The dead of winter in Arizona’s Sky Islands can be an exciting time for those who watch birds — especially this year.
Vince Pinto
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Nature’s Journey: Milking the Monsoon
Our summer rains were well-spaced and deep reaching. But yesterday’s green carpets and walls of vegetation are tomorrow’s fire hazards. What to do?
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Nature Journeys: Sky Island Shams
Hardly a day goes by when I fail to encounter a Sky Island invertebrate mimic, from the animated jumping spider to the zone-tailed hawk.
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Nature Journeys: Sky Island Giants
We have a good number of large species in our area, from tarantula hawks and wild turkeys to the giant saguaro and elusive jaguar.
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Nature Journeys: Through the Lens of Texas Mulberry
Texas mulberry fruit. Photo courtesy Western New Mexico University Our much-anticipated monsoon season has at long last arrived. With excellent early July rainfall totals in many Sky Island locations come equally strong expectations of much-needed habitat recovery. The daunting truth is that we are still officially in an “exceptional drought.” This sobering state of affairs […]
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Nature Journeys: A Taste of the East
There is no doubt that southeastern Arizona is firmly planted within the greater southwestern U.S. Any casual observer can plainly see that we are rife with the fodder of the desert and other, associated arid lands. Cacti, rattlesnakes, thorny trees, ants, and other species emblematic of this parched quarter of our country abound. Some of […]
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Meet the PRT Writers
Introducing the writers who regularly contribute articles and columns to the Patagonia Regional Times. Look for more profiles in upcoming issues. Francesca Claverie Hello, my name is Francesca Claverie and I write native plant-related content for the Patagonia Regional Times. I grew up on an alfalfa farm in Calexico, CA where my family has strong […]
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Nature Journeys: Arizona’s Epiphytes
Ball moss growing in a red berry juniper, its most common host. Photo by Vince Pinto The Sky Islands region of southeast Arizona plays host to over 2000 species of plants. Among their ranks are trees, shrubs, succulents, vines, grasses, ferns, mosses, and herbaceous plants. Few of these species regularly grow off the ground in […]
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Starstruck: Truths and Amazement
If nothing else, we’ve gone through a year when challenging truth seemed like an Olympic sport. I’ve grown tremendously weary of it. You see, hypotheses are meant to be questioned, and skepticism as a means to discern fact from fiction is absolutely necessary. But truth, once scientifically established, is truth. I think we can use […]
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Nature Journeys: Rowdy Roadrunners
Photo by Claudia Pinto If you think that all dinosaurs became extinct with a massive asteroid strike approximately 65 million years ago, you might just be wrong. Birds are often considered living dinosaurs, feathers being evolutionary holdovers from these famous saurians. Today, no species seems to epitomize this ancient link more than the roadrunner. April […]