Critters

If you look very carefully, you may see a bird in Damsel’s plum tree.

Seriously, Damsel and I have a running joke of saying “Where’s Waldo?” whenever we see a male cardinal outside; the bright crimson color of these birds makes them easy to spot even in non-sunny conditions like this morning. I was on the courtyard patio with the intention of shooting some close-up photos of plum blossoms with raindrops, when this cardinal briefly lighted in the tree.

I got the photo of the bird OK but I’m still working on competing with Damsel when it comes to crisp close-ups (none of my raindrop/flower pictures were acceptable). Click on the image to enlarge.

There are a bunch of hummingbirds that frequent Damsel’s feeders. I took a photo of this little male Anna’s Hummingbird sipping at the west feeder last evening. I was not aware that this variety’s range was limited to Baja California and the west coast until the 20th century when urbanization of desert areas expanded their range. Moreover, I had no idea why it was “Anna’s” hummingbird. See the following Wikipedia excerpt:

Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) is a medium-sized stocky hummingbird native to the west coast of North America. This bird was named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. In the early 20th century, Anna’s hummingbird bred only in northern Baja California and southern California. The transplanting of exotic ornamental plants in residential areas throughout the Pacific coast and inland deserts provided expanded nectar and nesting sites, and the species was able to expand its breeding range greatly.

I took the short climb up to where the bird feeders are on the hill overlooking the RV drive today to replace one of the seed bells. On the way back down, I turned back to look at the flowering rosemary bushes up there and the horde of bees browsing the pale blue flowers (Blue Tuscan Rosemary). I took several shots with the Canon SL1 and managed to capture one with a bee getting in position to get the nectar from one of the flowers.

I notice that global warming has been selective this week. We’re enjoying spring-like 70° days while the upper plains and Midwest are getting a dose of more winter-like weather (it is weather, after all, and not that other insanity the media and government would have you believe).

Just before opening the patio door to get a shot of the little hummers on the feeder, one of the two that were perched there flew off. This little guy, however, stayed to enjoy some more nectar sips while I took several pictures of him. It was drizzling at the time, but the hummingbirds don’t seem to mind. As a matter of fact, when it was snowing on New Years Eve, the little guys were still coming for the nectar. Click on the image to enlarge.