In the Sonoran Desert, any water is precious. This little seep provides water for many desert critters, including this sleepy male black bear. I suspect he was down amongst the saguaro cacti to feed on their many ripe red fruits that have fallen to the ground.
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Bobcats
Bobcats have been pretty active lately, both in my yard and out in the wilder places. Bobcats live around 7 to 10 years in the wild. The oldest bobcat in captivity lived to be 32 years old. Bobcats can give birth to up to six kittens, though two or three is more common, depending on available prey.
This bobcat has a territory with the best view. Seasonal rains fill up this spot dubbed the Infinity Pool.
Judging by body size and spot pattern, this young bobcat appears to be new to the neighborhood. My backyard cameras catch her regularly.
Midway Atoll Albatross Census Update
For the last six weeks our team has been very busy counting Laysan and Black-footed albatross on Midway Atoll in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. We are nearly finished with the count, though official numbers will be released by the USFWS when the numbers have been verified. As you can see from the following photos, there are a lot of birds.
This is a view of the albatross colony on Eastern Island, looking at Sand Island in the background (Greg Joder 2025).
On our days off we go birding, swimming, or walking on the beaches that are open to humans. Most of the beaches on the islands in the atoll are closed to people in order to protect sensitive species like the Hawaiian monk seal and sea turtles.
Albatross Adventure on the way
Ten years ago this year I spent four months on Midway Atoll (Pihemanu Kuaihelani) in the northwest Hawaiian Islands working as a volunteer biological science technician. Our main focus was reproductive success and longevity monitoring. Next week, I’m heading back to Midway as part of a team that will perform the annual albatross census. Midway is home to the largest breeding colony of Laysan albatross and every year since 1991 there has been a census to record their numbers. The video below is from my first time there. Stay tuned for updates from the island of the albatross…
Mountain lion romance?
First, a female mountain lion passed by the seep and scrape site. A few days later, a big male maintain lion passed by. Hoping for kiddoes next year!
A black bear and cub take a swim
After a few months away from this location, I recently returned and reset a trail camera pointing at the small seep-filled pool. Since it has been so dry, despite some monsoon rains, I was hoping this spot would attract wildlife like it had in previous years. This morning I checked the camera and as it turns out, just yesterday there was a fun visit by a sow and her cub. Notice in the first clip of them, the mother bear pulls her cub into the water, encouraging her to swim.
Bobcat Catches Fawn
Sensitive content! I did not expect to see this when I checked a couple cameras this morning. While I’ve found several old mountain lion kills based on the surrounding evidence, I’ve never seen anything that I suspected was a bobcat kill. This trail cam capture surprised me because I was not expecting anything like this would be captured by the trail cams, even after years of watching thousands of trail cam videos of deer and other wildlife doing their thing. I’ve reluctantly watched it a few times because while nature is beautiful, she is also brutal. The fawn and her mother are going about their daily business, eating, drinking water… Then in seconds, for the fawn, death appears in the form of a bobcat. Seemingly out of nowhere. Despite our big brain and intelligence, we humans are no different than the fawn. Death is the great equalizer, it can strike us anywhere, anytime.
A bear cub, deer fawns, and ring-tailed cats
This morning I checked a series of trail cams I’ve set up at water sources in a drainage in the mountainous desert near Tucson. These spots have, usually, held water throughout the hot dry season before monsoon rains are due. This year the monsoon rains have been few and far between in this area so these water sources have been a very important resource for local wildlife.
More Mountain Lion Action
This location, it turns out, is not just a random mountain lion scrape, but a latrine where several mountain lions (at least two, maybe three), regularly check scents and mark their presence. The latest was this big male mountain lion.
Last Night’s Backyard Wildlife
It was a busy 12 hours from before sundown to right after sunrise last night. An owl, deer, coyotes, raccoons and a bobcat. The first video shows the Great horned owl having a drink in the evening. The second video shows the mangy coyote the next morning. The third video shows all the action from evening to the next morning.
My Earth 