A male cardinal “hiding” behind dead cholla branches:
A pair of cactus wrens on the block feeder:
A house finch looking at the camera:
Finally, a white-tailed antelope ground squirrel foraging:
Click on the images to enlarge.
Arizona
House Sparrows
During the morning walk, I saw several small birds flitting about up where the feeders are located in back of the house and RV drive. I took a photo of one of them perched on a rosemary shrub back there and another photo of three up in the denuded mesquite tree where some of the feeders hang.
I looked at the photos after downloading them and saw that the birds were House Sparrows (Passer domesticus). There are usually many of these birds present around the feeders most of the time during the day unless there is a predator about.
More about the House Sparrow at All About Birds:
House Sparrows aren’t related to other North American sparrows, and they’re differently shaped. House Sparrows are chunkier, fuller in the chest, with a larger, rounded head, shorter tail, and stouter bill than most American sparrows.
Male House Sparrows are brightly colored birds with gray heads, white cheeks, a black bib, and rufous neck – although in cities you may see some that are dull and grubby. Females are a plain buffy-brown overall with dingy gray-brown underparts. Their backs are noticeably striped with buff, black, and brown.
Clickable photos below . . .
Camera – Canon EOS Rebel SL3 with EF-55-250 lens at 250mm. (P)rogram Automatic camera mode, autofocus. Images cropped and resized. Click to enlarge.
Backyard Critters Eating
Several times a week, kitchen scraps are tossed into the little wash area behind our retaining wall out back. Rather than sending the scraps to the landfill, we figure the desert critters will benefit from them more.
An Antelope Squirrel snacking on a cashew:
A Desert Cottontail Rabbit snacking on the heel from a loaf of bread:
Of course, there are other critters in that area including Quail, Thrashers, Cardinals, etc. all too camera shy for me to get a good photo this time. Click on images to enlarge.
George Washington’s Birthday
Flying the flags over the house on Washington’s Birthday. Click to enlarge.
Spring Song
This 10 second video is of a Curve-Billed Thrasher singing what sounds like a mating call. It’s not the usual loud “weee-weet-tweet” that we hear during other times of the year. Could it be that we’re getting an early spring about four weeks ahead of schedule? The forecast for our part of Arizona calls for 80° temperatures by the weekend.
AS you can see from the video, holding the camera steady at 250mm zoom is difficult without a bi- or tripod. I made this video today with my Canon EOS Rebel SL3 and the EF 55-250mm lens. I am still experimenting with and getting used to making videos with the Canon camera.
Bird Feeders
This morning, I went up on the little hill behind the RV Drive to replenish the various birdseed feeders we have up there. The feeders attract birds and other wildlife to the small area of natural, unimproved desert. We enjoy seeing the varieties of critters that come around.
Whilst on the hill after the replenishments, I took photos of our feeders with the Camera Phone*. These are listed below along with the photos.
First up is the “Pagoda;” it hangs in the mesquite tree up on the hill:
Next, is the “Rotunda” which also hangs in the mesquite with an elongated “S” hook on one of the branches:
Our biggest bird feeder is the “Bird Church” hanging in the same tree from a short “S” hook:
The Nyjer Seed Feeders hang from a double crook toward the front (house side) of the hill:
Finally, the Seed Wheel, the Block and the Bell feeders are on another crook a bit further back from the house”
Click on any image to enlarge.
*The phone camera is a Samsung S23.
