Weekend Captures

Posted on July 13, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

I had some fun bird photography this weekend.

Plus, we had guests over that I was so excited to see. One of our kids’ friends from club swimming in Palm Springs who lives in Tempe with her husband and six-month old first born baby! We made lunch and they played in the pool.

I also managed to get a few captures of bird photos that I like.

A Roadrunner darted about chasing quail. This clever guy hid himself in a planter at the far end of the yard with only his head showing. He’d jump out “Beep beep!” and go for the chase. Fortunately, he didn’t have success.

Curve-billed Thrasher with fuzzy feathers make me believe he’s a youngster.

This Abert’s Towhee juvenile explored a planter.

More juvies looking for trouble!

A Gila Woodpecker up in the tree surveying the quail spectacle below.

This grown up Curve-billed Thrasher was keeping an eye out for the young one.

Mrs. and Red hung out in the morning before it got too hot!

We even have a juvenile croc!

Which photos do you like best?

What fun did you have this weekend?

Bird Watching

Posted on June 5, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

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?

It’s All About Red

Posted on May 29, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

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.

Red on a barrel cactus.

Happy Friday!

Which Red photo do you like the best?

What are your weekend plans?

Bird of the Week — Harris’s Hawk — CLXIX

Posted on May 20, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

I took this photo of a Harris’s Hawk on our neighbor’s roof. This is my favorite photo of a Harris’s Hawk that I’ve taken. We had a visit yesterday by two of these large predators in our backyard. But I wasn’t quick enough with my camera to get decent photos. I took all of these photos during the past year.

Harris’s Hawk —Parabuteo unicinctus CLXIX
ORDER: Accipitriformes
FAMILY: Accipitridae

RANGE:

Harris’s Hawks live in the Southwest United States and South America. They do not migrate but stay in the same location. Map courtesy of All About Birds.

Harris’s Hawks are 18-24 inches in length and weigh from 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. Their wingspan is three to four feet. The females are larger than the males.

Their coloring is dark brown, chestnut red, and white; long yellow legs; and yellow markings on its face.

Here’s is a link to All About Birds with their call: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Harriss_Hawk/sounds

A Harris’s Hawk on our backyard fence.

These hawks mate for life. They are very social birds and hunt in pairs and groups up to seven hawks. I have had six hawks in my backyard at once. When hunting, they may take turns chasing their prey and one bird may flush out their target while others will attack. They feed on small animals including lizards, rabbits, doves, quail and other birds.

A Harris’s Hawk taking off in flight.

A hawk in a tree in our backyard.

There were four hawks perched on this Century Plant at once, but I found the more exciting photo to be with one in flight and one hawk remaining on the plant.

Look for Joy

Posted on March 16, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

Red sightings do give me joy. Always.

For Lent this year I am doing Pray40, which is on the Hallow app. On Sundays, Father Mike Schmitz gives a Bible reading and homily. Yesterday, the theme was “Looking for Joy.” Father Mike mentioned the following quote:

“Suspicion often creates what it suspects.” C.S. Lewis from the “Screwtape Letters.”

My major takeaway was that if we often find what we’re looking for. If we’re looking to be disappointed, most likely we will be. Distrust can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. I realized that life truly is what we make of it. It’s was a reminder that our attitudes can be our destiny. If we look for joy, we can find it.

I’m sharing some bits of joy I had this week, birdwatching at home:

The joyful couple together at the Bird Buddy AI feeder.

I watched as Red fed Mrs. and then gave her a turn at the feeder, but I wasn’t fast enough with the camera to capture it. It was heartwarming though!

Quail Egg Update:

I’ve only peeked a couple times on our quail nest. Last week I said we had four eggs. We’re now up to a dozen! I wrote about our quail nest HERE.

Where do you look for joy?

Birds Plus More Surgeries

Posted on October 8, 2025 by E.A. Wickham

I was so excited to capture this photo of Red taking off the Ocotillo!

I’m going to the Bay Area to take care of my daughter post shoulder surgery. She has a repetitive use injury from swimming from kindergarten through college. Her practices in college added up to 12,000 yards of swimming per day.

I’ve been especially nervous and haven’t been sleeping well. There’s a back story to that, besides the anxiety and worry. (Ever since our last thunder and lightning storm our house alarm has been going of at 3 a.m. Now that I figured out how to get it to stop, my body is programmed to get up at 3 a.m.) Once awake, I worry about my upcoming trip and my daughter.

Mrs. giving a side-eye to another bird at the birdseed block.

I had an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon to take a last look at my ankle. I discussed my other foot with the doctor. My first visit to her was about the left foot, but she discovered my “sprain” was a break in the right ankle — and I was scheduled for emergency surgery.

Now we’re back to the original issue and I’ll have surgery after taking care of my daughter!

Here are more photos from my backyard buddies:

Gila woodpecker taking a turn on a flamingo.

I learned my chipmunks are really Harris Antelope Squirrels! Who knew?

Red’s turn on the flamingo.

The Beavertail sculpture is another favorite perch for Mrs.

This father quail keeps watch over his flock from the tree.

Red ignoring both flamingos and other backyard birds.

I’m afraid I’m at that age where my future will be lots of doctor visits. Hopefully no more surgeries.

Which photos do you like?

How is your week going?

Favorite Photos of the Week

Posted on July 11, 2025 by E.A. Wickham

No surprise. Red is at the top of my list. I was getting a little worried. Mrs. and Red didn’t show up for most of the week. I sent my husband to the hardware store for sunflower seeds. Their favorite. Voila! They both arrived, although separately which makes me believe there is something going on in the nest.