dshosie11's Journal

The species I am observing today is a lizard. I notice that this lizard looks bigger than most other lizards. I notice that its body looks like it has snake scales/skin. I notice the tail looks more smoother and only has a color pattern of two which is white and light brown. The body of the lizard has a mixture of dark brown, black, light brown, and white. I notice the the back legs of the lizard it has 4 fingers and one finger is really long. The two front legs have 3 short fingers. I wonder how big this lizard is? I wonder if this species of lizards live anywhere else other than Arizona? I wonder why it's called a Spiny lizard? These lizards can grow up to 2¼ to 5¼ inches, I found this information at https://www.desertmuseum.org. This lizard was observed on May 6, 2021 at 7:07 PM at E Eighth St, Tucson, AZ, US on Inaturalist.org. This lizard reminds me of a snake because of the skin, the color patters, and the head shape.

The species I am observing is a toad. I notice that this toad is not smooth at all and doesn't have the usual desert colors. I notice that this toad has bumps on it's back and those bumps are reddish brown, there are also black bumps on the toads face. I notice the eyes of the toad are big round black eyes with a hint of brown and green. This toad reminds my of a rock because of the way the toad sits. I notice the toad is a very light fading green. I wonder if this toad is poisonous? I wonder how this toad is surviving out here during the dry seasons. I wonder who named this toad a red-spotted toad. This toad as observed on Apr 20, 2021 · 11:41 PM at Coronado National Forest. I looked into it and apparently these toads can be poisonous, I found this information on https://fireflyforest.net.

The species I am observing is a bird. It looks very small. I notice that the top head of the bird is very round and the feathers are black or dark brown. I notice that the beak is long and straight, at the end of the beak it curves slightly and it is black. Just above the eye and beside the beak there is a straight white line going from the front of the head to the back. I notice that the general color of the feathers are black, white, brown, and a light orange. The top feathers of the bird are and brown spotted with white spots, just below the top feathers the color starts fading into white and white becomes the main color while there are still black spots. On the belly of the bird the feathers are orange and spotted with black spots. At the bottom of the birds' head there are black feathers. I wonder how small these birds usually are? I wonder if this bird naturally migrates elsewhere. I wonder if this bird is an adult bird or a younger bird. This bird was observed on Mar 30, 2021 at 8:33 AM at Pima County. These birds are usually between 19 and 18 cm in the United States. I found the information about the size on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus_wren

Today I am observing the "Blue-eyed Darner". I do not know much about this species but it definitely stands out. This species is thin, the upper body and head are a few inches wider than the lower half. I notice that the head is blue and further down on the body it is only spotted with blue. I notice the species wings are long, there seems to be two set of wings on each side of it. I notice that at the end of the long thin tail it ends with what seems to be 2 thorns, in the middle there is one short thorn and beside the middle 1 there are 2 longer thorns. I notice there are white spots along the middle of the species. I wonder what this species is, it looks like a huge mosquito but more colorful. I wonder if this species migrated from somewhere else other than Tucson. I notice there are 2 small antennas on its head. I wonder why its blue and how its going to survive in the desert. This blue-eyed Darner was observed on Apr 2, 2021 · 2:38 PM at Flowing Wells, Tucson, AZ, USA. I searched more on this species and it turns out this is a dragonfly from Aeshnidea family. This dragonfly reminds me of a butterfly because its colors. I used https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-eyed_darner to find out what kind of species it is. I used Inaturalist to find the blue-eyed Darner.

The coyote I am observing looks small and skinny compared to others I have seen. I notice that the fur of the coyote is dark brown, light brown and black. I notice one of the ears is standing up, and the ear looks like its either orange or really light red but it could just be the sunlight. I wonder why the ear is standing up like that. I notice that the snout is long and round at the end. I notice the eyes of the coyote are black. The legs of coyote are skinny. This coyote was observed on Mar 11, 2021 at 11:11 AM at Menlo Park.

The organism I am observing is a bee. I notice this bee has fur on it on its lower back and upper body. I notice on the back of the bee it has a pattern of black and light brown stripes. I notice that this bee appears to have about 6 black legs. I notice the head of the bee is glossy and black, it almost look like eyes. It appears to have two pairs of wings and two antennas. I wonder why the bee has fur on it. The bees wings remind me of fly wings, they are clear and have brown lines in them, almost like veins. I notice the legs of the bee also look glossy like the head. The color of the fur on the bee is light brown and gray. I wonder why the head is glossy. I wonder what kind of flowers/plants this bee is attracted to. These bees collect pollen and nectar to survive. They pollinate crops such as melons, apples, broccoli and more. These bees also hibernate in the winter which helps them survive winter, they pass this characteristic through generations to survive. I used Inaturalist to find a species to observe and I used https://www.terminix.com and www.abfnet.org/page/PollinatorFacts to learn more about the bees. This bee was observed on Mar 1, 2021 at 12:05 PM at E 12th St, Tucson, AZ, US.

The organism I am observing is a rabbit. This rabbit lives in the Tucson Arizona area. I notice this rabbit is quite small but its feet are about half the size of its body. I notice this rabbit is a bit fury and its fur is brown, light brown and black, there is also a bit of white fur. I notice its ears are long and they stand up straight. I notice its eyes are small and all black. I notice the back of the rabbit does exceed. These rabbits are able to store water in its body which is a good recourse especially in the desert. The rabbit can also blend in with its surroundings because of its brown furs which is helpful in with desert environments. Also the strong legs of the rabbit can help if its under attack-they can kick them. These rabbits pass down all these characteristics to their offspring. I wonder how the size can help them survive in the desert. I wonder why the ears stand up straight. I wonder if this rabbit has a tail. This rabbit reminds me of Easter because I always have associated bunnies with Easter and this rabbit reminds me of bunnies which brings me back to Easter. This rabbit was observed on Dec 10, 2020 at 12:25 PM at Pima County. I used Inaturalist for this entry and I also used animalsake.com/desert-cottontail-rabbit to learn a little more about this rabbit. Though the picture did come from Inauralist.

The species I am observing are flowers on a bush. I notice that this flower has many different shapes and colors. Their are tiny pink petals that look like mini flowers, they are shaped just like a flower but they are petals to a whole flower. On the outer part of the flower there are nine pink petals. I notice that going a little more inward in the flower there are yellow flowers, starting with ight yellow and then a darker yellow in the petal, it is also shaped like a flower. I noticed that in the very middle of the flower there are little square/triangle shapes. I wonder if those little square shapes are petals that haven't bloomed. I notice these flowers come in little bunches of 3-4 on a large bush. I wonder why I haven't seen more of these around the town. I wonder if its normal for there to be as little flowers as there are on this bush. I found these flowers on February 6, 2021 at 10:03 AM at 2426 E 19th Street. It was a bit windy but sunny. Because it hasn't been raining as much as it usually does and the seasons are being a bit bizarre there hasn't been as much of these flowers growing naturally. This flower reminds me of butterflies- colorful butterflies to be exact.

The organism I am observing appears to be a leaf at first sight but when you look closer you notice its an insect. I notice this insect is shaped like common green leaves on plants. I notice the body is flat and the end of the legs/arms look like little branches. I notice the upper parts of the legs/arms resemble a leaf also. The head itself looks like there are two leaf's and one leaf in the middle. This insect evolved to fit in with its environments which are green or brownish leaves. But nevertheless they all resemble a leaf. I wonder why other insects of the same species are different colors. Why cant they all be just green? I wonder if the area they live in effects the color they are. I wonder how long this species has been around. This insect of course reminds me of a small green leaf.

The Organism I am observing is a reptile. This reptile is more specifically a lizard. It has a long body with a long tail, it resembles a snake but it has four tiny feet. I notice the lizard has a pattern of horizontal stripes. This organism is different shades of brown and black. The stripes on the lizard are dark black/dark brown. I notice that at the end of the tail starts turning completely black. I notice this lizard resembles tree bark, it is blending in very well with its environment because it is brown. I notice the legs go outwards instead of taking place right below the body. This lizard reminds me of a snake but with legs. I wonder if snakes have evolved to become lizards or if lizards has evolved to become a snake. I notice that there are other lizards that look almost exactly like the lizard I am observing. They seem to come in a pack. I wonder if these species of lizards always travel in packs. This species was observed on February 5, 2021 at 11:11 AM at N Via De La Lanza. It was a hot day but later in the day it got cooler. I believe this lizard evolved by the change of its skin, so it can camouflage with its environment which is mostly dirt and tree trunks. I wonder if its feet evolved to better fit its environment too. Could his feet have changed so it can climb the rocky environment? This lizards camouflage can help it by protecting it from its predators. If this lizard was being attacked or chased it can blend in with a tree or in the dirt.