In Which Gita Is Entirely Surrounded by Lizards (Dragons)

On my hike in Madera Canyon earlier this month, I was rather surrounded by lizards. Mostly, they were Yarrow's spiny lizards (Sceloporus jarrovii), in part because this species is very common in the Sky Islands south of Tucson, and in part because they are not as easily startled as some other lizards, so you're likely to see them. Some of them even stood their ground in the middle of the path until I practically stepped over them.

This has led to the species being relatively well studied among not only herpetologists, but also ecologists, geneticists, and others, including studies of their phylogenetics and species differentiation, perception of predators and escape behavior, sexual dimorphism, ectoparisitism and theromoregulation, predator-prey interactions, and nutritional effects on growth.

One thing that can make lizards difficult to identify is that their coloration, while striking to the observer, is often not the best identifier. There is lots of variation in coloration both among individuals and over time, due to factors such as camouflage, temperature, or hormones, depending on the species. For example, Yarrow's spiny lizards can be quite dark black when they are cold, but become more colorful in the heat, while also exhibiting blue patches that are dependent on testosterone. And gosh were these guys colorful. I thought they looked particularly dragon-like. Yes, I'm aware of how silly that sounds, but given the amount of fantasy I read as a kid, it's a true statement nonetheless.

I love that you can see the side throat patch here that disappears in the next photo.

Peek-a-boo!

These two were having quite the stand-off, and I sat down to watch them for a while.

There are a lot of animals that we're not really used to seeing head on, or at least not in photos, and I always get a kick out of these unusual perspectives.

  

The throat patch on this one was particularly vibrant (and dragon-like!😂).

Lest my telephoto lens and subsequent cropping give you the mistaken impression that these lizards are larger than they are, here's a zoomed out shot of one of the smaller individuals. Perhaps not quite #FindThatLizard worthy, but not exactly large enough to leap out at you either. It's often their motion that catches the eye.

And the same individual, a bit closer:

This one was clearly comparatively young, probably only a few inches long, and quite adorable.

Alright, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed these lovely lizards (dragons)!

Madera Canyon Flora

Here's a look at some of the flora from my Madera Canyon hike earlier this month. While the height of wildflower season had past already, there were still many flowers scattered throughout the forest that added some nice color.

The scarlet penstemon (Penstemon barbatus), also known as red beardtongue, always strikes me as quite elegant. It's also a hummingbird favorite. The common name and genus penstemon is often claimed to be derived from Greek penta- (five) and stēmōn (warp/thread); however, I've also seen it derived as Latin paene- (almost) + Greek stēmōn. In either case, the name seems to refer to the fact that in addition to the four typical stamen, penstemons also have a sterile fifth stamen. Even the name beardtongue refers to this sterile but hairy stamen, which seems to serve various purposes in different species.

This is a firecracker bush (Bouvardia ternifolia), or a scarlet bouvardia. Although I do like the name firecracker bush, the Spanish name--"Trompetilla", or little trumpet--may be even more fitting. This is a common flower in the sky islands, and it also attracts hummingbirds.

And here's a close up of those little trumpet flowers.

This golden columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha) was definitely past its peak and beginning to wilt, but I always love the graceful spurs of columbines. 

This is clearly an iconic Indian paintbrush of some sort, although species identifications among this genus are notoriously difficult. My best guess is maybe a Catalina Indian paintbrush (Castilleja tenuiflora)? Let me know if you have tips for identifying these!

This was the first time I've ID'ed the manyflowered stoneseed (Lithospermum multiflorum).

I don't usually try to identify thistles. It's obviously a thistle, and generally figure I won't get much farther than that. But with some help based on flowering time and location, I think this is the aptly named Arizona thistle (Cirsium arizonicum).

These cute little purple flowers are aromatic false pennyroyals (Hedeoma hyssopifolia); such a long name for a rather small flower (each flower is less than 1/2" long).

And here is a pretty little yellow aster of some sort. My best guess is a mountain oxeye (Heliopsis parvifolia), helped along by the toothed and tapering alternating leaves.

This alpine false springparsley (Pseudocymopterus montanus) was a small forb with inconspicuous flowers that nevertheless kept catching my attention (they do grow larger, up to a couple feet, but the ones I saw were all quite small). If the leaves remind you of carrots, as they did me, that's because it's in the carrot family! It has documented ethnobotanical uses in multiple Indigenous cultures.

While in many ways the hike was a nice break from the desert, there were a few reminders that the desert wasn't far away. Including this cute hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus).



There were also a few signs of past forest fires. (For those who may be wondering, the Bighorn fire is now pretty much under control, but there's now a new fire southwest of Tucson, started by lightening during an intense storm last night.)

One thing about moving across the country--especially one as ecologically and climatologically diverse as the U.S.--is that most of the flora are completely different. While I still know an oak when I see one, I don't know all the local species. But I'm learning. Slowly.

This one is, I think, a silverleaf oak (Quercus hypoleucoides)...

while this appears to be an Emory or Apache oak (Quercus emoryi).

There were also some lovely Arizona sycamores (Platanus wrightii) that were far too tall to photograph with the telephoto lens I used for most of the hike for the sake of all the birds. 

I hadn't seen a fern in a while, and for some reason they have a special spot in my heart. On reflection, I suppose their fractal-like appearance, unique biology, and association for me with walking through forests all contribute to my fondness. Anyway, I think this one is a bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), which is perhaps the most common fern, native to the northern hemisphere but now found on every continent except Antarctica.



I'll leave you with a few pine cones, although I'm all ID'ed out for the day, so I'll leave that challenge to you, if you choose to accept it!

Madera Canyon: Birds, Lizards, and Butterflies Galore!

Last week I took a hike in Madera Canyon, a lovely spot in the Santa Rita mountains, south of Tucson. Between one thing and another (read: comps, pandemic, revision deadlines, the Bighorn Fire, and the Tucson heat), I hadn't gotten out for a hike in a while, and it was everything I needed it to be.

The Santa Rita Mountains are home to Mt. Wrightson, which at at 9,456 ft (2,882 m) is a few hundred ft taller than Mt. Lemmon, making it the tallest of the many mountains surrounding Tucson.

I didn't go all the way to the top, though; I took a more leisurely hike instead, stopping frequently to take photos, especially of all the wildlife. I did the 6.2 mile Josephine Saddle Loop: starting from the Mt. Wrightson Picnic area and taking the not-so-steep Super Trail up to Josephine Saddle, then the significantly steeper Old Baldy Trail back down. There were some lovely views of both the mountains and the valley, and I definitely look forward to going back soon (and maybe sometime going all the way to the top too).

I love the way you can see the green stripes of the riparian vegetation radiating away from the mountains into the much drier desert.

It was a lovely day, cool--sub-80s, with some help from the elevation--and some rain in the morning but the sun soon shone through. (And in Arizona, rain is a treat!)

Madera Canyon is famous for its birds. I heard many, spotted some, and got decent shots of just a few. But there were countless more flitting by and singing all around me. This Mexican jay (Aphelocoma wollweberi) was the first sighting, sitting right near the trail head. I didn't notice at the time, but it's carrying not one but two acorns! It took flight just a moment later, maybe going off to cache them somewhere?

Speaking of acorns, this is a female acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). Acorn woodpeckers cache thousands of acorns a year in holes that they make in trees.

This is a female Arizona woodpecker (Dryobates arizonae), identified by the lack of the typical woodpecker black and red patterning.

And here's a pair of them. It was fun to see the two of them moving through the trees together.

My favorite bird of the hike was this brown creeper (Certhia americana). Its tree-clinging behavior is reminiscent of woodpeckers, but the body shape is quite distinctive. The brown creeper is the only species of its family that is present in North America, although it is very widespread here.

Because I liked it so much, you get two photos of this one. Isn't it cute? And look at its tiny feet clinging to the tree bark,

This one is a yellow-eyed junco (Junco phaeonotus), which is native to southern Arizona and Mexico and differs from the much more widespread dark-eyed junco by its--you guessed it--yellow eyes. There were many of these about, mostly picking through the leaf litter for seeds, insects, or arachnids to eat.

The flash of bright red on this painted redstart (Myioborus pictus) caught my attention immediately. It sat there preening for a moment, feathers all ruffled, before flying off out of sight.

This black-throated gray warbler (Setophaga nigrescens) has distinctive yellow forehead patches. These warblers fly south to Mexico for the winter, but they're apparently pretty common here in the spring and summer (breeding season).

One of bird species I saw and heard most on this hike was the bridled titmouse (Baeolophus wollweberi). This one clearly had something to say to its friend.

And now for the lizards. There were so many lizards. Actually, I have so many lizard photos, there might be a later blog post dedicated just to them and their interesting biology. But here are a few sneak peaks.

Mostly there were a very large number of Yarrow's spiny lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii), distinguished from the other local spiny lizards by the black collar encircling the entire neck, and not just the throat.

I think this one, though, is a desert spiny lizard (Sceloporus magister) since it lacks both the full collar and the banded forelimbs of the Clark's spiny lizard.

I also saw quite a variety of butterflies, including a few gorgeous, large, yellow swallowtails that I sadly didn't get any photos of. But here's what I did catch. I believe these are both red satyrs (Megisto rubricata), although you might not guess from the ventral and dorsal wing sides that they were the same (a common effect in butterflies).

This one is some kind of azure (Celastrina); there was a whole swarm of them near "Sprung Spring" where there was a tiny bit of water.

And this little one had seen better days, and I don't know what species it is.

And this one is actually a diurnal moth, I think a veined ctenucha (Ctenucha venosa). Note the feathery rather than clubbed antennae and the wing positioning (hence, moth, not butterfly).

This pretty male damselfly is probably a dancer (Argia), but I'm not even going to try to venture a species (hey, insects are hard!). Similar to moths and butterflies, the way the wings are held closed like this marks him as a damselfly rather than a dragonfly. His coloration was eye-catching and the biggest clue contributing to my guess of a genus; it also tells me he is male, as the females are brown and therefore much harder to spot.

Well that's all for now. I hope I haven't bored you with all those species! The sky islands are such interesting and diverse ecosystems, and I need to make it out (and up) there more often. I'll be back with more lizards--and maybe more of the flora--soon.