The hummingbirds that visit our feeders seem to be accustomed to the presence of humans near the feeders. This allows us to stand near the feeders and get up-close and personal photos of the little guys when they come for a sip or two. This little guy was six feet away from the lens when he had his beak deep inside the nectar. Click on the image to enlarge.
I ventured up on the hill behind the RV drive today to replace the bird seed block and bell that Damsel and I like to hang up there to attract the birds and critters. Well, I guess it must be working since today the critters seen above were impatiently waiting for me to finish. I retreated about eight or ten feet away from the post that holds the feeders and took photos of a few of the critters-in-waiting as they approached to gather fallen seeds and to peck on the block and bell.
These four are black-throated sparrow, curve-billed thrasher, cactus wren and white-tailed antelope squirrel. In the past, the squirrels have been known to closely approach while I am still on the hill, but this is the first time any of the birds have shown little apprehension to my presence. Click on any image to enlarge.
I was in the courtyard today with my camera intending to take some photos of Bob planting a couple of new xeriscape acquisitions when I noticed this little goldfinch taking seeds from the front feeder. He was not startled by my appearance in the courtyard and just stayed perched on the feeder taking the Nyjer seeds. I approached him and got several shots like the one above before he finally took off.
I looked up goldfinch on Wikipedia and found that there are several varieties of them. The ones that come around here are called the Dark Backed “Lesser” Goldfinch. They are a very small songbird according to the Wikipedia Article:
The lesser goldfinch or dark-backed goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) is a very small songbird of the Americas. Together with its relatives the American goldfinch and Lawrence’s goldfinch, it forms the American goldfinches clade in the genus Spinus sensu stricto.
The American goldfinches can be distinguished by the males having a black (rarely green) forehead, whereas the latter is (like the rest of the face) red or yellow in the European goldfinch and its relatives. North American males are markedly polymorphic and 5 subspecies are often named; at least 2 of them seem to represent a less-progressed stage in evolution however.
Damsel called me to the great room late this afternoon to show me the herd of Javelina (Collared Peccary) that had wandered onto the neighbor’s driveway across the road. As we looked through the window, I called the neighbor to advise him of the presence of the herd. He and the family were not at home at the time and he told me that his dogs were secure inside the house.
This herd has grown in size from when we first moved here, from about five to seven at that time to over a rough count of eleven today. Javelina herds stake out their own territory and seldom compete with other herds for the 5500 acres of desert where they claim domain and forage therein.
Residents in semi-rural areas just have to cope with the beasts, since they are considered a game animal here. Even so, a defensive gun use is not out of the question if they become aggressive, which they might, if startled or accompanied by offspring. Damsel and I both pack when not sleeping, just in case of trouble. either the four or two legged kind.
I have a couple of these feeders outside the back patio screen. This summer, I have had to refill them more often than I seem to recall having done so in the past. The tiny birds browse them all day long and into the evening when it’s almost dark.
This little visitor was white with gray and green tones in his feathers. I have no idea what the name of this variety of hummingbird might be, but it is a cute little guy helping itself to what’s left in the east feeder. The bird and feeder were about five or six feet from where I snapped this photo. Click on the image to enlarge.
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.
