AZ Nature In Focus

  I am fortunate enough to live in an area that not only has plenty of parks and hiking trails but also a large riparian preserve within a short drive from home.    The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona is one of my favorite places to spend a morning or afternoon wandering the trails and discovering new friends.   I try to avoid the busy weekends when the small lot and adjoining library lot tend to overflow with people descending on the preserve for an enjoyable afternoon.  During the week and early morning are the least crowded and times during which the animals tend to be most active and not hiding. There is a multitude of animals that can be found in this area.  Living in Arizona, I am accustomed to the more unusual animal sightings on my wanderings.  Tarantulas, Gila monsters, and rattlesnakes can all be found on the hiking trails that surround the city though I have never come across any of these at the Riparian Preserve....

Several months ago, I mentioned that I have a greater appreciation for nature in my own backyard when I return from a trip.  Not seeing all the common sights around my home during a trip makes me more aware that what might be common for me, isn't common everywhere.  Since I have not been traveling much or really at all right now, it might be simple to slip back into a mindset of taking wildlife for granted if it were not for my Twitter account.  I know that many have a poor experience on social media in general but I have to say that I have experienced no issues with Twitter.  My followers and those I follow are mostly those into nature and my feed is filled with plants, animals, and landscapes from around the world.  Someone recently tweeted a photo of a bird very common to his area yet I had never seen anything like it before.  So for anyone who is not familiar with the common wildlife in Arizona, I am going to reveal the most common desert sightings. S...