We spent half a day at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. It was not nearly enough time so we will have to return.
We saw a Free Flight demonstration of Harris Hawks while were at the museum. Unlike other raptors, Harris Hawks hunt and live in family groups. Family groups range in size from 3 to 7 hawks. Family groups work together to protect their territory and care for their young.
These Hawks are well cared for in the museum and perform spectacular over flight movements while a crowd of about 200 looked on. They well know the handler has a meaty tidbit for them when she calls. So they are unlikely to fly away and not return.
Imagine being a small rodent or bird and looking up to see this coming at you!
We also heard a presentation on poisonous and venomous reptiles, These next pictures are of captive animals on display in a conference room. This is the Banded Gila Monster, It is extremely poisonous and not to be toyed with in the wild. They are protected by the State of Arizona and cannot be collected or killed.
A smaller rattlesnake, the Black Rattlesnake, above, is one of about a dozen varieties in Arizona. Most rattlesnakes are not aggressive and will avoid a confrontation with humans if possible.
Arizona Diamondback Rattlesnake is a dangerous critter. It grows larger than the Black Rattlesnake.
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The next seven pictures are of various hummingbirds native to the extreme southern part of Arizona. I have not identified all of them yet and some of the pictures are not as sharp as I'd like, but they move pretty quick.
These birds are all in a special Hummingbird aviary, so it's not quite the same as finding them in nature.
This is the Killdeer who will protect its nest by feigning injury to try to draw a predator away. It drags its wing as if it were broken and cries a mournful song to attract attention away from the nest.
The Black-Necked Stilt is one of two members of the Family Recurvirostridae to inhabit North America. We have seen the other, the American Avocet, near Palo Duro Canyon, too.
This strangely colored bird may be a cross breed between a Northern Cardinal and the Gray Cardinal which we see frequently here in Arizona. The color of the bill is wrong for the Gray Cardinal, but the coloring is not right for either!
These decorated horses seem to be everywhere we go. We first saw them in Amarillo last spring, but have encountered them elsewhere since.
And that ends our pictures of this wonderful museum.
