This House Sparrow was having a splashing good time in the birdbath. Enjoy a few photos of his bath time. I hope they put a smile on your face!
The sparrow paused for a moment so I could take his photo out of the water.
I had fun capturing the splashes and water droplets.
What are your plans for this second week of November?
I watched this little Harris’s Antelope Squirrel, who looks like a chipmunk, romping around the yard. First he was on top of the waterfall in the pool. But by the time I grabbed my camera he moved to the outdoor fireplace.
We also have Harris’s Hawks, so I decided to find out more about this Harris guy. This is what AI told me:
Both animals are named in honor of Edward Harris (1799–1863), an American naturalist, philanthropist, and horse breeder from New Jersey.
He was a close friend and financial supporter of the famous ornithologist and artist John James Audubon. Harris accompanied Audubon on two major wildlife-gathering expeditions: one along the Gulf of Mexico in 1837 and another up the Missouri River in 1843.
To thank him for his friendship and financial help, Audubon named several newly cataloged species after him, including:
- Harris’s Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)
- Harris’s Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii)
- Harris’s Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula
FYI, this is a photo of a Harris’s Sparrow from the website All About Birds. They aren’t found in Arizona, so I’ll be out of luck taking a picture of one here. They are found in the middle of the country from Texas all the way to Northern Canada.
I have been able to get many photos of Harris’s Hawks.
Back to my Harris’s Antelope Squirrel:
Here is the Harris’s Antelope Squirrel posing in front of a little fireplace ceramic statue of a chiminea on the mantel of the real fireplace. I learned the word antelope is in its name because it often carries its tail curled up over its back revealing a white rump like an antelope. Who knew?
He spent the afternoon getting settled into his new home.
Happy Friday!
What plans do you have for the weekend?
This week went by so quickly for me. How about for you?
I was wondering what I was up to five years ago. I looked at my blog and this is what I found:
My husband called to me from the bedroom. “The bobcat is here!”
“Where?” I asked scanning my view past the fence in the backyard.
“Right here.”
Wow. The bobcat was lounging inches away from our sliding glass door. She looked hot with mouth open breathing. But instead of panting, she was scenting her next meal. My cat Olive used to do that when scouting for birds in our backyard — before we moved to the wilds of Arizona.
The bobcat nonchalantly grabbed a bird midair and took it behind a potted plant to munch. She climbed a tree and came down with another snack of a baby bird. Another baby bird was hopping on the patio oblivious to the danger. That life ended quickly.
The bobcat moved into the shade and fell asleep on our patio, sated with an afternoon meal.
I’m a little nervous to go outside after dark. You don’t know what’s out in those trees or under our patio furniture. It’s literally a jungle out there!
Thanks to my sister-in-law for the amazing videos.
We’re at home from our family Hawaii trip that I shared photos of HERE and HERE. I’m now in my real life wild kingdom and enjoyed a visit by a squadron of javelina.
I counted three or four babies, two moms and a handful of males. I took photos with my Nikon and telephoto lens, but the best photos and videos were from my iphone. I got amazingly close feeling confident our fence would hold. I had thrown a few handfuls of birdseed out for our quail, but the javelina discovered it and soon took over.
I wouldn’t want to get between these two guys!
Babies. I especially like peewee redhead!
Here’s to a happy and healthy 2026 for all of us and our wildlife friends!
What are your plans for the first weekend of 2026?
I had three squirrels running around the birdseed block yesterday. It turns out they like the sunflower seeds and run quickly to get their fair share. Here are a few photos of them, plus a description of the type of squirrel:
Harris’s antelope squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and in Sonora in Mexico. They are adapted to hot weather conditions. — Wikipedia
I had Red, Mrs., quail and a gila woodpecker hanging out as well.
Here’s Mrs. on a firestick plant.
This gila woodpecker likes to hang upside from time to time.
A handsome poppa quail keeping an eye on his family.
Red also likes the firestick as a perch.
I’m waiting to find out my son’s surgery date and when I’ll return to Northern California with Waffles.
Plus I need to prepare a presentation for my photography class about a photographer or photos that I’d like to share with the class. I’ve selected Inge Morath who was married to Arthur Miller for 40 years after he was married to Marilyn Monroe. I’ll share more about her with you — after I’ve done my homework and selected a few photos of hers.
What’s on your agenda for this week?
Cardinal visits daily to our back yard this week.
I was trying to cut down our cable TV Wifi bill. I went to the closest store a few weeks ago and asked them for suggestions. Their answer was odd, but they promised to cut one-third of the bill if I purchased an outdoor camera.
What? By purchasing a camera that could be used at the front door like Ring, we would save the price of the camera each month. Although it made little sense to me, I agreed.
Our monthly bill did go down by the cost of the camera. Next month, I’ll be ahead.
Instead of using the camera at the front door, I set it up on the back patio. I’ve been hoping to catch some wildlife. I wasn’t disappointed.
Check out the videos below of wildlife:
it’s not the best quality of camera, but if I get more shots at night of the bobcat, I’ll be thrilled.
My dad sent me a video from Phoenix of a bobcat inside someone’s home cuddled in on the dog bed with toys. The bobcat entered through a doggy door. Unfortunately, the dog was badly hurt, but is surviving after surgery. The video is included in the CBS story below. Click on the link HERE.
Arizona resident comes home to bobcat in dog’s bed
A homeowner in San Manuel, Arizona, came home after work to find a furry creature in her dog’s bed – but it wasn’t a pet. It was a bobcat, believed to have come through the home’s unlocked doggie door.
The homeowner snapped a photo of the bobcat lounging in the bed and the Arizona Game and Fish Department shared the image on Twitter, warning residents not to handle wildlife like this themselves.
Officers with the department did arrive at the scene, but the bobcat had already escaped when they arrived.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/arizona-resident-comes-home-to-bobcat-in-dogs-bed/ar-AA18n2o5
What wildlife do you have around you? What are your thoughts of the cable company offering a lower price for buying a camera?
