Tag: Sonoran Desert

How’s About a Little Kiss?

A ground level view of a western diamondback rattlesnake in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 10, 2025. Original: _A679181.ARW

My first snake of the year was this small diamondback sitting beside a narrow trail leading back to the car park. If Bear had been with me I would have backtracked and taken a longer way but it was just hot enough that I didn’t bring him. I was able to get by without bothering the snake but not before sitting down in the trail for a portrait. After passing by I was able to get a shot showing off the lovely pattern of its scales and how well camouflaged it is for this environment. I didn’t set up the tripod as I was afraid the legs would push it out of its comfort zone and at this high magnification most of the shots were blurry from camera shake.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm+1.4X
🗓️: May 10, 2025

A close-up view of a western diamondback rattlesnake in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 10, 2025. Original: _A679257.ARW

Good Old Rock, Nothing Beats That

A common side-blotched lizard perches on a boulder in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona. Original: _A672027.ARW

The mating strategy of common side-blotched lizards is referred to as rock-paper-scissors as, like the childhood game, each of the three strategies tends to win over one but is often defeated by the other. This one has chosen rock, which is good as rock always wins.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm+1.4X
🗓️: May 11, 2024

Looking for the Easter Bunny

A Harris' hawk perches on a saguaro on a cloudy spring afternoon on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 13, 2025. Original: _A678444.ARW

A week ago the temperature late in the day was predicted to be right on the border of where I won’t take Bear hiking, so I took him for a long neighborhood walk in the morning and went out by myself in the afternoon. I do enjoy being able to go slowly and soak in all the details of the desert but it makes me sad to hike without my buddy, so this was only the second time this year I went alone.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm+1.4X
🗓️: April 13, 2025

The Tortoise & The Bear

The Tortoise & The Bear.

I finally saw my first desert tortoise! I love seeing how Bear reacts to new species but he wasn’t remotely interested in the blinking boulder, soaking up the warmth before the sun dipped behind the McDowells. They join bobcats and (initially) rattlesnakes on Bear’s list of “yeah, whatever”. Apart from The Elephant, it’s the only animal I’ve met in the desert who might be older than me.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: April 6, 2025

Missing Entries

A black-and-white shot of a distant Weaver’s Needle as shadows fall across the foothills. Taken in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 19, 2023. Original: _RAC4307.ARW

A telephoto snapshot of Weaver’s Needle when I was teaching Bear to hike and having fun documenting how different it was compared to walking Ellie in Portland. I looked in my hiking journal to see if I had any notes about the day but there was a big gap, with the next entry coming a month later noting “I’ve been hiking a ton since December, but they have been dog walks with Bear in the preserve and I haven’t been documenting them. Which is a shame, and I regret it.”

From then on I wrote up our walks in the desert just like any hike, which is fortunate as almost all of them since have been with him.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm + 1.4X
🗓️: February 19, 2023