Red has been missing in action for a few weeks, but finally showed up again this week. I also spotted Mrs. but she flew away before I could get a photo. My only disappointment in seeing Red was that my Bird Buddy bird feeder didn’t capture his picture or video. I think Red is standing outside the camera’s range. He’s sneaky that way!
I’m not sure if it’s all the rain that has kept the birds, including Red, at bay. I have heard Red chirping several times, but I wasn’t able to spot him. Also, his adopted fledgling, a Brown Headed Cowbird, is no longer hanging out with Red or Mrs.
I say “what a difference a day makes” because Red’s feathers are grown in. He’s back to his beautiful self.
This photo is from early September when Red was molting. Poor thing. Maybe he was embarrassed to being seen and photographed until his feathers grew back!
But in typical fashion of Red, when I fill the bird feeder, he’s once again the first bird in. He likes to stop by early in the morning and in the evenings. Mrs. is never too far away.
There were a few bird photos I took this weekend that made me smile. I never know what I’m going to get until I connect my memory card to my laptop and open up Adobe Bridge. That’s the program I use to view my photos. If I like the image, it gets exported to my laptop. It dawned on me that I should backup my photos on a thumb drive! I have a bad track record with backups. Once I lost an entire novel’s manuscript because I didn’t back up my laptop and files started disappearing. I contacted Apple and they couldn’t recover my files and they suspected it was a hardware issue.
The photo above is a Gilded Flicker and it made the cut.
This House Sparrow at the birdbath was a saver, too.
Here he is getting a sip of water after a rainy day.
I had another visit by a Lesser Goldfinch. I wrote about them for Bird of the Week after my first encounter with this tiny little bird. Here are a few more photos:
This photo gives perspective of the size of Lesser Goldfinch next to a House Sparrow. Prior to seeing Lesser Goldfinches, the sparrow was one of the smaller species we had in our yard.
The Lesser Goldfinch is getting ready to make her move!
There she goes!
I hope you enjoyed my photos today. I welcome your feedback.
We’ve had several rainy days with thunder and lightning including today. I spotted a few hearty doves on the fence in the rain as well as one hanging out on a Beavertail Cactus.
This dove took advantage of the wet feathers to do some grooming.
The dark clouds were interrupted by a few bright blue spots and sunshine yesterday.
The pool bar floods when we get more than an inch of rain, but it dries up pretty quickly. We also get a river running from the wash down the side of our house. But it’s outside the fence in the NAOS. What’s a NAOS you ask?
Natural Area Open Space (NAOS) is a permanent, recorded land easement in Scottsdale, Arizona, that keeps a portion of private property or community land in a natural, undisturbed Sonoran Desert state
Another view of the pool bar with a bit of rain building up.
Another view of the fluffy Mourning Dove in the rain.
I don’t mind the rain at all. In fact, I love it. We do need the rain and the desert is so green this year. When I get a break in the weather, I’ll walk down to the nature’s preserve across the street to get more photos of green desert landscapes.
A quail mom braved the rain standing on a bench to watch over her kids at the bird seed block.
I love the Carpenters’ music, may Karen RIP.
What your weather like this week? Are you a Carpenter’s fan?
A young female Gambel’s Quail walking past the cactus statue.
We have two types of birds that visit every day. Quail and doves. I enjoy quail more than doves, because with their top knots they look like clowns and have tons of personality.
I caught this sharp photo of a male quail alone on the bird block.
This female quail strikes a pose on a backyard bench.
Papa quail is looking a bit round. I can tell the difference between the adults and juveniles who are entering adulthood by their size. The ones who hatched in the Spring look skinny in comparison to this guy (see the first photo for a young one.)
A female quail caught mid step on a bench (above) and a male below.
Wickham Works Cards Update:
It’s been a couple days since my website went live for my photographic greeting cards. I mailed out my first order to a fellow blogger. Thank you!
I went out to dinner with women I used to volunteer with to raise money for a residential facility to rehab sex-trafficked victims. Our group is defunct, but we still get together socially. One of those ladies looked at my cards and asked for custom stationery featuring her name and flowers.
Yes, I can take custom orders, too! I hadn’t thought about that before.
Gulls are a common sight at the beach. I discovered our California beaches have a species called Western Gull. They are scavengers. Picnics or snacks will be raided by these plucky birds if you’re not on guard.
They can be found at ocean beaches and marinas, especially near fish cleaning stations or harbor restaurants. Western Gulls’ average lifespan is 15 years. They often mate for life and their offspring mature at four years. Their clutch each breeding season is one to three eggs. The male and female share incubating duties and feeding their chicks.
SIZE:
Length: 22.1-26.0 in (56-66 cm) Weight: 28.2-44.1 oz (800-1250 g) Wingspan: 47.2-56.7 in (120-144 cm)
This fellow survived losing a leg.
APPEARANCE:
Mature adults have a white body, dark gray or black backs and upper wings. They have a red spot on their beak which means they are of breeding age. The spot gets brighter during breeding season. Also, chicks peck the red spot to be fed and the adult regurgitates food for them.
These gulls were hanging out at surf camp for kids. They probably learned that snacks might be left or dropped.
FOOD:
The gull has been known to eats birds, eggs, nestlings, fish, invertebrates and decomposing carcasses. If food is not readily available at the sea, they may visit dumps and eat trash. They catch their food while flying, swimming or walking along the shore.
LOCATION:
Map from All About Birds
NESTING:
Both male and female will scrape out a nest near a windbreak like a rock or driftwood. Or they may nest in rocky shores where their nest will be hidden from predators. Their nests are about 12 inches across with the inside bowl six inches across. The Western Gulls line their nest with grasses, seaweed, weeds and feathers.
According to All about Birds, the Long-billed Curlew is America’s largest shore bird. We see them every day during our beach walks near Santa Barbara, California. I’ve seen three types of birds I used to call Sandpipers, but have identified one species as Willets and the second identified is the Curlew. I’m still working on identifying the third one.
SIZE:
Length: 19.7-25.6 in (50-65 cm)
Weight: 17.3-33.5 oz (490-950 g)
Wingspan: 24.4-35.0 in (62-89 cm)
APPEARANCE:
The Long-billed Curlew is a speckled cinnamon and brownish bird with flecks of white. It’s chest and belly are light a solid light cinnamon color. It has a touch of pink at the base of it’s bill. Males and females look similar but the females beak is slightly longer and more curved than the male.
LOCATION:
FOOD:
When the Long-billed Curlew are not inland, they forage along the shore eating marine life such as shrimp, crab and other crustaceans as well as worms and mollusks. Their long, curved bill helps them forage for earthworms and other prey that burrows underground. Inland in grassy or muddy areas they will use their long bills to eat insects including grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars and spiders.
NESTING:
Long-billed Curlews are not monogamous for life but are for each breeding season. They may get back together for later breeding seasons. The males make several scrapes in the ground in dry areas. The female chooses which scrape she wants as their nesting place. Then they both complete the nest together digging it out deeper. Then they line it together with bark, feathers, grasses or other material. After two to three weeks after the eggs hatch, the female takes off and the male raises the chicks.
Red stayed away for another five days, but Mrs. was here every day. I wonder if Red got into a fight because he has a black spot on the side of his head he didn’t have before. But I did read that Cardinals molt once a year, so maybe that’s it. Or, I have a new bird altogether. Fortunately, he stopped by this week several times a day. My neighbor has promised to keep the birds fed while we’re out of town.
Good news. Red is looking more normal each day and keeps on visiting our backyard.
At least Mrs. is always around which makes me feel good!
A neighbor told me I should name this quail dad “Lucky.”
Lucky visits every day with his wife and three babies. Somehow he lost his tail, but he is still standing strong. That’s how he earned his name.
This is a Mourning Dove at our new bird bath. I left the old one empty when we visited our son and daughter-in-law because I didn’t want it to become a breeding ground for mosquitos. Normally I change the water every day. So the end of the story is that the old bird bath didn’t survive in the heat being dry. A resin coating splintered and peeled leaving an unhealthy mess for the birds.
A Gila Woodpecker hopped on for a ride.
Another look at Red and Mrs. before we leave for our beach vacation.
Last but not least, it was Waffles the pug’s 10th birthday this week. It seems like yesterday he celebrated birthday number one while we were on our beach vacation! These two photos were taken at our friends’ house in Santa Barbara for Waffles first birthday.
My daughter made flyers and held a party for Waffles in a park near her apartment. She gave flyers to friends, co-workers, her favorite coffee shop and hung them on telephone poles in her neighborhood. She invited everyone with dogs or not and promised dog treats for all dogs. She had a crowd that included her friends and families and even a group of eight-year-old boys she didn’t know who wrapped presents for Waffles. Everyone thought it was a perfect family-friendly evening at the park and want to meet every week.
The old man Waffles with gray hair at age 10.
What photos do you like? What do you think is up with Red’s head?
