Critters

I asked GROK why the tail isn’t red in my photo. This was the answer:

The tail isn’t red because this is almost certainly a juvenile (immature) Red-tailed Hawk.

Why Juveniles Lack the Red Tail

Age-related plumage: Red-tailed Hawks do not acquire their signature brick-red tail until they are about 1–2 years old, during their first major molt into adult plumage. Juveniles (first-year birds) have brown tails with multiple dark horizontal bars/bands.
In your photo (taken from below while soaring), the tail shows this typical juvenile pattern — brownish with barring — rather than the solid or mostly rufous/red color of adults.

This is one of the most reliable ways to age them in the field. Adults usually show a bright reddish tail from above (and often a paler reddish tone from below), though lighting, angle, and subspecies can affect how vivid it appears.

Photo information:

• Camera – Canon EOS Rebel SL3,
• Exposure – 1/400 sec.,
• Aperture – F7.1,
• ISO – 100,
• Focal Length – 155mm,
• Lens – Canon EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM.

Here’s a trio of shots taken in the last couple of days:

First, the squirrels seem to like the peanuts (not indigenous to AZ) we toss their way.

Cardinals are quite visible in the desert. This guy was singing to his mate a while back from the top of a nearby utility pole. It looked like a red whistle way up yonder.

This Collared Dove is the third most frequently seen of the doves that visit; first the Mourning Doves and then the White-Winged Doves followed by the Collared.

30 Apr 2026: Squirrel and another Peanut:

Click on any image to enlarge.

During my morning stroll with the camera, I walked behind the big RV to check stuff out on that side. Lo and behold, a cactus wren was perched just above the back wall on one of the cholla there. I got this photo before it flew away. It and another (several 3-4?) were tending to both cactus wren nests they have established there.

I continued my walk over the usual places I go in the mornings and when I looked back toward the cholla, a couple of wrens were on the top nest with strings and feathers, ostensibly to embellish the nests for the coming spring. Yes, that is dental floss being used for some of the nest material. We recycle ours in the backyard explicitly for this sort of purpose.

Click on either image to view enlarged.