A 1967 snapshot in time, back before species protection and the TNC preserve. Per Kauffeld-inspired reverential respect, we carefully photographed and released these two specimens---which were found within 100 feet of each other. Golden memories....

I present to you: the largest dragonfly in the world, featuring my face for size comparison! :P Photos simply don't convey its sheer size and bulk but hopefully having something for comparison helps.

Anyway, story time! This guy was flying around erratically for at least an hour and a half since we arrived - I assume due to the missing wing half. I hadn't seen it myself but a couple of my friends had, and it somehow hit me in the side of the head and quickly flew off. :P
Anyway, while we were all chilling around the river, it decided to fly straight into the waterfall (in the background in pic 3) and was promptly swept downstream. What else could I do?? I jumped in and chased after it! 😂
As you can tell from the photos, my swim was successful, and I ended up with the most enormous dragonfly I have ever seen right before me. :P I can't even properly describe how enormously huge it was. And those amazing cerci! I gave it some time to dry off, but being humid tropical Queensland, it wasn't happening very quickly. It was more than happy to sit on my hand and so I wondered if it would prefer somewhere a bit higher and drier :P
So that is how it ended up on my face! As it dried and we were plagued by march flies, the obvious solution was to give him one to eat. He accepted it gratefully and somehow ate the entire thing in a single bite. Hopefully that goes a way into showing just how huge and formidable these guys are! Not content, he then sliced his huge mandibles into my nose -_- and had to be gently prized off. He slowly lapped up blood for a while after but luckily didn't do any more biting! If I squint in the mirror I can still see a faint line there now :P
He sat for about an hour before we had to leave and I left him on a shrub. I hope he was okay with half a wing missing, but there wasn't much else I could do. All in all one of the best experiences of my life! :D

First photo is by Haley Harding because I am incapable of taking selfies :P

Took photo of gray hawk on distant branch, was surprised to see it had an ultra-thin, long snake in it's beak! Another user recommended the ID as brown vinesnake, as we were in its territory/northern range.

These Sonoran Mud Turtles were seen at the wetland, feeding on a very young javelina. There were about one dozen when I first arrived, and most scattered when I approached the water's edge to take photos. At least one turtle was inside the body cavity.

Phoenix, AZ

Grey Go-away-bird (Corythaixoides concolor), Gilbert Water Ranch, Maricopa County
The Grey Go-Away Bird (Corythaixoides concolor) is a member of the turaco family. It is found in Southern Africa and is one of the least colorful turaco’s, many of which are as colorful as parrots. The Grey Go-Away is named for its call and it is a very social bird, often living in groups of up to 30 birds. It has a preference for open thornbush country, often near water. It eats fruit, leaves and insects. In captivity, it tends to prefer grains and leaves rather than fruit.

How this bird got to the Gilbert Water Ranch is a complete mystery. It seems in good plumage and health and is not banded. It is illegal to export Grey Go-Aways from Africa and therefore illegal to import them into the United States. They are extremely rare in captivity anywhere in the world and they are not as popular with breeders as the more colorful turacos. This species is often confused with both the White-bellied Go-Away Bird (Corythaixoides leucogaster) and the Western Gray Plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator), both of which are more common in captivity and can be legally imported. A few US zoos have Grey Go-Away Birds, such as the San Diego and Cinncinati Zoo. The local World Wildlife Zoo in Glendale has a small flock in their African Aviary, but according to the director, all are apparently accounted for. Contacts with local, national and international turaco breeders and societies (e.g, the International Turaco Society) have found no known birds in captivity locally. This bird is so rare in captivity that most people contacted insisted that we had misidentified the bird. Fortunately, Brendon Grice’s spectacular photos were all it took to convince people that the bird is indeed a Grey Go-Away.

The Gilbert bird was first discovered by Lyle Hamilton on 13 July 2007. The bird is conspicuous and calls almost constantly, probably trying to locate the rest of its flock. Anyone who might know something about the origin of this bird is encouraged to contact, Michael Moore at Michael.moore AT asu.edu.

In late February 2008, this bird (identified by a broken tail feather) moved 12 miles away to Tempe near the ASU campus.

Just two days ago, I was sitting beneath a tree in my backyard. Scanning the limbs I gasped at the sight of "a Hercules beetle"! I climbed the tree to get a better glimpse and my eyes laid excitedly upon a beautiful male Hercules beetle. I have seen them only dead before and never in the southwest. What I have seen before were dead Eastern Hercules beetles my mother mailed to me from West Virginia. But this was the first time my eyes have laid upon a living one. I was enthralled! I didn't have my camera and of course, the male Hercules beetle had enough of my presence. I watched as he elegantly flew up and out of the tree, and out of sight. It left a bit of a hole in my spirit and so I set a goal determined to find another within the next couple of days.

And to my great fortune, I found a male and female pair this morning! Amusingly the male was attached to the female backwards, assumingely trying to mate all the while as the female continued to scrape away at the limb. I got in to get a closer look and noticed the liquid accumulating from the tree as she munched away. As I was watching I noticed the male wrongly deposit sperm in an unsuccessful attempt to mate with the hungry female. I managed to capture this in the last 4 photos. Very amusing! Made my whole day.

Scorpions with two metasomae (tails) are extremely rare, with one estimate I saw as one in every 5,000 specimens. This specimen is approximately 3cm long head to stinger and is being maintained in captivity to study its behavior.

I found this using a black light flashlight with BJ Stacey (@finatic) at the Carrie Nation Trailhead parking lot at Madera Canyon, Arizona.

Read a detailed account of this specimen's discovery and observation updates at the journal post linked below:
http://www.inaturalist.org/journal/jaykeller/7020-rare-arizona-bark-scorpion-with-two-metasomas-tails-and-stingers