What's News...

• This winters rains and hopefully the spring rains that are due should give the Sonoran Desert a 20 or 30 year flowering. It takes 3 rain cycles to break the drought, (9 years so far), but if the desert gets 3 or 4 more rains in the next 6 weeks look out! Watch here for areas and approximate dates for the best viewing sites. Some plant seeds can lay dormant for 20 years or more so every year is a little different.

• The flats near Willcox is the place to be for bird watching for the next month. An article in The Arizona Republic estimated that the Sandhill Crane population would be around 200,000 this year and experts have seen over 200 bird species at the annual wintering site. What got my heart going was an observer noting that a large group of cranes would'nt land because a Bald Eagle was hunting the area. I'll have pictures in a couple of weeks.

• The amount of bobcats being seen this year in backyards is high again this year. I've been promised pictures so send them in folks. You'll get credit in the picture gallery. Too many backyard bunnies attracting them.

• I recently had a pilot and his family notify me of a jaguar sighting S.E. of Roosevelt lake. Normally I wouldn't make note of this kind of sighting but for two things. 1) When I talked to them they were very credible and 2) TAKE YOUR CAMERAS WITH YOU! If you have a still or video camera it should be with you always, write WALLET on it so you don't forget it! I've learned the hard way which you'll read about in another section. By the way, Az. protects the jaguar as an endangerd species. Recent innovations in infrared and motion triggered cameras is giving us more pictures from Southern Az.