Tag Archives: Sonoran Desert

Bird Views

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A return of a cardinal in our back yard.

Good news! The solar panel roof of my AI bird feeder with a camera arrived. I ordered it in January after a covey of quail leaped onto the bird feeder and it fell off the fence into the wash behind our house.

The tiny metal piece that plugged into the camera from the cord to the solar panel broke. It seemed like it would be an easy fix, but the Bird Buddy folks said my only option was to order a new solar panel roof and they’d give me a discount. I waited until June for it to arrive! In the meantime, I charged the camera every few days in the house.

I’ve been disappointed with my birds because two species are bullies and take over. White winged doves and mourning doves. They literally sit at the feeder and eat until it’s empty. So all my photos and videos for the past few weeks have been of big gray birds. I would get the occasional house sparrow which was a welcome treat.

Sunday morning I was shocked and thrilled to see a Cardinal! YAY! Here’s a video:

Video of a Northern Cardinal. It think he’s quite young.

I’m also enjoying a few families of quail, even though our nest of eggs never hatched.

Here’s a video of quail mom, dad and babies visiting our yard:

Quail family in our backyard.

Here’s a House Sparrow getting a turn at our Bird Buddy

What do you have planned this week to enjoy the world around you?

Our wild neighborhood

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We saw two mule deer on our morning walk.

Unfortunately our nest of quail eggs did not hatch. It makes me sad, because I was looking forward to our own hatchlings. We do have a couple families of quail visit our backyard. I also was thrilled to see deer yesterday morning.

I’m not sure what to do with the nest of eggs. I’m leaving it alone for the time being, but think I should throw them away?

I never get tired of the wildlife in our neighborhood. Across the street we have the McDowell Nature Preserve with more than 130 miles of hiking trails. That’s probably why we get deer, coyotes, javelina and bobcats waltzing through our backyards and streets. There’s so much building going on in Arizona, it’s reassuring to know the 30,580 acres of Sonoran Desert across the street will not be developed.

Here is one of the quail families that visit our yard. The babies look like teenagers.

Another deer in a neighbor’s yard.

Here’s a video of a mule deer walking across a neighbor’s driveway.

What is your favorite thing about your neighborhood?

Waiting to hatch

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Here’s a quail selfie from my Bird Buddy AI bird feeder.

Twice this week I spotted baby quail. Once was on our morning walk and a mom and dad were followed by the teeniest quail babies I’ve ever seen. They must have hatched that day.

Yesterday afternoon, a family of quail marched into our backyard from the wash. They were a little older and didn’t stay long enough for me to get a video or picture.

I immediately ran to the front of our house to see if our quail eggs had hatched.

quail eggs in a nest

Our nest of eggs in a planter of Elephant Feed.

No, the eggs are still there and it’s been a month since I’ve seen a momma or papa quail in the nest.

Unfortunately, the quail chose a planter next to our garage. At first, I’d see quail fly away when I’d pull into the garage or back the car out. Raising the garage door was enough noise to make the parents take flight.

I’m afraid the quail were scared away and they abandoned their nest. Or something could have happened to them. It’s a wild world out there. I’ve read what to do with eggs to get them to hatch. The most sensible advice is to wait and see. I also realize that I’m not opening the garage door very often. Maybe the quail parents are there, but not when I’m there.

Does anyone have advice while I wait for our eggs to hatch? Do you think the nest has been abandoned?

Saguaros in bloom

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This year is fascinating with all the blooming cacti and plants. This is my third spring in Arizona and it’s truly amazing. I’m sure it was the rainy winter we had that is encouraging all the plant life to come alive with flowers. Right now the saguaros are blooming, something I didn’t see much of the past two years.

We have a nature’s preserve across the street and it’s gorgeous to see saguaros topped with white flower crowns. They remind me of the floral crowns we swim moms ordered for my senior day for my daughter’s college swim team.

Saguaros topped with white crowns of flowers at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

A saguaro in bloom at a neighbor’s house.

In our back yard.

What unusual plants, flowers or wildlife have you seen this spring? Did you have more rain or snow than in the past few years?

Birds, birds and more birds

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Cardinal visiting @birdbuddy

I got my first Cardinal visit to my Bird Buddy.

After waiting patiently from January until now for a new solar panel for my Bird Buddy AI bird feeder with a camera, I made the executive decision to take it out of storage, charge it up and use it without the solar panel roof.

I emailed the company and they said I should receive it this month. Until then, I’m enjoying Bird Buddy and have to charge the camera every four or five days.

I’ve written about Bird Buddy before. You can read those posts HERE and HERE if you missed them.

My son works for a crowdfunding company that helped raise money and marketed Bird Buddy. I think it was one of their more successful campaigns.

In one of my prior stories I wrote about my trouble setting up Bird Buddy. There was an awkward small space to plug in the charger or solar panel. I found it frustrating and I had to get my husband to help me. However, when I set up my 91-year-old dad’s Bird Buddy, he cleverly showed me you can plug in the camera before you put it inside the feeder! Duh!

This is a House Finch who can eat a lot of sunflower seeds!

Bird Buddy takes “postcards” (these two photos are examples.) There was an update to the software and now there are videos, too. It works with an app on your smartphone, identifies birds, gives details and you can play their songs and calls.

Here’s a video of a House Sparrow and Cardinal competing for the bird feeder:

Bird fight!

What birds do you have in your neck of the woods? Which are your favorites?

The joy of old friends

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Agave with blooming cactus. I learned the cactus is called Argentine Giant.

Yesterday I met an old friend for coffee. I don’t mean that she is old, but that we were friends for decades. She was a graphic designer that I worked with in Palm Springs.

When I was in my 20s and 30s I worked in public relations and advertising. A hot graphic design firm we used (when I worked in-house for a huge real estate developer) had several talented graphic designers. Something happened at the design firm and the designers I knew went independent. I think there was an issue with getting paid.

I also took the leap and went independent.

It was exciting to start my own business. The camaraderie I had with these amazing women to guide and mentor me gave me the courage. They had experience and advised me of what software to use for bookkeeping, what rates to charge. We referred each other business, too.

The friend I met for coffee yesterday was in this group of entrepreneurial women. She moved to the Scottsdale area 15 years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long. She said she thinks the last time she saw me was 20 years ago! Also, she remembered going to my baby shower 30 years ago.

I texted her before we moved and she sent me a list of restaurants, where to grocery shop, all the good coffee shops, etc. At the time, it was during the shutdown so we didn’t get together. Then today I learned her husband had an extended illness and she was the caregiver. So another year went by.

Now that I’m over COVID we finally got together. I’m smiling the rest of the day.

What gave you joy today?

The secrets in our yard

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Half eaten cactus

We discovered where the bites of cactus that end up at our front door came from.

I wrote about a mystery in our yard with bits of plants and cactus ending up on our front door mat HERE.

I’ve had a camera on lookout to spot the creatures. I’ve caught a bunny, a chipmunk and a lizard darting by. It was mentioned by another blogger that it could be our courtyard forms a wind tunnel and it’s the wind blowing the bits and pieces to the door.

Ever since I moved the camera from the backyard to the front door, the little presents stopped. I think the problem is the camera’s light. The camera goes dark at night and when movement happens it clicks on video mode with a bright light. We caught one bunny and after that nothing. I think the light has scared away any critters.

The only videos I get of animals are in the bright daylight.

However, I did spot a half eaten cacti in another part of the courtyard in a pot next to a big rock. I believe bunnies climb the rock and help themselves to a cactus buffet.

Another exciting secret I found in our yard is hidden in this Elephant Feed succulent. Also in a pot:

Elephant Feed in a pot

Elephant Feed succulent in a pot by our garage.

quail eggs hidden in a planter

Isn’t this exciting? I believe it’s quail eggs. I noticed this because as I backed the car out of the garage close to the pot of Elephant Feed, two quails flew away. I hope they come back!

What treasures have you discovered in your back yard or home?