This is a fledgling who appeared with Red in my Wednesday post. This is such a fun year with a possible three babies to watch with Red and Mrs., my backyard cardinal couple.
Add to that multiple quail families with babies ranging from brand new and itty bitty to rangy teens.
Baby quail.
Papa guarding his babies.
A family of older babies hanging out in the shade under a bench with daddio. Smart birds! It’s gotten hot!
These are the itty bitty babies.
Then there’s the backyard bully bird — the Curve-Billed Thrasher. He doesn’t look so mean perched on a pink flamingo a friend gave me from Costco for a birthday present.
A female Gilded Flicker can make a quick dent in the food block.
Do you have a favorite photo? If so which one?
What’s on the agenda for the first weekend of June?
I took quite a few photos of Red this week. He was a frequent visitor. I had two close encounters with him that were special moments. Both times I could hear him loudly chirping away. When he does that I believe he is calling me to fill the bird feeder.
I walked outside to the feeder with birdseed and called out, “Hey, Red,” as I always do when he’s chirping at me. I couldn’t see him but then he flew straight to me from the neighbor’s yard. He landed in a bush next to the bird feeder a couple feet away from me.
Red has landed in this planter a few days in a row. I’m wondering if there are some natural seeds or things to eat in it. In any case, it makes a pretty picture.
This is kind of a strange photo. Red swooped down to the birdseed block to take a bite of goodies while still flying!
The other close encounter with Red was I saw him blast off like a rocket flying over our fence to the wash behind us. I called, “Hey, Red!” He made a U-turn in the air and flew back to where I was standing. Once again he landed in the bush by the bird feeder.
It felt really special to have my friendly Red come to me when I called him. Or, maybe he just likes me for my birdseed.
I call the Curve-billed Thrasher the bully bird of our backyard. With their curved strong beaks, they often intimidate other birds and take over the bird feeder. Once in the feeder, the Curve-billed Thrasher uses his beak to thrash back and forth through the birdseed. Most of it lands on the ground where our quail gladly gather.
Without our bird feeder, the Curve-billed Thrasher uses its beak to endlessly overturn ground in a sweeping motion foraging for insects, spiders and other food. This is similar to how they approach the bird feeder. They also eat the fruits and seeds of saguaro, prickly pear, and cholla.
Curve-billed Thrashers live in the desert Southwest of the United States and Mexico.
Map from All About Birds.
A Curve-billed Thrasher perching on a pink flamingo.
Measurements (both sexes):
Length: 10.6-11.0 in (27-28 cm) Weight: 2.1-3.3 oz (60.8-93.6 g) Wingspan: 13.4-13.6 in (34-34.5 cm)
They have strong legs, a curved beak, long tail and bright yellow orange eyes. The Curve-billed Thrashers in our Sonoran Desert are gray, but further south in Texas and Mexico they have lighter chests and are often speckled.
Curve-billed Thrashers mate for life and defend their territories that are five to 11 acres of desert land. They build nests in cholla or prickly pear cactus where the spikes protect them.
The Thumb: Is it a gas station, car wash, wine store, gift shop, bakery or BBQ?
Inside The Thumb gas station.
We discovered The Thumb while visiting Arizona two years before we moved here. While driving to dinner one evening, our car told us to get gas and directed us to the closest gas station.
The car sent us to The Thumb. While my husband pumped gas, I noticed the two-story building that was unlike any gas station I’d ever seen before. I witnessed a stream of people leaving the building with white plastic bags with red lettering. Waving in the breeze were banners that said “BBQ.” There was a pig statue by the entrance as well as on top of the awning over the gas pumps.
What kind of barbecue is found inside a gas station, I wondered. The Thumb’s website says it’s “Just your average gas station…” Yet, it’s been featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on Food Network.
This past Wednesday, I was driving my husband to his appointment for PT following a doctor’s appointment for me. Hubby was hungry and said he didn’t eat breakfast. We had 45 minutes to kill between our appointments. I noticed the last time I drove to PT that The Thumb was close to his PT.
I got a three-cheese quesadilla with brisket. He ordered an amazing breakfast burrito. It was so delicious! I wanted to look around the shop because the inventory has changed since my last visit. We went to The Thumb a couple times after first moving to Arizona, but it’s out of the way so we quit going.
From my first visit to The Thumb:
There was an extensive gift shop with all sorts of kitschy things like hand towels with funny sayings, Pug cha cha, cactus and other statues for the yard.
There was a pretty extensive wine section plus a bakery that looked so mouthwatering. I should have tried the snickerdoodles or homemade pop tarts! They looked scrumptious. One side of the building had a huge chandelier with tables for those eating in, plus a patio with more tables for dining al fresco. A huge aquarium had several people entranced.
Then there was the barbecue. People were lined up to order and people were stocking up on the six flavors of sauce.
We ordered a pound of brisket, some coleslaw and tried a few sauces. We both decided the original was best. After getting our gas we headed back to the condo we were staying in and surprised our daughter with an amazing dinner from the gas station!
The fish tank inside the gas station.
So why is it called The Thumb, you ask? It’s named after a famous mountain and hike located in the preserve by our house called Tom Thumb. I found this photo online with thousands of Tom Thumb’s Trail images. It does look like a thumb.
If you happen to be driving through Scottsdale on the 101, I highly recommend a stop at the Thumb for a car wash, bakery, bottle of wine, barbecue, gifts — and oh yes, gas.
What unusual gas stations or shops have you discovered during your travels?
SIZE: The adult is 8 to 10 inches long (20-25 cm) and weights 3.5 oz (68 gm).
We have several Gila Woodpeckers in our backyard. The males (photo above) have a patch of bright red feathers on top of their heads, while the females do not.
I had to get rid of my hummingbird feeder because the Gila Woodpeckers would attach themselves to it and drain it in an hour. The hummingbirds never got a chance.
Normally, they eat insects, berries and cactus fruit. They also like the birdseed I put out for my backyard birds.
They live in the deserts of the southwest US and Mexico. They make their nests in Saguaro cactus digging out a hole and allowing it to dry out for several months before moving in. That makes a solid casing around the nest.
This is a saguaro in our back yard with several nests made by Gila Woodpeckers. After they are done raising their young, they abandon their nest and other birds will claim the cavity nest as their own. Those birds include elf and pygmy owls, flycatchers, Cactus Wrens and other species.
Here are a male and female hanging out on a tree. Gila Woodpeckers are monogamous and mate for life. They have strong head and neck muscles so they are able to withstand the shock of pounding their bills into trees and other materials. Often we hear them pecking the metal top to our fireplace.
With their black and white zebra striped back and their loud call, they are easy to spot or hear.
This is a Gilded Flicker on our birdbath. I was excited to see I had captured this photo. Maybe I’ll use this in the future for a Bird of the Week challenge that I’m posting on Wednesdays.
I’m out of energy taking care of my husband post surgery. He’s not very demanding, but I’m trying to make things as easy as possible for him. He’s going to Physical Therapy already and I’m driving, which if you read my previous posts, you know is not my favorite thing to do!
For today’s post, I’m using some of my favorite photos I took this week. And I am going to be light on words.
Papa Gambel’s quail with a little one in tow.
Another Harris’s antelope squirrel practicing heat dumping, which is how they cool down. He was close to the window looking straight at me and my camera.
A Brown-Headed Cowbird made his first visit to our backyard. The Mourning Doves seem fascinated with the newcomer.
Momma quail with a few babies. We have three different quail families visiting our backyard every day. The tiniest ones are a family with three babies. I spotted them for the first time Friday. They are so adorable! Then there is a family with seven babies and one with eight.
Aren’t they cute?
Today we left the house at 5:15 a.m. to take my husband to surgery. I spent Sunday stressing about it. Not only am I worried about him, I’m worried about my own anxiety getting out of control. I have to drive him home from surgery, plus to follow up appointments and PT. I’m not a fan of driving here and once in a while I get a bout of driving anxiety. I think I’m talking myself into it as I sit and worry.
Hence, I’m focusing on cute baby quail.
Here’s to a speedy recovery for my husband and no driving anxiety for me!
