Hummingbirds at Tohono Chul

Here are a few of shots that I took at Tohono Chul which is a local Tucson botanical garden and education center. It is very nicely done with lots of desert creatures such as this Broad-Billed at the nest. I'm not sure what the other one is, it has a tiny bit of green but is not something that the guides I have can help with the identification.

Mexican Gray Wolf

This a Mexican Gray Wolf in captivity at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum which is a few miles down the road from here. It's not a really great photograph but I thought you might like to see it. It is an endangered species and I fear that the de-listing of Gray Wolves by the Interior Department will seriously impact this magnificant animal. Here is the link to the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program for those of you who might be interested in more detailed information.http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/index.shtml

The Tucson Mountains

Golden Gate Mountain

Cat Mountain

Golden Gate Mountain

A view on the walk to Gates Pass From Our house.

Tucson is surrounded by mountains and we are nestled at the base of Golden Gate Mountain which is in the Tucson Mountains.

Spring Blossoms

In my travels I come across many wonderful blossoms clinging to some very unusual plants. These are just a few that I especially like and hope that you enjoy them too.

Where is it?

The Sonoran Desert or the Low Desert is a North American desert which straddles the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. States of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican States of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, with an area of 311,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi). The desert contains a variety of unique plants and animals, such as the iconic saguaro cactus. On January 17, 2001, 2,008 square kilometres (496,000 acres) of the Sonoran Desert was set aside as the Sonoran Desert National Monument for the purpose of enhancing resource protection.

Our Backyard

All of these pictures were taken in Tucson Mountain Park within walking distance from our house. The one with the big puffy white cloud was taken during last years "Monsoon" which is generally very hot and the rains are amazing. The one with the shadow on the mountain is looking back at the city from Gates Pass which you can walk to easily from here. The last one is a picture of our mountain from the other side. Hope you enjoy the view.

On The Nest

I forgot to add this picture of the best hummingbird nest I've seen!

Hummingbirds Everywhere

There are more than a dozen hummingbirds that can be seen within the confines of the Sonoron Desert. I've managed to to see several of them including these pictured here. I'm not really sure what's up with the skinny little guy. Is it very young or molting? I would appreciate any feed back on this one! The other one is a Broad- Billed. I have been lucky enough to see a Costa's but did not get a great picture so it's not included here.

Welcome to the Sonoran Connection

Welcome to the Sonoran Connection, a collection of photographs taken within the confines of the Sonoran Desert whose purpose is to share the surprisingly abundant beauty of the desert with all who have an interest in such things.
This journey began with the purchase of my Canon XTi/400D digital camera and moved to the next level with the addition of the Canon Photo Printer 9000 which has the capability to produce excellent quality 13x19 inch prints. These purchases resulted in many trips to places like Saguaro National Park, Sonoita, Mt. Lemmon, Sabino Canyon where in a single day I would shot 3 or 400 pictures. Some were really bad but others were excellent representations of this extremely rare and beautiful place.
While it is extremely beautiful it can also be exceptionally hostile with temperatures in the summer months reaching well above 100 on most days. Water is scarce but the abundance of wildlife belies that fact and life here is surrounded with the constant reminder that this place is special and you can encounter an unbelievable number of creatures in a single day.
I am closing for now but will return very soon with the first in a series of photographs taken around the Tucson area. Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have about the area. Ray