The Amiable Accipiter The Unique Personality of a Red-Tailed Hawk By Ian Adrian | February 27, 2019 Image caption My absolute favorite part of nature adventuring is getting to know individual animals. Every living creature, regardless of form, has a unique personality. This female red-tailed hawk is a brilliant example! These large raptors, despite being…
Free the Bobcats of Tucson Protect Mama and her Kitten By Ian Adrian | February 27, 2019 Mama bobcat glimmering with the backlight of sunset The first time I met Mama was a hot, dry May morning. This was also the first time I had ever gotten a good look at a wild bobcat. Furthermore,…
Quirky Coatis Befriending a Troop of “Wild” Coatimundis Coatimundis (aka coatis) look like a cross between dogs and tiny bears. They are considered close relatives to the infamous trash panda (raccoon) and have fascinating social dynamics! Coatis eat just about anything from insects and worms, to rodents, eggs, berries, tubers, and a wide assortment of…
Is Love Exclusively Human? Is this magical sensation exclusive to our species? By Ian Adrian | February 27, 2019 Image caption Scarlet macaws are not only large and beautiful, but they have inspiring social dynamics! These parrots can live up to 80 years and mate for life, once partnered. They will do everything together from…
Add Beauty, Save PollinatorsConverting Your Grass Yard into a Wildflower Garden By Ian Adrian | February 27, 2019 Image caption It was nearly 6 years ago and I still lived in Central Pennsylvania. I recall visiting my mother, Andrea, one particular day in late summer. My tranquil childhood home, at which she still resided,…
A New Focus From Sales to Service By Ian Adrian | February 27, 2019 Image caption Hi there! For the last…..almost decade (wow, time has flown by) since first becoming captivated by photography, my intention has been largely focused (pun intended) on selling photography prints. If we’re being completely honest, this has not entirely been…
The Monsoons It’s hot! No, that’s an understatement. The Sonoran Desert is a damn inferno. For some time, temperatures have regularly been reaching an excess of 110 degrees F. After tolerating these dry, scorching temperatures for long enough, residents of Southern Arizona are finally granted some relief. Welcome to monsoon season! Throughout much of the…
Bobcat in the Brush The most widespread of all North American wildcats, bobcats can be found across most of the continent in an array of habitats ranging from swamps and prairies, to desert, dense forest, and mountains. Extremely adapatable, they waste no time adjusting to habitat alterations and will prey on reptiles, any manageable mammal,…
Madera Canyon: Birds and Coatis One of the most ecologically-diverse regions in North America, Southern Arizona boasts more species of many life forms than anywhere else, north of Mexico. Among them are bees, rattlesnakes and, you guessed it, hummingbirds. Southern Arizona has a unique array of habitats that range from sandy/rocky deserts, to wetlands, alpine…
Desert Bighorns: Risking My Life to Watch Endangered Sheep It was the crack of dawn with the sunrise barely visible through the thick clouds. Abruptly awaking to the obnoxious beeps of my 20-year-old alarm clock, I scarfed down a hasty breakfast, re-checked my camera bag, petted my cats, then darted out the door. I drove…
Coyotes are incredible creatures. Like wolves, they form tightly-knit family groups or “packs,” sometimes hunting cooperatively to take down larger or more difficult prey. They eat a wide variety of food items, from rabbit (which seem to be the favored entre), to reptiles, birds, eggs, plants, berries and, when they’re desperate, even the occasional roadkill…
Introducing TucsonThe Desert and Her Inhabitants By Ian Adrian | January 9, 2019 Bathed in the light of the golden hour. In the heart of the American Southwest lies a city that, since it’s 1860 founding (although it’s original inhabitants can be traced as far back as 10,000 BC), has grown from a small town…
Eagles Hunting in the Susquehanna By Ian Adrian | November 20, 2018 An eagle goes for the kill. Conowingo Dam, located in Hartford County, Maryland, is nationally famous for the large number of eagles which congregate to take advantage of fantastic hunting opportunities. Beginning in late-autumn, and extending through December (and sometimes January),…
Last Sunday, I opted to spend the day at Wildwood Lake, in search of green herons. This heavily-trafficked nature park is just north of Harrisburg, PA. Green herons are extremely entertaining water birds. They employ several different hunting strategies which include spearing fish from a perch, stalking the shallows for frogs and minnows and, on a few occasions, they’ve even been documented using live bait (such as tiny insects) to lure fish in.
Thanks to the application of harsh chemicals for such uses as lawn “care” and “protecting” crops, bees are on a downward spiral toward extinction. If they die, we die.
It’s fascinating to see how many different patterns and color variations occur within a species. Also, I can’t pass on the opportunity to reiterate the undeserved negative reputation that timbers (as well as every over species of rattlesnake) receive.