Backyard Beauty

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Mrs. taking a break from fledgling rearing.

Actually Red is the one who I see most often — one on one with a fledgling. He’ll fly back and forth across the backyard and feed them himself from our bird feeder or a birdseed block on the ground. I think Mrs. must have been in the nest with the remaining little ones.

Red feeding a fledgling.

This week a cactus bloomed out my window. It only lasted a couple hours because it’s hot! High of 98 degrees today. Not as hot as it gets but a change from the cool weather we were having.

I was excited to see one male fledgling getting red splotches of feathers. They become fully red at one year. This photo is way out of focus because he was darting around and I was so excited my hands were shaking! I thought about not including it, but I wanted to share what Little Red looks like turning a blotchy color.

Here’s Mrs. on the planter. I was very happy to capture both photos of Mrs.

There’s always a few Gila Woodpeckers around. They look similar to Gilded Flickers that I wrote about Wednesday, but they don’t have a spotted breast and lack the cinnamon cap.

A Mule Deer was hanging out in the shade under a tree by our driveway.

Red likes to hang out in a tree over my head when I fill the feeder. When I call him — while holding onto a bag of birdseed — he comes immediately. He’s got little ones to feed and needs to be first in the feeder!

Happy Friday!

Which photos are your favorites? What are your weekend plans?

35 thoughts on “Backyard Beauty”

  1. The first picture of Mrs in flight is stunning! The little one starting to turn red is another favorite even if it is a little out of focus. He’s so cute!

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    • Thanks! I was so excited when I saw that picture of Mrs. Also, I was beyond excited when I finally saw a fledgling turning red. Hopefully, I’ll see him again and can get better photos. But he is so cute!

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  3. The photos are so sweet! I especially like seeing baby boy Red. So precious.

    I thought of your yesterday. We’ve seen a nighthawk nesting under a sparse bush for several days and yesterday, when it left at dusk to feed, we saw two little eggs on the ground where she’s been sitting.

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    • How exciting! Maybe you’ll have baby nighthawks? I’ve never seen one before but I’ve heard neighbors have. I’m glad you like baby boy Red. He’s so adorable and to think he was gray and brown a few weeks ago.

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      • Baby Red is such a cutie! If you happen to go out at dusk, nighthawks have a strange flight pattern (erratic, similar to bats) and a call that sounds like a cat. They camouflage really well with gravel and tree bark, so they’re really hard to find unless you notice at dusk and observe where they land. They’re quite different from any other bird we have here… I hope you can spot one eventually. 😊

    • Thank you for the generous compliment! It’s hot here too, but not 107! Where I drive my husband to PT it’s six or seven degrees hotter than here. We’re a little cooler up in the hills at 2,500 feet.

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    • Thank you so much. I was very happy with lots of these photos. Some days are better than others for photos! We walked a little after 6 a.m. today and it’s humid and sticky. It was a short walk! I will get in the pool and kick.

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    • Thanks! I was thrilled to capture that photo. My photography teacher got fired and moved somewhere in France. I could see if he has the same email, but I doubt it. Our class was five or six students and the school wanted 20 to 30. His was an advanced workshop by invitation only and he wanted to keep it small.

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  9. The flying photo is fabulous Elizabeth. I like seeing the young ones morphing into their new older selves, they look so hotchpotch. You have a great vantage point to get wonderful scenes of bird family life

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  10. Mrs Red beat out Mr Red this time. 😃 I love your first photo the best with her wings spread. Wonderful!
    And I am glad you included the fledgling. Its cute!

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    • Thank you! That’s what my neighbor told me. I ordered it on canvas along with the one of Mrs. in the planter. Now I’m trying to figure out where I should hang them!

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  14. I like Mrs with her wings spread and the backlit cactus flower.

    I went to the extended farmers market they do here on the second Saturday of the month. Much, much more than produce. Quite nice. We’re having a cooler day due to overcast. Thank goodness! It’s been in the mid-90s.

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    • Thanks!! That sounds like a fun farmer’s market. We have a very small on every Friday where I buy my produce. They have two produce stands and the rest is arts and crafts, honey, baked goods, etc. Scottsdale has a huge one, but I like the low key small one a few miles from us. I love it when we get a cool day, too.

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