South Mountain Park – LETS ~ GO ~ LOOK ~ OUT

Ash-throated Flycatcher

The Ash-throated Flycatcher has a call like a whistle being blown, and it always catches my attention. Usually, the noisy flycatcher is perched at the top of a shrub or on a low branch where it watches for passing insects. I’ve seen them launch from such a perch and dart and dodge through the airContinue reading “Ash-throated Flycatcher”

Desert Mistletoe

We think of mistletoe as having holly-like leaves and hung with red ribbon in doorways at the holidays. Not like that, Desert Mistletoe is one of 1000 species of mistletoe that grow worldwide. Its leaves have shriveled over eons of arid life, to mere scales on jointed twigs. The flowers are fragrant, but have noContinue reading “Desert Mistletoe”

Pincushion Cactus

This week I ventured up a wash that leads deep into South Mountain Park. Unlike many washes that are rocky and impassible, this dry streambed is level and sandy for some way. I’ve come across owls up here before, both Great Horned, and Long-eared, so I was keeping a sharp eye out. And I did seeContinue reading “Pincushion Cactus”