A quail took over the Bird Buddy feeder to enjoy the birdseed.
A quail looking for birdseed that fell to the ground.
A quail walking among the backyard plants.
Mourning doves cooling off at the birdbath. I find it funny they often stand with their tails in water.
A Curved-Bill Thrasher on a bench. He’s the bully bird of the backyard.
This video shows the Curved-billed thrasher in action!
How is your week going so far?
I walked by a planter growing an Elephant Feed plant. Two quail wooshed out like jets taking off. I scared them away. This planter has been home to a nest before and there were a dozen quail eggs in it two years ago. I peeked in the planter and saw two eggs. Later in the day, I had to take another look and there were four quail eggs!
The main issue is to not make the parents uncomfortable. That means I must stay away as much as possible. But the location of the planter is an issue.
This planter is in front of the gate to our garbage and recycling bins. If you want to read more about me getting written up and pink-slipped over recycling, you can find that post HERE.
I stressed out momma and papa quail a few times because I had to take out trash and recycling. I noticed the egg count has stopped at four. I decided to move my recycling into the garage. With a steady flow of Amazon packages coming daily, I tend to recycle a lot! But I talked over the garbage bin with hubby and we decided to leave it where it is. It’s going to be hotter than 90 degrees this weekend and that could end up being a smelly problem to have inside our garage. With our HOA, it’s not like I can move the trash to a new location without getting a fine.
So here’s to me not needing to use the garbage bin more than a few times a week.
UPDATE: Now we have five eggs!
We’re hoping the eggs will turn into these guys:
I remember telling a good friend that I had a dozen quail eggs in a nest two years ago. She asked me when I was going to harvest and eat them!
Have a great weekend!
What plans do you have for this beautiful March weekend?
I was excited to see these “exotic” birds. The color was so beautiful. I called my husband in to look at them. He told me they were pigeons. Oh well. It’s my first pigeon in my backyard.
Off he goes. I didn’t see them again.
Isn’t the color striking?
I spotted a sparrow enjoying the bird bath.
Then he was joined by friends.
The water was flying. Now they must feel nice and clean.
A mourning dove waited for the waves to chill before taking a turn at the bird bath.
A quail walks by the other side of the bird bath. He was not interested in it.
It looks like Mrs. is having a conversation with her reflection in the camera.
Red keeps an eye out for any intruder at the Bird Buddy feeder.
I’m excited for my daughter to arrive soon! She should be here by 10 a.m. today. We’re going to the farmer’s market in Carefree and cooking dinner together. It will be a short visit because she’s flying this morning then driving our second car back to the Bay Area. She’s gone two years carless and has decided to join the world of driving again.
We recommended she buy our car rather than a used car from a stranger. Our car is in excellent shape and has low mileage. She did ask us for the CARFAX history! There are winter storm warnings through the mountain passes for her to get home. I’m worried about that, but she said she’d stay extra days in So Cal if the storm is still a factor.
What are your plans for the weekend? Can you believe we’re almost through the month of February?
When I fill the Bird Buddy feeder I sometimes spill a bit of bird seed. Then if a quail gets into the feeder, he kicks the seed down to the ground and all his buddies show up.
I mentioned this in a comment to blogger Edward Ortiz and he said he’d like me to post a video of it in action. I finally got a quail to cooperate and jump in the feeder and kick the seed out. As you can see from the photo above the buddies were more than happy to show up for their part. If you want to read some insightful, well written pieces about leadership, history, religion, and current events — check out his blog.
It’s not the best video, you mostly see his topnot bouncing around. But if you wait he’s gives a good kick on the birdseed. It’s interesting that the quail on the ground often use their feet to scratch and look for more food.
Red isn’t one to kick birdseed to the ground — or share!
I’ve got a busy week ahead with some long days. I hope I have the energy! I’m looking forward to Friday when our daughter visits from Berkeley!
What’s on your agenda for the week?
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?
A dove took off, being forced from the birdseed by a covey of quail.
When I looked through my old photos from last January’s intro to photography class, I found quite a few of birds in flight. I remember trying and trying to catch them flying and found it was almost impossible. So, it was surprising to see a few that were okay. If you missed my post Wednesday, I posted old photos of Red HERE.
I found this view of a stately predator to be fascinating.
Doves in flight.
Quail sound like jets planes taking off.
Harris’s Hawk landing on a mesquite tree.
A Harris’s Hawk flying from a Century Plant.
A hawk I caught right before he flew off the neighbor’s roof.
This is a framed photo of birds in flight that is hanging in our living room. Gary Gruber has a lengthy career as a photographer that includes street photography, public relations, landscapes and more. We worked together back in my PR days and I remember helping him in his booth at a juried art show in La Quinta. Now he has photography in a gallery in Palm Desert. You should spend some time looking through his photography on his website HERE. His work is stunning and will brighten your day! Here’s a photo from his Birds on a wire tab.
Happy Friday! Any exciting plans for the weekend?
I’m sad to say I haven’t had a Red or Mrs. sighting in a few weeks! Where did they go? Maybe they aren’t enjoying the cold weather with lows at night down to 30 degrees and highs in the low 50s during the day? Just like me. I’m not liking it either. This Red photo is from last March.
I took a few photos of squirrels and quail over the weekend. I was looking at them in Adobe Bridge. Then I thought, I wonder what else is on this card? I discovered it was from my intro to photography class I took January through May last year. In that class we weren’t allowed to crop or make changes. The professor’s point was for us to learn composition and our camera’s settings. I spent a few hours opening last year’s photos in Adobe Camera Raw and improving what I had originally captured. I discovered some photos of Red and friends that needed little touching up.
A new photo of a quail and squirrel I took over the weekend.
Here is one I took a year ago of birds in flight at my Bird Buddy feeder.
Old photos of Red and his House Finch friend. Here’s a series of them looking this way and that.
I had fun looking through old photos, cropping and brightening them up. I have a few more to share in upcoming posts.
Hopefully it will warm up and Red and Mrs. will return. Red was a bachelor when I took these photos last January.
Do you have a favorite photo out of these?
What are you working on as a new project for the New Year?
