Nature News

By: Carol Suits
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer

By: Gail Cochrane
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer

Some folks say they miss the change of seasons living here in the desert. They miss fall color and snowy days, and I appreciate that.  But look out a window, let the scene draw you outside.  The sun shining in blue sky is constant, but plants and animals dance together through cycles of growth and reproduction.  With observation we can celebrate seasons in the Sonoran Desert.

All summer our back yard was mobbed with great-tailed grackles who descended on our outdoor fountain every afternoon for drinks, bathing and lots of loud conversation.  White-winged doves preened from dawn to dusk, perching on the back fence, darting in and out of jojoba shrubs and visiting the fountain.  Costa’s hummingbirds and gamble quails nested in the area.

After late summer rains, the grackles found water elsewhere, and the white-winged doves migrated back to Mexico.  This left space for mockingbirds and curved-billed thrashers to reassert themselves, and the birdsong became more enjoyable.  Abert’s towhees kick dirt among the shrubs and call a sharp note.  White-crowned sparrows stop by to snack on winter grass seed.  Lizards are rarely seen now, and the little ground snakes have disappeared.

Resident Costa’s and Anna’s hummingbirds, house finches, and mourning doves stay on through the seasons.  They are less obvious in summer, but spring is their heyday.  Boasting brilliant breeding plumage, singing their hearts out to impress mates, and going about nesting activities the residents soar to the foreground.

Our back yard and front yard are habitats, micro-climates that allow certain plants, insects, reptiles and birds to thrive.  The seasonal temperature differences, and length of day bring about growth, bloom and seeding of the various plants, each at their own time.  This scaffolding of plants provides for insects, and their insect predators, be it lizards, larger insects, or birds.  Blooms call out to pollinators, seeds offer themselves to seed distributors.  Legume pods on the ground under native trees feed transient mammals such as coyotes, javelinas and rodents.

To best appreciate the desert seasons, spend time outside in your yard or visit a park or nature preserve.  Look around and ponder the relationships you can observe.  You will find a kaleidoscope of seasonal change.