About two years ago I found an old, abandoned cattle trough that still held water. I realize now that it is an old spring box that still receives water from a nearby spring. The good thing is, it stays full of water during the Arizona dry season (between the winter rains and summer monsoons) and so is an important water source for local wildlife during times of water scarcity. For bears, water is not just a resource to drink, but also to wallow in and relax:
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The lone screech owlet
This year only one of five nestling screech owls survived to fledge. Based on the body condition of the nestlings that died, I suspect secondary poisoning by rodenticide. The surviving nestling fledged a few weeks ago and I’ve seen her perched in a nearby tree with one of her parents now and then.
Mountain lion Flehmen response
About three months ago I was checking a camera I had set on an often-used bear wallow. Not far from the wallow, on the trail, was a fairly fresh mountain lion scrape. I decided to move the trail cam from the wallow and mount it on a tree looking at the scrape. This is one of the scenes captured by the trail cam:
Do bears sh*t in the woods? This video answers that question
A few weeks ago I found some bear tracks and a marking tree and decided to set up a trail cam and see what action it might capture. At the very least I was hoping to catch a bear simply walking by. After a week, I checked the camera and here’s what it captured:
A few days after the sow and her cubs passed by the camera site, this big male bear came through. He almost missed the scat pile, but then noticed it:
First flight for a screech owl nestling
Again this year the Western screech owl pair raised a family in the backyard nestbox. In this video you can see the first of four nestlings take her first flight.
Black Bear Wallow
This old abandoned spring in one of Arizona’s Sky Islands is a favorite place for black bear bath time.
Beaked Whales?
Last week I joined the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s reseach ship, the Martin Sheen. We will be supporting scientists studying beaked whales off the Pacific coast of Baja California. My role will be drone operator, tasked with documenting the marine mammals from the air when they surface. The scientists, who are all from Mexico, will be taking tissue samples for heavy metal and DNA testing as well as recording the whales songs.
My Earth 