Skywatch Friday: Quail Sky

(Photo taken by Kathie on April 14, 2008 in Sycamore Canyon with a Nikon D80)

It’s that time of year when the Gambel’s Quail are up and about with their little families. I see the males almost every day perched on my fence or block wall. In the desert they often perch in a tree or a dead snag silhouetted against the sky.

(Photo taken by Kathie on April 14, 2008 in Sycamore Canyon with a Nikon D80)

They are the family lookout. While the father watches, the mother and babies feed, but if Dad starts to run, the babies quickly follow, leaving Mom in the dust!

(Photo taken by Kathie on May 16, 2008 with a Nikon D80 in my yard)

I have seen coveys of quail come to the feeder and still one male will perch on the fence while the rest of the flock feeds beneath. He forgoes his own nourishment for the protection of the flock.

(Photo by Kathie 2008 of quail on fence next to house. Taken with Nikon D80)

At his alarm the rest of the birds flee. Often he doesn’t make a sound but simply drops to the ground and everyone runs! If there is enough cover, they seem to simply melt away in the brush. If they feel danger approaching too quickly, then the birds take flight. I have seen them fly up to a neighbor’s rooftop to avoid danger. However, they seem to prefer to keep their feet on the ground. When photographing Gambel's Quail I have found it helps to have the light on their faces or else the eyes disappear into that black mask.

(Photo Taken by kathie @ Saguaro National Park East February 18, 2008 with the Nikon D80)

To view other Skywatch Photos please click on this Skywatch Friday link hosted by Wigger's World.

Blogging Award from Texas Travelers

Troy from Ramblings Around Texas Gave me a "Blogs That Make My Day" Award last week. I am pleased and overwhelmed to say the least. Now it's my turn to pass on the honor to 5 of my favorite Blogs. The choice is not easy. There are so many good blogs out there and I enjoy visiting everyone, and some of my favorites have already received their awards from others.

The rules for this award are:

1) Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make me think and/or make my day.

2) Acknowledge the post of the award giver (Thank you Troy!)

3) Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news!

Here are my five choices:

1. The Brownstone Birding Blog. Larry was the first unknown person to come and comment on my Blog. Whether he knows it or not, he is a great encouragement to me and I have learned so much about blogging from him. He says he is not a great writer but he is better than he thinks. I don't know what his real life job is but I can tell he has an educators' heart. His blog is always so helpful and informative. Plus, he birds in many places that are familiar to me since I grew up in CT. His blog is my window on my homestate.

2. Doug Taron at Gossamer Tapestry has an informative and funny Blog. He has become my entomologist expert and is always so kind to help me identify the insects I am seeing. While I largely ignored or complained about the 6 legged creatures before, I now look at them with interest. One of his funniest post is the Dear John letter he wrote to his ailing lab equipment.

3. Mary's View for her open and kind heart, her friendship, and her great bird and pond photos. Plus, she always makes me laugh (or cry)!

4. Nature Remains for her wonderful photography and well written observations of nature that hover between prose and poetry.

5. From Patrice/Pappy's Balderdash Okay, I'm cheating here, but there is a reason. From Patrice is one of my favorite blogs. I visit all the time but she has shut off her comments so I can no longer communicate with her since I don't know her email address. I love her poetry and I miss her as a friend. I think I found Texican through her and he is connected because he writes awesome poetry also which I love to read. So, Kudos to Patrice and the Texican for my daily poetry fix! (Patrice, I can only hope you still visit here. If you do, please turn your comments back on, I miss you!)

Fenlandwalker, Maine Nature Photos, Island Rambles, Ramblings Around Texas, Out With Ari, and Aunt B's Backyard are just a few of my favorites that have already received this award from others.

Roy Norris from Fenlandwalker also nominated my Blog for this award. Thank you so much Roy! I always enjoy a walk in the fen! (Does this mean I get to pick 5 more?) Okay, here goes!

1. Beth's Stories for my peek at life in Maine.

2. Hasty Brook for her great nature shots, her sense of humor and her incredible courage in facing life with joy after great loss.

3. Twelve Acres for letting me see life on the farm again and for her love of trees!

4. Bookbabie because she inspires me to create.

5. Nature Tales and Camera Trails, a new blog I have just discovered that has awesome photography from New Brunswick, Canada

A Short (but true) Story

It’s a cool and cloudy day here in Sycamore Canyon. At 7 a.m. I awake to the sound of a dull buzz going off. I rollover in bed and tap Gus on the side. When he doesn’t respond I shake harder and say, “You need to shut your alarm clock off.” Now, it doesn’t make sense that his alarm clock would be on, since this is Saturday and his alarm doesn’t sound like that, but it is the only thing that makes sense to my groggy mind. Gus rises up on his elbow and looks at his alarm clock and says firmly, “It’s not my alarm clock.”

Well, since I am the investigator of all mysterious noises in this family, I jump out of bed and rush to the kitchen where the sound is louder. I hurry to the kitchen window which is over the sink and peer out. The sound is loudest here. I wonder, is someone working in the wash? No. Is my air conditioning unit trying to come on? How could it be; it’s turned off? Still, I run to check the control panel on the hall wall. Nope. It s off. I open the back door and go outside in my nightgown. The sound it duller out here. Back to the kitchen sink. What is it? Is my house about to blow up? I have a gas stove. I feel panic rising in my chest. My mind races. I’m dizzy from getting up so quickly. I want a drink and I need to pee, but WHAT IS IT!

I am standing next to the counter when I feel my cat, Sweet Bonnie Blue eyes, rub up against me. She is not supposed to be up here, but cats do what they want. I look at her and suddenly reason returns. I walk over and shut off the switch to the garbage disposal. How did it get turned on? Bonnie was up on the counter. She squeezed between the dish drainer and the wall to look out the open window at the birds flocking to my feeders this morning. She must have bumped up against it and flipped the switch. I shake my head and calm my heart. I get a drink of juice from the fridge, then hurry to the bathroom. Finally, I walk over and look out the den window at all the quail, doves and finches mobbing my feeders. Another quail family is feeding peacefully at the seed block with 6 little babies filling their bellies. Gus finally stumbles out of the bedroom to ask what was making the noise. I explain and he tumbles back into bed. I look out the back door at the thick blanket of clouds covering the morning sky. Monday and Tuesday we had highs over 100 degrees. Yesterday we had snow on Mt. Lemmon. This morning it is only 60 degrees here at my house, but this is just a brief reprieve before the triple digits return at the end of next week. I stand by the door looking at the new thistle seed feeder I bought yesterday. It is covered in Lesser Goldfinches. They are so thick on the sides that it looks like someone covered the feeder in Velcro and rolled it in birds! I crack up laughing at the sight. Another birdy morning has started here in Sycamore Canyon!

Skywatch: Ash-troated Flycatcher in Flight

(Photo taken by Kathie @ 9:30 a.m. MST on May 22, 2008 with a Nikon D80)

I took this photo of an Ash-throated flycatcher today right after it gobbled up a huge bug it had caught mid-air. The flycatcher landed in this nearby creosote bush to finish off the meal. I don't know what kinds of insect it was, but it was a mouthful. The bird tossed the bug around trying to reposition it until it got it just right, then GULP!, it was gone. Look below for the rest of the series. This photo fits between "What are you looking at?" and the burp!

Settling down after capturing the insect.

The toss to reposition (Look above the bird's beak between the twigs and you can see the bug mid-air.)

What are you looking at?

BURP! Now leave me alone and let me digest!

Ash-throated Flycatchers live here in the desert southwest and hunt from the mid to upper levels of the trees and scrub. They usually fly out to grab an insect mid-flight then return to a branch or twig to consume their meal. They also feed on berries.

To see other Skywatch Friday photos please visit our gracious host old Tom Wiggly at Wiggers World. To see my husband, Gus' Skywatch photos please visit his new Blog Gusto!

Birds At My Feeder

With migration and breeding in full swing I am getting so many birds at my feeder. On Friday alone these culprits showed up:

Papa Quail....

Mama Quail...

and babies!!!!!!!!!

I feel like the proud grandma!

Excuse me if I show off one more picture.

The gilded flickers come by almost everyday...

Thrashers are here in droves....

I keep looking for a Bendire's Thrasher with it's shorter, straighter bill, smaller triangular spots on its chest, pale base to its lower mandible and yellow eyes. Is this it? But then I read that juvenile Curve-billed thrashers are virtually identical to Bendire's Thrashers and since it is breeding and nesting season..., well, I just gave up on trying to find a Bendire's amongst my Curve-bills.

However, a beautiful Lark Sparrow was showing up for about 5 days last week. He was elusive at first, hiding in the wash and only hopping through the fence briefly, but finally he relaxed a bit and I was able to get this beautiful shot of his head.

Every few days a Canyon Towhee shows up. This one was here on Friday also.

I have discovered the Pyrrhuloxias love peanuts and I caught this one escaping from the feeder when I was busy photographing the baby quail. You can certainly see the short, stubby yellow beak that is so different from a Cardinal's. Plus, the Pyrrhuloxia does not have any black around its beak like a cardinal.

Can anyone say Kewpie Doll?

The White-winged doves are everywhere. They can be a nuisance and are the bullies of the feeders but I do love their beautiful faces.


At the end of the day as the sun was going down I glanced out the window to see this bird. I grabbed my camera, which, thank fully was within arm's reach, and snapped these photos of....

Do you know what this is?

Look at the red eye, the flat head, and the ruffed neck.

I saw my first one here last year on June 12, 2007. It's a Bronzed Cowbird!

Along with the regulars of Mourning Doves, Gila Woodpeckers, House Finches, House Sparrows and Lesser Goldfinches, I also had a Pine Siskin visiting for a couple of days. Cowbirds stop by every now and then. Lesser Nighthawks fly in the evening and early morning. Saturday I saw a Say's Phoebe in the wash and Turkey Vultures are seen daily along with Ravens. A roadrunner crossed in front of our car on Sunday and today, May 20th, I finally saw Purple Martins flying in and out of the Sentinel Saguaros at the top of the cul de sac where they stand guard on the rim of the canyon. My first sighting of them last year was May 21st.

Bye!

(I couldn't resist just one more photo of the baby Gambel's Quail!)

Note: All of today's photos were taken by Kathie on Friday, May 16, 2008 except for the Gilded Flicker photo which was taken earlier in the week. All photos were taken with the Nikon D80.

Nighthawk Photo

When Gus read my post on Friday he said, with all the confidence of a husband and a male, "I'll get you a nighthawk photo honey." So, off we went to the park Saturday evening to get a photo of a nighthawk. It was awhile before they showed up. We watched the sunset, the shadows fade into twilight and then, here they came, swooping over the field. Gus tried all different settings, snapping away. This was the only shot that came out.

(Nighthawk photo by Gus 5-17-08)

Can you see the fluttery wings with white spots at the corner of the photo? The nighthawk swooped in front of one of those inflatable jumping things that parents rent for their kids. Someone had one set up at the edge of the park. This is the only shot that came out. We had at least 40 black voids on the digital when we got home. Still, I like the abstract quality of the shot and I certainly appreciate Gus' valiant effort. Apparently we are on a steep learning curve here. We'll try again. Meanwhile, I am throwing down the gauntlet. Can you capture a good photo of a nighthawk? Send me your link and I'll add it here!

Seabrooke sent this link to her photo of a Common Nighthawk.

Skywatch Friday: Nighthawk

(Photo taken May 6, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. MST by Kathie with a Nikon D80)

Nighthawk

Nighthawk dipping in the evening sky
Night hawk flying with two white eyes
On the tips of your wings as you dart by
Night hawk winging through the sunset.

~Kathie Adams Brown (April 28, 2008)

Do I wish I had a picture of a Nighthawk? You bet. But have you ever tried to take one? They dart erratically in the low light of dusk chasing insects, so, a sunset is the best I can do for now. Believe it or not, this is part of the same sunset as last week's photo. It was a good night for Skywatch photos! To view other Skywatch Friday photos visit our host,Tom Wigley at Wiggers World.