Male White faced meadow hawk

White-faced meadowhawks have multiple color patterns

July 21, 2021

A mating wheel allows a precise comparison of the colors and patterns of males and females The little marsh swarmed with insects. Tiny moths popped up from the grass, darted a short distance and then disappeared back into the grass. Small wood nymph butterflies kept searching for the perfect spot...

Hummingbird chin view

Broad-tailed hummingbirds need to return to Colorado sooner

May 25, 2021

Because billions of birds migrate in North America, this asynchrony of needs and availability of resources could become a widespread problem.

Two adult males and a juvenile burro in the Sinbad Herd on the San Rafael Swell

Wild burros on the San Rafael Swell

May 18, 2021

Wild or free roaming burros and horses are protected by Federal Law as "living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.” A few miles south of the historic swinging bridge crossing the San Rafael River, a group of 10 burrows grazed on a rolling plain beneath hills...

Great Heron

A local great blue heronry provides a natural spectacle

April 13, 2021

Social systems of great blue herons vary dramatically, from solitary nests to large heronries, and some heronries include nests of great egrets and cattle egrets.

Golden-mantled ground squirrels sound an alarm call that warns not only squirrels but marmots as well

Alarm calls share information among species

March 31, 2021

The sharing of vigilance and alarms by golden-mantled ground squirrels and yellow-bellied marmots is not unique.

A great egret in flight

Great egrets grow extravagant plumes for the nesting season

March 18, 2021

Great egrets usually hunt in shallow water, stalking small fish, which they swallow whole.

Clones of aspen with striking colors above Horse Park Ranch

Understories of quaking aspen vary dramatically among habitats

March 2, 2021

An understated characterization of quaking aspen is that it grows in many different plant communities, in many different ways and has adapted to an extremely wide range of environments.

Net winged beetle

Net-winged beetles advertise defenses with brilliant color, noxious odor

Feb. 2, 2021

Trilobite beetles are perhaps the most bizarre of all the net-winged beetles Some insects are cryptic, blending in with their backgrounds to hide from predators, while others are brightly colored, noisy, or form dense and conspicuous aggregations to warn their predators away. Red net-winged beetles, Dictyoptera aurora , are exemplars...

Dusky Grouse

Male dusky grouse are masters of camouflage but dandies on the dance floor

Jan. 6, 2021

Dusky grouse are effectively camouflaged and cryptic much of the year, but when it comes to the spring mating season, the males are bright and bold.

Black Dragon Canyon is deep, narrow and sinuous, and desert varnish darkens the walls.

Controversial interpretations of the Black Dragon Pictograph

Dec. 8, 2020

Evolutionary biologists have found fossil evidence of 110 species of pterosaurs, with wing spans ranging from 10 inches to over 33 feet I scout potential sites for camping and photography trips by looking at maps and reading about landscapes and habitats, so I was optimistic that I had found an...

Pages