The Desert Museum

SW trip part 2

On my first full day in the SW we visited the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. This is an amazing place to learn about the plants and animals that inhabit the Sonoran Desert and it was high on my list of must-see destinations on this trip. We were there about five hours and could have easily spent two days exploring all the nooks and crannies of the place. There are exhibits of animals of various habitats – including aquatic animals, plants and how they cope with the desert climate, raptor flights, and so on. They had just started a raptor flight when we arrived so we saw a number of trained hawks and owls. I was surprised by the number of hummingbird species. They had their own aviary. I wish there’d been a docent there to help me identify all of them. I’ve tried to guess and I think I got the males right but the females, I just don’t know.

If you’re ever in the Tucson area, it’s well worth the time to see the Desert Museum.

A Great-horned Owl was part of the raptor free flight demonstration.

The Great-horned Owl looks over the visitors

I think this is a Western Screech Owl

American Kestrel. Falcon always have such large eyes!

This Cactus Wren was gathering nesting materials

Young desert tortise

Verdin

I think this is a female Anna’s Hummingbird

So many hummingbirds

Hummingbird nest

Broad-billed Hummingbird

So many hummingbirds

Hummingbird on a nest

That egg is smaller than your smallest fingernail

Costa’s Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird

Amazing flora in the desert

Bird’s nest on a saguaro

The Greater Roadrunner. My favorite new bird on the trip.

The roadrunner has very beautiful markings

Joshua tree

So bored

Another bored animal

Beaver

Otter

Jennifer explains something

Ocotillo with new growth

Frogs

I mostly avoided the snakes

Ground squirrel

Elf Owl

Invasive House Sparrow in a saguaro cavity

Cholla. I did not touch them.

Prickly pear

I think this is an agave

What a landscape

5 Comments

- Frauke Rynd
- Posted February 22, 2016 at 5:53 pm
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Hi Teri, I continue to love your posts and photos. Mac & I were just in Tucson a few weeks ago visiting with his brother & family & other friends. We always go to the Desert Museum – it is our favorite! hope to see you soon again. ~frauke
- - Teri J Pieper
  - Posted February 23, 2016 at 5:57 am
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  Thanks Frauke. Oh yes, it’s a wonderful place. If I lived there, I’d certainly become a member.
- Ken Bevis
- Posted February 22, 2016 at 6:05 pm
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What fun. I missed it… xo
- - Teri J Pieper
  - Posted February 23, 2016 at 5:58 am
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  Next time.
- Cheryl
- Posted February 23, 2016 at 4:35 pm
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Teri: Was wondering if you already took this SW trip. The Desert Museum IS fantastic. We used to go there when we did our “winter AZ” vacations (too many moons ago).

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