Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
/The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a favorite outing during our Tucson vacations. The drive through the Tucson Mountain Park to get there just sets the stage for a day enjoying all the wonders of the museum. There are lots of different kinds of cactus – of course. I tend to look for cactus that have something a little different: bigger spines or spines in an interesting pattern, colored fruit or spines…or outer flesh that is not green at all. I like the landscapes of different kinds of cactus growing on hillsides.
There is a hummingbird aviary and hummingbirds outside too.
There was an Anna’s hummingbird at a feeder that moved slightly and the color of the head changed completely. Hummingbirds have prism-like cells within the top layers of feathers on their heads…and the color we perceive varies based on the refraction from those prism-like cells.
Some other birds that we saw:a female Gila Woodpecker (since it did not have any red on its head)
And male Gambel’s Quail.
There were a few plants that were blooming. I didn’t notice the aphids on the close-up I took of one small flower until I looked at the image on my computer monitor!
And then there are rocks…some with brilliant colors
And some just a collection of small stones between plants
And an outcrop on a hillside – red with its iron.
Tomorrow I’ll write a second post about the Raptor Free Flight programs we saw on our visit to this museum last month.