tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55381012012-01-30T06:04:50.902-08:00A nature journal incorporating back yard birding observations and experiences at Tohono Chul Park, a 49-acre desert oasis in northwest Tucson, Arizona.KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.comBlogger2571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-4100092214197736542012-01-20T06:11:00.001-08:002012-01-20T06:11:56.917-08:00

Yesterday I went to Whitewater Draw, near Willcox (home of Rex Allen!) on a tour with Tohono Chul Park to see the Sandhill Cranes, literal snowbirds who visit this area each winter. The cranes are so impressive. Around eleven every morning thousands of them come in for an early roost. They fly into the area in wave after wave—most in formations (a “V”), some in small groupings or singly. This

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-77817766676282271202011-12-27T07:17:00.001-08:002011-12-27T07:17:13.025-08:00

Though fall migration is over and spring migration is several weeks away, we’ve had some terrific birding at the Park during the last two weeks. This beautiful Harris hawk, hanging out in the big eucalyptus at the north end of the Park was a nice surprise. In addition to the Harris hawk, we’ve seen the following “regulars” and winter visitors: Abert’s towhee, green-tailed towhee, black-tailed

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-39102002370319811602011-12-06T08:21:00.001-08:002011-12-06T08:23:09.652-08:00

We’re having strange weather—according to NOAA, the coldest start to December since they’ve been keeping records. There’s been a fair amount of rain and it’s been quite cold—January cold. A couple of mornings ago we had a fog attack. It was stunning—you couldn’t see farther than across the yard. It was actually rather beautiful, though eerie: All the birds looked cold. Here are some quail. And

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-22542783161866607792011-08-31T10:24:00.001-07:002011-08-31T10:28:22.782-07:00

I love, love, love cactus wrens, which are not only the State Bird of Arizona, they are the largest wrens in North America. Many visitors to the Park are astounded at how big they are (around 8-9 inches). “That’s a wren?” Cactus wrens are bold and sassy, seemingly not much afraid of humans. Their voices are loud and raucous, with many calls, ranging from a guttural croak that sounds like a car

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-90104204852789947032011-08-24T15:34:00.001-07:002011-08-24T15:39:04.987-07:00

The weather has been extremely humid and hot, but I’ve seen a number of really wonderful things at the Park during my last few visits. Every bird walk has resulted in at least one beautiful and sometimes unexpected bird. For example, a couple of days ago a visitor and I saw and heard a gorgeous curve-billed thrasher. She was new to birding, and was thrilled to see a bird she’d only heard about.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-55692312845603640562011-08-02T14:15:00.001-07:002011-08-12T13:28:20.291-07:00

I’m very sorry to report that the whitewing dove’s nest, so lovingly built by the hardworking parents, is no more. When I got to the Park yesterday morning, I saw that the winds of the previous night had shredded it. Then I looked down, below the nest, to see a sad sight:                                                                               While I was photographing the broken eggs, the

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-91995247232744403522011-07-26T08:59:00.001-07:002011-08-12T13:32:52.091-07:00

A big tentlike canvas structure shades the Overlook, which is where we meet for all Park tours, and where we hold Reptile Ramble. Yesterday I watched a pair of whitewing doves building a nest atop one of the pillars that holds up the shade. White winged doves building nest Daddy’s on the left; mom is on the right. She stayed on the nest the whole time I watched, alternately moving the twigs

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-75601141827710001362011-05-26T12:37:00.001-07:002011-08-05T14:48:25.139-07:00

Last September, I wrote about these two juvenile Costa’s hummingbirds who were uneasily sharing a feeder in our rose garden that hangs from a clothesline. This is such unusual hummer behavior that I thought they might be nest-mates who still shared a bond of sorts. This week, a pair of full-grown Costa’s hummers were sharing the same clothesline and the same feeder. See the picture below. My

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-32142225667076905152011-03-25T08:25:00.001-07:002011-08-05T14:45:07.609-07:00

This gorgeous butterfly is a giant swallowtail, also known as an “orange dog” for laying its eggs on citrus leaves. When I was out watering yesterday I saw this insect crawling on the ground. Clearly it would not survive out on the ground like that, so I picked it up and put it on my fatsia plant, in the shade and relative safety of the porch. It crawled onto a leaf and hung there as you see it

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-69784324690943097992011-02-04T08:31:00.001-08:002011-08-05T14:45:46.884-07:00

We have just gone through two of the coldest nights EVER in Tucson. Here’s my pond: Here’s the poor dead hummingbird that succumbed to hypothermia yesterday: There are a few hummers around today, fighting and feeding. I think my grapefruit tree is dead. It looks really awful. I can’t even bear to think about the hummingbirds out in the wild that have no source of nectar but frozen flowers.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-36870919885253609532011-01-21T11:13:00.001-08:002011-08-05T14:47:38.514-07:00

Did you ever wonder how birds like cactus wrens and curve-billed thrashers navigate cholla cactus without getting stuck? A couple of days ago I watched a curve-billed thrasher check out a cholla, probably seeking a good nesting site. Right after he landed on the end of a cholla segment, but before walking in and out of the cactus’ depths, he first folded his wings in an X in the back, making

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-9609404688283352932011-01-03T14:01:00.001-08:002011-08-05T14:49:36.966-07:00

I consider it very good luck that on the third day of the Year of the Rabbit, I saw a jackrabbit for the first time ever at the Park. At first, I thought the huge thing bounding away from me was a coyote. But bounding? And then there were the huge ears. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture, but I did snap this portrait of hare poop, which is bigger and lighter in color than bunny poop: About

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-86042581756586982902010-12-17T06:46:00.001-08:002011-08-05T14:51:21.515-07:00

On Mondays I rove from 8 AM to 11. This week the temperature started in the low forties and went up around twenty degrees. It was a beautiful, cloudless, windless day, and there were lots of birds all through the Park: pyrrhuloxias, Abert’s towhees, black-tailed gnat-catchers (a pair), a Cooper’s hawk, possibly a juvenile red-tailed hawk, and all the usual suspects: housefinches, lesser

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-74052976868291511552010-12-07T07:10:00.001-08:002011-08-05T14:52:42.966-07:00

The juvenile grossbeak I wrote about last week somehow made it through the hard freeze, and has returned to the area in the Park where it was originally captured, the Sundial Plaza, near the center of everything. I saw it this morning hopping around on the ground, and also jumping from (very low) branch to branch among some bushes. Its broken wing protrudes awkwardly from its side, but doesn’t

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-34613648956860145582010-11-29T14:35:00.001-08:002011-08-05T14:55:04.832-07:00

I haven’t been posting here often because so many of my nature observations are now made at Tohono Chul Park, where I’m a docent. I have decided to change the focus of my blog, and include what I see and hear at TCP. (This beautiful male Gambel’s quail was photographed at the Park.) Quick quail update: we regularly have more quail than I can count roosting in the front yard now.  Literally

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-79918494893037724272010-09-26T09:21:00.001-07:002011-08-05T14:56:05.305-07:00

Yesterday afternoon and this morning I saw something I’ve never seen before: two hummingbirds seemingly co-guarding one feeder. The feeder in question dangles from a clothesline in our small “rose garden,” a patio that is covered with shade cloth this time of year. I believe they are juvenile Costa’s. Both are often on the clothesline together. Sometimes they seem to take turns drinking from

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-21040977664476118372010-08-15T16:25:00.001-07:002011-08-05T14:57:18.464-07:00

I have added some beautiful colored pots to my shade garden, containing only hibiscus, Chaparral sage, and chiltepin, all of which I’m pretty sure will live here. Outside the garden, life continues with the quails. This was a very good year for them—many families are working on their second brood. Some of the large families are nearly intact, with near-adult chicks now. It’s quite amazing to

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-2488660439074263372010-07-15T11:43:00.001-07:002011-08-05T14:58:47.419-07:00

Wish I had newer quail photos. Oh, well.  A quick update. First, in the backyard, I have several families, not sure how many, ranging in size from 3 chicks to 15+. The chicks in the large family are probably junior high age by now. It’s amazing to me that the parents have managed to raise and protect so many. I’m assuming this is the family that started out with around 2 dozen hatchlings a few

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-6809463884828067582010-06-21T07:15:00.001-07:002011-08-05T14:59:50.820-07:00

Just a quick update on the critters I’ve been seeing at the Park. This beautiful snake is about a third of a longnosed snake I saw on a trail the other day… . These little guys are a family of round-tailed ground squirrels. The pups chase each other and wrestle like kittens or puppies. And speaking of pups, here are Pupfish, an endangered species we are breeding at the Park. They can live

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-80721101519227258642010-06-14T13:26:00.001-07:002011-08-05T15:15:50.266-07:00

I’ve been spending more time looking at nature at Tohono Chul Park than in my own backyard. But I am trying to keep an eye on the quail. There are still some roosting in the dorm tree out front, but I think most of them are with their young families. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen too many families, either here, or while out walking in the neighborhood, or in the Park. I don’t know if numbers are

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-81730491284723680892010-04-26T15:08:00.001-07:002011-08-05T15:17:06.343-07:00

There has been an active Costa’s hummingbird nest in a small oak tree near the education building at the Park. Everyone’s been saying for days that the two baby hummers are just about ready to leave the nest. Well, today was the day, and I got to watch! The first baby out was already on a branch about a foot from the nest when I got there: I watched it practice flying to another nearby branch:

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-33640400554474333352010-04-04T16:49:00.001-07:002011-08-05T15:18:47.922-07:00

More wildflowers! And a sex-crazed goldfinch! First, the wildflowers. Yesterday we went hiking in Catalina State Park, just on the other side of Pusch Ridge. About a mile and a half in and up a ridge, the hills are densely covered with poppies, lupine, and lots of other flowers: The crazed goldfinch is one I snapped in the parking lot at Tohono Chul. He was repeatedly attacking his own

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-68642502943309148982010-03-26T07:58:00.001-07:002011-08-05T15:20:14.686-07:00

We have a new five seasons garden at Tohono Chul Park. These lovely flowers are in the Spring Garden: The pink ones are penstemons, tiny trumpet flowers. We have some at home. The other evening I watched (through the living room window) as a hummingbird worked the penstemons methodically, going from flower to flower, top to bottom of one stalk, then moving to the next stalk, bottom to top, and

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-40929336950982673302010-03-13T08:32:00.001-08:002011-08-05T15:21:08.464-07:00

It’s starting up… the male quails are doing their aggressive chest-bumping (which they must have learned from watching the NBA), cardinals seem to be paired off, all kinds of birds are flying around with nesting materials in their beaks. At Tohono Chul Park, in a little gazebo in an undisclosed location, I photographed this lovely little mother hummingbird. I think she is a Costa’s but am not

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-45788369128818257942010-03-08T15:01:00.001-08:002011-08-05T15:22:41.897-07:00

I’m finally finished with my docent studies and will be working as a docent at Tohono Chul Park. So now I have time to return to nature blogging. Let me start with my bees. A swarm (which I found is actually called a cluster) of bees landed in our palo verde tree nearly three weeks ago. Based on reading, we assumed the bees would find a new place to live and move on soon. But they didn’t count

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-59380833720233726722010-01-23T10:55:00.001-08:002010-01-23T10:55:29.776-08:00

I have been ignoring the blog in favor of dealing with nature itself in my docent class. Most of the pictures I’ve been taking have been for purposes of plant identification. I hope to get back to blogging more regularly in the future. For now, here is some mistletoe from the Park… and two items of interest. First, the other night I counted 21 quails roosting in the front yard. One of the

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-4484994765341202352009-12-01T05:44:00.001-08:002009-12-01T05:44:44.145-08:00

In my Docent studies I've been trying to learn all the plants in our yard. It's a big yard--nearly an acre--and there are a lot of shrubs, scrubby plants and trees that I can't identify yet. Among the things I can identify are a barrel cactus (fishhook barrel) which actually is crestate (see picture) and a yucca, which I believe is soap-tree yucca, a plant that had great value to the native

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-14561400194268065072009-11-20T07:55:00.001-08:002009-11-20T07:55:47.393-08:00

We had a lecture on mammals in Geezergarten this week, followed by a live demonstration of a captive bobcat by a wildlife rehabilitator. This cat was on leash, and spent a lot of time alternating between eating bits of chicken and growling. Sometimes it looked just like a regular house cat. The rehabber told us that bobcats cannot be tamed, nor is this one tame. It has possible brain damage

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-70906720808598541092009-11-12T07:55:00.001-08:002009-11-12T07:55:04.432-08:00

Holy maroney! A moment ago I saw movement out in the bird garden—a Cooper’s hawk had trapped a quail in the corner of the fence. Her belly was ripped open. She was struggling. He stood on her for a few minutes. She continued to struggle. He took a firmer gripped, hopped once, and flew off with her in his talons.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-48161459514368419862009-11-12T05:39:00.001-08:002009-11-12T05:39:32.036-08:00

There are a huge number of quails roosting here. I haven’t counted any in a systematic way, but the other evening through the window I watched 13 quails go to roost in the olive tree outside my office window. Some walked up the longer branches and others flew straight up into an overhanging branch. In the front, several flew into the pyracantha bush (two flew ONTO the pyracantha bush, then

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-27543007928098528402009-10-29T09:31:00.001-07:002009-10-29T09:31:01.337-07:00

First, I haven’t done an exact head count, but there are a gazillion quails roosting in the front these days. I have definitely seen some—smaller ones—flying into the pyracantha bush to the right of the front porch as you face it (the dorm tree is on the left). I guess I’ll start thinking of the pyracantha as the dorm annex. Second, just had to post this photo from Geezergarten yesterday.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-49872957284667690502009-10-23T06:12:00.001-07:002009-10-23T06:12:12.875-07:00

At lunchtime, I took this photo of a very small desert spiny lizard sunning himself. He has such great protective coloration that you may not be able to see him: I also photographed a very calm male Costa’s hummingbird that allowed me to point my camera within a few inches of him: I also got a photo of a crestate barrel cactus. The crest at the top is the result of a genetic mutation.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-73562216547899456572009-10-21T20:18:00.001-07:002009-10-21T20:18:13.734-07:00

Today in Geezergarten, we got to watch a rattlesnake in the exhibit area. This was a large diamondback that had been caught in the Park and will be let go after it shows off a bit more. Our facilitator kept the snake in line with snake tongs, and you could see it was terrified. It spent almost the whole time (at least half an hour) rattling and alternately trying to escape, striking at the snake

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-55540452352281551422009-10-16T15:15:00.001-07:002009-10-16T15:15:35.098-07:00

I have attended presentations about reptiles and a captive Harris Hawk (rehabilitated, but can’t be released to the wild). Here is the hawk, Sueno: She is a gorgeous bird. The snake below is a hognosed snake, the one that plays dead by lying on its back: …and a coach-whip snake. The coach-whip can grow to be nine feet long, and is fast-moving, with bubble-gum pink coloration:

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-80345711261675356382009-10-08T13:56:00.001-07:002009-10-08T13:56:55.286-07:00

I’m going back to school. Yesterday was my first day studying to be a docent at Tohono Chul Park (http://www.tohonochulpark.org/gardens.html), a beautiful desert botanical garden near where we live. The training is very rigorous and time consuming—basically all day Wednesday and a few hours the rest of the week. Yesterday was my first day, and it was so much fun! I learned a few interesting

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-63001525115527500902009-10-08T13:40:00.001-07:002009-10-08T13:40:07.861-07:00

It’s fall! It’s cool! The white wing doves have all gone to Mexico! The baby quails are all grown! My only remaining problem is the nectar-eating bats, which have been draining my hummer feeders nightly. But this morning the two feeders I leave out still had a little fluid in them, so I think the bats are pretty well on their way to Mexico too. Yay!

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-5393452141520368872009-09-22T11:20:00.001-07:002009-09-22T11:20:10.938-07:00

Today is the first day of Fall, and the temps are peaking in the low to mid nineties, with dry air, so it’s very pleasant. The baby quails are mostly grown up now.  Some families were very successful, and raised ten or more chicks. Some of the chicks have full adult plumage (and look very handsome), while others are still sort of mottled as their adult feathers continue to come in. The hawk

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-7295672627106982902009-09-04T07:22:00.001-07:002009-09-04T07:22:14.844-07:00

We’ve gotten a few calls from people back east wanting to know what we’re doing about the hurricane. The answer is: thanking the Universe for it. August went down as one of the driest and hottest on record. We did get one major cloudburst here producing over an inch of water in about half an hour, but that was pretty much it for the month. So now, Hurricane Jimena’s remnants are moving in.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-11279687817227067332009-08-23T11:05:00.001-07:002009-08-23T11:05:56.126-07:00

The monsoon has returned briefly, and this morning it was incredibly humid before dawn. The air was literally filled with small flying bugs as I began my walk. A woman I encountered had taken off her hat and was using it to swat them away from her mouth. The bugs—flying ants, as we used to call them—were headed for one of several vortices, like very high dust devils, made up entirely of mating

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-18837740027881618692009-08-18T10:13:00.001-07:002009-08-18T10:13:53.751-07:00

  Of the snake kind, this time. As I came home from walking I saw a teeny-tiny king snake on the steps outside the front porch. He was seven or eight inches long and the diameter of a pencil. When I tried to move him with my walking stick, he coiled and began furiously vibrating his little tail. “I’m a big, scary rattlesnake!” he said. He slithered up the bricks and under the weather stripping,

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-80180272798682424922009-08-12T09:27:00.001-07:002009-08-12T09:27:52.727-07:00

This morning when I picked up my watering can I felt something crawling on my hand and saw, from the corner of my eye, big legs. I yelled and dropped the watering can along with the huge tarantula that had been on it or in it. Luckily, the spider wasn’t hurt, and I watched it for a while then ran for my camera. It walked fast, but very gently, as if floating. The two front legs, which are

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-81741980708140335692009-08-10T11:28:00.001-07:002009-08-10T11:28:23.107-07:00

My yellowbells are as high as an elephant’s eye. An African elephant. That would be ten feet tall (the elephant is eleven feet). I looked it up. In other news, the monsoon has gone missing again. It’s supposed to be back for a few days, then go away again. It has the guys at NOAA all flustered. One day last week one of the weatherman posted in the weather discussion: “Strange goings-on.” No

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-43626746556018294062009-08-04T07:21:00.001-07:002009-08-04T07:21:38.695-07:00

  But first! Barrel cacti are starting to bloom all over the neighborhood. Quail update: my babies are growing up.  Many of the adorable little fuzzy chicks have grown into gangly teenagers. In the very large families it is a crowded table around the quail block. The chicks still follow their parents, but you can see some of them striking out on their own, particularly when they aren’t

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-7960641410005583172009-08-01T08:23:00.001-07:002009-08-01T08:23:52.787-07:00

I was going to post—today! about the adolescent quail who was abandoned at some point and has apparently been living on my porch, where he can dart out to the quail block or pond between visits from hostile adult quails. I wasn’t sure where he was roosting—didn’t see any signs, but thought he might have been sleeping in the olive tree, behind the porch. This morning when I went out to

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-86563622887109937212009-07-26T10:13:00.001-07:002009-07-26T10:13:50.392-07:00

According to NOAA, we are about to experience a virtually unprecedented weather phenomenon in which, at the height of the monsoon, the whole southern wind pattern will shut down, the air will dry out, and temps will rise to Junelike highs. This starts tomorrow, and they don’t say when or if the monsoonal flow will return. It’s been very humid. This is the first year we turned on the a/c at

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-35198809161513407622009-07-18T12:31:00.001-07:002009-07-18T12:31:08.959-07:00

But first—have I mentioned that my pond is infested with bees? They come to soak themselves, then fly back to the hive, where they act as living cooler pads, standing around while other bees beat their wings, creating a cool, moist breeze. The ones that soak themselves gather on rocks in the pond, and, lately, around the mouth of my spitting turtle. There are hundreds of them.  Click for a

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-71190915312311325412009-07-13T08:14:00.001-07:002009-07-13T08:17:14.127-07:00

But first: fishook pincushion cacti are blooming all over the place. These little guys (mammillaria grahamii) are just a couple of inches tall, but they have big, candy-colored pink blooms. And now the Darwinian moment: A family of eleven was at the quail block (nine chicks). The parents stopped feeding and looked up, alert, then rushed over to the corner of the garden, where they started

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-36960321795223614152009-07-11T07:57:00.001-07:002009-07-11T07:57:06.877-07:00

The weather service has been forecasting a major heat wave that will dry things out and temporarily stop the monsoon. So I expected no rain yesterday. Around 6 PM the wind picked up, thunder began to roll, and the definition of torrential unspooled itself before our eyes. It was raining so hard you could barely see the cactus in the back of our property. The wind blew all this rain sideways.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-80649741840927379532009-07-04T08:11:00.001-07:002009-07-04T08:11:57.343-07:00

No pictures—just a quick update. There have been many quail families feeding at the quail block. The largest have about ten chicks, the smallest one. I’m guessing three is about the average. One family with eight chicks has one that is crippled—its left wing was dragging on the ground when it first appeared as a hatchling. I’ve been watching, expecting it to disappear like the little one-winged

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-69316105204537326812009-07-04T08:07:00.001-07:002009-07-04T08:07:27.343-07:00

Tohono Chul is a prime example of beautiful Sonoran desert vegetation. The gorgeous saguaro above is just off the trail we followed to see the cereus. The white-wing on top of the saguaro is one of many, many species that live in or visit the park. During this trip I also saw an oriole and a nighthawk as well as dozens of normal desert birds. Many cactus besides cereus bloom at sunset or at

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-45056780386749604372009-06-23T16:07:00.001-07:002009-06-23T16:07:57.956-07:00

I have noticed that adult males will attack straggling chicks. Today I saw something even scarier, though it was preceded by a very cute incident. There have been a lot of baby quails lately. This morning a family of ten hatchlings showed up. This afternoon, a family of nine hatchlings plus a single mom appeared. I don’t know if it was the same family as this morning. Anyway, the mama started

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-65458968839112772942009-06-21T08:50:00.001-07:002009-06-21T08:50:28.812-07:00

I water our young mesquite tree with a hose running slowly over a flat rock, to avoid digging a hole in the tree well. The other morning as I did other things around the garden I noticed a female hummer (maybe a Costa?) bathing on the mesquite rock. She laid herself out flat and wriggled around, making sure to get all parts wet. It was adorable. I managed to get a picture of it and another of

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-50029129094326638622009-06-14T10:31:00.000-07:002009-06-14T09:20:03.932-07:00

HAWK UPDATE The hawk is still around, though not nearly as frequently as before we put the shelter up. The other afternoon it appeared twice. Once, all the doves and quail exploded out from under the shelter about ten seconds before the hawk appeared. The second time, same thing but not everyone got the message. A couple of quail and one rabbit were caught under the pomegranate tree. All three

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-40252262324685665942009-06-04T06:29:00.001-07:002009-06-04T06:29:31.443-07:00

The cereus are all over the park, but most of them are along a circular trail (maybe 3/4 of a mile long) that winds through desert hills and washes. The path was illuminated by luminarias, paper bags holding candles. Many of the cereus have nameplates. The one above is named “Dorothy,” after a former girlfriend of the curator. He said it was not nepotism, as they are named after the person

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-1682076485500009402009-05-31T14:56:00.001-07:002009-05-31T14:56:31.239-07:00

Last night we went to “Bloom Night” at nearby Tohono Chul Park. This event is held every year to celebrate the once-yearly, one-night-only bloom of the Night-blooming Cereus, an otherwise unprepossessing cactus. I will have more posts about our adventures at Tohono Chul. According to the Curator of Plants, plants have a “chemical intelligence” that allows them to communicate with each other.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-82309285857283723292009-05-28T12:13:00.001-07:002009-05-28T12:13:25.916-07:00

My pond gets overrun with string algae, and there’s not much I can do about it. It’s worst in the early summer when the sun shines all the time. The algae look as if they’d be slimy to the touch, but they are not; they are soft and fibrous. The only way to get rid of them is to remove them manually. Every morning I spend a few minutes raking the pond.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-6198915705493547702009-05-25T10:22:00.001-07:002009-05-25T10:22:43.421-07:00

I have a cardinal feeder that is weighted so that only birds of a certain weight—cardinals and pyrrhuloxias—can feed from the perch.  The bird lands and the perch drops to just the right height, opening the feeding window. Heavier birds like doves cause the perch to drop too far, while lighter birds like finches and sparrows can’t get the perch to move at all. The other day I saw that a pair of

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-30988302877775204022009-05-18T15:15:00.001-07:002009-05-18T15:15:59.866-07:00

It’s getting hot early, and soon all the vibrant colors will be gone. So here are a few looks at what I’ve been seeing lately. Above is the palo verde in our front yard; below is a view of the neighborhood from our back yard. I realize that saguaro looks as if it could use some Viagra. And finally, a white-wing dove on a saguaro at sunrise.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-5675894319678823432009-05-12T16:40:00.001-07:002009-05-12T16:40:32.371-07:00

Well,  the big thing is that the baby quail have started appearing. I have one family of five or six, in which the chicks are all kindergarten or first grade, just starting to get their mohawks. Another family only has one chick, a little bitty thing that looks as if it hatched maybe a couple of days ago. I wonder what happened to the rest of the eggs? I haven’t seen the mockingbird again, but

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-77154534523528524022009-05-06T13:07:00.001-07:002009-05-06T13:07:21.253-07:00

…or maybe not. We got home from errands this morning to find a flyer in our mailbox: MOUNTAIN LION SIGHTING ON CAMINO PADRE 26 lb dog killed on Thurs Apr 30th Sighting Sat morning while walking Officer from Game and Fish came out and found coyote, Javelina and Bobcat tracks. There was also a photo of a mountain lion (like the one above, from the AZ Game and Fish Dept.) and contact

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-57712834375325048862009-05-04T15:45:00.001-07:002009-05-04T15:45:58.094-07:00

Mexican Bird of Paradise        Orange Bells (related to Yellow Bells and to Cape Honeysuckle)   Pink-flowers bush (I don’t know its name but it is in the back yard.) Hanging geranium. And last, but not least:   Purple prickly pear (at the neighbors’ house)

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-17144116034673760912009-04-29T09:24:00.001-07:002009-04-29T09:24:52.497-07:00

QUAIL. Last night I sat on the porch and counted quails into the dorm tree. I counted eight, but at least two sneaked in from the side. These days the birds I see, including these, are mostly paired up. So I guess they haven’t started their broods yet. I’m assuming they would sleep on the nest. ROADRUNNER.  We see roadrunners pretty often on our walks around the neighborhood. The other

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-5164035898115074002009-04-24T11:13:00.001-07:002009-04-24T11:13:48.229-07:00

We put a hawk shield up a few days ago. It consists of a small frame with a roof of shadecloth. The quail block is underneath it. We were worried that the birds would no longer use the quail block, but they apparently love the shade. I haven’t seen the hawk since we put the shield up, but that may be a coincidence. When startled, the birds all explode out from underneath the shelter. I am

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-84495063137599773542009-04-18T15:47:00.001-07:002009-04-18T15:47:51.314-07:00

After giving away literally dozens of lemons from our two lemon trees (one, the dorm tree, is a Meyer lemon tree), and after removing untold more dozens of lemons that had fallen on the ground, and after having used a few dozen ourselves, we turned the trees (and a small orange tree) over to a harvester from The Community Food Bank. It took him about five hours, but he told us he took away nearly

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-27734508321411422009-04-13T13:52:00.001-07:002009-04-13T13:52:30.283-07:00

Sabino has changed a lot since I moved back here twenty years ago. So many big old trees are gone, but this is how nature designs it. The damage from the floods has been pretty much repaired, but if you look closely you can see where the huge rockslides occurred, and there are a number of places where the rock face has been bolted down, like this (next to the water): Still, of course, a

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-39092757185330453542009-04-05T15:08:00.001-07:002009-04-05T15:08:40.863-07:00

These are some of the flowers that are blooming around our house these days: Salvia Brittle bush Yellow bells Roses Bougainvillea A bunch of other things are also blooming, including the citrus trees, the pomegranate tree, aloes, ocotillo, and several things that I don’t know the names of. The best are the citrus trees because they smell so beautiful.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-48589355223882986612009-03-28T15:13:00.001-07:002009-03-28T15:13:02.334-07:00

Yesterday morning a large number of quail were feeding at the quail block when they suddenly exploded, flying off in all directions. A moment later the hawk landed on the back fence, then took off after a slow-to-get-going quail. I ran outside, and saw the hawk flying alone,  so hopefully the quail got away. We are going to put in a shade cloth canopy—a kind of carport for the quail over the

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-7409670913327347822009-03-22T15:34:00.001-07:002009-03-22T15:34:42.872-07:00

A couple of weeks ago some friends and I visited Sabino. We took the tram up to the top and walked down. These are some of the birds we saw: Canyon Wren, Verdin, Hutton’s Vireo, and Cardinal. A lovely male cardinal posed at the side of the road, near the top. I’m showing him here because they never come to my garden anymore, for some sad reason. Though I do get plenty of pyrrhuloxias:

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-34474399276504862142009-03-16T16:19:00.001-07:002009-03-16T16:19:03.201-07:00

This picture is from the southwest looking northeast, rather than my usual view from the south. Everything is really starting to shape up. The pomegranate tree is all leafy, and has a couple of buds (the rabbits ate one). The yellow bells will bloom soon. In a couple of weeks or so it will be too hot for the beautiful petunias, and I’ll think about replacing them with zinnias.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-88953235777709366762009-03-09T16:03:00.001-07:002009-03-09T16:03:47.618-07:00

  Spring is definitely in the air. On our morning walks, and also by the pond, I’m seeing more and more quail in pairs or even singles, though there are still large groups, mostly at the quail block.  This morning I saw a group of maybe two dozen, with two males standing guard at opposite ends of the fence. Then later, saw a male and a female patrolling the brick wall above our rose garden. I

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-81058110764527092842009-03-04T13:53:00.001-08:002009-03-04T13:53:38.517-08:00

Well, Mr. Packrat just left with three or four of our rats…. Because we live in the desert, we get a lot of them around the house. They leave their droppings everywhere and their nests are very messy, crammed with debris and food. Sticks and chewed-up cactus pads along with cactus and other fruits are usually the first sign of their presence. Or, as Mr. Packrat puts it, first they move in the

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-85130901256012864172009-02-27T15:47:00.001-08:002009-02-27T15:47:15.100-08:00

Another of the amazing things at the Butterfly Exhibit was the small collection of carnivorous plants. If you have never seen “Little Shop of Horrors,” the reference in this title will escape you. It refers to “Audrey,” the carnivorous plant taken care of by the nebbishy protagonist of the musical. Audrey turns out to be an alien from outer space, waiting to take over the world. Anyway, a couple

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-57558753651990393472009-02-19T14:57:00.001-08:002009-02-19T14:57:53.410-08:00

  I considered calling this post “Death from Above,” which is just as accurate. This morning I was at the computer before dawn. When it was still quite dark out, I could see some birds and rabbits at the quail block. Then, suddenly, a huge shape dropped from the sky—the hawk! It grabbed one of the birds and had a fierce struggle with it against the chain-link fence, while everyone else scattered

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-48531381777105947742009-02-17T15:40:00.001-08:002009-02-17T15:40:31.072-08:00

  I’m actually very interested in bug sex. In the summer in the early morning, especially after a rain,  swarms of tiny insects gather in spirals twenty or more feet high to meet and greet—a kind of insect singles dance. As you walk, you can see new insects heading for the  swarm, sometimes from a block or so away. I don’t know what they are, or if they die after having sex, but their singles

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-16966568087553829392009-02-12T14:15:00.000-08:002009-02-12T14:25:43.885-08:00

I have so much to say that I have been paralyzed about saying it. For now, two things: First, it's been a very warm and somewhat wet winter. I have not seen any cardinals in my backyard for a good eight months now. And a young hawk visits my garden a few times every day. More about him anon. Second, I visited the butterfly exhibit at the Botanical Garden a month ago. It was as stunning this year

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-21772797384032524672008-11-21T12:36:00.000-08:002008-11-21T12:43:29.569-08:00

Last night I decided to sit out on the porch and watch the quails roost. Nobody appeared till nearly dark and then all of a sudden at least fourteen showed up! Twelve of them, as near as I could see, roosted in the dorm tree. Two scurried off to the west to roost in parts unknown. Above is a repeat photo of the dorm tree. It looks pretty big, but twelve quails are a LOT of quails.

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-65994871926000198632008-11-19T14:01:00.000-08:002008-11-19T14:10:54.260-08:00

Cactus meltdown! I'm very sorry to report that our beautiful, multi-headed golden barrel cactus in the backyard has succumbed to some form of disgusting rot. I have spoken to experts at two different places; one said it was an insect and would spread if I didn't spray insecticide all over the place, while the other said it is the result of a pathogen in the soil that can grow if there is too much

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-48558257549819368792008-10-30T14:31:00.000-07:002008-10-30T14:48:03.129-07:00

DAILY BIRDS Nothing too exciting or unusual has happened lately. The weather is still very warm for late October (though not unprecedentedly so)--up to ninety most days, then cooling down to the sixties in the morning. Quail continue to visit my quail block, and the pond area often hosts thrashers, sparrows, house finches, goldfinches, starlings, the occasional cardinal and pyrrhuloxia (their

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-5566983021925212712008-10-22T15:09:00.000-07:002008-10-22T15:19:11.787-07:00

PREDATORS! As we were out walking two days ago two large hawks (I think they were both Cooper's) swooped overhead, and on the way back a young coyote came trotting out of the scrub right in my path. The coyote and I both did a double-take and he or she immediately retreated. I said, little realizing how true this would prove to be, that the theme of the day seemed to be predators. That night,

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-91159689373375926362008-10-10T13:37:00.000-07:002008-10-10T13:55:14.681-07:00

A couple of Cooper's hawks have taken to visiting my pond area in the morning. One is an adult, the other a juvenile, and neither is banded. I do not know their sexes, but they are beautiful, magnificent, fierce birds. This morning the juvenile landed by the pond and drank so I could get a good look at it. Then it flew up to the fence, posed some more, and flew away. Every morning now I find

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-43183439215255583972008-09-27T11:22:00.000-07:002008-09-27T11:22:00.731-07:00

ODDS and ENDS. I'm going to take a moment to answer some questions left by Dale. First, about the logistics of the house, oleanders, trees, etc.: the above picture shows the house from the front. The house faces (very roughly south). There are lines of oleanders along the property lines to both the east and the west (right and left, respectively, as you face the house). The dorm tree is just to

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-78488273830122714082008-09-20T14:52:00.000-07:002008-09-20T14:52:01.112-07:00

Update on the quail roosting in my tree: Last night I watched two sets of four quail approach the tree, but as I wasn't on the porch couldn't tell if they roosted in it. I thought they were my regular quail. A few minutes later I moved out onto the porch, and lo and behold, along came another two sets of four each! These were my regular quail. First, two pairs of male and female. They are

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-47638262789086046492008-09-13T13:00:00.000-07:002008-09-13T13:00:00.597-07:00

Two things: First, this is another beautiful cactus flower from our front yard. The cactus itself is spherical--about the size and shape of a very large canteloupe. I looked through my nature books and did some Internet research, but couldn't identify it. I think it may be a gymnocalycium or possibly a mammalaria, but I haven't seen other striped flowers like this.  WILL ANYONE READING THIS WHO

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-41317085380068042332008-09-07T13:57:00.000-07:002008-08-23T14:01:34.982-07:00

A quickie, before I forget. Most cacti bloom late spring (prickly pear) or early summer (sahuaros). For some reason barrel cacti bloom in the late summer. We have lots of barrels on our property, including the beautiful golden barrels, which I have never seen in flower. These pics are of two barrels just east of our driveway. There are others with somewhat different colors, but all are shades of

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-20697874252324813412008-09-07T13:47:00.000-07:002008-09-07T13:47:00.365-07:00

QUAIL UPDATE! I'm back to my obsessive evening quail watching, except that I'm watching the front yard from inside the house because it is still too hot and humid to go out on the porch, except briefly. I'm a little confused about what's what, but here is what I know. Until maybe a week ago, a large family of quail (I counted eleven) headed off toward the neighbors' yard every evening fairly

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-12791566807759706212008-09-01T12:00:00.000-07:002008-09-01T12:00:02.064-07:00

A few weeks ago when I was watering my shade garden (see picture), I was startled by a fairly large (around 2 ft) king snake uncoiling. He moved pretty fast to get away from the water. He was there the next day and the next. I looked for him both days but didn't see him until he'd been disturbed by the watering. I never saw him again (except once out by the pond) and assumed he had moved because

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-215666701142421792008-08-20T13:00:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:00:00.879-07:00

Who knew?     The other morning we went on a bird walk at Agua Caliente Park, a county park out east near Mt. Lemmon. I had heard of it, but never seen it. And I was dazzled. The park is on the grounds of an old cattle ranch. There are several huge ponds, fed by a perennial hot spring.     According to signage, there were once two springs, one very hot, one cold. In an effort to increase the flow

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-59495863745539839592008-08-15T11:36:00.000-07:002008-08-15T11:36:00.276-07:00

Last night I saw SEVEN birds head for the "dorm tree" out front. A few moments later a very large family group with at least eight half-grown chicks suddenly dropped onto the driveway in front from the air. I have no idea where they came from or why they were flying. They milled about a bit, then headed east to roost. I'm pretty sure they are roosting in the oleanders just north of our bedroom,

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-87362083848358974382008-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:002008-08-10T09:00:01.692-07:00

A CHEERIER QUAIL POST      I've taken to watching the front yard late in the afternoon, because it is beautiful (see the picture above) and because there's a lot of animal activity, cactus wrens, bunnies, lizards, and toward sunset quail. I've seen a lot of families scurrying homeward, wherever that may be.      The other night I saw a fairly large family seemingly heading toward the tree by my

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-77633209921751658332008-08-07T13:01:00.000-07:002008-08-07T13:01:13.206-07:00

     Okay; one more post on quails. Back when I was obsessively watching the families and trying to tell one from another, I noticed that one young quail in a very large family (I think there were 12 chicks) had been hatched with only one wing. At first he seemed to do just fine. He had that excited, curious, high-energy aspect that all baby birds seem to possess, and did well following his

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-55394308748601218442008-08-04T13:00:00.000-07:002008-08-04T13:00:00.308-07:00

    The main reason I've not been writing for a while is that I've had so much I wanted to discuss. I've decided to just do one thing at a time and see how that works. So... first, quail.      I have gotten to see many, many more quail than I would ever have dreamed of this summer. It appears that all the quails in the neighborhood have spread the word about my pond and quail block. I have an

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-59224260345760197532008-08-01T14:19:00.000-07:002008-08-01T14:24:21.976-07:00

MONSOON!      It came early in July, along with really spectacular (and hideously uncomfortable) humidity. We had a huge amount of rain here for the first couple of weeks: according to my rain gauge, nearly five inches (total for the whole monsoon is supposed to be six inches).      Then, nothing. It rained everywhere but this neighborhood for the rest of the month, though the humidity remained,

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-17060274050138116252008-06-20T16:12:00.000-07:002008-06-20T16:27:47.739-07:00

STILL WITH THE QUAIL. I've been spending a lot of time watching the quails. A LOT of time. I have many, many families. One seems to be a blended family of 10 or more chicks (started out with over 20) and two single fathers. They are all ages and all sizes. A few days ago I saw five teeny-tinies on the middle porch that might have just hatched. They were somewhere between thimbles and marshmallows

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-58706365617487752862008-06-07T13:49:00.001-07:002008-06-07T14:03:52.791-07:00

QUAILS, QUAILS, QUAILS...and more quails. We have a new quail block and lots of families of quail(s). Mostly they are two-parent families, but I think there's a single mom out there too. The largest group I've seen so far was a family with ten very tiny chicks. Today I saw a family with eight slightly-larger chicks, and think it may be the same family. There are at least two groups (grade school

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-65774205319378422072008-05-27T09:08:00.000-07:002008-05-27T09:32:50.040-07:00

This beautiful picture is used with permission from the photographer, Brian E. Small, whose website (http://www.briansmallphoto.com/index.html) contains not only awesome photos of birds but also several very useful articles on birding and photography.The photo shows a Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and the reason it is here is that one of these birds showed up in my pond area two days ago. I was at

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-38539346280830393842008-05-21T14:38:00.000-07:002008-05-21T14:58:35.440-07:00

We're having very weird weather this week... extreme wind, and I do mean extreme today and tomorrow, followed by much lower temps (into the seventies!) and maybe even rain Friday. I'm worried about all the little baby birds who will be blown out of their nests and probably die, not to mention the baby quails... depending on size, I can imagine some of them blowing away too. Oh, well.Quail update:

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-67318167310572144402008-05-16T10:20:00.000-07:002008-05-16T10:28:43.962-07:00

QUAILS!!!!Yesterday I saw my first baby quails, out in the pond area, around the quail block with their parents. I counted three, but there might have been more. Today I saw a family with five young'uns. The babies are all in what I would judge to be 6th or 7th grade. I haven't seen any of the adorable fuzzy rolling thimbles. But the season is young.I went out on the front porch last night to see

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-27858659898135727932008-04-21T16:23:00.001-07:002008-04-21T16:26:04.468-07:00

KILLER BEES!It finally happened. We finally were invaded by killer bees. "Killer" is something of a misnomer for Africanized bees, which can and do kill humans and other animals, but it's not as if they're going out looking for other beings to slaughter; rather, they will attack when they feel their hive is threatened. Thus, it's not dangerous to do stuff while the bees are foraging (buzzing

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-85629736693114015752008-04-19T10:57:00.001-07:002008-04-19T11:02:32.404-07:00

As Anonymous noted, that turkey has been up here for a long time. And the desert, indeed, is very beautiful. The brittle bush in our neighborhood was in exuberant bloom for weeks, as yellow and vibrant as forsythia back east. Cactus are starting to bloom; prickly pads are ringed with young new pads and in some cases buds. Some of the mammalia are starting to put out blossoms.Nevertheless, I have

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538101.post-19408026576592015262008-02-23T14:53:00.000-08:002008-02-23T15:11:14.352-08:00

How long it has been since I have posted here! We've gone all the way through winter and are now just starting with spring, though I suppose there could still be a freeze. There's been a lot of rain and a couple of freezes, so my garden looks awful. I have some pots of petunias and pansies that have done very little so far, and my beautiful vines and flowering shrubs have all frozen back.This

KLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.com2