Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Critters

Thrasher Tending To The Nest

Thrasher Tending to the Nest

Not much going on here today other than a little badly needed rain. Went to the supermarket for some stuff while it was pouring and when I got home it dried up. We went out to the courtyard with the camera and managed to catch this photo of one of the Curve Billed Thrashers just coming out of the nest with the six eggs.

There is a lot of activity around the nest and Damsel and I wonder if there could be more than one pair of Thrashers that laid eggs there. Six seems a lot for one bird. Click on the image to enlarge.

04 May 2015 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

Putting All Your Eggs In One Basket

Six Eggs

Damsel and I saw three eggs in this Curve Billed Thrasher nest earlier in the spring, but when we checked on them later, they were gone. We don’t know if the nest was raided or if the parents tossed non-viable eggs out. We did find a thrasher eggshell on the road nearby, cracked open and empty.

Now, however, it seems that the parents are serious about covering the odds of one or two survivors by laying a half-dozen eggs in the nest. I walked by the cholla cactus where this nest is located and saw blue in the nest. I got this shot by holding the camera out at arm’s length and pointing at where I thought the nest was located. I didn’t want to get stabbed by the spines. It was a lucky camera shot, it seems.

For now, we will give the Thrashers their space, not wanting to disturb nature in progress. If we’re lucky again, perhaps we can photograph some chicks in the nest after they hatch. Click on the image to enlarge.

01 May 2015 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

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

Categories

Archives