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.
Tag: Arizona
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.
Coyote Pups!
These two coyote pups have been showing up at the backyard water sources for the last few days. It’s been very hot (105+ during the days) with no rain for a few months now and the creek has been dry as well. They appear to be in good health and in the second video they have full bellies so it appears their mama is doing a good job of feeding them. Even at this young age they are rightly very nervous and aware of their surroundings.
A black bear marks trees and inspects a camera
The bear scat trail cam site (see previous post about the mama bear and her scat) has continued to be active, most recently with male black bears coming through and marking two different trees and smelling the old scat. I have two trail cams there now, both on trees that are not bear marking trees. Recently, a curious bear decided to check out one of the cameras. This isn’t the first time a bear decided to mess with one of my cameras, but no damage was done and it shows how curious and aware bears are of their surroundings.
Two bears and a mountain lion
Two bears and a mountain lion passed by this cam in the span of three hours. At 4:08 p.m. a mountain lion makes a scrape. At 5:37 p.m. a big black bear goes by and smells the fresh scrape. At 6:42 p.m. the mountain lion returns and makes another scrape. At 7:06 p.m. a smaller black bear walks by and stops to smell the fresh scrape. I find it fascinating how close in time these two wild predators came to running into each other.
Backyard Wildlife Action
Here in Tucson the summer heat is upon us. We’re in the somewhat miserable time between the cooler temperatures of spring and the onset of summer monsoons. The highs have been from around 100 to 110 degrees and with most natural water sources having dried up the neighborhood wildlife have been visiting the backyard water sources more frequently. Below are some of the recent visitors:
Black bear action
The bear marking tree had some new visitors this week. While I was hoping to see the two yearling cubs again, the camera captured a different fun surprise, a sow with three new cubs (first video). The videos from the previous visit appeared to indicate via sounds that the two older cubs from the other bear family may have tried to climb a tree next to the camera, so last week I placed a second camera looking at that tree. The next surprise was a male bear using that tree as a marking tree (second video).
Screech owl copulation and feeding
This year, the fourth season of a Western screech owl pair using the nestbox in my yard, was a difficult time for the owl pair. Five eggs laid and hatched, but only one nestling survived to fledge. This video shows a copulation event after the eggs hatched and when only one nestling remained. It also shows how the adult male brings food to the adult female to feed her nestling.
Sky Island Mountain Lions
Over the last few weeks there’s been an increase in mountain lion captures on my trail cams. The following videos are from two different Arizona mountain ranges. It’s important to note that mountain lions in the Arizona deserts and sky islands often look “skinny.” However, this is a normal mountain lion body type in this region. They are healthy and have plenty of prey.
Black bear bath time
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:
My Earth 