Three weeks ago, my roving buddy and I were walking the Saguaro Discovery Trail at Tohono Chul Park looking for a nighthawk nest we had heard about. Suddenly, a lesser nighthawk erupted from the ground and flew several feet away.
Where it had been sitting—under a cholla on the bare desert floor—was an olive green speckled egg.
We did some research and learned that nighthawks usually lay two eggs. The chicks are semi-precocial, meaning that they can move about after they are hatched, but depend on parental care till they fledge, 17 days later. How can almost-helpless baby birds survive 17 days on the hot desert floor? The answer is that they are invisible!
These two amazing photos were taken by photographer John Durham and are used with his permission. He took them in the Altar Valley, somewhat southwest of Tucson.
A cloudy, hot, humid day with much beauty remaining from the previous night’s night-blooming cereus celebration. Most of these photos were taken in the new front part of Tohono Chul Park.
