Should any critter be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should no good creature be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my pets,
for auld lang syne,
we'll share some pics of critters yet,
for auld lang syne.
Hip-hip hooray! It’s the most wonderful
post of the year! The post in which I spotlight the new-to-us critters
that we espied in the last twelve months and include a Fresh Fun Fact™
(FFF™) about each one, something I didn’t write about for the post in
which the critter originally appeared.
This year’s third annual virtual menagerie
is heavy on the birds, reptiles, and insects, and light on the mammals.
I have yet to showcase a fish. This is not a complete accounting of all
the new wild fauna we saw in 2019, but I have a self-imposed rule of
only using the best photos when possible. The exception being if it was a
critter I believe may be a once-in-a-lifetime or rare sighting for us,
it made the short list. Never fear, I keep a good record of them all,
and you never know when a compendium of never-featured critters might
appear.
Are you as excited as I am? Then let the rounding up commence!
We begin with a collection of my favorite
little babies, including the smallest bird in the United States, the
Calliope hummingbird. Can you believe we got to enjoy eight varieties of
these beauties in a year?
FFF™ = Looking at that vivid collage, it is no wonder a group of hummingbirds is called a glittering. (AZ, NM)
FFF™ = The Elegant Earless Lizard has no ears, so I can’t ask it to tell
you why it has no ears. But I can ask Science, and Science says it’s so
that sand can’t clog them up when it digs! (TX)
FFF™ = If you think those little glowing eyes scooting across the road
at night belong to a mouse, you may be right. Then again, it might be
the tapetum in the back of a wolf spider’s eyes. As if they needed anything else to make them more creepy! (NM, TX)
FFF™ = When feeding insects to their young, Blue Grosbeaks remove the
head, legs, and wings — the way humans remove the crusts from a kid’s
sandwich! (NM)
FFF™ = Our adorable little mascots, Horned Lizards (Prickle Frogs!)
employ defense mechanisms based on the type of predator. Tipping up
sideways discourages pursuing snakes, holding stock-still and puffing up
deters rattlesnacks which don’t pursue prey, and if a canine is
interested in a prickle snack? The Horny Toad can squirt blood from its
eyes, trying to aim the foul-tasting liquid into the predator’s mouth!
(TX, NM, AZ)
FFF™ = Reddish Potato Beetles feed exclusively on nightshades, and
although potatoes are in that family, wouldn’t Reddish Tomato Beetle
have been a better name? (NM)
FFF™ = Scott’s Orioles are often the first birds to sing in the morning, frequently before sunrise. Take that, roosters! (NM)
FFF™ = The ankles of the Coatimundis (Coated Monkeys!) are extremely
flexible, allowing them to descend trees headfirst. That’s handy because
they mate and build nests for their babies up there. (AZ)
FFF™ = In 1940, native western House Finches were turned loose on Long
Island NY after failed attempts to sell them as pets labeled as
“Hollywood Finches.” They now inhabit the entire U.S. and Canada. (AZ)
FFF™ = Crevice Spiny Lizards bear as many as 11 live young. The eggs hatch internally, and live young are born. (NM)
FFF™ = Some people have compared the scent of the Green Shield Beetle
(Stink Bug) to that of cilantro. Frankly, I’d rather smell the bug. (NM)
FFF™ = Young Lazuli Bunting males combine notes and syllables learned
from older males and combine them to make their own individual song for
life. (NM)
FFF™ = There is a protein in the Western Fence Lizard’s blood that kills
the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. If a Lyme-infested tick bites
this lizard, the bacteria are eradicated, and the tick no longer carries
the disease! (NM)
FFF™ = Vinegaroons have been around for over 350 million years! (NM)
FFF™ = Woodhouse’s Scrub Jays help out mule deer by standing on their backs, picking off ticks and other parasites. (NM)
FFF™ = There are some things that should never come in groups, and
Western Diamondback Rattlesnacks are one of them. But when they do, it’s
called a rhumba. (AZ, TX, NM)
FFF™ = Like zombies, Praying Mantises go right for the brains of their prey. (NM)
FFF™ = Steller’s Jays are consummate mimics. Not only can they imitate
other birds, but also squirrels, cats, dogs, chickens, and even some
mechanical objects! (AZ)
FFF™ = Madrean Alligator Lizards will expel feces, bite, and/or cast off
their tails to avoid predation. Well, who wouldn’t? (AZ)
FFF™ = When it caches its prey, the Mexican Spotted Owl sits upright,
staring at the cache, then slowly backs away. Is it fixing the location
in its memory? That’s what ornithologists believe! (NM)
FFF™ = Pleasing Fungus Beetles really are very pleased with fungus. Adults and larvae dine on it almost exclusively. (NM)
FFF™ = Baby Jackrabbits, called kits, can run immediately after being born, and adults can leap 10 feet at a time and run up to 40 mph. (AZ)
FFF™ = House Wrens often include intact spider egg sacs with their
nesting materials so that the spider hatchlings can devour nest
parasites. (NM)
FFF™ = Hate cicadas? Then you should love the Clark’s Spiny Lizard because it gobbles them up! (NM)
FFF™ = As if being adorable wasn’t enough, Wild Burros dig to access
groundwater in the desert areas they call home, which allows smaller
animals such as birds and chipmunks to be able to call it home, too.
(AZ)
FFF™ = What stinks? Ask a Turkey Vulture because they can smell carrion from up to a mile away. Aren’t you glad you can’t? (NM)
Now, my friends, we come to the final critter to be featured. We began
with the smallest bird in the U.S., so it’s only fitting we end with the
largest, another vulture.
FFF™ = Unlike its cousin, the California
Condor detects its carrion meals by sight alone. Considering they can
soar up to 15,000′ that’s quite astounding, don’t you agree? (AZ)
Hiking around and espying animals makes us
happier than just about anything, and we look forward to finding many,
many more in the year to come. May each and every one of you find what
makes you happier than just about anything in 2020!
COMMENTS
But not before wishing you a 2020 filled with even more sightings of critters of the land, sea, and sky!
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As you know from experience, wildlife photography is equal parts patience and frustration. Many of these critters were spotted in the Gila, where we had lots of time to be still and observe and let them come to us.
I hope you have a great 2020, too — of course, if our paths cross, that’s a given 😀
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Vinegaroons and Coatimundis are the ones we still have to encounter!
Cheers to a great 2019 and here’s to more adventures and critters in 2020!
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Hurray for 2020 — big adventures for us all!
The photography is truly outstanding – so much detail and plenty of visual information about the environments these creatures inhabit. So well done! My favorites, not that you asked but I’m going to tell you anyway, are the hummingbirds. They are so beautiful and such a challenge to shoot. Great work!
I wish you both a very Happy New Year and look forward to all the cool stuff you’re going to find in the great north this summer!
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Thanks for the nice words about the pics! I had so many more new critters I could’ve included, but I really don’t like to use less-than-good photos to showcase, and of course, we have the sub-par photos for our own memories. Plus, I’m hoping we get another shot at a lot of them!
The hummies are irresistible, aren’t they? TBG hates that often the red feeders get included in the pics, and I do agree that being perched on a branch makes for a prettier shot, but we’d hardly ever see them if not for feeders drawing them in. Sigh.
We, too, are very excited to find new critters to the north and east. It didn’t seem like it (very often!) but we were only in four states in 2019! We’re easily going to triple that in 2020, which means the next Critter Round-Up will be a doozy!
I’m excited for all the critters *you’re* bound to see in 2020!
You really do capture SO much personality in your photos. And I appreciate that you include not only your feathered and furry friends, but also the reptiles and bugs you meet along the way. I mean, a burro is undeniably adorable, right? And that wren is mighty cute. But you even make a prickle frog look appealing! Happy, Happy New Year, and here’s to many more new critter sightings in 2020!!
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I do love the mammals the most, with the feathery ones coming in second, but some of those lizards are really growing on me, like my beloved little grumpy-faced prickle frogs. I bet you can’t wait to see another one yourself now! I wonder if I ever will find a fish to feature? That’s a tricky one.
I do hope you get to espy a prickle frog or two in 2020, and I really hope we get to espy a critter or three together somewhere along the way. That would be the best 2020. Happy New Year, my friend ❤
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