A Morning Stroll
(click on photos to enlarge)
There are lots of places to hike around here without having to get in the car, so we’ve been exploring the trails in Tucson Mountain Park. We’re now anticipating the big cactus bloom that’s imminent and are pleased to see how many of the Saguaros harbor clusters of buds.
Lately I’ve been taking a little side road that is not really a part of the park but either belongs to Tucson Water or the mega-resort across from us. It branches off from the unpaved road which leads up to a parking lot on the edge of the park. This road goes up to a reservoir owned by Tucson Water and eventually connects with one of the park trails. It was at the end of one of our hikes that we discovered the water seepage. It’s not much–mostly some ruts in the utility road, about 50 yards long, that collect seepage from the reservoir. Here the desert is replaced by a large cottonwood, willows, cattails, and other riparian plants.
It’s also a magnet for many species of animals — birds fly down to drink and bathe, butterflies seek nutrients from the damp mud, dragonflies and damselflies breed here. There is an active Cooper’s Hawk nest in the cottonwood. The young have fledged now but can be seen sitting on the branches near the nest. I’ve been photographing some of the insects there.
So, whatcha looking at?
Below are a pair of Aztec Dancers (Argia nahuana) in tandem. During courtship, the male clasps the female behind her head and “protects” her from other males. The strange coupling continues while she deposits eggs on plant material in the stream.
Aztec Dancers
A beautiful male red-orange dragonfly, aptly-named, Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata), has been patrolling the stream, flying back and forth, back and forth, grabbing a flying insect when the opportunity arises. He will then return to a favorite perch to consume his catch.Here his is, resting in between forays over the stream.
Male Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata)
When I returned the next morning, hoping to get more photos of this colorful odonate, there was a much smaller insect on his perch — a robber fly with a small insect it may have plucked from the stream.
Robber Fly (Family Asilidae)
While sitting in the grass near the stream, I noticed this attractively colored Net-winged Beetle (Lycus sanguineus).
Net-winged Beetle (Lycus sanguineus)
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