Jeff Mitton

Driving into Rabbit Valley, I kept scanning the area for yellow leaves, for Fremont's cottonwoods would still be displaying fall foliage, but the yellow that I found first, and most pervasively, was the lacy last blooms on rabbitbrush.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: Late fall pollination of rabbitbrush by sulphur butterflies reflects changing climate

November 16, 2021 at 6:11 p.m.

Driving into Rabbit Valley, I kept scanning the area for yellow leaves, for Fremont's cottonwoods would still be displaying fall foliage, but the yellow that I found first, and most...

Five people had set out on a trek, parts of it a climb, to view a pot that was resting in the Bears Ears National Monument where it had been left as the Ancient Puebloans abandoned their homelands, around 1280 C.E.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: The value of national monuments, national parks and wilderness areas

October 19, 2021 at 8:01 p.m.

Five people had set out on a trek, parts of it a climb, to view a pot that was resting in the Bears Ears National Monument where it had been...

The burros on the San Rafael Swell eluded me, but I was delighted to find a cluster of large wildflowers in bloom in an otherwise-parched landscape.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: Fremont’s buckwheat supports a community of users

October 5, 2021 at 7:09 p.m.

The burros on the San Rafael Swell eluded me, but I was delighted to find a cluster of large wildflowers in bloom in an otherwise-parched landscape.

A week of rain capped by a deluge from slow-moving thunderstorms brought seven mudslides into the Middle Fork Valley in the San Juan Mountains. The same rains triggered the appearance of many species of mushrooms, particularly fly agaric, Amanita muscaria.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: Fly Agaric and related death cap mushrooms synthesize dangerous chemicals

August 31, 2021 at 7:10 p.m.

A week of rain capped by a deluge from slow-moving thunderstorms brought seven mudslides into the Middle Fork Valley in the San Juan Mountains. The same rains triggered the appearance...

During several visits to South Boulder Creek Trail recently, monarch butterflies and western tiger swallowtails, Papilio rutulus, were nectaring on swamp milkweed.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: Western tiger swallowtails sip milkweed nectar and chew aspen leaves

August 3, 2021 at 8:20 p.m.

During several visits to South Boulder Creek Trail recently, monarch butterflies and western tiger swallowtails, Papilio rutulus, were nectaring on swamp milkweed.

An immature male white-faced meadowhawk, Sympetrum obtrusum, clung to a blade of grass, and a short distance away a mature male balanced deftly on a dry twig.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: White-faced meadowhawks have multiple color patterns

July 20, 2021 at 7:04 p.m.

An immature male white-faced meadowhawk, Sympetrum obtrusum, clung to a blade of grass, and a short distance away a mature male balanced deftly on a dry twig.

"What is that sound?" people asked. Cicadas were indeed the source of the noise.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: Cicadas plague Boulder

July 6, 2021 at 7:53 p.m.

"What is that sound?" people asked. Cicadas were indeed the source of the noise.

While walking along the Coalton Trail through Boulder County Open Space I noticed some small cacti in flower.

Natural Selections: Jeff Mitton: Nylon hedgehog cactus stirs controversy among biologists

June 22, 2021 at 5:50 p.m.

While walking along the Coalton Trail through Boulder County Open Space I noticed some small cacti in flower.

Male broad-tailed hummingbirds, Selasphorus platycercus, arrived first, and they immediately got down to business.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: Broad-tailed hummingbirds need to return to Colorado sooner

May 25, 2021 at 7:32 p.m.

Male broad-tailed hummingbirds, Selasphorus platycercus, arrived first, and they immediately got down to business.

A few miles south of the historic swinging bridge crossing the San Rafael River, a group of 10 burros grazed on a rolling plain.

Jeff Mitton: Natural Selections: Wild burros on the San Rafael Swell

May 11, 2021 at 7:34 p.m.

A few miles south of the historic swinging bridge crossing the San Rafael River, a group of 10 burros grazed on a rolling plain.

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