TA Tidbits #65 Harvest Moon, Baby Saguaros & The Bull
- Mark L. Johnson
- 26 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Hiked Tortolita Preserve Big Loop (8 miles) early this morning as a harvest moon was setting in the West. See photos above.
Baby Saguaros
On Valentine's Day 2024, the Marana Parks & Recreation Department (MPR) and Tucson Bird Alliance (TBA) (formerly Tucson Audubon) collaborated and sponsored a baby saguaro planting day. Over 300 baby saguaros were planted by a group of staff and volunteers (including TA members) in the Tortolita Preserve within about a mile radius of the Moore Road Trailhead.
Today I was able to locate 15 of the baby saguaros, and happy to report that only one baby saguaro did not survive. That's a 93% survival rate over a 20-month period! See the photo collage of six of these youngsters. Baby Strong-arm is shown top-left!
Unfortunately, TBA did not include any follow-up monitoring as part of the planting program. TA is going to reach out to TBA and determine if the GIS location information is available for all 300 baby saguaros, and, hopefully, TA will initiate a program to monitor their progress over the decades ahead.
The Bull
Last week, while hiking along the Alamo Springs Trail near the intersection of the Ridgeline Trail, I noticed a dark object in the distance.
First, I thought it was a cave that I had not seen before.
As I got closer, it seemed to move. Was it a black bear?
Then I pulled out my new iPhone 17 Pro Max and used the new high-power telephoto lens to zoom in on the object. Sure enough, it was a very large black bull chomping on a cholla bush. See photos taken with different zoom levels below.
Thankfully, it was not a bear. Note the prickers all over the hide. I am told this black bull wanders all over the upper Wild Burro Wash watershed.
Seeing this bull in the wide open of the Wild Burro Wash makes one appreciate the elimination of cattle from the Tortolita Preserve. It's safer for hikers, bikers, and baby saguaros.