American Kestrels are year round residents at Sabino Canyon. American Kestrels are our smallest (9 inches long with a …
Canyon Life
American Snout Butterfly
When perched with its wings closed, the butterfly can look much like a dead leaf, the snout appearing to be the stem of …
Arch-Nutted Comb Bur
It’s about 4-8 inches tall, tiny- and I mean TINY white flowers. This month I’m giving a shout to one of our tiniest of …
Barrel Cactus
The cacti of the genus Ferocactus are varied and can range from less than a foot tall to as much as 12 …
Black Widow Spider
The Black widow has the worst reputation of any spider, but is not aggressive unless defending her cocoon. The male does …
Black-Necked Garter Snake
They are often encountered mid-morning or late afternoons foraging for tadpoles in shallow water. They also eat frogs, …
Black-Tailed Jackrabbit
A good place to look for these jackrabbits in Sabino is along the Esperero trail between the Bear Canyon trail and the …
Black-Tailed Rattlesnake
Like other pit vipers they use heat-sensing pits to detect warm-blooded predators and prey. Black-tailed Rattlesnakes …
Black-Throated Sparrow
As desert dwellers, they have adapted to drought conditions and can obtain all the water they require from their …
Botta’s Pocket Gopher
Pocket gophers prefer to pull plants down into their tunnel from below Botta’s Pocket Gophers are about 9.5 inches long …
Brittlebush
Hairy leaves helps the plant to retain moisture and shields the leaves from the sun April 2019 was a spectacular spring …
Burroweed
Burro WHAT? Lots of shrubby, yellow flowering bushes are around this time of year. One of these plants is Isocoma …
Cactus Wren
Cactus Wrens are the largest wren in North America and are the state bird of Arizona Cactus Wrens are about 8 inches …
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwings are social birds that are most always seen in flocks.Cedar Waxwings are medium sized songbirds that are …
Chain Fruit Cholla
The Chain-fruit Cholla blooms from May through August at elevations from 1000 to 4000 ft. So be sure to look for the …
Chia
Did you know that Chia is growing in Sabino Canyon? Did you know that Chia is growing in Sabino Canyon? The …
Coati
Curious, active, and gregarious coatis are very social animals, living in bands of up to 30 or more. Also known as …
Common Raven
Ravens are very intelligent. They are among the very few species that can study a problem and figure out a solution …
Cooper’s Hawk
The stair-step pattern to the under-tail is caused by the different lengths of the tail feathers which confirms that it …
Creosotebush
If you hold a branch in your hands, breathe out on it and then inhale, you will smell the resiny fragrance that we …
Curve-Billed Thrasher
The call of the Curve-billed Thrasher is a loud, human-like whistle —Whit-Wheet — one of the most common bird calls …
Desert Christmas Cactus
Cactus flowers are usually showy and have many stamens, petals and sepals May is Getting hot. Hard to think about …
Desert Ferns
There are 13 species of ferns observed and documented in Lower Sabino Canyon. Ferns in the Desert???!!! Usually …
Desert Night-Blooming Cereus
Also known as Queen of the Night and Reina de la Noche Most of us have taken a break from Sabino Canyon for the …
Desert Senna
There’s lots of Desert Senna (Senna covesii) blooming in Sabino Canyon right now. Despite little rain this summer, the …
Desert Senna
Desert Senna is one of the plants that uses the Pop and Drop seed dispersal method. There’s lots of Desert Senna …
Desert Tortoise
A full-grown desert tortoise is approximately one foot long, weighs about 15 pounds and has a life expectancy of 80 …
Desert Zinnia & Paper Flower
You can distinguish the Desert Zinnia by it's white flowers vs. the yellow Paper Flower. Paper Flowers are taller and …
Eastern Collared Lizard
This lizard becomes bipedal in pursuit of prey or when fleeing predators such as large snakes, hawks and …
Elegant Trogon
Prior to 2018, the last documented sighting at Sabino Canyon was in 2002 Only one species of trogon occurs in North …