Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Critters

Cactus Wren

Cactus Wren

I went outside this afternoon with the telephoto lens on the Canon SL1 to try my luck at capturing images of some of the local wildlife in their habitat. Damsel and I have already observed a couple of quail herding their spring chicks around but I had no such luck today.

I did see this cactus wren nibbling on the seed bell. I waited until it got off of the human-provided feeder and into this mesquite where it perched briefly for me to secure the shot. Click on the image to enlarge.

The cactus wren is the state bird of Arizona and, according to Wikipedia, has these additional attributes:

The cactus wren is the largest North American wren, at 18–23 cm (7.1–9.1 in) long. Unlike the smaller wrens, the cactus wren is easily seen. It has the loud voice characteristic of wrens. The cactus wren is much less shy than most of the family. Its marked white eyestripe, brown head, barred wings and tail, and spotted tail feathers make it easy to identify. Like most birds in its genus, it has a slightly curved bill. There is little sexual dimorphism.

My guess is that last dimorphism bit means that one cannot easily distinguish between males and females as is the case with many other birds. Why not just say that in the first place?

26 Apr 2015 by Arizona Critters Photography

A-h-h-h, That New Camera Smell

Beethoven’s Nose

I just came back in from the courtyard where I had been taking some pictures of ‘stuff,’ when I got in the house I was greeted by ‘Beethoven,’ our five year old min pin. He seemed very interested in the camera, so I let him sniff at it.

I guess I pressed on the shutter release just as his nose was up to the lens guard. I thought this was an interesting and humorous view of the curiosity of a small, but very loveable dog. Click on the image to enlarge.

25 Apr 2015 by Critters Humor Photography

Goldfinch Feeding Frenzy

Goldfinch Feeding

Well, not in the shark sense, but today I was in the courtyard with the camera and telephoto lens looking for photo targets of opportunity. All of a sudden several goldfinches were competing for perches on Damsel’s feeder out front. I got this lucky shot while the competition was still on. Shortly after I took the photo, the birds had all settled on the six available perches and were calmly picking seeds out of the feeder.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel SL1 – Focal length 300mm – F5.6 – ISO 200 – SS 1/400 sec. The range was about 10 yards. Click on the image to enlarge.

12 Apr 2015 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

Thrasher Cleared For Takeoff

Thrasher Launch

I walked out to the driveway yesterday thinking I would take some cactus flower pictures, but before I could direct the camera lens at the cacti, I saw this curve billed thrasher perched atop our big saguaro out front. I did not actually see the bird at first, but its loud wheet whee wheet call made me turn just in time to see it on the big cactus.

I pointed and shot several frames just before and after it leapt into the air and was gone. This was one of four images I took as it hastily departed. Click on the image to enlarge.

I’m not sure why the bird was on the big saguaro. It’s too early for fruit and there are no active nests on the big guy. Maybe it was just looking out for potential predators to its nest in a nearby cholla cactus.

29 Mar 2015 by Arizona Critters Photography

Female of the Northern Cardinal Species

Female Cardinal

We enjoy seeing several pairs of cardinals that visit our feeders. This is one of the females that perched on the seed bell yesterday. She let both Damsel and I get fairly close to the bell before she flitted away. Both of our cameras were clicking away as we approached. I got this shot using the 300mm telephoto lens on my Canon SL1 from about thirty feet away. Damsel got another shot of her from a much closer distance using her Canon T3 and the standard lens at 55mm focal length.

With our mild winters, we see the cardinals all year around. We even saw one of them on the last day of 2014 which was our only snow day in six years.

This is from Wikipedia:

Although some controversy surrounds bird feeding (see bird feeder for details), an increase in backyard feeding by humans has generally been beneficial to this species. It is listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List. It has an estimated global range of 2,200,000 sq mi and a global population estimated to be about 100 million individuals.

17 Mar 2015 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

Curve Billed Thrasher Nest and Eggs

Thrasher Nest 
Thrasher Cholla

For the third year in a row (that we know of), the curve billed thrashers have built a nest in the cholla cactus in front of our house. We discovered three eggs in the nest today.

The nest is in the inhospitable-looking cholla cactus seen at the lower right. One of the thrashers is seen in the lower left photo perched on a cholla. Click on any of the images to enlarge.

We were worried that the wall and RV drive construction projects would have discouraged the nest-builders, but, obviously, it didn’t bother them. The nest is typical of those we have seen in the past and you can see our used dental floss that we scatter outside in the winter and spring months woven in with the fibers and twigs.

If we have the chance, we may post some pictures of the thrasher chicks when they hatch, but we don’t want to disturb the birds as they nurture their young. In the past, they have laid eggs in the nest twice, so we may not get the opportunity until the second brood.

15 Mar 2015 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

Lurking in the Rosemary

Lurking in the Rosemary

After all those years of enjoying the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote Looney Tunes cartoons from Warner Brothers, it’s hard to think of the poor roadrunner as predator rather than prey (roadrunners are both, actually). You expect it to go ‘meep meep,” when actually the roadrunner has a slow and descending dove-like “coo”. It also makes a rapid, vocalized clattering sound with its beak.

Having watched our roadrunners (ours because living on or near our lot) for the past several years, it is clear that they are predators. They lurk near the finch feeders to try and catch an unwary goldfinch eating thistle seeds. We have not actually witnessed them catching a bird but we have seen them lie very still then leap and miss. We have seen them carrying prey in their beaks, probably small reptiles, as they scurry off to consume their catch.

I photographed this bird lurking in the rosemary ground cover near the feeders behind the RV drive in the late afternoon. Click on the image to enlarge.

10 Mar 2015 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

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