Notes by date

10/26/10 a Common Buckeye visited the lantanas. Whitelined Sphinx in the evening.
10/27/10 still a Nighthawk at dusk. Thought they'd be gone by now
10/28/10 with all the dogs along the Santa Cruz: a big yellow beetle got away - could have been a Pyrota sp.
10/29/10 short stop at lower Madera after a day at the art show in Green Valley: lots of Hippomelas sp. on Velvet-pod Acacia, some mating
10/30/10 stopped at the gas station in Picture Rocks on my way back from the Green Valley Art show: there was a Megacyllene antennata, an Oxygrylius ruginasus and 5 spp of Orthoptera, Creosote Grasshopper.
10/31/10 black lighting, but it got really cold A Megacyllene from the gas station and Achryson surinamum in a spiderweb at Frank's across the street. Cymatoderas.
11/1/10 all day at the Entomology Department. Wendy brought 'Saguaro rot', lots of immatures and Hololepta and huge Staphylinid adults
11/2/2010 Florida Canyon is beautiful! found some really nice bugs, a toad lubber and Lock-jaw ants for example.
11/13/2010 during the Fountain Hills show: Buffle Heads and Scoups, Ruddies, lot of Sand Pipers, Killdeer, Am. Coots on the pond. Only Midgets and moths. The night temps in the 40s. A Dermestes carnivorus in my oven mitten and Anthrenus verbasci in the Wheeler collection.
11/25/2010 night temps close to freezing now, but days in the seventies. American Snout, Painted Ladies and even an Arizona Sister at Frank and Lynn's place across the street. There's a little water seep ...
11/26/10 a huge Pepsis female in the front yard checking out holes.
11/29/10 freezing night temps in the low twenties expected. I hope our plants are save.
12/1/10 Basil, mint, tomato and paprika under the eves made it, all succulents are fine, only bougainvillea and yellow lantana are frozen.
12/6/10 A Monarch on the patio and one Penstemon plant is pushing up flower spikes. Spring?
12/8/10 a little broadnosed weevil in the kitchen sink, still to wet to id.
12/10/10 at the 4th Avenue Street fair: Mexican Cactus Flies alight on balloons
12/7/10 Randy started some plastic trays with barrel seeds.
12/19/10 mating Small Milkweed Bugs on an agave in the backyard
12/24/10 found bugs that look like a cross between Narnia, Chelinidea and Leptoglossus on a barrel cactus NE corner of the property (turned out to be Narnia wilsoni.)
12/26/10 a big Pepsis checking out holes in the ground at Frank's across the street.
12/29/10 Nice rainfall and then plunging temps, but no snow down here. Some frozen plants like Lantanas and Basil, but we covered Aloes and brought the Tomato/Bellpepper pot inside. Lowest temp 22F, I think.
1/14/2011 the desert is turning velvety green!
1/17/2011 Visit to the Oasis B&B and it's resident Violet Crowned Hummer. Breaking in the new little camera.
1/19/11 the white fluff on my window sill cacti turned out to be scale, not fungus, so I repotted and washed them all.
1/21/11 Finally, the tomato plant was full of fruit - today those little canine bastards decided to rip them off and horde them in their beds. Randy built a BIG fence around the pot.
1/29/11 great weather and great sales at the Ventana Art show.
2/2/11 it's getting really cold, 18F, we covered as many plants as possible and the outdoor dogs are sleeping inside for the first time.
2/20/11 Gopher snakes are out.
2/27/11 A winter storm brought snow to the top of Panther Peak
3/5/11 Rufus Hummers at the feeder
3/14/11 Many Turkey Vultures circling above U of A. A pair of Cooper's Hawks in the pine trees across from Forbes building.
3/30/11 The Hedgehogs are blooming, also Texas Longthorn and Beaver Tail. Brittle Bush on the patio is past its prime but still full of bees.
4/1/11 Randy's Mammilaria seeds that he put on moist sand in a clear plastic box on the window sill in January are finally sprouting. White-winged Doves arrived.
4/2/11 record high ninties at the Tucson Street Fair
4/5/11 Ocotillos in bloom.
4/5/11 the first Diamond-backed Rattler on the patio at 10 pm. Paloverdes beginning to bloom. Bats are flying at dusk
4/8/11 It's raining, 0.6 in! It's cold, too, 49 Fahrenheit on the patio and frost on the roof the next morning.
4/12/11 Caracara (was an immature Harris) and a group of White-chested Swifts over our house.
4/13/11 buds on Saguaros and single flowers open. Chollas and Prickly Pears starting to bloom
4/13/11 Ripiphoris everywhere
4/21/11 Night Hawks are back
5/1/2011 Red-spotted Toad on the patio
5/5/11 Cyclocephala melanocephala
5/6/11 1 Black Vulture with a group of 6 TVs.
5/10/11 Finally Quail chicks!
5/11/11 we had to get rid of a bee hive in an irrigation valve box.
5/18/11 Common Buckeyes at Santa Cruz River/Ina. Kissing bugs invading the house.
5/21/11 Summer Tanager front yard. Many groups of quail chicks
5/22/11 Male Cicada Killers on AZ Walnut and Crucifixion Bush at the ASDM
5/24/11 first Acoma sp., a rather big one
5/25/11 Long-nosed Snake drinking at birdbath
5/29/11 Redtail hawk nest in the state land with two or three big chicks.
6/5/11 11 eggs in quail nest in 'goat pen' corner
6/9/11 Coronado Forest closure because of fire danger
6/11/11 first Hemiphileurus illatus
6/13/11 first Palo Verde Rootborer on University and 4th
6/18/11 our quail has left - with 11 chicks I hope. Only egg shells left behind, neatly cut in half. The Red tail nest is empty, too.
6/20/11 Finally young Screech Owls again.
6/28/11 Thunder at night, but no rain
7/4 and 7/5/11 finally thunderstorms and heavy rain. Duboisius arizonensis appeared. 7/21/11 two spp. of Epicauta at PR black light. First Pelidnota lugubris and Cylindera lemniscata, Scarites, Scolaspis. Still Nothopleurus but no Derobrachus
9/2/11 overwhelmed by Oxygrilius all along the Sta Cruz River. Not much at the PR lights, but Hemiphileurus regularly. We planted soaked Mexican Paloverde seeds and they germinated right away. My Horse lubber nymph just molted into an adult.
10/18/11 Desert Broom just beyond its peak at Molino. Autumn colors at Gen. Hitchcock and higher
11/28/2011 Spotted Towhee in Frank's backyard, flying across the street into our yard. The Night Hawks are still here.
12/5/2011 Freezing night temps and I'm hoping my tomato plant is save under the patio roof.
12/16/11 White-throated Swifts at the Sta Cruz River in Marana

1/19/2012 Bats are cruising at dawn. Still night frost.
Fairy Dusters for a week and the first Brittle Bush flowering
2/9/2012 first Whitewinged Dove at the feeder.
3/18/2012 Rain! Finally
3/20/12 Scott's Oriole on the big aloe
3/25/12 Tarantula Hawk and Carpenter Bees. Redtail and Kestrel females are incubating.
4/12/12 Kestrel and Redtails are hatched.
4/21/12 first quail babies
4/27/12 Gopher Snakes mating at the palapa at Frank's
4/28/12 first Ironwood trees blooming, first Night Hawk
5/2/12 Black-tailed Gnatcatchers fledged in front yard
5/6/12 pair of Black Vultures over the Twin Peak
5/8/12 put one Kestrel chick back into the nest
5/9/12 first Kissing Bug (Bedroom)
5/10/12 Green-tailed Towhee at the birdbath (studio window)
5/13/12 last Kestrel chick left the nest
5/18 first of 2 Redtail chicks is out of the nest
6/6/12 four freshly fledged Gilded Flickers all over the yard
6/23 12 Queen of the night bloomed last night around here

1/12/13 night temps down to 20F
 2/3/2013 finally a Gilded Flicker at the front hummingbird feeder again. One in the State Land last week. They are getting much rarer than a couple of years ago.
2/3/2013 Anna's male at the studio feeder. They usually stay at the drive way feeder, Costa's dominate the studio feeder.
2/27/13 the dark female Red-tailed Hawk is on the saguaro nest closest to our house. It's the nest she used 2 years ago, She seems to switch regularly.
3/1/2013 Swifts are cruising low over the state trust land as if ants may be swarming?
3/4/2013 recently mated Messor pergandei Queens are appearing at the black light
3/5/2013 airial ballet of two Prairy Falcons high above our backyard.
3/24/2013 Turkey vultures are back
3/26/2013 White-winged Dove
3/29/2013 Anorus arizonum
3/31/2013 fledged Thrasher, first Rattler. A Starling checking out the saguaro hole at the patio?
5/20/2013 First adult Kissingbug in the house. Brown headed cowbirds at franks
5/20/2013 Acoma sp. beginning to fly
5/22/2013 first Diplotaxis

1/23/2014 green branches on red-tail nest
1/26/2014 first rattler
4/1/2014 White-winged Doves
4/20/2014 White-faced Ibisses and Burrowing Owl in Marana, Sanders Rd/Santa Cruz River
4/20/2014 Night Hawks over the backyard and continuous purring sound
4/21/2014 White-throated Swifts  mating in the air over the state land
4/21/2014 Havelinas come under the dog-fence at the potting shed and attack the Quail block
4/21/2016 Wilson's Warbler at my studio window
6/29/2014 Phainopeplas are back
7/11/2014 Queen of the night bloom in Picture Rocks and at Tohono Chul Park

1/15/2015 All our Hummingbird feeders are overrun by bees, just as the hummer numbers were increasing
3/1/2015 Our rattlers showed up, big guy and then the smaller darker one by the quail block
3/11/2015 Eastern Collared lizard Sabino Canyon walk
3/19/2015 Hooded Oriole male on  tree aloe flowers
3/26/2015 Cactus Longhorn Moeilema gigas
4/4/2015 3 little downy red-tail Hawks in the oldest nest in the state land
4/5/2015 first quail chicks at Frank's across the street and Desert Iguanas are active
4/7/2015 White-crowned Sparrows are back
4/9/2015 White-winged Doves and Nighthawks are back
5/28/2015 Captive Dynastes granti males emerged from pupae
6/1/2015 Gilded Flickers fledged
6/6/2015 Paloverde Root Borers appearing
6/6/2015 Fledged red-tail Hawk chicks are still with their mother on the power poles.
11/30/2015 first ice on the bird bath. Red Tails and Kestrels seem to become territorial, Cooper's hunting around the feeder daily. Bees at the hummingbird feeders for a couple of weeks

4/12/2017 first Diplotaxis
4/16/2017 saw the first Nighthawk flying over our yard

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