Today we are meeting one cool rodent! It is super cute and creepy!
Demon Mole Rat Fun Facts:
Have you ever heard of the Halloween Crab? We hadn’t either! These colorful land crabs remind us of this festive time of year!
Halloween Crab Fun Facts:
We are so excited to meet today’s bird! We have never met a quail before and of course we have to find the ones with the cutest feathers around!
Gambel’s Quail Fun Facts:
These funny little quails can fly, but they mostly run around looking for food! They are so neat to watch in their little family groups.
We headed to the mountains today to find one neat and large mammal. We had fun climbing all around the trails and looking for these sheep that can climb mountains.
Desert Bighorn Sheep Fun Facts:
These agile sheep and so amazing! They are built to climb and to survive in the scrub land. Watching the males go head to head can be quiet impressive and a bit scary!
We had a great adventure looking for an unusual bird today. This owl doesn’t live in trees it lives in burrows underground. Neat!
Burrowing Owl Fun Facts:
Burrowing owls are so gorgeous. They are more tolerant of Co2 because they live underground where the gas can be more concentrated. This bird’s adaptations are so cool.
We headed out to find one of the most iconic animals of the southwest today! We didn’t have to travel far- these funny armored mammals were hanging out right in our camp! Often only seen as roadkill it was fun to observe one wandering around in the wild.
Nine banded armadillo fun facts:
Armadillos are definitely odd looking with their built in suit of armor, their pig like snouts and their clawed feet. We always love seeing them forage for grubs. And can you believe they are related to sloths?
After encountering a prairie dog town yesterday, we met a little reptile who calls these parts home! It’s always good to see so many species and this unusual looking lizard definitely caught our eye.
Blue Spiny Lizard Fun Facts:
These interesting lizards are so neat looking with bumpy scales. We think they are quiet handsome.
We headed out from camp today to meet on the residents for the prairie and the desert. We were excited to find these rodents. Can you guess who were are meeting?
Let’s learn more about the prairie dog!
Black Tailed Prairie Dog Fun Facts:
These rodents and cousins of the common grey squirrel are one of our favorites. There are five species of these little dudes. Scientists are working to protect their habitat and them as they are important for the survival of many species.
We are meeting one of the coolest birds in the southwest today- the greater roadrunner! Luckily this one didn’t have a coyote chasing it!
Greater Roadrunner Fun Facts:
These funny looking birds are suited for the terrestrial habitat. Those fast feet give them an advantage in finding food and staying away from predators. Once only found in the southwest, these birds are moving east can be found as far as Louisiana now.
We are excited to meet our first animal of this year’s travels. We unpacked our gear at our camp. We’ll be exploring several kinds of habitats here the Southwest. We spent our first evening looking for a wild cat, the ocelot. These spotted cats roam in the southern most regions of the southwest. They are not easy to spot, but we were lucky and found one!
Ocelot Fun Facts:
These small big cats are gorgeous. The were once listed as threatened by the IUCN because they were hunted for their coats. They still are losing habitat, but for now their populations are stable. Yay!!!
The Adventures of Ellie and Edmond 