What a month!

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Photos, Travel, Tucson 1 Comment

Mountain lion, Desert Photo Retreat, near Tucson, Arizona.
Mountain lion, Desert Photo Retreat, near Tucson, Arizona.

Well we had a crazy couple of days. First a snow storm on the drive to Anchorage with cars off the road all over the place. Then an all night flight to Phoenix. Lyft to our storage unit where we had a car that wouldn’t start, a flat tire, and broken jacks on our trailer. Long story short, everything worked out well and we are now on the property at the Desert Photo Retreat.

This summer was dry in Arizona with a lack of monsoon rains. When we checked on the property in October, I knew we would be right back, so I decided I had enough water storage that I could double the amount that flowed into the waterhole each day, that way the water hole never went dry. Well, thanks to the drought, that had huge results!

We picked up a few new regular species, including a mountain lion that at times came twice a night! Plus, a ring-tailed cat became a new regular, as did a spotted skunk, so now we see three species of skunks. The gray fox still visited nightly. The javelina were still regulars, and coyotes became a new regular. Bobcats were a infrequent visitor, but fun to see. Deer were regulars, that is until a mountain began showing up, then no more deer! At least two species of skunk also show each night. The activity has been incredible, that is until the rain arrived, and then I must say it dropped off. We should have a bunch more rain this week. But, the good news is, as soon as it dries out, most of these animals will be back!

Here is just one night, the times represent when the animal arrived. Most stayed for a few minutes at least. The night of November 2, 2019:

  • 6:26 Gray Fox
  • 7:47 Gray Fox
  • 8:17 Gray Fox
  • 8:45 Coyote
  • 9:18 Ring-tailed cat
  • 9:33 GrayFox
  • 9:55 Coyote
  • 10:39 Gray Fox
  • 10:53 Mountain Lion
  • 11:44 Gray fox
  • 12:11 Hooded Skunk
  • 12:38 Gray Fox
  • 12:58 Coyote
  • 1:34 Gray fox
  • 2:43 Gray Fox
  • 2:57 Mountain Lion
  • 3:18 Gray Fox
  • 3:26 Coyote
  • 5:41 Stripped Skunk

An unusual night without javelina.

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