Tag Archives: wildlife photography

Visits to the backyard

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I was thrilled to see this cactus in bloom. But then a rabbit stopped by and ate the bud on top. It didn’t get a chance to bloom.

Red was mixing it up with the quail families.

One of the many families of quail who stopped by over the weekend. We have families with tiny babies up to teenagers now. The smallest family has two babies, another has three, then we have those with six, seven up to 10 babies.

A lone baby quail. One little guy flew up to the windowsill and hung out by me.

I took this with my iphone sitting at my little table. Eventually he flew down to catch up with his siblings and mom and dad.

I’m not sure, but I think this is a Desert Spiny Lizard after looking at photos of Arizona lizards.

A House Finch observes the scene in the backyard. It was a busy weekend for birds. I did get a photo using my iphone of a Harris’s Hawk eating it’s kill on top of a saguaro. But I thought better of sharing it. It’s kind of gross looking.

Red says “What are you guys looking at?”

I have a week of doctors appointments and driving my husband to PT. I even have one appointment for myself.

What’s on your agenda for this week?

Bird of the Week

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Bird of the Week: CLXVIII

Gila Woodpecker
Melanerpes uropygialis

  • ORDER: Piciformes
  • FAMILY: Picidae
  • SIZE: The adult is 8 to 10 inches long (20-25 cm) and weights 3.5 oz (68 gm).

We have several Gila Woodpeckers in our backyard. The males (photo above) have a patch of bright red feathers on top of their heads, while the females do not.

I had to get rid of my hummingbird feeder because the Gila Woodpeckers would attach themselves to it and drain it in an hour. The hummingbirds never got a chance.

Normally, they eat insects, berries and cactus fruit. They also like the birdseed I put out for my backyard birds.

They live in the deserts of the southwest US and Mexico. They make their nests in Saguaro cactus digging out a hole and allowing it to dry out for several months before moving in. That makes a solid casing around the nest.

This is a saguaro in our back yard with several nests made by Gila Woodpeckers. After they are done raising their young, they abandon their nest and other birds will claim the cavity nest as their own. Those birds include elf and pygmy owls, flycatchers, Cactus Wrens and other species.

Here are a male and female hanging out on a tree. Gila Woodpeckers are monogamous and mate for life. They have strong head and neck muscles so they are able to withstand the shock of pounding their bills into trees and other materials. Often we hear them pecking the metal top to our fireplace.

With their black and white zebra striped back and their loud call, they are easy to spot or hear.

Here are recordings of their call from All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gila_Woodpecker/sounds

The birds in my backyard use the pink flamingo as a perch.

Neighborly Neighbors

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A cactus in the backyard with a bee enjoying the one-day bloom.

I learned something nice the first week of my husband’s surgery. We have a lot of kind and thoughtful neighbors. My husband got phone calls. People called me for updates on his surgery.

Then our friends from Palm Springs who moved a mile from us, three months after we moved here, called to say they were bringing over a treat. It was a pork loin roast with apple chutney and polenta. The husband is following Chef Jean-Pierre and is getting some amazing results from the chef’s recipes. What a treat. We got several meals. And I didn’t have to cook.

You can check out Chef Jean-Pierre at his website HERE.

Then another friend/neighbor came over to visit my husband and sit and chat. He’s been having his own medical challenges. He’s had a variety of diagnoses the last few months from rare autoimmune disorders to the doctors not having a clue. He said he finally got a diagnosis and it was something quite simple. Iron Deficiency.

When I heard that, I told him I would make him pate. Post my DIL’s surgery and six months of chemo, she was suffering from Iron Deficiency too. Our kids and DIL were coming to visit and I found a recipe for pate that she said she could feel the iron rushing into her blood. It includes chicken livers, butter, scallions, garlic, capers, thyme, brandy and heavy cream.

He was thrilled and said he’d be over with his famous ribs and corn and we’d exchange goodies.

Now those are good neighbors!

Another cactus with a one-day bloom I captured.

A hummingbird sat still and posed so I could get a few shots.

What do your neighbors or friends do for you to help out when needed?

Bird of the Week — Roadrunner

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CLXVII

Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)

Our largest cuckoo, this bird is characterized by a long tail, streaked appearance, frequently erected shaggy crest, and a blue and orange bare patch of skin behind the eyes. It is capable of running very rapidly across the ground (15 mph) and rarely flies. Like all cuckoos, the Roadrunner is a zygodactyl bird (it has 2 toes pointing forward and 2 toes backward).
–Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum


Roadrunners are found in Southwest United States and Northern Mexico. They prefer arid semi-arid areas. They do not migrate, maintaining territories in California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of Utah, Colorado, and Mexico.

They eat mostly animals, anything they can catch including rodents, lizards, scorpions, frogs and birds and eggs. Fruit, seeds and other plant material make up for 10% of their diet.

Size:

  • Length: 20.5-21.3 in (52-54 cm)
  • Weight: 7.8-19.0 oz (221-538 g)
  • Wingspan: 19.3 in (49 cm)

Sounds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Roadrunner/sounds

Babies!

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Momma quail with a few babies. We have three different quail families visiting our backyard every day. The tiniest ones are a family with three babies. I spotted them for the first time Friday. They are so adorable! Then there is a family with seven babies and one with eight.

Aren’t they cute?

Today we left the house at 5:15 a.m. to take my husband to surgery. I spent Sunday stressing about it. Not only am I worried about him, I’m worried about my own anxiety getting out of control. I have to drive him home from surgery, plus to follow up appointments and PT. I’m not a fan of driving here and once in a while I get a bout of driving anxiety. I think I’m talking myself into it as I sit and worry.

Hence, I’m focusing on cute baby quail.

Here’s to a speedy recovery for my husband and no driving anxiety for me!

Here’s a video off these little guys:

What’s on your week’s schedule?

Photos of the Week

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“Something to talk about.” Red and friends.

These are birds and the squirrel that I photographed in the last week or two. I never get tired of watching and photographing them. I am not posting the quail babies or momma and papa quail, since Wednesday’s Bird of the Week was all about quail.

This is my favorite photo I’ve ever taken of Mrs. I posted it on a photography group I follow on Nextdoor and it was selected as the featured photo of the week. Someone commented and asked me how I knew it was a Mrs. and not a Mr. Well, as you can see Red looks a little bit different than Mrs. I think people who aren’t familiar with Northern Cardinals don’t recognize the female as one.

This is a Harris’s Antelope Squirrel heat dumping. Stretching out and lying on his tummy is how they cool down in the heat.

Our backyard bully, the Curve-Billed Thrasher.

Another bully bird, a Gila Woodpecker.

A House Finch resting on a cactus.

My second most favorite photo of Mrs. I love her olive-green color.

Red is wondering why he has to share birdseed with the squirrel.

I love Bonnie Raitt and this is a great song. I’ll never forget the news story in 2025 when she won her 13th Grammy for “Just Like That.” The reporter wrote about how an “unknown” won Song of the Year.

Happy Friday! What are your plans for this weekend?

What is your favorite photo and why?

What a surprise!

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The quail family with Momma, Papa and seven babies were right outside my window. But I didn’t see them. I was too busy taking pictures of Red. He was flitting from the cactus statue to the fire stick plant. His bright color captured my attention.

My husband sat down next to me and I said referring to Red, “Look out the window!”

“Itty bitties,” he said.

I thought he was referring to the handful of house sparrows darting to and from the birdbath.

He repeated himself and I finally looked and saw the quail babies! Our first family this Spring. I was thrilled!

I watched as a few daring babies wandered out of the group looking for food. Most stayed clumped together following mom and dad. I took a ton of photos, but they moved so fast only a few photos turned out. I love their cute little mohawks that someday will become topknots.

I checked our dozen eggs in a planter and they remain unhatched. I’m afraid the parents abandoned the nest after being frightened away.

A dozen quail eggs remain in a planter of elephant feed. I don’t have the heart to throw them out, in the slight chance the parents return.

In the meantime, I was so excited to have my first quail babies in our backyard. They waddled away and jumped through the fence into the wash behind our house. I hope the family returns and I get to practice taking photos of the itty bitty ones.

Have a wonderful weekend. What exciting plans do you have?