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	<title>Three Star Owl - Functional and Sculptural Clay Artwork with a Natural History &#187; natural history</title>
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	<link>http://threestarowl.com</link>
	<description>Three Star Owl clay studio</description>
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		<title>I spy with my little pine: solar crescent-eye</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-spy-with-my-little-pine-solar-crescent-eye</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-spy-with-my-little-pine-solar-crescent-eye#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 May 2012 17:39:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=15292</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Since we aren&#8217;t equipped to either observe or photograph solar eclipses directly, E and I took to the yard during Sunday evening&#8217;s event to seek indirect eclipse images instead.  The classic pinhole method is simple and adequate &#8212; poke a small hole in foil or stiff cardboard, and let the sun shine through the hole [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-spy-with-my-little-pine-solar-crescent-eye/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A sketchy bird list</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/a-sketchy-bird-list</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/a-sketchy-bird-list#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:21:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=15095</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not keen on enacting the Mad Dogs and Englishmen scenario, E and I lounged for a couple of hours during the heat of the day in the shade of a wild palm grove last weekend.
&#60;&#60; Southwest Palm Grove, Tierra Blanca Mountains, Anza-Borrego State Park (photo A.Shock) 
This is a well-known oasis, and not terribly remote [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/a-sketchy-bird-list/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The desert between</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-desert-between</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-desert-between#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:09:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14991</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It exhibits questionable judgment to leave Phoenix right now when the Sonoran desert is so beautiful, but we did.  In a fit of really-needing-to-get-out-of-town E and I enacted a spur of the moment plan for a busman&#8217;s holiday of camping in the Colorado desert*.  We took off down I-8 in the footsteps of Juan Bautista [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-desert-between/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tweaked titmouse: blame the weather</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tweaked-titmouse-blame-the-weather</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tweaked-titmouse-blame-the-weather#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Mar 2012 23:11:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14878</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today&#8217;s weather has been changeable, to understate the case.  After a week of early warmth, winter has barged back into the low desert in the form of a March Pacific storm, bringing intermittent rain, gusty winds, spotty sunshine, and nippy (for us) temperatures.
Folding clean laundry was the other option, so I chose fiddling on the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tweaked-titmouse-blame-the-weather/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Not my hen</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/not-my-hen</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/not-my-hen#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:07:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14677</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Anna&#8217;s hummers are capable of setting clutches just about year round in warm climate states like Arizona and California.  The little males have been doing their combo territorial and courtship dives &#8212; which culminate in a loud, popping &#8220;CHEEP&#8221; sound &#8211; since December, at least in our neighborhood.  This little Hen in Tucson has gotten [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/not-my-hen/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Crane-o-rama!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/crane-o-rama</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/crane-o-rama#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:24:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14615</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tens of thousands of Sandhill cranes winter in the fields and wetlands of far southeastern Arizona each year, and they have their own festival: Wings Over Willcox, held in mid-January by the historical community of Willcox, AZ. This year is the 19th Annual WOW Festival, and it&#8217;s part of SE Arizona&#8217;s celebration of the state [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/crane-o-rama/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Moonshots</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/moonshots</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/moonshots#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:46:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14527</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s the total lunar eclipse from the Phoenix area this morning, just before totality.  The desert skies were clear, so that we had a wonderful dark sky view of the first half of the event.  But totality began right at sunrise, so just as the whole moon was shadowed, it sank in a sky too [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/moonshots/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tale of Two Tiny Tarantulas</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tale-of-two-tiny-tarantulas</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tale-of-two-tiny-tarantulas#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:50:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14459</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On our way home from our weekend getaway, E and I stopped at Montezuma Well National Monument.  It&#8217;s one of our favorite places: a compact confluence of archæology, geology, and natural history. If you haven&#8217;t been there while visiting central Arizona, I highly recommend it.
&#62;&#62; Montezuma Well and beautiful fall color (all photos in this [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tale-of-two-tiny-tarantulas/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Her majesty deigns to be photographed</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/her-majesty-deigns-to-be-photographed</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/her-majesty-deigns-to-be-photographed#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:14:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unexpected]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14393</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I felt like a paparazza, drawing as close as I dared, trying to hold my proper camera with the big zoom steady in the failing light.  But she was calmly perched out in the open, low on our back fence, mobbed by smaller birds.  Hummingbirds orbited her, scolding, like cheeky electrons, but she ignored them. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/her-majesty-deigns-to-be-photographed/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:16:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14348</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Me: reminiscing about our trip to New Zealand a while back.  You: trying to Spot the Bird.
It shouldn&#8217;t be too hard, but here&#8217;s a hint: you&#8217;re looking for a parrot.  Now don&#8217;t go clicking on the photo to enlarge it right off the bat, you&#8217;ll make it too easy!  (And, by the way, it&#8217;s a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the bird (easy)</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-easy</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-easy#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:42:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14193</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, I realize that this is a very easy Spot the Bird.  Although it was hiding among the lower branches of a mesquite, the bird is very easy to spot, here in the photo.  But, driving past, not so easy.  And it doesn&#8217;t think it&#8217;s easy to spot.  The bird, a Greater Roadrunner, thinks it [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-easy/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Face of a Sphinx</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/face-of-a-sphinx</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/face-of-a-sphinx#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:20:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doom and gloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14068</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The morning after our latest haboob I found an expiring Sphinx moth, battered by the winds and on its last legs.  It was a big one, not as colorful as some, but marked like bark in black and white, with three orange spots on its abdomen.  It&#8217;s a fairly large animal: about three inches long, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/face-of-a-sphinx/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Haboob-o-rama</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/haboob-o-rama</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/haboob-o-rama#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:58:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unexpected]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14052</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This summer, there&#8217;s been much haboobery in the Phoenix area, causing a veritable Haboob-O-Rama.  Just this evening (Sunday) we had what was by my count the fourth significant dust storm of the 2011 monsoon season, which should be winding down, but isn&#8217;t.  There&#8217;s still dust in our yard from the first big one, which came [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/haboob-o-rama/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tiny jumper</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-jumper</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-jumper#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:18:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14031</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Doesn&#8217;t it look like a Jeep?
Those dark &#8220;headlights&#8221; are eyes, which jumping spiders, unlike most spiders, rely on to hunt.  I can count three pairs: two on the front (big and little) and one on the side (little).  See &#8216;em?  There may be more&#8230;

We photographed this tiny jumping spider before relocating it outside, since the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-jumper/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Anna&#8217;s on an aloe</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/annas-on-an-aloe</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/annas-on-an-aloe#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:36:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14006</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
This isn&#8217;t a short-billed hummer, it&#8217;s just that the resolution on a zoom photo wasn&#8217;t up to capturing the thin bill against the rough-textured block wall.  Still, pretty good for a phone camera. (photo by A.Shock)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/annas-on-an-aloe/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A new Spot the Bird&#8230; kind of</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-new-spot-the-bird-kind-of</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-new-spot-the-bird-kind-of#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:25:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13753</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well, it&#8217;s not actually a bird.  Perhaps these posts should be called &#8220;Not the Bird&#8221;. 
Here is an appropriately faded Old West-y snap shot of a neighbor of ours, taken with my cell phone.  Can you spot the non-avian subject?  It&#8217;s a Desert Iguana, posing with dignity as if for a Victorian formal portrait, lurking [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-new-spot-the-bird-kind-of/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another Potter</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-potter</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-potter#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:40:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13728</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s a slightly arty image of an un-opened Potter Wasp nest on the front wall of our house, with a drawing pencil for scale.  Click here for more info on what these tiny clay pots are, and why the wasps build them.  One of these days, I hope to be in the right place in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-potter/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Haboob two</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/haboob-two</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/haboob-two#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:18:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unexpected]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13692</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another dust storm rolled over Phoenix just before sunset tonight, thirteen days after the doozy that hit us earlier in the month.  The first I knew of that one it was already on top of the house, its swirling dust choking out any light that was left in the sky.  I saw amazing photos of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/haboob-two/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Proof and everything&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/proof-and-everything</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/proof-and-everything#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:16:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13673</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;of convergent evolution.
 

(photo A.Shock)
For those like me who need facts and a story, this is a Palo Verde Root Borer Beetle (Derobrachus geminatus, adult, fully 3&#8243; long), posing for what I thought were post-mortem portraits this morning after I fished her out of the pool.  However, she was clearly heard to state &#8220;I&#8217;m not [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/proof-and-everything/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A small thing the rain brought out</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-small-thing-the-rain-brought-out</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-small-thing-the-rain-brought-out#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:10:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doom and gloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[monsoon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[threadsnake]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13426</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Other parts of the Phoenix area had been rained on already in this monsoon season, but so far our part of town only had dust.  Big dust, impressive dust, haboob-style wall of silty grit in your eyes, teeth and hair dust, but no rain.  At about four this morning, however, that changed with the slow [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-small-thing-the-rain-brought-out/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cucumbers don&#8217;t usually have scales</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/cucumbers-dont-usually-have-scales</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/cucumbers-dont-usually-have-scales#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 01:07:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment/activism/politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13265</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#60;&#60; Here are my next-door neighbor&#8217;s cucumber plants, with a snake napping amidst them.  The neighbor noticed it when he was rummaging around in these leaves looking for cukes for dinner.  I happened to be in our backyard, and saw him and his wife standing just on the other side of our shared [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/cucumbers-dont-usually-have-scales/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Morning foraging strategies and their aftermath</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/morning-foraging-strategies-and-their-aftermath</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/morning-foraging-strategies-and-their-aftermath#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:04:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13192</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning my foraging strategy was to cook oat bran, spangle it with almonds, and sweeten it a little with agave nectar.  This left the sink full of dishes.  Someone else&#8217;s foraging strategy &#8212; a fox? a coyote? &#8212; was to dig out pocket mice burrows, hoping for some warm, moist, furry, squeaking protein.  This [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/morning-foraging-strategies-and-their-aftermath/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The young spiny lizard&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-young-spiny-lizard</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-young-spiny-lizard#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 May 2011 22:05:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13113</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;contemplates you.  Click to enlarge, twice if you can, for good spiny detail.  (Photo A.Shock, Devil&#8217;s Canyon)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-young-spiny-lizard/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Waxing gibbous with vultures</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/waxing-gibbous-with-vultures</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/waxing-gibbous-with-vultures#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 May 2011 19:55:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13088</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This time of year, the local Turkey Vultures roost on the rocks and in the tall eucalypts&#8217; tops along Queen Creek.  By twilight they&#8217;ve called it a day, and have found their places, high overhead where they&#8217;ll be safe from most predators, dreaming of whatever odiferous carnage vultures dream of.  Unlike most hawks, many vultures [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/waxing-gibbous-with-vultures/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Boojum moon</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/boojum-moon</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/boojum-moon#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 May 2011 22:40:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unexpected]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13040</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;In the dark was a boojum, you see,&#8221; to paraphrase Lewis Carroll.

The javelinas, bats, and skunks get to see it like this all the time. But before last friday night, I&#8217;d never seen a boojum in the moonlight. 
Turns out waxing gibbous is a good look for the strange tree.
(Boojum, Fouquieria columnaris, or cirio in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/boojum-moon/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Don&#8217;t worry, this post is NOT titled&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/dont-worry-this-post-is-not-titled</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/dont-worry-this-post-is-not-titled#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 May 2011 02:27:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13022</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; &#8220;Don&#8217;t take this frog for granite&#8221;
I never can resist posting Canyon treefrogs (Hyla arenicolor), those most toadly of frogs.
 This one was sunning itself on a rock this morning, looking quite like its substrate, the granite of Devil&#8217;s Canyon.  As we canvassed birds along Queen Creek for North American Migratory Bird Count, we [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/dont-worry-this-post-is-not-titled/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Migratory cephalopods&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/migratory-cephalopods</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/migratory-cephalopods#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 May 2011 16:07:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cephalopods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12957</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;and other creatures of shift and change.
The day began with a coyote, and an oriole.  The coyote we encountered in front of our house, at the start of our early morning walk toward the neaby desert park.  It was on its end of the day commute &#8212; on the way from our street [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/migratory-cephalopods/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It was all fun and games till the alligator showed up&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/it-was-all-fun-and-games-till-the-alligator-showed-up</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/it-was-all-fun-and-games-till-the-alligator-showed-up#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 May 2011 15:31:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12912</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well, not actually an alligator, but a beautiful spiny lizard.   As we were packing up, we found him snoozing in a sheltered nook under my table foot at Birdy Verde.  The event is in a huge tent set up in a field, and they put a carpet down over the dirt &#8212; this [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/it-was-all-fun-and-games-till-the-alligator-showed-up/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New out of the box</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-out-of-the-box</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-out-of-the-box#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:21:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12874</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Though the lady bug life cycle has been covered here before, I can&#8217;t resist posting this photo of a brand new Lady Bird Beetle and its recently exited pupal casing.
>> the bug and the box it came in.  Click to enlarge, it&#8217;s a nice big file (photo A.Shock).

Just a couple of days ago, I&#8217;d [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-out-of-the-box/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Hidden Egg</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hidden-egg</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hidden-egg#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:43:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doom and gloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12825</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This time of year the world is pregnant with nests full of eggs, tiny cottontails hopping and hiding in the yard, fledgling birds following their parents food-begging insistently, new yellow-green leaves and catkins on the mesquite trees, and glorious cactus blooms.
&#60;&#60; Praying mantis egg-case on a Palo Verde twig (photo E.Shock).  &#62;&#62; close-up of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hidden-egg/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird answer: rock and wren</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:42:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12611</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To the right is the photo key to the Rock wren of the current Spot the Bird.  Rock wrens rock one of my favorite Latin names in the bird world (along with Upupa epops, the hoopoe): Salpinctes obsoletus.  According to Choate, the name comes from Greek salpinctes, &#8220;a trumpeter&#8221; and Latin obsoletus, &#8220;indistinct&#8221;, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Wild hogs in the desert&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-hogs-in-the-desert</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-hogs-in-the-desert#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:54:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12707</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;.but not the quadrupedal kind.
One of the main attractions of following the Castle Hotsprings Road through the edge of the Buckhorn Mountains NW of Phoenix is the spring wildflower bloom.  This past weekend the succulent plants predominated: Ocotillos were in full swing, and the prickly pear were starting to get the hang of it.

It [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-hogs-in-the-desert/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird: rock and wren</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-rock-and-wren</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-rock-and-wren#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 17 Apr 2011 04:22:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12587</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a while since we&#8217;ve had a SPOT THE BIRD.
Rock wrens, Salpinctes obsoletus, live among rocks in the arid mountain and desert west.  Here are some rocks.  These rocks are along the Castle Hotsprings Road between Phoenix and Wickenburg, AZ.  There is a Rock wren in these rocks.  If you could hear the wren, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-rock-and-wren/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Heretofore missing eggs</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/heretofore-missing-eggs</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/heretofore-missing-eggs#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:32:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12430</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last fall our herb garden hosted a successful crop of parsley, cilantro, and Lady bird beetles (AKA Lady bugs).  But we only noticed the bounty of bugs when we found roving hordes of hungry beetle larvæ voraciously devouring hapless aphids.  Pictures of the process of larval metamorphosis were captured  and posted here, but all the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/heretofore-missing-eggs/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Little the worse for wear</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-little-the-worse-for-wear</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-little-the-worse-for-wear#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:59:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doom and gloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12164</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[They don&#8217;t all make it.  E found a dead fledgling hummingbird in the path across the wash, under the palo verde tree. It was dried, mummified, an inoffensive inanimate thing, not even worth the ants picking over.  We buried it under a nearby chuparosa, a favored food of hummers.  (Photos E.Shock)
Top: detail of foot, with [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-little-the-worse-for-wear/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hen Triumphant!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hen-triumphant</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hen-triumphant#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:56:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11709</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve been watching a hummingbird Hen &#8212; we think she&#8217;s an Anna&#8217;s (Calypte anna) &#8212; on a nest since the middle of February.  Lots of people have passed close to her chosen spot, which was fairly low in a crooked Aleppo pine in our backyard, right over a gravel path through the side of the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hen-triumphant/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Oh say can you KIK&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/oh-say-can-you-kik</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/oh-say-can-you-kik#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Mar 2011 15:37:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11424</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;by the dawnzerly light?
&#60;&#60; Here&#8217;s one of the local Cooper&#8217;s hawks preening in the pre-dawn light above my tent &#8220;office&#8221;.  Every morning at EXACTLY 5:48 by the alarm clock, the pair begins their day by skrekking KIK a couple of solo kiks, then rolling out a long stream of duo kik kik kik kik kik [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/oh-say-can-you-kik/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The delights of urban camping</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/the-delights-of-urban-camping</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/the-delights-of-urban-camping#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:23:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11407</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here is the Office, Three Star Owl&#8217;s nest away from nest on certain roadtrips, complete with cot and a TV tray table that serves as a desk, and a battery-powered lamp or two. &#60;&#60;

And here is the Cooper&#8217;s hawk who nests here each time I&#8217;ve stayed in this RV Resort.  It&#8217;s eating something fairly large, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/the-delights-of-urban-camping/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I know where the Hen she sits&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-know-where-the-hen-she-sits</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-know-where-the-hen-she-sits#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 01:30:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11292</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;and also why it&#8217;s called &#8220;Broad-billed&#8221;.
Although those two statements concern two different birds.
Update: as of Friday morning, &#8220;Bill&#8221;, the Broad-billed hummingbird, is still reporting in to our backyard feeders, passing the 72-hour mark (I first observed him on Monday afternoon).  We guess he&#8217;ll be here until he&#8217;s not!
Breeding season for Anna&#8217;s hummers is in full [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-know-where-the-hen-she-sits/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lousy pix but exciting bird!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-pix-but-exciting-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-pix-but-exciting-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:38:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11264</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another update: going onto day three of &#8220;Bill&#8221; at the feeder.
Update: as of Tuesday late afternoon, the BBLH is still at our feeder, defending it against the local Anna&#8217;s hummers, happily zipping about under the pine and between our yard and the neighbor&#8217;s.
A series of rapid, smacking clicks and a rich chip caught my ear [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-pix-but-exciting-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The key is the beak</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-key-is-the-beak</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-key-is-the-beak#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:52:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11195</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A while back, I posted the latest Spot the Bird, a shot of a Mexican wetland that contained hard-to-see birds.  It was a tough one.

Here&#8217;s the key.  The hidden birds are three Black-bellied whistling ducks, visible in the sea of green only by looking carefully for their bright coral-red bills, a tag of chestnut plumage, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-key-is-the-beak/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Year&#8217;s First New Bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:44:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last post was the New Year&#8217;s first bird &#8212; a frosty Costa&#8217;s hummingbird &#8212; but this one is the Year&#8217;s First New Bird, and it&#8217;s a hummer, too.
We just returned from Baja California, and in the mission village of San Javier on the dramatic east side of the Sierra de la Giganta in Baja California [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New Year&#8217;s first bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-years-first-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-years-first-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Jan 2011 16:37:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11083</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#62;&#62; A durable little male Costa&#8217;s hummingbird, perched two feet off the ground on an aloe-tip, in the gray light of a below-freezing desert dawn, the first morning of the year also the coldest of the season so far.  (All photos A.Shock &#8212; click to enlarge!)
Moustachios a-flarin&#8217; &#62;&#62;
Above: slurping at the feeder:
It&#8217;s surprising how [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-years-first-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird: bright beak gray cheek</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-bright-beak-gray-cheek</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-bright-beak-gray-cheek#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:38:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11057</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In celebration of my friend Kate seeing Black-bellied whistling ducks in New Orleans, here is a Black-bellied whistling duck Spot the Bird.
The photo was taken in a coastal wetland in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, in Ocotber of 2008.  I was scanning the greenery with binx when I spotted the ducks &#8212; I suspect [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-bright-beak-gray-cheek/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Killdeer overshadows rock</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/killdeer-overshadows-rock</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/killdeer-overshadows-rock#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:26:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11020</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
A looming Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) casts a long shadow in the late afternoon sun, standing on a bermed farm road east of Phoenix (photo A.Shock).  Despite its scientific name, it was being silent, and not vociferus at all.  And despite its common name, ungulates don&#8217;t have to worry, but you invertebrates? &#8212; quake in your [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/killdeer-overshadows-rock/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Owls dislike Autumn because&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/owls-dislike-autumn-because</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/owls-dislike-autumn-because#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:28:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10998</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;it&#8217;s hard to hide in bright, falling foliage if you&#8217;re a flying tiger&#8230;
Here&#8217;s one of a pair of Great Horned Owls we happened upon yesterday in a cottonwood grove along the Verde River east of the Phoenix metro area.  We were scouting for Tuesday&#8217;s official Christmas Bird Count of the Rio Verde area, and accidentally [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/owls-dislike-autumn-because/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Antidote to Black Friday: desert color</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/antidote-to-black-friday-desert-color</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/antidote-to-black-friday-desert-color#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Nov 2010 23:51:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10938</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s not uncommon for people who have moved here from wooded parts of the country to declare that they miss the seasons, especially fall and its bright colors.  This can be true especially for those who live on golf courses with year-round green lawns and palm trees.  But on close inspection, the natural Sonoran desert [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/antidote-to-black-friday-desert-color/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>El Guajolote Supremo wishes everyone&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/guajolote-supremo-wishes-everyone</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/guajolote-supremo-wishes-everyone#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:35:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10919</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;a Happy Thanksgiving!
As fabulous a bird as our North American Wild Turkey undoubtedly is, there is a turkey more wonderful still: the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) of tropical Central America.&#62;&#62;
On this Turkey Day feast your eyes on the glory that is the iridescent El Guajolote Supremo &#8212; eaten nearly to extinction because it apparantly tastes [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/guajolote-supremo-wishes-everyone/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The &#8220;Hot Sword of Shock&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hot-sword-of-shock</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hot-sword-of-shock#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:51:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[E]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10868</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some readers know that the E who appears occasionally in this space is my husband, Everett Shock. Some readers also know that he&#8217;s a geochemist on the faculty of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the department of Chemistry at Arizona State University.  But up until now, no one knew that an organism [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hot-sword-of-shock/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Query, possibly &#8212; or possibly not &#8212; political:</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/query-possibly-or-possibly-not-political</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/query-possibly-or-possibly-not-political#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:33:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment/activism/politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10863</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Which feels worse, the hollowed out jalapeño or the worm what done it?
Go ahead; click on it just to make yourself miserable.
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/query-possibly-or-possibly-not-political/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Three small pictures of four small things&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:33:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10751</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; I missed at first, when outside friday morning shooting passionflowers.
It really irked me to not have my own photo of a Gulf Fritillary to post yesterday, so once the sun was higher, I went out to fetch one, if possible (a photo, that is, not a flutterby).  I ended up encountering not only [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Purple in the herbs</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/purple-in-the-herbs</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/purple-in-the-herbs#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:30:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10724</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Our vegetable garden, like most vegetable gardens, requires continual effort.  For the majority of these domesticated types of plants, the desert is not a &#8220;shove it in the ground and it will grow&#8221; environment. Rabbits and diggy-beaked birds are constantly helping themselves, peak summer heat (now thankfully past) and dryness make frequent watering necessary.  So, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/purple-in-the-herbs/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Week in Review: the last monsoon event?</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-week-in-review-the-last-monsoon-event</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-week-in-review-the-last-monsoon-event#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Oct 2010 04:57:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10700</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Earlier in the week we had a storm &#8212; technically outside the officially designated monsoon season &#8212; and it was a colorful one.  Our microcosm of Phoenix received about a half inch of technicolor rain in a very short time, without the wind and hail that the same towering clouds dropped on neighbors less than [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-week-in-review-the-last-monsoon-event/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>And it goes on&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-it-goes-on</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-it-goes-on#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:16:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10648</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It always makes me happy to see infant animals in the yard; it means the world is rolling along, as it should, species replenishing themselves and the natural systems functioning.  This is why people love seeing babies &#8212; it gives the same satisfaction: that the world is carrying on as usual, despite everything, and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-it-goes-on/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Quite a lot of penguins</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:54:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10622</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s still hot in Phoenix, although less hot than formerly, so here&#8217;s a cooling black-and-white-and-gray vista to cool the eye.

These King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are amassed on South Georgia Island, located at 54〫S in the fearsome southern Atlantic ocean.  There are tens of thousands of them on this breeding beach.  Most of the individuals in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Key to the Goldfinches Spot the Bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/key-to-the-goldfinches-spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/key-to-the-goldfinches-spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:17:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/key-to-the-goldfinches-spot-the-bird</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[SPOILER ALERT!!

Here are the three goldfinches in yesterday&#8217;s Spot the Bird, highlighted in color for ease of viewing.

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/key-to-the-goldfinches-spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the bird: Lesser goldfinch fressing</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-lesser-goldfinch-fressing</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-lesser-goldfinch-fressing#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:21:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10358</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We planted sunflowers in the garden for the goldfinch; it seems to have worked.
Now that the flower heads are mature and seedful on the stalks, the bushes are crowded with Lesser goldfinch. There are lots more flowers in bloom, which will keep the hungry finches supplied into the fall or even early winter.  The [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-lesser-goldfinch-fressing/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>We interrupt this flamingo&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/we-interrupt-this-flamingo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/we-interrupt-this-flamingo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:25:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cranky owlet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10158</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;to bring you a tiny owlet.  From Pink to Dink, with hardly a blink.
Friday morning, I came home from delivering E to campus, and blissfully opened the back door to let in the first blast of coolish late summer air.  Instead of the usual morning quiet, the back yard was chattering with angry bird sounds: [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/we-interrupt-this-flamingo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>More Mightier Pink</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:17:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10117</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The last post, on Roseate Spoonbills, was mighty pink. But I have to admit Flamingos are pretty dang pink, pinker even than Roseates. This is because they are bigger, and their entire neck and head are flaming salmon.  And these two are American Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber), who are among the pinker of the world&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Roseate spoonbill</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/roseate-spoonbill</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/roseate-spoonbill#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:25:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10084</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[That&#8217;s all.  Just&#8230; Roseate spoonbill.
Platalelea ajaja is a fairly large hot pink wading bird with knobby gray knees and a spoon-ended sifting bill which it swings side to side in the water while feeding.  They tend to be gregarious, and seeing a bunch feeding together on mudflats is a fine pinksome sight.
&#60;&#60; This solitary one [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/roseate-spoonbill/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>We call it &#8220;The Rock Lobster&#8221;&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-call-it-the-rock-lobster</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-call-it-the-rock-lobster#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:50:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10041</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;but it&#8217;s not from the bottom of the sea.  If you had a hard time with the centipede or the solpugid, you may wish to look away.  Or not&#8230;
This is one of my favorite desert arthropods ever, in kind of an oscillating horrified/fascinated can&#8217;t look away from photos of the train wreck kind of way.
It&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/we-call-it-the-rock-lobster/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>More prehistoric wildlife of the back porch</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-prehistoric-wildlife-of-the-back-porch</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-prehistoric-wildlife-of-the-back-porch#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:52:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9850</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A centipede, a solifuge, now a dinosaur: all have recently made an appearance on our back porch.
Just now, I was sitting in the den with the sliding door open, when suddenly a winged dinosaur landed on the bricks right outside and ran up to the screen-door, its tail held high behind it like a velociraptor.
Greater [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-prehistoric-wildlife-of-the-back-porch/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s like living with cats:</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-like-living-with-cats</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-like-living-with-cats#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:48:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9793</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;I assure you,&#8221; the solpugid says, &#8220;it&#8217;s good you are bigger than me.  Otherwise&#8230; well, I couldn&#8217;t account for my actions.&#8221;
(Photos A.Shock)
Here&#8217;s the whole creature, my hand for scale:
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-like-living-with-cats/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Passing on the shnorr-gene</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:13:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hoover the Dove]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9614</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hoover, the semi-tame African Collared Dove who hangs out in our neighborhood, has been a bachelor for a while.  But earlier this summer, we observed him in the company of a female dove who appeared to be a smallish Eurasian Collared Dove, a naturalized old world species that has become very numerous across the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another excellent tropical owl</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:29:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9556</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(This post newly updated with better link to owl sound)

Here&#8217;s a Spectacled owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata), staring hard at us from its perch in the tropical lowlands of Sarapiquí in Costa Rica.  What could be more delightful than a cinnamon-and-cholcolate owl with white &#8220;spectacles?&#8221; 
I have the answer: one that makes a strange, rapidly pulsating noise [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Pulsatrix-perspicillata-1.mp3" length="102817" type="audio/mpeg" />
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		<item>
		<title>The night of the enormous centipede</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-night-of-the-enormous-centipede</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-night-of-the-enormous-centipede#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:07:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9317</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last big monsoon event brought rain and a spadefoot to our Phoenix area yard.  Tuesday night&#8217;s big monsoon event brought even more rain and a centipede.
This guy is a Scolopendra polymorphus, a Sonoran centipede, sometimes called a tiger centipede.  This one is about 4 inches long (they can grow up to about 7 [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-night-of-the-enormous-centipede/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Further fun with spadefoot</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/further-fun-with-spadefoot</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/further-fun-with-spadefoot#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:39:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9056</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Saturday night in our yard, a Couch&#8217;s spadefoot emerged after a substantial monsoon event, and used our swimming pool as his stage to advertise his availability to females, and sovereignty to other male spadefoots.  (See previous post.)

&#60;&#60; Spadefoot in the pool net, after exciting dawnzerlylight rescue orchestrated with dramatic Great horned owl background music (photo [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/further-fun-with-spadefoot/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Words cannot describe the excitement&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/words-cannot-describe-the-excitement</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/words-cannot-describe-the-excitement#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:01:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9028</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;of finding a spadefoot in the yard!
A few minutes ago &#8212; just before one a.m. &#8212; I was awakened by a sound I haven&#8217;t heard in our yard or in our neighborhood for years: a loud bleating croak, with the slightly rising tone and resonance I can only describe as being like the noise a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/words-cannot-describe-the-excitement/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://www.reptilesofaz.org/Audio/SCACOU.mp3" length="529280" type="audio/mpeg" />
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		<item>
		<title>Good owls come in strange places</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:16:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8903</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I tell my non-birding friends that we saw quite a few owls in Costa Rica, many of them are surprised.  The common perception is that owls are indeed woodland creatures, but that&#8217;s &#8220;normal&#8221; woods &#8212;  not, you know, the &#8220;jungle.&#8221;  I suspect this monolithic concept of owls &#8212; where &#8220;owl&#8221; pretty much equals [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>in which I reveal my graphic petticoats along with an Orange-billed sparrow</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:57:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8555</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; or, saving shots by going artsy&#8230;
Not all photos are created equal, especially if you&#8217;re an amateur photog like me who asks my competent but limited point-and-shoot digital camera to do things it wasn&#8217;t meant to do, like capture images of cryptic birds high in trees with too many leaves against the light on an [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>&#8230;yes, more Great Potoo&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yes-more-great-potoo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yes-more-great-potoo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:57:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8513</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Like most enthusiasts, birders can get excited about seemingly unexciting things.  As proof, first there was the Maroon-chested ground-dove, a seriously exciting species that most of my non-birding friends think looks like a &#8220;boring&#8221; Mourning dove, but was easily one of the most thrilling sightings of the entire Costa Rica trip, which was full [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yes-more-great-potoo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Great Potoo</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-great-potoo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-great-potoo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:57:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8476</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[That&#8217;s almost all there is to say, except: here&#8217;s a picture of one, trying its best to look like a tree trunk, and doing an expert job of it:
I&#8217;ve always longed to see a Potoo, and when we got to Finca La Selva OTS (known to most North American birders as La Selva Research Station) [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-great-potoo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Break from the tropics</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:44:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8461</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, you guessed it, this is not a photo from the recent Costa Rica trip.  I thought a frosty retreat from the steamy tropics was in order, and decided to insert this flashback of a favorite photo and sighting from a 2004 trip to the Antarctica Peninsula: a Gentoo penguin parent about to feed [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hordes of hummers</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:21:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8348</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Living in Arizona there&#8217;s no room for complaint about the quantity and loveliness of the hummers which visit our yard feeders.  In the Phoenix area we have Costa&#8217;s and Anna&#8217;s year round, Black-chinned in summer, with Broad-tailed and Rufous making migratory appearances. I&#8217;ve seen a brilliant Broad-billed just two miles from here at the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tiny owlets toot in trees</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-owlets-toot-in-trees</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-owlets-toot-in-trees#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:15:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8223</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To say that pygmy owls are sparrow-like isn&#8217;t entirely true.  But it&#8217;s almost true.
To start with, there&#8217;s their size: they are Very Very Small (the technical term).  Almost sparrow-sized.  Perched in a conifer, they look like a tiny pinecone. Also, like sparrows, they&#8217;re largely diurnal, and can frequently be found glaring down from a high [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-owlets-toot-in-trees/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Life under the volcano</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/life-under-the-volcano</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/life-under-the-volcano#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:31:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8202</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Three Star Owl blogging resumes after a hiatus of two weeks in Costa Rica&#8230;

Volcán Turrialba at dawn, from Rancho Naturalista (photo A.Shock).
In the view above only a small plume of steam and gas is visible from the most active of the three summit craters of the nearly 11,000 foot stratovolcano.  Its last major eruption was [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/life-under-the-volcano/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mono birds and tufa</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mono-birds-and-tufa</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mono-birds-and-tufa#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:15:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of our destinations during the recent eastern California trip was the dramatic and amazing Mono Lake and its crumbly, gradually ephemeral tufa groves.  Tufa towers are mineral formations deposited underwater when calcium-rich spring water pours up into carbonate-rich lakewater.  The resulting mixture precipitates calcium-carbonate which builds upward into the lake water, sort of like [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mono-birds-and-tufa/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Boss in her office: &#8220;checking for lard&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:52:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8101</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[This is a Spot the Bird, although it's less of a quiz than a photo series. All photos A or E Shock.  Click to enlarge.]
Here are some feral date palms, growing wild at a substantial oasis in Death Valley, CA.  The date palm is Phoenix dactylifera (&#8220;finger-bearing&#8221;), but in this case we could call it [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>An interim Spot the Bird&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/an-interim-spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/an-interim-spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:47:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8081</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;without a bird.  Not that there isn&#8217;t something to spot. And it is spotted.  Also, toes are pretty much always a giveaway. (Photo A.Shock; click to enlarge for easy viewing)
This is an &#8220;interim&#8221; Spot the Bird because about a third of our photos from our Mojave camping trip are locked onto a recalcitrant memory card.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/an-interim-spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rocks sticking up out of the ground in that way they do</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rocks-sticking-up-out-of-the-ground-in-that-way-they-do</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rocks-sticking-up-out-of-the-ground-in-that-way-they-do#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:56:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unexpected]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unnatural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7975</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are the Famous Fish Rocks, kept fresh with white paint by unknown artists in Trona, California.  I admit to disappointment when I found out they were not meant to represent T-rexes rising out of the earth to once again dominate the landscape, but, even if they&#8217;re just fish&#8230; really big fish&#8230; they&#8217;re excellent.  Each [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rocks-sticking-up-out-of-the-ground-in-that-way-they-do/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rock-watching in the wind</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 29 May 2010 20:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7917</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
A few days ago, we drove far out into sage-covered lava rocks to check out some hot springs on the east side of the Sierra Nevada.  After walking to the top of the hill, walking around the next hill and between two other hills, seeing what birds were around and about, and while E [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mohave patch-nosed snake&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mohave-patch-nosed-snake</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mohave-patch-nosed-snake#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 May 2010 02:19:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7900</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;was a &#8220;life snake&#8221; for us, meaning we&#8217;d never seen one before we stopped to photo this graceful specimen crossing the road on the way to Titus Canyon on the east side of Death Valley.
The Mohave patch-nosed snake (Salvadora hexalepis mojavensis) is a diurnal generalist, with good eyesight and quick reflexes; this one was sunning [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mohave-patch-nosed-snake/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The lady and the pear</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-lady-and-the-pear</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-lady-and-the-pear#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 02:12:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7880</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Recent posts have been about lady bugs, and prickly pears.  Here&#8217;s one about both: a lady bug on an Opuntia blossom in the Mojave desert.  (Both photos A.Shock)

You can&#8217;t tell, but this particular prickly pear lives in a little piece of Nevada jammed between Arizona and California.  Its chief attraction is that it&#8217;s also stuffed [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-lady-and-the-pear/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ladybug heaven was&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/ladybug-heaven-was</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/ladybug-heaven-was#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 May 2010 22:44:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7851</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;our aphid-infested herb garden.
Last week, we found a lady bug (AKA lady beetle, lady bird beetle) wandering around on the ground; we scooped her up and put her on a cilantro plant badly infested with aphids.  A few days later, the flower stalks of the plant were alive with the black-and-orange alligator-like larvae of the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/ladybug-heaven-was/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lichen with legs</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lichen-with-legs</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lichen-with-legs#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 15:28:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7827</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday was a rich day; with all sensory input oddly and schizophrenically split between very early and very late.  The day ended after midnight with a fun and funky evening at the CD drop party for the Groove Noodles, a friend&#8217;s band.  But it started before dawn in the outdoors, on Queen Creek and in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lichen-with-legs/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Two too-hot pear</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/two-too-hot-pear</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/two-too-hot-pear#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 May 2010 21:31:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7803</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Says me: few plants are more gratifying than prickly pear cactus, Opuntia spp.  At least, if you live in the desert, or any reasonably dry place.
Actually, even in not so dry places: we saw some naturalized in Aoteraroa (New Zealand), which seemed frankly bizarre, knowing how much rain that island gets (see the photo [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/two-too-hot-pear/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hoover at Sea</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoover-at-sea</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoover-at-sea#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 15:21:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hoover the Dove]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7790</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hoover the feral African collared dove has solved the problem of how to drink from the swimming pool: board the chlorine float.  The health ramifications of this (for the bird) may be dubious, but watching him neatly land on a floating, bobbing object with a smallish deck area is a thing to behold.  He fastidiously [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoover-at-sea/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another Spot the Bird, sort of</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-spot-the-bird-sort-of</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-spot-the-bird-sort-of#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:52:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7777</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s a swell photo of a Sora we saw at Tavasci Marsh last weekend.  I&#8217;ve categorized this as a Spot the Bird, but your eye will probably go right to it, since it&#8217;s out in the open.  The little rail had whinnied a couple of times &#8212; Sora make a sound very much like those [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-spot-the-bird-sort-of/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>And, speaking of owls&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:37:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hoover the Dove]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7718</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; and we were &#8212; always &#8212; this Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) was giving us the eye from our big backyard pine tree, right at sunset tonight.  The Gila woodpeckers, doves, and local hummers &#8212; both Anna&#8217;s and Black-chinned &#8212; were really ticked off at the eminence tigre, and zoomed and hovered threateningly.  I&#8217;m [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another Bird Spots You</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:14:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7691</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re not familiar with Gilded flickers (Colaptes chrysoides), they are large desert woodpeckers, closely associated with Saguaros.  They excavate their nest cavities in the trunks of the giant cactus.  They&#8217;re closely related to Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted flickers who inhabit the western and eastern U.S., respectively.  Flickers are flashy in coloration, being spotted and barred, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bendire&#8217;s thrasher in Papago Park</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:35:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Papago Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7660</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some things always amaze me.  One of them is why there are so many different Thrasher species in the arid Southwestern U.S.
Most of us who live in the Low Desert are used to two of the more common thrashers: the ubiquitous Northern mockingbird, its slender gray-and-white profile often seen  on high perches, singing its [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the bird answers</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answers</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:15:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7629</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s time to post the Spot the Bird answers from the Twofer Spot the Bird a couple days ago &#8212; thanks to everyone who got back to Three Star Owl with your observations.  Finding the birds seemed to be fairly easy; ID&#8217;ing only a little less so. These two key photos are click-onable to embiggen, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answers/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Equal time: the Bird Spots YOU</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:21:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hoover the Dove]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7598</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just to even things up, here&#8217;s what it feels like to be BIRD-WATCHED:
(Photo E.Shock)
This is &#8220;Hoover&#8221; the semi-tame wild African collared dove who inhabits our neighborhood, wondering why we don&#8217;t have a handful of peanuts NOW.
To indulge in a moment of natural history, notice how the eye is set in a slightly pinched or narrow [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Twofer Spot the Bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:56:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7545</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are two new Spot the Bird photos.  The visual puzzle is the same in each: huge background, tiny bird.  No camouflage involved, none at all; just hiding against a big landscape.
The first photo of an enormous oaktree (?) in Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior Arizona, east of Phoenix, is a photo I took because [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nudging clay horned lizards along</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/nudging-clay-horned-lizards-along</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/nudging-clay-horned-lizards-along#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:33:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7492</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A while back, I posted about my process for making horned lizard bowls (affectionately known as Horny toads) from clay.  Here are the next few steps, all shown in one photo, below.
To the right is a now completely assembled and textured horned lizard, in the leather hard stage, drying.  In the center is a bone [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/nudging-clay-horned-lizards-along/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yep, goats in trees</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yep-goats-in-trees</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yep-goats-in-trees#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:37:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7479</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes when you say &#8220;Goats in Trees,&#8221; people say, &#8220;No way.&#8221;
Way.
Here are goats in trees.
(Photo by E.Shock; Oman, 2010)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yep-goats-in-trees/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Aerial talon-show over Papago Park</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/aerial-talon-show-over-papago-park</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/aerial-talon-show-over-papago-park#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Papago Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7437</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Had a nice morning walk in Papago Park (Phoenix AZ) this morning &#8212; the spring air was breezy and clear, and the high skies brought out a number of aerial show-offs.  The main attraction was a Peregrine falcon, spiraling and soaring between the two largest buttes in the Park and the Army National Guard reservation, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/aerial-talon-show-over-papago-park/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s the most bunnerful time of the year</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-the-most-bunnerful-time-of-the-year</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-the-most-bunnerful-time-of-the-year#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Mar 2010 04:17:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7421</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#60;&#60;  Two of these equals these. ↓
Desert cottontails abound in the yard right now.  The desert is green from the late winter rains, so there&#8217;s lots to eat.  Adult frolicking leads to tiny bunlets.  The two in the photo above on the right were stashed by mom in a shallow scrape right out in the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/its-the-most-bunnerful-time-of-the-year/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Wild mantid-loaf: imagine another surprise!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-mantid-loaf-imagine-another-surprise</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-mantid-loaf-imagine-another-surprise#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:01:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7369</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A praying mantis egg-case is not something you can easily find if you&#8217;re looking for one.  So, imagine our surprise &#8212; again! &#8212; when E  looked up at a random, leafy, and low branch of the big backyard mesquite, and said, &#8220;Hey, look!&#8221;  There was a tiny brown-loaf-looking mantid egg case, stuck to a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/wild-mantid-loaf-imagine-another-surprise/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lil mantids, or: imagine our surprise</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lil-mantids-or-imagine-our-surprise</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lil-mantids-or-imagine-our-surprise#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:11:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7340</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We grow succulents at our house in containers, and some of them can&#8217;t take the heat of the low desert summers, while others can&#8217;t take the hardest frosts of winter. This results in a constant migration of plants inward and outward between the house and yard, depending on the season.  The indoor space the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lil-mantids-or-imagine-our-surprise/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

