Tag Archives: Mourning Dove

Ordinary Birds

Posted on by
46

A House Finch at the bird bath.

I saw Red and Mrs. over the weekend. Plus, an intruder, another male Cardinal. There was a chase between the two bright red birds and it didn’t look friendly. Mrs. was on the fence sitting between her Mourning Dove friends watching the show. The Cardinals dashed around and flew out of the yard. Mrs. flew away, too and I haven’t seen a Cardinal since.

I haven’t been taking many photos, because I only have “ordinary birds” in my yard. But yesterday I sat outside and watched them and decided they are all beautiful in their own way. That reminds me of a song that I posted below.

A Sparrow in the Fire Stick plant.

Mrs. Gambel Quail with her spouse.

A Mourning Dove sat on a branch floating in the air.

A Gila Woodpecker took over the Bird Buddy AI feeder. The blur on the left hand side is saguaro cactus spines.

Mourning Doves on the fence.

Quail playing King of the Mountain, or king of the rock!

I hope you enjoy my backyard “Ordinary Birds.”

Here’s the Grammy Award-winning song by Ray Stevens from 1970. I don’t think this song would be produced today with the opening of children singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”

I have one more week of recovery and then my post op appointment. I’m not in pain, but am unusually tired! I guess that is to be expected.

What’s on your calendar this week?

Do you have any favorites of the ordinary birds?

What birds do you view as ordinary where you live?

Finally! The Day has Arrived!

Posted on by
70

I took photos over the weekend, sitting at the pool bar hidden from view of my bird buddies. This is a mourning dove. Good news! I had two Red and Mrs. sightings over the weekend. They are back, but I wasn’t quick enough for photos.

While you’re reading this, most likely I’m in a surgery center finally having a procedure done on my left foot. I say finally because I originally scheduled it for May 2025. But when I went in for my pre op appointment, I had an ACE bandage on my right ankle. The surgeon said she’d like to x-ray it — because many times women my age have breaks rather than sprains. Yes, wouldn’t you know it, she was correct. She had me in for surgery two days later because the fibula had a break and was bowed.

So much for my little bunion procedure. After months of recovering from ankle surgery, I finally wanted to move forward with surgery on my left foot. I scheduled it between taking care of my daughter’s shoulder surgery, her pug Waffles and our Hawaii trip. However, the first night I was taking care of my daughter, my son ended up in ER. I waited patiently to find out if he needed surgery. His was scheduled the same week as mine!

So, more delays for me. Then I rescheduled for today. Last Wednesday I had my pre-op appointment and my surgeon told me insurance denied the procedure. They said it wasn’t medically necessary. I said sure, I can no longer take my daily walks and can’t wear shoes. But hey, it’s not necessary!

The good doctor got me approved after a peer-to-peer meeting with the insurance company and right now I’m “under the knife!”

Here are more photos I took over the weekend:

The bully of the birdseed block: Curve-Billed Thrasher.

Another Mourning Dove.

House Sparrow at the birdbath.

Quail!

Have you had any issues with medical insurance?

Which photos do you like best?

Views from the Pool Bar

Posted on by
48

I put a birdseed block across from the pool bar yesterday. I enjoyed sitting quietly in the second chair from the left to wait and see what happened. I like hanging out to shoot photos of critters because I’m at eye level with them. They don’t seem to notice me when their appetite gets the better of them.

Here are photos I took from the pool bar, bird blind:

A mourning dove was the first to bite.

Then came a solo quail.

Pretty soon, the quail had friends.

Another quail shared the block.

Squirrel!

Red came into the yard a few times, but he’s been so quick it’s hard to get photos. Here’s two I managed to get:

I liked how the morning light hit Red’s crest and legs.

Here’s a profile pic of my handsome guy.

I hope you enjoyed my pool bar shots of dove, quail, squirrels and sparrows. Red too!

Which photos did you like best?

Favorite Photos of the Week

Posted on by
44

I liked the finch on a flamingo because of the light and background. The flamingos were a birthday present a few years ago from friends. At first I didn’t know what I’d do with them, but they’ve become a highlight of my photos and backyard.

Here’s Red underneath a bench in our backyard.

Mourning Dove loves to rest on top of the same bench. One day he/she was there for hours.

This is a bouquet of glass flowers on our outdoor fireplace. The prior owners of our house left them with us. I like the morning light on the edge of the fireplace and glass flowers. A hummingbird visits the flowers every morning to try and get some nectar.

Red stuffing himself while standing under the flamingo. Those two poles behind him are the flaming’s legs.

Mrs. found a perfect perch on a flaming’s head. She often stops there while grabbing a bite of seeds.

Our skies normally are bright blue. I’ve enjoyed a few cloudy days.

Seriously, Red asks. You’re still taking pictures of me?

Which photos do you like of the ones I posted this week?

Nesting time

Posted on by
29

This past weekend, I was fascinated watching two mourning doves flying in and out of a bush in our backyard. They would fly up to the bush, sit on a branch and then disappear inside. They were carrying twigs and grass in their beaks.

I got the photo above before scaring the birds to the top of our pergola.

One of the doves kept guard from the top of the pergola before continuing the chore of building their nest.

I wanted to get a picture of the nest, but this is what I saw when I got up close:

Do you see the dove roosting in her nest? Her eye is to the left of the vertical branch. I backed off after snapping a photo. I don’t want to scare them away. That was quick work in building the nest!

Last year, I discovered quail eggs in a large planter next to our garage. The quail must have laid eggs while we were out of town. Once we were home, I noticed quail flying out of the planter whenever I opened the garage. I looked in the planter and discovered quail eggs, but mom and dad quail were scared away. The eggs never hatched.

I don’t want that to happen with the mourning doves. So, I’ll try to stop myself from taking more pictures!

A Gila woodpecker goes in an out of a saguaro nest in our backyard. All the holes were most likely made by woodpeckers. When they leave their nests, other birds move in.

I love watching birds in my empty nest.

What nests have you noticed in your neck of the woods?

Views from my week

Posted on by
46
Yellow blossoms on a beavertail cactus
Yellow blossoms on a beavertail cactus.

A common theme this week is the color yellow. There are yellow blossoms on trees, cacti and bushes.

A juvenile Cardinal

My week included enjoying my Bird Buddy. This is a juvenile Cardinal. His coat is getting hints of red. Males are brilliant red while females are brown.

Blooming yuccas at our neighborhood park.

staghorn cactus in bloom

This staghorn cactus is bursting in blooms.

Morning dove
Mourning doves have been dominating my Bird Buddy.
view of blooms in the desert
A view of yellow blossoms in the neighborhood.

Palos Verde trees are common in our neighborhood. They are in their full glory of yellow blossoms.

I can’t help but remember my daughter who loved the color yellow but called it “lallow” as a toddler.

Our house guests are gone, we have friends visiting from Seattle who arrive today. We swam and walked, I cooked, I was productive in my new space. We made it to breakfast last weekend at our favorite cafe and I had a delicious latte and bagel with lox and cream cheese. It was a good week!

latte at Carefree Coffee Roastery
My latte at Carefree Coffee Roastery.

Happy Friday!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Thanksgiving birds

Posted on by
28

Here are some bird photos from my Bird Buddy Gallery. The Bird Buddy is an AI bird feeder that my son was involved with bringing to market.

The first three photos are Gila Woodpeckers.

Gila woodpecker
Gila woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker

The Bird Buddy arrived last week and I’ve been having a blast with it. I am learning about the species of birds who hang out in our backyard. The app on my phone IDs the birds, gives me information about them and has recordings of the their songs and calls.

I decided not to cook this Thanksgiving, but we will go out for a simple meal. We’ve hosted Thanksgiving for most of the past 30 years and I don’t feel like doing the shopping, the prep, the cooking, inviting guests and cleaning up.

So instead of turkey, I’m sharing my Thanksgiving birds in my yard with my fellow bloggers and friends.

Gambel's quail
Mourning dove

Mourning Dove

Albert's Towhee

Albert’s Towhee

Cactus Wren
Eurasian Collared Dove

Happy Thanksgiving! What are your plans for Thanksgiving?