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A big problem with biology is that things are never simple. Where there are winners, there will also be losers. This heat is great for lizards, but less helpful for fish.

The dragonflies have had a good year and their diversity is really easy to see. Anecdotally, they seem to be breeding earlier than usual this year.

This beetle has a very clear bump at the "T" junction of the wings and thorax, making this beetle a member of the chafer family.

The plums in the Gila are beginning to ripen, this is setting off a cascade of biological events.

The stone in the center was removed by a squirrel. Mammals often migrate into areas when fruit is ripening.

Whatever made this scat is a crayfish hunter and very large. I wonder maybe a black bear? Or a really large raccoon that swallows crayfish whole instead of cracking them open first, which would be unusual behaviour

This scat is likely from a lizard, the blob of white at the end is uric acid. Reptiles have an opening called a cloaca, which is complex, but means everything is done with just one hole.

This bird scat is very heavy on the more diluted uric acid, with some color from berries thrown in.

The Gila has different lizards than Corrales, like this juvenile Clark's spiny lizard. There are also Gila monsters, but they are pretty rare.

The males have eye catching colors, shimmers, and behaviours. Their mating antics can be very energetic as they work tirelessly to attract attention and interest.

This receptive female rejected the above male multiple times, holding out for a better suitor, with a fancier tail.

A bird with a very fancy tail is this grackle. In Rio Rancho these birds are found in grocery parking lots, but down in the Gila they are right at home patrolling flood irrigated fields for drowning insects.

The reeds and deeper marshes are always populated by red wing blackbirds and their distinctive calls. They can be amazingly inconspicuous when needed, though.

This is an odd one, a silken flycatcher from tropical central america. This bird has a beautiful hairstyle and a specialized digestive system that can skin berries for later processing.

But even a lowly tadpole can have arrestingly impressive coloration, if you look closely.

The hot weather means heavy reliance on irrigation, which drops the water table if sprinklers and pumps are used instead of acequias. This will bring out the scavengers, feasting on the stranded fish. It's also nesting season for the turtles too, which interests the racoons.

This younger one is figuring out where to dig. Looks like it's first choice was too wet.

The heat means many animals will move to cooler and wetter locations. However, that often means encounters with cars. This mouse will be cleaned up by nature, likely a raven. It has been gorging on mulberry.