Page 2 - Black Range Naturalist, Vol. 2, No. 3

CONTRIBUTORS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS (Unattributed articles and photographs are by the editor)
3 - Pack Rats: Genus Neotoma - by Walt Whitford
In this article, Walt Whitford discusses the biology of the pack rats (wood rats) which are found in much of the Black Range.
Dr. Whitford has extensive experience in the natural history of the American Southwest. He was a Senior Research Ecologist at the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (1993-2000), a professor at NMSU (1964-1992), an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences at NMSU (2000-present), and a Collaborator/Research Ecologist at the USDA- ARS-Jornada Experimental Range north of Las Cruces (2000-present). He is widely published, and the second edition of his book “Ecology of Desert Systems” is in the final stages of preparation. His seminal book, Exploring a Desert - Experiences of an Ecologist/Naturalist in a New Mexico Desert is available as a free download at the link.
4 - Packrat Tales - by Harley Shaw
A graduate of the University of Arizona and the University of Idaho, Harley Shaw spent his professional career with the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. His primary research topics included Wild Turkey and Mountain Lion although Desert Big Horn Sheep were thrown in for good measure. He is the author of several books including Soul Among Lions and Twelve Hundred Miles by Horse and Burro. In “Packrat Tales” he shares the many adventures, and misadventures, he had with packrats during those years of research in the wilds of the southwest. Shaw is the associate editor of this magazine.
8 - Nesting Eurasian Collared-Dove - by Bob Barnes
In this article Bob Barnes describes the documentation of a nesting pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves. From March 3 to April 8, Barnes recorded the pair of birds, from inception to fledging. The resulting videos (edited from 2.34 TB of raw video) are linked to, and framegrabs showing the maturation of the young doves are shown. Barnes is the editor of this magazine.
12 - Mourning Cloak Butterfly - by Stephen Siegfried
Among other things, Steve Siegfried is the retired outdoor editor for the Silver City Daily Press. Many of his articles on natural history have been published in magazines and journals. In this article Siegfried describes the life of a Morning Cloak, one of the earliest butterflies of the season, a sign of warmer weather and flowering plants.
13 - Dragonflies of the Black Range
This preliminary checklist of the dragonflies of the Black Range draws heavily from information found on the Odonata Central website. This is a call for information. Please provide information about your sightings to the editor so that we can build a comprehensive checklist for the Black Range. A free dragonfly ID app is available for Android devices (see article).
18 - Letters to the Editor
Including photos provided by our readers as follow-ups to previous articles.
19 - Black Range Bluebirds - Photos by Véronique De Jaegher and Bob Barnes
This article discusses the three Bluebird species we find in the Black Range, focusing on the differences between the Eastern
and Western Bluebirds. Multiple links to photos and video are provided.
21 - Insect Eggs or Pollen Mystery - by Ned and Gigi Batchelder
Ned and Gigi Batchelder are a husband and wife team, federally permitted and state licensed hummingbird banders who have relocated to Las Cruces, New Mexico to continue their studies, which have included nine western states since 2001. They are self-funded and volunteer independent hummingbird researchers for USGS. In this article, they describe how they were able to identify the dusting on the foreheads of several hummingbirds they banded during 2018.
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