Last October, I took a quick trip to the Chiricahua Mountains to do some hiking and camping. I’d been hearing for years that the aspens up on the crest put on a lovely show in the fall, so I decided to check it out. The Chiricahuas (cheer-uh-cow-uhs) are one of the largest of the isolated […]
Crazy night in the Chiricahuas Read More »
Summer has officially arrived in southern Arizona, even if the calendar says it’s still a couple of weeks off. Daytime temperatures in Tucson have exceeded 100 Fahrenheit for the last several days, and are expected to stay above 100 for the foreseeable future. One of the few things that makes this kind of heat tolerable
Swamp coolers and cicadas Read More »
On my recent stop at the Gila River Bird Area (see Nighttime Visitors), I was reminded again what a dynamic, ever-changing place it was. The Gila River was still receding from a significant flood just 2 weeks prior, in which up to 10 inches of rain dumped in the heart of the Gila Wilderness during
Of Fire and Flood: Dynamics of the Upper Gila River Ecosystem Read More »
On the way home from a recent trip to western New Mexico and the White Mountains of Arizona, I stopped near the Gila River Bird area to spend the night. I stayed in this same spot about a year and a half ago (see Things that go bump in the night). At that time, the
Nighttime visitors Read More »
The monsoon season in southeastern Arizona extends from early July to late September, and usually means hot and humid weather with frequent thunderstorms. The thunderstorms seem to be the definition of chaotic systems, so you never quite know where they will appear or how much rain they will produce. This rainy season, an extension of
Monsoon Rearrangements Read More »
It seems as if every mountain range in the southwest has had a huge wildfire in the last decade or so. Millions of acres burned, forests charred, ecosystems altered. If the drought continues, it may be millennia before some of the dryer, south-facing slopes see a forest again. The Horseshoe 2 fire burned in the
After the fire, the flowers bloom Read More »
Much of sound editing and analysis, particularly for animal sounds, is done using spectrograms. Spectrograms are graphs that show the frequency (or pitch) on the y-axis and time on the x-axis. The loudness of the sound is indicated by the intensity of the color. They read somewhat like a musical score, except that time is
Visualizing Sounds Read More »
I’m having a lot of fun with my ultrasonic microphone (Ultramic 200k). It’s opened up a parallel universe of flying mammals and calling insects and the evolutionary arms race between them. In early August of this year, I found myself camping in a gorgeous spot in the canyon country of Utah – Calf Creek. I
Ultrasonic predators and prey Read More »
I found out recently that mice sing. Not just little squeaks that we can hear, but little notes that occur at the edge of our hearing – ultrasonic for those of us over 30. Slowed down they sound like whale songs. The common deer mice do it, so I set out to find out if
Singing mice and the packrat band Read More »
