I saw a yellow butterfly browsing the Red Birds of Paradise in the courtyard this afternoon. I went inside to get my camera and the butterfly was still browsing when I came back out.
I took several photos of the butterfly as it browsed. In this particular shot, you can see the butterfly’s proboscis reaching into the flower for the nectar. Click on the image to enlarge.
Damsel took her camera out in front of the house at dusk last evening to photograph a trio of Argentine Giant flowers that had opened. She took several photos while I walked the dogs for their next-to-last outing for the day.
After we finished our walk, I wanted to try my hand at some night shots of these beautiful flowers, so I took my camera out and walked down to the cactus. As I approached, I could see something hovering near the flowers. At first, I thought it might be a hummingbird, but It was getting too dark for that. I leaned over and just started shooting the camera hoping to capture what was going down.
When I finished taking pictures, I previewed the shots on the camera monitor and saw this beautiful moth that had been browsing the flowers. When I viewed the pictures on the computer monitor, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to get several clear images of the moth and flowers. Click on the image to enlarge.
I was sitting in the great room when I noticed a black spotted butterfly browsing on one of the red bird of paradise shrubs in the courtyard. I grabbed my camera and went out front hoping to get a shot of the butterfly and flower.
When I got outside, the butterfly flew away at first. After a few seconds, it circled back to the same shrub it had been browsing and resumed. I took several shots of it while it did its thing, this one being among the best photos I got. Click on the image to enlarge.
It is always a pleasure to see the little hummingbirds partake of Damsel’s feeders behind the patio. I was on the RV drive after hanging a bird seed bell up on the hill when this little guy came buzzing up to the feeder a few feet away. I had the camera with me so I pointed and shot several images as the bird browsed the feeder.
I have been (sometimes) in the habit of taking the camera with me when doing something outdoors just in case a photo opportunity should present itself. Had I had the camera with me this morning (and I didn’t) when I took the dogs out for a run, I might have been able to capture a shot of a pair of adult quail and about a dozen little ones we encountered on the RV drive as we were returning from the road. The broods of quail have been plentiful around the area, but I really haven’t been able to get a decent shot of them. Maybe later.
Camera Specs: Canon EOS REBEL SL1, 1/400 sec, F5.6, ISO 250, Focal Length 300mm. Click on the image to enlarge.
Spring has sprung loose a lot of new wildfowl near our Arizona home. A breeding pair (or two) brought their brood(s) up on the hill behind the RV drive where I have my bird feeders. There are always a lot of seeds that make their way to the ground from the feeders and these birds were there to take advantage of the spillage.
The two birds in the image were with a group of several little guys being herded around by a couple of adult quail. According to Wikipedia, females usually lay 10 to 12 eggs at a time. When the chicks hatch, they leave the nest within hours and follow their parents as they forage.
It’s always so cute when these little chicks are seen scurrying here and there behind or in front of the parents. I hope to have more photos of them going to and fro this late spring. Click on the image to enlarge.
I was out in the courtyard on this beautiful morning, camera in hand, hoping for any photo opportunities that might arise. I was alerted by one of the thrasher parents to some activity in their nest in the little cholla cactus just outside of the courtyard.
Sure enough, when the parent bird left the nest, I could see some movement in the nest. From about 20 feet away, I pointed and shot several frames hoping that I could get a close-up of one of the nest’s occupants.
I didn’t see it until downloading the images to the computer, but this is a pretty good image of a thrasher fledgeling that looks as if it’s about ready to come out of the nest. Canon SL1 settings: 1/320sec, ISO 125, F5.6, 220mm focal length. Click on the image to enlarge.
We have given the birds their space since seeing eggs and then several hatchlings in the nest. There could be up to six of the little birds since we observed that many eggs a few weeks ago.
Although we have spotted quail with juveniles during the past few weeks, this is the first time we have seen a brood in our yard. The mama quail is at the right, the papa toward the bottom center and the seven chicks can be seen scurrying toward the left. This isn’t the best image due to late afternoon shadows, but you can on it to enlarge for more detail.
These juveniles must be several weeks old since most of their permanent markings and topknots are visible. Each chick is about two-thirds as large as the adults.
Wikipedia has an extensive article on Gambel’s Quail:
The Gambel’s quail (Callipepla gambelii) is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It inhabits the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Sonora; also New Mexico-border Chihuahua and the Colorado River region of Baja California. The Gambel’s quail is named in honor of William Gambel, a 19th-century naturalist and explorer of the Southwestern United States.
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