Tag Archives: bird watching

Favorite bird photos of the week

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I got quite a few good photos of Red and Mrs. I saw them every single day, but not a glimpse of their fledglings. I wonder if they flew the nest and are living life without mom and dad?

We had an amazing evening with Red. I spotted him on the fence to our courtyard outside our front door. I talked to him, calling “Hey Red.” I went inside and told my husband. He suggested we sit in the courtyard and hang out with Red. We enjoyed the sun with Red flitting above us. Red flew into the tree we were sitting under. He flew to the wall, the fence and back up into the tree, singing to us. He called for Mrs. and she joined our group. We hung out with them for half an hour and finally went inside.

I took this with my iphone, so the quality isn’t that great. But you can see how we got to hang out with our friendliest bird Red.

Here’s one of the photos I took of Mrs. this week. I’m liking this week’s photos because of the clarity of my subject birds (not the ones in the background.) This is thanks to my photographer friend Gary Gruber. He suggested a few weeks ago that I change my settings to a faster shutter speed.

A gilded flicker stopped at the birdbath in the morning light.

A White-winged dove was hanging out for a day.

The resident bully bird, a Curve-billed Thrasher, loves to throw his beak around and intimidate the other birds.

Papa quail with his babies having a word with Red.

I had a first time visitor to the birdseed block. This is Albert’s Towhee. I used his call on my Merlin app to identify him and then went to All About Birds to ID him according to his looks.

I got this closeup of a quail dad’s face and fluffy feathers.

Which photo or photos are your favorites?

What are your weekend plans?

Do you have anything special planned to celebrate July 4th plans?

Bird of the Week — Mourning Dove

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Mourning dove — Zenaida macroura

Bird of the week: CLXXIV

We have an abundance of Mourning doves in our yard. It’s a common bird in our Sonoran Desert and throughout the USA and Mexico.

RANGE:

DESCRIPTION (from All About Birds):


“A graceful, slender-tailed, small-headed dove that’s common across the continent. Mourning Doves perch on telephone wires and forage for seeds on the ground; their flight is fast and bullet straight. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments. When taking off, their wings make a sharp whistling or whinnying. Mourning doves are the most frequently hunted species in North America.”

Mourning doves are medium-sized birds of 9 to 13 inches (23 to 33 cm) in length and weighing between 3 and 6 ounces (85 to 170 grams).

A Mourning dove couple eating birdseed in our backyard. They are monogamous and mate for life, unless one of them dies. Then they will look for another mate. Mourning doves are known to be affectionate with each other and you can see them preening and hanging out.

It’s not unusual to see three flying in a tight formation during the breeding season. The bird in the lead is the mated male. A rival male will be in close second hoping to chase the first male from where he wants to mate and nest. The female, who is mated to the lead male, follows behind.

I cannot tell the difference between the male and females because they look very similar. According to the sources I read, the males are slightly bigger. They have a light blue patch on their head, and a peachy patch on their chest along with iridescent patches on the sides of their necks. The males are supposed to be more colorful, but I have never seen a difference with my naked eyes. I can spot a bit of blue and iridescent patches in my photos.

FOOD AND NESTING:

Ninety-nine percent of Mourning doves diet is seeds. They do eat a little fruit and snails.

In the West, Mourning doves may nest on the ground. In other parts of the country, they build nests in tree branches including evergreen, orchard tree, mesquite, or cottonwood. The male supplies the twigs, grasses or other material to the female who weaves it into a nest.

They have one to two eggs per clutch, but make up the small amount of eggs by having up to six broods per year.

CALLS:

One of my favorite sounds in our backyard is the coo-ing of Mourning doves. You can listen to their calls from All About Birds here:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/sounds

Friday Photos

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I captured the morning light in this bunny’s ears. We have bunnies everywhere, but I mostly see them on my morning walks as they dash across the road. They are frightened of big old me!

I was sitting in the waiting room of my husband’s PT yesterday, looking through the week’s photos I had captured. I am sharing the ones I like best — that didn’t make it into Monday or Wednesday’s posts. Enjoy a few of my week’s favorite photos.

It looked like Red was having a bad hair day or for some reason fluffed himself up.

A Mourning Dove looking grand in our backyard.

We don’t often see these guys. I looked up Arizona black bird with black beak and yellow eye. Grackle is what came up.

A rare appearance to see Red and Mrs. in the backyard at the same time — without any fledglings.

A quail baby growing up. They do grow up so quickly!

This was a baby pic I took a few weeks ago. We don’t have any quail this tiny anymore.

Here’s Red a few seconds after the fluffy look. Does anyone know what the fluffy feathers is about?

Which photo or photos do you like best?

What are your weekend plans?

Bird of the Week — House Finch

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Male and female House Finches on a cactus in our backyard. The male is the colorful one.

Bird of the Week: CLXXIII House Finch — Haemorhous mexicanus

SIZE:
Sexes similar. 5-6 in (13-15 cm); wingspan: 8-10 in (20-25 cm); weight: 0.6-1 oz (17-28 g). 

House Finches are a very common backyard bird. They are part of my daily birdwatching. All photos were taken in my backyard.

COLORING:

The males are brightly colored with a red eyebrow and forehead. Their throat and chest are red, lower underparts whitish, with dark stripes on their sides. I remember the first time I saw a House Finch, I was amazed by the bright red color. I was living in Palm Springs, California and saw one during my daily walk to the park. I thought it was some exotic bird, but found out it was a common House Finch.

A male House Finch on our cactus statue made of horse shoes. This is a good example of male coloring.

The females and young House Finches have plain brown faces, blurry stripes all over pale underparts. They’re very easy to overlook in our backyard compared to the males.

A female House Finch on a cactus. Notice the dull coloring compared to her mate.

RANGE AND HABITAT:

Originating in the Southwest United States, the House Finches are now common from coast to coast. I read that in the 1940s, New York pet shops released finches from their cages because it became illegal to sell them. They wanted to avoid prosecution. All these years later, the birds from those pet shops have grown in numbers and thrived.

House Finches can be found on farms, urban areas like city parks, backyards, as well as forest edges across the continent. In the western U.S., you’ll find House Finches in their native habitats of deserts, grassland, chaparral, and open woods.

FOOD:

House Finches are primarily herbivores. They eat seeds, grains, fruits and berries and a smaller part of their diet are insects like aphids. House Finches are regulars at bird feeders and especially like sunflower sees.

NESTING:

House Finches use a variety of sites, such as conifers, palms, cactus, holes in manmade structures, and may search around homes on ledges, window boxes or other safe areas preferring nests about 12-15 ft above the ground. Sometimes they use hanging planters and old nests of other birds. Nests are built mostly by the female. Nests are shaped like an open cup made from grass, weeds, twigs, and other plant material and sometimes with feathers or other debris.

House finches are monogamous through breeding season and the following winter. They may stay together for several years, but also may instead find new mates.

CALLS:

House Finches have an extensive warble and song similar to House Sparrows.

Calls from All About Birds:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Finch/sounds


A brightly colored male on the cactus statue.

Prep Day

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One of three Cardinal fledglings of Mrs. and Red. I can’t get over how exciting it is to see their family after my favorite bird couple have lived in our yard for two years.

Yesterday was what I called “Prep Day” for a medical procedure we are encouraged to do at age 50 and every 10 years afterward — if all is clear. 

My day included a liquid diet of Jell-O, broth, apple juice, ginger-ale and tons of water. Accruements included one full bottle of Mir-a-Lax powder (14 days worth) mixed with Gatorade along with Dulcolax. For dessert there was magnesium citrate taken at 2:30 a.m. this morning.

Red keeping an eye on his baby. Red has daily tasks with his fledglings in our yard. Look at how short the baby’s tail is. It will grow as he or she gets older. We have to wait for red blotches before we know for sure if it’s a boy or girl.

I talked to my friend in Santa Barbara who said, “Thank goodness they no longer make you do all that prep.”

“Really?” I guess different doctors have their own protocols. I told her my regimen for Prep Day and she said she didn’t have to do that except wake up in the middle of the night for magnesium citrate.

I mentioned to my son about my upcoming procedure and said, “I see all these ads on TV that you can do a simple blood test instead. I’m going to opt for that.”

He told me that his wife did a blood test. Her doctors told her she was fine. Until she wasn’t and was in ER in excruciating pain. They finally discovered she had cancer that was bumping up against Stage 4.

Consider that as your Public Service Announcement for when you hit 50 years old and beyond. 

So I went through craving solid food, being hungry for a day and all that annoying prep to make sure. Here’s to a good outcome, fingers crossed, and ten more years!

It seems we are going to doctors more and more as we get older. Or maybe it’s just the recent ankle and foot surgery and my husband’s knee replacement plus endless PT. I can’t wait to get through my battery of healthcare appointments and have some fun!

On Another Note:

Before I schedule my posts, I read them over and edit. Sometimes I get blocked. Two to four icons of my face pop up and I get a message that there are too many contributors.They are little markers with my face and name. There’s no way to save what I’m working on. My choice is to exit and leave with unsaved changes. Also there’s a button to copy the post. But it doesn’t work. It’s very annoying.

Has anyone else had this issue in WP? Do you have other WP issues lately?

Bird of the Week — Gilded Flicker

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Gilded Flicker at the Birdbath
Gilded Flicker female at the birdbath.


Bird of the Week: CLXXII

The Gilded Flicker, Colaptes chrysoides, is a large-bodied woodpecker with a long bill that lives in the Sonoran Desert and can be found from central Arizona to southeastern California and south into Mexico. It looks similar to the Gila Woodpecker that I wrote about HERE.

SIZE:

  • Length: 11 inches (28 cm)
  • Weight: 3.3-4.5 oz (92-129 g)
  • Wingspan: 19.7-20.5 inches (50-52 cm)

COLORING

Gilded Flickers are pale brown and gray with a large black mark on their chest, bold spots on the breast, finely barred back, and a cinnamon crown. You can see their white behind while they are in flight along with yellow feathers under their wings. Males are distinguished from females with their red mustache. You can see the female in the above photos and male below.

Male Gilded Flicker in the backyard tree
The male Gilded Flicker has the red color under his beak and the tan head.

They forage on the ground for insects including ants and their larvae and beetles. They also eat seeds and fruits of cactus. They have a long tongue that helps them lap up insects.

Gilded Flickers are monogamous and mate for life, but if their mate dies they may pair with a new one.

In the desert, they make nests in the holes hallowed out in giant saguaro cactus as well as cottonwood trees along rivers.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gilded_Flicker/sounds

Gilded Flicker
A Gilded Flicker at the birdseed block with Gambel’s Quail. You can see the spots and black crest on the breast in this view of a female Gilded Flicker.

Bird of the Week — Cardinal Fledglings

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 CLXXI

This is one of two Northern Cardinal fledglings that made an appearance in our yard this past week. He’s with his dad. Although the coloring of the fledgling looks like an adult female, fledglings beaks are gray or black while the adults’ beaks are bright orange.

The Latin name for the northern cardinal is Cardinalis cardinalis.

This is the smaller fledgling. They are gray until about three months when their coloring appears. Until then I won’t know if these are males or females. If they are male they will get splotches of red. If female, they’ll get the orange highlights of the female adult.

This is Mrs., our adult female cardinal and mom of the two fledglings.

We have had a cardinal male and female in our yard for two years. I’ve named them Red and Mrs. I’ve been waiting patiently to see if they’d have a family, and I’m beyond excited to see their fledglings.

The female lays three to four eggs and incubates them by herself for 12 to 13 days. The young leave the nest in about nine to 11 days after hatching. Once they leave the nest, they are called fledglings. Both parents feed their young but often it is the father.

Here’s Red feeding his large fledgling.

Fledglings will often hide in bushes or shrubs while most often the male will feed them for a few weeks. They become fully independent after about a month. I am curious if they will stay in our yard, or will find their own home away from their parents.

UPDATE:

A day after I wrote and scheduled this post, I saw Red with a brand new fledgling or possibly fledgling number 2 who I named “Mini me”. Here are a few photos:

The way the baby moved and was so shaky standing while I got photos gave me the idea that it may be Cardinal fledgling number three. I read that eggs are laid over time and they may hatch over several days or even weeks, which is why they can be different ages and sizes.

I have gotten comments on my Next Door app and friends that fledgling number one is the adult female. The color of the beaks, black vs. orange, plus and seeing Mrs. in the backyard with fledgling number one lets me know for sure that they are separate birds

What do you think of my Cardinal Fledglings? Do I have one, two or three?