Cacti in Bloom
—and an Update on our Citizen Science Bat Project
Last week I was discussing backyard nature observations with a friend who lives in a different part of the U.S. and she asked what’s been blooming in Tucson lately. My answer was cacti! So today I’m sharing with you two of my recent Perpetual Journal illustrations of cacti in bloom.
First, here’s a Cowboy’s Red Whiskers Prickly Pear cactus with a bright red-orange flower. I’m not sure why they’re called “Red Whiskers” because the spines on them—while thick and whisker-like—are a distinct yellow ochre color, not red.
One of our neighbors gave us a few of these Prickly Pear pads about 20 years ago, so we stuck the pads in the ground to see how well they’d do. Fast forward two decades—these cacti have not only survived but thrived, with multiple pads and flowers. One even has 61 pads now!!! Who says plants don’t grow fast in the desert? 😉 Ha.
Regarding my insect art on the same PJ page, we’ve seen very few Lacewings this year, only 3 or 4 at a time, and infrequently. I’d love to see more, as Lacewing larvae eat Aphids and I’ve certainly seen plenty of Aphids on our Milkweeds this Spring!
My next week’s PJ also featured a cactus in bloom: a Pencil Cholla.
Although we heard and saw Lucy’s Warblers in our yard numerous times this Spring, we didn’t have any nesting in our two Lucy’s Warbler boxes, as I chronicled in my 2024 PJ entry. Our Ironwoods bloomed again this year, though! 😃
🦇 An Update on our Citizen Science Bat Project
You may remember that a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (translation: a whole year ago), I published a post (Taking Part in a Citizen Science Project—Studying Bats!) describing a research project Hubby & I participated in. The project’s goal was to collect bat acoustic data in urban communities in the Southwest U.S. including Tucson, and so Hubby & I were loaned a bat detector that we deployed on our roof for a week in June 2024.
We finally got the results of the data collected from our bat detector and learned that in that one-week period it recorded (drum roll, please!):
🎉 2970 bat calls from four species of bats!
The four species were Western Yellow Bats, Canyon Bats, Brazilian Free-tailed Bats (also known as Mexican Free-tailed Bats), & Pocketed Free-tailed Bats.
Brazilian/Mexican Free-tailed Bats are common here in Tucson and roost under several bridges in the area, including one < 2 miles from our house.
It doesn’t sound like Bat Conservation International is going to continue this citizen science project, unfortunately. Hubby & I are wondering if the project’s funding was affected by the many science-related budget cuts we’ve seen this year. 😠
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If you’ve read this blog for more than a week or two 😁 you’ve probably noticed that I like to celebrate the beauty of nature with my art—so here’s a quote about beauty:
"Peace is always beautiful."
- Walt Whitman
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I like how the way you colour your illustrations evokes a hot and dry climate. Bats are so intriguing. I'm sure we must have some around here, but I've never seen any.
way cool bat info!!