August 19, 2005
SHE'S BAAAACK....
Mama dove, that is. Or at least she's thinking of coming back. I saw her sitting on her nest this morning, though when I went closer she flew away. No eggs. I assume she's been out dating, however, and is checking out the digs for her fifth (!) brood of the season.

I haven't seen Mr. Broadbill for a few days (sniff, sniff), but I recall that at the other house it took a few years before I had broadbills year round. There is a very feisty Costa's now guarding the feeders by my office. Maybe it is the same one, and maybe he will stay year round. Wouldn't that be nice?

Not much else doing, nature-wise. It rained for about half an hour earlier. I haven't checked the rain gauge, but probably not much. The monsoon is probably over for the year, except for occasional thunderstorms here and there. At the airport, we are almost on target for rain for the year, so it's been a good summer.

August 10, 2005
The monsoon continues, though mostly not up here. We had .70 inch of rain the other day, but down in the valley they had nearly two and a half!

Anyway, I just wanted to post that I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL MALE BROADBILL! He is guarding the feeder that the beautiful male Costa's formerly owned. (The Costa's is clearly not happy about this.) I'm so excited!

And this afternoon I saw a dead bird wing out by the mailbox, along with a few loose feathers. Nature red in tooth and claw....

August 3, 2005
THIS 'N' THAT
A few updates: the Costa's hummingbird loves it here. He has staked out a territory by the pond, which he guards from the Texas Ranger outside my office. Right in front of the Texas Ranger is a "little beginner" hummer tube feeder. I put it up when nothing would deter red ants from clogging the previous feeder. Even two ant traps didn't slow them down. They can't, however, seem to get into the tube feeder, though it is very drippy and is making a mess on the porch. Anyway, it's nice to have the Costa's around. He is the only one I've ever had long enough to observe much behavior. He is very bold, and doesn't seem bothered by my presence.

The monsoon continues--everywhere but our neighborhood. We've had .10 inch overnight twice in the last week, and that's about it. Meanwhile, the rest of the city is getting flooded. But those drips do help my plants, which are looking much perkier. The ground seems saturated, as is the air. It's a nice time of year.

Finally, dove update: Three days ago I was in a panic because I had not seen Mama Dove for a day and a half. The babies sat patiently in the nest, looking like perfect little miniature doves. But then I found a dead dove out by the pond and thought the worst had happened. I called Wildlife Rescue. Just as a woman called me back to tell me where to take the little dovelets, Mama returned! And boy, were her children happy to see her, jumping around in the nest and I suppose clamoring to be fed (I watched this from the window). I had put food and bugnuts out for them earlier, but they ignored that. Anyway, the wildlife rescue woman said that once the dovelets are fully fledged, mom spends increasing amounts of time away from the nest, and will soon kick them out. I haven't been out there today, so I don't know if it has happened yet.

I wonder what Mama has been up to. Maybe out getting knocked up again?

July 28, 2005

Well, I've been suspecting I had a Costa's hummingbird around here, but couldn't see it close enough to tell for sure. This morning while I put water in the pond I was standing very still, just looking around at the unaccustomed cloud cover. I heard buzzing and glanced up to see a beautiful male Costa's face to face. Maybe he's been thinking, "I suspect there's a middle-aged female writer around here, but I need a closer look."

July 27, 2005
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CARDINALS
Two days ago my cardinal feeder fell apart. The door cracked and broke into several pieces, and the body developed alarming cracks across the front and sides. It was no doubt sun-rot (around here, sun-rot and water-rot between them get just about everything).

Anyway, the next morning early I saw a juvenile cardinal at the feeder, actually feeding. He had figured out that if he jumped from the chain link fence to the hole in the feeder, he could sort of grasp the plastic with his feet and flap his wings really fast like hovering long enough to grab a seed. He then retired to a better perch to eat the seed and then resumed his hummingbird-like behavior. A finch had figured out the same thing, and the two of them went through quite a few seeds while I watched. I got a new feeder later in the day, and the cardinals have resumed normal feeding.

MAMA DOVE
At least one of her eggs has hatched; a thumb-sized little gray dovelet was sitting beside her this morning. I couldn't tell if another was there or not. I think it hatched a couple of days ago, because she has seemed to be sitting higher on the nest.

BABY LIZARDS
There are baby lizards all over the place. I guess this is the season for them. Lots of them on the River Walk, mostly scampering away in time not to get stepped on or run over. Several I've seen at the house, including one that briefly came inside and was attacked by one of the cats. I rescued it, but it may have been damaged beyond repair by the time I returned it to the yard.

STILL NO RAIN
It's been pouring everywhere but here. Sniff.

July 20, 2005

Hooray! The monsoon has finally arrived! It started two nights ago wtih a tremendous thunderstorm that brought little rain (here, anyway) and tons of lightning and thunder. There were trees down all over the city, some of which we saw today on the riverwalk. Also power outages, though not here. Although we had one of our own a few days earlier.

Still plenty of quail around. Yesterday I saw a gorgeous white spiny lizard with a blue collar and belly and tan and gold stripes on its back and flanks. It is possibly leucistic, though spiny lizards are capable of changing color to match the ambient temperature: the hotter it gets the lighter they get.

And I just saw a very intelligent white-wing dove (a seeming oxymoron). He was clnging to the perch on the cardinal feeder and trying to insert his beak into the space between the feeder cover and the feeder hole. He obviously got how the thing worked, but wasn't able to figure out how to beat the system.

July 9, 2005
QUAIL NATION!
I can't believe how many quail there are running around, across our back and front yards, through the pond, into the wash, across the streets (cringe). Pretty much every time I think to look up from typing, I see some combination of adult and juvenile quail out in the riparian area. Day before yesterday I caught a glimpse, as they left the yard, of a gazillion (or maybe two gazillion) little bitty guys--the dandelion-fluff stage of baby quaildom. They were so cute. I counted about eight or ten, but there were more.

Also, I don't know if all quail mamas are stupid or fat, but practically every time I see one now, she's trying to find a mesh square to get through to get out of the riparian area. Why not just fly over the fence, duh?

And speaking of duh, Mama Dove is at it again. I saw her with a twig in her mouth the other day over by the old nest on the shelf. Two days later she was sitting on the nest, and she is still there. She does have shade where she is, but it's SO HOT. I wonder if she will lay (or has laid) hard-boiled eggs? (This is her fourth brood of the season, counting the egg that didn't hatch.)

The last set of baby doves apparently fledged successfully. They had gotten pretty big and were walking around and even flying a bit. One disappeared, but I think it may have flown away to its own life. I saw the remaining one sitting on the shelf, alone, and when I approached it flew off, its wings flapping strongly. I hope they're okay--this weather has been brutal. It can't be a good time to be born, whether you are a dove, or a quail, or anything. I'm sure that my little pond is helping some guys make it through the tough early days.

The monsoon is probably arriving next week, and not a moment too soon. We've had I think 27 days of 100 plus heat, and at least another week to go. Despite the coming humidity, it will be nice to get back down in the nineties.

Final nature note for today: yesterday out on the River Walk a kestrel landed on a wasit-high fence just in front of us. So beautiful!

June 28, 2005
QUAIL CITY!
I guess the rattlesnakes and coyotes are going to be very well fed this summer. There are quail all over the place. Sunday afternoon I counted 26(!) young quail with their parents. I might have even missed some. I don't know if this was a blended family or a family where 26 babies lived, though I suspect the former. The attrition seems to be very high in general, and these were pretty well grown. It was exciting to watch them as they came into view.

This morning, a mama and papa and two adolescent chicks came to the pond. I think this might be the former 3-family, but I'm only guessing. As I say, there are a lot of quail. The mama in this group had a hard time getting through the wire mesh around the pond fence. The spaces aren't very big, but there are apparently some large enough for rabbits and fat quail to squeeze through. Mama had trouble, though, and tried square after square, all along one side, before she finally found one that she could get through.

The baby doves are growing quickly. They look like actual birds now, and are the size of finches. Their little beaks are very long, and they still spend most of the day sitting motionless in the nest, either snuggled with mama or waiting till she comes back if she has gone off for some reason. I was thinking yesterday that she'll probably be glad when they're gone and out of the nest and she can go back to just pecking the ground, bathing in the pond, and generally hanging out somewhere else.

June 24, 2005
There's been a little rain, but it's not yet the monsoon. Sure feels like it, though, with high dewpoints and humidities higher than 30.

Mama dove's babies hatched sometime a few days ago. I first noticed she seemed to be sitting a little higher than usual. It turns out that's because instead of sitting on eggs, she was sitting on babies. By the time I saw them, they were already feathered. But still very little, and unlike other baby birds, who seem to spend a lot of time squawking and screaming to be fed, these guys remain completely motionless, as she was while brooding. They are striped and dull-colored, and look very much like the twigs that make up the nest, except for their little black beady eyes that occasionally blink. I took a photo, and will try to post it, but truthfully it doesn't look like much.

Yesterday afternoon the pond was visited in close succession by three quail families, all of whom spent some time drinking and poking around on the ground. The first family had three babies--two rather large and one quite small. I'm assuming they are from two separate broods, but wonder why so few babies?

The second family had five or six medium-sized chicks. They were at the stage where their topknots look like mohawks. They reminded me a bit of our old next-door neighbor, who for some inexplicable reason has worn a mohawk for several years.

The third family had at least nine medium-to large chicks. They made quite a picture, all crowded around the water. It was very, very, very gratifying to see all these adorable young quail and to feel that my riparian area has made their lives a bit more pleasant and predictable.

June 21, 2005
Well, yesterday was the longest day of the year, and also the hottest, at 110. Today the high was maybe 109. Very hot. Also very cloudy, with what one of the weathermen calls a "monsoon preview."

The little pond is getting a workout. Especially now that it is cloudy, critters have been flocking to it. A cottontail burrowed into the shallow depression the antelope squirrel had made in the shade beside the pomegranate tree pot. When I first looked, all I could see was one eye, one ear, a nose, and the cotton tail. A family of quail with four babies has been in the yard, drinking and scrounging for food. Antelope squirrel too, but he's been on the porch since the rabbit took his hole by the pot. Six very small fledgling finches were standing, panting, their teeny little wings out, underneath my chair on the porch. And a few minutes ago I saw an unidentifiable hummingbird hovering at the waterfall.

All these guys, when they go completely motionless, look just like rocks.

So much fun to watch! I'm so glad I have the pond!

June 18, 2005
It's three days from midsummer's eve, the solstice, the official beginning of summer. It's seasonably hot, which means low one-hundreds. That's about to change. It's going to get hotter--105 and above--for a few days. And according to the National Weather Service, the monsoon is underway in Sonora. Moisture is expected to start moving into our area soon, meaning it will be humid (though not like back east). Some forecasts call for the monsoon to arrive late; others say it is right on track. Average start date is July 4. We haven't had a "normal" monsoon in several years, though--there have been way fewer thunderstorms than we used to expect. No way of telling if this is a long term trend or not.

Yesterday afternoon when I went to get the mail I surprised a flock of quail in the driveway. Mama and Papa and too many babies to count. This might be the same flock I saw the other day in the pond area. The babies were bigger, but they do grow up fast.

Today I saw who is eating the bison burgers. I put some out (the last of what I have cooked) because I haven't seen the road runner for a while, and hoped to attract it. I put out four pieces. Two remain. A little while ago I saw my little chipmunky guy disappear with one of the chunks.

He is, by the way, a Harris Antelope Squirrel. I don't remember if I posted that here or not. The other squirrels we have are round-tailed ground squirrels, which look a little bit like prairie dogs, only smaller. There are a gazillion of them down along the River Walk.

June 15, 2005
Finally! Some adorable really little baby quails. I caught a glimpse of them as their parents led them across the pond area toward the tree where the suet feeder hangs. I can't see the suet feeder or the ground beneath it from inside the house (or from the porch, for that matter). I don't know how many little quail there were, but I saw around seven as they passed by quickly, like dandelion heads on wheels.

Summer is here! It's hot! Not yet humid, but very uncomfortable. During the hardest part of the afternoon the cooler no longer helps much. Can the monsoon be far behind?

June 11, 2005

The young cardinal has been in the pond area and on the porch a great deal today, mostly by himself. I suspect his parents have cut him loose. I haven't seen him try to use the feeder yet, though he often sits on top of it, but I have watched him try to get nourishment from empty sunflower shells. I know that he will catch on eventually.

In other bird news, this morning on the way back from our walk, we saw a quail family in the driveway--mama and papa and five little babies. They were past the fluffball stage, but still pretty young, and quite adorable. I'm assuming that they are the second batch of offspring for the season.

The doves are at it again, too. Yesterday afternoon I needed to get something out of one of the boxes on a shelf in the carport. I was rummaging around when suddenly a panicked dove exploded up and out from the side of the box. Well, it was the same shelf that held the original nest, and it may be the same dove. The nest seems to have been augmented, and holds two little white eggs. Mama eventually returned and was unobtrusively brooding this morning. I bet she wishes I would go away.

June 10, 2005
During the past two days, the little cardinal and Daddy have been around a lot. Yesterday afternoon, I saw TWO little cardinals, but Daddy turned out to be Mr. Pyrrhuloxia. So I'm not sure if I have a total of two or three. Probably it's two baby pyrrhuloxias and one baby cardinal. They're so much fun to watch, whatever they are.

I have some bison burgers that my cats won't eat, so yesterday I put some chunks out for the roadrunner. I don't know if s/he ate them, but they disappeared when I wasn't watching. Today I put out more. Just a few minutes ago, the roadrunner darted across the pond area, a limp lizard in its beak. I think it stopped and eyed the bison burger chunks... perhaps trying to decide whether to check them out. But then it hopped up on top of the fence and flew away. Maybe it will be back.

June 8, 2005
I swear, there is nothing perkier looking than a young cardinal. There's something about their little topknots--kind of disheveled--and the bright, alert way they look at the new (to them) world. Anyway, a young cardinal, I think the one I mentioned in an earlier post, has been hanging around my pond area. He drinks from the waterfall and looks longingly at the seed feeder. I haven't yet seen him try to use it. And I don't know if he has yet learned to crack sunflower shells. His dad was with him earlier in the day, but then took off--perhaps to care for younger birds still in the nest.

The road runner, too, has apparently decided to make my habitat part of his hangout. I saw him several times today, and yesterday afternoon watched as he hurried across the pond area with what appeared to be a nest in his mouth. I wonder what THAT was about!

Today he vocalized several times: a hoarse, eerie kind of low-pitched honk that I am convinced sounds EXACTLY the way dinosaurs sounded. (The bird book describes it as a low-pitched cooing, but it sounded anything but dovelike to me.) I hope he sticks around; he is very interesting to watch.

June 6, 2005 EXTRA

Wait! This just in! A while ago I saw a papa cardinal feeding the first cardinal baby of the year. Then I saw the baby land on the feeder--but no! It wasn't the baby! It was a papa pyrrhuloxia, who then proceeded to feed HIS baby.

The pyrrhuloxias took off, I guess intimidated by the cardinals. Baby card stuck around for a while and I got a good look at him. He's sort of greenish and very scruffy looking, but his tail is already red, and he has red on the tips of his wings. He was drinking from the waterfall, but kept dropping his tail in the water.

June 6, 2005
We were suddenly called out of town for a week. Upon my return, I see that there are no doves on the nest, the tree blooms have all blown away, and most serious: there appear to be NO HUMMERS anywhere in the yard! Did they all get pissed off that I didn't change the nectar for a week? Seems unlikely. But the desert flowers are drying up, so they should be coming to the feeders, I would think. I may have to try hanging more feeders out in the yard, since mine are all under the eaves and not casually visible to those who are just passing by. (But I do have hummer flowers here, which should attract them too.) This requires further study, for sure.

Other wildlife news: last night the kittens caught a gecko, who had probably slipped in through a hole in the screen on the front porch. By the time I got to it, it was dead, poor thing. At least it answered my question about whether there are any geckos up here. This was the first one I have seen.

May 26, 2005
Well, this morning there were NO doves on the nest. I assumed the baby had flown off, but then I saw it sitting on the low brick wall in the carport. Smart bird--stayed out of the sun, anyway. He later moved over to a large empty planter by the air conditioner. From the pile of bird poop on the wall, he'd been there quite a while, so maybe this was the other missing baby? Who knows. I also don't know if his mom is feeding him, but presumably she is. Doves are clumsy and stupid, but there's no reason they wouldn't be as devoted parents as other birds.

Last night we put some mesh over the gate to the rose garden. There's still a fairly big gap at one end. I don't think it will keep the little bunny out, but I can't imagine a big jackrabbit getting in, so we'll see what happens.

May 25, 2005
Doves, Rabbits, and a Flicker!
The flicker first: I saw one on our morning walk on the Riverwalk yesterday, on a saguaro. It flew away quickly, but I'd seen them before at the other house. This was a gilded flicker, and a very handsome specimen at that, with his golden swirls and very woodpecker-y looking body.

Speaking of saguaros, the blooms are everywhere and I expect them to start turning into fruit soon. Birds are all over them, I assume eating bugs and perhaps drinking nectar. I'm not sure of the nectar content of saguaro flowers, and haven't seen any hummers on them, but then they are mostly too far away to see anything so small.

It's still really hot. The baby dove was actually two doves, but is now one again. I don't know what happened to the other one, but the ledge where the nest is perched is very small, and it's been windy. Probably he blew over or tried to fly and failed, and was eaten by something. The one that's left is quite large, looks fully feathered, but I don't know if it's up to flying. I always walk over and say hi, but he just freezes and tries to pretend he is invisible. Well, at least the mama dove managed to raise one baby Maybe he'll go to law school or get an MBA and make her proud.

At least one bunny has learned to get into our rose garden. It's just a little thing--a cottontail. The three cats love watching it out the patio door. It ate all my seedling zinnias, which I think I mentioned, and is now working on the lower branches of the rose bushes. It also eats weeds, which is helpful, but one of the rose bushes is starting to look really weird. I guess we'll have to put up some bunny-proof chicken wire or something before a jackrabbit gets in. A big rabbit could probably really wreck the roses.

May 18, 2005
Whooee! I happened to glance out at the pond this afternoon to see a Western Tanager visiting. What a gorgeous bird! Brilliant orange on head, bright yellow body, beautiful black body and wing stripes. I hope he sticks around, though I don't think this is really his habitat. I had one once at the pond at the old house, and never saw one again.

The saguaros are slowly coming into bloom. It's interesting. Some have flowers growing up and down the in part of their accordion pleats; others have a crown all on the top; still others are mixed, in a random-seeming pattern. I'd guess about a quarter to a third of the blossoms on most of the saguaros I've seen are open now. They are such BEAUTIFUL flowers (the State Flower of Arizona, actually). The blossoms will soon be followed by red fruit and then the monsoon. I LOVE THE DESERT!!!

May 17, 2005
A note on human nature: The mild spring is about over. It's in the nineties. We are heading for summer. This morning's top story in the paper featured words like "Hades" and "suffer." When I see headlines like that--not to mention listen to residents--about this time of year, I have to laugh. It's as if they're saying, "Oh, my gosh! It gets hot in Tucson in the summer! Who knew?"

One of my hummers drinks by hovering over the pond and dipping the tip of her bill in the water. That seems very awkward to me: much easier would be to hover at the waterfall or just perch on a rock by it.

Mama dove finally has at least one baby! Yesterday evening she was off the nest and I saw a tiny little gray nub sticking up. When it blinked at me, I knew that something had hatched. She's back on the nest today. Incubating more eggs? And where does the baby go? Does she sit on it?

Finally: I've noticed a great ABSENCE of baby quail. Just the four I saw earlier in the season. I'm disappointed; thought I'd get a lot. I used to get several families in the backyard at the other house. But maybe I'm getting them here and just not looking at the right times.

May 9, 2005
This morning I was fiddling around with the rocks on the waterfall again, when I heard a hummer. I looked up to see a little Anna--either a young female or immature male--buzzing at the water maybe a foot from my head. I held perfectly still, and the hummer finally sped off. I quickly rearranged the rocks, and was about to leave (to watch) when little hummer returned, even closer to me. I held totally still while she approached the water, tail fanned out, then suddenly noticed me and flew right up in my face, about two inches from my nose, and seemed to study me. Then she flew away, and so did I.

May 8, 2005
Spring and Waterfalls and Invisible Rabbits
This has been a most unusual spring, in that it has lasted, almost like spring back east. Usually, we have some very nice weather for about a month in part of March and April, and then it's summer. But the last few days--even this far into May--have been delightful, with actually chilly nights. Yesterday I think it only got up to 79. It's also been very windy, and now most of the beautiful blossoms have blown off the trees, but the cactus flowers are still going full tilt.

There is nothing more delightful than the sight of a hummingbird bathing at dawn in a waterfall. This morning I had two competing with each other for the pleasure. I've been working on improving the waterfall part of my pond, and at the moment it's just about perfect, and making a beautiful bubbling and splashing sound. The two hummers really seemed to enjoy the water. One of them somehow plopped her little belly on a flat rock right under the water and seemed to frolic as she made sure the wet stuff covered her whole body, then flew up to the fence railing in the sun to fluff out and dry off. She did this repeatedly. The other hummer was a male, I think a young one, and possibly a black chin. I haven't been able to confirm any black chins so far, but they should be around. I wish for a broad-bill, but it took me a few years at the other house for them to become year-round residents. If I'm patient they will probably start living here too.

Finally, this morning a rabbit sat beside the pond motionless for quite a while. I thought it was a rock until it moved. They have such perfect coloration for the desert. I just love all these little critters. I'm so fortunate to be able to see this slice of life.

May 6, 2005
Mama dove is still on the case, sitting on her nest on the pillar. She looks so patient. If it were me, I'd be thinking, "Is this thing ever going to hatch? How long do I have to sit here? What if it's a dud like the last one?" But then it's not up to me to perpetuate the dove (or any other) species.

Meanwhile, out at the pond, there have been a lot of rabbits. A huge one just now was eating a stalk of papyrus. He started at one end and then slowly sucked it in, like spaghetti, his jaws going the whole time. I'd think it would be too tough to be tasty, but he evidently likes it. He's still nosing around the papyrus pot. Which makes me think that maybe I can plant more of them this summer, for the shade and algae control. In the old house, they had a tendency to take everything over, but if I have rabbits to control them, this might be a good solution.

April 28, 2005
More dove news: the female is sitting on the new nest on the north pillar. Too bad I can't see into the nest, but I suppose she likes her privacy. I guess I'll clean up the old nest and straighten up the shelf while nothing is living there. (Yesterday afternoon a pair of quail seemed to be investigating the shelves, but maybe they were looking for something to eat.)

The cacti everywhere are starting to bloom, and it is lovely. Many more cactus than we had around at the old house. Our prickly pears, some of which are huge (the size of small trees) are starting to put out butter yellow and orange blossoms; some of the cholla have reddish and dark orange buds; and our saguaros have lots of buds, though I think they don't open till June. I'll try to take some pictures and figure out how to post them here.

April 26, 2005
Dove update: We saw a pair of doves investigating the empty nest. When I looked later, they had rolled the egg out and onto the bare shelf, so I threw it into the wash. They seemed busy around the nest on and off all day, and I assumed that the female would settle in and try again to raise a family (unless this was a different female).

Instead, they built a nest around the corner on top of the north pillar of our carport (last year a dove raised several checks on top of the south pillar). I saw her sitting there yesterday afternoon and evening.

But this morning, she was gone. No sign of any dove activity anywhere near the carport: just three empty nests, one on each pillar and one on the shelf.

April 23, 2005
Last night when we came home around 9:30, Mama dove was there, as she always is, patiently sitting on her nest. As I always do, I greeted her quietly and promised that I wouldn't hurt her or her babies.

This morning about 9:30, she was GONE! Her nest contained a single white egg. I had never seen her not on the nest. I thought maybe she had flown off to eat or drink, but she has not yet returned. I felt really bad for a while, thinking that something had happened to her. But now I wonder... she was on that nest for waht seemed like weeks. Maybe she simply decided that the egg was not going to hatch, and flew off to find a more potent mate and build a new nest. I hope that is what happened.

If there is still no sign of her tomorrow, we're going to clean out the nest and straighten up the shelf.

April 22, 2005
This afternoon we had a coyote in the back yard! He looked pretty healthy, but then I started worrying about a coyote hanging out in a neighborhood in the daytime, because there's a rabies epidemic in Pima County. Anyway, he trotted off to the north with that purposeful walk they have, so presumably he's gone. I hope he didn't see the Siamese cat from across the street that sometimes hangs out here.

It's cloudy today, with a good chance of rain tomorrow. According to NOAA, there's a good chance that several records will be set with the rain, because for a number of locations including Nogales and Organpipe, no rain has ever been recorded on April 23. For the rest of us, I think the maximum might be .10 inch.

April 19, 2005

We were out of town for a week, and things changed markedly in that short time. It's much warmer, for example, in the eighties during the day, though still cool at night. All the cactus on the property are in bud, and should be gorgeous when they jump into bloom. The palo verdes in town are covered in beautiful yellow flowers, very reminiscent of the forsythia we saw in New Jersey and Long Island. (The ones in our yard are apparently retarded--no signs of bloom.) The pomegranate bush has several bright orange-red trumpet flowers that the hummers seem to like.

The mama dove is still sitting on her nest in the carport. Whenever we drive up she blinks, but doesn't seem to move otherwise.

This morning I saw a mama and papa quail with four little ones way out in the back yard. I haven't seen other babies, but there are probably a lot around in other quail families. Four doesn't seem like very many, so I assume something may have happened to the nest.

While I was gone the yard guy moved the end of the hose that creates the waterfall in my pond so that it is sort of spurting into the air like a fountain. It's kind of cool--sounds and looks good, but is quite a rush of water. This morning I saw a hummingbird trying to decide whether to bathe (or drink) or not. The bird repeatedly approached the water and hovered, its tail fanned out as if in a threat display. At one point it got drops of water on its beak but didn't seem to be drinking, and eventually gave up. I moved some rocks so there is a quieter area that is off to the side, so maybe he'll be able to use that. I'm going to see about building a better waterfall, but will need a bunch more rocks.

April 6
More signs of spring: all the bushes, trees, and most of the flowers are blooming or past bloom. It's starting to get hot during the day, but still cool at night. Yesterday afternoon I was watching through binoculars as a female hummer (probably an Anna, but I'm not sure) stuck most of her head into salmon-colored trumpet flowers on a vine that I don't know the name of. The blooms were quite small, but she managed to get right down into them. And when she emerged, her head was bright yellow with pollen. As she hovered, a goldfinch perched on the fence next to her; they were the same shade of yellow.

The other night coming home late we were startled when we got out of the car by a scrabbling and clawing sound, as if a critter were trying to escape from the shelves in the back of the carport. There is a rabies epidemic in the county these days, so we hastened on in. The next morning we checked out the carport and found a large black trash bag containing potting implements ripped open. We speculated that it might have been a coyote, a stray dog or cat, or even a bobcat that had previously learned those bags sometimes contain delicious garbage.

But it turned out that probably wasn't what made the sound. This morning my yard guy asked if I'd seen the bird nest on the shelves. And sure enough, there sat a sweet little mother mourning dove on her messy pile of sticks that doves think are nests. She was perfectly still, and nearly the same color as the shelving. We are going to leave her alone until her babies have flown, and then clean up the shelf.

March 28, 2005
Just a quickie: this morning I saw a BRIGHT ORANGE finch out by the pond. He looked like a house finch, but was orange instead of red. I looked him up in the bird book, and discovered that orange is a normal variant. In all these years of watching, this is the first one I've seen.

March 24
Spring continues to burgeon; blossoms to blossom. It is exciting to look at all the plants around the house and watch them burst forth. When we moved in most of the main blooming was over, so it's all new and fun. I don't know what a lot of the plants are. I have some kind of bulbs about to bloom, I think. I hope they're irises.

Random nature notes: our #2 cat was very interested in something on the kitchen counter yesterday morning. I assumed it was a roach, which seemed to be hiding under the telephone. I moved the phone and found a rather large scorpion. Large is good--it's the little bitty guys that are most venomous, but it freaked me out. My hands were shaking. Gotta get used to these incidents now that I live in the desert!

Cardinals and pyrrhuloxia continue to flock to the cardinal feeder. The seeds deplete rapidly. This morning I found one reason why: at least one clever finch has figured out how to operate it! The door on the feeder is restrained by a weight that lets it slide down to reveal the feeding hole. It's set exactly for birds of cardinal/pyrrhuloxia size. A dove, which is heavier, would cause the door to slide down too far. A finch is lighter, and causes the door to slide down not far enough. But the enterprising finch I watched this morning had figured out that if she shifts her weight on the perch, the door swings out far enough for her to stick her head between the door and the feeder and grab a seed! (Her beak isn't strong enough to open the seed, but that's another story.)

I saw a second finch watching the first and try the same thing, but this one didn't get the trick and instead pecked futilely at the plastic.

March 9, 2005
Yesterday we went on a hike behind Picacho Peak, a state park about forty miles north of Tucson that is the site of the only Civil War battle ever fought in Arizona. Apart from its historical significance, Picacho is renowned for its wildflower displays.

We saw everything yesterday: brittle bush, lupine, poppies, phocelia, tackstem, twist, globe mallow (the pink kind), and a gazillian yellow, pink, and magenta flowers that weren't in the wildflower book. I took several digital photos, and will try to figure out how to post them here.

It was a gorgeous day, blue skies and around seventy degrees, and except for a few planes it really felt like "being out in the desert." In addition to the wildflower, we also saw:

• A white goat with a black face at the top of one of the ridges. We were told he is a domestic goat who escaped, and has evaded capture for three years. He seems to be very happy trotting around on the ridge top and foraging in the desert scrub. I'm assuming that he has reverted to an ancestral state. I hope a female goat escapes sometime and joins him.
  

• A white bird! We do not know what this was, as we weren't able to get a really good look at it, but its body shape and habits seemed very finchlike, so we concluded that it is an albino or leucistic house finch. I tried to get a picture of it, but don't think I succeeded.

Not too many other birds visible, but it was midday and already feeling hot. I know summer will be coming soon enough, but I'm really loving the spring.

March 2
The Scott's Oriole is back today. I just saw him first at the fruit feeder, eating fruit, then at one of the hummer feeders--one that isn't accessible to orioles--trying in vain to feed, and then in the pond, taking a good long bath. He is so gorgeous! Shiny ebony and bright lemon yellow. I hope his wife comes by one of these days. I'd like to get to know these guys better. I occasionally got orioles at the old house--hooded and Bullock's, mostly--but they never stuck around.

March 1
I love it when birds look exactly like their pictures in my bird book. I just had a beautiful male Scott's Oriole on the fence behind the bird pond. According to the map, he's up here for breeding season. I wish him great luck--preferably in my back yard, so I can watch his babies grow up. (I've never seen baby orioles, to my knowledge).

The spate of rain stopped and everything is lovely now--blue skies, high sixties to low seventies, a few puffy clouds, the air clear and the mountains every shade of lavender. Everything in my back yard is fixing to bloom, except the new citrus trees.Even the "dead" ocotillo out behind the pond is putting out leaves, and it practically never does. The others all have orange flowers already.

Out in front of the house, the brittle bush is starting to bloom. The desert zinnias have been flowering for a few days. A bunch of other stuff is coming up, but I don't know if it will turn out to be wildflowers or "weeds." Which is also what wildflowers are.

February 22, 2005
Birdsongs!
Yes, Spring is here! Everywhere I go I hear birds singing. I heard a beautiful concert from a goldfinch in the big palo verde tree yesterday. Alas, I don't hear mockers here in the yard (sniff, sniff), but they're in full voice everywhere else. Today the Riverwalk was thrumming with birds (and the river was rushing with water. What a treat!). There were a couple of trees full of starlings, whose yellow bills proclaim they are in mating plumage. They sound a little bit like bells, and it's fun to hear a bunch of them chirping at once.

There were plenty of mockers, too, including one especially beautiful singer who turned out to be a thrasher. I always forget that they can sing beautifully too, but don't generally do so except in early spring. I think what the thrasher and the mockers were singing was, "Look at my beautiful territory! It's a perfect place to raise a family, plus I'm the hottest dude on the river!"

And speaking of mating, the entrance to the Riverwalk was a raucus cactus wren singles bar, with half a dozen of the little guys displaying, squawking, hopping around, and making a general spectacle of themselves. I'm pretty sure that what they were saying to each other was, "Want to do it?"

February 17, 2005
More signs of spring: early blooming trees as we drive through Tucson. Yards full of bright splashes of African daisies. Weeds (or wildflowers) sprouting everywhere on our property, thanks to the rain. And still more rain to come, this weekend and the middle of next week. I had nearly 1 1/2 inch on the rain gauge after last week's downpours. The gray days get to me, but it's exciting to see how happy the desert plants seem to be.

The male cardinals and pyrrhuloxia at the seed feeder seem to be in full mating plumage. And yesterday afternoon I saw an oriole bathing in the pond. I didn't get a good look at it--just the back. Brilliant black and yellow. I have at least a gazillion woodpeckers draining my hummer feeders. I may have to go back to the drippy single-serving feeders, at least for a while.

February 8, 2005
Spring will be here any day, but isn't yet. There does seem to be a bit more bird activity, but except for a broken egg on the ground after the last windstorm, I haven't seen much evidence of breeding. The male cardinals are getting redder, so that's a good sign. Whenever I go over to the other house, I hear mockingbirds singing, but except for that one day, don't hear them over here. Sob, sniff. I want mockers in my yard!

The beautiful male Costa's is still around. Or they are still around--hard to know how many. I don't know how many hummers of any sort I have; the most I've seen at once is three, but I think there are more. As far as I know, they are all Costa's and Anna's.

Yesterday when we were walking by the river, we passed several trees that were loaded with squeaking starlings. There must have been hundreds of them. I suppose they were migrating, though have no idea from where to where. They were gone today.

No other interesting bird activity, but as I say, I am expecting some soon!

January 27, 2005
It has continued to rain--according to my rain gauge, we've had over 2 inches already since January 1, which is quite a lot for a town that averages 12 inches all year. This morning when i went out to get the paper it was SO BEAUTIFUL! There was fog rising from the mountains and giving everything a soft look, like a watercolor. The cactus and other desert plants in our front yard were also pastel--a whole palette--and the mountains looked close enough to touch. The air was cool and filled with that great desert-y post-rainfall scent. Accents of bright color: a male cardinal on the phone line and a goldfinch on the ocotillo outside the bedroom window.

Meanwhile, back at the pond, I have gazillions of cardinals and pyrrhuloxia using the feeder in its new position. This afternoon a pyrrhuloxia flew to the place where the feeder used to be, and you could see the thought balloons over his head: "Whoa! Where are the seeds?" He looked around, up and down: "I could swear they were right here the last time I visited." He hopped out from under the porch roof, looked around, and then suddenly spotted the feeder and immediately flew to it.

January 24, 2005
Lots of warmth and lots of rain. (Also chilliness and dankness, but not much and not for long.) It's not quite February and already feels like Spring is coming. Which it is.

Phaenopepla singles bar
A male phaenopepla has been hanging out pretty continuously on the ocotillo and scrub palo verdes out in back of my riparian area. He is gorgeous--glossy black with a little crest and reddish eyes. I haven't seen him use the pond (though assume he does), but he pretty clearly considers this good territory, because yesterday I saw him doing the mate-attracting moves, where he flaps up in the air to display his sexy white wingbars, then perches again.

Where's the feeder?
I am a victim of my own success: the cardinal feeder has proved so popular with a growing crowd of cardinals and pyrrhuloxia that the patio was getting fouled with bird dung and tons of empty sunflower seeds. So this morning I moved it out onto the fence in the riparian area, where I can still observe (though not so closely) and the patio will stay clean. I had thought it would take the birds a few days to learn the new location, but about a minute after I came back indoors, a pyrrhuloxia was feeding in the new location. I haven't seen any others since, but I also havent' seen them checking out the patio.

January 18, 2005
Not to brag, but it has been clear and in the low to mid seventies for several days and will stay that way for at least the next week. Just gorgeous, although I do worry about plants that may assume it's spring and then get zapped with frost.

The birds are enjoying it! Nobody new, but lots of pyrrhuloxias and cardinals, goldfinches at the pond, and the little male Costa is still around. (Or maybe there's more than one--I can't tell.) Since it's so warm I can keep the door open part of the day. This morning I heard a mockingbird singing (!!!!!) but don't know where he was.

January 5, 2005
Well, Happy New Year to one and all. We've been having rain for the last couple of days--a total of .90 inch, according to my rain gauge. Not much new out at the Riparian Area, though I haven't been watching it as much as usual. However, this morning I saw a male Costa's outside my office window (I couldn't see any colors, as it was cloudy and he was in shadow, but the "helmet" was unmistakable); and this afternoon while picking lemons I saw a mockingbird land in the top of the lemon tree. I've been putting out tangelo slices from the old house--maybe they are helping.

December 24
It has been very cold--freezing at night and only in the fifties during the day. Two days ago an oriole (I think a Scott's) tried to feed from the hum feeder outside my office window. Unfortunately, it was one of the feeders that doesn't allow anyone with a short beak in. The oriole flew at the window, then flew away, but I immediately put out the old oriole feeder, and I hope he will be back. Or maybe he has been, but I just haven't seen him. He was gorgeous, extremely yellow, and much bigger than the woodpeckers, so the kittens went nuts.

No other new birds to report. Still plenty of Anna's hummers--I'm not sure how many, but perhaps half a dozen. The silly sparrows and finches are bathing in the pond as we speak. You'd think it would be way too cold, but they seem to love it--then fly up into the Texas Ranger and fluff themselves in the sun. I am so privileged to get to observe this. I gave the birds more bugnuts as a Christmas present.

December 7, 2004

I've had a mob of cardinals and pyrrhuloxias lately, making a mess of the porch but really enjoying the sunflower seeds in the feeder. Yesterday I got a good look at a small one, and confirmed that it is a juvenile pyrrhyloxia--its beak is grayish rather than yellow. I guess they all learn to use the feeder by watching each other.

Then this morning my beautiful hawk returned! Since my last post, I have learned that it is an accipiter, probably a Cooper's, and almost certainly a female. The accipiters have reverse sexual dimorphism for size; the males are quite small and the females are huge. Anyway, whatever she is, she came back. She first landed in the pond, then almost immediately flew up to the fence, this time with her back to me. I was unable to see her legs, but assume it’s the same bird.

This time I could see that the tail was definitely rounded, which according to my bird book is indicative of a Cooper’s. She still doesn’t have a black cap. I got a better and longer look at her eyes. They’re not exactly red, more of a dark orangish-brown. She seems to be able to turn her head nearly 360 degrees, and the look in her eyes is so intelligent and fierce it’s scary. What a privilege to watch such a beautiful, wild creature so close-up!

November 22, 2004

Excitement! We got some weather! Yesterday it rained pretty much all day, and today my rain gauge finally had some real water in it: 3/4 inch! (Though the official rainfall was .10 inch.) This morning it was cold--low forties, and the mountains were shrouded in fog. As the fog began to lift, we saw the snow, much closer than we could see it from the other house. Really beautiful against the shifting clouds and blue sky and sahuaros.

Also, this morning I saw a/the mockingbird on the ocotillo outside the master bedroom. It flew down into the neighbors' yard, but at least it's putting in an appearance now and then.

November 20, 2004

Two oddities: First, the west side of my office has a window that is covered with reflective film, which works like a one-way mirror to those on the outside. The olive trees and a hummer feeder are right there, and the whole area is a bird magnet, especially to hummers, woodpeckers, and quail. A male verdin spends most of the day flying at the window, clinging to the screen, seemingly trying to get in, though probably he's trying to challenge the other "bird" that he sees in the reflecting glass. Needless to say, our cats view the verdin as the most fascinating cat toy in the world.

Second oddity: today we walked on the River Walk around 3 PM. It was 70 degrees, and as we walked I saw half a snake on the side of the path. It was the back half; the rest of the snake was inside a hole. As I watched, the snake slowly emerged from the hole, his head last. It was a small snake, tan and brown, covered with a nice diamond pattern. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a rattler--the head seemed too narrow and I didn't see any rattles. But why would a snake come out of a hole backwards? That seems to expose him to predators without any way of seeing them or otherwise sensing them. Also, what was he doing out in the middle of November? Shouldn't any sensible snakes be hibernating by now?

November 14, 2004

Just a quick note to report that I saw the mockingbird (or at any rate, a mockingbird) twice today: once this morning at the pond, and later on top of the Meyer-lemon tree in the front of the house. While I was feasting my eyes on it, the bird flew off to the olive trees. There was something about its demeanor that made me think it lives here. Hope so, anyway.

November 9, 2004

We are getting a respite from the cool weather--the last couple of days it has been beautiful, in the low eighties. Yesterday morning my riparian area was jammed: cardinals, a pyrrhuloxia, mourning doves, cactus wrens, a thrasher, hummers (all Anna's, I think, though maybe a Costa's also), quail, sparrows and finches, and a rabbit. All were drinking, feeding, bathing. (Except the rabbit, who just hopped in to sip, then hopped right out again.) Then later in the day at least two dozen quail and doves crowded together in the pond, creating quite a mob scene. It's so much fun to watch them. This pond has evidently become a part of the natural landscape to these guys.

Only downside is that I haven't seen the mockingbird for a couple of weeks now. Guess he/she decided to move on, or is just staying out of sight when I'm looking.

October 19, 2004

Yesterday afternoon a bird I had never seen stopped for a drink in the pond. At first I thought it was just a big sparrow, but on closer inspection it was way too big for that. It was about the size and body build of a thrasher, with strikingly rufous back, wings, and tail. The throat and chest were cream-colored and streaked very much like a Calliope hummingbird's gorget (only it was brownish streaking, not purple!). The beak was insectivore-looking, black and pointed, but way shorter than a curve-billed thrasher's.

The only thing that looked like it in my bird book was the brown thrasher, which according to the book does not appear west of the Rockies. So I'm stumped. If anyone reading this has a clue, please let me know.

October 13, 2004

This morning the mockingbird—or at any rate, some mockingbird—was singing from the top of the ocotillo behind the pond! So beautiful to hear and see. After a few minutes it flew off, but I suspect it is claiming its winter territory, which means it will be around all winter and maybe I’ll get to hear it in the spring!

October 12, 2004

We are moving into fall and winter, though it is still hot. Highs in the high eighties to low nineties. I love it, because it’s not really hot, since the air is so dry. That is, it’s hot when you stand out in the sun in the middle of the afternoon, but not at all hot in the shade. We have the doors open all day instead of running the cooler (though sometimes we run it for an hour or two).

The birds and animals don’t seem to be doing much different, though the birds are no longer panting when they come to the pond. Also, I have way fewer hummers, who are presumably pretty much through with their migration. Last night I heard a mockingbird singing in a yard down “in the valley.” He was probably setting up his winter territory. I said, “Everything would be perfect if only we had mockingbirds in our yard.”

This morning I saw a beautiful mockingbird drinking and bathing at the pond. I hope he/she will decide to move in and announce the fact with beautiful songs.

I intend to begin posting pictures here soon. I haven’t quite figured out how to take pictures that clearly show my birds, because there is no good place with the light right from which to photograph. But I can at least post some of the old pix: the species are the same.

Not much other news. The last two mornings I saw a male Anna’s, at dawn, bathing on the flat rock that my waterfall falls on. He stands on the rock, then gets down on his little chest, flutters to spread the water around, and repeats. Then he flies off to preen and dry. Also, I’ve seen a male pyrrhuloxia use the cardinal seed-feeder. Those little guys are so clever!

October 4, 2004

Backyard activity at the bird pond has reached a sort of steady state. Nothing unusual, but plenty to look at as I gaze at my riparian paradise. For example, today I saw a male phainopepla, a male pyrrhuloxia, a female cardinal (at the feeder), a handful of (probably) Anna’s hummingbirds, and lots of quail, finches, sparrows, and doves. They like it. The plants that didn’t fry over the summer have been repotted in much larger containers and I hope will provide better shade next year. The papyrus I planted in the pond is already spreading, and I’ll have to keep an eye on it to prevent it choking the pond.

The weather has become beautiful with an unending series of what my father used to call “patented Tucson days”—sunny and warm during the day, then cool at night, with blue, blue skies and clear purple mountains. If it was like this all year long the valley would have 10 million inhabitants and more clamoring to get in.

Likewise nothing unusual along the river, though the other day there was a traffic jam as two women walkers stopped dead on the path, blocking both lanes as they stared in terror at a small gopher snake that they thought was a rattler. The guy who manicures the path removed the snake with a snake hook, and we all continued on our way.

September 13, 2004

There’s still a lot of hummingbird action, but I haven’t seen the Rufous or broadbills for many days. I think I have at least a couple of broad-tails, and Anna’s, and probably still some black-chins. The trouble is that the feeders are not as close as they were at the other house, and they are all in the shade, so it’s hard to get a good look at coloration.

Also among the missing seem to be white-wing doves. I haven’t seen one or heard one for a while. I wish I’d been paying close enough attention to determine exactly when they took off. Apparently they all do it around the same time.

I also hadn’t and haven’t seen many cardinals, but I did see a female using the feeder the other day, and briefly saw a male this morning, though not using the feeder. Pyrrhuloxias continue to visit the pond, but I don’t see them hanging out by the seed feeder. Maybe they aren’t as smart as cardinals?

Still no mockingbirds, not even a glimpse since the last one a few weeks ago.

I’ve given up and decided to make friends with the algae in the pond. Everything I have read says it is basically good for the pond. I put in a small pot of papyrus, which may help a little. The water itself is clear, it’s just that everything is covered with green muck. The birds don’t seem to mind a bit. This morning I saw around a dozen (they were moving too much to count accurately) little sparrows bathing. It’s still hot out, but the pond is cool, and they all seemed to be having a wonderful time, submerging then fluttering, submerging again, flying off to groom, then repeating the whole sequence.

September 3, 2004

Lots of hummer action. Migration is definitely happening!

Two days ago, Tuesday, I saw a new hummer, thin, very long bill, but somehow familiar. Just about the time I was identifying it as a female broadbill, a magnificent male broadbill showed up and drove her away. Hooray! I haven’t seen either of them today, but at least the broadbills know I’m here! Maybe one or more will decide to spend the winter with me!

Then, just as exciting, today I saw my first Selasphorous here! I hadn’t seen any at all at the old house for a couple of years. This guy is very aggressive (well, duh, it’s a Rufous after all), probably a young male but maybe a female. Lots of russet on its sides and lower back (and tail), a small bright-red gorget spot, and very white chest. I’m hoping there will be more—I’m pretty sure migration goes for another month or so.

It’s such a great pleasure to hear that raspy Rufous call: “GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE ALL THESE FEEDERS ARE MINE, DO YOU HEAR ME, MINE!”

August 29, 2004

A number of random nature notes:

The monsoon is over. It might get a bit moist and rain again, but basically all the tropical moisture has cleared out and moved back south. The good part is that we have gone back to using the evaporative cooler, which is way more comfortable than air conditioning. The bad part is that there was practically no rain this summer, and it’s hot again—around 100 during the afternoon. But dry, which is a blessing.

About a week ago, I noticed a sahuaro blooming on the River Walk. I can’t imagine what it is thinking. All its compatriots long ago finished blooming and fruiting.

Last week a beautiful male phaenopepla perched in the ocotillo just outside the pond, then flew in to drink from the pond. The first one I have seen. I’ve also seen goldfinches drinking from the waterfall part of the pond. And this morning a gorgeous red dragonfly hovered over the pond, possibly thinking it is a real riparian area and looking for something to eat.

A male Virden who likes to drink from the hummingbird feeder recently installed outside my office window repeatedly flies into the window, apparently attracted by the reflective glass. He doesn’t seem to hurt himself, but it’s hard to understand why he doesn’t just give up.

And finally, arachnophobia: last night when we came home late, we almost stepped on a tarantula in the carport near the door. A broom swiftly moved the spider to the other end of the carport, but the first thing I saw when I entered the kitchen was another tarantula on the floor. It was only a little one, but it freaked me out. I think they are cool, but I don’t want them in my kitchen! This one was removed to the outside with the help of a dish and a broom.

August 17, 2004

We’ve made a few changes around the pond. I bought several small plants, which I hope to actually put into the ground soon, and also put up a new feeder on a pvc pipe. The feeder holds fruit and whatever I want to put in a small dish beneath the fruit holder. I could use jelly, but at present am putting in a gross concoction from the bird store called “Nuts ‘n Bugs,” which consists of ground-up flies and pecans, bound together with suet. Birds love it. They would probably be baffled by my love of ice cream.

Anyway, the plan is to attract mockingbirds, but so far only cactus wrens and finches seem interested. (I have also seen goldfinches drinking from the pond).

Yesterday I watched a male pyrrhuloxia bathe in the pond. He looked really scruffy when he was through. Just now a little sparrow is taking a dust bath next to the pond in a small hollow that the birds have created for themselves.

Among the new plants is a beautiful pink hibiscus that I hope not to kill. A chipmunk has been interested in it all day. He has eaten the stem-ends of fallen blossoms and keeps returning in hopes of being able to scale the pot and get to the still-blooming blossoms. I half-expect him to show up with a little ladder.

August 10, 2004

It continues to rain everywhere but here. Last night coming home from a meeting we saw puddles everywhere. This morning even more puddles—the Riverwalk was soaked. When I checked our rain gauge later, however, there wasn’t even enough water in it to shake out. Less than a trace!

Two new nature notes: the barrel cactus are blooming everywhere. We have quite a few on our property, and the blooms are lovely—a kind of deep apricot. The little pincushion cacti in the front yard seem to have disappeared, perhaps victims of the pack rat removal team.

And the most exciting news in weeks: this morning while having coffee out on the porch I thought I heard a mockingbird. Later on, from the office, I saw one perched on the back fence around the pond. A few minutes ago I saw it again, this time on the near fence. It seems to have a slight deformity on its right breast, but it flies okay. I don’t know if it was attracted by the sliced grapefruit I hung in the palo verde tree, but I’m going to put more fruit out just in case. I hope this beautiful mockingbird is the harbinger of many to come.

It’s been very hot the last few days. It’s fun to watch my “riparian paradise” through the heat of the day and see that for so many birds it really is a haven, a place to eat, bathe, take a dust-bath, or just laze in the bits of shade. Just what I wanted for it!

August 7, 2004

Still nothing doing with the monsoon—around here. However, it is raining like crazy all around Tucson. There was a very big rainstorm in the Vail area the other night, which we discovered yesterday morning when we went out to the river to walk, and were shocked to see water actually flowing in it! Had to be quite a lot of water for so much action this far west. It turned out some women were nearly drowned the night before while trying to cross the Pantano Wash out by Harrison. A woman had gone to pick up her friend at the airport. The wash crossing was dry. Forty-five minutes later, on the way home in the dark, they ran into a wall of water and were swept out of their car (along with the woman’s dog). Luckily, everyone survived with only bruises. The woman who got picked up at the airport had had a very bad day; on top of everything else, the airline lost her luggage.

Around here, pond is still full of algae. I put a little algaecide in, after emailing the company that makes it. They promise it is not toxic. We’ll see if the small amount works.

<>And a very sad note: yesterday morning I saw a round, fat bird I couldn’t quite identify sitting on the fence by the pond. His one-note cry seemed vaguely familiar. I realized who he was when a male cardinal came to the fence to feed him. It was a baby cowbird. This would be a case when I might WANT some toxic water.

August 5, 2004

I haven’t had too much time to observe nature in the backyard—been too busy observing nature in the house with our two new kittens. Anyway, a brief update: the monsoon has so far been a bust. Less than an inch total at the airport, and probably even less here (my new rain gauge has hardly gotten any work at all). It’s humid, the clouds build up, and then nothing happens. A friend of mine has described this nonfunctional sort of monsoon as “the dry heaves.” The sunsets, however, have been glorious.

For the last four days, Mr. Pack Rat and sons have been trapping pack rats and removing and sanitizing nests. Also rat-proofing the structures they had lived in, like the workbench in the carport and the shed behind it. This morning they are back at work, in the back of the house, where the cactus is really thick. Most of the rats had been trapped. When I went to add water to the spa, I noticed that the trap by the heater contained a very young, very scared pack rat. I was able to get a close look at it. It was sandy-colored, with dark shoe-button eyes and a shortish little quivering nose. It was actually very cute, about half the size of the one I’d seen in the workbench. A little bigger than our youngest kitten. (My husband did not think it was cute.) Much less scary-looking than Norwegian rats.

The poor little thing will soon be euthanized, with gas, but I’m sure that’s much better than bleeding internally for several days from rat poison.

Our spa is so gunked with algae we’re paying someone to clean it. I’m not sure what to do about the pond. Still thinking about that one. I haven’t seen any new interesting birds or bugs for several days, but I’m sure they’re around. That is one of the great things about living up here. I’m beginning to understand why foothills living has always been touted as so desirable. Another thing is that the sky and the views are way more spacious—every time I walk out in the yard, or drive to or from the house, I see breathtaking beauty, whether it’s clouds and cloud shadows on the mountains, or a sunlit pastel desertscape. I am a very blessed person, packrats, scorpions, and all.

July 22, 2004

Oh, my, how time flies! First, a monsoon update: the monsoon definitely arrived, but all the rain we have received (except for traces) has come late at night. And not all that much. One night I was sure we had major rain (from all the noise). I checked my new rain gauge the next morning to find a mere .15 of an inch. The overall weather pattern has shifted today, however, so major storms are expected to increase.

The next update concerns our pack rats. We called Mr. Pack Rat, a removal service (and the only one in Tucson that specializes in pack rat removal and prevention). Mr. PR came out and inspected our property and gave us a ton of information. The kissing bugs, for example, enter houses only when something has happened to “their” pack rat and they have to find a new host. If you’re not allergic to them, the bite is a minor annoyance, but people have been known to die of anaphylaxis from the “kiss.” Pack rats do not spread ticks—the tick I described was apparently an anomaly, and probably had been on the cat. Pack rats also don’t spread Hanta virus, a relief.

There is only one adult pack rat to a nest, and they can have dozens of offspring a year. They are opportunists—will nest anywhere that offers them shelter.

Mr. PR informed us that we have ten active pack rat nests, and he is going to come out, trap the rats, sanitize the nests, and pack-rat proof the four places where they are actually living in proximity to the house (the spa heater, the workbench in the carport, the water heater closet, and the out shed). There was also an incipient pack rat nest in the engine of my car. He said that it was probably a young pack rat, and it hadn’t fully moved in yet. We removed pieces of cactus and seeds, what Mr. PR calls the “furniture and groceries.” The next day there were more furniture and groceries, so I bought some dried bobcat urine—available at any feed store—and sprinkled it on the engine block. So far the pack rat has not returned. (Though I wonder where it did go.)

Other nature news: while visiting the tagged pack rat nests with Mr. PR, I spotted two tiny, beautiful magenta blossoms on pincushion cactus in the front yard. At least I think they were pin cushions. Gorgeous, anyway.

This morning when I first looked at the pond (which is totally gucked with algae again, by the way), I saw a huge, very odd-looking bird perched on the cyclone fence surrounding the “riparian” area. It took me a moment to realize that it was a roadrunner. I had never seen one perch before. It looked very ungainly and very reptilian. Through the binoculars I could see a greenish sheen on its body feathers. It sat there for a while, then opened its beak a couple of times, stretched its wings once or twice, and FLEW AWAY.

Finally, later this morning we were out on the porch having coffee when I noticed a dark furry mass behind a bureau we temporarily have outside. On closer inspection I saw it was a tarantula. Due to my husband’s discomfort with certain types of wildlife (anything that isn’t fuzzy and cute), I decided to move it away. At first I thought to trap it in a box, but it was HUGE, and didn’t want to be trapped. A couple of times I accidentally turned it upside down, and it had to right itself—a rather awkward procedure. It was by far the biggest tarantula I have ever seen up-close and personal. (And very handsome, in a gruesome kind of way.) Finally I got it to climb on the business end of the broom and carried it out to the back of the yard, where it wandered off into the lantana.

July 12, 2004
Well, last night we got our first big monsoon rain. Unfortunately it didn’t start till late at night, but it was the works: thunder, lightning, buckets of water. This morning it was hot and humid, the air so thick that everything looked a little blurred and pastel, as if we were all in a watercolor painting. It rained again this afternoon, but not so much lightning and thunder.

Our big nature encounter yesterday occurred in the house. I saw a tick on the bed, and popped it: lots of blood. So we took off all the bedding and vacuumed the mattress and under it. No more ticks, but we had two kissing bugs. We vacuumed them up and threw out the bag. While looking for a new one, Rocko found a scorpion in one of the pantry drawers. (Or, as he described it, “One of those spider-things with a curly tail.”)

The birds are still spending plenty of time at the pond, despite the rain. And the algae have returned, so the water is murky. I haven’t decided what to do about it.

The door on the cardinal feeder sometimes sticks. When that happens and the female cardinal is on the perch, she simply pecks at the door repeatedly, eventually sending the perch low enough to open the door. Clever little thing.

This morning on the River Walk one of the super-fast lizards with a striped tail ran out just as a bike came, fast. I thought the lizard was a goner, especially since he kept going. But then what he did was run along WITH the bike, staying between the two wheels for several feet, then ducking out and across the road. I figure he will pass on his super bike-genes and produce a whole race of biking lizards. Maybe called Lance Lizard.

Finally, I saw an adorable small woodpecker on a saguaro during our walk today. From the red stripe on its crown apparently it was a ladderback, which I have seen in Madeira Canyon, but never before in town. There is so much nature all around. I’m so lucky to live here!

July 8, 2004
Two days ago I was out on the porch very early meditating when I happened to glance up and see a fluffy ball move through the fence. It was the first of a herd of adolescent quail, about 2/3 to 3/4 the size of adults. They jostled and gathered on the edge of the pond, then moved out of sight, then moved back to the pond. All of them—or at least thirteen, and there may have been more—crowded onto the rocks on the north side of the pond. Somewhere in there may have been a mama, but I didn’t see one specifically. Outside the fence, pacing and keeping watch, was the papa. The teenagers all drank, more or less taking turns. Their protective coloration is so good that if I didn’t know they were there I might not have seen them. They are the size and color of rocks. Fluffy, feathered rocks. Their topknots at this age are just sort of scruffy-looking feathers sticking straight up. I couldn’t tell what sex any of them will turn out to be.

I speculate that this family must stay in the wash out back of the house. I can’t imagine that if they cross the roads there would be so many of them.

Nothing else new around here, except that I have seen a male pyrrhuloxia on the porch. He doesn’t seem to know how to use the feeder. I saw the male cardinal chase him away once, so I suppose cardinals are dominant over pyrrhuloxias.

The male Costa’s is still around and quite aggressive about “his” feeders. But very few hummers, really. A female Anna’s, I think, and also a couple of black-chins.

Still no mockers. I’m going to have to buy some oranges and see if that works. Maybe they like olives—the tree is bursting with green fruit.

The monsoon is due this weekend. It’s quite cloudy and humid—and beautiful. Fluffy white clouds right now in a pale blue sky over the Tortollitas. This morning that whole area was black with rain pouring down on Marana. As I sit here, finches and pigeons and white wings are all bathing in the pond.

July 2, 2004
The Costa’s is still around, and I’ve also seen black chins and maybe Anna’s. And lots and lots and lots of lizards. In fact, as I type this looking out on the back patio, a fairly big lizard sits in the shade of the porch, gazing at the pond. I’ve GOT to learn one from the other. Unlike the man who lived here before us, I can’t call all the lizards “Larry.”

Not much new on the nature front. The monsoon is late—now is not supposed to start before about the tenth or even later, one of the latest monsoons ever. The upside is that though it’s hot, it’s not humid, and the mornings are still cool for walks along the river.

The grapefruit has been putting out a ton of new leaves, mostly on the formerly denuded branches. A sweet little chipmunk regularly drinks from the pond, then scampers away. In addition to the hummers, I have something very tiny and flitty visiting the tube feeders. I assume they are verdins, but I don’t remember the ones at the old house being so flitty. I haven’t seen them yet up close.

The Costa’s is visiting a feeder I recently hung just outside the kitchen window. Also just outside the kitchen windows, and indeed everywhere on the porch, we have a gazllion baby cactus wrens. They are SO CUTE! They look just like miniaturized versions of the adults, and they are if anything even bolder and more curious.

June 24, 2004
This morning the riparian paradise drew a thrasher and a pyrrhuloxia. But more important and exciting is that yesterday late afternoon I observed a beautiful male Costa’s sipping from one of the hum feeders near the pond. I have actually expected this, as Costa’s are primarily desert birds, and I very seldom saw them at the old house. Their gorget is an amazing deep amethyst color. They are very tiny birds—I’d say about the same size as Black chins.

This guy was primarily hanging out in the Texas ranger by the porch, with occasional forays elsewhere—maybe to the tube feeder in the olive tree. I did not see him defend the feeder; in fact, I didn’t see any other hummers art all. I’m going to have to give some thought to plantings to attract more of them. In the riparian area, I guess, which is going to have to be set up with a watering system.

June 23, 2004
MORE LIZARD SEX! This time on a branch of the olive tree outside my western (office) window. I think these big guys are all collared lizards—the males, anyway, have visible collars and their bodies are mostly gray except for brightly colored spots that have to do with either camouflage or sex or both. In this case, it was the smaller lizard that seemed to want the sex, while the big collared guy was trying to escape. The small one kept putting her body underneath his and he kept moving on. I may have been misreading the whole situation, but that’s what it looked like. Last I saw, the big one was running down the branch toward the ground, with the small one in pursuit.

Also yesterday afternoon I saw two doves sitting in the pond, the water about halfway up their bodies, like a little kid sitting in a wading pool.

And I finally saw (but didn’t hear) a mockingbird! This was a juvenile (short tail), and it was flitting around the lantana just outside the pond. It seemed to be having trouble flying. I started worrying that maybe it had drunk from the pond and been poisoned. I looked all around the lantana, but saw no bodies.

Nevertheless, just to be safe, this morning I pumped the water out of the pond and filled it with more water. If this doesn’t result in birds flocking to the pond, I may try that again.

June 21, 2004
There are wispy clouds on the horizons, a sure sign that the monsoon is beginning to approach.

Things continue as they were at my riparian paradise. The birds are using the pond, though not in the numbers I saw at first. Maybe the water still tastes bad. The algae have not returned, but some of the rocks under the waterfall are a bit green. Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal continue to use the seed feeder, but I haven’t seen the juvenile in a while.

Three days ago I saw a road runner on our property for the first time. They are such ungainly but interesting birds. I love to watch them. This one didn’t let me watch for long, but I’m sure he will be back.

Yesterday morning I saw our first snake—a big, gorgeous, cream-and-green striped king snake. He was just meandering through the riparian area. I hope he will eat our pack rat. Shortly after the snake, I checked the spa to find a drowned mouse. I had previously placed a flat rock on one of the stairs, leaning against the top of the spa so anything that falls in can get out (something to put its claws into, rather than the smooth tile that runs around the top of the spa). Anyway, it didn’t work for this mouse, though it’s been quite a while since I saw a drowned lizard.

This morning I had a close encounter with a juvenile bunny rabbit, who had somehow gotten into the grapefruit enclosure and couldn’t get out. As I approached he became frantic, trying to jump (too high) or gnaw his way out (chicken wire too strong). I scooped him up in a bucket and let him go. He hadn’t done any damage to the tree that I could see, but I hope he has learned his lesson.

A few minutes ago a little chipmunk came scurrying onto the porch and lay down flat on the cool concrete, under the gate, to eat something with both his hands. There is so much going on out there it will be amazing if I ever get any work done again!

June 16, 2004
I haven’t had a lot of time lately to watch the back porch doings, but here’s a progress report. We put up a chicken-wire fence around the grapefruit tree, and apparently it hasn’t received any more rabbit-nibbles. It looks a little puny, but basically healthy.

I put some anti-algae stuff that is safe for fish in the pond, and it cleared up overnight. Unfortunately, it seems to taste bad, as I have seen very few birds drinking since. The label on the anti-algae stuff assures me it is not poisonous, and I have seen no bird bodies, so I’m hoping they will come back. I’m putting more water in the pond to try to dilute the bad taste or whatever.

The cardinals continue to leave little shreds of sunflower seeds on the porch. An adult female and male are quite adept at using the feeder, especially the male. He just hops right on, rides the perch as it swings down to open the feeder port, and sticks his head in to grab a seed. I haven’t seen the juvenile try it lately, so don’t know if he ever mastered it. He was out foraging in the yard earlier today, and is getting very red, though his beak remains gray.

A while ago a cactus wren was at the feeder, picking up scraps of seed. The male adult cardinal showed up and warily watched the cactus wren—evidently cactus wrens are dominant. The cardinal didn’t jump on the perch to activate the mechanism till after the wren had left. If it’s not a dominance issue, maybe he doesn’t want the cactus wren to learn how to use the feeder?

Big Red just returned, and evidently he prefers to use the feeder, although there are seeds lying in the yard. The female is eating from the yard, and though Big Red can obviously see her doing so, he continues to use the feeder. Maybe he likes the ride!

I hope that scattering seeds in the yard again will bring back the pyrrhuloxias. I haven’t seen any in a while, though I’ve heard them.

Final note: yesterday coming home in the late afternoon we had to stop the car to avoid a mama and papa quail and their two tiny feathered-thimble babies. But it was sad to see so few—usually there are well over a dozen when they are that small. Did some of the eggs just not hatch? Were they predated? I’ll never know—but I will look forward to seeing more babies, as it appears this is the second part of the quail breeding season. My god, the nature out here is so fantastic. So beautiful. So interesting. And so much Life in the Raw.

June 12, 2004
Well, today I got to see some of the Dark Side of living out in the desert. The main thing is that a rabbit has gotten into my fenced pond area and eaten most of the leaves off the grapefruit tree that we just planted. The man at Ace Hardware said if we put a fence around it the leaves will grow back. I hope so—it looks very pathetic.

Then the pond itself has gotten all scummy with algae. I know I have to do something about it, but am not sure what. I don’t think my injured back would stand up to redoing it, though I’m not sure how else to get rid of the stuff.

This morning I also found a huge, decomposing lizard on the porch.

On the plus side, the birds continue to flock to the pond (as do chipmunks, ground squirrels, and the cute little destructive bunny-rabbits).

June 9, 2004
There has been so much nature around here! Several (well, at least two) adult cardinals, one of each sex, have learned how to use the seed feeder. They leave little seed-case slivers all over the porch. The juvenile doesn’t yet seem to have figured it out. He hops around, chipping, looking at and sometimes pecking the feeder, jumping up to the ledge it sits on, but so far never figuring out that he needs to land on the perch. Whenever the adults are around he begs at the top of his voice.

Speaking of baby birds, a few days ago we saw a juvenile Cooper’s hawk that had fallen out of its nest in the back section of Harlowe’s nursery. It was very fierce-looking, but adorable, as it sat under a table probably wondering who all those giants were who were staring at it. From an overhead branch its mama stared at us, probably wishing she could tear us limb from limb. The fledgling was about the size of a small dog, and could probably bite you just as bad if not worse.

I have more plants around my riparian paradise now, and it looks great, but there’s a lot of algae in the water. My old fountain algae cleaner doesn’t seem to be working, so when it wears off I’ll try something more heavy-duty.

My big wildlife sighting today was a rat, running across the back porch. I’m assuming—hoping—it was a pack rat. Not that they are loveable, but I think they are less creepy than Norwegian rats.

June 4, 2004
Yesterday morning I saw a very beautiful, very feminine-looking lady quail sipping water from the pond. I checked on the water temp throughout the day, and by evening—on a very hot day—it was still cool. I hope it remains so, because the heat is fairly fierce. This afternoon a very stressed-looking baby cardinal sat on the back porch outside my office door, his wings splayed out, his beak open, repeatedly sending his “chip-chip” call note. He was gone a while ago, so I put a little saucer of ice water and a few seeds out there, but it may be too late for him. Or, on the other hand, maybe he’s just fine. However, yesterday afternoon I found a dead baby finch on the porch.

Other nature sightings: yesterday morning I had fun watching a very aggressive juvenile pyrrhuloxia try to figure out how to open a sunflower seed. He repeatedly rolled it in his bill—no doubt copying what he had seen his parents do—but to no avail. He drove off all other birds that came near him, except a big white-wing, who drove him off.

How can I tell the baby cards from the baby pyrrhuloxias? So far the only sure way seems to be to listen for their calls. The young pyrrhuloxias have the same very loud wheet-wheet whistle as their parents, while the young cardinals have the “chip” note. But on close examination, the young pyrrhuloxias seem to be yellower overall. They are just as perky-looking and adorable as the cardinals, however.

I’ve got to study thrashers. I saw two adults yesterday doing the stabbing thing on the ground where the seeds were scattered. I don’t remember seeing that at the old house. Different type of thrashers? I must find out!

Finally, this morning I saw an adorable bunny standing on its tippy-toes on a rock, reaching up as high as it could to nibble fruit from the big prickly pear out back. I wish I could stop anthropomorphizing these guys but they are all so cute, and individualistic. It’s true I miss the broad-bills and mockers, but my goodness! I have so much nature to watch now!

June 2, 2004
Well, this morning I put a whole bunch more rocks in the pond so I could add more water (to keep it cooler for the birds). I can now see the surface of the water from my office. The birds seem to be using it constantly, even on this very hot day with no particular shade at around noon. I hope the water continues to stay cool enough for them.

Latest updates: three days ago I saw a thrasher in front of the pond where I’ve been leaving sunflower seeds. He was repeatedly stabbing his beak into the ground, I guess getting leftover sunflower morsels. He came awfully close to the extension cord to the pump. I don’t know if he could actually penetrate it, but will look into repositioning it.

There are lots of begging babies around, mainly finches and cardinals. I’ve seen a cardinal baby visit the pond on his own, and a smaller one with its father. I first spotted this guy when I heard his little “whistling teakettle” cry and saw the adult flying off with a seed in his beak. Duh! The baby was perched in a mesquite a few yards behind the pond area, in the part of the yard that is really desert.

I miss mockingbirds. I seem to remember hearing one or more before we actually moved in, but haven’t seen or heard one since we’ve actually been here. I guess I’ll have to start putting out more fruit. I also miss the beautiful broad-billed hummingbirds, but perhaps eventually they will discover my pond. I have plenty of black-chins, and even some Anna’s. Got to work more on the hum habitat, though. There are LOTS of white-winged doves.

May 25. I saw two lizards mating in the “riparian paradise”—the former dog run where I’ve built my bird pond. They were big guys, especially the male. I believe they were chuckwallas, but I’ll have to learn more. The male was very colorful, with a yellow back and bright blue throat area. He seemed pretty spiky, too. The female was smaller, and rather drab. They went at it for a minute or two, then the female began struggling and finally broke away. She scurried across the ground and into the vegetation with the male in hot pursuit, but by the time he reached the vegetated area she had disappeared. He looked around for a while in seeming confusion and disappointment.

The same morning, I finally saw a black-chinned male hummer at one of the feeders.

May 26. Why does a lizard cross the road?

On our morning walk along the River Walk, we saw dozens—maybe hundreds—of lizards, all scurrying from one side of the path to the other. Some were the big lumbering guys, some ordinary-looking slim brown lizards, and a bunch were smallish guys with black and white striped tails that they hold up and curved, like a scorpion. There were also numerous ground squirrels on either side of the path, digging holes and seemingly enjoying the relative coolth (low nineties) of this late May in the Sonoran desert.

This end of the River Walk—five or so miles farther west than our old route, and I believe a bit north and higher in elevation—is much more heavily vegetated (because older, and the trees and bushes planted when it was young have had time to grow). There are many more types (and numbers) of lizards and birds, though I have yet to see a road runner.

May 27. This morning, shortly after we had our sick old cat, Ribby, euthanized, I saw a bobcat walking across the back yard. I was amazed how big it was—at least the size of a boxer dog. I called to my husband, who reported that he saw it disappear into the neighbor’s yard. He said he was surprised how small it was, so we’re assuming that we saw a mother and kitten. As this was the first bobcat I have ever seen in the wild, I’m preferring to think of it as Ribby’s spirit, appearing to let me know that he is finally wild and free.

May 24, 2004
My pond is two days old, and we’re starting to see some action! All day long a female cardinal and a male pyrrhuloxia have visited. This morning I saw a small bird—but not a Virden—with a yellow head. And lots of sparrows, finches, and doves have enjoyed bathing. The female cardinal, early this morning, was very picturesque as she daintily sipped from the waterfall.

I need more gravel and rocks to keep the water cool, and some plants to surround it, and more feeding stuff in my fenced-in riparian paradise. But we’re on the way!

May 22, 2004
Well, we have almost finished moving and have been living in the new house for about a week. What a very different nature experience! We are in the foothills, surrounded by desert vegetation. Lots and lots of doves. I’ve seen only one cardinal, briefly, in the olive tree outside my new office window. I’ve seen two female hummers—one Anna’s, one black-chinned. I think they will come around more once I hang more feeders. And a bunch of very young, curious house sparrows have been prancing around on the windowsill outside the office. They gaze inside, curiously—maybe this is the first time in years that the blinds have been open.

There are lots of quail around—as I type this, a male is strutting along the wrought-iron fence railing that surrounds the spa pump. And a gazillion lizards, including some very big ones—the size of rats, that like to sit in the shade on the patio and do pushups. I am determined to learn their names. (The guy we bought the house from said they are all called “Larry.”) I haven’t seen any geckos at night—maybe I missed them, or maybe they don’t live up here.

This morning I saw an adorable little ground squirrel out on the border between the desert and the yard. I may not consider him so adorable after awhile, because there are lots of holes in the garden areas, probably squirrel holes.

I’ve put out the seed feeder, and so far no takers, ditto with the suet feeder. HOWEVER, today the most exciting thing. We dug a hole for the pond and hauled up a bunch of rocks. I have the gravel and the sand. Later today or tomorrow I start to build my pond, and then watch out! I expect a major bird explosion.

April 4, 2004
We went directly from winter to summer, and the heat produced early blooming of citrus trees all over town. For about a week and a half, the air was heavy with the sweet, sensual fragrance of grapefruit and tangelos. Then, just as suddenly as it got hot, it got cold (fifties and sixties) and very windy and then rainy. Rainy! This time of year! Very unusual. Anyway, our backyard is littered with the debris of gazillions of citrus blossoms. At first they looked like snowflakes, but now they just look gross.

Lots of bird action over on the River Walk. More mockingbird skirmishes, hawks soaring, the Great Blue Heron flying around, goldfinches eating seeds. Lots of bird songs, too.

Saw a very interesting bit of non-bird action day before yesterday. A flock of four bicycle cops stopped, talked to a woman, got off their bikes, looked to where she was pointing in the riverbed. I saw a cop pull out his handcuffs… and use them to attach the bike to the railing along the bank.

Finally, yesterday I saw the first black chin of the season! A beautiful male, feeding from the feeder outside my office window.