As we sat on the patio today, this colorful Gilded Flicker (colaptes chrysoides) helped himself to some of the seed bell we put out this morning. His mate (without the red cheeks) also helped herself to both the seed bell and a nearby seed feeder. We seem to go through a bell a day but the feeder lasts a few days before reloading. Click on the image to enlarge.
On Thursday, Damsel spotted a large lizard basking in the sun atop the rock where we were checking out the native American petroglyphs near Salome, AZ. These diurnal lizards emerge in the morning and, before seeking food, bask in the sun until its optimum body temperature of 100 – 105 degrees F. is reached. Their diet is fruit, leaves, buds and flowers.
From Arizona Leisure:
The Chuckwalla, sometimes called “Chuckawalla” is the second largest lizard in the United States, second to the Gila Monster.
Unlike the Gila, the Chuckwalla is not venomous. Although there are other species, the “Common Chuckwalla”‘ is primarily found in the southwestern desert areas including the Mojave Desert in California and the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. They are also found in Sonora, Mexico close to the Arizona border.
Click on the image to enlarge.
We were on the patio this afternoon when this colorful bird perched on a mesquite tree on the hill behind the patio. I took several pictures with my Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera through the telephoto lens and this one came out the best.
We didn’t recognize the species, so we looked it up in our “Birds of Arizona” pamphlet. It is an adult male Gila Woodpecker – note the little red patch on the top of his head. Immature and female birds do not have the red patch. Click on the image to enlarge.
Wikipedia describes this bird’s habitat and some other interesting facts:
The Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the desert regions of the southwestern United States. They range through southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.
This woodpecker’s habitat consists of low desert scrub typical of the Sonoran desert. They build nests in holes made in saguaro cacti or mesquite trees. Cavities excavated by these woodpeckers in saguaro cacti are later used by a variety of other species, including the Elf Owl. There, they typically lay 3-5 white eggs.
Here is a cardinal couple on the seed bell in the mesquite tree behind the RV pull-through. The bright red male and his colorful mate appear to be smooching in this picture but in reality, they are merely sharing snacks on the bell. Click on the image to enlarge.
I put the telephoto lens on my Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera yesterday and took several pictures of the birds that came to visit the seed bell I hung in the mesquite tree behind the RV pull-through. I sat on the patio and took this photo of a male cardinal and a male house finch perched among the spring foliage in the mesquite. If this were a contest for the reddest bird, they both qualify as red birds, but the cardinal wins the reddest, IMHO. Click on the image to enlarge.
I bought a little gadget to hang the birdseed bells in the mesquite tree out back where we can see the birds visiting the bell from the patio. Today, a cactus wren (the Arizona State Bird) came to feed and I was surprised to see it hanging like a bat, inverted and pecking from the bottom. None of the other birds seem to do this. Click on the image to enlarge.
This beautiful Great Horned Owl perched herself on the corner of the garage last evening while I was on the patio. I called to Cap’n to bring my camera so I could get this photo before she took off.
I conclude that this is a female from the description of the owl’s call in a WikiPedia article:
Their call is a low-pitched but loud ho-ho-hoo hoo hoo; sometimes it is only four syllables instead of five. The female’s call is higher and rises in pitch at the end of the call.
This highly adaptable bird ranges all over the Americas, so it’s no surprise to see them here in the high Arizona desert. Some of the species they prey upon are snakes and lizards, so I’m very glad that they are here. Desert reptiles creep me out. 😮
After I clicked off the first shot with my camera, she turned to look at me while I clicked off several more images before she decided to fly away, this being the best one of them. Click on the image to enlarge.