Leap Day 2024

Ferguson was looking for a date for Valentine’s Day…

Robert Indiana sculpture at Scottsdale Center for the Arts

Whew, it’s a good thing there is an extra day this month or I would not have made a February post. Those 29 days have just slipped away into oblivion. But we had a little fun this month where Ferguson decided to become a fundraiser for a local cat rescue group (chelescatcare.org). He had some headshots made of him looking his professional best and offered to mail one to anyone who would give at least $5 to Chele’s nonprofit. We had a decent response and matched some of that money so he is encouraged to try further philanthropic endeavors. If you want a photo, let us know…(continental US only)…

Professional Shot

He loves the taste of money but all for good…

Checking out the goods…

We’ll see how his career unfolds. Of course, his siblings helped out some, too, Bouche and Torti.

We were happy to see our friendly Greater Roadrunner drop by after a 2 month absence but, of course, it did not wait for me to go get my camera. Hope to see a little more of him/her from time to time.

Birding in our yard has been slooooooow but here are a few shots from the last few days.

Abert’s Towhee

Curve-billed Thrasher as Angry Bird

Peanut for a Thrasher

The Telltale Feather

Verdin in Late Afternoon Sun

Anna’s Hummingbird

Rosy-faced Lovebird…time to stock up on seed bells again

So that just about wraps up this short month that was a little longer. Hope it was a good one for you. And here is a shot that I took back in 2016…so this is its third time around…

Un-Birdy

Potter Wasp on Lavender

No birds in this post!!!! I’m trying to clean photos off my desktop as I keep taking more and more almost everyday. The birds will be back in my next post, some decked out in holiday style. Meanwhile…

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Variegated Meadowhawk

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Fiery Skippers

Sparkling Sap in our Pine Tree

Salvia (Sage)

Tree Lizard Geometry

A few weeks ago

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Cotton!

All photos were taken in our yard except the cotton. I saw that when I was hunting for a particular bird that I never saw…

Ferguson excited about his Thanksgiving dinner

One day when I was sitting in the yard watching birds, this little visitor dropped by…and picked a good place to pose.

Stay safe!

Escape to Scottsdale

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The above images of a Great Blue Heron and a tiny Verdin were taken at Indian School Park in Scottsdale where I had hoped to find a rarity reported there, a Magnolia Warbler, but did not. I actually do think I caught a fleeting glimpse of it from underneath but not enough to be sure so it will not be added to my life list. It was miserably hot so I sat in my car hoping someone else would come along and help me find it but no one did.

A few days later, it was slightly cooler in the morning so I met a friend while socially distanced at another park, Scottsdale Rotary Park. We sat and talked for a couple hours and I really only got these photos of a Say’s Phoebe:

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As it warmed up, I stopped at one of my favorite parks, Scottsdale Xeriscape Garden, where I have found some lovely birds in the past. I didn’t stay too long because of the miserable heat we are still experiencing here in the Phoenix area but here are a few shots;

Bewick’s Wren

Gila Woodpecker, male

Say’s Phoebe

Rosy-faced Lovebird

Like everyone else here, I can’t wait until it’s cool and I can at least go out to parks amidst this stupid pandemic…maybe next week.

Meanwhile, back at home, here are a few shots of doves, not my favorite birds although the little Inca Doves (first 2 shots) are sweet:

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And I thought this dove looked slightly angelic:

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Also seen flying around the Phoenix area:

A Brief Escape

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Say’s Phoebe

We’ve been very good during this loooooong quarantine, only doing essential shopping and initially walking in a closeby park, which we quit doing because there were plenty of social nondistancers. But one day last week I met a friend at Rotary Park in Scottsdale, where we sat six feet apart, and talked and watched the critters fly around and other people walk around. It was a lovely day and nice to have a break in the monotony.

We sat by the Butterfly Garden but only saw a couple of butterflies.

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Gulf Fritillary

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This little Lesser Goldfinch was the star of our visit, being very brave and seeming to enjoy our attention:

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A good time was had by all. Then a few nights later, this was the Flower Supermoon, the last supermoon until April 2021:

And…just so I can file these 4 photos away, Tony and I went to Reach 11 in Phoenix right at the beginning of the quarantine. We easily socially distanced because there was hardly anyone around including birds and other animals:

Cactus Wren

Round-tailed Ground Squirrel

What Lies Beneath

Ring-necked Duck, female

Do you think life will ever be the “old normal” again? I don’t…

Gateway Trailhead

This is the third time we’ve been to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale. It is comprised of 30,500 acres of Sonoran Desert, 7 trailheads, and over 200 miles of trails. This particular trailhead, Gateway, is the closest to town and it was very busy on a weekday afternoon last week. The trails were also very rocky so it was hard to look up while walking with cameras. Basically, it’s not a place that we would go to again but I’m sure many people love it…since there were a ton of them there. Nevertheless, it was still pretty…

Painted Lady

Creosote

Birds, none for most of the trail until we got towards the end…

Black-throated Sparrow

Gila Woodpecker

Curve-billed Thrasher

Thompson Peak

Gilded Flicker

House Finches

These are the other trailheads we’ve been to which were farther north, away from the city, and with nicer trails, more dramatic scenery, and better mountain views: Brown’s Ranch Trailhead and Granite Mountain Trailhead. Next time we’ll go to the trails that are farther north again…