Mike in the Wild

Watching the birds at my Prescott feeders grew a bit mundane as the days were shortening in early September.  All the tanagers and grosbeaks, along with the male rufous hummingbirds, had mostly migrated south.  These colorful migrants left the suet and seeds to the year-round mountain residents: nuthatches, titmice, woodpeckers, and bushtits, all markedly plainer and predominately dressed in black, white, and shades of gray.  The only bright colors were the blues of the scrub jays and the yellows of the goldfinches. A tell-tale sign of the change in seasons was when a new bird appeared several weeks ago, a chipping sparrow that was soon  followed by a second.  Regular late summer visitors, they've been exploring my yard ever since, harvesting the seeds of drying wildflowers and even scavenging scattered millet kernels from below my own seed feeder.  With a plain buff chest and a streaked black-and-brown backside, the most distinguishable feature of the spar...

Life in the arid deserts of the Southwest has always depended on ribbons of life, or riverways, to provide much needed water.  One notable example is the Hassayampa River that flows south for 100 miles - mostly underground - on a course from its headwaters in the Bradshaw Mountains in central Arizona to the Gila River. Its waters emerge just south of Wickenberg to nourish cottonwood and mesquite forests, where 770 acres are currently protected in a joint partnership between the Nature Conservancy and the Maricopa County park system.  The preserve includes a lush riparian habitat that numerous animals call home, and that provides a critical stop for many migratory birds like orioles.  Several springs even feed a small lake that serves as a habitat for water-loving flora and fauna. My recent winter visits to the Hassayampa River Preserve have provided firsthand looks at forest, river, desert and lake landscapes, all reachable in one single and easy walk. View of the...