Monday, July 28, 2008
We are in the midst of our monsoon season, a shift in the wind pattern that brings moisture up out of the Gulf of California and provides half of all our annual rainfall. In an average year, we receive 6" of rain in the summer and the remaining 6" in the winter. The summer storms are often violent and unpredictable with extremely localized heavy downpours in one area, while a mile away will be bone dry. Thunder, lightning and heavy wind accompany the rain. Since the start of the monsoon, approximately a month ago, I have received 4.4" of rain at my house on the north side of Tucson, at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
Yesterday on my daily walk around the neighborhood, about 2.5 miles, I was excited to see a Ladderback woodpecker who posed on a palo verde tree very near the road. About 10 minutes later I was lost in a reverie enjoying the surroundings when I happened to glance down at the street and there lying in my path was a 3' long Western Diamondback Rattlesnake stretched out across the road. What made me look down I do not know, but I thank my lucky stars that I did. After catching my breath, I was concerned that he would be run over like so many are. Drivers will mostly aim for a rattlesnake. So I carefully circled him and got him to head back into the desert. He never rattled or showed any concern about me. Not another ten minutes passed before I spotted an adult coyote lounging in the middle of a nearby wash, observing my passing with little interest. Wouldn't you know this was the day I didn't carry my camera or cell phone for photos!
The wildlife viewing for today included an exciting spotting of a zone-tailed hawk, a rarity in my area. He was soaring just above my house and provided a good view. Another bird came along and they crossed paths. At first I thought it was another zone-tailed, but closer observation revealed the second bird to be a Turkey Vulture, a common sight here in the summer. From a distance the two birds are very similar in appearance, but the zone-tailed has two white bands across the tail, one large and one small, and lacks the red head of the vulture.
