found this unpublished draft: It is time to step back for a moment from the urgency of the Horseshoe Two Fire, and to reflect on just why the Chiricahua Mountains are so important to so many people. Many people, entering Cave Creek Canyon for … Continue readingA Sense of Place: Chiricahua
Nearly 100 years ago, George Gaylord Simpson wrote his masterpiece about fieldwork in Argentina, Attending Marvels. I’ve been attending marvels all my life, and yesterday’s was a doozy! The early morning sun was just topping the Peloncillos, and already the land all around was well-lit. … Continue readingAttending Marvels
Continuing the nighttime-visitor theme, I couldn’t resist adding this photo!
This year has ushered in the most exciting butterfly season in many a long year. Enjoy these fine visitors to our Portal home! Very rare here, California Patches have appeared in several yards and canyons around Portal this September. Great Southern Whites, normally resident in … Continue readingDistinguished Visitors
Our journey to wild places connected with Kim Crumbo continues…. Our trusty electric vehicle is up to the task of carrying Kelly, Jim and me to Yellowstone National Park, where Kim is still missing. We approach the enormous wilderness of Yellowstone from the south, by … Continue readingA Journey in Tribute to Crumbo: Yellowstone
After hearing the dreadful news that Kim Crumbo is missing in Yellowstone, Jim and I drive to my sister Kelly’s home. Together, decades ago, Kelly and Crumbo, with friend and colleague Larry Stevens, founded Grand Canyon Wildlands Council (now Wild Arizona). They had worked together … Continue readingA Journey in Tribute to Crumbo: Marble Canyon
As we dream––here in Portal, Arizona––the world outside is hopping! (Sometimes literally.) Gray Foxes come almost nightly to water during dry spells. Desert Cottontails are here, night and day. Cats stalk in, big and small. Canids too! Unlike the usually-silent foxes, Songdogs may announce their … Continue readingWho Comes By Night?
One big––really big––caution applies to birding in Kanha Tiger Reserve: Tigers abound, and they find people quite as tasty as a Sambar deer. Therefore, birding is primarily pursued from the confines of a jeep. And therefore, big birds are the easiest to spot and to … Continue readingBirds of Kanha, India: Raptors
Our last wildlife sanctuary in India (on this Naturalist Journeys trip!) is Kanha Tiger Reserve. Located in the heart of north-central India, Kanha Tiger Reserve is comprised of lands having several designations: Kanha-Kisli National Park covers about 360 square miles and has a surrounding buffer … Continue readingTiger Time!
The birds of Sundarbans National Park deserve their own post. Here in the world’s most extensive mangrove forest, kingfishers, waders and storks forage at low tide on the abundant invertebrates. Among the kingfishers, the rare Brown-winged Kingfisher specializes in mangrove and tidal river habitats along … Continue readingBirds in Sundarban’s Mangrove Forest