Quail and her chicks

Northwest resident Betty Brauer Amstutz took this of a female Gambel’s quail carefully herding her six chicks through her backyard.

I've got them

Oro Valley resident Debra Loberg sent in this photo, taken by the boys’ aunt Kristen Lingana, as they were beating the heat and playing in the pool. She titled the photo “I’ve got them.”

Claire Klingler/Special to The E

Hot Air Balloon Fun

Marana resident Claire Klingler took this photo from a hot air balloon over the Tucson Mountains.

Mr. Quail and Friends

Northwest resident Don Bennett captured this quail standing near two lizards on a wall, which he saw from his dining room window.

Regal-horned lizard

Marana resident Louise Stanton captured this photo of a regal-horned lizard while in Catalina State Park last month.

Moon over mountains

Northwest resident Steve Miller took this photo of the moon over the Tucson Mountains.

Antelope Canyon

Oro Valley resident David Capo, 13, and his father James recently took a Spring break trip to northern Arizona. While there, David took this shot in Upper Antelope Canyon, near Page.

Easter egg hunt

While getting ready for the Easter egg hunt at Arthur Pack Regional Park on March 31, Northwest resident Shelli Terrell snapped this shot.

Snake vs Shark

Mid-last month Chuck and Tracey Martin saw this and Tracy took this picture of a rattlesnake using their shark-shaped chlorine dispenser in their spa as a life preserver.

Spring storm

Monica Wright took this photo during a recent thunderstorm as it rolled by her house.

Red-tailed Hawk

While near Butterfield Elementary School around Ina and Thornydale roads, Michael Moriarty saw this red-tailed hawk using a palm tree as a perch.

Bob the Bobcat

Last month, Mark Bleicher of Oro Valley took this picture of a bobcat in the back yard with his iPhone.

Snowy Oro Valley

Oro Valley resident Suzy Baxter saw this unusual sight in River Front Park last week after Tucson was blanketed with snow.

Prickly Valentine's Day

Oro Valley resident Betty Brauer Amstutz saw this heart-shaped pad of a prickly pear cactus just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Hot air balloon

Last month Michael Farnsworth grabbed his camera as a hot air balloon flew over his house in Continental Ranch.

Marlboro Man

Stephanie Mathews decided to take some American southwest style photos on Picture Rocks Road with her husband. She titled this photo, “Marlboro Man.”

Mesquite tree

While out for a walk in Sunflower, Bruce Graves thought this mesquite tree could not decide which way was up.

Spacecraft in the clouds

Oro Valley resident Lance Takacs said his kids, Ethan and Emily, were quite surprised to see a “giant saucer-shaped spacecraft” that was above the Santa Catalina mountains last week.

Last sunset of 2012

Oracle resident Celina Archunde took this photo on New Year’s Eve while on the Charouleau Gap Trail, which is in the Santa Catalina Mountains, east of SaddleBrooke.

Cooper's Hawk

Leon Rossow, who lives in the Continental Ranch area, recently sent the Explorer this photo of a cooper’s hawk that he took in his back yard in August.

Bobcats

Oro Valley resident Richard Chapman looked out the window and saw these bobcats taking a quick nap on the steps that lead up to the roof of his house.

Deer

While visiting Al and Vicky Coletti in SaddleBrooke, Hiromi Matsuda who is from Japan, took this photo while enjoying lunch after some rain.

Giant swallowtails

Oro Valley resident Betty Brauer Amstutz spotted these two giant swallowtails together in a mesquite tree.

Great blue heron

Earlier this year, while Claire Klingler was in her Pinetop home, she saw this great blue heron on the edge of a pond amongst the fall-colored aspen trees.

Sunset On The Highway

Celina Archunde took this picture of the sun setting as she headed south on State Route 77 last month.

Vermilion Flycatcher

Northwest resident Monica Wright saw this Vermilion Flycatcher at Tortolita Junior High earlier this year.

Picasa

Great-horned owl

Marana resident Kimberly P-Chadwick took this photo of a great-horned owl perched on top of her arbor in her back yard earlier this year.

Sunset

Last month, Oro Valley resident Betty Brauer Amstutz luckily had her camera while at Naranja Park as the sun set, turning the western sky gold, red and orange.

Cactus Wren Jump

Oro Valley resident Betty Brauer Amstutz was able to capture this cactus wren as it jumped from one cactus to another in her neighbor’s yard.

Hot Air Balloon

Steve Miller looked over at the Tucson Mountains from his backyard to see this hot air balloon descending behind the mountains and was able to snap this shot.

Scorpion

Oro Valley resident Dan Cote rescued this scorpion from his pool one morning so that it could go on and live another day.

Tucson storm

While Oro Valley resident Betty Brauer Amstutz flew into Tucson last month, she saw these interesting cloud formations over the mountains.

Dragonfly

Steve Miller, who lives by the Tucson Mountains, captured this photo of a dragonfly from his backyard.

Monsoon Storm

Last month Marana resident Stephanie Mathews decided to chase some storms around the Northwest, as the monsoon season came to an end. While on the adventure, she stumbled upon the tunnel at the north end of Thornydale Road, leading into Saguaro Ranch.

Bats

Oro Valley residents Angie and Mike Naish routinely have had bats come and feed out of their hummingbird feeder during their migration this year.

Winking moon

Northwest resident Cody Sontag took her camera outside one morning while paying respects to Neil Armstrong last month, as Armstong's family asked people to do so, by winking at the moon. Ms. Sontag felt the moon winked back in this photo.

Gila Monster

Sixteen-year-old Julia Velasquez, who lives in Oro Valley, heard some dogs barking outside only to find this Gila Monster sitting on the on the wall in her back yard.

Bobcat

SaddleBrooke resident Karyle Steele saw some baby bobcat kittens playing on their wall. While opening window blinds in the dinning room, Steele was a little surprised to find the mother bobcat feet away from her on the other side of the window.

Lightning at sunset

Earlier this month, Oro Valley resident Harrison Elkins, 16, took his camera out and captured this lighting bolt as the sun set.

Owl

Oro Valley resident Kathy Shilling saw this owl spending the entire day sitting under their fig tree late last month.

Bobcat

Reader photoLate last month, Marana resident Gordon Slifer was riding his bicycle early in the afternoon when he saw this bobcat cross his path. He got off his bicycle to see where it went. As he bent down to see if it went into a culvert, it came out and they both stood frozen face to face about 10 feet from each other. His camera was close by and he snapped this shot.

Arizona Sunset

Northwest resident Dawn Hagler saw this sunset following a monsoon storm late last month.

Squirrels

Nine-year-old Joel Petrass, who lives in Oro Valley, saw this mother squirrel and its child playing on his neighbor’s roof.

Bobcat taking a drink

Northwest resident Donna Bishop took this photo of a bobcat sipping water at a friend’s home in the Catalina Foothills.

A Rabbit and Quails

Oro Valley resident Laurie Floerchinger saw this rabbit nosing his way in for a drink amidst a family of quail. All the animals are trying to stay cool and hydrated in the shade.

Mother bird

Oro Valley resident Peggy Hubbard saw that a mother bird in her yard used a portion of The Explorer Newspaper, which reads, “What makes your mother the best?”  to build her nest.

Baby Quail

Oro Valley resident Shirl Lamonna noticed this family of quail looking for water, so she put a dish of water out. The babies took to playing in the water rather than drinking it.

Bobcat Perch

Rancho Vistoso resident Karen Zadina saw this bobcat perched on the wall in her backyard earlier this month.

Guard cat

SaddleBrooke resident Rich Adams captured this photo of his cat Syd protecting the house from a bobcat, safely behind a window.

Red tail hawk

SaddleBrooke resident Bob Koblewski has been following a pair of young red tailed hawks and recently saw this one perched in a tree where a pair of ruby crowned kinglets disapproved and attacked it until it flew away.

Coyote pup

Northwest resident Kim Culbertson saw this coyote family with six pups in her front yard. She said she has really enjoyed watching the dynamics of the family play just outside her door.

Eclipse reflection

Paul Pomeroy saw these crescent-shaped spots filter through the leaves in a tree onto his garage during the solar eclipse last week in Oro Valley.

Saguaro snake

Northwest resident Andrea Lybarger captured this photo as this snake made its way down a 20-foot saguaro, looking in each hole along its way.

Ground squirrels

Catalina’s Atree Lippert saw these young ground squirrels playing on a hill behind his house.

Javelinas

Oro Valley resident Jim Roberts saw this javelina getting a little pushy around the prickly pear cacti behind his house in Rancho Vistoso.

Owls nesting

Over the past few weeks, The Explorer has received numerous photos of owls nesting in and around saguaros, including this one taken by Robert Shea, which was taken north of SaddleBrooke.

Dove in motion

Oro Valley resident Betty Amstutz captured the motion of this white-winged dove as it took off from her backyard feeder.

F-16s

Tucsonan Glen Falkoff was at Saturday’s Air Show at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and captured this shot of six F-16s flying in formation overhead.

Cactus flowers

Oro Valley resident Laura Hawks took a picture last month of her cactus, which she said only blooms in March.

Aloe bloom

Trace and Tonya Tague really liked the blast of color that came from this aloe bloom in their front yard in Oro Valley.

Whooo Whooo

Oro Valley resident Rob Phillips saw this owl near his home and titled it, “Whooo Whooo u lookin at?”

Rattlesnake

Catalina resident Rick Wallen was in Honeybee Canyon Park, only a short distance from the parking lot, and came across this rattlesnake.

Cactus blossom

SaddleBrooke resident and Explorer receptionist Sheryl Kocher had this cactus bloom in her front yard, which grabbed the attention of others in the neighborhood as numerous people stopped to take pictures of the bloom.

Yawning bobcat

While out at the Sweetwater Wetlands, Oro Valley resident Jeremy Hayes saw this bobcat pause long enough to yawn, and walk off.

Thistle

During a hike with his wife to Romero Pools from Catalina State Park, Harvey Jessup saw these bees working on a thistle flower along the trail. The two are from Yukon, Canada, and have traveled to Oro Valley for the last four years.

Poppies

While near the Biosphere 2, Elisabeth Wheeler snapped this photo of Mount Lemmon off in the distance, the Santa Catalina Mountains and a hill covered in Mexican golden poppies.

Hungry Hawk

Northwest resident Luc Byette sees this Cooper’s Hawk every morning and at the end of each day, most likely looking for its breakfast and dinner.

Rodeo

Last week at the Tucson Rodeo Michael Moriarty took this photo as a bareback bronco rider hung on for eight seconds.

Snowy rose

Oro Valley resident Allan Hoagberg took his camera outside on Arizona’s 100th birthday, Feb. 14, and captured this as snow fell on his garden in Sun City Vistoso.

Hot Air Balloons

Like many other mornings this times of year, northwest resident Joyce Olson saw these three hot air balloons in flight last Friday and was able to capture them along with Kitt Peak off in the distance.

Harris' hawk

While Marana resident Claire Klingler was out walking her dog Saturday, she heard this hawk squawking from atop a saguaro.

The Sun

Oro Valley resident Ron Cottrell took this using his telescope that is specifically made for looking at the sun. Using a camera and special software, Cottrell combined a few images to create this photo, and included the Earth as a reference for size.

Blue Bird

Reader photo Oro Valley resident Steve Maushardt said this male bluebird stops at the James D. Kreigh Park every year for a few weeks to rest during its migration.

Desert Sunset

Carol Hallifax, who lives with her husband Rob in the Northwest for a couple months each year, picked up his camera when she saw this sunrise last Wednesday. The couple hails from Kansas, but really enjoy their time spent in the Northwest.

ROBERT SHEA

Northern Shoveler

Robert Shea saw this male Northern Shoveler in a pond around the SaddleBrooke golf course on the first morning of the New Year. Shea said the duck had been living in the pond for about a week so far.

Deer

Late last month while at the Preserve Golf Course in SaddleBrooke, Tucsonan Matt Mattson saw what appeared to be an eight-legged, two-headed deer, though it was two deer standing next to each other.

Seagull

During a recent trip to Rocky Point, Mexico, Oro Valley resident Nancy Palm tossed a tortilla chip to a seagull that patiently waited as they ate their dinner overlooking the Sea of Cortez.

Mount Lemmon

Oro Valley resident Hannah McLeod saw this view of a snow-capped Mount Lemmon one morning from Cañada Del Oro Riverfront Park along Lambert Lane earlier this month.

Female cardinal

Northwest resident Claire Klingler saw this female cardinal waiting its turn to feed at a suet feeder.

Cooper's hawk

While heading outside for lunch last week, Adam Wade, an optical engineer at Geost, noticed this Cooper’s hawk having a lunch of its own.