From Death Valley we took two days to Buckeye on the outskirts of Phoenix. Unfortunately that meant stopping near the interstate. Typically, that meant there were chain hotels and fast food and little else. We searched for somewhere better for supper but ended up at Cracker Barrel :-( Thankfully we managed to avoid descending into interstate hell other than this. (Which isn't always easy, the roads are designed to funnel you into the interstates.)
From there we headed south. We stopped at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Ajo. They had a nice natural area beside the visitor center. Right away I spotted a small bird that looked like it had something in it's beak. Unfortunately I didn't have my long telephoto lens, so this is zoomed in and not very good quality. But I was excited to see it was a Loggerhead Shrike aka a butcherbird (a first for me). They are known for impaling their prey on thorns and barbed wire fences, for storage, display, and to help with eating it. This one had caught a tiny zebra tailed lizard.
There were actually quite a few birds in this small area, including Verdins with their yellow heads and red patch on their shoulder (another new one to me).
And of course lots of cactus including the signature Saguoros of the Sonoran desert. Saguoros live up to 150 years and don't grow arms till they're 50 or more years old.
And chollas like this chain-fruit:
We weren't really expecting a coffee shop in Ajo (population 3000) but we checked anyway and were surprised to find two. Oasis Coffee (check out the photos) was one of my favorites from the trip. It was under the colonnade around the town plaza, reminiscent of Mexico. It was quiet, with comfortable chairs and wifi. We left Curlys Coffee Roasters for another visit. We were driving away when I spotted a gallery (Art Under the Arches) with photographs. (Most galleries are primarily paintings.) We parked again and went in. They had some great work by local photographers. One of them was the lady minding the store.
We continued south to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the border with Mexico. It's also a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The afternoon we arrived we hiked the Red Tanks Tinaja trail. We saw a few more kinds of birds, including Gambel's Quail (from a distance) and Phainopepla (aka Silky Flycatchers).
I stopped to look at something else and noticed this little lizard motionless on a log. It was blocked by some (of course, thorny) bushes so I couldn't get the best angle. iNaturalist helped identify it as an Ornate Tree Lizard. Apparently it's one of the most widespread and abundant North American lizards but I don't recall photographing any before.
Nearby I spotted this Robber Fly and managed a few shots before it flew away. Robber Flies are ambush predators that catch other insects mid-air.
Humorously, I didn't get any photos of Organ Pipe Cactus. But there were also lots of Saguoros
I'm fascinated by the skeletons of cactus - so different from most plants.
We stayed at the main Twin Peaks campground near the visitor center. One nice feature was that the Victoria Mine trail started at the campground so I could easily go for a run in the morning.
See also Shelley's post
See all 21 photos in this batch
No comments:
Post a Comment