Smack Talk...Curb your attitude Slappy

[Slappy]

You know Mr. Red is Slappy's Favorite.  Slappy woke up on da wrong side of da bed that morning.  Anyways, you can witness the graceful soaring of the Red-Tailed Hawk throughout the year in the Algodones Sand Dunes.  You may even see them standing atop a dune ridge overlooking washes and low rolling dunes in search of prey.  There are quite a few Red-Tailed Hawks living on or around Mother Glamis. Even the evidence shows that they mate for life, live over 20 years, and will nest in the same place year round.      



Now here be the Pinacate Beetle. Slap was a bit aggressive with him and he threw Slap his booty, and basically told Slap where to go.  Anyways, they is quite active in Mother Glamis, and you can see them just cruising over the rippled sand, going...well, nobody really knows where he goes, he just wanders in that direction like he has an appointment to get to; but he is probably lookin for food.  They find their food through odor; they consume detritus of grasses and forbs.  Slap even heard they eat dog food.

Well, when Slap got all in his business, he got alarmed and stood on his head and put his butt in the air.  This be their defense mechanism.   They then exude an oily, musty secretion, which collects at the tip of the abdomen or spreads over posterior parts of the body.  And you can smell it... EEEEWWW...But he ain't a bad guy and won't hurt you.  If you see him cruising in the dunes, say hi and let him go on his way.