Beavers are very recognizable creatures. After all, how many large, brown furry animals do you know that have a really flat, leathery tail? Beavers are actually part of the rodent family, but they are much larger than most rodents.
All in Wildlife Watching
Traveling America By Van: Coastal Highway 1, The First Installment
We found an independent coffee shop, got the java, and hit the road. That road was California Coastal Highway 1 (from here-on out known as Highway 1), one of the most famous drives in the country. Friends who had driven it told us not to take it south. We would learn why later this day.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Prolific Cottontail Rabbit
Bunnies seem to be everywhere, especially in the spring and summer. Mother cottontail rabbits often start having babies in April and May, and they can have as many as four separate litters during the warm weather months.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Spunky Pumpkinseed Sunfish
Pumpkinseed sunfish are colorful little fish that are almost always willing to bite. That’s a good description for this feisty member of the sunfish family since these fish are quite colorful indeed. They are often a greenish-yellow color, fading to yellow-gold on the belly with orange speckles on their sides.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Protective Yellow Warbler
Yellow warblers are one of many small songbirds that fly south for the winter and migrate back through North America in the springtime. They breed and raise their young throughout much of the United States and almost all of Canada during the spring and summer.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Cecropia Moths Are Night-time Beauties
Most moths look very drab and boring. Many species have gray or tan wings with little or no other coloration. But not all of these night-time flyers are lackluster; some are actually quite colorful and beautiful. One of the most spectacular moths in North America is the large and colorful cecropia moth.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Shy Gray Catbird
Some birds are seen but rarely heard. Others are just the opposite – heard but rarely seen! The gray catbird is one of those vocal, but very shy birds that people don’t often see. Aptly named, this gray-colored bird prefers to spend its time in thick underbrush and at least one of its many calls sounds like the lonely mew of a cat.
Traveling America By Van: Red Canyon And The Valley Of Fire
Utah Highway 12 passed through two red sandstone arches before we saw the sign for the Red Canyon campground. It had been an early start and a dash- this campground was first-come, first-served. We pulled in at 10 AM and found a site immediately.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Bumblebees Are Important Pollinators
Everyone has seen bumblebees in their back yards or in their flower gardens. These large, plump native bees are covered in soft hair that makes them look (and feel) fuzzy. Often, those hairs are covered with a thick layer of pollen grains.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Burrowing Eastern Mole
Anyone who has spent much time gardening or cutting the lawn has probably encountered the tell-tale signs of an annoying yard pest: the Eastern Mole. Moles burrow through yards and leave a trail of destruction in the form of raised tunnels in the grass and large mounds of earth (molehills).
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Regal Giant Swallowtail
Butterflies are always fun to watch as they fly around our gardens, flitting from flower to flower as they sip nectar and pollinate the plants. Some of the largest and most interesting butterflies around here are swallowtails
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Solitary Fox Squirrel
When it comes to squirrels, none in North America are larger than the fox squirrel. Oh, sure, there are bigger squirrels elsewhere in the world – like the giant black squirrel from southeast Asia which can be almost three feet long – but the largest tree squirrel in the USA is the fox squirrel.