Tag: Latigo Trail

The Elephant & Bear & I

The shadows of Bear and I fall next to the saguaro I call The Elephant in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on September 15, 2024. Original: _Z720733.NEF

It’s been another dry summer so The Elephant is a shadow of her normal self. I suppose the same could be said of Bear and I. Even with long shadows from the rising sun I couldn’t get his to pop up high enough, I need to get him some stilts. I always try to sneak in some wildlife into my shots, there’s a red-tailed hawk perched atop one of the distant saguaros.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: September 15, 2024

The Woodpecker Hotel

A Harris's hawk perches on a large saguaro pocked with woodpecker nests on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 15, 2024. Original: _ZFC1322.NEF

The Woodpecker Hotel is one of my favorite saguaros, quite the survivor to get this old and this big. I wonder how many animals owe their lives in part to the giant, from what must be hundreds of woodpeckers who were born in its arms to countless creatures who fed on its flowers and fruit. I hadn’t planned on photographing it on this occasion as Bear and I headed back to the car but I couldn’t resist when I saw the hawk perched on top.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50 DX
🗓️: February 15, 2024

A Little Hope

New growth grows out of a saguaro arm on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on August 6, 2021. Original: _RAC6047.ARW

A few summers ago I noticed the park was closing after sunset so I went out for a late afternoon hike, not expecting much, just wanting to be out in the desert. It was still plenty hot so I took my favorite trail as it’s an easy hike, stopping for a water break at my favorite saguaro. She seems the worse for wear every time I see her, damage spreading further down her arms. After we exchanged pleasantries I continued down the trail but stopped after a few steps, my brain telling me it saw something but couldn’t tell me what. I stepped backwards until I was in my original spot and stared for the longest time before I realized what first caught my attention: she was pushing out new growth from one of her arms.

She never gives up, this one.

📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: August 6, 2021

Finding Balance

A young Harris’s hawk flares out its wings as it tries to find its balance while perched in a tree on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 8, 2024. Original: _A675514.ARW

This young Harris’s hawk and its sibling had learned to fly short distances but it was still early days in their development. It was working on learning to balance as it moved about the tree, flaring out its wings and holding the pose until it was confident it wouldn’t fall.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: June 8, 2024

Objects In Camera Are Further Than They Appear

A close-up of the head and neck of a western diamondback rattlesnake on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 2, 2024. Original: _A674804.ARW

While waiting for the diamondback to fully leave the trail, I took a water break and continued on. I was surprised to see it was still there on the other side of the bush and even more surprised by what was blocking its path. There are many creatures that will kill and eat a rattlesnake but I don’t think the desert cottontail is on that list. The rabbit had hopped across the trail while I was waiting, I was a little surprised since it clearly saw me and it must have seen the snake.

I took some quick pictures, zoomed all the way in on the snake, all the way out on the rabbit. I continued up the trail as I felt I was too close to not impact the outcome of the standoff, whatever it may be (I don’t think the snake was interested in the rabbit). When I passed back by, the only sign of the brief encounter was the thin strip in the sand where the snake first crossed the trail.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: June 2, 2024

A desert cottontail leans forward with ears at full attention as it watches a rattlesnake (not in the picture) on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 2, 2024. Original: _A674804.ARW

Where’s Waldo?

The tail of a western diamondback rattlesnake is visible sticking out of bushes in a sweeping view of the Sonoran Desert in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 2, 2024. Original: _Z729608.NEF

A chaotic landscape rather than a pretty one but I took the picture because of the telltale tail and this view made me laugh, thinking back years ago when we adopted Sam and Emma and when they’d be feeling a little insecure and hide under the bed, only their tail was sticking out betraying their location. I had seen the diamondback stretched out across the trail so hung back to give it time to move into the underbrush, but when it stopped with its tail visible I couldn’t resist a picture.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: June 2, 2024