Docent Diaries

No matter what my assignment, I love my docent duties at the Desert Museum.  Some jobs, however, are more fun than others.  For the past two years, my friend Mary Lou and I have been the Day Captains for the Friday Docents.  Which means we 'get' to spend most of our day in the office doing schedules, organizing the day, making coffee, entering data in the computer, being the in-charge people for all the docent activities for the day, cleaning up the office and lounge, and generally, as another friend put it, "herding cats".  (Just try getting them all together for a photo!) Managing people is always entertaining, frustrating, interesting and normally chaotic.  The reason we became docents, however, is to be out on the grounds of the Museum, talking to visitors and interpreting the Sonoran Desert.  Soon my captaincy stint will be over and I'll be back out doing the really fun stuff.

Here's what our group looks like this year.

There are four or five missing.  It's impossible to find a day when everyone is there, or makes it to the photo shoot on time.  But, this isn't bad.

 Mary Lou and I agreed that, no matter how busy we were, we would still take out our animals for one hour a day.  I am certified this year on Large Raptor, which means I can take out either a Harris' hawk or a barn owl.  We take them out in rotation, and on this day, it was a hawk.

Harris' hawks are a very unique raptor that we are privileged to have as permanent residents in Southern Arizona.  What sets them apart from most other birds of prey is that they are a social raptor, living together in family groups, hunting cooperatively, and all taking part in the nesting process.  The younger birds from the previous brood will assist the parents in guarding the nest and bringing food for the mother and the nestlings.  In each group, an alpha female will be dominant.  The bird I am holding is an adult male.  Males and females are colored alike, but what distinguishes them is size - the females are significantly larger.  For the past several years, I have had Harris' hawks nesting in my neighborhood, and I am now seeing the female on the nest once again.  Every day from October through April, the Museum flies a group of Harris' hawks in our Raptor Free Flight program.  It's a thrilling experience to have one of these big birds fly so closely over your head that their feathers so briefly and gently touch you.  Each year docent can choose which group of animals we want to interpret to the public.  We then go through training and certification to keep our skills current.  The Desert Museum is accredited by the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), which sets exacting standards for animal care and handling.

Mary Lou and I try to finish most of our duties by around 3pm, which gives us some time to go explore the grounds, talk to visitors, look for fun and interesting sights, and have a little 'play' time.  April is a good time to see butterflies, as well as their larvae and pupae.  Right now, the Pipevine Swallowtails are abundant in all forms.

These handsome guys are the larvae, feeding happily on pipevines,

Soon they will be forming a chrysalis and undergoing the amazing metamorphosis that will allow them to emerge in a totally new form.  Here's what the chrysalis looks like:

Pipevines have a strange little flower called the pipe.

Which is then followed by this fruit.

Sadly I do not have a suitable photo of the adult pipevine swallowtail butterfly, so please excuse me for borrowing a couple from one of my favorite sites, Firefly Forest

As she says, they are difficult to photograph as they seldom sit still.  I guess that's my excuse.  With their iridescent blue on the upper hind wings, and the array of colored spots on the lower wings, these large black butterflies are stunningly beautiful.

With our lack of rain and warm weather, everything seems to be happening a little earlier this year, like the cactus blooming.  All around the grounds, and out in the desert, little hedgehog cacti are sporting their gaudy pink finery, forcing me to stop and get yet another photograph.  Hedgehogs are a small, multi-trunked cactus, generally somewhat inconspicuous until bloom time.

Glorious too are the claret cups, which are another form of hedgehog cactus, and are one of the earliest to bloom.  They are just about finished now, but this one waited for me.

The Museum grounds are alive with dozens of species of blooming flowers, and it is inspiring to just stroll through the gardens and various habitats and take in the amazing palette.

Here are just a few more. Fairy Duster, yellow primrose, blackfoot daisy and California buckwheat.

Lastly, we stopped by to see the coatis, and watched a young Cooper's hawk watching us.

Ahhh, no wonder I long to spend the entire day out on the Museum grounds talking to visitors and just enjoying the theater. Soon, very soon, I'll be able to do that.  At my age, however, I do not wish to speed up time.  So I will enjoy every day as a docent at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, no matter what it brings.

May every day be one you treasure.

A Bloomy, Herpy, Birdy Day

The monsoon downpours have mostly avoided the Desert Museum, but the bit of rain that has been received has made a transformative difference.  The flowers have burst into bloom, the ocotillos are covered in green leaves, strange insects have emerged, and everything seems so ALIVE!

Fishhook Mammilaria with Bee

Grabbing my attention immediately were the tiny Mammilaria cacti (Mammilaria microcarpa) often hidden under vegetation which have now burst into bloom everywhere.  Delighting the eye like finding a hidden treasure.  A wreath of pink flowers encircles top of the stalks, which may only reach 6" in height.

Also called Pincushion Cactus

The somewhat nondescript Little Leaf Cordia shrub is also suddenly covered in blossoms - clusters of delicate white flowers that seem to float in the air.  Each afternoon the flowers fall off and the next morning the bush is covered with them once again.

Little Leaf Cordia (Cordia parvifolia)

Little Leaf Cordia Blossom

Hanging bunches of lemon-yellow trumpet-shaped flowers are brightening the Tecoma stans bushes, which both please and aggravate me - why can't MY Tecoma stans ever look this good?!

Yellow Trumpet Bush (Tecoma stans)

The normally-barren stalks of the ocotillo are now fully-leafed-out waving green wands.

Ocotillo in Leaf (Fouquieria splendens)

The leaves will remain until dry conditions return, eventually turning orange-brown and then falling off.  This cycle can be repeated many times during the warmer months.  The canes are covered with spines, but this plant is not a cactus.  With its relative the Boojum, it is a member of the Ocotillo family.

More yellow!  This is the Senna polyantha, whose large shrubs produce a mass of small, yellow, five-petaled flowers followed by bean pods containing the fruit.  As so many of our desert plants, this is a member of the Fabaceae family (lugumes).

Senna polyantha

Everywhere I went on the grounds, something was blooming.  I passed this attractive bouquet on my way to see what the Trichocereus garden was doing.

I wasn't disappointed.  Big, bright flowers greeted me as I came around the corner.

From the splashy to the more subtle, but no less beautiful.

Another docent had reported seeing Western tanagers in the Desert Garden earlier in the morning, so I thought I would try my luck at finding them.  I caught just a blur of red as one of the males flew by, but I hung around to watch a Northern Cardinal family.  I believe this is the juvenile getting a drink from the fountain.

And who's that in the background? Photobombed by a juvie brown-headed cowbird.  There are a lot of young birds everywhere at the Museum.  Just outside the Desert Garden in a pine tree was this Gila woodpecker family.  The parents working hard to feed the demanding youngster.

Gila Woodpecker Family (Melanerpes uropygialis)

I apologize for the quality of this photo.  The lighting was very difficult.  Very near here, in the fan palms, I saw a young male Hooded Oriole, one of so many species that nest here on the grounds.  Heading back around to the Pollination Garden, I was greeted by this mix of Mexican Bird of Paradise and Tecoma stans, framed by ocotillos.

The butterflies love the bird of paradise.  A pipevine swallowtail sat still just long enough for me to grab a quick photo.

Pipevine Swallowtail on Mexican Bird of Paradise

The lizards were out in force. I particularly like this zebra-tailed lizard who often carries his tail curled over his back, and waves it back and forth in the manner of a scorpion.

Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)

It was about this time of day that I got a call on the radio that there was a Gila monster in the dry cave.  It's always a thrill to see a Gila monster in the wild, and I headed off across the grounds, getting stopped several times by visitors who had questions.  By the time I got to the cave, the docent there told me that the lizard had gone behind a large sign and was no longer visible.  By squeezing into a small space beside the sign and shining the light from the flashlight app on my phone, I was able to spot the fellow.  He had wedged himself as far as possible into a hiding space.

Although I felt bad about it, I had to call the herpetology folks to come and remove him.  The cave is quite dark and we didn't need the visitors stumbling into him if he went out roaming.  This is the only venomous lizard in the U.S., and while they are neither fast or aggressive, they can be dangerous if people get too curious.  (People do some really DUMB things!)  So, a few minutes later he was loaded in a crate, to be pit-tagged and then released off grounds.

Leaving the cave and making our way back to the docent office for lunch, a crowd had gathered to watch one of the botanists try to capture a coachwhip snake who had moved into the lizard enclosure.  To avoid the big human, the snake had climbed high into the large ironwood tree that is the centerpiece of the enclosure.

Coachwhip in Desert Ironwood

Can you see him up there?  These snakes are very fast! I never would have believed that the botany guy would be able to catch up to and grab the snake, especially without getting bitten.  Although they are not venomous, the word on coachwhips is that they are very bitey.  But I would have been wrong!  Down came Eric, snake in hand, having survived his encounter with that very prickly tree and with the snake.

Generally, the policy is to let non-venomous snakes alone unless they are in a place where they would threaten our exhibit animals (the lizards in this case).

In the afternoon, we got some more cheap entertainment watching the black-tailed prairie dogs and their ever amusing antics.

And, if that weren't enough fun for one day, there was one more snake on the schedule.  Some visitors spotted a snake sticking its head up out of a tree bowl in front of the hummingbird aviary.  Some fellow docents and I were just a few feet away so we got a lot of laughs watching the snake, another coachwhip, play hide and seek among the rocks and holes.  It reminded us of a game of whack-a-mole.  He would pop up one place, disappear, pop up a few feet away, then we'd just see a portion of the body slither by.  After ten minutes or so of this, out jumped a very tiny mouse and raced across the patio and up onto the roof of the aviary.  The snake looked out as in bewilderment.

Coachwhip looking for the Mouse

Eventually he emerged and crossed the patio looking for the darned mouse.

Mouse 1, Snake 0.

And with that, the day came to a close.  Back at home, a glass of wine in hand, I got another gift.  A magnificent sunset.

Sunset on Agave Drive

May all your days be filled with laughs and may they all have beautiful endings!

Waiting For George L.

The Desert Museum has a new mountain lion.  This is a very big deal.  After our two longtime resident mountain lions were 'retired' to an off-exhibit facility to live out their old age, everyone (staff, volunteers, docents, visitors) have been waiting anxiously for a new mountain lion.  The mountain lion is the symbol, the mascot if you will, of the Desert Museum.  It just wouldn't do to be without one.

One of our now-retired mountain lions

 Although I am not privy to   all the details, I do know that acquiring an animal of this type for zoo exhibit is not an easy task. But, we got word a while back that a cub had been obtained in California and would soon be coming to the Desert Museum.  But, ssshhh!  We want to keep it a secret, make sure it all goes well.  There is a great deal of paperwork, quarantine, and watching his health.

Here's his story.  Someone discovered him in the backyard of a home in San Jose, California and called Fish and Wildlife.  He was dehydrated, undernourished, covered with fleas and ticks, and weighed only 15 pounds.  He was only 3 months of age and should have still been with his mother.  Two months later, he now weighs over 50 pounds.  He is one lucky cat.

Finally, we were told that the day had come when the cub was to be released in his new home.  To ease his transition, the exhibit would be blocked off to the public for the first week, giving the little guy time to acclimate.  By last Friday, staff and volunteers were allowed along the pathway to help him get used to seeing people staring at him.  A few of us saw him, but he spent most of his time inside, out of view.

On Monday, he was introduced to the press and to the public.  People began coming in droves to see him.  But, he remains shy and elusive, just as cats are supposed to be.  Friday is my regular day at the Museum, and I was anxious for some time to spend at the mountain lion exhibit.  Around 11 in the morning, I parked myself, along with another docent and many visitor, in front of the exhibit and waited for the cub to emerge.  A keeper went in the enclosure and disturbed a bat who began circling frantically above our heads.  A gorgeous Clark's spiny lizard in bright blue breeding duds climbed the rocks, a rock squirrel scrambled into view, the thick-billed parrots squawked from their nearby enclosure and a giant Sonoran desert toad sat patiently in the reeds.  We all waited.

The keeper put a big red ball out to entice the cub.  It worked.  Soon there he was, not venturing out of the cave, but clearly visible and oh! so incredibly adorable.  We are not supposed to anthropomorphize, but sometimes it just cannot be helped.  The visitors and the docents were thrilled that our wait had paid off.  Our view didn't last long, but allowed a few photos.

To increase interest and visitor participation, the Museum is having a naming contest.  Their first ever.  I heard that so far there are over 800 entries.  I'm glad I'm not on the committee making that decision!  The very first mountain lion at the Museum was named George L. Mountainlion, and every subsequent one has carried the same name.  So those of us who have been around the Museum for a while just naturally thought this one should be George L. also, following in the tradition.  This is the public relations age, however, and apparently George L. is passe.  So, sometime this summer, we will learn what the newest, and now famous, cat will be named.  Stay tuned .  .  .

Friday at the Museum

I have the very great privilege of spending every Friday at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, talking to people from all over the world, and singing the praises of the Sonoran Desert.  Say the word "museum" and the picture that jumps to mind is a stuffy, deathly quiet, and, to some, boring indoor experience.  Throw that image out the window, and now picture a botanical garden, zoo, park, wildlife experience and art gallery all wrapped together.  To my mind, it is by far Tucson's premier destination.  There is never a shortage of photo opportunities or interesting experiences.  I invite you come along with me for a day at the museum.  I'll try to make this a more-or-less regular topic.

Friday, December 2nd dawned cold and overcast, with predicted rain and wind.  Not exactly the kind of forecast to draw people to the Desert Museum.   Arriving early, long before the museum opens at 8:30am, it's wonderful to walk the grounds and see what birds are about, what flowers are blooming, and anything new since last Friday.

There is a spot along the main path that offers a beautiful view of the early-morning sun as it filters through the clouds, the saguaros and ocotillos in the foreground.  I often stop here on my Friday morning walk-abouts to admire the scene and get the camera warmed up.  One of the zookeepers was just coming out of the large aviary, so I stopped to chat with her about hummingbirds.  She not only takes care of our hummingbird collection, but also makes beautiful and interesting feeders from copper.  An added feature is that this design is bee-proof, something very desirable after combating bees at my feeders all summer.

The red spines and yellow fruit of a barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii) stood out against the greenery in the early morning sun, the dampness of an earlier rain intensifying the colors.

The museum opening came and went, and still there were no visitors.  Who could blame them?  It was cold out here!  The animals didn't mind, however, and they were all busy and active.  Having no visitors to talk to meant more time for photos.  I stopped by the coati (Nasua narica) exhibit and was delighted to see one individual hanging out in a tree and another drinking from the pond.  

These relatives of the racoon are great climbers and diggers.  The long tail is not prehensile and is used mainly for communication among the troupe.

 Up on the top of Cat Canyon a small bird drew the attention of my fellow docents and me as we watched it taking a bath in a small tinaja.  Finally we determined that it was a black-chinned sparrow, somewhat immature.  The first of this species we've seen at the museum this year.

Even in our fabulous hummingbird aviary, one of our most popular exhibits, I found myself alone with the tiny birds who were zipping around at crazy speeds, narrowly avoiding colliding with me.  Cold weather makes it more important that they get lots of energy.

Back on the main path, the distinctive whit-wheet call of a curve-billed thrasher ((Toxostoma curvirostre) drew my attention to the top of a nearby cactus.  What a feat (feet?) to be able to stand among all those spines!

The crowds picked up in the afternoon and I was surrounded by large groups as I introduced them to a beautiful female barn owl (Tyto alba).

The promised rain arrived, but lasted only briefly.  The saguaro interpretation was my last of the day, and one of my favorite assignments.  Who can come to the Sonoran Desert and not be interested in the unique and iconic saguaro cactus?

Across the museum grounds and out to the valley below, the sun once again sent its brilliant rays bursting through the clouds, creating a bookend to another magnificent day at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.