Park Manager: KeithAyotte

Assistant

Park Manager: Eric Buzonas

Volunteer

Coordinator: Dee Woolf

Newsletter

Editor: Carolyn Meehan

Upcoming Events For

“Footprints” Newsletter

Sept 9th 6pm Moonlight Hike

Sept 10th 10am-11am RRSP Volunteer

Orientation

Sept 14th 1pm Geology Hike

Sept 17th & 24th 1-5pm RRSP Volunteer

Training Class

Sept 21st 2pm Sunday Lecture Series:

The Permian Period -Dr. Ken Bork

Oct 1,8,15,22 1-5pm Volunteer Training

Oct 22nd Hooray!! Volunteer Training

Class Graduation

Oct 8th 5pm Moonlight Hike

Oct 12th 1pm Geology Hike

Oct 18th 10am-2pm Watercolor Class

“Red Rock Landscapes” Cathy Stedman

Oct 29th 2-4pm RRSP Annual Volunteer

Meeting

Vol 5 Sep/Oct 2014

Red Rock State Park's resident bobcat

Bobcat

Photograph courtesy

Stephanie & Josh

Bartels

Over the last month many of our guests have had the opportunity to see our resident female bobcat and

occasionally, her two kittens. This has caused a lot of excitement at the park! Often times visitors will ask

where they can find the bobcat after seeing it on our wildlife sightings list, but these critters are very elusive

and would rather remain unseen.

Bobcat, or Lynx rufous, is the most widely distributed feline with a geographic range from Northern Canada

down to Mexico. This wildcat is roughly double the size of an average domestic cat (9-33lbs and 25-40 in.

long) with ear tufts and a distinct 'bobbed' tail, for which it receives its name. Due to the wide range of this

species, the distinct appearance of each cat's coat will differ. Fur color often resembles the habitat in which it

resides. From swamps to desert, the bobcat can camouflage into it's surroundings.

Bobcats tend to be nocturnal, primarily hunting at dawn and dusk. Being a carnivore (meaning they only eat

meat) their diet mainly consists of rabbits, mice, birds, and fresh carrion. Despite their size, bobcats are

efficient hunters and have been known to successfully kill animals much larger than themselves, such as deer

and occasional livestock.

Though mainly a solitary animal, bobcat pairs can be seen together during the breeding season. A typical

gestation period lasts between 8-10 weeks and can result in a litter of up to 6 kittens. Bobcat cont on pg 2

Births occur late winter to early spring, in which the

young stay with the mother until the following winter (8

months) or until they can hunt independently. The male

does not take part in rearing the young.

Bobcats are currently listed as a species of Least

Concern by the IUCN (International Union for

Conservation of Nature) for becoming extinct in the

near future. Though the population reached a historical

low due to excessive fur trading in the 1970s, the

species is now internationally protected and the

population was able to recover and stabilize.

Come enjoy an early morning walk at Red Rock

State Park and maybe you'll be lucky enough to catch a

glimpse of this elusive creature!

This young bobcat was recently spotted among the

branches of a pinyon pine at Red Rock State Park.

Bobcat Bobcat cont from pg 1

A Warm Welcome To…

RRSP Volunteer Class #28

Volunteer Class #28 is in session!! The six-

week training program will be ending on October

22nd, with a new group of enthusiastic volunteers

joining our Park family. As usual, the class

members have a mixture of backgrounds and

experiences, but they have one thing in common:

their interest in becoming a volunteer at RRSP.

We have ten students enrolled. Four members

of the class have already been contributing to the

Park with some special work. They are: Fritz and

Ellie DeBo, working in the School Connection

Program; Mike Haboush, working with the trail maintenance crew; and Diane Munsell, working as Site Host

in the Visitor Center. The six students new to the volunteer program are: John and Lorraine Field, Chris

Jensen, Catherine McAfee, Steve Opitz

and Dianne Parker.

Please take the time to make them feel

at home should you see them on the

park.

Geology class : Steve Opitz, Dianne Parker, Chris Jensen, Mike

Haboush, Catherine McAfee and Paul Lindberg, Geology Instructor.

Article & Photos submitted by Dee Woolf

RRSP Volunteer Coordinator

John Field, Lorraine Field (partial),

Catherine McAfee, Chris Jensen, Dianne

Parker, Steve Opitz, Mike Haboush and

Paul Lindberg, Geology Instructor.

Photograph courtesy Stephanie & Josh Bartels

Article submitted by Ranger Halley Bagley

Red Rock State Park's newly completed "Archy-Dig" site, complete with a

permanent shade structure.

An Archeological Connection at RRSP

Red Rock State Park's Connection

Program has been working over the

s u m m e r t o d e v e l o p

connect ions within the area

of archaeology. Our Benefactor's

Group generously donated the funds

to rebuild our mock dig-site since

scorpions had taken a fairly firm

stand on the territory. We hope that

the solid cement floor and lack of

wooden features will discourage them

from moving back in.

The facility is now shaded by a

permanent structure of the type used

over playground equipment. This

should make the experience more

pleasant for students and teachers

alike. The contractor chosen for the

job was Monty Wilson. Monty has

added some custom rock work to

enhance the overall appearance.

Article & Photos submitted by Ranger Allyson Holmes

He has done a beautiful job for us.

We have also been considering ways to include more of our

local students in our programming. With that in mind, we hope

to develop a comprehensive program that will address the 4th

grade standards in history and science. It is becoming

increasingly important that we connect our lessons to Arizona

state teaching standards, thereby enabling classroom teachers to

meet their learning requirements.

Why teach archaeology?

* To promote a sense of responsibility and stewardship of

America's cultural heritage.

*Archaeology is an integrative, interdisciplinary field.

* Archaeologists ask questions, rooted in social sciences and

research, questions using scientific methods.

* It is an excellent way to teach students to integrate knowledge

from different topics.

* The lessons support Arizona curriculum requirements in

research skills for history and scientific inquiry,

specifically for 4th grade.

Red Rock State Park hopes to connect archaeology to its local

students, who will in turn, experience and appreciate the many

spectacular archaeological monuments within our region.

Mark your calendars!!

Red Rock State Park's annual

Christmas Party will be held on

Friday, December 5th, at 6:00pm.

HO HO HO!!

Sedona Hummingbird Festival Banding Demonstration

1 Bagged bird ready for banding

2 Being examined and measured before banding

3 Black-chinned Hummingbird

1

4

5

6

3

2

The banding of hummingbirds at the 2014 Sedona Hummingbird Festival was fascinating! This Year’s

banding took place in a beautiful garden out in Jacks Canyon, which was filled to the brim with hummingbird

attractant shrubs and flowers. There were multiple feeders and several of them were surrounded with very

specific cages designed to help catch the vibrant hummers. Once the hummer was in the cage area, it would be

gently captured, by an experienced, trained hummingbird handler and subsequently placed into a delicate bag

while awaiting its banding. The banders would gently remove it from the bag, measuring it and checking its

health and age. The appropriate size band would be selected and gently secured on a leg. When done, the bird

is a bit dazed and often sits for a little while in-hand until it gets it bearing and takes off! The fun for the

observers of this process was having the opportunity of having a dazed hummer placed into their hand for

closer observation, while waiting for it to gear up for takeoff!! Throughout the banding process, we observed

mostly Anna’s and Black-chinned Hummers. They are such gentle tiny creatures, some just willing to sit and

inspect us humans while we gloried in their beauty! Article submitted by RRSP Volunteer Marna Onorato

4 Black-chinned Hummingbird readying for flight

5 Anna's Hummingbird up close

6 Anna's Hummingbird before flight