Thursday, November 18, 2010

Saguaro National Park East

I finally made it to Saguaro today.  I went in search of one of those classic saguaro cactus with sunset shots.  I managed to find a few.  I haven't used my digital SLR camera in a while so I was a little rusty.  But there will be more opportunities.

Saguaros have a relatively long life span. They can take up to 75 years to develop a side arm! An adult saguaro is generally considered to be about 125 years old. It may weigh 6 tons or more and be as tall as 50 feet. The average life span of a saguaro is probably 150 - 175 years.

Saguaro cacti are important to many species. Gilded flickers and Gila woodpeckers excavate nest cavities in them. When woodpeckers abandon a cavity elf owls, screech owls, purple martins, finches and sparrows may move in. Harris’s, red-tailed hawks, ravens, and great horned owls also use saguaros for nesting and/or hunting.



No comments: