What a difference a little rain makes...

By: Cholla Rose Nicoll, Borderlands Wildlife Preserve Lead Technician

It seems that this year's monsoon season keeps giving. For those of you not familiar with the monsoon season in southeastern Arizona, it's from approximately June 15 to September 30, during which moist winds from the ocean are pulled in by low-pressure zones created from the summer heat. This moist air then forms thunderstorms and heavy rain. The monsoon fluctuates yearly, and this year we are having an exceptional abundance of precipitation compared to last year, which was one of the driest years on record.

Forgive me if this explanation is simple and not entirely accurate as climate science is very complex and deserves a more thorough explanation than a blog can accommodate. For a more detailed and fascinating description of the monsoon, please check out the CLIMAS website (Climate Assessment for the Southwest). 

Borderlands Wildlife Preserve is flourishing with all the additional moisture, and as such, we see fewer animals on our wildlife cameras. This may seem counterintuitive, but the preserve's animals now have many water sources and are not as reliant on the wildlife drinkers where we have many of our camera traps set up. 

Another reason for capturing fewer images is the simple fact that the cameras can no longer see the animals through all the plant growth. The difference in plant growth from last July to this July and even from the first week of this July to the end of the month this year is so dramatic we would like to share the images with you. 

​Enjoy these comparison images of all the greenery taken by our wildlife camera traps!​

Images of deer captured in early (left) and late (right) July at the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve.

Bobcat image from last year (left) compared with this year's (right).

A Coyote seen at one of our drinkers in early July (left) next to a picture taken late July (right).

Image of a Cooper's Hawk taken last July (left) and Gray Hawk photo taken this July (right). All comparison pictures taken at the same locations.